Chapter Fifty-Five: Building a Home

On the following day, the group of young people gathered within the formation at the foot of the mountain. Shen Duoduo and Wu Bini had both been at the fourth level of Qi Refining for some time now, but the two girls spent most of their days plotting new games to play, leaving Wu Shaoyuan to cultivate alone in the formation more often than not.

Shen Duoduo, with her dual gold and wood spirit roots, progressed slightly faster than Wu Bini. Today, Liu Junhuai had prepared a Restorative Pill for her, intending to help her advance to the fifth level of Qi Refining. The hope was that once one of the girls advanced, it would spur the other to practice more diligently, for the two of them were always keen to outshine each other—a bit of friendly rivalry that often proved effective.

Last night, Liu Junhuai had dragged Mo Sitong into the artifact workshop, where they had spent the entire night, pushing her to successfully pass the first-level artifact master’s exam. Together, they crafted two small, double-story pavilions. These residential artifacts could be made with the most basic artifact refining techniques, requiring only the assembly of large components into the general shape.

Mo Sitong was now with them as well. After a period of getting acquainted with the two girls, she had already blended in nicely. Of course, Liu Junhuai had not yet publicly announced his relationship with her—these things required time.

Having another girl around was always helpful, and with Mo Sitong—a cultivator in the mid Foundation Establishment stage—taking meticulous care of her, Shen Duoduo smoothly broke through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Meanwhile, Liu Junhuai and Wu Shaoyuan spent the morning discussing the arrangement of two auxiliary formations, and by midday, Wu Shaoyuan could already lay them out skillfully.

Liu Junhuai had yet to reveal the existence of the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion, as it currently allowed only one person to enter at a time. Letting the girls compete over entry would not be wise.

Upon entering the Mountain and River Gourd once more, Liu Junhuai with a wave of his hand placed the two pavilions within the chaotic space, which was now gradually becoming more lively. With everyone’s efforts, two small courtyards were arranged around the pavilions. They planted various flowers, grasses, even miniature rockeries and ponds, both inside and outside the courtyards.

Liu Junhuai sent the three young women to the marketplace to purchase as many small animals as possible, while he and Wu Shaoyuan set up a Spirit Guiding Formation by the lakeside. The purpose of the Spirit Guiding Formation was to channel the spiritual energy lingering above the lake into the area surrounding the newly built courtyards.

A restrictive barrier had already been set up around the courtyards, and the introduced spiritual energy would provide continuous power to the formation. Of course, this was only a temporary solution—spiritual liquid was far too precious to be wasted in this way. Only after acquiring a spiritual vein in the future could it be replaced. Fortunately, the quantity of spiritual liquid was sufficient for now, and supplying this small area would not result in significant waste.

The real challenge in setting up the Spirit Guiding Formation lay in the intricate process of drawing various talismanic seals and embedding formation flags, all without disrupting any of the circuits. It required patience and precise deduction.

As a third-level formation master, Liu Junhuai found himself somewhat stretched, but the formation disk he had obtained at Qingyun Bluff proved invaluable. The Positive and Negative Four Symbols Array within it fit the design principles of the Spirit Guiding Formation perfectly; he only needed to add a few seals to the formation flags.

However, the quantity and quality of the flags were not yet optimal, so in the coming days, Liu Junhuai planned to refine better ones for replacement.

With the basic Spirit Guiding Formation in place, Liu Junhuai performed a series of hand seals, and faint thunder rumbled in the air as the pale blue spiritual energy above the lake began to stir. The fluctuations grew stronger, and the spiritual energy swiftly funneled into channels drawn by the formation, accelerating as it found its exit.

In little more than the time it took for half a stick of incense to burn, the two small courtyards were shrouded by a translucent arc of light—the air within tinged a faint blue, signaling the successful activation of the Spirit Guiding Formation.

Now, the air inside the courtyards was as saturated with spiritual mist as the space above the lake itself. Liu Junhuai and Wu Shaoyuan sat cross-legged to meditate, immediately noticing their internal true essence circulating dozens of times faster than outside.

While Mo Sitong and the others were still out, Liu Junhuai took out Azhi and the Hongyuan Chaos Furnace to try his hand at crafting formation flags. The benefits of refining formation flags were clear, and there was also a related skill: talisman crafting. Liu Junhuai's cultivation was still low, and he hadn’t yet mastered talisman-making, but it was not so different from artifact refining, with only the incantations differing; in fact, talisman-making was even less difficult.

He quickly retrieved a book on talisman-making from the library, grasped the basic principles, and attempted his first try. With Azhi’s assistance, even as a beginner, his success rate hovered around twenty percent.

After more than a dozen attempts, he finally produced his first qualified talisman.

