Lem took stock of the current situation of his simulated self.
His provisions had been burned off of his back. He was left with no food and no water. Even his spear and knife were gone. He was also in intense pain.
On the other hand, the danger of the martial elder killing him was now gone. He had retrieved the two new jade slips, and he had found a relatively safe location to rest in.
And he also still had his life.
It was a thoroughly mixed outcome, with more dangers on the horizon. Lem’s simulated self would eventually have to return to the harvest tree to retrieve his knife at the very least.
After that, food and water were a huge concern. At present, he had no ready solutions, or any forward momentum.
Lem’s simulated self was in no condition to do anything. He was in too much pain to move or think. He just stayed where he was, lying on the ground as he writhed and grimaced.
Lem took his attention away from his simulated self and began to meditate on the visualization diagram of the [Mountain Sitting Technique].
Eventually, his simulated self would begin to move or cultivate, or form some plan of action, but there was no point in just waiting around until then.
[You lie on the ground and writhe in pain, losing track of the time.]
As Lem was meditating, he noticed that his simulated self had begun to cultivate, or at least was trying to do so.
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Breathe in. Breathe out.
There was no rhythm to the breathing method, likely because his concentration was constantly being interrupted by pain. The spiritual energy within his body did not even stir slightly.
Because of this, Lem found it difficult to make any meaningful observations.
In. Out.
Lem began meditating independently on the visualization diagram again, ignoring the cultivation attempt by his simulated self.
In. Out. In. Out.
[You try to cultivate to distract yourself from the pain, but you find little success.]
After his focus began to waver, Lem stopped meditating.
The pain within the body of his simulated self had not abated. If anything, it had only grown worse. Lem could feel the visceral damage on his skin, and the deeper underlying tissue damage.
He remembered the strange moment in the fight where the world had blinked and the harvest tree had reversed the damage done by the martial elder to itself and the surrounding trees.
For a moment, Lem wondered if the harvest tree could perform a similar operation on his simulated self and restore his old body.
He cast aside this thought, thinking it was far too optimistic.
The most his simulated self could hope for was that the harvest tree would not change its attitude and go out of its way to kill him.
Lem went back to meditating.
[As the sun goes down, you begin to worry about the invisible barrier. You hope that it can ward off all dangers, as you think about the wolves that you have sometimes seen roaming at night. You remember Master Brightflame’s comments about wolves attacking defenseless beasts, and you wonder if you look like an easy target in your present state…
You move to a more secluded part of the forest, hiding in the bushes inside of a copse of trees. The pain involved brings you close to tears, and the feeling of leaves brushing against your skin is almost unbearable, but you try to ignore it…
You close your eyes…
The pain is constant, keeping you awake…
Eventually you manage to fall asleep…]