Immortality begins with meditation puppets

Chapter 18 Demonic Beast Descends the Mountain, Unprecedented Wealth and Prosperity

The slight displeasure with the immortal runes did not affect Su Qing's subsequent refining.

After the runes were drawn, it was time to add materials to the puppet prototype.

Melt the black iron crystal into molten iron and apply the coating to the vital parts of the puppet prototype.

As for how many layers to apply, it all depends on the puppeteer's mood. If they are willing to use materials, they can use more than a hundred kilograms of Xuan Iron Crystal to apply more than a dozen layers of coating. The lizard warrior that is formed will naturally be more powerful and fierce.

Su Qing knew from the beginning that this puppet was destined to fail.

Naturally, they wouldn't be foolish enough to apply too much coating. They only used fifteen kilograms of black iron crystal to apply a thin layer, which was enough to meet the basic requirements.

The final step is to install the Demon Lizard Claw.

The lizard warrior is a melee puppet, and a pair of flexible claws are essential. Spirit wood is insufficient to meet the requirements, so only the real thing can be used.

"Every successful or failed lizard warrior is accompanied by the demise of a clawed demon lizard!"
If lizard warriors are mass-produced in the future, the nearby Claw Demon Lizards will be in deep trouble!

The Demon Lizard Claw is a relatively uncommon material, and it's not expensive. A pair costs only about three spirit crystals, and there are discounts available at the Treasure Pavilion for bulk purchases.

However, because it was a niche product, neither Baibaoge nor Yuanlailou had much stock. Su Qing secretly reminded herself that she should buy more next time she went out, so that Baibaoge and Yuanlailou would not raise prices after the Lizard Warrior was released to the market.

The demon lizard claws were fitted perfectly onto the puppet prototype.

Su Qing placed her hand on the puppet's chest, infused it with magic power, and began the initial activation of the puppet.

A moment later, all the runes on the puppet's prototype lit up with a faint light, and then, under the effect of the bionic runes, the entire puppet was completely transformed.

Its eight-foot-tall body is covered in green scales, its gaping maw spews out hot air, its strong tail swings nimbly, and its three-fingered claws seem capable of tearing anything apart.

This was a ferocious monster that looked almost exactly like an adult Claw Demon Lizard, but it hadn't even had a moment to show its power.

His body lay sprawled on the ground like a lump of mud.

Unsurprisingly, Su Qing directed the wood spirit servants to clean up the waste while looking at the notification panel.

[Failed to refine Lizard Warrior (Tier 1, Mid-grade). Lizard Warrior Proficiency +1. Current Proficiency: 1/200]

[Intelligent Rune +30, Bionic Rune +10, Combat Rune +120, Immortal Rune +50]

"Fortunately, the lizard warrior doesn't require a high level of proficiency. I estimate that I can max out the proficiency and success rate after refining it a maximum of two hundred times!"

In fact, he knew very well that as his proficiency increased, his success rate would also increase. Therefore, he didn't need two hundred attempts to max out his proficiency with the Lizard Warrior.

"The cost of refining it once is about eighty spirit crystals, mainly because the second-tier bionic and intelligent talisman water is more expensive."

A lizard warrior, according to the market price for combat puppets, sells for at least five hundred spirit crystals. That means if I achieve a success rate of around 20%, I can make a profit?

Su Qing secretly calculated and felt that the future was promising. The materials he had prepared were enough to support him to refine more than thirty times. If he was lucky, he might even be able to successfully refine one or two more.

"It's quite time-consuming and consumes a lot of mana to craft this puppet. Even with the help of the wood spirit servants, I can only craft it a maximum of three times a day!"

······
Over the next ten days or so.

Su Qing rarely left her home, spending her days crafting puppets and her nights meditating to recover. With wood spirit servants taking care of her daily needs and a diet of spirit rice and beast meat, her life was not difficult, except for being somewhat monotonous.

During this period, only Tang Wanqing came once, bringing more than ten catties of animal meat and buying all five of his last remaining witch puppets. It seems that her flesh puppet business is doing well and she is now in the stage of expanding her business.

But Su Qing figured that was the end of it. There were only two or three hundred thousand cultivators in Baiyun Market. Even if they wanted to taste the flavor of a witch again, Tang Wanqing's current witch puppets were enough for them to charge in.

Manager Liu hasn't sent anyone to place additional orders with him recently, which suggests that the novelty of the witch puppets among cultivators outside has worn off.

Su Qing had anticipated this, but he couldn't help feeling a little heartbroken. After all, the witch puppet was his most stable source of profit at the moment.

"Next, let's see if this lizard warrior can satisfy Manager Liu!"

After using up the last of the materials, Su Qing glanced at the two lizard warriors standing guard in front of the courtyard gate and placed high hopes on them.

Over the past ten days, he has crafted lizard warriors thirty-three times, failing thirty-one times and succeeding only in crafting two. At the same time, his combat and immortal runes have both reached the first tier, and his intelligent runes are not far from the second tier.

