Immortality and Cultivation: I can extract entries from all things.

Late at night, on the edge of the sacred field.

Thick fog rose from the sea, enveloping Qing'ao Island in layers.

The salty sea breeze carried the pungent smell of decaying vegetation, seeping into my collar and chilling me to the bone.

Fang He lay prone behind the pile of rocks, adjusting his breathing to an extremely slow frequency.

He placed his right hand on a crevice in the exposed rock, and a faint spiritual light emanated from his palm.

In the sea of ​​consciousness, the white entry was like a bright lamp, dissecting the complex spiritual energy network around them into countless fine threads.

Among these lines of light that should have flowed smoothly, several shadows stood out out of place.

"This is the third place."

Fang He's gaze was cold and piercing. He brushed aside the surface soil from the rock crevice, revealing a few grains of black sand as fine as needles.

These sand grains are constantly emitting a very faint, corrosive red glow.

If one does not possess the [Array Pattern Perception], even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator would only regard it as ordinary sea sand if they carefully scanned it with their divine sense.

"The Dark Abyss Pavilion's methods are truly insidious."

Fang He felt heavy-hearted.

He could sense the chaotic will contained within the black sand, a natural malice towards order.

These black sand particles were precisely implanted at the junctions of the array nodes.

Normally, these hidden dangers remain unnoticed and can even serve as a false impression of spiritual energy transmission. However, once the formation is overloaded, these hidden dangers will erupt instantly, causing the defense network to collapse.

As a time traveler, he knew all too well the power of such a time bomb.

If the formation of Qing'ao Island is broken, the tens of thousands of independent cultivators on the island will become food for the sea beasts.

He could even imagine the scene of cultivators desperately pouring their spiritual power into the formation as the tidal wave of sea monsters swept in, only to watch helplessly as the formation patterns shattered like broken porcelain.

"I can't stop this kind of thing on my own. But if I report it directly, will the Zhou family believe a rogue cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, or the deeply rooted Qian Lao Si?"

Fang He fell into deep thought. He did not reach out to touch it, but instead used his spiritual power to envelop a stubborn rock and placed it into the prepared jade bottle.

This kind of investigation must be conducted in an extremely secretive manner.

For the past two weeks, he has only slept for half an hour almost every night, taking advantage of the gaps in his patrols to dance on the edge of a knife.

After putting away the jade bottle, Fang He disappeared into the depths of the thick fog like a shadow.

He didn't go straight back to the pharmacy, but instead circled the market three times to make sure there were no tails following him before slipping into an alley.

The next day at noon.

Inside a side hall of the Zhou residence, two auspicious beast-shaped incense burners emitted a delicate sandalwood fragrance.

Steward Zhou sat at the head of the table, toying with a jade cicada in his hand.

His expression remained unchanged, except for a pair of shrewd and deep eyes that were scrutinizing the young man before him, looking beyond the rising tea smoke.

"Fang He, you requested an audience today, saying you discovered a flaw during the maintenance of the formation?"

Manager Zhou spoke slowly, but with the calm and imposing presence of someone in a superior position.

Fang He bowed slightly, his expression humble yet unhurried.

He took out a roll of blueprints from his sleeve, laid it flat on the side table, and lightly traced a line with his finger across the rocky area.

"Reporting to the steward. For the past half month, I have followed Master Qian's teachings and dared not slacken in the slightest. Yesterday, while patrolling three nodes in the northwest corner of the rocky beach, I sensed a subtle break in the spiritual energy fluctuations. My cultivation is low, and I dared not make a judgment, but remembering the steward's past teachings of 'no matter how small the matter, ensure everything is safe,' I decided to take the plunge and give it a try."

He spoke with great tact. He attributed the credit to Master Qian, the motivation to Steward Zhou's guidance, and positioned himself as an "overly cautious but diligent apprentice."

Manager Zhou picked up his teacup, gently stirred the floating tea leaves, and did not rush to express his opinion.

"A fault line? You mean, there's a fault line in the nodes of the first-tier defensive array? Old Qian is a master of array formations. How could a novice like you see a fault line in something he set up?"

Manager Zhou's tone was calm, but Fang He detected a hint of suspicion and probing.

"Manager, you are wise. I am naturally more sensitive to the flow of spiritual energy than most people, which is perhaps why Master Wu was willing to teach me alchemy. When the energy flows at that point, although it appears smooth, there is an extremely subtle stagnation every thirty breaths. If I hadn't spent a full half hour there yesterday, I would never have noticed it."

Fang He lowered his head, his tone sincere. He attributed this ability to "talent," the most impeccable explanation in the cultivation world.

Manager Zhou put down his teacup and his gaze fell on the marked location on the blueprint.

"A delay of thirty breaths... Fang He, do you know how I, the manager, will punish you if what you say is wrong and it delays Qian Laosi's construction schedule?"

"I understand. But since it concerns the safety of the formation, I would rather accept punishment than conceal anything."

