Chapter 12: Shipped!

Mining is a boring affair; with no miracles or accidents occurring, the repetitive labor wore down most people's patience.

The only reason to persist is probably the visible accumulation; at least Fu Feng sees it that way.

On the Gathering Cloud Banner have accumulated over a hundred auspicious cloud patterns; every hundred strands of cloud qi can form one cloud line, and ten cloud lines outline one auspicious cloud pattern.

Such a bountiful harvest is nothing more than Xiao Yi's daily workload; as for Fu Feng, he remains obsessed with the activity of crafting Spirit Cloud.

In the Cloud Immortal Realm there are various flight techniques; the slow ones are like treading clouds and mist, akin to an old lady crossing the road. The fast ones are as quick as light and electricity, a thousand miles in an instant. Yet every cultivator keeps a piece of Spirit Cloud on hand for emergencies.

The Spirit Cloud here is of vital importance: it can provide a shelter anytime, anywhere, and also store cloud qi for emergencies.

Fu Feng obtained the method for refining Spirit Cloud from the Cloud Refining Technique; he immediately used his spiritual power to transform it into cloud qi, constructing a small Spirit Cloud, and only after arriving at the mine did he have time to reinforce his own Spirit Cloud.

Taking a small piece of Spirit Cloud as the center, he fused the ownerless cloud qi into it; Fu Feng chose the simplest and crudest physical refining method.

He wrapped the ownerless cloud qi with Spirit Cloud, then, like forging iron, hammered it to fuse it in. The advantage of forging Spirit Cloud lies in being easier to manipulate than the mainstream Cloud Weaving Technique, especially after Fu Feng exchanged for a copy of Introduction to Fist Intent, making the refining effect far superior to before.

Throwing punches with all his might, Fu Feng spent a thousand points to exchange for a single sentence, which drove Xiao Yi to the brink of collapse.

After tens of thousands of punches, Fu Feng self-taught how to incorporate spiritual sense into his attacks, sending wave after wave of spiritual sense impulses echoing in the narrow mine shaft; the already depressed Xiao Yi also had to endure attacks from his own side.

Nonstop mining, plus the psychological pressure of being an undercover agent constantly tormented him, and the spiritual sense shocks from Fu Feng's Spirit Cloud refining added insult to injury, making almost every second an agony.

Xiao Yi didn't notice his eyes turning red as he continued digging for cloud qi.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Pfft!

The sudden change in business immediately caught their attention; Fu Feng also stopped swinging his fists and came over to check.

"What's going on?" Fu Feng glanced and saw the extra hole.

"Maybe it's a Cloud Essence!" Xiao Yi was greatly excited, casting aside his previous displeasure.

Indeed, Xiao Yi reached out and scooped up a soft, fluffy little thing.

"It's a first-grade Cloud Essence!" Xiao Yi exclaimed excitedly.

He had raised one before, but unfortunately an accident occurred later.

Fu Feng took a look and saw it was just a marshmallow; was it worth such excitement? He poked it with his finger—hey, it's still quite soft.

The Cloud Essence, after being poked, seemed uncomfortable, trembling slightly as it tried to escape his grasp.

Seeing this, the two became even more energetic, you move a bit, I move a bit, waiting for the Cloud Essence to wriggle a little distance before putting it back in its original spot.

"Don't use too much force; it can feel pain too." Xiao Yi stopped Fu Feng from messing around.

"Nonsense, I didn't use any force." Fu Feng retorted, but he still held back his strength.

"Withdraw your spiritual sense; its spirituality is still weak and will be assimilated." Xiao Yi grew impatient, "Will this guy ever learn to play?"

"Oh, is it okay now?" Fu Feng hurriedly gathered his spiritual sense, and Xiao Yi beside him also breathed a sigh of relief.

The two stared at the Cloud Essence as they played, and time passed unnoticed.

"Why isn't it moving?" Fu Feng poked the Cloud Essence with his hand.

