Chapter 26: Finally Home

Author’s Note: Bug fix.

In her dream, Qin Yue felt a heavy weight pressing down on her body, and then she was jolted awake by someone lying atop her. She half sat up, frowning at the person curled up on top of her, and complained, “Hey, why are you sleeping on me again?”

Luo Yu, still half asleep, mumbled, “Your stomach… is really soft.”

Qin Yue was exasperated. This guy was an incredibly restless sleeper—he’d lie down lengthwise at night and somehow wake up sprawled across her by morning. Sighing in defeat, Qin Yue lay back down. She knew she shouldn’t let this kid do whatever he wanted—she wasn’t a pillow, after all. She thought about all sorts of ways to get Luo Yu off her—pushing, kicking, dragging—but in the end, she did none of them, simply enduring the weight on her stomach.

In truth, the feeling of bodily contact wasn’t unpleasant—Qin Yue found herself thinking this as well.

When daylight finally flooded the tent, the two of them got up.

“So it’s really that comfortable, sleeping on someone else’s belly,” Luo Yu said, relishing the memory.

Qin Yue’s expression was frosty. “Tonight, your stomach’s my pillow.”

Luo Yu grinned sheepishly. “This topic is too childish—let’s get moving, let’s go explore!”

With a cold snort, Qin Yue turned to pack up the tent.

The two of them wandered around the small basin at a leisurely pace for several days, exploring every corner. The scenery was beautiful, the water clear, and it all felt like a holiday. They gathered plenty of medicinal herbs before finally heading toward the center of the basin. This approach was one they’d agreed upon after much discussion—they reasoned that if there was any danger, it would most likely be at the heart of the basin. By taking a spiral route, they could familiarize themselves with the surrounding terrain, scout out escape routes, and in the meantime, gather all the spiritual herbs and flowers they could find. That way, even if they ended up fleeing from some terrifying creature, at least they wouldn’t leave empty-handed.

When they reached the center, they found nothing but a massive formation core—no other ruins, no beasts, nothing. The core hovered in midair above a white stone plaza that spanned at least twenty thousand square meters, an awe-inspiring sight. In the center stood a giant “altar,” carved with strange, primitive patterns that looked as if giants had chiseled them with stone tools. The core floated above this altar, like a huge glowing crystal globe, its surface covered with ever-shifting gold runes that neither of them could decipher.

Luo Yu gazed up at the core until his neck nearly gave out. At last, he rubbed his neck and exclaimed, “What a beautiful giant generator!”

Then he turned to Qin Yue and asked, “I couldn’t find the core node—how do you break a formation like this?”

Qin Yue’s expression was blank. “I don’t know.”

Luo Yu mused aloud, “This is impressive. They didn’t even bother to hide the formation core. It’s like they’re openly mocking our skills.”

Qin Yue said, “This ancient formation is actually quite small, covering only a few thousand square kilometers. I’ve heard the formation cluster in the Taklamakan Desert is much bigger, covering three hundred thousand square kilometers. There’s a sect in that formation, some scattered cultivators living there too. Even when the market isn’t open, there are always practitioners trading things, coming and going. But no one has ever fully deciphered the formations.”

Luo Yu was on the verge of tears. “Even that place’s been claimed as territory? The ancient cultivators have been lying to me for eighteen years… Oh, right, get my phone out, take some pictures for me as a memento.”

Qin Yue, resigned, took out the phone and snapped a few pictures for him, then was forced to pose for some herself. Finding nothing more of interest, they headed back.

The return trip was much faster; within a few hours, they were back at the ginseng valley.

They made one more stop at their “humble abode” to report the situation to Gong Jin Qian, and then set out for home.

Upon returning, Luo Yu and Qin Yue greeted Father Chu and Grandpa, then Luo Yu whipped out his phone to show off the photos. Afterward, the family closed the courtyard gate and gathered in the upstairs living room to tally their “spoils.”

