Chapter 246: Meng Family of Myriad Forms Sect
Ning Zhuo slightly opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately, he didn’t speak.
In the end, he turned his gaze toward the distant sky where the Cloud Whale was.
The Cloud Whale was so enormous that it occupied a corner of the sky, and compared to it, Ning Zhuo was like an ant.
After a moment of silence, Ning Zhuo asked, “Was such a gigantic Cloud Whale once a small Cloud Seed?”
Song Fuli chuckled lightly, “Yes, that’s exactly how it was.”
“For outsiders, it’s hard to imagine, isn’t it?”
“That’s the magic of the Cloud Seeds.”
“They are born from the Myriad Forms Cloud Sea. Once they develop to a certain extent, they automatically detach from the Cloud Sea and drift with the wind.”
“During their drifting, they absorb the essence of the sun and moon, draw in all kinds of energies from the sky, and encounter countless rays of light and clouds.”
“The Cloud Seeds absorb these and grow continuously, eventually transforming into various types of Cloud Beasts with unique characteristics.”
At this point, Song Fuli also looked toward the distant Cloud Whale.
He continued, “This Cloud Whale was not one I raised from its infancy.”
“I encountered it along the way. Through a stroke of fortune and with the help of a noble person, I managed to bring it under my control.”
“Based on our speculation, this Cloud Whale likely devoured a massive amount of powerful air during its time as a Cloud Seed and then encountered the Wandering Cloud.”
“It hibernated within the Wandering Cloud layer for many years. As a result, its body became massive, and it has an extremely large storage space. At the same time, its temperament is very gentle and calm.”
“This temperament has its pros and cons. On one hand, it is indeed easy to control; on the other hand, its combat strength isn’t ideal, even though it’s at the Nascent Soul level.”
At this point, Song Fuli looked at Ning Zhuo and said, “Feiyun Country has many special products, especially various kinds of Cloud Qi. There are so many types that even I get overwhelmed and can’t know them all.”
“When you return in the future, you should take some time to experience it yourself.”
“Coming into contact with different places and different types of cultivation resources is highly enlightening for cultivation itself.”
“Master Ning, your expertise in mechanical constructs is exceptional. New materials could inspire many fresh ideas in your creations.”
Ning Zhuo nodded subconsciously, feeling a surge of excitement. But when he thought of the Lava Immortal Palace, that excitement suddenly faded away.
Ning Zhuo continued to stare at the Cloud Whale and asked, “I’ve heard that every Cloud Beast has its own lifespan limit. The more powerful and the larger the Cloud Beast, the shorter its lifespan?”
Song Fuli nodded, “Yes, that’s indeed the case.”
“So, our Cloud Whale is actually quite old now.”
“In a few more years, we’ll need to help it return to the Myriad Forms Cloud Sea.”
“Every Cloud Beast, when it senses that its end is near, will fly back to its birthplace—the Myriad Forms Cloud Sea.”
“That’s where they are born, and that’s also where they will die, like a cycle.”
“No matter how insignificant or how glorious they were in the past, they will return to where they came from, and all their achievements will be buried by the wind.”
“The past is buried, and new hope will be born. A Nascent Soul-level Cloud Beast like this will nurture countless new Cloud Seeds.”
“And these new Cloud Seeds will follow nature, drifting away. Eventually, they might transform into various types of Cloud Beasts. If they’re lucky, some may even become new Cloud Whales.”
At this point, Song Fuli sighed, “The life of a Cloud Beast is very similar to our own, isn’t it?”
“We cultivators of Feiyun Country have always had a close relationship with Cloud Beasts.”
“Many cultivators start raising Cloud Seeds early in their cultivation journey.”
“By investing various cultivation resources, they nurture the Cloud Seeds into various forms of Cloud Beasts.”
“The large Cloud Beasts are like homes to us as we travel the world, serving as our personal celestial palaces.”
Song Fuli glanced toward the mountain peak, knowing that the Lava Immortal Palace was there.
He said to Ning Zhuo, “When it comes to direct combat, even our Cloud Whale couldn’t defeat the Lava Immortal Palace.”
“But in terms of size and storage space, the Cloud Whale far surpasses the Lava Immortal Palace.”
“The Cloud Whale has other advantages too, such as being easier to maintain.”
“It mainly consumes Cloud Qi and Spiritual Qi from the heavens and earth as food, and it can self-repair and heal naturally.”
“On the other hand, repairing something like the Lava Immortal Palace isn’t so easy.”
Suddenly, Ning Zhuo thought of something, and his expression changed slightly. He couldn’t help but ask:
“Senior Song, from what you said earlier, it seems that most cultivators in Feiyun Country raise Cloud Seeds. So, does that mean everyone has one?”
Song Fuli nodded, “Almost everyone has a Cloud Seed, but truly raising one isn’t so easy.”
Ning Zhuo asked urgently, “I have a question! My mother was from Feiyun Country, but among her belongings, I found no Cloud Seed or Cloud Beast.”
Song Fuli straightened up and said seriously, “I haven’t had the honor of asking, Master Ning, what is your mother’s full name?”
