Immortality begins with meditation puppets

Chapter 35 The Spirit Dog
The next morning.

"Holy crap, this thing is huge! Even when it's crouching, it's taller than the courtyard wall. Fellow Daoist Su, you've really struck it rich! You've even got an armored war bear!"

"Who wouldn't say that when demonic beasts come down from the mountain, we can only get a taste of the soup, but Fellow Daoist Su is really getting to eat meat!"

"Fellow Daoist Su, you can buy the Ironclad War Bear, but did you have to make such a big commotion last night? It was so loud it shook the heavens and earth. I thought something had happened. When I got up, I saw the Ironclad War Bear going crazy, as if it was hammering something!"

"I'm afraid he's been possessed by an evil spirit too. I heard this morning that another cultivator had an accident by the lake!"

"Not only that, someone said last night that they saw Li Erhe wandering around the lake!"

"His head is gone, how could you recognize him?"

"The leatherworker's fingers were basically blackened from being soaked in talisman water. The headless evil spirit that the man saw last night had black hands and was wearing Li Erhe's clothes. Who else could it be but Li Erhe!"

"Is it that scary? Fellow Daoist Su, did you also fall victim to evil spirits last night? Should we go and check?"

"Fellow Daoist, you're eyeing Fellow Daoist Su's wealth, aren't you!"

"It's better to benefit us than the law enforcement team!"

Early in the morning, the whispers of the surrounding cultivators, relayed by the Wood Spirit servant, made Su Qing's face darken.

Breakthrough, making a fortune, and dying with fellow cultivators are collectively known as the three great joys of a rogue cultivator.

If a lone cultivator like him were to die violently at home, his family's possessions would truly be divided among those who find them, first come, first served.

Knowing what these independent cultivators were thinking, I also understood their desire to make a quick fortune.

But if someone curses him to die first thing in the morning, he won't give them a friendly look.

Leading four lizard warriors, he pushed open the courtyard gate with a cold face, startling Pang Feifan, who was rushing in front, into trembling with fear.

"Is there something you need, fellow Daoist?"

The green lizard head was almost pressed against Pang Feifan's face, and Su Qing behind him spoke coldly.

Pang Feifan staggered back several steps before clutching his chest and saying:
"It's alright. Fellow Daoist made quite a commotion last night, and the other Daoists were worried about you and wanted to check on you. If anything happens to you, we can lend a hand!"

"Thank you all for your concern. Last night, a headless evil spirit did indeed come to visit," Su Qing said truthfully without trying to hide anything.

"We really did encounter an evil spirit, but where is it?"

Upon hearing this, Pang Feifan and the others avoided Su Qing by several feet, as if they were venomous snakes.

Su Qing chuckled inwardly. These guys knew that there were evil spirits around here recently, yet they were still thinking about making money off the dead. Were they so sure that the evil spirits wouldn't come after them?

"It's in that pit, do you want to go in and take a look?"

Through the courtyard gate, he pointed to the deep pit where he had hammered the headless evil spirit to death the night before.

Pang Feifan leaned closer for a look and saw the deep pit, enough to bury them all with plenty of room to spare. Then, glancing at the fully formed armored war bear and the nearly completed one in Su Qing's courtyard, he felt a chill run down his spine and waved his hands repeatedly, saying:
"It's good that you're alright, fellow Daoist. We won't go in. If you ask me, it's all thanks to you, fellow Daoist. With these guys for protection, we can take down any headless evil spirits one by one. They're incredibly powerful!"

Su Qing stared at Pang Feifan for a few more moments, until he looked away and felt uneasy, before finally saying:
"That headless evil spirit is not very powerful. If you fellow Daoists are unsure, buy a lizard puppet and prepare a few exorcism talismans. I think you should be fine."

However, after this evil spirit dies, it leaves behind ancient, sinister writings that bewitch people, making it truly difficult to guard against. I advise everyone that if you have another place to live recently, it would be best to move as soon as possible.

These fellow practitioners were all craftsmen, skilled in leatherworking, alchemy, and beast taming. They had all come into contact with runes to varying degrees and were most easily misled by evil runes. In their eyes, Su Qing's reminder was invaluable.

Whether they listen or not is none of his business.

Sure enough, upon hearing that the evil spirit would leave behind evil writings after its death, the others were frightened, but only the slightly timid Pang Feifan decided to move.

Other independent cultivators, either unwilling to pay the rent or short of money, thought that with tens of thousands of cultivators in the living area, they wouldn't be so unlucky as to run into evil spirits.

Only Pang Feifan sincerely bowed to Su Qing and said:

“My dog ​​has been barking a lot lately, it’s really unsettling. If the enforcement team doesn’t take any action in a couple of days, I might have to move to the central area.”

