How about setting up a Spirit Gathering Array?

Luo Yu was quite pleased with himself. "It seems it's really impressive to have studied cultivation on my own like this!"

Qin Yue poured cold water on his enthusiasm. "Indeed. No matter who comes to choose disciples, they probably wouldn't pick someone with four spiritual roots. That might be why you weren't taken away by anyone."

Luo Yu felt a bit down. "Can you tell someone's spiritual roots at a glance? Why can't I see yours? And I can't sense your cultivation either?"

Qin Yue replied, "You can't sense my cultivation because mine is deeper than yours, and I've hidden it, so you can't detect it. As for spiritual roots... they are concealed within the body and resonate with spiritual energy. Those with low cultivation don't know how to restrain their spiritual light, so when their spiritual energy leaks out, it reflects the attributes of their spiritual roots like a rainbow. The spiritual light around you carries gold, green, red, and indigo—corresponding to metal, wood, fire, and water."

Luo Yu asked, "How do you hide that? And... where do spiritual roots come from? Why do some people have them, and others don't? Why are mine so poor?"

Qin Yue answered, "All I've heard is that spiritual roots reside in the dantian. You can't see or touch them, and no one knows how they actually exist. It's always been a mystery in the cultivation world. Maybe the ancient cultivators knew, but nowadays, no one seeks the answer—after all, who would bother to check what a chicken looks like after eating an egg?"

Luo Yu was frustrated. "Didn't you say my spiritual roots are terrible? I just want to research the origins and see if there's any way to improve them."

Qin Yue fell silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Throughout history, most who reach the Golden Core stage are dual-root or single-root cultivators. The simpler the spiritual roots, the easier the cultivation. Some have no spiritual roots at all; they're called 'spiritual bodies,' born to cultivate, able to absorb spiritual energy naturally without even meditating or breathing exercises. If someone possesses all five elements, they're considered ordinary mortals. For convenience, cultivators say mortals 'have no spiritual roots,' but it's actually the opposite. Those with low cultivation can't study spiritual root matters; those who reach the Nascent Soul stage mostly have single spiritual roots and don't care about the subject anymore. Since it doesn't affect them, they're too lazy to research. If you want the answer, you'll likely have to find it yourself."

Luo Yu blinked, listening for a long time, then suddenly said, "Why do you sound so mystical and archaic sometimes? Your speech is full of old expressions—it's really strange."

Qin Yue glanced at him indifferently. "My father was from the Ming dynasty, and my mother was born in the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing. It's not surprising I have a bit of an accent."

Luo Yu was stunned and pointed at Qin Yue. "Wow! You have ancient blood in you! You're not lying, are you?"

Qin Yue got angry. "Would I lie to you about my own parents?"

Luo Yu scratched his nose awkwardly. "So how old are you? You're only at the ninth level of Qi Refining, so you can't be that old, right? Don't tell me you're already seventy or eighty."

Qin Yue replied gloomily, "Twenty-four."

Luo Yu wanted to ask about his parents, but for some reason, the words didn't come out. In ancient times, people believed 'as long as parents are alive, one should not travel far.' Yet here Qin Yue was, wandering without a permanent home... Maybe it's better not to ask. If he wants to talk about it in the future, he will.

After a moment of silence, Luo Yu suddenly remembered the issue of "spiritual light." "Quick, teach me how to hide my spiritual light!"

Qin Yue glanced at him. "Just gather your spiritual energy in your dantian and use your magic power to isolate it. But even then, those with much higher cultivation can still see through it. Before the Foundation Establishment stage, it's impossible to completely keep spiritual energy within your body—even I still have some leaking out."

Delighted, Luo Yu wrapped his spiritual energy with his magic power. "You're a real friend."

Qin Yue just snorted coldly and said nothing.

After thinking for a while, Luo Yu brought up the gatherings again. "Take me to one of those meetings! They must be fun!"

Qin Yue said, "What for? Your magic power is too weak, and the cultivation world isn't full of good people."

Luo Yu responded, "I don't have anything valuable on me, so I'm not afraid of being robbed... but if someone tries to molest me, that's a real problem... Can't we disguise ourselves?"

Qin Yue looked at him with disdain. "No matter how you disguise yourself, as long as someone's spiritual sense is stronger, your true form will be revealed... By the way, how is your spiritual sense so powerful? Even those born with strong spiritual sense can't reach your level—before even reaching the first level, you can contend with someone at the ninth level. That's practically defying the heavens. Have you eaten anything strange or had any unusual experiences?"

Luo Yu was puzzled. "An unusual experience? I just found some arrays when I entered Water Mirror Immortal's cave... Then, in trying to open them, I accidentally learned how to use my spiritual sense."

Qin Yue clarified, "I'm not asking how you learned to use it, but how your spiritual sense became so strong?"

Luo Yu was confused. "I don't know. I just used it, and it was like that."

He pondered for a while, then suddenly exclaimed, "Lucid dreaming!"

Qin Yue asked, "What?"

Excited, Luo Yu grabbed Qin Yue. "I've been practicing lucid dreaming for four or five years now. I only learned to use my spiritual sense because of that."

Qin Yue asked, "What is lucid dreaming?"

Luo Yu carefully recounted his experience to Qin Yue.

