Immortality begins with meditation puppets

Chapter 320 Phantom Troupe, Transformation Technique!

The Digging Dragon Caravan is so disloyal; they refuse to stand up for their manager.

Left with no other choice, Su Qing took out the gambling money that Xiong Er had just won, first promising him a large sum of money, and then releasing the fierce-looking Shao Delong to scare the cultivators.

Only through such a combination of kindness and coercion was a group of people, led by Yao Yongquan, selected from the crowd. They then marched hesitantly and in a grand manner toward Fenglai City.

The hesitant ones were Yao Yongquan and his accomplices, because they simply couldn't believe that a rogue cultivator who had boarded the train halfway through could have any connections in the Fire Phoenix Immortal Kingdom.

The group that followed was led by Su Qing. Princess Fire Phoenix was rescued from the old demon by the witch, and it was Su Qing herself who removed the rune demon seed from her, thus she owed Su Qing a debt of gratitude for saving her life.

Even if she is an ungrateful person, he is not afraid. He still has the dirt on Princess Fire Phoenix, which was turned into a monster. He just doesn't believe that the princess is not afraid that he will expose it and ruin her reputation, making her unable to live as a human or a phoenix!
With a strong sense of confidence, Su Qing urged them along the way, leading the timid and cowardly cultivators of Yuanlai Tower to the outskirts of Fire Phoenix City.

Before even entering the city, Su Qing was drawn to the numerous puppets on the city walls.

On both the inner and outer city walls stood a black stone-shaped puppet, as large as a mountain, inscribed with spirit-suppressing runes. These were likely unique puppets renowned throughout the Fire Phoenix Immortal Kingdom, used specifically to counter the colossal warriors of magical cultivation techniques.

Besides these colossal warriors, there are also puppets with four-leaf clover legs, green skin, slender bodies, round heads, and long beaks. These are also characteristic puppets of the Fire Phoenix, elf-type magic cannon puppets—Pea Fire Shooters. The little creatures' mouthparts are gun barrels, which can rapidly fire out streams of fire magic. They are more agile and have a much faster firing speed than fire magic cannons.

During a break from fighting alongside Princess Fire Phoenix, Su Qing had tried to obtain the blueprints for the Giant Warrior and the Peashooter from her.

Unfortunately, Princess Fire Phoenix was ignorant and incompetent, had no interest in puppets, and did not possess the blueprints for either of these types of puppets.

After returning to her country, she tried to steal the two types of blueprints from the clan elders and exchange them for the princess series puppets with Su Qing. However, the clan elders had long been on guard against this traitor and did not allow her to succeed. The princess was very disappointed, and Su Qing was also very shocked.

After observing the coveted but unattainable Titan and Peashooter, Su Qing muttered to himself:
"What's so great about the Colossus? It's not necessarily comparable to the Earth Tyrant or the Deep Sea Tyrant."

"Can the Peashooter match the firepower of my Spirit Burst Fire Cannon?"

Oh, right, we also need to be careful not to expose the Spirit Explosion Flame Cannon within this city, lest the Fire Phoenix Immortal Kingdom mistake us for the bad guys who stole their top-secret blueprints!
The bad thing was done by Baibaoge, and Su Qing didn't want to take the blame.

Take out the Yuanlai Tower talisman and pass through the inner and outer city walls.

Upon entering this city, the scenery was completely different from that of Baiyun Immortal City and Moyan City.

The fiery red spirit houses and buildings, along with their flags and signs, were all decorated with phoenix patterns. Even the phoenix clansmen who came and went wore fiery red robes and ceremonial robes, all painted with the same phoenix pattern.

The phoenix pattern is indeed majestic and powerful, and its colors are extremely festive.

But after seeing so many, it's inevitable to experience some aesthetic fatigue.

The land shapes its people, and the Fire Phoenix Robe is worn by the Fire Phoenix people.

Su Qing had no intention of correcting the aesthetic sense of the Fire Phoenix Clan. Instead, she followed local customs and bought a set of Fire Phoenix robes for Qinghe, who was traveling with her.

It was a waste to buy it. The Fire Phoenix Robe was passionate and unrestrained, and it showed off his figure the most. Apart from her long legs, Qinghe didn't have much of a figure to speak of, and she didn't have any skills that caught his eye.

He was somewhat disappointed, but Qinghe was delighted. A free robe! Who wouldn't like that?

Hanging on Su Qing's arm, Qinghe became even more emboldened.

"The Bone-Illuminating Mirror can reveal imperfections in the skeletal structure, allowing for timely adjustments using Taoist techniques, thus achieving the most perfect figure and appearance. Master, Qinghe wants it!"

"The Water Dragon Pearl, it doesn't dissolve in your mouth for a long time, it's icy cool, and the emanating water spirit can nourish aquatic spirits and promote their development. I want it!"

