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

The next morning, Fang He left home early.

He walked along the path at the edge of the spiritual field for a while and saw the simple sheds on the open space outside the Zhou family's residence in the distance.

Colorful banners were planted all around, and the ground was engraved with intricate patterns, with a faint flow of spiritual energy.

Approaching the work shed, Qian Zhenshi was already inside.

The old man in the gray robe squatted on the ground, carving array patterns on the array plate with a carving knife. His expression was focused, and his movements were slow and precise.

He didn't even look up when he heard footsteps.

"You're here?"

"Senior Qian."

Fang He cupped his hands in greeting.

"Come and sit down." Master Qian gestured to the seat beside him. "Today, I'll teach you how to identify materials. The way of formations is ever-changing, but it all boils down to one principle: using specific objects to carry the laws of spiritual energy."

Fang He sat down as instructed, her gaze sweeping over the various materials displayed in the shed.

The shelves are divided into five categories of items.

Flag-shaped cloth pieces, round jade plates, crystal-clear stones, paper talismans as thin as cicada wings, and white powder.

"These are the basic materials for setting up the formation."

Master Qian stood up, pointed to the shelf, and said, "Each one has different characteristics in terms of spiritual energy carrying capacity. Remember them well."

He picked up a small flag, about the size of a palm, which was dark red.

"Array flags are flag-shaped materials used to guide the flow of spiritual energy. Spirit ink is required to inscribe array patterns. An array flag can be reused or used once, depending on the needs of the array."

Fang He nodded and silently memorized the characteristics.

Qian Zhenshi put down the array flags and picked up a round jade plate.

The plate is engraved with fine lines, and there are several grooves where the lines intersect.

"Array plate, the base for supporting array formations. It is engraved with basic array patterns, and different array patterns can be superimposed to form complex array formations. The sizes vary, from as small as the palm of a hand to as large as ten feet square."

He then pointed to the spirit stones neatly arranged on the shelf.

"Spirit stones provide the spiritual energy for the formation to operate, and are divided into low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade. The higher the grade, the purer the spiritual energy, and the better the formation effect. Low-grade spirit stones are the most commonly used, mid-grade are used for important formations, and high-grade..."

He paused for a moment, then said, "High-quality materials are pure and expensive; ordinary formations can't afford them."

Fang He's gaze lingered on the spirit stones for a moment. He had seen many of these before, but this was the first time he had seen them categorized by grade.

The money master picked up a talisman paper as thin as a cicada's wing.

"Spirit Pattern Paper is a paper talisman used to inscribe temporary array patterns. Before setting up an array, a rough sketch is drawn on the Spirit Pattern Paper to deduce the flow of spiritual energy. After confirming that everything is correct, the formal array patterns are then inscribed on the array flags and array plates."

"Finally, there's chalcedony powder."

Qian Zhenshi pointed to the porcelain jar on the top shelf, "It's an auxiliary material for outlining intricate array patterns. It's expensive and not used in ordinary arrays."

After introducing the five materials, Fang He silently reviewed them in his mind.

The array flags guide the spiritual energy, the array plate carries the array, the spirit stones provide power, the spirit pattern paper is used for deduction, and the chalcedony powder outlines the intricate patterns.

He thought for a moment and then said, "Senior Qian, these materials... are somewhat similar to spirit herbs."

Master Qian raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Tell me about it."

"Spiritual herbs carry the essence of spiritual energy, and array materials carry the laws of spiritual energy."

Fang He carefully chose his words, "They all use specific objects to guide the flow of spiritual energy. In essence, they all use 'objects' to control 'energy'."

A hint of surprise flashed in Qian Zhenshi's eyes.

He stared at Fang He for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"Not bad, you do have some understanding."

Fang He remained calm and composed, showing no signs of smugness.

After half a year of alchemy practice, he had already become accustomed to understanding new things through analogy.

Spiritual herbs and array materials may seem unrelated, but they actually share some commonalities.

"Formations and alchemy do indeed have something in common in terms of manipulating spiritual energy."

Master Qian's tone softened somewhat, "However, formations are far more complex than alchemy, involving far more variables. Since you have studied alchemy, you should understand this."

"clear."

Fang He nodded, "The principles are the same: controlling the heat in alchemy and guiding the flow in formations."

Qian Zhenshi remained silent for a moment, then picked up a fragment of a formation plate from the ground.

The fragment is about the size of a palm, made of a material that resembles jade but is not. It has blurry patterns engraved on its surface and obvious cracks along its edges.

"Sense the direction of the array patterns on this."

Fang He took the fragment, closed his eyes, mobilized the spiritual energy within his body, and extended his spiritual consciousness outwards.

He felt as if he were in a fog, with faint light flowing within it.

The light formed invisible channels on the surface of the array plate, guiding spiritual energy from one end to the other through the array patterns.

A moment later, Fang He opened her eyes.

"Spiritual energy flows in from this end, is guided by the array patterns, and flows to the other end... forming a cycle?"

"good."

Master Qian nodded, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes. "Being able to sense this level shows that your spiritual sense is indeed sharp. The most crucial aspect of setting up an array is the accurate perception of the direction of spiritual energy flow, and your talent is truly rare."

Fang He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your guidance, senior."

"That's all for today." Master Qian put away the fragments of the array plate. "Go back and memorize the properties of the materials. Tomorrow I'll teach you how to draw basic array patterns."

"Yes."

Several days later, in the afternoon.

When Fang He returned to the workshop, Qian Zhenshi did not explain the new materials. Instead, he used three low-grade spirit stones to form a simple triangle on the ground.