Fang He handed over the jade bottle.

"This is something I collected from the crevices of the nodes. Master Qian once mentioned that if the slime of sea beasts is mixed with spirit ore, it will produce a dark red corrosive force. Although I don't recognize this substance, I find the aura of this sand extremely incongruous."

Steward Zhou took the jade bottle, his fingertips trembling slightly.

The cork was pulled out, and a faint yet viscous, chilling scent spread through the hall. The originally elegant sandalwood incense was instantly dispelled by this sweet, fishy smell, and even the spirit lamp in the side hall flickered slightly.

Manager Zhou's pupils suddenly contracted.

He was not a formation master, but as the Zhou family's steward on the island, he was very familiar with this kind of eerie aura.

He suddenly stood up, his face ashen, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"How dare you!"

He slammed his hand on the table, and the jade cicada made a crisp sound in his palm, almost as if it were about to be crushed.

"Fang He, if you don't speak today, Qing'ao Island might be wiped out from the ground. Are you sure there are only these three places?"

Fang He lowered his head, his tone sincere: "I only have the intuition of a beginner in formations, and I have only discovered these three points so far. For the remaining nodes, perhaps we will need Master Qian to personally lead the team to investigate. I dare not take credit for it; I only hope to do my part for the safety of the island."

Manager Zhou stared intently at Fang He, as if trying to see through this little cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining to see if he had any other thoughts in mind.

The pressure of divine sense brought by the Foundation Establishment stage caused Fang He to break out in a thin layer of sweat on his back.

Fang He's face remained calm. He knew that the more ordinary and innocent he appeared at this moment, the safer he would be.

After a while, Steward Zhou let out a long sigh of relief, his expression softening slightly.

"You were able to detect this item, which is not only luck but also a stroke of luck. That Qian Lao Si... Hmph, the family was indeed too lax in its guard against him. You did very well, extremely well."

Steward Zhou took out a heavy cloth bag from his sleeve and casually tossed it to Fang He.

"Here are ten spirit stones as a reward for your secret report. Remember, not a single word of this matter is to be uttered outside this room. If any word gets out, you will be the first person I hold accountable. Understand?"

"I understand, and I will keep my mouth shut."

Fang He accepted the spirit stone, feeling relieved.

While the amount of money was substantial, the more important factor was his successful guidance to a powerful figure.

In this rigidly class-based world, leveraging external forces is the key to victory.

Five days later, at the Qing'ao Island Pharmacy.

Fang He was directing Su Yun'er to dry a batch of freshly purchased purple heart grass.

"Brother Fang, have you heard?"

Su Yun'er put down the bamboo tray, leaned closer and lowered her voice, "The commotion the enforcement team caused yesterday was quite significant. I heard that even Qian Laosi was taken in for interrogation, and everyone in the market is saying that he was colluding with foreign enemies."

Su Yun'er's pretty face showed a hint of pleasure. In the eyes of this lowly rogue cultivator, it was always a novel thing for the usually arrogant Qian Lao Si to be unlucky.

Fang He crushed a seed, her eyes calm: "That's a matter for the higher-ups. We just need to focus on our business. Yun'er, this purple heart grass needs to be dried at an angle so that its medicinal properties aren't lost."

Just then, a flash of light appeared at the entrance of the pharmacy.

Qian Laosi was still wearing that tattered gray Taoist robe, his body slightly hunched, and his expression blank as he walked past the door.

He walked very slowly, as if he were basking in the sunlight on the street.

Just as he was passing by the pharmacy, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and met Fang He's gaze.

There was no hatred in his eyes as one might expect, nor the panic of a stray dog.

There was only a venomous numbness, and a faint, ambiguous smile.

Fang He's heart sank suddenly, and a chill ran down her spine.

A moment later, a faint transmission talisman rippled through the back room of the pharmacy.

Fang He used the excuse of getting medicine to enter the inner room and tapped his finger.

"Fang He, Qian Laosi has been released. No contraband was found in his residence or on his person. A powerful figure in the Zhou family has vouched for him, saying he was wronged and framed by a jealous villain. This matter ends here; do not mention it again, or even I, the steward, cannot protect you. Remember, keep quiet!"

The communication talisman turned to ashes and dissipated in the dim air.

Fang He stood in the shadows, feeling the hardness of the ten spirit stones in his sleeve.

The spirit stone was not warm at this moment; instead, it exuded a bone-chilling cold.

"A powerful figure vouched for him... a frame-up?"

Fang He gave a self-deprecating twitch at the corner of her mouth.

He could clearly see the evil aura emanating from Qian Laosi, and Steward Zhou could also sense it clearly.

In the power struggles of big shots, evidence is often the least valuable thing.

It turns out that so-called investigations are so vulnerable in the face of interests and power.

The Dark Abyss Pavilion's network is far larger than he could see, and may even have already woven itself into the core of the Zhou family.