157: The Dilemma of Imitators and the Helplessness of "Genuine" Products

Long Qianyuan's casual remarks about "overdoing it," "grasping the core," and "letting go of purpose" were like a basin of cold water poured on the overheated wave of imitation. The major forces began to calm down, reflecting on what the true "Cloud Court spirit" was. However, knowing is easy, doing is hard. Letting go of attachments and returning to authenticity sounded simple, but for the various forces accustomed to goal-oriented approaches and resource stacking, it was a torment.

The Xuanhuang Great World dismantled the imitation Star Gazing Hall, dispersed the excess Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Pond, and restored the Disciples' normal behavior. The World Master had initially expected a new era of "Dao following nature" but found that without clear goals and grand forms, the entire Realm seemed... to have become ordinary? The Disciples no longer exuded "Immortal Qi" as before; they would run when walking, laugh when talking, and even occasionally have small squabbles over resources. Although it was more real, the World Master felt an emptiness in his heart, always sensing a vast distance from the imagined "Cloud Court demeanor."

The Fierce Beast Star Domain, on the other hand, adhered to the core of "freedom within rules," but Savage Bone had been somewhat troubled recently. Rules were established, and fights were reasonable, but the overall strength improvement of the Star Domain seemed to have hit a Bottleneck. Previously, through plunder and life-and-death struggles, though brutal, it always forced out some ruthless and eccentric individuals. Now, everyone fought with restraint; while safer, the sharp edge of Breakthrough in desperate situations seemed to have been blunted considerably. He scratched his head, somewhat bewildered: "If we only follow rules and don't fight fiercely, will the cubs' claws become dull?"

After Long Qianyuan pointed out "letting go of purpose," the Mind Realm's healing center tried to stop emphasizing "healing" and simply opened its valley, allowing Cultivators to come and go freely. As a result, after the initial novelty wore off, the number of Cultivators coming to experience it significantly decreased. After all, without the clear functional label of "healing," many Cultivators who needed specific solutions for Heart Demons or emotional problems felt that the place was "not professional enough." Several resident succubi watched the increasingly deserted valley and began to wonder if pure "existence" could truly be needed.

Other forces' imitations fell into various difficulties. The technological civilization that attempted to simulate Chaos Dao Rhyme with a supercomputer, undeterred after its mainframes smoked, turned to researching "biological Dao Rhyme sensing technology." They captured many Spirit Beasts to monitor their physiological changes in different "imitation Cloud Court environments," causing Chaos and yielding meager results. The Family that adopted uniform clothing and building colors, due to its overly rigid "visual identification System," drew complaints from younger Disciples who felt they lost their individuality, leading to various forms of passive resistance in secret.

The imitators fell into a common predicament: not learning, they were unwilling, fearing being abandoned by the times; learning, they couldn't grasp the method, either becoming superficial or losing themselves, failing to draw a tiger and instead drawing a dog, only adding to the ridicule.

This pervading confusion and anxiety in many higher planes naturally, though subtly, spread to the Cloud Court's periphery.

Long Qianyuan looked at the intelligence reports from various places, and this time he couldn't laugh; instead, he had a bit of a headache.

"Chief Steward Nie, why are these people so stubborn?" he complained to Nie Li. "I already said that the Dao follows nature, just let things happen! They insist on creating so many tricks, and now they've gotten themselves confused, haven't they?"

Nie Li calmly sorted through documents, not even raising his head: "The desire to seek the Dao is common to all. But if one is fixated on form, one loses its spirit. This is common sense."

"But we can't just watch them mess around like this, can we?" Long Qianyuan spread his hands. "Although it's quite funny, if they mess around for too long, it will also affect our peace here. Look, the number of people coming to the exchange center to complain and seek advice has increased by thirty percent recently!"

Just as Long Qianyuan was contemplating whether to go down and "guide" them again, a small incident occurred by the pond behind the Star Gazing Hall.

Those System creator consultants, after abandoning the complex "koi bubble optimization System," had been dedicated to researching how to make the environment more "natural." They discovered that the soil by the pond, having been permeated by Chaos Dao Rhyme for years, had an extraordinary texture, so they tried transplanting some ordinary, non-Spiritual Qi wild flower seeds there.

Surprisingly, these ordinary wild flowers, in the unique soil and Dao Rhyme environment of the Cloud Court, grew exceptionally lush. Although their blossoms had no Spiritual Power fluctuations, their colors were pure, their forms natural, possessing a tenacious vitality and wild charm that contrasted with the meticulously cared-for "void star-patterned bamboo" nearby, creating an unexpectedly harmonious scene.

One day while fishing, Yun Feng's gaze lingered on that patch of wildflowers for a moment, and he uncharacteristically nodded: "Hmm, interesting."

This casual remark was keenly captured by the Logos team, who had been closely monitoring Yun Feng's every move. They treated it like a treasure and immediately shifted their research focus to "how to cultivate the most naturally wild and interesting ordinary plants in the Cloud Court environment." They no longer pursued advanced technology but instead concentrated on observing and adapting to the natural laws of this place.

This news somehow spread, immediately causing a sensation among the forces trapped in the imitation dilemma!

"What? The Yunting Master praised... wild flowers?"

"Abandoning spirit plants and cultivating ordinary species? Is this the true 'Dao following nature'?"

"I understand! Our previous direction was all wrong! It's not about imitating the Cloud Court's 'strength,' but about learning the Cloud Court's 'faintness'! Learning its Realm of turning the miraculous into decay... no, turning decay into the miraculous!"

For a time, many forces turned their direction. The Xuanhuang Great World began to deliberately set aside areas at the edge of its spiritual mountains and blessed lands, allowing ordinary flowers and wild grasses to grow; the Fierce Beast Star Domain also planted a large area of tenacious thorny bushes next to its fighting arenas; the Mind Realm even completely restored a part of its valley to its primitive state, allowing birds, beasts, insects, and ants to inhabit it freely... This new trend of "learning the faintness of the Cloud Court" seemed to be a step further than previous imitations, but in reality... it still remained on the surface. They were merely imitating a new "form"—a deliberate pursuit of "ordinariness" and "naturalness."

Upon learning this, Long Qianyuan was torn between laughter and tears, and he sighed deeply to Nie Li:

"Alright, we just corrected 'overdoing it,' and now they're 'deliberately seeking faintness.' Why can't these people escape the cycle of 'imitation'?"

He felt so tired, unable to lead, truly unable to lead.

Nie Li finally looked up, glancing at Long Qianyuan, a hint of an imperceptible smile flashing in his eyes.

"Perhaps, this is the myriad forms of sentient beings. The Court Master once said that all methods have their own paths, and one cannot force them."

He paused, then added: "Besides, their messing around like this is at least better than constant slaughter and warfare. For our Cloud Court, it also adds some... lively scenery."

Long Qianyuan thought about it and agreed. At least now these forces were trying to be "civilized," and although their methods were a bit comical, it was still better than fighting to the death before.

"Forget it, let them be," he waved his hand, deciding not to worry anymore. "Let them learn however they want, as long as they don't ask me if it's 'standard' anymore. I'll stick to focusing on my koi economics; that's more reliable."

Inside the Star Gazing Hall, Yun Feng seemed oblivious to the new "seeking faintness" trend outside the window. He was focused on adjusting the tilt of a leaf on the void star-patterned bamboo.

"Three parts to the left, hmm, that's about right."

He put down his tools and nodded with satisfaction.

The external clamor and imitation, to him, were merely an occasional, slightly noisy breeze blowing by the pond. The wind passed, and the pond water remained calm.