Immortality begins with meditation puppets

Chapter 20: All businessmen are dishonest
"No merchant is honest; these unscrupulous merchants are after these rogue cultivators to fleece them!"

"Oh, I can be a shrewd businessman too, then it's alright!"

Su Qing watched with mixed feelings as the independent cultivators surrounded the counter, frantically buying all kinds of items whose prices had skyrocketed, and even went to the counter selling materials.

As he predicted, not only did the price of finished products skyrocket, but the prices of various materials for making talismans and puppets also rose sharply.

Bah! Those unscrupulous merchants!

"Give me ten spirit woods, the longest and thickest ones, thirty spirit crystals each? You guys are just robbing me!"

As Su Qing took out spirit crystals, he complained. He now understood why Zhang Hai was so resentful.

As one of the most basic spiritual materials, the price of spiritual wood has increased more than tenfold compared to before!

"Fellow Daoist, what you're saying is true. There's no way to buy something faster than to snatch it!" The young shop assistant at the counter winked and said with a smile.

Well, that guy is shameless, there's nothing you can do about it.

Fortunately, besides common materials like spirit wood and black iron crystal, there are other options.

The Demon Lizard Claw is still too uncommon for other talisman masters and puppeteers. Only some alchemists will peel off some claw skin as an auxiliary material when refining pills.

Therefore, the price remains the same as before, or even slightly lower.

Fearing that the price would rise further, Su Qing simply bought up all the remaining stock of the Demon Lizard Claws from Baibaoge.

He obtained a total of 162 demon lizard claws, and with the other materials, he consumed more than 4,000 spirit crystals, of which several kinds of talisman water materials and black iron essence accounted for the majority.

"These spirit crystals were originally enough for me to buy materials for more than fifty sets of lizard warriors. Now, apart from the extra demonic lizard claws, the rest of the materials combined will only allow me to refine more than twenty more times at most!"

Clutching the remaining thousand or so spirit crystals in the storage bag, Su Qing dared not look any further.

Just as he was about to go upstairs to talk to Tong Xin about the lizard warrior business.

But then they saw five or six female cultivators walk into the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

Several female cultivators, some slender and well-proportioned, others plump and voluptuous, each with their own unique beauty, attracted the attention of many cultivators as soon as they entered the room, including Su Qing.

He wasn't lecherous; he just realized that these people were all living off Tang Wanqing.

Even with the witch puppets, they have more free time.

But that doesn't mean you have to hunt monsters!
Looking at the five or six female cultivators carrying the emerald-green, blue-eyed, and enormous-mouthed serpent, Su Qing was filled with confusion.

"Oh, isn't this Fellow Daoist Su? You've finally decided to emerge from seclusion?"

The leading female cultivator was extremely tall with long legs. The moment her slender eyes saw Su Qing, she gave an order to the other female cultivators and strode towards Su Qing.

Sun Yan is the most popular female cultivator among the independent cultivators in the market under Tang Wanqing. She is a mid-level first-tier body cultivator and is said to be extremely skilled in leg techniques. Although Su Qing has never witnessed her leg techniques because of Tang Wanqing, they are acquainted.

"With prices rising so sharply, if we don't leave the pass soon, we won't even be able to afford food. How dare you all go hunting?" Su Qing asked, cupping his hands in greeting.

“We are not like you, fellow Daoist, who can make money sitting at home. We have a chance to make a lot of money right now, wouldn’t it be a pity to miss it? Or do you think we are not worthy of hunting demonic beasts?”

As Sun Yan spoke, she lifted the hem of her Taoist robe, and Su Qing glanced at it.

Good heavens, her legs, which were originally clad in black stockings, are now covered with more than a dozen throwing knives. It looks quite convincing.

After a conversation, Su Qing finally understood.

It turned out that Tang Wanqing had tasted success in hunting ironback bears last time, and now that the witch puppet business was doing well, the sisters had some free time, so they took them to the hunting area to try their hand at it.

With her late-stage Qi Refining cultivation level, and the presence of skilled female cultivators like Su Yan, she has made some progress in the past few days.

The emerald-eyed python hunted today is proof of this. According to Sun Yan, while she and her group were selling goods, Tang Wanqing and the rest of the group were not idle; they were tracking another monster.

"I need to go check how the goods are selling. If Fellow Daoist Su goes to the hunting area, you must come and find us. Although I don't do that kind of business anymore, it's not impossible if it's Fellow Daoist Su!"

Originally delicate and weak, Sun Yan had become decisive and efficient after just a few days of training. After making a joke, she walked past Su Qing with a mix of fragrance and the stench of demonic beasts.

