: The Meng Family of the Myriad Forms Sect (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

2024-08-29 Author: Gu Zhenren

Ning Zhuo slightly opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately no words came out.

In the end, he turned his gaze to the Cloud Whale in the distant sky. The Cloud Whale was so immense, occupying a corner of the heavens. Compared to it, Ning Zhuo was like an ant.

After a moment of silence, Ning Zhuo asked, "Such a colossal Cloud Whale... was it once a tiny Cloud Seed too?"

Song Fuli chuckled softly, "Yes, exactly."

"Hard to imagine for outsiders, isn't it?"

"That's the wonder of Cloud Seeds."

"They are born from the Myriad Forms Cloud Sea. Once they develop to a certain extent, they automatically detach from the sea and drift with the wind."

"As they drift, they absorb the essence of the sun and moon, draw in the various energies of the sky, and encounter countless rays of light and colorful clouds."

"By absorbing these, the Cloud Seeds grow continuously, eventually transforming into Cloud Beasts of various types, each with unique characteristics."

At this point, Song Fuli also looked toward the Cloud Whale at the horizon.

He continued, "I didn't raise this Cloud Whale from its infancy."

"I encountered it midway. By chance, and with the help of a benefactor, I managed to make it my own."

"Based on our speculation, this Cloud Whale likely devoured a vast amount of dense air during its Cloud Seed stage and then encountered the Endless Cloud Layer."

"It hibernated within the Endless Cloud Layer for many years. That's why it's so large, with an expansive storage capacity, and also why its temperament is very gentle."

"Such a temperament has its pros and cons. On one hand, it's easy to control; on the other, its combat ability isn't ideal, even though it's at the Nascent Soul level."

Song Fuli then turned to Ning Zhuo. "The Flying Cloud Kingdom has many unique products, especially various types of cloud energies. The variety is so vast that even I can't know them all."

"When you return in the future, you can take your time to experience them."

"Exposure to cultivation resources from different places and of different types can be very enlightening for one's cultivation."

"Your skill in mechanisms is remarkable, Young Master Ning Zhuo. New materials can inspire fresh ideas for many of your mechanical creations."

Ning Zhuo nodded subconsciously, his heart stirred. But when he thought of the Molten Immortal Palace, that feeling suddenly vanished.

Ning Zhuo kept his eyes fixed on the Cloud Whale. "I've heard that every Cloud Beast has its own lifespan limit. The higher their strength and the larger their size, the shorter their lifespan?"

Song Fuli nodded, "Yes, that's correct."

"So, our Cloud Whale is actually quite old."

"In a few years, we'll need to help it return to the Myriad Forms Cloud Sea."

"Every Cloud Beast, when sensing its impending end, will fly back to its birthplace—the Myriad Forms Cloud Sea."

"There, they are born, and there, they die, as if completing a cycle."

"No matter how humble or glorious their past, they return to where they came from, burying all their achievements with the wind."

"The past is buried, but new hope is born. A Nascent Soul-level Cloud Beast like this will give birth to a vast number of new Cloud Seeds."

"These new Cloud Seeds will drift outward with nature. Eventually, they may become various Cloud Beasts, and with luck, even new Cloud Whales."

At this point, Song Fuli sighed, "The life of a Cloud Beast is quite similar to our human lives, isn't it?"

"Cultivators in the Flying Cloud Kingdom have always had close ties with Cloud Beasts."

"Many cultivators, early in their training, begin to receive and raise Cloud Seeds."

"By investing various cultivation resources, they nurture the Cloud Seeds into Cloud Beasts of different forms."

"Large Cloud Beasts become our homes on the move, our personal Immortal Palaces."

Song Fuli glanced toward the mountain peak, knowing the Molten Immortal Palace was there.

He said to Ning Zhuo, "In terms of raw power, even our Cloud Whale can't match the Molten Immortal Palace."

"But when it comes to size and storage space, the Cloud Whale is far larger."

"The Cloud Whale has other advantages too, like ease of maintenance."

"It mainly feeds on the cloud energies and spiritual qi between heaven and earth, and it can heal and recover naturally."

"Repairing something like the Molten Immortal Palace, on the other hand, isn't so easy."

Ning Zhuo suddenly thought of something, his expression shifting slightly. He couldn't help but ask urgently,

"Senior Song, from what you just said, it seems cultivators in the Flying Cloud Kingdom commonly raise Cloud Seeds. So, does everyone have a Cloud Seed?"

Song Fuli nodded, "Almost everyone has a Cloud Seed, but raising one successfully isn't easy."

Ning Zhuo pressed anxiously, "I have a question! My mother was from the Flying Cloud Kingdom, but among her belongings, there was no Cloud Seed or Cloud Beast."

Song Fuli straightened his expression. "I haven't yet asked, Young Master Ning Zhuo, for your mother's esteemed name."

