Immortality begins with meditation puppets

Ning Chengke was so angry he was about to explode!
It wasn't because he was angry that the pirate brothers stabbed him.

He was angry that the pirate brothers looked down on him!
Once you're a pirate, stabbing people is normal, and wanting to climb the ranks is normal too.

But what is your cultivation level, what is your status? You dare to stab me!

Feeling insulted, Ning Chengke unleashed a fierce aura, like a jackal or tiger ready to devour its prey.

However, what puzzled him was that the pirate brothers in front of him, who wanted to rise to power but were brainless and insulting, were clearly only at the second level of Foundation Establishment, yet they were immune to his wrathful aura that he had cultivated for hundreds of years. Not only were they not intimidated by his domineering aura and did not kneel down, but they also stabbed him faster and more urgently than before!
Sizzle!
With a cracking sound, the knife pierced his protective magic shield and could not penetrate any further.

Only then did Ning Chengke realize what was happening. With a flick of his sleeve, his dark brown spiritual pressure swept out like a gust of wind, blowing the pirate brother who was immune to his pressure—no wonder he dared to insult him—a hundred feet high before slamming him back down to the ground.

He had a backup plan; he didn't intend to kill him easily. Instead, he wanted to find out which faction in Shipwreck Bay he belonged to, and which family sent him to assassinate him.

Is it Huang Zhi's Huang family, or Peng Chai's Peng family?
To his surprise, the pirate brothers who were spinning in the air and falling down died instantly from their bodies exploding in mid-air.

So ruthless? The pirate brothers are always ruthless to others, when did they become so ruthless to themselves!
"Hmph, you think death will end everything? Even without a physical body, I'll extract your soul and see clearly who's ordering you around!"

Ning Chengke stepped forward slowly, taking out a piece of black and yellow incense stick. He recited the ancient incantation the old man had taught him, walked the Heavenly Gang steps, holding the incense stick in one hand and ringing a bell in the other, saying:

"Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, may the Heavenly Venerable of Blessing and Prosperity quickly manifest his power! Banners flutter before us, incense burns to summon the soul..."

Ning Chengke was clearly very confident in this Soul Summoning Token, after all, he had personally witnessed the old immortal use this token to summon a Golden Core soul.

However, although the summoning order was remarkable, his execution was flawless.

Unfortunately, the person he was trying to summon had no spirit at all!
After his actions, he saw no sign of the soul being drawn in. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the runic aura on the pirate brothers' bodies was gradually dissipating, revealing the fragmented remains of the puppets. As if mocking him, a half-shattered hand stubbornly raised its middle finger, which infuriated him and made him furious.

But after his outburst of anger, Ning Chengke suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Because he knew that such a puppet, capable of mimicking others and evading his detection as a Golden Core cultivator, was something his pirate brothers in Shipwreck Bay could never have created.

"It's someone from outside! When did they send such a puppet into my Shipwreck Bay? Their attack now might not be targeting just me!"

Ning Chengke's mind raced, and he was about to slip into the captain's cabin to steer the Taotie to the Shipwreck Bay Pass to stabilize the situation.

Just then, the immortal family members kept inside the Taotie were also startled out by the commotion outside and rushed to his side, asking in a panic:
"Xiao Ningzi, what's going on?"

"Where did Shipwreck Bay go in chaos after our ancestor left?"

"Little Ningzi, you'd better do something! The ancestor entrusted Shipwreck Bay to you. If you don't live up to his expectations, you'll be in big trouble when the ancestor returns!"

The Wan family members, who were noisy and disruptive, had only a few Foundation Establishment cultivators at their strongest, and even those were raised using various spiritual pills. They were of no help whatsoever, but they were truly annoying.

Ning Chengke gently calmed them down, telling them to stay safely inside the Taotie. With him and the Taotie there, the shipwreck bay wouldn't be in chaos. He wiped the kiss marks from his plump, unlovable wife on his cheek and maneuvered the Taotie, a behemoth of the sea, using the teleportation array set up on the ship to move the enormous treasure ship to the narrow pass of the shipwreck bay.

