This question in Chapter 210 is beyond the syllabus.

Inside the meditation room, the dark golden formation plate was placed on a specially made workbench, surrounded by various sizes of carving knives, spiritual ink, and the “spirit-detecting needles” Su Ming had made himself.

Su Ming sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed, his divine sense spreading out like quicksilver, carefully enveloping the formation plate.

“Do not rush recklessly. First, ‘observe its momentum, inspect its damage.'”

Lin Yu directed with calm authority. “Use your water spiritual energy, transform it into the softest spiritual mist, and seep in to investigate. Remember, observe only, do not touch. This thing right now is like a volcano about to erupt. The slightest misstep, and our master and disciple will be reduced to ashes.”

Su Ming nodded, took a deep breath, and began operating the Like Water Art.

Deep blue water spiritual energy flowed from his fingertips, transforming into a hazy mist that slowly seeped into the charred break on the formation plate.

As his divine sense delved deeper, Su Ming was inwardly horrified.

Since he began studying formations, relying on the True Meaning of Basic Rune Deconstruction and his own unique “Investigation of Things” method, he had mastered over eighty basic runes to perfection. In the Repair Hall, he could already easily dismantle and optimize most first-order formation plates. But the internal structure of this formation plate before him, that three-dimensional rune network that seemed to form its own world, was at least a hundred times more complex! His meager foundation was like dust before this vast star chart.

“Found it.”

After the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, Su Ming suddenly opened his eyes, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

“The core damage is here.” He pointed a finger at the charred hole in the center of the formation plate. “This place should originally have been a three-dimensional ‘void node,’ acting as the spiritual energy hub for the entire formation. But due to spiritual energy overload, the node collapsed, causing the ‘spiritual conduits’ to melt and sever.”

“The node collapse triggered a spiritual energy backflow, incinerating the three auxiliary conduits surrounding it.” Lin Yu’s voice sounded in Su Ming’s mind, his tone serious. “This is like tempering a flying sword, blindly pursuing sharpness while forgetting resilience. The sword intent becomes too strong and backlashes against the sword embryo, causing the scabbard to shatter along with it.”

“What should we do then?” Su Ming asked. “Recarve this node? But I don’t even know what its original ‘dao pattern’ was.”

“Repairing it exactly as it was is impossible.” Lin Yu stated decisively. “The fundamental framework of this formation has a ‘dao injury.’ It’s like using a reed stalk to channel water from the Heavenly River. Even if you temporarily connect it, the moment the water arrives, it will collapse.”

“Then…”

“This is where we use our ‘Investigation of Things to Extend Knowledge’ method.” Lin Yu’s voice became gently instructive. “The road is broken, why must we replicate the original path? We can ‘forge a new path.'”

“Forging a new path?” Su Ming was taken aback.

“Exactly. Since the original ‘rigid connection’ couldn’t withstand such violent spiritual energy, then let’s change our thinking.” Lin Yu said. “You cultivate the water method, so you should know the characteristics of water. Water benefits all things without contention, conforms to the square and the round, and can contain a hundred rivers.”

“We won’t repair that damaged node. Instead, we will use your water spiritual energy to construct a temporary, flexible ‘spiritual energy diversion bridge’ at this location!”

Lin Yu grew more excited as he spoke. “It’s like setting up a ‘flow-diversion weir’ in a turbulent spiritual vein, or rather… constructing a ‘spiritual pool’ to slow its momentum! Use the ‘inclusiveness’ and ‘permeability’ of water spiritual energy to envelop and soften the violent spiritual energy, then guide it to the next part of the network. As long as the spiritual conduits are reconnected, the formation can be briefly activated!”

Su Ming’s eyes gradually lit up.

This line of thinking… was bold, but also perfectly aligned with the true meaning of the Like Water Art!

“But, water spiritual energy is formless and intangible. How can such a delicate structure be maintained for a long time?” Su Ming raised the key question.

