Immortality begins with meditation puppets

Chapter 231 Auction, Flying Sword Puppet! (Two Chapters Combined)

"This is the Life-Regenerating Pill. For injuries that are not necessarily fatal, swallowing this pill will allow you to recover instantly."

"I had prepared four, and Fellow Daoist Niu Ya also had one, but unfortunately the Yuan family came knocking, and I had no choice but to give one away. I apologize for neglecting Fellow Daoist Niu Ya this time!"

Guo An smiled as he watched Su Qing and the others accept the medicinal pills, feeling somewhat relieved. He then turned to Niu Ya and apologized.

He knew Niu Ya's temperament—he was straightforward and outspoken—and was speaking frankly to him at this moment.

"It's alright. Fellow Daoist Guo explained to me yesterday that the furnace I use to refine medicine is actually made by Mu Huanchun, so I have no need for this kind of medicine."

Besides, even without this elixir, Fellow Daoist Qiaolian has healed many of my brothers in the Rat King Squad on numerous occasions. Given this kindness, if Fellow Daoist Qiaolian were to need anything in the future, Niu Ya would certainly not stand idly by!

Niu Ya said casually, and Su Qing, Helian Xian, and Liang Haishun all nodded in agreement.

Guo An intended to entrust his orphan to someone else, fearing that Guo Qiaolian would be bullied if he left.

But in reality, even if Guo An hadn't brought the medicine, this group of people would have already banded together for warmth and relied on each other.

This is also why Su Qing, Liang Haishun, and the others rushed to the scene immediately when Lin Fan tried to cause trouble for Shao Delong last time.

Since the influx of many forces from the original Yunluo Immortal City into Baiyun Immortal City.

The White Cloud Immortal City is a melting pot of all sorts of people. Leaving aside the Yuan and Lin families who use their power to oppress others, there are also many who bully and plunder, engaging in petty theft and other despicable acts.

If these people don't stick together, they'll really be bullied to death.

Seeing everyone's support, Guo An, who felt at ease after giving away the medicine, then started chatting with them about other, less serious topics.

As everyone was chatting, an old Taoist priest with an air of otherworldly wisdom slowly walked out from the center of the first floor.

As soon as the old Taoist appeared, he stretched out his arms, raising and lowering them with each stroke.

Inside the Yunshan Pavilion, array lights appeared everywhere, and in an instant, a third-order array formed before everyone's eyes.

Su Qing saw that he and the other cultivators were all covered in a layer of white light.

Amidst the white light, the few cultivators sitting in the back row, their bodies glowing with black light, stood out conspicuously.

As all the cultivators looked at the group of people.

The cultivators suddenly sprang into action, unleashing numerous black, eerie Soul Refining Banners, attempting to stir up the dark clouds and escape.

"I didn't expect there would actually be a cultivator from the Desire Demon Sect who's so reckless as to come and join in the fun here!"

On the second floor, someone spoke in a cold voice, and then two mysterious lights, one white and one black, were seen emanating from the second floor.

The black and white lights flashed intermittently, and each time they merged, a demonic cultivator would fall to the ground. In the blink of an eye, the four or five demonic cultivators who had not even revealed their cultivation levels died a violent death.

"Yin Yang Absolute Light, the signature technique of the Joyful Old Demon. This demon once used this technique to instantly kill a city of cultivators in the Fire Phoenix Immortal Kingdom, and has been hunted down by the Fire Phoenix Immortal Kingdom ever since."

Unexpectedly, this demon had long been protected by the Yunshan Sect, becoming a guest elder and remaining hidden until the great war between the Yunshan Immortal Kingdom and the Desire Demon Immortal Kingdom, when it finally revealed itself in Yunluo Immortal City!

Old Master Liang was a man of great experience and knowledge; he had heard countless stories from the bedside of the owner of Yuanlai Tower.

Seeing that all the cultivators were stunned by the Golden Core cultivator's methods, he couldn't help but speak up and explain.

When people like Niu Ya saw the Golden Core cultivator make a move, they only sighed at the Golden Core cultivator's boundless power before returning to their own thoughts.