"This is a simplified version of the Spirit Gathering Array."

He pointed to the pattern on the ground, "There is only one node, no complicated array patterns. The principle is simple: to gather the surrounding spiritual energy for people to use in cultivation or alchemy."

Fang He squatted down and carefully examined the triangle.

The three spirit stones are arranged equilaterally, with a distance of about one foot between them.

"Your task is simple: rearrange these three spirit stones to form a simple spirit-gathering array."

Master Qian said, "Once the formation is successfully activated, you can be considered to have mastered the basics."

Fang He nodded and intently observed the patterns on the ground.

"Don't rush to put it away."

Master Qian advised, "Use your spiritual sense to perceive the distribution of spiritual energy in your surroundings, and find the location with the densest spiritual energy as a node for the best results."

Fang He closed her eyes as instructed and extended her spiritual sense outward.

He sensed the distribution of spiritual energy in the surrounding environment.

In some places, the spiritual energy is abundant, while in others it is thin, like an invisible mist scattered in the air.

After a moment, he opened his eyes.

"Did you feel it?" Master Qian asked.

"Yes. The spiritual energy is unevenly distributed; it's dense in some places and sparse in others."

"good."

Master Qian nodded, "The purpose of the Spirit Gathering Array is to gather spiritual energy. The array works best when the location with the densest spiritual energy is found as a node."

Fang He remained silent for a moment, mentally tracing the flow of spiritual energy.

He found a spot with relatively abundant spiritual energy and gently placed the first spirit stone down.

The spirit stone touched the ground, sank slightly, and embedded itself firmly in the soil.

He closed his eyes, sensed the second point of spiritual energy distribution, and placed the second spirit stone.

After placing the two spirit stones, the formation had not yet been activated.

The pattern was slightly different from the one Qian Zhenshi had arranged before, and Fang He made subtle adjustments based on his own perception.

"The last one is the third one."

He muttered to himself.

The placement of the third spirit stone is crucial, as it determines the direction in which spiritual energy converges. If it's placed off-center, the spiritual energy cannot gather.

Only when it is placed correctly can the formation function successfully.

Fang He closed his eyes and sensed the surrounding spiritual energy once more.

He noticed that the flow of spiritual energy was changing in the area between the two spirit stones.

The originally evenly flowing spiritual energy, guided by the two spirit stones, began to form a vortex-like circulation.

The third spirit stone should be placed in the vortex...

He opened his eyes and placed the third spirit stone in a delicate position.

The three spirit stones were arranged in a triangle, about a foot apart, and their orientation was slightly different from the pattern he had observed before.

"Try infusing it with spiritual energy."

"That's what Qian Zhenshi said."

Fang He nodded, mobilized the spiritual energy within his body, and slowly poured it into the formation.

The spirit stone glowed faintly.

At first there was no movement, but after a moment the soil on the ground began to tremble slightly.

Between the three spirit stones, the sparse spiritual energy began to slowly gather, forming a faint vortex visible to the naked eye.

Although the effect is slight, it is indeed working.

A smile appeared on Fang He's face.

"It's done." Master Qian walked over and carefully observed the formation. "The position is good; the spiritual energy gathers in the center without leaking out. To succeed on the first try shows that your perception of spiritual energy is indeed very sharp."

Fang He cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your guidance, senior. I still have much to learn."

"Understanding is one aspect, but more importantly, it's about being willing to put in the effort."

Master Qian waved his hand, "I've seen all your hard work these past few days. Keep it up. The art of formations is profound and complex; how far you can go depends on yourself."

Fang He nodded without saying anything more.

He crouched down, preparing to tidy up the materials.

There were remnants of three spirit stones on the ground, as well as several fragments of discarded array plates damaged during previous practice.

Master Qian waved his hand, indicating that Fang He didn't need to clean up, and turned back to the workshop to continue carving array patterns.

Fang He bent down to pick up the discarded fragments from the ground, preparing to throw them into the waste bin next to him.

The moment his hand touched one of the fragments of the abandoned array plate, a familiar interface suddenly appeared in his mind.

[Retrievable historical traces detected]

[Item: Fragment of an abandoned array plate]

[Historical Imprint: Introductory Reflections on Formation Techniques (Gray)]

【Whether to extract? 】

Fang He remained expressionless.

He looked around and confirmed that Master Qian was not paying attention to them from inside the shed. Then a thought struck him.

"extract."

Extraction successful

[Acquired entry: Insights into Formations (Gray)]

[Affix Effect: Understanding of formations +10%]

A familiar warmth spread from her fingertips, and Fang He felt that something in her mind had become clearer.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but he vaguely felt that he would find it easier to understand formation information in the future.

He tossed the discarded fragments into the waste bin and stood up as if nothing had happened.

In the evening, Fang He returned to the pharmacy.

Su Yun'er was arranging medicinal herbs when she saw him return and asked softly, "How did your studies go today?"

"A formation has been successfully set up."

Fang He nodded. "You've mastered it."

Su Yun'er hummed in agreement, without asking any further questions. She was never one for words, but there seemed to be a hint of relief in her eyes.

Fang He walked to the window and looked at the darkening sky outside.

The first formation was a success.

Although it's just a simplified version of the spirit-gathering array, and its effect of gathering spiritual energy is so weak as to be almost negligible, it's a good start.

He recalled Master Qian's words: "The way of formations is profound and extensive."

However, he believes that as long as he puts in the effort, he will eventually learn it.