Great joy often gives way to sorrow.

As the two conversed, they sensed spiritual energy beginning to gather within the courtyard.

Best suddenly darted out from the house, craning its tiny head and glancing about, treading cautiously as if afraid to scare away something unseen. It wandered around the yard, sniffing left and right, but unable to find anything, finally plopped itself down in the center, tilting its head to gaze at the sky with a curious meow.

Watching this, Luo Yu found it amusing. He walked over, lifted Best up, gave it a vigorous rub, then held it out towards Qin Yue, waving its paw: "Come, say hello to Brother Qin Yue!"

Qin Yue examined Best for a moment, took it into his arms, then handed it back to Luo Yu and asked, "What’s its name?"

Luo Yu replied, "Best. Little Best!" As he spoke, he flipped it onto its back, touched its belly beans, and told Qin Yue, "She’s a female."

Qin Yue frowned at his crude gesture. "You’d better stop that habit. Otherwise, in the future..." He trailed off.

Luo Yu asked, "Eh? What about the future?"

Qin Yue said coolly, "Otherwise, someone may come to settle accounts with you."

Luo Yu was stunned. "Eh? Eh! Who would settle accounts with me? You mean Little Best?"

Qin Yue replied coldly, "Have you never examined its internal condition?"

Luo Yu answered blankly, "No, I didn’t dare to use my divine sense recklessly, afraid I might hurt her."

Qin Yue said, "Be careful. See for yourself."

Luo Yu cautiously extended his divine sense into Best’s body, and to his shock, discovered a small cluster of spiritual energy in her belly, already the size of a mung bean!

"Oh!" Luo Yu cried out, "She really has a spiritual root?!"

Qin Yue looked at his astonishment and frowned. "Animals and plants lack the intelligence of humans, but absorbing spiritual energy is their natural instinct. They are born with spiritual roots; as long as the environment is right, they need no cultivation methods, and can attain human form. Once transformed, they become demon cultivators. However, aside from a few ancient divine beasts, most demon cultivators in the legends of the cultivation world have not achieved true immortality. This is the root of discrimination against demon cultivators among human practitioners."

Luo Yu asked, "How do you define ancient divine beasts? My Little Best is descended from the Cat God, is she powerful?"

Qin Yue replied, "True Dragon, Heavenly Phoenix, Golden Crow, Nine Tails—all are ancient divine beasts, now nearly extinct, with only a few descendants bearing divine bloodlines left among mortals. The Feng family in Phoenix Perch Valley possesses the blood of the Heavenly Phoenix, making them a house of true spirits, and also a demon cultivator clan with peacock blood. As for Little Best, I doubt the cultivation world recognizes any Cat God; is she a foreign breed?"

Luo Yu nodded, "She’s from Egypt, said to be a descendant of a red goddess."

Qin Yue said, "The cultivation world has always been xenophobic. The ancients called foreign lands ‘barbarian nations.’ Foreign methods of cultivation differ from those of the homeland, and their cultivation systems are less developed and refined. To the ancient cultivation world, foreign methods were barely worth mentioning. Only after the Qing Dynasty did foreign magicians occasionally dare to travel within China. In recent years, more foreigners have come to the secular world, and cultivators’ attitudes have somewhat softened. But fundamentally, domestic cultivators still look down on foreign practitioners. As for Little Best’s ancestors, possessing multi-faceted powers is hard to gauge—perhaps an ancient divine beast, perhaps just a shapeshifting demon."

Luo Yu asked, "Where did those ancient divine beasts and immortals go?"

Qin Yue replied, "Legend says they fell in ancient times."

Luo Yu wondered, "But aren’t immortals supposed to be ageless and undying? Why did they perish?"

Qin Yue said, "You ask me, who should I ask?"

Luo Yu, disappointed, said, "Alright… Could you teach me some basic spells? Teach me about formations!"

Qin Yue replied coldly, "Do you think formations are so easy to learn? What you saw me do today was merely positioning a ready-made array and infusing it with spiritual power to activate it. Learning formations is even harder than alchemy. Alchemy simply requires strict conditions, but once you reach the Core Formation stage, anyone can refine a few pills for Foundation Establishment. Formations, however, are a discipline; not everyone can master them."

Luo Yu said, "I’ll definitely manage formations, I think they should be similar to programming."

Qin Yue asked, "You can program?"

Luo Yu boasted, "Give me enough time, I could write ‘World of Warcraft’."

Qin Yue said, "I heard developing systems is what’s really impressive."

Luo Yu replied, "No, no, no—once you reach a certain level, everything connects. Whether you’re writing WINDOWS or Warcraft, all you need is time and the right way of thinking. ‘What do you want the program to do?’ That’s the key. With the right mindset and skills, you must also keep up with the times, master the latest programming languages, grasp the essence, apply them flexibly, and keep integrating new knowledge. That’s how you stay at the top."

Qin Yue studied him carefully. "Maybe you could get a book on formations to read."

Luo Yu nodded. "I want to understand the programming language of formations, their assembly methods, and machine language—how they communicate and operate with their carriers."

At this, Qin Yue was at a loss, a bit dizzy. "Try to go to the exchange meeting and have a look. They have books there."

Luo Yu, excited, tried to pat Qin Yue on the shoulder, but found himself too short and had to settle for praising him instead: "Good brother, you’re the best! By the way… Master Shui Jian won’t… have passed away in the cave, right?"

Qin Yue nodded.

Luo Yu felt a chill. "Why didn’t I see him inside? Are there other caves?"

Qin Yue said, "I inherited his belongings, so I should bury his body. Although cultivators care little for their mortal shells, if someone were to discover it and use it as a mummy for display, it would be a disgrace."