"Wind-shining boots, walking on the wind, disappearing with the light, dear brother, you wouldn't be reluctant to buy them for your little sister, would you?"

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Qinghe went a bit too far, and seemed to be trying to take advantage of her.

But the items he was interested in were all first-tier trinkets that wouldn't cost much spirit stones, so Su Qing bought them without hesitation.

I casually asked the stall owners about the exchange rate in the Fire Phoenix Immortal Kingdom. I learned that the exchange rate between spirit crystals and spirit stones had always been extremely stable at 24000:1, which was comparable to that of the Desire Demon Immortal Kingdom. Only then did I feel at ease, thinking that there would be no problem in exchanging all my spirit crystals for spirit stones in the Desire Demon Immortal Kingdom.

He and Qinghe strolled along like they were shopping, stopping and chatting as they went.

This made Yao Yongquan and the others behind him feel relieved.

Although they now resemble lackeys of wealthy families, lackeys are better than prisoners. They just want Su Qingzhen to wander around casually, have some fun, and then go back, rather than going to the city lord's mansion.

But Su Qing was not the kind of person who indulged in pleasure. After learning about the prices and specialties of the Fire Phoenix Immortal Kingdom and finding no bargains to be had, such as merit wooden fish or Dao Heaven Talisman Walls, he led his team straight to the City Lord's Mansion.

The Phoenix City Lord's Mansion was originally a proper city lord's mansion.

However, ever since Princess Huofeng settled in this city and usurped its place, it has become the princess's pleasure den. Vulgar and obscene words and tunes are often heard from there, which has forced the city lord, who was expelled from the mansion, to set up a soundproof array outside to prevent the princess's behavior from spreading and ruining the royal family's reputation.

On this day, Princess Fire Phoenix, with her keen insight, apprehended a group of unscrupulous merchants in the city who dared to disrespect the princess's beauty.

At this moment, inside the manor, Princess Fire Phoenix was laughing wildly and brandishing her long red whip, preparing to severely torture Rao Tingshan and the others who were imprisoned in cages.

Just as they were laughing merrily and getting into the swing of things, a maidservant dressed in a thin dress, which made little difference whether she was wearing it or not, came to announce that someone from Yuanlailou had come to visit.

"I didn't expect you guys to be so valuable, attracting the high-level cultivators from Yuanlai Tower so quickly!"

Princess Fire Phoenix's smile vanished, and she coldly rebuked.

Her actions today were not because she was unreasonable. In fact, although she was often unreasonable, at most she would borrow money and not pay it back, but she was never as arrogant as she was today. Otherwise, the Fire Phoenix Clan would have locked her up in the manor long ago and would not have dared to let her out to run wild.

The reason for targeting the Yuanlailou caravan today is intentional.

Because back then, it was the caravan from Yuanlai Tower that introduced her to that Happy Old Demon.

Over the years, whenever she thought about it, Princess Fire Phoenix felt that the caravan had either received benefits from the Old Demon of Joy, or that it intended to use the Old Demon to harm her!

Princess Fire Phoenix had been thinking about how to get back this debt, so when she learned that the Yuanlai Tower caravan had stopped here today, she went to find them in a hurry. If Yuanlai Tower did not give her a satisfactory explanation today, no matter who it was, even if it was a Nascent Soul cultivator, Princess Fire Phoenix would ask her ancestor to take action and make sure that he was buried here!
Princess Fire Phoenix stormed out of the palace in a rage.

Amidst the astonished gazes of everyone in the mansion, they obediently invited the visitor in.

They really did invite her in. Many of the maids in the palace who had served Princess Huofeng for many years had never seen her so obsequious. After all, this was Princess Huofeng, who could take advantage of the elders of the clan and was born without manners!

The attendants in the city lord's mansion were astonished by the princess's unusual behavior and turned their attention to the two people she had invited in.

A man and a woman. The man was dressed in Yunfeng robes but had no belt or pendants. He did not look wealthy. If he was not wealthy, why would the princess be so enthusiastic towards him? He must have some special skills that made the princess value him. Just like the puppeteers and talisman painters who were valued by the princess in the past, they were treated with three parts respect before being used and seven parts easy to beat afterward!
The woman was stunningly beautiful, like a lotus emerging from the water, graceful and poised. Judging from her demeanor, she seemed to have experienced countless hardships, possessing a mature charm that did not match her appearance. A beautiful and mature woman, the kind of woman a princess would adore.

