Story 8 - Tribulation Troubles (Part 8) (Patreon)

“I created this method based on a type of synthetic fiber that existed in my past life.”

Except this material wouldn’t contaminate the oceans with microplastics.

Regardless, I had no plans to share the recipe for mass production unless there was a war. While the ingredients I used were currently considered inexpensive or trash, as soon as other blacksmiths learned my recipe, they would become overpriced.

Unlike the Alchemists’ Guild, the Blacksmiths didn’t have a good patent system. Or an organization. At least, not in this era.

That was why they were all secretive assholes. Getting anything out of them was like pulling a tooth from an Immortal Ascension body cultivation expert.

He pulled a long thread out of the line. “How do we turn these into fabric?”

“Oh, that’s the easy part. We weave them one strand after another.”

“Isn’t there an easier way to do it? Or a technique?” He looked hopeful.

I decided to mess with the kid. “We could use a loom.”

He looked horrified. “Won’t that take forever?”

“Unfortunately, there are some things in this world that are like grinding ink. The step can’t be skipped.”

The kid’s eyes darted to the door behind me like he wanted to run.

“Are... are you going to build one?”

Building an industrial-sized loom for two outfits? I had no time for that!

“Fortunately for you, there actually is a technique that shortens the weaving process.” It was something I looked into when I first realized that I’d need to turn my strings into fabric.

Little Spring relaxed.

“But before I get into that, I need to replenish my energy.”

***

When I finished cycling my cultivation technique, I glanced back to see the kid scraping a few pearl shavings into the lime juice he added.

I motioned for him to come over and he hurriedly sat in front of me.

Right as I opened my mouth to go into an explanation of the new technique, a fierce spiritual energy stretched through the space.

That was Ghosty’s energy.

Had he just used a technique at the Nascent Soul level? But I couldn’t think of a reason he’d use the precious energy he’d been accumulating for so long.

A chill ran down my spine. Could someone have broken in? That sounded impossible. But was it? If someone came down from the immortal realm, could they sense the space?

“Spirit?”

No response.

The kid and I both looked at each other and used our access to the space to teleport right outside the palace.

There I caught sight of Ghosty McGhostFace, looking solid and hovering in midair. A young man dressed in gold stood in front of him with a mischievous smile. They looked like they were about to throw down in an epic manhua-worthy fight.

Wait a second. Ghosty shouldn’t be able to stand the yang energy of the light for long. And there was no way that dragon would let anyone barge in here.

That young man was obviously the spirit in human form.

I pointed to the ground. “Come down here now!”

Ghosty vanished and reappeared in front of me.

The dragon remained floating in place, looking like a cat ignoring its owner.

Little Spring said, “Do as my sister says.”

The human-form dragon huffed and did the same. He pouted at me like I’d ruined his fun.

“You can’t do this right now. We’re in the middle of crafting.”

“Fairy Lin, can that wait? I need to practice Nascent Soul Level techniques so I can use them when I get my new body.”

“But that doesn’t have to be right now.”

He blushed. “The little spirit here told me that he could change the light in the space to not affect me. I just want to try it!” Because he hadn’t been able to before. He must have been so excited that he couldn’t resist.

Frankly, this would have been a few months ago when I wasn’t in the middle of something important. Why had they only figured this out now? Whatever.

I scowled at them.

“Do you think you’ll even be able to get your new body if I don’t increase my realm high enough?”

He grimaced.

“When I said that I’m in the middle of crafting, I meant that I’m forging the armor I’ll use during my tribulation. It’s necessary.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Do you want me to push my tribulation back further? Maybe a year or two?”

That didn’t sound so bad, actually.

Before I could throw my hands up and decide to continue crafting another day, he tugged on my sleeve.

“No! Please keep crafting. I can hold off on this for a day or two.”

Fine. I’d keep going.

I pointed to the dragon, who winced. “And you. You should know better than to fight so close to my spiritual plants. How will you pay for it when your reckless spar destroys them?”

They both looked chastised.