Luo Yu presented the few stalks of crystal orchid to Father Chu, who was instantly delighted. Then he arranged all the spiritual flowers and herbs on a platter, and the family discussed the age and classification of each one. Luo Yu dutifully recorded their conclusions in a small notebook.

The final analysis: among the spiritual plants, dozens were estimated to be under a hundred years old—this based on their appearance, referencing botanical texts for expected lifespans, and taking into account the unique ecological environment inside the formation, which might have altered many things. The most reliable method was to compare the spiritual energy concentration in the ginseng with that in the other plants.

Aside from those less than a century old, there were several under five hundred years, and most precious of all was a specimen that hardly seemed to belong to the plant kingdom. It looked like a member of the lily family: a thick, single stalk, the base wrapped in a few curled, delicate leaves. The flower wasn’t tubular like a narcissus or garlic, but petal-shaped like a lotus, though the center lacked the typical lotus pod, instead featuring a tiny green sphere nestled among the stamens. Beneath the bloom were a few scale-like sepals. But what was truly extraordinary was that it had no roots! The entire plant was crystal clear, its stem translucent, so you could plainly see a few strands of green, unknown substance flowing within, swirling like ink dropped in water—ever-changing, yet never dispersing. The whole thing glowed with a faint spiritual light, utterly captivating.

Everyone gathered around to discuss it at length, but no one could guess its age. Father Chu adored it and asked where Luo Yu and Qin Yue had found it. Luo Yu recounted the discovery.

They’d found it not far from the formation core, in a hidden fissure in the valley. If it hadn’t been for Luo Yu impulsively chasing a three-tailed beast, they never would have found it. When they arrived, the plant was quietly floating above a moss-covered, jagged rock. Sunlight filtered through the crack above, spotlighting it like a star on stage, shrouding it in mystery.

They pounced like hungry wolves and claimed it without hesitation—no digging required; it was as if it was waiting for them to take it.

Only after collecting it did they realize the rock below was actually a block of green jade. Luo Yu was puzzled—how could a plant grow on jade? And it was covered in moss, too.

He tried to pry off a piece of jade for study but couldn’t budge it, as if some protective force was at work. Helpless, he scraped off a bit of the moss—hopefully with some jade dust mixed in—to analyze later. If the jade turned out to be valuable, he’d return for it when he had the means.

Father Chu was delighted with the plant. After hearing the story, he said, “So it grew on jade? With no roots, and undamaged—maybe it can be kept as a potted flower.”

Luo Yu and Qin Yue immediately understood: Father Chu had his eye on this spiritual flower.

Seeing their reaction, Father Chu added, “You don’t know what kind of flower it is or what it does, so why not wait until we find out before deciding what to do with it? Let’s try raising it on a piece of jade first.”

The two were dismayed: they hadn’t been robbed by other cultivators, but by their own family.

Grandpa chimed in gleefully, “I have a jade mountain ornament in my room—perfect for raising this flower. Why not just keep it in my room?”

Father Chu was stunned; he’d wanted to say he had a fist-sized piece of Hotan jade, but his father beat him to it.

Grandpa laughed to himself—age and cunning beat youth every time! He hurried off, returning with the jade mountain and setting it on the carpet. “Come on, try it here.”

Qin Yue and Luo Yu, resigned, handed over the flower, using a bit of spiritual energy to gently set it on the jade mountain. They carefully relaxed their energy—huh? Why was it crooked?

“It won’t stay!” Luo Yu said. “The moment I let go, it falls. It’ll definitely topple off.”

Father Chu said, “That doesn’t make sense! There was no problem when you took it—why can’t you put it back now?”

Luo Yu thought for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, “Wait, I just remembered!” He reached for his neck and pulled out a jade box. Inside was a small clump of moss, speckled with bits of soil.

Father Chu asked, “What’s that?”

Luo Yu replied, “It’s from the jade rock—I scraped it off. Let’s try putting the flower on this, see if it works.”