Ning Zhuo replied, “My mother’s surname was Meng, and her given name was Yaoyin.”
“Meng Yaoyin?” Song Fuli seemed puzzled. “That name sounds somewhat familiar.”
Ning Zhuo became curious and a little nervous, “What, Senior Song, do you know my mother?”
Song Fuli frowned in thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly, “It just sounds familiar. I can’t quite recall anything specific at the moment.”
“However, even though there are many people in Feiyun Country, there aren’t many with the surname Meng. There’s one Meng family that is quite extraordinary and has a remarkable background.”
Ning Zhuo continued to ask questions.
Song Fuli explained to him, “The Myriad Forms Sect in Feiyun Country is a colossal sect, and the Myriad Forms Cloud Sea is almost entirely under its control.”
“There are twelve peaks in the Myriad Forms Sect, and for a long time, one of those peaks has been controlled by the Meng family.”
“This Meng family is renowned for its expertise in mechanical arts. At one point, they were incredibly powerful, but in recent decades, they’ve declined.”
“The Meng family…” Ning Zhuo murmured softly, committing the information to memory.
He hadn’t forgotten about the Cloud Beasts and continued to ask:
“Although my mother has passed away, I didn’t find any Cloud Beast or Cloud Seed among her belongings.”
“If those Cloud Beasts still exist, where could they be?”
Song Fuli shook his head, “That’s a difficult question for me to answer.”
“To raise a Cloud Seed requires a great deal of resources. Especially for a Cloud Beast at the Golden Core level, it often requires a long period of hibernation.”
“However, from what I know, Master Ning, your mother was only a Foundation Establishment mechanical cultivator, so it’s unlikely she had a Golden Core-level Cloud Beast.”
“And Cloud Beasts at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment levels aren’t very powerful. It’s possible that they dissipated along the way.”
Ning Zhuo sighed softly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
At this point in their conversation, a subordinate from the caravan came to report to Song Fuli, “Leader, all the Mechanical Explosive Monkeys have been accounted for. Both in quantity and quality, there are no discrepancies.”
After confirming, Song Fuli laughed heartily and bid farewell to Ning Zhuo.
Before leaving, he paused slightly, turned around, and handed Ning Zhuo a talisman.
“This is a talisman we made using the Cloud Mud from the Cloud Whale.”
“You can think of it as a ticket.”
“As long as you carry this, you can enter the Cloud Whale’s body and ride it to other places.”
Ning Zhuo quickly cupped his hands in gratitude, while also expressing that although he had this ticket, he might not necessarily return to Feiyun Country with Song Fuli and his group.
Song Fuli waved his hand, “We aren’t heading back to Feiyun Country immediately either. Next, we’ll be wandering around the Southern Dou Kingdom. If business is good, we might even continue southward.”
“This talisman isn’t only useful inside the Cloud Whale. It’s also a form of identification.”
“In the future, if you encounter other Cloud Merchant caravans, you can use this talisman to prove your good relationship with us. With this talisman, cultivators can still board other Cloud Merchant ships or Cloud Beasts.”
The practicality of the talisman Song Fuli gave far exceeded Ning Zhuo’s expectations.
Ning Zhuo expressed his thanks once again and watched as Song Fuli, along with the numerous Mechanical Explosive Monkeys, returned to the Cloud Whale.
A large number of mechanical monkeys were being sent into the Cloud Whale’s body as the caravan’s cultivators managed the transfer.
“Next, it’s up to you!”
“Everything’s been accounted for; the numbers match up.”
“Alright, open the warehouse doors. We’ll put all the goods inside.”
The door to the storage warehouse dissolved like mist.
Then, Cloud Octopuses floated out of the warehouse, extending their tentacles to grasp the Mechanical Explosive Monkeys, lifting them into the air, and slowly flying them into the
warehouse.
Warehouse No. 188 was spacious and empty inside.
There wasn’t a single shelf inside.
The cultivator in charge of managing the warehouse walked to the wall, took out his identity token, and placed it on a critical spot on the wall.
He channeled his mana into the token.
The token quickly emitted a faint yellow light.
The yellow light spread rapidly, seeping into the cloud-like walls and flowing out, forming a stream of runes.
These runes quickly spread across the entire wall.
In the next moment, the wall began to change shape, swirling like mist before condensing together into a massive shelf that clung tightly to the wall and ceiling.
The octopuses floated up, carrying the Mechanical Explosive Monkeys and placing them into the compartments of the shelves.
It was clear that these compartments were adjustable, and now the space was just right to fit a Mechanical Explosive Monkey.
Thanks to the work of hundreds of Cloud Beast octopuses, the large number of mechanical monkeys were neatly arranged in just the time it took to brew a cup of tea.
After a final inspection, the caravan cultivator put away all the Cloud Beast octopuses and left.
Once he left, a large cloud slowly appeared and quickly condensed, forming a solid wall to replace the door.
At this point, Warehouse No. 188 was empty, utterly silent.
Suddenly, a ripple appeared in the air.
Sun Lingtong and Yang Chanyu emerged from inside one of the Mechanical Explosive Monkeys.
(End of Chapter)