"No matter who you are, once I arrive, you will be met with the fiercest firepower of Shipwreck Bay!"

Ning Chengke sneered, “At the Shipwreck Bay Pass, there are over a thousand spirit cannons that the pirates have accumulated over the years. Among them are puppets, such as the Flaming Cannon, the Gale Cannon, and the Blazing Fire Cannon, as well as magical artifacts, such as the Sky-Exploding Staff and the Black Copper Cannon. Most of them are first or second-tier spirit cannons, but there are also more than twenty third-tier spirit cannons.”

These spirit cannons are one of the reasons why, apart from the pirate king's ship and the Western Sea monster, Shipwreck Bay has been able to withstand the repeated sieges by the Thousand Islands Immortal Kingdom.

After all, they are a vicious force that has been running rampant in the Western Sea for thousands of years. How could they do it without some tricks up their sleeves!

Don't underestimate Shipwreck Bay, you bastards!

Thinking of annihilating the invading enemy at the Shipwreck Pass and firing the first shot of his rule, Ning Chengke's palms were sweating with excitement.

But immediately, when the Taotie appeared out of thin air at the Shipwreck Bay Pass, not only were his palms wet, but his groin also felt a bit cold!
The overwhelming firepower that had been anticipated was indeed unfolding before our eyes.

Instead of Shipwreck Bay venting its anger on the enemy coming from the sea, the enemy coming from the sea demonstrated to Shipwreck Bay what saturation firepower and overwhelming artillery output meant.

Beyond the pass, one could see giant blue whale-shaped treasure ships, with their spirit-exploding fire cannons and various strange creatures relentlessly unleashing their fire upon Shipwreck Bay.

Both are Flame Cannons, but their Spirit Explosion Flame Cannon has fierce firepower and fast output, and the power of the Spirit Explosion is even more impressive.

They had never seen the big and small ghost children before. Each of them carried long guns and short cannons, laughing and joking as if they were playing around, and they sent the pirate brothers who dared to stick their heads out and fight back with Taoist magic running away like wolves and dogs.

The reason these giant whales can unleash their firepower so recklessly is that they are not afraid of being sunk by concentrated fire.

The reason is that, blocking their way is a giant, island-like creature, the Dragon Island Bixi, which is even larger than the Taotie. It shields them from the pirates' counterattack, allowing the Giant Whale and the Wanghai crew to unleash their fury beneath it!

"Master Ning, you've finally arrived! What do we do now?!"

"Those bastards from Wanghai are disgusting! They won't even fight us for real, all they know is to bombard us with artillery! Damn it, it's making my head spin!"

"We urge Venerable Ning to eliminate that leader, the Dragon Island Bixi. Without this fourth-tier treasure ship, we can engage these Sea-Gazing cultivators in close combat. Even if our firepower is weaker than theirs, surely we can still defeat them in hand-to-hand combat?"

The pirates were ruthless and vicious. Although they had been ravaged by the cultivators from the Sea of ​​Hope, they had not lost their courage. On the contrary, their ferocity had been aroused even more.

Seeing Ning Chengke arrive aboard the Taotie, they immediately felt reassured. They hoped that the two fourth-tier treasure ships would clash, like a king against a general, Taotie against Bixi, so that they could surpass the Bixi of Dragon Island and bully those spineless ship owners who only relied on their powerful ships and cannons.

With the hopes of all the soldiers on his shoulders and the trust of his brothers placed upon him, Ning Chengke, as the temporary leader of Shipwreck Bay, naturally had no choice but to take on the responsibility.

The entire defensive formation of the Taotie was activated immediately!

There was no other way. Ever since the Taotie appeared, those sea watchers went crazy and turned most of their firepower onto the Taotie. Only the Taotie could withstand the attack.

