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

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Fang He's days were regular and fulfilling.

During the day, he refined elixirs and ran a medicine shop; in the evening, he handled miscellaneous tasks; and at night, he went to the Zhou family's workshop to learn formation techniques.

This schedule remains unchanged.

Early morning, in the backyard of the pharmacy.

Su Yun'er was sorting the medicinal herbs, her movements much more skillful than two months ago.

She sorted the medicinal herbs into different porcelain jars according to their type, her movements swift and efficient, without any hesitation.

Fang He walked out of the alchemy room, looked around for a moment, and nodded slightly.

This girl learns things really quickly.

Two months ago, he needed to guide them step by step, but now he can independently complete simple sorting and store management tasks.

"We have guests coming today, remember not to quote too low a price."

Fang He offered a reminder.

Su Yun'er hummed in agreement, saying nothing more. She was never one for words, but she was never ambiguous about what she gave.

Fang He entered the alchemy room, preparing to start refining pills.

Spiritual fire rose within the alchemy furnace.

[Micro-control of Dan Fire] is in effect, ensuring consistent and stable fire control.

Fang He closed his eyes and sensed, immersing his spiritual awareness into the alchemy furnace to capture the subtle changes in spiritual energy and medicinal properties.

The medicinal liquid in the furnace gradually condensed, and a faint spiritual light appeared and disappeared.

This is the fourth step in refining the Spirit Gathering Pill: pill formation.

The slightest deviation in the heat would ruin everything, but Fang He had done it hundreds of times and his skills were already superb.

About half an hour later, the spiritual fire went out.

Fang He lifted the furnace lid, and seven round Spirit Gathering Pills lay quietly inside, all of medium to high quality.

【Micro-control of Fire】Combined with long-term accumulated experience, the success rate of refining is consistently above 90%.

He put the pills into a porcelain bottle, silently calculating his earnings for the next two months.

The pharmacy's business grew steadily, and after two months, it had netted about twenty spirit stones.

With the savings he had accumulated, he now had nearly a hundred spirit stones on hand.

There were no additional expenses during the formation training, as all materials were provided by the Zhou family. This saved them some money.

With a stable income, his alchemy skills steadily improved.

Fang He was fairly satisfied with this situation.

In the afternoon, a customer came to the pharmacy.

"Brother Fang, are you there?"

Fang He looked up and saw that it was Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming was in his early thirties, with a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation level. He was a member of a collateral branch of the Zhou family and was responsible for patrolling the spirit fields on weekdays. Occasionally, he would come to the pharmacy to buy some pills.

"Brother Zhou," Fang He greeted him.

Zhou Ming glanced at the pills on the counter and nodded: "Gathering Spirit Pills, three please."

Fang He picked up the medicine, quoted a price, and received payment; the transaction was completed quickly.

Zhou Ming didn't leave immediately. Leaning against the counter, he casually asked, "How's business lately?"

"It's alright, just enough to make ends meet." Fang He carefully put away the spirit stones. "Brother Zhou seems to be quite busy lately."

"That's right."

Zhou Ming sighed and lowered his voice, "Recently, sea monsters have been very active, and the higher-ups have ordered us to increase patrols. We were already short-handed, and now we're even busier than usual."

Fang He remained calm and pressed further, "The sea monsters are behaving strangely? Is it serious?"

"Things aren't peaceful in the deep sea."

Zhou Ming shook his head. "I heard that the Zhou family is strengthening its defenses and setting up formations everywhere, and they are short-handed. I also heard that they are recruiting rogue cultivators to help, and the pay is not low."

Fang He silently memorized this information.

Zhou Ming picked up the pills, cupped his hands in farewell, and said, "Alright, I won't disturb your business anymore. I'll come to you again if I need any help."

"Take care, Brother Zhou."

After Zhou Ming left, the pharmacy returned to normal.

Su Yun'er continued arranging the medicinal herbs, while Fang He stood behind the counter, pondering the news she had just heard.

Sea monster activity is frequent... the Zhou family's defenses are strained... they need to recruit rogue cultivators for help...

These pieces of information swirled in his mind, gradually sketching out a vague clue.

Night falls at Zhou's work shed.

Fang He pushed open the wooden door of the shed, and a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy rushed towards him.

Inside the workshop, Qian Zhenshi sat cross-legged, with a complex array plate in front of him.

The array plate was engraved with dense array patterns, crisscrossing and more complex than any he had seen before.

"You're here?" Master Qian glanced at him.

"Senior Qian."

Fang He cupped his hands in greeting.

"Sit down." Master Qian gestured to the person opposite him. "Today I will teach you how to combine formations."

Fang He sat down as instructed, her gaze falling on the array plate in front of her.

"The way of formations progresses from simple to complex."

Master Qian began, "The Spirit Gathering Array you learned before was a single array, with a simple structure and only one function. But real arrays are often much more complex, requiring multiple arrays to work together."

He reached out and drew a line on the ground, and two simplified versions of the spirit-gathering array appeared on the soil.