Father Chu said, “But there’s so little! And isn’t it just moss?”

Luo Yu answered, “There might be jade dust mixed in. It’s just an experiment—to see if the flower reacts. If it does, I’ll work harder to bring back more next time. I wanted to take more, but it was impossible. There must be some spell protecting it.”

Father Chu nodded for him to try.

Luo Yu moved the flower onto the moss and—“Hey! It worked! It’s standing upright now!”

Father Chu said, “If that tiny bit is enough, it must work—but we’ll need more, otherwise the flower won’t thrive.”

Qin Yue added drily, “Let’s find a flowerpot first. It looks terrible in a box or on a jade mountain.”

Grandpa scowled in annoyance.

At Qin Yue’s words, Father Chu hurried off and found a white porcelain bowl. He had Luo Yu lift the flower, shook the moss into the bowl, then set the flower on top. Satisfied at last, he said, “Just needs a bit more soil.” Then, as if nothing was amiss, he carried the flower off to his bedroom.

Luo Yu thought for a while, then said to Qin Yue, “There’s a spell on that jade—this flower is probably something planted by an ancient cultivator. If it could grow well in soil, why keep it on jade? I didn’t notice anything special about the jade itself.”

Qin Yue considered this. “Maybe the jade doesn’t mean anything—it was just a pedestal, and originally something else was placed atop it. Over time, the jade pedestal weathered, and what we saw was the result.”

Luo Yu speculated, “That could be. Maybe there was once a flowerpot on it? The pot broke, the soil spilled onto the jade, moss grew… So the flower could actually be potted in soil?”

Qin Yue replied, “Let’s try and see.”

The two called Father Chu to bring the flower out. In the yard, they scooped up some soil and sprinkled a pinch into the bowl to see if the flower would topple.

The flower showed no reaction, but strangely, the sprinkled soil… vanished! Luo Yu, puzzled, added more and probed with his spiritual sense. This time it was even weirder: the soil was being devoured by the mossy bits! After absorbing the soil, the moss increased, faintly glowing with a dark luster—what was this stuff!?

He was about to ask Qin Yue, but Qin Yue had already exclaimed in astonishment, “Xirang!”

Everyone in the house was stunned. Xirang—the legendary divine earth! Inexhaustible, eternally replenishing, nourishing all things, coveted even by immortals—yet they’d stumbled on it by accident!

Qin Yue quickly regained composure. “This soil was probably stored by an ancient cultivator to raise flowers. The jade and the spell were there to protect them. Over the ages, dust accumulated on the spell barrier, so the xirang grew and eventually spilled out, letting you bring some back.”

Luo Yu was suddenly excited. “This flower looks a lot like a lotus—could it be the legendary Primal Green Lotus?”

Qin Yue rapped him on the head. “You’ve read too many web novels. Primal Green Lotus doesn’t exist.”

Luo Yu was disappointed. “Still, anything that can be raised on xirang must be extraordinary.”

Qin Yue said, “In ancient times, xirang wasn’t all that rare. It only became scarce in the later cultivation eras. The Heavenly Emperor was said to have used it to grow spiritual flowers, and many powerful cultivators managed to collect some. But now, all those people are gone, and the treasures they left behind are mostly hidden behind layers of formations—present-day cultivators can’t get to them. As for xirang, perhaps only the Kunlun Nine Heavens Palace still has any in their collection. We can’t say what this flower does yet, but if it was worth planting in antiquity, it must have some unique qualities. We’ll study it in time.”

With that, the discussion ended. Father Chu happily carried the porcelain bowl down to the courtyard and kept adding soil until it was full. Afterward, it was decided that the flower would alternate between Father Chu’s and Grandpa’s rooms, a fair arrangement.

Meanwhile, Luo Yu and Qin Yue began making preparations for their next step: visiting the cultivator’s marketplace to broaden their horizons.

Cultivation Buddies, Chapter 26—Finally Home, complete!