"We need to deal with this big guy first. This treasure ship was made by Master Su from Wanghai. It is said to be imprinted with Bixi Dao patterns and can be ranked alongside Taotie and Yazi as the eighth treasure ship of the West Sea, known as the Bixi of Dragon Island."

"Indeed, they have some skill. The moment they appeared, they snatched the title of the largest ship in the Western Sea from the Taotie. But a fourth-tier treasure ship isn't judged by its size!"

Ning Chengke, who used to be very proud of the Taotie, the largest ship in the Western Sea, suddenly felt that being big was nothing special after discovering that the Bixi of Dragon Island was a size larger than the Taotie. He thought, "You may be big, but can you last as long as I can or be as tough as me?"
There definitely isn't one!
Ning Chengke, brimming with confidence in the Taotie, first glanced at the crew in Shipwreck Bay, only to find that while the pirates' morale remained high, they were disorganized and disorganized, a complete mess. He immediately roared in anger:
"What's going on? Where are the heads of the various families? The pirate kings went out on business and left these families to guard their respective clans. Now is the time to ask them to put in their strength, but we haven't seen a single one of them!"

The families in Shipwreck Bay were all established by the major pirate kings. Just like when Wan Xiari left, leaving Ning Chengke to guard the family, the family heads left behind by the pirate kings to guard the family were all third-level Golden Core cultivators with considerable strength. Through family blood ties, they could instantly organize their family's cultivators to fight in case of emergencies.

Given the tacit understanding cultivated over many years by the major pirate families of Shipwreck Bay, and with their patriarchs leading the way, even if they were bewildered by the sea-gazing cultivators' bombardment, things shouldn't be this chaotic as they are now.

"The clan leaders are leading the clan's elite forces to deal with a group of enemy cultivators who suddenly emerged from the sea in the bay!"

One of the pirate brothers reported loudly, making Ning Chengke's head feel like it was about to explode.

I thought it was just that Wang Hai was suppressing us on the main battlefield, but I didn't expect that we would be attacked from both inside and outside. We were about to be attacked from both sides!

After listening to the pirate brothers explain the situation, and learning that a bald, tough guy had led the team into the Shipwreck Bay, they realized that this bald guy might be the formidable master who had recently advanced to the Nascent Soul stage in Wanghai Immortal City.

Ning Chengke, who had just been thinking of pacifying the internal situation before dealing with external threats and rescuing the clan leaders, suddenly lost his courage.

Compared to fighting a newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivator, this Dragon Island Bixi in front of him seems much easier to deal with.
"Quickly send a message to Master Wan and all the pirate kings to return immediately! Shipwreck Bay is in grave danger! If they are late in returning, their home may be lost!"

Ning Chengke, who used to only hope that the old man would die soon, now finally realized that without the old man, his gang of pirates and cultivators might really die at any time in the Western Sea!
"There's no need to hold out in Shipwreck Bay any longer. Listen up, all of you! Set sail on your treasure ships and follow the Taotie. We'll first take down the frontal fleet of ships facing the sea. Once Master Wan and the pirate kings have returned, we can come back and deal with the thieves in the bay!"

The situation was critical, and Ning Chengke reacted quickly. He knew that with his current manpower, he could only deal with one side under such a situation of being attacked from both inside and outside. Rather than enduring the bombardment of the Wanghai fleet and fighting to the death with Master Liaode and the other six who had broken into his home, it would be better to break through the Wanghai fleet's blockade and go to the vast sea, where it would be easier to decide whether to fight or retreat!
It's just a pity for the pirate clan leaders who are still fighting to the death in the bay.

It doesn't really matter. They're dead, so be it. As long as we make sure their family's treasure isn't taken away by those sea-gazing pirates, that's all that matters.