Only Su Qing said with a slightly heavy heart:

"I noticed that among those demonic cultivators, there seems to be a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even his protective aura couldn't block these black and white lights for a moment. This technique must be a Earth-level technique!"

"Therefore, the strength of a Golden Core cultivator can be judged by two factors: their realm and the Dao techniques they have mastered."

If one masters a low-level Dao technique to perfection, one would be considered among the best even among Golden Core cultivators. It was precisely this Yin-Yang Absolute Breath Light that made the Cloud Mountain Sect risk offending the Fire Phoenix Immortal Kingdom to invite him as a guest elder.

Liang Haishun nodded in agreement. In the cultivation world, only strength matters, not good or evil. So what if this Happy Old Demon has killed countless people? As long as he is fierce and strong enough, the Yunshan Sect will still treat him as an honored guest. The old demon will become a Zen Buddha.

Of course, the Yunshan Sect's standards were really too low. They dared to harbor even evil spirits, so harboring a Happy Old Demon was nothing special.

"I wonder if I can withstand this technique if I wear the three armors, and I also wonder if I can make this technique my own after the Transformation Hand breaks through to the third level!"

Su Qing thought to himself, he felt that the power of this Earth-level Dao technique was too outrageous, and it would probably hurt a lot if it hit him. But he also thought that if he could transform it into Yuan, he would feel incredibly happy to use it to kill people.

But he only dared to think about it. He figured that the old devil of joy would be very bothered by being touched indiscriminately by him!
Not entirely. Since they take "joy" as their Taoist name, they must love doing things that bring them joy.

If you're willing to go all out, you might actually reap some rewards!

Su Qing shook her head, dismissing the idea that was as unscrupulous as the Yunshan Sect from her mind.

He then focused his gaze on Elder Li Mubai in the center.

This third-tier array master, upon his first appearance, immediately set up an array to mark the demonic cultivator.

At this point, they clapped their hands and had the first item brought in for auction.

In a typical auction, the first item is not particularly valuable, but it must be something that can pique the interest of the cultivators present.

Therefore, Su Qing's Phantom Leopard was the obvious choice. Since its quality was not yet at the second tier, most of the independent cultivators present could afford it, and it was exciting and novel enough to be the first item to be auctioned.

Upon seeing that Li Mubai had released all five Phantom Leopards at once.

Su Qing's expression immediately changed, and she wished she could replace her and personally promote the Phantom Leopards to raise their value.

Fortunately, Li Mubai was able to become the auctioneer for this auction not only because of his mastery of formations, but also because of his excellent eloquence.

"Phantom Leopard, a first-tier superior puppet, is the work of the puppet master of Baibaoge. It was originally modeled after an unnamed beautiful woman. After being submitted for auction, the master was inspired by the princess-style snake beauty that is currently selling well in the Immortal City."

This puppet template has been urgently changed to the Fire Phoenix Princess template to enhance its allure. The subtleties of this transformation are left for fellow cultivators to discover.

The leopard woman form is the most distinctive feature of this puppet. As for its ability to transform into a shadow leopard and use shadow-stealing attacks, in my opinion, it is only barely passable and nothing special.

These puppets have a starting price of 30,000 spirit crystals. Those who appreciate this type of puppet should not miss this opportunity, as the master of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion stated that these five Phantom Leopards are his final works, and such puppets will not be available on the market again!

While explaining to the cultivators in the arena, Li Mubai had the Phantom Leopard switch back and forth between the Princess Leopard and the Shadow Hunter Leopard.

Meanwhile, on the first floor, shouts of bidding had already begun to echo.

"That Su Qing is truly heartless. He dares to sell the beautiful snake for 40,000 spirit crystals. With 40,000 spirit crystals, can't I buy this Phantom Leopard? 40,000 spirit crystals, I want one!"

"You want to play Nidalee for 40,000? Go home and play Snake! 60,000!"

"Four hundred thousand spirit crystals! These five Phantom Leopards are all mine, Lin family!"

