Twilight enveloped everything.

The cheers in the Bing-7 Defense Zone gradually subsided. The veteran soldiers gathered in twos and threes around the campfires, roasting tough jerky and discussing that miraculous "Iron Bucket Formation."

Su Ming sat alone on a large rock at the edge of the defense zone, holding a jade slip recording data, reviewing the earlier drill.

Suddenly, the fingers holding the jade slip tightened slightly.

Someone was here.

It wasn't an enemy attack, because the "Spiderweb" hadn't sounded an alarm.

The newcomer hadn't triggered any spiritual energy fluctuations, just like a gust of wind, naturally blending into the surrounding world.

Su Ming slowly turned around and respectfully bowed towards an empty patch of shadow outside the defense zone.

"Disciple Su Ming pays his respects to Elder Mo."

The shadow twisted slightly, and a gaunt old man wearing a gray cloth robe slowly materialized.

It was indeed Elder Mo from the Spiritual Hub Hall.

He stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His somewhat turbid old eyes swept over the nodes Su Ming had set up, finally landing on Su Ming himself.

"Quite interesting."

Elder Mo's voice was hoarse, revealing neither joy nor anger. "Using points to drive surfaces, spiritual energy resonance. You've applied the listening method from the 'Spiritual Resonance Resonance Fragment' to a defensive formation?"

Su Ming was inwardly surprised. So similar formations already existed?

"Elder Mo has discerning eyes," Su Ming said, bowing his head. "This disciple merely felt that pure defense is too passive. If the formation could be like a spiderweb, capable of both sensing and trapping prey, it might be more suitable for our small, understaffed squad."

Elder Mo didn't speak, simply stepping into the defense zone.

With each step he took, the snow underfoot emitted a faint crunching sound.

But in Su Ming's "observation micro state" vision, each of Elder Mo's steps landed precisely on the nodes of spiritual energy flow. He didn't disrupt the formation; instead, he walked along the formation's "momentum."

Like a drop of water merging into a river.

Elder Mo walked to the wolf bone formation stake, stretched out a withered finger, and gently tapped it.

*Thump.*

A dull reverberation spread throughout the entire defense zone.

All the nodes lit up simultaneously for an instant before quickly fading away.

"The idea is good, but the scope is too small."

Elder Mo turned around, looking at Su Ming. "Your web only covers this small patch of land that is Bing-7. If the neighboring Bing-6 or Bing-8 zones are breached, and demon beasts flank you from the sides, your iron bucket will just be a leaky sieve."

Su Ming's heart skipped a beat, and he sharply looked up.

Elder Mo's words...

"This disciple is foolish. It's just that materials are limited, I dare not be too ambitious," Su Ming cautiously replied.

"Materials?"

Elder Mo snorted lightly and casually tossed a token, which landed squarely in Su Ming's arms.

"The warehouse, Grade-C waste material area. You are permitted to go pick materials three more times this month."

Su Ming gripped the cold token, his breathing involuntarily quickening slightly.

Three times!

With these materials, he could not only reinforce Bing-7 but could even expand this system to the entire forward defense line of the Bing Battalion!

"Thank you, Elder Mo!" Su Ming bowed deeply.

Elder Mo waved his hand dismissively, his figure growing indistinct again, as if he might dissipate into the wind and snow at any moment.

"If you've woven a web, weave it bigger."

"The wind at Iron Wall Pass is growing stronger. If the web isn't sturdy, it won't be able to hold anything."

Before his words had even faded, Elder Mo's figure had completely vanished.

Only Su Ming remained, standing in the wind and snow, tightly clutching the token.

Su Ming took a deep breath and stored the token in his storage pouch.

Elder Mo's support was like a protective talisman.

With this connection, his actions within Iron Wall Pass could finally be slightly less restrained.

"Brother Zhao!"

Su Ming turned and walked towards the camp, his voice shedding some of its caution and gaining more decisiveness.

Zhao Tiji, who was gnawing on a bone, looked up. "What's up, Brother Su?"

"Starting tomorrow, have the brothers go check out the neighboring Bing-6 and Bing-8 defense zones."

Su Ming walked to the campfire. The firelight illuminated his young yet steady face.

"We should share this good stuff with our neighbors. After all, our backs still need them to watch over."

Zhao Tiji was stunned for a moment, then grinned broadly, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Got it! Leave this to me! Old Zhang and his crew have been eyeing our shields with envy for a while now. This time, I'll make sure they pay through the nose!"

Su Ming smiled, sat down, picked up a dry branch, and poked at the campfire.