Today he's going to take these two finished products to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion for Manager Liu to inspect.

The two lizard warriors had already recognized him as their master. Their half-human, half-beast bodies were covered in green scales, making them look both disgusting and intimidating. They followed him closely as he walked out of the courtyard gate, and even knew to lock the door for him.

This scene happened to be witnessed by several cultivators nearby. One of them, a tall and burly body cultivator with a slightly fierce appearance, strode towards Su Qing, bowing respectfully as he spoke:

"I am Gao Erqiang, a humble Daoist. I have just moved here a few days ago and have not yet paid my respects to you. Please forgive me."

"So it's Fellow Daoist Gao. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Su Qing returned the greeting with a cupped hand. He had heard of this person before, who was said to have a third-level body cultivator in his ancestor, whose family combat skills were quite profound.

With his family's inherited combat skills and his peak first-tier cultivation, he led a group of underlings in the city center and ran a meat shop. He was a well-known butcher in the city. Tang Wanqing's Ironback Bear meat was sold to him in a package.

He usually stays in the city center of the neighborhood, but I don't know why he moved to the residential area.

"I see that the two puppets behind you are quite remarkable. I suppose you bought them because you want to try your luck on Hundred Beast Mountain."

If you find anything worthwhile, I hope you'll take care of me. I guarantee the price will be no lower than anywhere else!

Gao Erqiang squinted his eyes, like a hyena smelling blood, and after looking at the lizard warrior for a few moments, he bent down and smiled at Su Qing.

Su Qing was taken aback upon hearing this, realizing he had misunderstood, and waved her hand, saying:

"With my meager skills, how could I dare to take the risk of Hundred Beasts Mountain? To be honest, fellow Daoist, I am a puppeteer. These two puppets were not purchased, but were crafted by my own hands!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Erqiang's smile widened even further.

"I was blind and did not realize that you were a puppeteer. But you are too modest. With your skills as a puppeteer, there is no reason for you to refuse the riches of Hundred Beasts Mountain!"

After saying that, he reminded Su Qing again that if she made any gains in Hundred Beasts Mountain in the future, she should not forget to support his business.

This left Su Qing completely bewildered, but fortunately, a familiar cultivator nearby cleared up his confusion.

It turned out that during the more than ten days he had been in seclusion refining puppets...

On Hundred Beasts Mountain, something unexpected happened. First-tier demonic beasts that were originally hiding deep in the mountains surged to the foot of the mountain in large numbers. Some of them, like the Ironback Bear, even began to attack the spirit fields.

For the spirit plant growers in the spirit field area, the destruction of the spirit fields by first-tier demonic beasts, which also threatens their lives, is an absolute disaster.

For most cultivators in the market, however, it was a windfall of wealth.

Originally, if cultivators wanted to hunt demonic beasts, they had to go deep into the Hundred Beast Mountain. Deep in this mountain, miasma was rampant, and second- and third-tier demonic beasts roamed around, so they could encounter misfortune at any time.

However, if a first-tier demon beast leaves the deep mountains, without the cover of the miasma forest of Hundred Beast Mountain and the threat of second- and third-tier demon beasts, the first-tier demon beast will be much easier to deal with.

What delighted the cultivators even more was that just a few days ago, Baibaoge, Yuanlailou, and several official shops under the jurisdiction of Yunshan Sect in the city center of the market all declared that they would buy a large amount of demon beast materials, accepting all comers and treating everyone fairly, young and old!

With such a move, wouldn't it drive all the cultivators in the entire market crazy?
Shops like Baibaoge and Yuanlailou, which originally only dealt in small quantities of animal meat, started competing with the meat vendors for business, forcing Gao Erqiang to come to the residential area to pick up his goods nearby, which is not surprising.

After understanding the reason, Su Qing lost all interest in hunting monsters.

He can make money just by staying at home. How stupid would he have to be to risk his life against a monster?
However, this fellow Daoist Zhang Hai was speaking with great enthusiasm, seemingly somewhat interested, which prompted Su Qing to offer a word of advice.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, are you also considering trying your luck at Hundred Beast Mountain? If I remember correctly, you are a formation master. There's no need for you to switch careers and risk becoming a demon hunter, is there?"

Zhang Hai, who looked even thinner than Su Qing, glanced enviously at the lizard warrior behind Su Qing before replying:
"Fellow Daoist flatters me. What kind of array master am I? I'm just an array apprentice. I'm fortunate that you have chosen me to help maintain the arrays, and I can at least share in the profits."

To be honest, I'm a little hesitant myself. I wonder how much those two puppets behind you cost. If the price is right, I'd like to buy one.

The Lizard Warriors will have no trouble selling!

As soon as Zhang Hai finished speaking, Su Qing was overjoyed!
For him, the descent of this demonic beast from the mountain was an immense stroke of wealth!

(End of this chapter)