Lin Fan, standing in the first row, suddenly stood up, turned around, and looked at the group of rogue cultivators behind him, wanting to see who would dare to disrespect the Lin family.

"Five hundred thousand spirit crystals! This new type of puppet contains countless secret techniques that puppet masters keep hidden. In my humble opinion, one hundred thousand spirit crystals is not expensive at all!"

Su Qing stood up, her gaze completely ignoring Lin Fan, staring intently at the five Phantom Leopards as if they were rare treasures. "With your meager skills, you think you can use these puppets to reverse-engineer the refining process? Don't make a fool of yourself. My Lin family will offer 600,000 spirit crystals!"

Lin Fan mocked Su Qing and made another bid.

"Seven hundred thousand spirit crystals!" Su Qing still ignored it, as if his mind was completely captivated by the five phantom leopards.

"Eight hundred thousand spirit crystals! What my Lin family has set its sights on, no one can take away!" Lin Fan exclaimed with the arrogance of a Golden Core cultivator.

"Nine hundred thousand spirit crystals! This price far exceeds the value of this puppet itself. I don't believe the Lin family would dare to compete with me!"

Su Qing turned to look at Lin Fan with a flushed face and a fierce expression. This did not frighten Lin Fan; instead, it made him feel even more pleased.

"One million spirit crystals—you, Su Qing, can't even imagine the strength of my Lin family!" Ignoring the advice of his clansmen behind him, Lin Fan was determined to take this opportunity to vent his anger on Su Qing.

Upon hearing this, Su Qing considered it for a moment and decided it was best not to bid any further, lest Lin Fan give in to his clansmen and eventually stop bidding, leaving the Phantom Leopard stuck in his hands.

Having made enough profit for himself, he feigned rage, pointing a trembling finger at Lin Fan before slumping down, looking every bit like a defeated rogue cultivator crushed by the Lin family's wealth.

Lin Fan was extremely pleased to see this. Even if the clan asked him to pay the difference of 400,000 spirit crystals out of his own pocket, he would have gladly accepted.

The first item was sold for one million spirit crystals.

As the auctioneer, Li Mubai also gained face and even nodded gratefully to Lin Fan.

In his view, this was Lin Fan supporting him.

Otherwise, what idiot would spend a million spirit crystals to buy five first-grade high-quality puppets?

Even if Nidalee is fun, five of them are too many. Can you handle them all?
Because Su Qing had offered him a Phantom Leopard, Li Mubai was the first cultivator besides Su Qing to try out the Phantom Leopard.

In his view, this puppet was indeed incredibly delicious and addictive, but it cost a maximum of 100,000 spirit crystals per puppet; anything more would be a waste.

Anyway, he wasn't the kind of person to pay up unjustly. Taking advantage of the heated atmosphere created by the first item, he bid on several more items.

Among these auction items are a lotus maiden at the third level of Qi Refining, a beast core of a first-tier demon king, a second-tier water escape talisman, materials for a second-tier demon king, and so on.

They weren't all ordinary items, but Liang Haishun and the others remained seated and did not bid.

They all focused their attention on the Foundation Establishment Pill, and before obtaining it, they dared not spend their spirit crystals and spirit stones on other auction items.

Su Qing wanted to bid on the second-tier silver wolf king's beast bones, but Lin Fan, like a mad dog that wouldn't let go, bought the beast bones for a high price of 400,000 spirit crystals, preventing him from getting the beast bones.

What could he do in this situation? He could only raise his paddle repeatedly, hoping that Young Master Lin would contribute more spirit stones to benefit the owners of the auctioned items.

After several attempts, Lin Fan realized that what he was doing was incredibly unfair, and he immediately gave up on such behavior.

More than half an hour later, Li Mubai took out a puppet that he had never seen before.

He then perked up.

The puppet was humanoid in shape, with all four limbs and a magic sword in each hand, capable of independently casting Yellow-level sword-based Taoist spells.

It can also transform into a three-pointed sword-shaped magic sword, spitting out sword energy in the air and soaring through the sky.

