Immortality begins with meditation puppets

Chapter 31 Li Erhe is dead!
Life was uneventful.

Tang Wanqing is still working hard in the hunting area and has never returned to the living area.

Zhang Hai has been in seclusion, seemingly prepared to either starve to death or break through to a higher level.

At Gao's shop, two lanterns with human heads are hung up every seven days. Gao Erqiang is overwhelmed with work, but business continues.

Su Qing spent his days refining puppets, and every few days, people would come to his door to buy goods. He made a fortune in spirit crystals, and he was also willing to spend two or three hours in the evening taking a bath and practicing boxing.

More than twenty days later.

The materials for crafting the lizard puppets were finally exhausted. Not only did he complete the mission from Yuanlai Tower and the order brought by Ge Changyuan, he also equipped himself with a team of lizard warriors.

A team of twelve lizard warriors, made of the finest materials, their bodies gleaming and glowing green.

It's not that he only has these twelve lizard warriors after deducting orders; in fact, he currently has a full sixteen lizard puppets in his storage bag.

I'll keep twelve for myself, and sell four later.

"Each lizard warrior consumes three spirit crystals daily, and more than double that during battle. Raising twelve lizard warriors would cost at least a thousand spirit crystals per month, so I dare not raise more than that."

Basking in the moonlight when you have nothing to do can replenish some energy, but it's only better than nothing. You can only activate your energy once every half month by basking in the moonlight, which is too slow!

Summoning six lizard warriors to protect him on either side, Su Qing, for the first time, acted like a proper puppeteer, proudly pushing open the door.

With combat puppets protecting him, the puppeteer felt much more confident and imposing!
And indeed, that is the case.

In just over twenty days, the medicinal baths alone cost him six or seven hundred spirit crystals. This doesn't even include the time cost. With his current earning efficiency, the time cost alone would amount to several thousand spirit crystals.

With so many spirit crystals thrown at him, no matter how bad his constitution is, it will still have some effect.

For example, he now has more muscle and has grown more than two inches taller, looking like he's gone through a second growth spurt. At least now when he meets the long-legged Sun Yan, he doesn't have to look up at her anymore.

In addition, last night he glanced at the panel and saw that his condition had changed from slightly deficient in qi and blood to normal, and his lifespan limit had increased from 92 years to 138 years.

These gains were all thanks to the Immovable King Technique, which made Su Qing decide to continue practicing this technique, even if it meant consuming more spirit crystals.

Having stayed home for more than twenty days, today he planned to deliver the goods to Yuanlailou and also purchase some materials from Baibaoge.

If it's not too late, he should also make a trip to the Spirit Field District to deliver the goods and secure the remaining 20,000 spirit crystals.

I had just stepped out of the courtyard gate.

He saw a group of cultivators gathered together, pointing and gesturing at a small courtyard belonging to a cultivator, which was only about two miles away from his home.

"Has someone been in trouble?"

Su Qing's expression hardened, and she leaned over to listen to a few words.

"Li Erhe is dead!"

"How could he die? He was a leatherworker, how could he die while staying at home?"

"They found out first thing this morning. Isn't that strange? Nothing was missing from the house except his head!"

"That is indeed a strange thing. If it was the work of a thief, then he should have taken his family's property. He only took his head. Was his head made of spirit crystal?"

"Was it done by a demonic cultivator? Demonic cultivators are good at scaring people."

"The demonic cultivators aren't stupid. If they have spirit crystals, why wouldn't they take them? Li Erhe's family has over a thousand spirit crystals, and they've all gone to those bastards in the enforcement team!"

"It must be an evil spirit! My dog ​​kept barking last night, it must be an evil spirit!"

"Speaking of which, a few days ago I seemed to see a headless figure through the window, but it disappeared when I looked again. Maybe it was an evil spirit!"

·····
Li Erhe tanned animal hides, made them into leather goods and paper products, and supplied them to professionals such as talisman makers and weapon refiners. Among the rogue cultivators, he lived a pretty good life.

Su Qing had dealt with him before when he was making other puppets. He was a simple and honest man who made a living by his craft.

This honest man, who stayed at home making leather, did nothing wrong, and just lost his head.

The monks suspected that it was the work of evil spirits.

Su Qing was certain that the trouble was caused by the Gao family's butcher shop.

"Two heads every seven days. If every cultivator harmed by him will turn into a headless evil spirit, then in the past month alone, there have been eight headless evil spirits born from the wandering evil spirit!"
Judging from their appearance, these headless evil spirits are different from the wandering demons; they not only wreak havoc on the Gao family's butcher shop, but also harm the surrounding cultivators!

Su Qing analyzed the situation silently, without explaining it in detail to the surrounding cultivators, but couldn't help asking:

"I've been in seclusion for over half a month, but I don't know what's going on at the Gao family's butcher shop. It seems like not many fellow Daoists sent meat there today."

A cultivator with thick eyebrows and large eyes turned his head upon hearing the sound, only to be met with six green-skinned lizardmen staring at him. He was about to blurt out "Holy crap!" when he saw Su Qing among the lizardmen and calmed down.

"Fellow Daoist Su, you've got quite the presence! Why don't you have these lizard warriors carry you in a sedan chair?"

Perhaps startled by the lizard warriors, Long Feifan was somewhat sarcastic.

Puppet masters are so great, walking around with six puppets to scare people. I can't even afford one, damn it!

"It's not that it's impossible, but carrying a sedan chair is a bit too high-profile."

