Mysteries of Immortal Puppet Master - Chapter 1531

Chapter 1531: Chapter 631: Birth, Nurture, and Shepherding

“Could it be he got beaten awake by Yun Wuji yesterday and rushed over to learn Cloud Skills at the last minute?”

“Heh, what use is cramming at the last minute?”

“He’s different! He’s a genius—what he crams in at the last minute, you and I could never compare to, could we?”

After the crowd fell silent, it grew noisy again, their topic circling all around Ning Zhuo.

By now, Ning Zhuo had already become a celebrity at the Wanxiang Sect’s Main Mountain Gate; wherever he went, there would always be someone who recognized him.

Ning Zhuo’s expression was calm as he swept his gaze around.

Here stood a White Jade Cloud Platform. The platform was broad, with Cloud Pattern Stone Pillars rising at its four corners, half-transparent cloud curtains hanging down from them. Behind the cloud curtains, several disciples of the Cloud Garden Institute were busy tidying Cloud Materials, setting Array Plates, and checking the Cloud Storage.

A middle-aged Female Cultivator appeared, presiding over this small trial.

She wore a White Jade Cloud Shuttle pinned by her temple, her robes were plain, and at her sleeve edge coiled a strand of damp cloud. That damp cloud neither scattered nor unraveled, drifting lightly with the turn of her wrist, like a tamed white ribbon of silk.

Her brows and eyes were cool, her lip color very pale; just by standing there, she gave off a faint, detached air of one who had long dwelt in Cloud Fields and asked little of the dusty world.

This was precisely the Cloud Garden Institute Steward, Sister Yun Sang.

Sister Yun Sang swept her gaze over the crowd; her eyes stayed on Ning Zhuo for a breath, a trace of surprise in their depths, yet she did not ask anything more, only lifted her sleeve and lightly flicked it.

The cloud curtains around the White Jade Cloud Platform slowly rose, revealing twenty small array positions.

Sister Yun Sang said, “For the Xingyun Trial, today we will still follow the old rules. The trial asks not about birth, does not compare combat skills, does not weigh reputation. It looks only at three things: can you birth cloud, can you nurture cloud, can you herd cloud.”

Her voice was not loud, yet it spread clearly across the Cloud Platform.

“Cloud is not a dead thing. Cloud knows hunger and satiety, cold and warmth, fear and belonging. If any of you intend to rely only on brute-forcing it with Mana, you need not enter today. Those who harm cloud will have points deducted. Those who ruin cloud will be removed from the field. If anyone deliberately damages Cloud Materials, they will be dealt with according to sect rules.”

The cultivators in the field felt their Heart Spirits tighten.

The small trial began quickly.

The first stage: gathering water into cloud.

Twenty shallow Green Jade plates rose at the center of the Cloud Platform. In each Jade Plate lay Clear Dew Cloud Sand and Morning Mist Water Beads. Participants had to gather a stable mass of Cloud Qi from the surrounding moisture and maintain it for a hundred breaths without dispersing.

This stage looked simple, yet it tested one’s foundation the most.

One cultivator, impatient to show off, pressed his palms together, Mana surging forth; white vapor instantly billowed up. But that clump of white vapor was loose and unfocused, as if forcibly kneaded together. Barely past thirty breaths, its edges began to fray, the Cloud Sand fell back into the Jade Plate, and the Morning Mist Water Beads shattered into damp mist.

A soft chuckle sounded from the side.

The cultivator’s face flushed red; he hastily cast again, only making the Cloud Qi even more chaotic.

Ning Zhuo chose to observe first.

He stood before the Jade Plate, head lowered, gazing at the Clear Dew Cloud Sand within. The grains were crystal bright, each one holding water. The Morning Mist Water Beads hovered atop the sand, faintly trembling, as if startled by a mountain breeze.

Ning Zhuo extended his right hand, palm down. Without touching the Jade Plate, he let a single thread of Water Element Magic Power slowly fall.

In the Kidney Temple, the deep, quiet Divine Will stirred slightly.

The moisture in the Jade Plate was not yanked about; instead, as if hearing a familiar call, a thin line of mist first rose from between the Clear Dew Cloud Sand. The faint mist spun, lifting up the Morning Mist Water Beads. The beads did not shatter; rather, they slowly dissolved, merging into the mist.

Ning Zhuo slowly raised his palm.

A fist-sized tuft of white cloud floated up from the Jade Plate.

It was not large, nor eye-catching, yet it was exceedingly steady. Within a hundred breaths, its cloud edge did not collapse, its Cloud Heart did not turn turbid, its cloud base did not sink. It hung quietly beneath Ning Zhuo’s palm, like a small tuft of soft white cotton borne up by water intent.

The second stage: warming and nurturing the Cloud Embryo.

The Cloud Materials were changed to Cloud Embryo Cotton and Warm Glow Powder. Participants had to nurture a newly born Cloud Embryo until it did not disperse, did not grow turbid, and did not collapse.

Many, upon seeing Warm Glow Powder, instinctively sprinkled more. The Cloud Embryo, nourished by the Glow Powder, immediately swelled, its edges flushing red, looking rather splendid. But very soon, the Cloud Heart showed turbid spots, like dirty ink dripping into clear water.

Ning Zhuo first divided the Warm Glow Powder into seven small portions. Each time he only fed a little, and after he sprinkled it, he would wait for the Cloud Embryo to inhale and exhale three breaths before feeding the second pinch. His movements were not quick, yet extremely accurate.

The newborn Cloud Embryo was at first fragile; if it ate too quickly it would bloat hollow, if it was supplemented too fiercely it would grow murky. With an Alchemist’s patience, Ning Zhuo fed the Warm Glow Powder into the Cloud Embryo bit by bit. That young cloud slowly stretched open; its cloud edge became gentle and moist, its Cloud Heart clear and bright, its cloud body firm and sound.

Sister Yun Sang could see the knack of it and thought to herself, “He probably hasn’t learned the Cloud Garden Technique. But he understands fire control, and he understands materials.”

The third stage: awakening the cloud and opening its apertures.

The Cloud Materials were Slumbering Cloud Cores and Awakening Mist Incense. Slumbering Cloud Cores slept very deeply; if the Incense flame was too fierce, they would startle the cloud, if the Incense flame was too weak, they would fail to rouse the cloud’s breath.

Ning Zhuo picked up the Awakening Mist Incense, but did not light it right away. Instead, he used his Divine Sense to observe the Slumbering Cloud Core.

Deep within the Sea of Consciousness, Luoshu turned gently once.

Innumerable subtle changes arrayed themselves in Ning Zhuo’s mind. The intensity of the fragrance, the breathing of the Cloud Core, the flow speed of the surrounding moisture, the faint glow of the Array Patterns on the Jade Plate—all were swiftly taken into his deductions.

A moment later, Ning Zhuo lit the Awakening Mist Incense.

The fragrant smoke did not shoot straight at the Cloud Core; instead, he guided it with his fingertips into an extremely fine arc, circling half around the Core, then lightly nestling in from the side. The Slumbering Cloud Core shuddered once, as though turning over in its sleep. Another ten breaths passed, and a nearly invisible wisp of white vapor exhaled from within the Core.

The instant that white vapor emerged, an old Steward beside Sister Yun Sang let out a soft “oh.”

Sister Yun Sang said, “Record him as ‘excellent’ for this round.”

The fourth stage: feeding the cloud to make it grow.

The Cloud Materials were Dew Rice, Dyeing Powder, and Light Wind Salt. The goal was to increase the cloud’s size by at least thirty percent without letting it turn turbid or puff up emptily.

This stage was the liveliest.

Some participants dumped all the cloud grain in at once. The cloud mass instantly swelled to the size of a washbasin, drawing cries of alarm from those at the sidelines. Yet just as the cloud swelled up, it separated into inner and outer layers, its edges cracking apart, like a clump of flabby, bloated white vapor.