The princess's attendants secretly sized up the newcomers, trying to figure out the princess's intention in inviting them into the palace, and felt a pang of sympathy for their future fate.
Is this the residence of the city lord and princess?
This is a den of robbers and bandits!
Without even checking the princess's reputation, how dare they come here on their own initiative?
Oh, these two are from out of town, that makes sense. The princess has been missing for decades, and it's normal that these two, being from out of town, are unaware of the princess's tyranny!
No, this is strange. They've already invited these two into the manor, so why is the princess still smiling obsequiously? Shouldn't she be going through the process of laughing wildly and establishing her authority through violence?
The princess's attendants watched as she led the two into the most secluded, most private, and most unsightly bedroom in the palace, imagining a chaotic three-way battle unfolding before their eyes.

Meanwhile, Rao Tingshan and Li Kuishan, who were watching Su Qing and Qing He arrive in the courtyard and then being invited by the princess into the deep and dark city lord's mansion, were completely bewildered.

"Does Fellow Daoist Su know Princess Fire Phoenix?" Rao Tingshan asked in a low voice. "How could a mere rogue cultivator have such connections? What makes him think he has such connections? If he has such connections, why did he even get on our bus!" Li Kuishan's voice grew louder and louder!

“Our car isn’t just for anyone to get on!” Rao Tingshan said softly.

"So now we're not supposed to wait for him to rescue us, are we? The prestigious Yuanlai Restaurant needs a random passenger who just got on the bus to save us!" Li Kuishan, whose glory was tied to Yuanlai Restaurant and who had a blind worship for it, almost roared.

"Crack!" A large, robust woman, expressionless, lashed the loudly shouting prisoner with her whip.

"You woman, you're only at the Foundation Establishment stage, how dare you hit me, how dare you hit me!" Li Kuishan, a third-level body cultivator, was struck by a long whip covered in wolf fangs and thorns. Although he felt nothing, the humiliation he suffered made him curse out loud.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!" The strong woman remained expressionless; the louder he yelled, the more enthusiastically she slapped him.

Seeing Li Kuishan's miserable state, Rao Tingshan curled up further inside the spirit cage. He was not a body cultivator and did not want to suffer the same torment as Li Kuishan.

The strong woman swung her whip like a phantom, crackling and electrifying in the air, seemingly capable of penetrating the physical strength and spiritual light of cultivators. As she continued to strike, even Li Kuishan's internal energy could not withstand it, and bloody welts gradually appeared on his body from her whipping.

Li Kuishan also began to scream shrilly.

"Go ahead and hit me!"

"You think you can kill me!"

"Hurry up and attack!"

"Come on! Quickly!"

"Come quickly!"

As they kept calling out, something seemed off.

Despite Li Kuishan's grimaces and desperate attempts to appear to be in unbearable pain.

But Rao Tingshan, who had worked with him for a long time, could tell that he had deliberately withdrawn his energy defense, and that the orchid finger he raised was a gesture he only made when he was excited!

Was he excited?

Getting more and more excited as they play?
What kind of quirk has this awakened?
Can the city lord's mansion still affect a person's sanity?
Seeing that Li Kuishan was about to groan under the torture of the strong woman, Rao Tingshan felt a chill in his heart. He used his divine sense to isolate his five senses, focused his mind and calmed his breath, and did not give the city lord's mansion any opportunity to use any cunning methods that might be hidden to manipulate people's hearts.

······
Rao Tingshan from the outer courtyard was on high alert, while Li Kuishan found joy amidst the hardship.

In the inner courtyard, in the princess's palace, was the place where Su Qing, the puppeteer, had personally operated many passionate puppets. Qing He, who had traveled all over the country and claimed to have seen the world, also knew Su Qing and Wei Debao, these dirty fellows.

At this moment, he was also blushing and thirsty from all the various tricks in the princess's bedroom.

The walls of the room were covered with talismans, all depicting the Fire Phoenix Princess naked and undressed. They were in human and phoenix forms, with the phoenix above the human and the human above the phoenix. Because she could transform into two forms, there were many different poses and expressions of her.

Puppet series, including the third-tier Princess Tiger and Princess Leopard, as well as the first and second-tier Princess Snake and Princess Rabbit, and many other equally open and honest puppets.

The ritual implements were diverse, long and short, straight and curved, single-headed and double-headed, movable and immovable, electrified and non-electrified, a truly eye-opening sight.

The array formations are numerous: the Bewitching and Passionate Array, the Dragon and Phoenix Reversal Array, the Dragon Essence and Tiger Fierce Array, the Three Yangs Bring Prosperity Array... It's pitiful that the Fu Dao Sect's ten-thousand-year-old array formation heritage, even in its accumulation of arrays for bewitching and passion, probably doesn't even have as many array formations as this one room!

The room was filled with spirit beasts: a slender, long-tongued silver snake; a seven-colored creature; an adorable poison-sucking rabbit; and various other strange spirit beasts that Su Qing dared not look at closely and Qing He dared not ask about, which, if taken out of context, would certainly be considered improper when placed in this room.