Su Qing thought for a moment. The lizard warriors probably wouldn't mind carrying the sedan chair; she could feed them three spirit crystals every day, so what was wrong with carrying a sedan chair? But memories of her past life suddenly flooded back, and recalling the villains who were carried in sedan chairs in her previous life, she felt that this scene was rather ominous, so she gave up.

You really want to do it!

Seeing Su Qing's serious expression, and then looking at the lizard warriors who were either burly and strong or well-proportioned and agile, Long Feifan felt a pang of envy and said:

"You're not exactly being low-key at all!"

After a few lighthearted banter, the cultivators nearby finally answered Su Qing's question in a few words.

"Fellow Daoist, don't go to Gao's Butcher Shop lately. I heard that a few days ago, someone saw two lanterns with human heads hanging in front of their shop!"

"Their workers disappear every few days, so no one dares to work for them anymore, and naturally, not many people dare to sell meat to them!"

"I knew it! Why would they set up a golden light array for no reason? They'd probably run into some evil spirits already!"

"Fellow Daoist, you should avoid his house recently, so as not to get involved with anything unclean."

·····
Hearing the cultivators' reminder, Su Qing finally understood.

The cultivators weren't stupid either; they had all noticed the anomalies at the Gao family's butcher shop over the past month.

However, the cultivators present dared not openly say that the headless evil spirit was caused by the Gao family's butcher shop, lest they incur the wrath of Gao Erqiang.

After learning the situation, he bowed to his comrades and took his leave, heading towards the central area.

He hadn't gone far when someone approached him, making him tense up.

That's Gao Erqiang!
It's just a contrast to the triumphant feeling of a month ago.

Now, Gao Erqiang's hair is disheveled, his expression is listless, and his eyes are frighteningly red, as if he hasn't slept in a long time.

Upon seeing Su Qing, he suddenly seemed somewhat deranged, and like a madman, he blocked Su Qing's way as she was about to take a detour.

"Fellow Daoist Su, what's going on? I, Gao Erqiang, have never offended you, so why are you avoiding me!"

Gao Erqiang looked at Su Qing, who was being protected by the lizard warriors, and questioned her.

"Fellow Daoist Gao, you misunderstand. I just happened to be planning to take a shortcut to save some time."

Between the residential area and the central area, there is a main road paved with bluestone, which is wide enough for horses and carriages to travel on. It is also frequented by many cultivators and is therefore safer. There are also several smaller paths with strange rocks and dense forests on both sides, where raiders often appear.

Therefore, even if the side path is closer, Su Qing usually chooses the safer main road. So, it's reasonable for her to use the side path as an excuse to get rid of Gao Erqiang.

Gao Erqiang cupped his hands in greeting, knowing that Su Qing was just fooling him, but since he was disliked by everyone now, he didn't take it to heart.

"You can't walk on side streets at night, you old man. I just didn't believe in superstitions, and that's how I got to where I am today."

"Hey, why am I telling you this, fellow Daoist! I stopped you today because I wanted to buy two of your puppets. Many of my fellow Daoists who come to my house to sell meat have praised your puppets highly!"

Buy a puppet?
Su Qing was taken aback by his words. "You should close down and run away as soon as possible. What's the use of buying lizard puppets? Even if these puppets self-destruct, they won't be able to stop the evil spirits."

Although he had his doubts, he had no reason to refuse business when it came knocking.

"Each body costs 1,800 spirit crystals. If you're willing, I can sell you two," Su Qing said straightforwardly.

"Why is it so expensive? The most expensive heavy-duty version before was only 1,400 spirit crystals, wasn't it?" Gao Erqiang was a little annoyed, feeling that Su Qing was ripping him off.

That's right, I'm just ripping you off. I'll sell it to you for more than others because you attracted evil spirits, making me spend extra spirit crystals to buy exorcism equipment.

Su Qing thought to herself, but her face remained cold.

"I know how to price puppets. The puppets I made before were not fully mastered and had some flaws, so they were cheaper."

The two puppets I'm selling to you are flawless. Together, they could easily defeat a mid-tier first-order body cultivator. If you think it's too expensive, then forget it!

As Su Qing said this, he was already preparing to release the six puppets from his storage bag. With the twelve lizard warriors protecting him, he was no longer afraid of Gao Erqiang.

Fortunately, Gao Erqiang did not seem to intend to cause trouble for him.

Although the Gao family's butcher shop business has gradually slowed down recently, and they have spent a lot of spirit crystals on bribing officials and dealing with the dead employees.

However, he had previously made a lot of spirit crystals by dealing in demon beast meat, and now he was in a state of chaos caused by evil spirits, so he did not bother to investigate the price difference of three to five hundred spirit crystals for Su Qing.

"Alright, 1800 it is, I'll take both!"

He readily agreed, and Su Qing readily handed over the two lizard warriors to him.

Watching him rush towards the Gao family's butcher shop, I couldn't help but feel even more puzzled.

Knowing full well that the place was being targeted by evil spirits, why did Gao Erqiang still jump into the fire pit?

He could make money before, and it was his employees who died anyway, so it didn't affect his ability to make money.

But now, no one is willing to work for the Gao family anymore, and the rogue cultivators are avoiding the Gao family's butcher shop. With no one and no money, evil spirits will inevitably come after Gao Erqiang!
"Could it be that the evil spirit is targeting not only the Gao family's butcher shop, but also Gao Erqiang?"

Su Qing shuddered as she recalled his bloodshot eyes. She told the lizard warriors to surround him more closely and strode toward the center.

(End of this chapter)