“If you’re going to exchange notes, do it tomorrow and over the ocean.”

“Yes, Fairy Lin!”

The spirit ignored me, poofed into smoke, and flew off in dragon form. That was expected.

I pointed to Ghosty. “And you. Why didn’t you come to me to discuss your techniques? You think I can’t help you because I’m a weak Qi Condensation cultivator?”

His cheeks turned red.

“Did you forget who I am?”

“I’ll show them to you next time.”

I nodded and waved him away. He vanished into his necklace, which he’d cleverly hidden inside of his soul form. I sent it back into Little Spring’s room.

“Sister Lin?”

“What?”

The kid cleared his throat and pointed to his head. “Ah, your loops came out. Want me to help you with them before we return?”

“...”

So, the whole fucking time I was berating these two, my hair looked like a goddamn mess?

Whatever. They wouldn’t have noticed, anyway.

I cleared my throat. “That sounds good.”

***

“For this technique, moving things with spiritual energy is a baseline  that you’ve already mastered.” I picked up one thread and rubbed its silky texture between my thumb and forefinger. Then I floated the string back into place.

“There are several techniques that are used to weave threads into fabric. The method we’re using is a simple one that takes very little energy.”

“Is there one that can increase the durability of the fabric?”

“Of course there is. But we have nowhere near enough time or energy to practice it since it requires infusing energy into each strand. Maybe once we’re at peak Foundation Establishment, I’ll show you.”

“Will this material still be useful at that point?”

“It will be useful enough for a kid who keeps having sudden growth spurts.”

He looked sheepish. “I didn’t know that body cultivation would make me grow out of the new clothes you purchased.”

I waved him off. It was true that we’d both grown taller because of his meals. Actually, the thought of physically towering over those bitches who looked down on me in my past life had me grinning.

Little Spring squinted at me.

I coughed.

“Getting new clothes isn’t difficult. I knew you’d grow out of those, eventually. I just thought they would last a year — not three months.”

I sighed.

“Anyway, it will go faster if we both work on it.”

“What do I need to do?”

“First, understand that the concept of weaving is profound.”

The kid crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“It can be an art form. Or a soulless industry. Regardless, both start with the simple process of crossing threads.”

“This technique is... profound?”

I grinned. He probably thought I was making this shit up. “Think about it. Everyone has worn something made out of fabric. You could say that weaving has touched the lives of everyone, from mortals to gods.”

He blinked and leaned forward.

Finally, the brat was getting interested.

“Regardless of what materials make up your fabric, the very basic pattern remains the same throughout time, culture, and even the universe.”

“That’s beautiful.” His eyes sparkled.

“And this is how you do it.”

I quickly showed him the seals that he’d have to use repeatedly. A simple hand grasp used to collect every other thread.

Two fingers up to change the positions of where he grabbed the threads. And those same fingers flicked forward to push the strings back, so they appeared like piano wires.

Then slightly bend the wrist to pull them forward.

If we weren’t cultivators, I would worry about carpal tunnel.

After a few tries and one knotted string, he sufficiently mastered it enough to help me. That protagonist halo could be useful sometimes.

I brought out a thick wooden rod I had cut in two and arranged one end of the threads on one half. Then I placed the other half on top and sealed them together. This would make it easy to roll up for storage and as we completed the bolt.

I did a last check through of each thread, moving the ones that were too close together and adjusting those with too much room.

Actually, the crafters I learned the original technique from called it the Immortal Loom. I’d named my edited version, Lin’s Textile Technique.

“You ready?” I sat next to the brat. “Because we’re going to go fast.”

He nodded, but I could see that he was nervous, and maybe a little bored.

That was no good.

“Don’t stress. Just think of this as practice for getting our timing right when we fight side-by-side.”

He tilted his head.

I grinned. “We’ll be moving together, covering for each of our weak points while functioning at speeds impossible for mortals. What is this except for another battle? A battle in the form of creation? Muahahaha!”

What I said must have struck a truth in his heart because he sucked in a breath of realization.