At this moment, a shop assistant informed Su Qing that Tong Xin had finished inspecting the goods.

Upon reaching the second floor, Tong Xin greeted everyone with a beaming smile and clasped his hands in a respectful gesture:
"Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on creating another new puppet! This puppet has been tested by our Hundred Treasures Pavilion and definitely has the potential to become a mid-grade first-tier puppet! It's just a pity that this one is a trial piece; it seems that the Xuan Iron Essence coating was a bit too light, making it difficult to unleash its full potential!"

"That's easy to say. If Baibaoge is satisfied with this puppet, I guarantee that the lizard warriors they bring in the future will have at least ten layers of coating!"
Adding more would affect the lizard warriors' agility and increase their energy consumption significantly, which is unnecessary!

Su Qing patted her chest and assured him.

"Then how many materials do you need to make one?" Tong Xin asked again.

"How about ten sets of materials to make one puppet? I've only been experimenting with this puppet for a short time, and with this yield rate, I definitely won't make any money!"

It's true that it doesn't make money. With his current success rate, he might not even be able to make one puppet with ten sets of materials. But he can use these materials to increase his proficiency, so it's definitely not a loss.

Tong Xin did not doubt what he said. Su Qing had only recently begun to explore this puppetry, and a success rate of about 10% was already quite good.

However, the materials for a set of Lizard Warriors are now priced at about 300 spirit crystals. The reason why Su Qing can collect a set for just over 200 spirit crystals is that he knows how to concoct second-tier bionic talisman water and intelligent talisman water. Other cultivators do not have this ability.

Based on this calculation, the cost of one lizard warrior is three thousand spirit crystals.

This would be extremely unworthy for Baibaoge.

"Please forgive me, fellow Daoist. This puppet is indeed extraordinary, but the cost is simply too high, and I cannot make that decision on its own!"

Tong Xin politely declined, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect.

Su Qing knew he was capable of making the decision; he just didn't want to do this business.

He was slightly disappointed, but not to the point of holding a grudge against a fellow employee.

They returned home disappointed, leading the lizard warrior from the Treasure Pavilion.

However, after leaving the building, he was stopped by a waiter from Yuanlailou, who said that the deputy owner, Wang Rong, had invited him.

Su Qing seemed to sense something and followed the waiter to Yuanlai Restaurant, where she saw the middle-aged courtesan whose complexion had recently become increasingly rosy.

"Ten sets of materials, at the price of one puppet—this deal is off the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, but Yuanlai Tower will take it!"

Wang Rong, draped in a thin red gauze dress, spoke a voice that was extremely pleasing to Su Qing's ears.

"Fellow Daoist, you've suffered a loss?" Su Qing said with a smile.

Wang Rong, however, didn't care. She had wanted to invest in Su Qing for a long time but hadn't found the opportunity. Now that she had finally seized it, how could she miss it?

"If you don't lose money at the beginning, how can you make a profit later? Just remember this, fellow Daoist: it's fine if you sell in small quantities, but if you're going to sell in large quantities, only my Yuanlailou can do business with these lizard warriors!"

"That's natural. Although I am a guest elder of Baibaoge, theoretically I should give priority to Baibaoge when I have goods. But since they don't like this lizard puppet, I don't think they will say much if I do this business with Guibaolou!"

Su Qing nodded, indicating that she knew the rules.

Afterwards, he and Wang Rong signed an agreement on a spiritual contract paper.

Over the next month, Yuanlailou will provide him with thirty sets of puppet materials, and he only needs to ship three finished puppets.

A month later, Yuanlailou could provide up to fifty sets of materials per month, and he would need to ship ten finished products.

This means he must achieve a success rate of over 20%. If it is insufficient, he will need to pay the difference in spirit crystals at a price of 1,500 spirit crystals per body.

"I believe in your abilities, fellow Daoist. You will not let me down!"

The deal was done. Wang Rong stretched lazily, the movement so large that it pulled her red dress tight and wrinkled, outlining her even more alluring figure.

Su Qing didn't dare to look any longer, and with thirty sets of materials in hand, she simply took her leave.

"Hmph, now that you've taken the bait I offered, you're not afraid of running away!"

Wang Rong watched Su Qing's departing figure and smiled with a hint of smugness.

She absolutely did not believe that the success rate could be increased by 10% in just one month.

"When the time comes, if he needs more lizard warriors, I can mention it to him and ask him to become a guest elder of my Yuanlai Tower!" Wang Rong muttered to herself.

(End of this chapter)