Luo Yu thought: This stone-faced guy has at least some conscience… But if I’d stumbled on that corpse myself, I’d have been truly frightened. Good thing he went in first.

He then asked mysteriously, "Hey, did you find anything in the cave? The things on the table and by the bedside?"

Qin Yue hesitated for a moment, then flipped his hand and opened his palm. There lay a tiny sword with no scabbard or guard, its blade like white jade, its hilt emerald green, barely an inch long, far more exquisite than any collectible weapon. Even with divine sense, no flaw could be found. Its material was indiscernible: metallic luster combined with the gentle glow of jade. Luo Yu’s mouth watered as he grabbed Qin Yue’s hand to examine it closely. "Where did you buy this? It’s awesome! I’ll trade you all my collectibles for it!"

Qin Yue withdrew his hand, looking at him as if he were an idiot. "This is what I found in the cave."

Luo Yu was stunned. "Did the owner of the cave also love collectibles? No, where would he buy them?"

Qin Yue grew angry. "This is a magical treasure! Not one of your worthless collectibles!"

Luo Yu was curious. "Magical treasure? What exactly is that? Isn’t your bracelet a magical treasure?"

Qin Yue held back, finally swallowing his annoyance, and replied irritably, "My bracelet is an artifact. This is a magical treasure. The biggest difference is: magical treasures can be stored within the body, linked to the divine sense, driven by spiritual power and divine sense, allowing unity with the owner’s mind. Long-term nurturing in the dantian may even produce a spirit within the artifact, making it a postnatal spiritual entity. Artifacts, however, cannot be stored within the body, only driven by spiritual power, unable to unite with the mind, and cannot develop spiritual consciousness—they’re just dead objects. Mostly used by cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage. After forming a Golden Core, cultivators can use magical treasures. Unless one is unlucky, too poor, or unable to make a living, Golden Core cultivators will strive to acquire at least one magical treasure. Magical treasures are a cultivator’s greatest reliance; with a good one, even a beginner can defeat someone at a later stage if their opponent’s treasure is weak."

Luo Yu was disappointed. "So you can’t use it yet? I wanted to see you wield it."

Qin Yue was also a bit gloomy. "Only artifacts can be used for now."

Luo Yu perked up. "Do you have any artifacts? Show me!"

Qin Yue hesitated repeatedly, but at Luo Yu’s urging, finally produced a powdery pink embroidered handkerchief.

Luo Yu’s eyes widened and he exclaimed, "Why are you using a girl’s handkerchief as an artifact?!"

At the word "girl’s," Qin Yue’s face flushed red and darkened. His tone was stiff. "This was left by my mother… It’s an artifact, usable by both men and women."

Hearing "left by my mother," Luo Yu instantly dared not utter another foolish word, swallowing hard. "It’s beautiful, such fine quality! How is it used?"

Qin Yue said nothing, simply infused spiritual power and hurled the handkerchief into the air. It spun, suddenly expanding to the size of a bedsheet, shimmering with purple threads, exuding a rich fragrance. Qin Yue waved his hand, and the handkerchief transformed into a cloud, scattering and flying to the treetops, sweeping up leaves and branches, then returning to his hand. When he spread it open, the center held a pile of green fragments. Qin Yue gently shook it, and when he looked again, the handkerchief was clean, not a speck of leaf residue.

Luo Yu exclaimed, "Amazing! How did you do that?"

Qin Yue replied calmly, "This handkerchief is called ‘Phantom Cloud,’ personally refined for my mother by my father. Its main ingredients are ‘Essence of Glass Water’ and ‘Ghost Lotus’ silk. Essence of Glass Water is the purest form of water, able to absorb all water in the world. Ghost Lotus is a kind of spirit wood; its sap is sticky and can be drawn into threads. Its fragrance induces hallucinations; ordinary people caught in the illusion believe they’ve encountered a ‘ghost wall,’ hence the name ‘Ghost Lotus.’ ‘Phantom Cloud’ is impervious to fire and water, can bind and shield, and can activate illusion arrays to subdue enemies—a superior artifact for defense and auxiliary offense."

Luo Yu asked, "Can I try it?"

Qin Yue silently handed him the handkerchief. Luo Yu immediately played with it, wrapping tree branches, flowers, and stones. Best chased after it, trying to pounce but failing, growing so frustrated that her meow became clear and distinct.

Just as he was having fun, a furious shout erupted from behind: "What are you doing?!"

The two turned to see Father Chu, face dark as iron, glaring at them. "How do you plan to compensate for my flowers?"

Qin Yue answered calmly, "It wasn’t me. The handkerchief’s in his hands."

Luo Yu protested, "You used it too! Don’t shirk responsibility!"

Father Chu looked at the broken branches and wilted leaves on the ground, trembling with distress. "You two adults are less sensible than Little Best!"

Qin Yue whispered, "You’ll soon see how impressive she is."

Luo Yu pinched his hand hard, signaling him not to say more.

Father Chu turned to Qin Yue. "What did you say?"

Qin Yue resumed his usual indifferent demeanor. "The spiritual energy in the courtyard is abundant. This level of damage won’t affect their roots. They’ll recover quickly."

Father Chu snapped, "Just because it doesn’t hurt the roots, you think you can do as you please? Both of you! Clean up the yard, and you’re responsible for cleaning, watering, and pest control for ten days!"

Cultivation Chronicles of Brotherhood 18_Complete Free Reading of Cultivation Chronicles of Brotherhood_18 The Joyful Easily Turns to Sorrow, Updated!