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"Fellow Daoist Su, are you sweating profusely? How about it? Feng Shen's collection has broadened your horizons, hasn't it? So it's not that your puppets are so powerful. If you don't strive for perfection, Feng Shen can easily replace them with other things!"

Princess Fire Phoenix said with a proud look that these collections were the wealth she had accumulated over the years while traveling around the Fire Phoenix Immortal Kingdom. It was a pity that she had been tricked away by that Happy Old Demon, and lost a large amount of her collection. Otherwise, the collection here would be even more outstanding and special.

She reached out and took a pair of dragon-headed short sticks, tapped them lightly on the painted wall, and created a princess phantom, seemingly to prove to herself that without the princess puppet series, how could she be happy?

Su Qing stepped forward and pulled him away.

The princess had very unique hobbies, which he didn't understand but respected, saying repeatedly:
"Fellow Daoist Feng, there's no need for a demonstration. I guarantee that I will remember what I've seen today and incorporate it into the Princess series of puppets in the future, so that the Princess will use them with comfort and satisfaction!"

Everyone has their own expertise. In the development of the Passion Puppet, Su Qing believed that through feedback from several generations of clients, she had continuously improved and iterated to create the most mature work. However, she did not expect that in the eyes of everyone in the industry, the Fire Phoenix Princess also had many flaws and room for improvement.

Before coming to this room, Su Qing thought of him as an arrogant customer who spouted nonsense. Now that she had seen the light, she humbly accepted his advice and made a promise.

Upon hearing this, Princess Fire Phoenix somewhat regretfully put away the two-headed dragon, clapped her hands to collect all the artifacts in the room, and said in a deep voice:
"If Fellow Daoist Su says so, Feng Shen is relieved. With Fellow Daoist Su's skills, it's just that he was a little reserved before, which is why the puppets he made were charming but not crazy. I think that after today, he will be able to make passionate puppets that can drive people crazy."

"In that case, let's cut the small talk and get down to business!"

"Wasn't that important business?" Su Qing exclaimed in surprise.

"Fellow Daoist Su, be serious!" Princess Fire Phoenix lay on her side on the soft couch with a serious expression.

You're the one who's never serious!

Su Qing inwardly grumbled, but she was still on her own turf, unlike before when the old demon had left her half-dead and at her mercy, and she could even help her start a fire.

"My purpose in coming here is simply to find out if there is any room for maneuver between you and the Yuanlailou caravan. If their offense is minor, I hope you will let them off the hook. There is still something I can do to help them."

Su Qing spoke politely. He had no relation to Rao Tingshan, but he was waiting for him to drive so he could help him out. He also wanted to expand his network at Yuanlai Tower beyond Bai Yunxian, which would be a good thing.

But if the price is too high, Su Qing won't force himself to care whether he lives or dies. After all, Yuanlailou is not the only one that can go to the West Sea. Whose car can't he ride in?
"Does Fellow Daoist Su know who that Joyful Old Demon came to my Fire Phoenix Immortal Kingdom with back then?" Feng Shen asked quietly.

"It's the caravan from Yuanlai Tower! They deserve to die a thousand deaths, they deserve to be torn to pieces by you, fellow Daoist. Please do as you please, fellow Daoist. I have absolutely no acquaintance with such villains!"

Upon hearing that this matter was related to the Old Demon of Joy, Su Qing's expression immediately hardened, and he spoke loudly.

Given the grudge between Princess Fire Phoenix and the Joyful Old Demon, if Rao Tingshan and the others were accomplices, they would be in Princess Fire Phoenix's hands now, and even a god couldn't save them.

"It's not this caravan! Hmph, the one that came last time was the Phantom Brigade from Yuanlai Tower. There were seven people in the team, and the leader was the Transformation Yuan Hand - Yin Ganyu. He had mastered the Dao Pattern Transformation Yuan Hand and could use other Dao techniques at will. His combat strength was among the top in the Western Sea Golden Core cultivators."

The six members of the group are all skilled and extraordinary. This group has served Yuanlai Tower for many years and is the strongest force below the Nascent Soul stage in Yuanlai Tower. Their whereabouts are elusive. After Feng Shen returned, he used all means to find out where the group was.

Left with no other choice, they decided to detain the caravan until Yuanlailou sent this brigade over!
This matter has nothing to do with Fellow Daoist Su. Fellow Daoist Su may leave on his own. But to get Feng Shen to let this caravan go is something Feng Shen will find extremely difficult to do!

Princess Huofeng spoke sincerely, revealing her true goal. A princess of a nation, reduced to a prisoner, such a humiliating and deeply hated act, it is only natural that she wants revenge. If Su Qing knew what was good for her, she should have taken her leave at this moment.

But Su Qing was oblivious to the situation!
"I won't take the side path. I'll stay here and stand with the princess through thick and thin, even at the risk of my life!"

(End of this chapter)