Xiao Yi came to his senses from his earlier frenzy, still holding a handful of sand grains.

"A Cloud Essence struggles to stay vital in unfamiliar places; put it inside this."

Fu Feng, upon hearing that, placed the Cloud Essence inside; then the Cloud Essence lay like a puddle of jelly on the sand grains.

"What is this?" Fu Feng felt the handful of sand was rich in spiritual energy, yet seemed lacking in spirituality.

Xiao Yi said: "This is Cloud Sand; after a Cloud Essence absorbs cloud qi, it excretes this, which also counts as the Cloud Immortal Realm's sole source of spiritual soil."

Fu Feng thought, "Isn't this just feces, yet called Cloud Sand?"

"Why does it still lack spirit?" Fu Feng watched the Cloud Essence still lying on the Cloud Sand without moving; could it be defecating?

"Uh," Xiao Yi also felt confused, "What's going on?"

"I think it's hungry." A voice from the side spoke up.

"Oh, right, thanks!" Xiao Yi realized, having just been busy playing, he'd forgotten this.

Wait! Who are you!

Fu Feng and Xiao Yi stared at the person who was speaking.

That person smiled embarrassedly, raising the pickaxe in his hand: "I'm also mining nearby; I came specially to see you after hearing you'd found a Cloud Essence."

"I also have a Cloud Essence." He said, pulling out a much larger Cloud Essence from his bosom.

"Eh! Yours is almost third-grade!" Xiao Yi exclaimed in surprise.

When a Cloud Essence reaches third grade, it changes its form; the direction of transformation is generally decided by its master—flowers, birds, fish, insects, plants, trees, stones, even humans!

"Yeah, but I haven't decided on the direction of its transformation yet."

Seeing the two chatting without playing, Fu Feng couldn't hold back.

"Cough!" Fu Feng coughed once, then pointed at the Cloud Essence in Xiao Yi's hand.

"Right, Junior Disciple, go feed the Cloud Essence first, remembering to use the refined cloud qi." Xiao Yi reluctantly handed the Cloud Essence to Fu Feng.

Fu Feng was overjoyed; he summoned the Spirit Cloud he had just refined, pulled off a large chunk, and gently placed it beside the Cloud Essence.

The Cloud Essence, which had been playing dead, came alive the next second, struggling to move toward the cloud qi.

Seeing this, Fu Feng had no choice but to bring the cloud qi to its mouth. The Cloud Essence lay beside the cloud qi without opening its mouth, yet its body rose and fell like breathing, and the cloud qi in Fu Feng's hand diminished by a ring.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yi and the stranger were chatting happily; all cloud friends are one family.

The two discussed their experiences raising Cloud Essences, mainly the stranger speaking while Xiao Yi listened.

"Cloud Essences are best kept in one's own Spirit Cloud, which already contains its own will; although not much, it can subtly influence the Cloud Essence, making communication after transformation much easier."

"As for the downside, it's basically that it eats a ton." The stranger helplessly summoned his Spirit Cloud, riddled everywhere with spherical holes—parts the Cloud Essence had nibbled away unnoticed.

"Looks like meeting an elder brother really is a kind of invisible fate!" Xiao Yi laughed.

"Stop chatting, come over and take a look!" Fu Feng suddenly shouted.

"What's happening?" When the two arrived, they saw that small clump of Cloud Essence vibrating violently.

"What did you feed it?" Xiao Yi snapped.

"It's just the refined cloud vapor, and look." Feng pointed at the cloud essence in Older Brother's hand, and it was indeed the same.

Older Brother said: "It seems there is something here that makes them fearful." Then he put the cloud essence into his spiritual cloud and stored it.

Feng followed suit, and indeed the cloud essence was no longer so afraid.

"I'm preparing to go check out the depths. What about you?" Older Brother said.

"Let's go together, let's go together." Feng and Xiao Yi also did so.