Ning Zhuo replied, "My mother's surname was Meng, given name Yaoyin."

"Meng Yaoyin?" Song Fuli showed a hint of confusion. "That sounds somewhat familiar?"

Ning Zhuo grew curious and nervous. "What? Does Senior Song know my mother?"

Song Fuli frowned in thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly. "It's just familiar. I can't recall anything specific right now."

"However, although there are many people in the Flying Cloud Kingdom, those with the surname Meng aren't common. There's one Meng clan that's quite extraordinary, with remarkable origins."

Ning Zhuo pressed for more details.

Song Fuli explained, "The Myriad Forms Sect in the Flying Cloud Kingdom is a major sect, almost governing the Myriad Forms Cloud Sea."

"The Myriad Forms Sect has twelve peaks. One of them has long been controlled by the Meng family."

"This Meng family built their foundation on mechanism arts. They were once very powerful but have declined in recent decades."

"The Meng family..." Ning Zhuo murmured softly, committing this information to heart.

He hadn't forgotten about the Cloud Beast and continued his questions,

"Although my mother has passed away, I found no Cloud Beast or Cloud Seed among her belongings."

"If these Cloud Beasts still exist, where would they be?"

Song Fuli shook his head. "That question stumps me."

"Raising a Cloud Seed requires a lot of resources, especially to reach the Golden Core level. It often involves a long period of hibernation."

"But as far as I know, your mother was only a Foundation Establishment-level mechanism cultivator. It's highly unlikely she could possess a Golden Core-level Cloud Beast."

"Cloud Beasts at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment levels aren't very powerful. It's possible they dissipated along the way."

Ning Zhuo sighed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

As their conversation reached this point, a subordinate from the merchant caravan came to report to Song Fuli: "Chief, all the Mechanical Blaze Monkeys have been counted. The quantity and quality are correct."

After confirming, Song Fuli laughed heartily and bid farewell to Ning Zhuo.

Before leaving, he paused slightly and turned to hand Ning Zhuo a talisman.

"This is a talisman we made using cloud mud from the Cloud Whale."

"You can think of it as a boat ticket."

"As long as you carry it, you can enter the Cloud Whale's body and travel to other places with it."

Ning Zhuo quickly clasped his hands in thanks but also mentioned that although he had this ticket, he might not necessarily return to the Flying Cloud Kingdom with Song Fuli's group.

Song Fuli waved his hand. "We aren't returning to the Flying Cloud Kingdom immediately either. We'll be touring around the Southern Bean Kingdom next. If business goes well, we might head further south."

"This talisman isn't just valid inside the Cloud Whale; it's more of a credential."

"If you encounter other Cloud Merchant caravans in the future, you can use this to prove your good relationship with us Cloud Merchants. With this talisman, you can still board other Cloud Merchant ships or Cloud Beasts."

The practicality of the talisman given by Song Fuli far exceeded Ning Zhuo's expectations.

Ning Zhuo thanked him again and watched as Song Fuli, along with the numerous Mechanical Blaze Monkeys, flew back into the Cloud Whale.

Large numbers of mechanical monkeys were delivered into the Cloud Whale's body, where the caravan's cultivators took over.

"Next, we leave it to you!"

"The count is complete, all numbers match."

"Good, open the warehouse door. Let's store these goods."

The door of the storage warehouse dissipated like mist.

Then, from inside the warehouse, Cloud Octopuses floated out.

These octopuses hovered in the air, extending their tentacles to grab the Mechanical Blaze Monkeys, lifting them into the air before slowly floating into the warehouse.

Warehouse No. 188, now empty, was quite spacious.

The warehouse was bare, without a single shelf.

The cultivator in charge of the warehouse went to the wall, took out his identity token, and placed it on a specific key point on the wall.

He channeled his法力 into the token.

The token soon emitted a faint yellow light.

The yellow light quickly spread outward, seeping into the cloud-like walls and flowing along, transforming into assembly line-like patterns.

These patterns rapidly covered the entire wall.

The next moment, the wall shifted as if shrouded in mist, then quickly solidified into a massive shelf attached to the wall and ceiling.

The octopuses, holding the Mechanical Blaze Monkeys, floated up and placed the monkeys into the compartments of these shelves.

Clearly, these compartments could be adjusted at will. Currently, each space was just right for one Mechanical Blaze Monkey.

With hundreds of Cloud Octopuses working, despite the large number of mechanical monkeys, it only took the time of one cup of tea to have everything neatly arranged.

After a final inspection, the caravan cultivator collected all the Cloud Octopuses and left.

After he left, a large mass of cloud mist slowly appeared, quickly solidifying into a solid wall, replacing the door.

Thus, Warehouse No. 188 was left empty and quiet.

Suddenly, a ripple appeared in the air.

Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu emerged from inside one of the Mechanical Blaze Monkeys.

(End of )