“Who said anything about maintaining it for a long time?” Lin Yu snorted with laughter. “Our goal is to activate it, retrieve the secret technique sealed within, and incidentally draw out the murderous aura from Li Kai’s body. As long as it can be maintained for ten breaths, that’s enough! This is a ‘makeshift measure,’ understand?”

“Understood!”

Su Ming took a deep breath, a flash of determination in his eyes.

Since it was a “makeshift bridge,” then he would go all out!

…

For the next two hours, a breathtaking microscopic “spiritual energy guidance” battle unfolded within the meditation room of Courtyard D-7.

“Steady! The spiritual energy flow is too fast! That’s three strands of spiritual energy, not thirty! Do you want this formation plate to explode completely?”

“Swirl! Swirl! That conduit node has a spiritual clog. Gently guide it with water spiritual energy! Be like the spring breeze brushing the willow, not like a torrential stream scouring sand!”

“Left side! The auxiliary rune on the left is trembling! Cover it with a protective membrane of water spiritual energy! Stabilize its spiritual resonance frequency!”

Lin Yu constantly gave pointers in Su Ming’s mind, directing every minute manipulation.

And Su Ming, at this moment, had completely entered a state of forgetting both self and surroundings.

His face was as pale as paper, sweat soaked his clothes, dripping onto the floor to form a puddle. But the hands controlling the spiritual energy were as steady as a rock.

In his perception, he felt as if he had transformed into a drop of water within this complex formation.

Carefully navigating through the spiritual energy ruins, searching for every possible foothold.

Failure.

Still failure.

The water spiritual energy was too soft, unable to bear the spiritual pressure; the water spiritual energy was too rigid, unable to fuse; the structure had flaws, collapsing instantly…

Attempt after attempt, failure after failure.

With each failure, a sharp pain shot through Su Ming’s meridians. But he didn’t even frown, his mind unwavering.

He was adjusting, comprehending, transforming.

Finally, on the ninety-ninth attempt.

Su Ming suddenly felt an inspired insight.

He no longer forcibly tried to shape the water with his divine sense. Instead, he let the water spiritual energy flow naturally along the residual traces of dao resonance within those broken runes, gradually forming—vortices.

Water benefits all things, does not contend with them, therefore it can dissolve impact.

Countless tiny water spiritual energy vortices formed at the charred break.

They interconnected, meshed together, like an exquisitely intricate “water-diversion and energy-guiding” formation, smoothly and gently connecting the violent spiritual energies from both ends.

*Hum—*

A clear, melodious hum suddenly reverberated through the meditation room.

The dark golden formation plate trembled slightly. Those originally dim, dark red patterns, as if injected with vitality, suddenly lit up!

Flowing light circulated, rising and falling like breathing.

At the charred hole, a deep blue water-light vortex slowly rotated, pulsing like a beating heart, perfectly harmonizing the previously conflicting spiritual energies.

“It’s done!” Su Ming exclaimed in a low, hoarse voice.

The next instant, brilliant light erupted from the center of the formation plate. A pitch-black, ink-like light pillar shot upward (fortunately blocked by the breath-concealing array Lin Yu had pre-arranged).

Within the light pillar, a jade slip, completely black and emitting a cold aura, slowly materialized.

“Quick! Imprint it with your divine sense!” Lin Yu urgently shouted.

Su Ming dared not delay, immediately separating a strand of his divine sense and probing towards the jade slip.

However, the moment his divine sense touched the core of the formation plate.

*Boom!*

Su Ming felt a roar in his mind, as if a door to an endless abyss had been violently thrown open.

He “saw.”

Beneath the layers of brilliant light, the true core that was hidden.

It was no longer the flat, interconnected rune patterns he was familiar with.

But a vast, despair-inducing, three-dimensional, ever-renewing rune network!

Thousands upon thousands of densely packed runes flowed and danced within three-dimensional void space, interlocking with each other, like the stars of the heavens moving along profound trajectories. Each one was changing, each one was intertwining with billions of other runes in a myriad of dao resonances.

These were not the fixed diagrams from the Basic Overview of Formations.

This was… living dao.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep