156: The Birth of the Branch and the Imitation Show of "Tao Follows Nature"

The news that the Cloud Court had accepted the "retirement" of ancient world wills was not deliberately publicized, yet it spread quietly among the top-tier powers affiliated with the Cloud Court, like a high-dimensional information disturbance. The profound heritage and symbolic meaning of a world recognized by the Cloud Court for its "ancientness" and "purity" and granted a place of peaceful rest, far surpassed that of the lower planes aggressively undergoing transformation.

This undoubtedly endowed the "Cloud Court Certification" with a deeper layer of meaning—not just order and harmony, but the ultimate tranquility achieved after enduring great changes and returning to simplicity.

Immediately, the ancient Holy Land and Great Worlds, which already possessed profound heritage and long Legacy, became active again. Relocating directly to the outskirts of the Cloud Court was too costly, and the competition was too fierce. So, could they... replicate a "Mini Cloud Court" in their own home territories? Even if it wasn't exactly the same, possessing just a fraction of its spiritual charm would be enough to bless generations and elevate the entire plane's prestige!

Thus, a vigorous movement to construct "Cloud Court Branch Campuses" or "Cloud Court Spiritual Practice Bases" quietly arose across many high-level planes.

Xuanhuang Great World, Cloud Court Spiritual Practice Base (in preparation).

A magnificent palace, built entirely to imitate the style of the Star Gazing Hall, stood on the highest peak of what was once the Sect's Forbidden Ground. A massive Spiritual Pool was dug in front of the hall, consuming countless resources to draw in nine High Grade Spiritual Vein for nourishment. Hundreds of carefully selected, high Bloodline "Dragon Koi" were raised in the pool. Behind the hall, a "Star Bamboo Forest" was transplanted, with every bamboo stalk embedded with expensive star stones, glittering day and night.

The general person-in-charge of the base, the Xuanhuang World Revered Master himself, daily imitated Yun Feng by fishing by the pool (using a curved hook, since a straight hook truly couldn't catch any fish), attempting to comprehend the "Dao follows nature." The Disciple were required to conform their behavior to the "Cloud Court demeanor"—walking steadily, speaking slowly, and maintaining a calm expression, striving to create an unfathomable Aura.

As for the effect... the Disciple walked as if treading on cotton, spoke as if chanting scriptures, and wore expressions like those with facial paralysis. The entire base was permeated with a contrived Immortal Qi, yet felt incredibly rigid. Because the Spiritual Qi was too abundant, the Dragon Koi in the pool were restless all day long; forgetting about blowing bubbles, it was a good thing if they didn't fight each other.

Fierce Beast Star Domain, Cloud Court Order Experience Zone.

Savage Bone and the Elder discussed it and concluded that their Star Domain's style was too rough to pull off the delicate work of the Xuanhuang Great World. They chose a relatively flat Star Domain, erected a massive stone monument inscribed with "Cloud Court Order: Fight with Reason," and then... that was it. They believed that maintaining the status quo while constantly remembering the three core rules was the best "Cloud Court spiritual practice." The effect was immediate: fighting incidents within the Star Domain were indeed further regulated, but it was still far removed from the ethereal Concept of the Cloud Court.

Mind Realm, Cloud Court Tranquility Healing Center.

This place took a different approach. There were no grand buildings or exotic beasts, just a few simple thatched huts built in a quiet valley, guarded by several succubi with the most ethereal and pure temperaments, providing basic psychological counseling services to Cultivator who came to "experience Cloud Court tranquility." They stopped using any techniques, simply guiding the visitors to empty their minds and feel the breeze and natural sounds of the valley. The effect was surprisingly good. Many Cultivator whose minds were strained by killing and contention found genuine relaxation here, and word-of-mouth gradually spread. This was perhaps the closest imitation to the Cloud Court's core principle of "returning to simplicity," although it still carried obvious traces of "service."

The imitations by other powers were even more bizarre:

One Sect exhausted its resources trying to Artifact Refining imitation stone stools that could "define" rules, resulting in seven or eight Artifact Refining furnaces exploding, achieving nothing.

One Family painted all the buildings in their territory slate gray and required all clansmen to wear Cloud Court standard azure robes, calling it the "Unified Dao Rhyme Visual Identification System."

There was even a technological civilization that attempted to use a supercomputer to simulate the fluctuation of the "Chaos Dao Rhyme" on the outskirts of the Cloud Court, which resulted in the main computer overloading and spewing black smoke for three days and three nights.

Long Qianyuan learned about the construction status of these diverse "branch campuses" through various intelligence networks, laughing so hard he nearly fell off his Chaos flying boat.

"These people are truly talented! They can't even imitate the key points! My Revered Master casually sits on a stone stool, and that stool becomes a supreme treasure; he casually raises a few fish, and those fish become Dao Ancestors! Is this something that can be imitated? This is Realm! Do you understand Realm?"

He felt it was necessary to conduct an "inspection" and, incidentally, correct these misguided imitation shows.

His first stop was the "Practice Base" in the Xuanhuang Great World.

Looking at the magnificent imitation Star Gazing Hall, the pond with overly dense Spiritual Qi, the restless Dragon Koi, and the group of Disciple who walked and talked like puppets, Long Qianyuan's mouth twitched.

The Xuanhuang World Revered Master was extremely excited to see him and rushed forward to ask for guidance: "Director Long, it is a great honor for you to grace us with your presence! Do you see any areas where our base needs improvement? Could we perhaps ask the Yunting Master to bestow his calligraphy and write an inscription or something?"

Long Qianyuan patted his shoulder and spoke earnestly: "Brother, you're trying too hard! The Dao follows nature; first, you must be 'natural.' You've set this up like a stage play, so tense. Forget about comprehending the Dao Rhyme; you'll exhaust yourselves first. Disperse, disperse. Go back to what you were doing. Dissipate seventy percent of the Spiritual Qi in this pool, let the fish breathe, and abolish these walking and talking rules. Just watching it is tiring."

The Xuanhuang World Revered Master was stunned: "Ah? But... this was all based on..."

"You imitated the surface appearance but failed to grasp the essence," Long Qianyuan interrupted him. "The essence is 'peace of mind,' it is 'comfort.' If you yourself are not comfortable, how can you bring peace to others?"

Next, he went to the Fierce Beast Star Domain's "Experience Zone." Looking at the bare stone monument and the warriors fighting fiercely (but orderly) in the distance, he nodded: "Hmm, yours... although a bit rough, at least you grasped the core of 'freedom under rules.' You pass."

Savage Bone chuckled.

Finally, he arrived at the Mind Realm's "Healing Center." Feeling the natural tranquility of the valley and the peaceful atmosphere guided purely by the succubi, he slightly nodded: "This place is good, quite interesting. However, the word 'healing' still carries a sense of purpose. If you can let go of even that purpose and simply 'exist,' perhaps it will be closer to the essence."

The stationed succubi looked thoughtful.

After a round of "inspections," Long Qianyuan had a clear understanding of these "branch campuses." He returned to the Cloud Court and reported to Yun Feng.

"Revered Master, everyone below is trying to learn from us, but their imitations are terrible, it’s hilarious."

Yun Feng was trimming a slightly yellowed leaf from a star-patterned bamboo. Hearing this, he didn't even lift his head: "Trying to draw a tiger but ending up with a dog is normal. Let them be; after hitting enough walls, they will naturally understand."

"Then should we issue a 'Branch Campus Construction Guidance Standard'?" Long Qianyuan asked eagerly.

Yun Feng finally stopped moving and glanced at him, a look that instantly extinguished Long Qianyuan's enthusiasm.

"A standard?" Yun Feng said lightly. "If we set a standard, wouldn't that just become another form of restriction? The Dao cannot be spoken, nor can it be regulated; it can only be self-comprehended."

Long Qianyuan shrank his neck: "This Disciple understands."

Although the Cloud Court did not issue any "guidance standards," Long Qianyuan's "inspection" and his casual comments quickly spread among the major powers.

"Trying too hard," "grasping the core," "letting go of purpose"... these keywords became the new direction markers.

The Xuanhuang Great World quietly dismantled the imitation Star Gazing Hall, dispersed the excessive Spiritual Qi in the pond, and restored the normal speech and conduct of the Disciple. Although it no longer "looked" like the Cloud Court, the atmosphere of the entire domain became much more relaxed and natural.

Other powers engaging in formalism also reflected, beginning to discard those flashy and impractical imitations and turning instead to seek a true understanding of the core of the "Cloud Court spirit."

After a period of ridiculous fuss, the vigorous "branch campus" imitation show gradually settled down, beginning to explore directions that were more essential and restrained.

And the Cloud Court remained the Cloud Court. The pond behind the Star Gazing Hall was undisturbed, the Koi swam leisurely, as if all the external disturbances had nothing to do with it. Only the Golden Koi, occasionally looking toward the "retirement meteorites" on the edge of the Void Realm, seemed to have a hint of understanding in its eyes. It might have been saying: Imitation is ultimately an external Dao; only inner peace is the true destination.