Morning.

Stepping out of the Book Pavilion, Bubai indulged in a satisfying stretch, basking in the warmth of the sun caressing his skin.

He already felt particularly well-rested, and the sun only made him even more energized.

However, his happy expression abruptly stiffened. Moments later, his mind connected the dots, “Did I get harvested again?”

Hopping into the memory space, he immediately noticed the new orb gravitating toward the Shu Fairy Cluster.

Yep, an extra orb that he had to spend time to go through.

Drawing a strand of Qi from his mysterious space, Bubai quickly made a memory copy from the new orb, temporarily storing the duplicated memory Qi in his mysterious space.

Returning to reality, Bubai couldn't help but release a sigh, “Hey, start with the recent one first, just in case.”

After all, it might have helpful tips on his recently acquired Dream Fishing technique.

Compared to other dream-related techniques, the dream fishing technique boasted a much more expensive price, yet it had no combat effectiveness.

Instead, it was an auxiliary skill, primarily used for searching the memories of others.

It sounds almost like soul search in some ways, but the distinction lay in its explicit reliance on dreams to extract the memories from the subconscious minds of individuals.

However, like all dreams, the acquired memories might not necessarily be an accurate reflection of the truth.

The subconscious mind, while typically a reserve of truth, could also alter memories - selectively remembering what the owner desired, suppressing certain recollections, or even refusing to remember.

Not only that, dreams were also susceptible to blending reality with fantasies and abstraction.

Thus, the results extracted from this method may be very unreliable.

Therefore, he paid heed to this technique, but due to its expensive price, this technique definitely wasn't initially on his wish list.

However, since it came as a gift, he didn’t mind learning it.

After all, exploring memories is indeed a useful skill. Plus, Granny Shu likely had her reasons for choosing this technique for him.

The only hurdle now was acquiring the specific materials needed to practice this dreamy art.

West District. Plaza.

“Arrived.” Bubai’s eyes scanned the sparsely populated plaza, astir with outer disciples.

A single drop of green dew appeared in his dantian, coursing through his meridians until it reached his mind, where it steadily entered circulation. Buff State II activated.

With a thought, his divine sense swept through the dynamic surroundings like an imperceptible wave. Immediately, an influx of images flooded his mind.

Every stall nearby, the diverse array of items on sale, the hidden inventories of each vendor, even the characteristics of the stall owners and visitors.

All these data swiftly streamed through his consciousness, his mind filtering, organizing and categorizing them like a seamless filing system!

As a result of his transmigration, basic eidetic memory was already a passive ability during his normal state, while his buffed state elevated his cognitive abilities to an even higher level.

However, the inherent limitations of the mortal human brain persisted. Despite his enhanced memorization capacity in the buffed state, recalling everything in his normal state still remained challenging.

Plus, he still required time and effort to remember extensive content.

Entering the Foundation Establishment marked a pivotal point in the evolutionary cycle for all cultivators.

Post-promotion, all cultivators would have enhanced cognitive functions, and it was normal for geniuses to grasp all details at a single glance.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Bubai received similar benefits after his promotion.

Now, what was once his buffed condition had seamlessly transitioned into his new innate passive during the normal state.

Not only that, his cognitive functions had experienced a notable enhancement even in this passive mode.

Memory retrieval, long-term implicit and explicit memory storage, data processing... all aspects could be executed with far greater ease than in his previous buffed state!

Memorizing the contents of a book was no longer an issue of time and effort. It had evolved into a matter of how quickly he could flip the pages.

Meanwhile, in his newly attained buffed state II, his cognitive abilities reached an even higher echelon, almost as if transforming into a machine mind!

In this state, there was no problems with handling a large influx of data, complementing his divine sense perfectly, allowing him to scan large areas and assimilate information seamlessly!

Thus, contrary to the previous laborious process of scouring market stalls one by one, spending hours to play ‘I Spy’, Bubai now strolled through the plaza, utilizing his divine sense to scan section by section.

Even with intermittent breaks, a mere ten minutes sufficed to record all the details, neatly filed away in his mind for... future reference.

Ahem. Dishonest matters aside, thanks to his scan, he successfully acquired a few sticks of Sweet Dream Incense – an essential external aid mentioned in the Dream Fishing technique.