This man was a beast tamer who trained spirit dogs and sold them to demon hunters for hunting in the mountains. With the monsters descending from the mountains, the demand for spirit dogs surged, and he caught the wave, making a considerable fortune. Seeing that these rogue cultivators showed no interest in buying lizard warriors from him, Su Qing felt it was a waste of breath to chat with them.

He warned them not to approach his yard unless necessary, as there were evil puppets inside, and he would not be responsible for any deaths or injuries caused by them, before returning to the yard.

But before he could even finish his breakfast...

There was a knock on the gate.

Upon opening the door, they found that Pang Feifan had returned.

"Fellow Daoist, do you still have lizard puppets for sale? I've thought about it a lot, and I still think it's best to buy one."

Pang Feifan rubbed his hands together and chuckled awkwardly.

He had been frightened by the lizard puppet twice. While he found the puppet despicable, he also thought that it would be great if he had one to disgust others.

Seeing that he had come to buy puppets, Su Qing, who was initially somewhat displeased, immediately put on a smiling face and welcomed him into the courtyard.

Upon entering the courtyard, Pang Feifan looked at the several puppets displayed there and clicked his tongue in envy.

"To be honest, you puppeteers have it easy. You can earn at least a thousand or eight hundred spirit crystals for a single puppet. It's not hard to make one; you can make one in three to five days. Unlike me, I have to painstakingly train a spirit dog. It's not usable at all without a month or two of training!"

Pang Feifan was truly envious of Su Qing. Just six months ago, Su Qing was a down-on-his-luck resident in the Lingtian District. Now, in just six months, he was about to become one of the most successful people in the residential area.

Su Qing could only shake her head at his envy; Pang Feifan only saw the thief eating meat but not the thief getting beaten.

Ordinary puppeteers cannot guarantee a success rate. They might work hard but end up losing everything. If they don't upgrade their puppets and only know how to make one or two types, even if the success rate increases, they won't get many orders.

In contrast, as a beast tamer, all he needs to do is raise the monster cubs, suppress their demonic nature, provide them with good food and drink, and he can sell them for a large sum of spirit crystals in the blink of an eye. There is almost no risk involved, and the spirit crystals are a sure-fire way to make money.

The two vented their frustrations about their professions and complimented each other. After drinking a cup of spiritual tea and getting into the mood, they finally got down to business.

"Fellow Daoist, are you saying you want to trade a mongrel dog for my heavily armored lizard warrior, which is coated with 300 jin of Xuan Iron Essence, and is so powerful that it can move mountains?"

Su Qing suddenly stood up, her face turning pale, and asked angrily, seemingly quite angry at Pang Feifan's request to exchange goods.

Pang Feifan seemed a little angry. Su Qing could insult him, but she couldn't insult his dog, no, his spirit dog!
"It's not a mongrel, it's a spirit dog!"

"Only a batch of spirit dogs can produce one spiritual treasure dog. A few days ago, Pang Zhizhong came to buy my treasure dog. I didn't sell it for more than a thousand spirit crystals. In exchange, I gave it to you as a puppet. It's definitely not taking advantage of you."

"Besides, this heavily armored lizard warrior of yours doesn't have the strength to move mountains. You're exaggerating too much!"

Hearing this, Su Qing didn't want to provoke him further, so she added:

"Does it matter whether we move the mountain or not? Look at the puppet's thick thighs and sharp claws. Let's not even talk about whether it's useful or not. Just its intimidating power alone will scare away several Tribulation Cultivators!"

"Fellow Daoist means you want to add money, huh? Tell me, how much?" Pang Feifan rolled his eyes at Su Qing.

"Five hundred spirit crystals, please. I really don't have much use for this treasure dog. I'm only willing to accept this deal because I want to make friends with you, fellow Daoist."

"Three hundred it is!" Pang Feifan really wanted a heavily armored lizard.

Su Qing hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding.

"This is a beast ring. Fellow Daoist, imprint your divine sense on it, and the spirit dog will recognize you as its master. However, please note that although this dog can stay inside the beast ring..."

But it is, after all, a living creature. The beast ring is hollow and dark, and staying there for too long will inevitably affect its growth. When it is convenient for you, fellow cultivator, it would be best to keep it outside. Also, the Spirit Dog likes to eat...”

Pang Feifan was clearly a dog lover, and when he handed over the animal ring, he gave him a long and earnest explanation.

In contrast, Su Qing was much more straightforward. She released a heavily armored lizard, handed it an instruction manual, and then left it alone.

"Fellow Daoist, don't forget that the Spirit Dog contains a trace of the Huo Dou bloodline. Feed it more fire-attribute beast meat, and it might surprise you in the future!"

Even after being taken out of the hospital, Pang Feifan turned back and shouted a reminder.

(End of this chapter)