Having decided to sacrifice some of the people necessary for accomplishing great things, Ning Chengke, who was prepared to abandon Shipwreck Bay and the pirate chiefs, focused all his attention on Bixi on Dragon Island, dozens of miles away.

Its dragon-like and tortoise-like form, as imposing as a mountain, loomed before them. The sheer size of its massive form, which required craning their necks to see completely, gave them an insurmountable sense of suffocation.

Look at me directly, you bastard!

Ning Chengke was no coward, yet he dared to look directly at the Bixi of Dragon Island.

He knew very well that if they wanted to break through, the Bixi of Dragon Island was a mountain they had to move!

Come on then!

Ning Chengke took a deep breath, and a muffled, thunderous roar, resembling both a dragon and an elephant, erupted from the Taotie.

The many giant sea monsters that had been lurking beneath Shipwreck Bay opened their fierce, crimson eyes on the seabed.

The Western Sea Kraken is a giant, monstrous sea monster.

It is neither a demon nor a beast, but rather a giant sea monster of the West Sea, influenced by the Taotie. The countless wronged souls devoured by the Taotie have possessed various sea beasts, causing their bodies to mutate and their reason to vanish, turning them into giant sea monsters that only obey the orders of the Taotie.

Since the Taotie came into being, its ship has changed hands several times, and countless creatures have been devoured by it, giving rise to hundreds of giant sea monsters in the West Sea.

These giant sea monsters of the West Sea are painless and fearless of death. Their combat power in the West Sea is comparable to that of a third-tier Golden Core cultivator. They are one of the strongest weapons of the Taotie ship besides its own power, and one of the reasons why Wan Xiari became the captain of the Taotie ship and firmly established himself as the pirate emperor.

It's just that the old bastard didn't die. He went out to help his grandniece, and he even took more than half of the Western Sea monsters with him!

Ning Chengke cursed the old bastard again, ordering the remaining seventy or eighty Western Sea giants to create some waves underwater, so that the cultivators who looked out for the sea would know the power of their Shipwreck Bay and not give them the opportunity to fire their cannons as recklessly as they were now.

What puzzled him was that, although he had awakened the Western Sea monsters, after waiting for a while, he did not see a single Western Sea monster come out to put pressure on the Wanghai fleet.

Startled, he saw the plight of the Western Sea Monsters through the communication between the Taotie and the Western Sea Monster from the captain's cabin.

Beneath the abyss of the sea, grotesque and monstrous sea monsters, resembling haphazardly piled-up clumps of flesh and blood, were locked in a fierce underwater battle with golden-maned water lions. These water lions, far outnumbering the sea monsters and only of the third rank, should have been easily overwhelmed by them.

But who could imagine how despicable the monk Wanghai was!

As the Western Sea monsters fought, muffled explosions suddenly erupted from their bodies. It turned out that someone had buried numerous spirit explosion puppets into the flesh of the Western Sea monsters at some point.

"It was those bionic puppets that infiltrated the bay who did it!"

Ning Chengke immediately understood how the people of Wanghai had managed to do this.

It should be noted that although the Kraken is one of the best fighters in Shipwreck Bay, and it's true that you don't have to pay them wages, you still need to provide them with food and lodging.

To keep these evil demons fighting, Shipwreck Bay specially arranged for monks to feed them.

These cultivators were undoubtedly replaced by bionic puppets that Ning Chengke could hardly detect. Mixed with blood, they fed these Western Sea giants with spirit explosion puppets that caused their bodies to bloom!
These spirit-exploding golems and golden-haired water lions alone caused the Western Sea Kraken endless suffering, making it difficult for them to display their ferocity.

What terrified Ning Chengke even more was that, besides those golden-haired water lions, there was a large group of fish-dragon puppets dancing in the sea, creating dragon-shaped waves and summoning a black dragon phantom. The black dragon's dragon might emanated from it, and even the fearless Western Sea monsters trembled and dared not display their usual ferocity under the dragon's might.