Moreover, he effortlessly found some of the herbs required for his mask potion, scattered across multiple stalls.

Though they only amounted to spare parts and fell short of forming a complete potion, it was still better than nothing.

As a matter of course, these were just incidental benefits of his scan.

Naturally, the primary objective of this plaza scan was to scout the situation, and he was rightful to do so.

Even from a considerable distance, his divine sense noticed the Flower Thief Gang strutting around in the market.

Clutching a crumpled paper with a painted portrait, their eyes darted from stall to stall, and occasionally, they harassed customers and even questioned the stall owners.

"Hey, have you seen this guy?" one of them barked, brandishing the portrait.

The portrait, while not photorealistic, showcased a level of painting skill that was hard to ignore. The artist had captured every distinct feature of the person in question, and Bubai clearly noticed the eerie resemblance it bore to his disguised Liang face.

Someone was actively seeking him out. Was it just the personal vendetta of the Flower Picking Gang, or were they acting under the orders of someone else? Perhaps an inner disciple?

Stopping at a stall not far from him, the leader of the gang pointed at the portrait. "Seen this guy around?"

The vendor, a stout man with a no-nonsense attitude, eyed the painting and shrugged. "Can't say I have. Why don't you move along… or do you need me to help you?"

“Che.” The gang leader turned away and caught sight of Bubai. The leader's eyes narrowed, and a moment of tension hung in the air.

However, when the gang leader’s gaze trailed down to the inner disciple token hanging from his waist, a subtle change occurred.

Without uttering a single word, the leader gestured toward the other, and the gang silently decided to steer clear of him, allowing him to walk past without any interference.

As expected, these gang members didn’t even dare to come question him. This was the benefit of having status.

The Flower Thief Gang, now at a distance behind him, shifted their focus elsewhere, continuing their blind search for the culprit.

As for the real culprit…

Oh, what does a scorpion seller have to do with him? He was just an honest Mo Bubai.

Tower. Bedchamber.

Seated cross-legged, Bubai opened his eyes with a strange expression, “Why does this Shu Ling seem so excited over money-making scams? She won’t really deploy these tactics in this world, right?”

Uh... sincere condolences to all the future victims, but nothing to do with him.

“But, these memories are really useful…”

As expected, there were plenty of insight into the new Dream Fishing technique, and it will probably allow him to avoid a lot of pitfalls during the learning process, perhaps even enhancing the quality of the memories he acquired.

Those weren't the only gain.

He also conveniently acquired a fundamental technique he had long coveted, something he had been prepared to request in today's exchange - the Longevity Perception technique!

This was a basic Foundation Establishment technique that allows him to perceive his own lifespan!

Even in the absence of a technique, a cultivator could still vaguely sense their life force, especially as they neared the end of their existence, which often manifested in physical signs, such as an unstoppable loss of vitality.

However, vitality alone wasn't a foolproof indicator of lifespan, as vitality losses could be recovered or suppressed through various methods.

On the other hand, lifespan was the intrinsic origin determined by the world itself, unalterable except through breaking free from the life shackles!

Unlike vitality, which could be perceived through internal sight and even sensed by fellow cultivators, true lifespan was based in the spirit and could only be perceived by the individual after establishing a connection with their spirit.

Even with this connection, the perception remained vague and virtually undetectable.

Mortals. We age, we decay, we die.

Cultivators aim to break this cycle, the aim is immortality.

And being able to sense an increasing lifespan served as the greatest motivation for a cultivator.

In response to this natural instinct, longevity detection techniques were invented and became widespread.

Available to Foundation Establishment cultivators and above, these basic techniques aided the user to perceive their own lifespan, offering an accurate numerical judgment - often measured in years due to the long lifespans of cultivators.

Mastering these techniques usually wasn't overly challenging for cultivators with a connection to their spirit.

After a few attempts, Bubai eventually managed to successfully sense his lifespan for the first time.

Ordinarily, a Foundation Establishment cultivator should have a lifespan of around 200 years.

Yet, when Bubai sensed his own lifespan, a strange expression manifested on his face, “400 years?!”