Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

Applause rang out in the valley.

Mu Qingming stepped forward and stopped three steps away.

"We bombarded it with brute force for so many days, and almost caused a major disaster."

Mu Qingming sighed, "Thanks to Team Star for reminding me."

He glanced at the squad leaders around him.

Some of those people lowered their heads, while others looked away.

Finally, Mu Qingming's gaze returned to Ning Che, and he smiled: "Since Team Star is so capable, I'll leave the task of breaking the formation to you. How about it?"

Breaking through the formation is a classic example of something where success offers little benefit, while failure results in losses. Naturally, it's a hot potato, yet Mu Qingming feigned concern by saying it wasn't.

Ning Che met Mu Qingming's gaze, but decisively said, "If Vice Commander Mu values ​​me, I will not refuse."

Mu Qingming nodded: "Excellent courage."

"However, I am but a lowly person with little influence and shallow cultivation. If I wish to do this, I must ask Commander Mu to grant me one request."

"Oh? What is it?"

"To break the sealing formation, the worst thing is to have inconsistent commands. I need command authority; if even one person here disobeys my orders and acts on their own, I'm afraid I cannot accomplish this."

Mu Qingming was also taken aback.

Ning Che has thrown a hot potato back at us.

Just then, a member of the "Mu" team stepped out from the crowd: "Team Leader Xing, you're only an eighth-rank official, and you expect us to obey you completely?"

Ning Che ignored him and turned his face back to Mu Qingming: "Vice Commander Mu just said that those who are capable should be given priority. I wonder if I could have a chance to demonstrate my abilities now?"

The man in the team opened his mouth slightly.

He wanted to argue, but Mu Qingming himself had said those words. He couldn't very well say in front of so many people, "Vice Commander, you're wrong."

His face turned a deep purplish-red, and he retreated back into the crowd without uttering a sound. A few people nearby shifted their feet, creating some distance between them.

It was quiet for a few moments.

Mu Qingming smiled again. He reached out and took off a token from his waist—forged from black iron, with the words "Qingming" engraved on the front—and handed it to Ning Che.

"Seeing this decree is like seeing me. You will represent me in overseeing all affairs here; you shall be called Commander Xing." Mu Qingming took half a step back, bowed slightly, and gestured for him to enter.

General Leader.

Not a squad leader, but a general leader.

A single word can make all the difference in power.

Ning Che showed no joy. He didn't look at Mu Qingming, but turned and walked towards Hu Dayong, who was slumped on the ground.

"You. Come here."

Hu Dayong was trembling with fear, and could barely speak: "Commander... Commander Xing."

"Does the bet we made earlier still stand?" Ning Che looked down at him.

Hu Dayong glanced at Mu Qingming, then looked away, unable to utter a single word.

"If you don't dare gamble with your life, then come and be my assistant."

Ning Che pointed to an open space behind him and said, "Haven't you studied formations for over a decade, and drawn more formation diagrams than I've ever walked a road?"

"Perfect timing, I need someone to keep records."

Upon hearing this, Hu Dayong's face twitched violently.

He turned his head sharply and desperately tried to wink at Mu Qingming, who was not far away.

Mu Qingming simply put his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky, and ignored him.

Hu Dayong slowly lowered his head, his Adam's apple bobbing for a long time before he finally squeezed out a single word through his teeth.

"Yes."

"Go and wait by that rock."

Ning Che casually pointed to a flat, large stone on the ground. "Prepare paper and pen, don't delay things."

Hu Dayong scrambled to the rock, borrowed a cloth bag from someone, and rummaged through it to find paper, pens, and ink.

When he opened the ink cartridge, his hands trembled so badly that black ink splattered everywhere.

Ning Che didn't even lift his eyelids.

He raised the token, still warm from the deputy commander's body, and faced the entire audience.

"Everyone, listen to my command!"

"First, cease all magical attacks."

"From now on, anyone who dares to pour even a trace of magic into the pit will be dealt with according to military law."

"Second, everyone will be divided into four teams, representing the four directions of Qian, Kun, Gen, and Dui, to clear the topsoil three feet around the base of the formation."

He paused, then continued, "No magic allowed! Use a shovel, dig inch by inch! I need to see the complete array base runes!"

Why make a group of cultivators, at least at the seventh rank, do the kind of work that ordinary mortals do, digging in the ground?

That kid is really daring!

"third."

Ning Che glanced at Hu Dayong, who was sprawled on the ground. "You, mark the landing points of the pebbles I just flicked out."

"A radius of one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) was marked with lines and ropes to demarcate a restricted area."

"Anyone who dares to take a single step inside shall die."

Hu Dayong jolted awake, ignoring his weak legs, grabbed his pen and scrambled over, nodding repeatedly, not daring to look Ning Che in the eye again.

Three orders were issued.

But no one moved.

The mountain guards under Mu's command all stood still in place.

They looked at each other, their faces tense, their eyes unfriendly, as if they wanted to passively resist.

"Not moving?"

His gaze fell on the square-faced squad leader who had just talked back.

"You, take your men to the Qian position."

The captain suddenly stiffened his neck, his gaze passing over Ning Che and fixed on Mu Qingming not far away, seeking instructions.

Mu Qingming remained with his hands behind his back, intently staring at the bottom of the pit.

Sensing his subordinate's gaze, he didn't even lift his eyelids, but merely nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly.

The square-faced captain's cheeks suddenly bulged.

He waved his hand abruptly, the sound squeezed out between his teeth.

"Walk!"

He led seven or eight men, all heads bowed, toward the Qian position.

With someone taking the lead, the rest stopped resisting.

Ning Che then called on another team leader: "You, Kun position."

Without saying much, the man accepted the order and left.

Before Ning Che could speak again, the remaining people split into two groups, one going to the Gen position and the other to the Dui position.

An eerie silence fell over the excavation site.

The magical bombardment and shouts ceased.

The only sounds in the entire deep pit of Xishan were the "thump-thump" of shovels hitting the ground and the "crash" of rubble rolling down.

A group of cultivators with considerable skill were squatting on the ground, each holding a small shovel, reluctantly digging in the soil.

A hot-tempered man in the Gen position shoveled the spade twice, but found it too slow. He then swung his arm around the spade, intending to channel his magic power into it.

The person next to him reacted quickly, grabbing his arm and yelling in a low voice, "Are you fucking asking for a beating?"

"Who doesn't recognize the phrase 'military court-martial'?"

The man deflated, put down his hand, but then shoveled the soil with more force.

Ning Che never looked back, but kept his eyes fixed on the changes at the bottom of the pit.

"Hu Dayong, write this down."

Hu Dayong quickly picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and pricked up his ears.

Ning Che said, "Three inches above the ground in the Qian position, a blue stone was found."

"The earth is five inches above the Kun position, and red soil is visible."

He paused briefly, then raised his voice and said, "Stop at the Qian position, continue at the Kun position."

"Accelerate the movements in the Gen and Dui positions, but do not use magical powers!"

The crowd obeyed the order, and the sound of shoveling soil immediately became more frequent.

When they dug to a depth of about seven inches in the Kun position, the team leader in charge of that area suddenly straightened up, forgetting all about saving face, and excitedly shouted upwards:

"Boss! We've found something!"