He turned to the threads, determined glinting in his eyes, and he made a grasping motion to gather every other thread. I did the same for the opposite ones. We pulled them apart, making a gap.

Plucking with my other hand, I collected a loose thread from a pile set aside for this purpose. With a slice, I shot it into the hole we made.

He pushed his vertical strings while I pulled mine. Then I moved my horizontal thread through the new divide.

But there was an issue. We weren’t as quick as we should be. "Faster!”

“Yes!”

He sped up. The time it took to create a line in the fabric decreased two-fold. It still wasn’t enough.

“More.”

The kid ground his teeth, his wrist speed increased slightly.

“Again!”

“I can’t go any faster!”

“Yes, you can! Stop relying on just your body cultivation. Strengthen your muscles with your inner Qi.”

“Oh!”

Suddenly, there was a burst of speed on his side. Since I already knew how fast I could go, I quickly matched pace.

Finally, we were as fast as an industrial loom... Probably. It had been over a thousand years since I’d seen a video of one. It was possible that we were going even faster.

***

It took us fifteen minutes, but we completed weaving the bolt of cloth.

Even though it had just been our hands and spiritual energy moving my whole body seemed to ache like I’d just worked out. That was the price of speed.

The kid gently touched the rolled-up fabric that shimmered like some otherworldly material.

“Why is it so...”

“Shiny?”

He nodded.

“The threads are made up of a type of crystalline structure, I like to call a spiritual polymer.” Which was better than calling it Spiritual Polyester.

“What is that word?”

I pulled out a few spirit stones. “Imagine it being like silk or crystal, but different?” I really couldn’t think how to best describe it.

“Is that the reason it has this rainbow shine to it?”

“Actually, that’s a visual effect from the heavens approving our quality fabric.”

He glanced at me suspiciously.

I laughed then started replenishing my energy. Little Spring did the same

By the time we finished, it was time to check the Red Titanium!

I added more juice and pearl pieces. No more bubbles!

My Red Titanium had finished dissolving!

Strangely, some trace metals floated at the bottom of the glass. That meant that those were of a grade higher than sky rank. I didn’t know what metal it was, but I couldn’t haphazardly throw it into my armor. Besides, it wasn’t like I could work with a metal above sky rank at my realm.

Maybe this sword shard really had been once owned by someone who reached Immortal Ascension.

Or maybe these were higher-rank trash metals that couldn’t be reused.

I’d figure it out later.

It wasn’t like I had the energy to work with something above sky rank right now, anyway.

With a flick of my finger, the powdery metals flew out of the jar and into one of the failed glasses I had made. It looked half melted, but it could be used for storage. Then I threw it into my ring.

The kid stared at the red liquid. “Will it become titanium again?”

“After several days, the acid will stop working and the titanium to return to its solid state.”

He scowled. “That’s too long.”

“Agreed.”

“Is there a way to speed it up?”

I shrugged. “There is something we could try, but I don’t know if it will work.”

His eyes widened. “Even you don’t know?”

“Just because I’m a genius doesn’t mean I perceive everything. But…” I pulled out another glass jar. “There is something we can do. Hypothesize! Test things we suspect to prove they’re true. And explore reactions we don’t understand!”

Because this was a volatile juice, I controlled the space to bring a few drops of the red liquid into the new jar, then placed a single drop of spiritual spring water on top of it.

I grinned as the juice turned clear. Particles of red dust formed on the bottom of the glass.

His eyes sparkled. “Does this mean that we can just add the lake water to it to make it go faster?”

I gently flicked the Little Spring on his glabella. He rubbed it.

“We have proof of concept, but we don’t know how the water affects the metal.”

He scowled. “Isn’t it obvious?”

I grinned. It was time to really give this kid a love for the scientific method.

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Author’s Note: Thank you all for reading! You are the best readers a writer could ask for! I say this every week but I mean it every time.

The images this week were created in Novel AI’s image generation program and edited by myself. Working on art like this is a big stress relief so. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!