After listening, Qin Yue frowned in thought. "Could it be that lucid dreaming can temper spiritual sense?"

Luo Yu nodded vigorously. "Why don't you try? It's really simple—just stay conscious in your dreams for as long as you can. If your spiritual sense also improves, then that must be the reason."

Qin Yue nodded seriously. "I will try it."

At that moment, the living room door opened and Old Master Luo returned home at his leisure. Seeing Qin Yue, he asked a few questions but didn't make a big fuss.

The family enjoyed a lively dinner together. After putting down his chopsticks, Qin Yue turned to Father Chu and the old master. "Since I'm staying as a guest in your home and Luo Yu and I are both cultivating, I have a small request. I hope you will agree."

The old master laughed heartily. "Once you walk through the door, you're family. Whatever you need, just say it—no need to be polite."

Father Chu said, "As long as you don't make a mess of the house."

Qin Yue said, "I have a family array, the Ninefold Spirit-Gathering Formation. If set up in the courtyard, it can gather the surrounding spiritual energy. Not only will it benefit our cultivation, but it's also good for the plants and for all of you..."

He hadn't finished when Luo Yu jumped up. "You know how to set up arrays? Teach me, teach me!"

Father Chu held his forehead. "Luo Yu! Quiet!"

Rebuked, Luo Yu sat back down obediently, though he still looked eager.

Father Chu gave him a stern look, then asked Qin Yue calmly, "Will this array clash with the style of the courtyard? You know this place is postmodern in design. If you place something obviously classical, it might look out of place. If the styles clash too much, we'll have to cover it with something. Would that affect the array?"

Qin Yue's lips twitched. "It won't affect it at all. You won't be able to see any trace of it."

Father Chu relaxed. "In that case, do as you please." He then continued eating.

After everyone finished, the whole family gathered in the courtyard to watch Qin Yue set up the array.

Qin Yue surveyed the area, chose a spot, and stood there. With a flick of his hand, he produced ten jade tokens, each the size of a mahjong tile—one large, nine small, all shimmering with light, just like the one Luo Yu had seen before, with intricate carvings on them.

Qin Yue tossed the ten tokens into the air. Old Master Luo's heart leaped, afraid they would fall and break before he could even cry out. But nine of the tokens scattered to nine directions, leaving the largest one floating in the center, bright as the stars. The nine tokens revolved slowly in the air, arranging themselves evenly into a circle ten meters in diameter, then stopped, echoing the central token.

Qin Yue then sat cross-legged with palms upward. Within a few breaths, Luo Yu sensed a wave of magic power in the air, shooting straight up and pouring into the central token. The token shone with a silvery light, dazzling yet gentle. As the power increased, the glow intensified until, suddenly, the token burst forth nine beams of white light toward the surrounding tokens. As the beams struck, those tokens also flashed with silver light. Ten tokens shone in the air for a moment, then vanished.

The family snapped out of their amazement, watching as Qin Yue walked over as if nothing had happened, still feeling as though they were in a dream.

Father Chu steadied himself and said, "Quite pretty—like fireworks."

The old master was a bit worried. "With such a small area, can spiritual energy enter the house too?"

Qin Yue nodded. "What you saw was only the center of the array. Its range covers the whole courtyard—maybe even benefits the neighbors."

Luo Yu asked, "Does this array also use spatial laws? Otherwise, why can't we see it anymore?"

Qin Yue shook his head. "Spatial laws are too profound. Nowadays, almost no one understands spatial arrays. This is just a simple spirit-gathering formation with an illusion array added. If you scan with your spiritual sense, you can still detect it."

Luo Yu said, "I encountered a small array in Water Mirror Immortal's cave. When I passed through, I didn't touch the array core. How did that happen?"

Qin Yue scoffed, "Array? There was a large formation there, but it was broken when the spirit stones were exhausted. What remained were only two minor restrictions, not full arrays. A Nascent Soul expert's restrictions don't require an array core to activate. The cave's owner was at the Golden Core stage, so he made two small array centers as auxiliaries. The restriction in the pill room was also damaged by an earthquake, so spiritual energy leaked, but there was still some left. When an ordinary person touched the energy, it would avoid them on its own."

Luo Yu nodded. "So that's what happened. At the time, I was startled, thinking it had vanished completely. By the way, what are spirit stones?"

Qin Yue explained, "Spirit stones are crystals of spiritual energy formed when jade absorbs spiritual power. They're commonly used to power arrays and provide energy. They also serve as currency in the cultivation world, but since they contain impurities, absorbing them directly is harmful to cultivation, so it shouldn't be done too often."

Luo Yu asked, "Can they be used for alchemy?"

Qin Yue replied, "Pure spiritual energy without another medium will disperse when refined in a pill furnace; it can't be used as an ingredient for pills."

Luo Yu said, "So when I saw you at the stone-gambling market today, you were looking for spirit stones?"

Qin Yue said, "Yes."

Luo Yu was curious. "How come I've never heard of such things?"

Qin Yue replied, "Cultivators guard the entrances to all the quarries—how could they let any spirit stones slip out? I was just there to have a look anyway."

Tale of Cultivating with My Best Friend, Chapter 17: Setting Up a Spirit-Gathering Array—Complete!