Sparks flew, tracing bright arcs in the night sky.

In this perilous Iron Wall Pass, he had finally woven his first web.

But he knew it wasn't enough.

Deep underground, that dark golden river was approaching. He had to weave this web denser, thicker, and more resilient before the disaster erupted.

...

The night in the Bing-7 Defense Zone was chewed up and swallowed by the wind and snow.

Inside Stone Hut Number Seven, the door cracks and window frames were already pasted with soundproofing talismans. The ghostly howling of the wind outside, when it seeped in, was reduced to a muffled, low panting.

Only a single bean-sized spirit lamp was lit inside the hut. The dim yellow circle of light huddled in the corner, casting elongated shadows onto the rough stone walls. As the lamplight flickered, the shadows seemed to struggle silently.

In the center of the stone table, a crude ceramic basin held half a basin of clear water.

At the bottom of the basin, the grayish-white raw ore Su Ming had spent a fortune acquiring from the Ghost Market lay quietly.

Su Ming sat cross-legged on a stone stool, his eyes slightly closed, his hands suspended three inches above the water's surface.

Within his Consciousness Sea, Lin Yu's voice was unusually devoid of its usual teasing, carrying a tone of seriousness. "Void Stone is brittle. Although this raw ore is riddled with impurities like a honeycomb briquette, the core powder with spatial properties is the most delicate. You need to peel away the gray rock like you're peeling the shell off a raw egg, without breaking the membrane inside."

Su Ming didn't reply, but a fine layer of sweat had already beaded on his forehead.

This work was more exhausting than killing wolf demons on the battlefield.

Killing enemies relied on ferocity and explosive power, but this "water grinding" refinement tested the resilience of one's divine sense and the extreme control over spiritual energy micro-manipulation.

In his "observation micro state" vision, the grayish-white raw ore was no longer just a rock but a complex three-dimensional maze. The gray-black rocky impurities were like layers of heavy armor, tightly encasing the scattered specks of silvery light dust within.

Su Ming controlled the water needles. He didn't chisel forcefully. Instead, he used the water's penetrating power to gently "moisten" the junction between the rock and the silver powder. Then, utilizing the slight expansion force when water vaporized, he pried the impurities apart bit by bit.

*Sss—*

A wisp of black-gray, flocculent substance drifted out from the raw ore, like dissolving ink, slowly sinking to the bottom of the basin.

"First layer separation successful," Su Ming silently noted, not daring to pause his finger movements in the slightest.

Time passed to the sound of lamp wicks crackling.

One hour, two hours...

Until the sound of wind and snow outside seemed to grow weary, and the air inside the stone hut grew cold enough to freeze one's breath, Su Ming finally let out a long, slow exhalation of turbid air.

"Retrieve."

His hands suddenly lifted upwards.

A soft *splash* sounded.

The originally clear heavy water was now turbid. But in the center of the water's surface, a clump of powder roughly the size of a thumb, shimmering with a silvery-gray light, was enveloped by a sphere of pure water and floated upwards.

Su Ming carefully took out a specially made jade bottle, channeled spiritual energy, and guided the clump of powder into the bottle.

"Four *qian*."

Su Ming weighed the jade bottle in his hand. A tired smile appeared on his somewhat pale face. "Half a *qian* more than expected."

"The quality is decent," Lin Yu's voice held a note of approval. "This amount is enough to activate the 'Minor Void Spirit Attraction Formation' three times."

Su Ming sealed the jade bottle and affixed a spirit-sealing talisman to it. However, he didn't immediately proceed to set up the formation. Instead, he solemnly stored it in the deepest part of his storage pouch.

"No rush for now."

Su Ming stood up, stretching his somewhat stiff joints. His bones emitted a series of crisp cracks. "The 'Minor Void Spirit Attraction Formation' has a small footprint, but its spatial fluctuations won't escape the notice of those who are paying attention. This is a military camp, after all; walls have ears. I'll wait until the next full moon and go to that abandoned mine tunnel in the back mountains. The chaotic earth veins there should mask the formation's fluctuations nicely."

"Hmm, prudent," Lin Yu praised. "Disciple, your mastery of the 'Way of Survival' is becoming increasingly refined."

Su Ming smiled, walked to the corner, washed his face with cold water, clearing his muddled mind a little.

It was already late at night, but he felt no sleepiness.

Returning from the Ghost Market had not only brought back the Void Stone but also a sense of urgency.

To survive, to reinforce the defense zone, to repair his Dao foundation—in the end, it all came down to needing a massive amount of resources.