"Flying Sword Puppet, a first-tier ultimate puppet, a work by the puppet master of Baibaoge."

As you can see, it can fight independently as a swordsman, or it can transform into a three-pointed magic sword to fly through the air and fight enemies.

The key point is that, to drive this flying sword puppet into battle, cultivators do not need to master sword control techniques. This puppet has second-tier intelligence and second-tier flight runes, and can search for enemies and fly on its own.

These effortless and convenient puppets, costing 80,000 spirit crystals each, are not expensive at all. With the combined strength of twelve of them, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator could withstand them to some extent.

Therefore, these twelve flying sword puppets, forming a single set, have a starting price of 1.2 million spirit crystals. Fellow cultivators who dream of flying swords should definitely not miss this opportunity!

The flying sword puppet immediately amazed everyone upon its appearance.

These puppets, unheard of by ordinary people, have attracted the interest of countless cultivators.

Even without Su Qing deliberately raising the price, the puppet, driven by the group of cultivators, quickly reached a high price of 1.8 million spirit crystals.

"One million eight hundred thousand. This Fellow Daoist Lin Fan has offered one million eight hundred thousand. Is there anyone who can offer a higher price than Fellow Daoist Lin Fan?"

"Such a unique puppet, perhaps even a collector's item, are the other fellow cultivators just going to watch it fall into the hands of Fellow Daoist Lin Fan?"

Just as Li Mubai was about to strike the gavel and set the price.

Su Qing suddenly stood up.

"The design concept behind this puppet is similar to that of a sword-summoning puppet that I created in the past, and I am quite interested in it."

"Two million spirit crystals, I am willing to bid for this puppet to use for studying puppetry techniques!"

"Two million! I've heard that this Fellow Daoist Su is one of the top second-tier puppeteers in White Cloud Immortal City. His puppetry skills are exceptional. He's willing to spend two million spirit crystals to further improve his puppetry skills. I, this old Daoist, am extremely impressed by such dedication to the Dao!"
"Fellow Daoist Lin, will you continue bidding? Surely the Lin family's investment in the art of puppetry is comparable to that of Fellow Daoist Su?"

As the auctioneer, Li Mubai only knew that the puppet was an item from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, but he was unaware that it was made by Su Qing.

Seeing Su Qing come out to bid, they assumed that he was genuinely interested in the puppeteer's skills contained in the puppet.

He even began to admire Su Qing somewhat. As a third-tier array master, his dedication to array formations was even greater than Su Qing's dedication to puppetry.

But as the auctioneer, no matter how much he admired Su Qing, his duty required him to nip the Lin family's anger in the bud and encourage them to continue bidding.

"Third Brother, this flying sword puppet's style is completely different from the puppets of my Lin family. Buying it for 1.8 million to study it is acceptable, but anything more than that would not be worthwhile!"

Within the Lin family group, a member of the Lin family whispered a suggestion to Lin Fan.

Lin Fan glanced at the flying sword puppet, then looked at Su Qing, who was determined to get her hands on it.

Suddenly, a nameless rage flared up, and he turned his face away, angrily saying:

"A mere rogue cultivator can afford to bid two million spirit crystals for this puppet. How can my Lin family be outdone by him?"

These flying sword puppets, when all twelve are deployed together, possess power comparable to first or second-tier puppets. Two million spirit crystals isn't exactly expensive!

After saying that, he raised his hand and called out a price of 2.3 million spirit crystals.

Upon seeing her price, Su Qing immediately slumped down.

Lin Fan felt even more pleased, but he felt a little heartache because he had to pay the extra 500,000 spirit crystals out of his own pocket.

And then, an even more disheartening item appeared at the auction.

"A first-order ultimate puppet, a blasting war bear that once fought against a second-order tiger king, a rising second-order puppeteer, and an innovative creation by fellow Daoist Su Qing."

"A team of eight will be auctioned off together, with a starting price of one million spirit crystals. Fellow Daoists, please place your bids."

Thank you all so much for your donations and monthly tickets! I'm bowing down in gratitude!
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(End of this chapter)