Goods

Xia Tao

"What about that technique? Why did they give it up so easily?" I asked.

"Master, I would love to explain it to you right now, but we need to focus on our new acquisitions first. Judging by how easily they parted with the trees, it's obvious that making them thrive won't be easy. Our hope lies in our miraculous pond and the possibility that the water there can help these trees take root anywhere. So let's deal with that first" Mei responded.

We quickly called the disciples to help transport the saplings. These "saplings" were actually about three meters tall and as thick as an arm at the base. We set about planting them near the pond, creating a small grove a little away from where wild animals initially came to drink. The grove was also not far from the first strawberry patch. As we moved and planted these trees— which looked like birches with blue markings instead of dark ones and blue leaves—they stood out strikingly against the local flora.

After planting, we constructed false house walls on the sides to ensure that they weren't visible from the sect, with the only little clear view being from the direction of the desert where the bee hive was located. The bees were quite agitated by our new acquisition, seemingly sensing the waves of an energy I couldn't quite identify—definitely not spiritual energy.

We then placed the mollusks into our pond, hoping they would adapt since they naturally lived in freshwater. We also tossed some of the pearls into the pond. As Mei later explained, this black pearls is known for two things: it emits a health-enhancing energy into its surroundings and is used as a decorative health booster in wealthy households, and it's essential in creating various oils and pills. The pearls themselves, after being used, would fade and turn gray, but after a while, they would reabsorb energy and regain their dark color and properties.

So, we buried some of the pearls near the newly planted trees, one pearl per tree, while the rest were stored away by Mei. Finally, we were done. Thanks to the disciples, the whole process was much faster than we had anticipated.

After moving everything and watering the trees with water from the pond, we hoped they would take root, or at least some of them would. Mei and I sat on the veranda in the evening, chatting.

"How are your training progress, Master?" Mei asked.

"Overall, it's going well. The main challenge is finding the motivation to get up each time and use the medicine to recover. Right now, I can dodge 25 shots for about 5-6 seconds."

"That's quite good for a start. By the way, about the technique we acquired today" Mei said.

"Yes?"

"I know why they gave it up so easily and why they made a significant mistake."

"Oh?"

"This technique allows you to enter a meditative state resonate with memories and replay recent events in details, analyzing them to see how things could have been done better" Mei explained.

"For example, you're training to dodge multiple web shots, but your speed isn't increasing much because it's a technique of quick, short movements. It has its limitations, and you have physical limitations on how often you can use it and how far you can move, at least until you reach Major Achievements where there might be nuances. Right now, you're likely training to assess the situation accurately and move to the most advantageous position to avoid the maximum number of shots while ensuring that your new position is also beneficial for future movements. This helps avoid significant problems while expending less energy and concentration, right?"

"Yes, that's about right" I agreed.

"This meditation technique allows you to resonate with your memories and recall moments from the past, the closer they are to the present, the better. It enables you to recall any moment of your training and re-evaluate the decisions you made in that situation, understanding how you should have moved and how not to move. Instead of having just fractions of a second to think during training, you'll have several minutes to review the situation from all angles, if you wish. Or, for example, after a conversation, you can analyze the micro-reactions of the person that you missed during the discussion. Another application could be mastering a new technique; if something goes wrong, you can use your memories to pinpoint the exact time and place of the problem and what went wrong. Overall, this is truly a legendary technique and incredibly useful" Mei concluded.

"It sounds fantastic. So, what's the catch? Why did they share it with us so easily?" I asked.

"The catch is that it requires an enormous amount of mental resources and strain, and it is incredibly difficult to master. To fully utilize this technique, one needs to prepare their perception and brain extensively. Even the slightest inaccuracies in attempting to master it can result in severe headaches because the brain isn't ready for such demands. Essentially, you, I, or any person who hasn't been training in this from a young age would only be able to use it for 1-5 seconds before something goes wrong, resulting in a headache that lasts the entire day. Additionally, it can process no more than 3 minutes with such conditions, which is of limited usefulness without extensive training" Mei explained.

"But with our miraculous strawberries, we can learn to use this technique in no time. The strawberries help us to grasp what we need quickly by automatically correcting mistakes and preventing errors. This technique could become incredibly beneficial for us" I continued instead of her, my excitement growing.

"Exactly, but you're missing one more small thing" Mei added.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Studying and practicing this technique will also serve as excellent training for our mental capabilities, which is precisely what we wanted and will be extremely useful later on."

I was already eager to start learning the technique. "Can I begin studying it at my current cultivation level?"

"Yes, Master, and I insist that you start studying it in the evening so it can start bringing benefits as soon as possible, but you need to be mentally prepared, it will not be easy"

"Ah, where do I find the time for all these techniques?" I lamented.

"Master, where are we rushing? We have all the time in the world in our hands!" Mei said with a soft laugh.

"That's true. And what about the soul skills?" I asked.

"Well, it's too early for you to use them, so don't worry about it for now. You need to be at least at my cultivation level to fully utilize them. One of them is a remote vision skill that allows you to observe places where your spiritual and soul energy can reach. The other is a remote sensing skill that lets you feel the surrounding world from a distance. It's not very useful on its own but with our web technique, it's another story"

"Yes, by the way, were you able to use the skill we got from the library to improve the threads?" I asked.

"Yes, Master. I was able to make some modifications. As a result, the threads have better control, are less noticeable, stronger, and can be made non-homogeneous. My effective range has increased to 35 meters. If I can master the technique of sensing the surrounding world through the threads, it would be amazing. However, for now, it's not my priority. We desperately need a soul cultivation technique because I can only operate the threads with soul energy for about 3-5 seconds before my soul energy is exhausted. I'm trying to train and increase my soul energy capacity, but it's progressing very slowly. I must be doing something wrong" Mei explained.

"Understood. By the way, I noticed that someone's been getting quite bossy lately, even trying to order the master around?" I said playfully, giving Mei a smack on the butt and starting to knead it.

"Or is someone deliberately provoking the master?" I continued, Mei's cheeks and ears turned a slight shade of red.

"Oh no, Master, it's just a coincidence, nothing more" she said, writhing slightly in my hands.

"Sure, sure" I teased, musing over a few interesting ideas. I need to find some metal manipulation techniques because I can't trust anyone else to create such things.