"These are two separate spirit-gathering arrays."

The array master pointed to the diagram, "When operating individually, each element gathers its own spiritual energy. The purpose of a combined array is to make them coordinate and cooperate to form a more powerful spiritual energy gathering effect."

Fang He focused intently on observing the flow of spiritual energy between the two patterns.

He discovered that the two formations were not entirely unrelated.

At the point where spiritual energy converges, they influence each other, either enhancing or neutralizing each other.

"The key is the connection point," Fang He said.

A hint of approval flashed in Master Qian's eyes: "Not bad. You figured it out?"

"The flow of spiritual energy at the junction is the most complex."

Fang He pondered for a moment, "This is somewhat similar to controlling multiple spiritual flames when refining pills..."

Master Qian raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue.

"To control multiple spirit flames, they must coordinate and cooperate to prevent them from interfering with each other."

Fang He carefully considered his words, "The same principle should apply to the combination of formations."

Find the point where the flow of spiritual energy aligns, allowing the two energies to enhance each other rather than cancel each other out.

Qian Zhenshi remained silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"comprehend by analogy."

He nodded. "Your foundation in alchemy has not been wasted."

Fang He remained calm and showed no smugness.

"Give it a try."

Master Qian pushed the materials for two simplified versions of the Spirit Gathering Array in front of Fang He, saying, "Combined arrays are useless if you only talk about them and don't practice them."

Fang He nodded, picked up the materials, and began to set up.

He needs to set up two sets of spirit-gathering arrays, each consisting of three spirit stones, and then coordinate them.

Fang He closed his eyes to sense the distribution of spiritual energy around him and placed the three spirit stones of the first spirit-gathering array in place.

The spirit stone glowed faintly, and spiritual energy began to gather.

Next comes the crucial part: the positions of the second group.

It must resonate with the first group, allowing the two streams of spiritual energy to guide each other rather than cancel each other out.

He opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the edge of the first array.

This is the location where the flow of spiritual energy is most active.

Fang He mobilized the spiritual energy within his body, sensing the subtle changes in the flow of spiritual energy.

Found it. The spiritual energy shifts here, flowing in a specific direction. If we place the second set of formations there…

When controlling the spiritual fire, he needs to sense the flow, direction, and intensity of the flame. The same principle applies to sensing the direction of spiritual energy flow.

Fang He placed the spirit stones of the second set of spirit-gathering array one by one, adjusted their positions, and made the two streams of spiritual energy resonate with each other.

"Try infusing it with spiritual energy."

Qian Zhenshi reminded him.

Fang He nodded, mobilized the spiritual energy within his body, and simultaneously injected it into both sets of formations.

The spirit stones glowed simultaneously.

At first, the spiritual energy was somewhat disordered.

The two streams of spiritual energy collided at the point of convergence, forming a small vortex of spiritual energy, but it could not operate stably.

Fang He frowned and readjusted the position of the spirit stones.

He felt something in his mind become clear.

The problem lies in the spacing between the spirit stones. If the spacing is too large, the spiritual energy cannot flow smoothly; if the spacing is too small, the two streams of spiritual energy will interfere with each other.

He brought the two spirit stones slightly closer together.

After a short while, the flow of spiritual energy stabilized. The two spirit-gathering arrays began to coordinate and work together, significantly enhancing the effect of gathering spiritual energy.

Although it is far less powerful than a formal formation, it is more than twice as good as operating alone.

"It's done."

Master Qian walked over and observed for a moment. "The first attempt was able to get the two formations to coordinate and cooperate, which is faster than I expected."

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

"Comprehension is one aspect," Master Qian waved his hand, "but more importantly, you're willing to put in the effort. You've come every night without fail these past few days; that's rare."

"The younger generation still has a lot to learn."

"Keep it up."

Master Qian retrieved the array plate. "After some time, you can participate in actual array setup. Real combat is different from practice; you'll learn much more there."

A glint of light flashed in Fang He's eyes, and he bowed in agreement.

It was already late at night when we left the work shed.

Fang He walked along the path toward the pharmacy, replaying the array formation lesson from tonight in his mind.

He learned the basics of combination formations more smoothly than he had imagined.

He recalled what Zhou Ming had said that afternoon.

Sea monsters are frequently active, and the Zhou family has strengthened its defenses. However, they are short-handed and are recruiting independent cultivators to help.

As Qian Zhenshi said, after a while, we can participate in the actual formation setup.

Two pieces of information converged in my mind.

Marine mammals are frequently active...

We don't have enough manpower...

Practical deployment...

Fang He vaguely sensed that there was an opportunity hidden in this.

Practical array formation setup can be both a learning experience and a way to earn spirit stones.

Practical experience is far more effective at improving skills than theoretical knowledge.

However, he suppressed the restlessness in his heart.

If the time is not right, acting rashly is more likely to cause problems.

First, master the combination formations thoroughly, and then we'll talk about it when Master Qian brings it up.