Formation flags were much more complex and technically demanding than talismans. Liu Junhuai made several more talismans before attempting to craft the flags. The process was tedious and monotonous, but it was also an excellent way to train one’s spiritual perception.

After two hours of repetitive work, the first flag was finally completed. On the surface, there were no visible lines—only a faint halo attested to its grade. All the auxiliary materials used for the formation patterns had merged seamlessly into the fabric of the flag.

Liu Junhuai’s flags bore a single ring of light, marking them as first-level flags with clear formation lines still visible. Only after becoming a master artifact refiner could one craft flags with fully concealed formation patterns—a key distinction between low and high-grade arrays.

With practice, the quality of his talismans and flags gradually improved. By the time Mo Sitong and the others returned, he had managed to craft a third-level flag.

Responding to a messenger talisman, Liu Junhuai brought the others inside. Wu Yaohan came as well, bringing hundreds of medicinal herb seeds. After settling Wu Yaohan in the courtyard for cultivation, Liu Junhuai led the group to release the small animals they had acquired.

To conserve spiritual energy, most ordinary animals were kept outside the spirit energy barrier. The three girls had bought dozens of white rabbits, chickens, ducks, deer, goats, and various dogs. Several first-level spirit beasts—Green-armored Beasts, Tianlong Turtles, Golden Light Sparrows, and Wind Monkeys—were released inside the courtyards.

The Mountain and River Gourd was suddenly alive with chaos and cheerful noise—chickens clucking, dogs barking, birds singing, everything lively and bustling.

Liu Junhuai encouraged everyone to cultivate a few more plots for medicinal herbs and to plant dozens of saplings, and their new home was gradually taking shape.

Shen Duoduo dragged Wu Bini along, chasing chickens and dogs, while Wu Shaoyuan went to the courtyard to cultivate by himself.

Liu Junhuai gazed affectionately at Mo Sitong. “How are those two girls treating you? It still isn’t time to make our relationship public, and I feel I’ve shortchanged you a bit. They’re still young—if anything they say troubles you, please be patient. After all, you’re much older than they are. If you ever feel wronged, you can take it out on me.”

“It’s nothing—they’re both very kind to me. In fact, they’re not as naïve as you think. They’re already quite grown.” Mo Sitong smiled. “Just now, Duoduo even asked if I was going to be your third wife. It’s fine—so long as I can be with you, nothing else matters.”

“Let the children play as they like,” Liu Junhuai said gratefully. “In my heart, there’s no such thing as seniority. Once they’re older, they won’t see things that way anymore.”

At that moment, Shen Duoduo and Wu Bini came running over. Wu Bini flung her arms around Liu Junhuai and planted a kiss on his cheek. Shen Duoduo hooked her arm through Liu Junhuai’s, chattering to Mo Sitong: “Yesterday at our family meeting, we decided: Duoduo will raise the animals, Daddy will grow the herbs, Brother Junhuai will protect us, and Sister Nini will have the babies. Now that Sister Sitong is here, Duoduo thinks Nini should come help with the animals, while Sister Sitong takes over having babies. What do you think, Brother Junhuai?”

Mo Sitong stared at Shen Duoduo in shock, her mouth agape. Liu Junhuai quickly explained, “Don’t listen to her—once you spend more time with her, you’ll understand. She’s just a mischievous girl—she means no harm.”

Wu Bini shot back at Shen Duoduo, “I object! Having babies is a man’s job. Even if Sister Sitong agrees, it won’t matter—let’s see what happens. Maybe you’ll be the first, Duoduo!”

This time, it was Liu Junhuai’s turn to be dumbfounded, his face burning with embarrassment. Mo Sitong, meanwhile, covered her mouth and laughed quietly.

Shen Duoduo tilted her head thoughtfully, then said to Mo Sitong, “Sister Sitong, maybe I shouldn’t be the eldest. The first of us to have a child can be the eldest instead. But my daddy said if my first child is a boy, his surname should be Shen. I’ll have to talk to Brother Junhuai—if Shen Qianqian has a baby first, I’ll wait to have mine so it can have his surname.”

Mo Sitong hugged Shen Duoduo fondly. “Duoduo, your Brother Junhuai is still too young. Having children will have to wait a long time.”

Wu Bini asked in confusion, “But in Cloud Valley, we’re allowed to start families at fifteen. Brother Junhuai is almost fifteen—it won’t be long. Isn’t that right, Brother Junhuai?”

Liu Junhuai was at a loss for words. Shen Duoduo found his expression odd and turned to Mo Sitong. “Brother Junhuai really is too young. See? He doesn’t even understand what we’re talking about.” She gave Liu Junhuai a look of pity.

Mo Sitong could no longer contain herself, laughing so hard that she clutched her stomach and squatted down.