"This kind of force and these methods, you should use them against Penglai Immortal Kingdom or Thousand Islands Immortal Kingdom, not against our Shipwreck Bay where all our elite troops have been deployed. Isn't that going too far?"

I was bullied, I was really bullied.

Seeing the giant sea monsters of the West Sea, on whom he had placed such high hopes, sink one by one into the sea and disappear without a sound, Ning Chengke was both angry and afraid.

Looking up at the Bixi of Dragon Island, one is immediately struck by a sense of awe and insurmountable superiority.

No, there is still a chance!

Ning Chengke mustered his courage and, steering the Taotie, led his many pirate brothers who had boarded the treasure ship behind him, bracing themselves for the danger as they charged toward the direction of the Bixi on Dragon Island.

“Fellow Daoists on that ship, please come out and meet us. For decades, my Shipwreck Bay has never clashed with the Wanghai Merchant Caravan. I don’t know where the Wanghai fellow Daoists got such a great grudge to attack my Shipwreck Bay so ruthlessly.”

"Aren't you afraid that when our Pirate King returns, he will annihilate you here in the Western Sea, smash your ships, and destroy your homes!"

On the Taotie, Ning Chengke, along with members of the Wan and Ning families, spoke threateningly to the opposing fleet, their words barely concealed by their fierce demeanor.

On Dragon Island, Su Qing, who had everything under control, looked down at the pale-faced cultivator on the Taotie.

After Master Liaode and his group infiltrated Shipwreck Bay, with the help of special forces puppets, they controlled many Tier 3 treasure ships and Tier 3 spirit cannons in the bay, and rendered many formations in the bay unable to function properly.

Su Qing had already concluded that Shipwreck Bay, which had ravaged the Western Sea for over ten million years, leaving even the Thousand Islands Immortal Kingdom helpless and shut out, was now inevitably destined to fall into his hands.

Because they couldn't cause any trouble, his desire to control the Taotie became even stronger.

Therefore, after Ning Chengke spoke, he raised his hand, signaling the ship owners of Wanghai to temporarily cease fire, giving Ning Chengke a chance to surrender!

"I am Su Qing, and I greet Fellow Daoist Ning. This time, I have brought the cultivators of Wanghai to your Shipwreck Bay. We have come to knock on your door with a ship and offer our respects with cannons. Fellow Daoist has said that we have taken a ruthless approach, so we are not afraid of your pirate king's retaliation."

To be honest, fellow Daoist, I, Wang Hai, will destroy Shipwreck Bay, and I will also destroy the pirate kings' forces still at sea!

You have not invaded my Wanghai for decades. What is this? What I, Wanghai, want is for my caravans to sail to and fro in the Western Sea for thousands of years to come, and for no one to dare to invade!
"I know you have cultivated in Shipwreck Bay for hundreds of years and have never gone out to sea to plunder or commit evil. Therefore, I will give you a chance. Lower your flag, step off the ship, and persuade the cultivators in the bay to give up resistance. I might spare your life and protect your people!"

Su Qing's voice was gentle, yet contained an undeniable chill, which ignited Ning Chengke's anger.

He came to talk to Su Qing, intending to intimidate Su Qing with the pirate kings, not to be intimidated by Su Qing.

Ning Chengke endured for hundreds of years, and was about to die of old age. Now that he has surrendered to you, Su Qing, then all those years of suffering have been for nothing?

It's not an easy thing for you to serve that old geezer and put up with this fat, unlovable woman as your partner!

Having endured hundreds of years of hardship, Ning Chengke had absolutely no intention of letting all that hard work go to waste!

“Since there’s nothing to talk about, then let’s fight. Fellow Daoist, you have many methods, but I wonder if you have any means to deal with the Taotie!” Ning Chengke raised his eyes and stared intently at Su Qing like a vulture.

"Give it a try?" Su Qing waved his hand, signaling the ship owners of Wanghai to continue firing their cannons and bombarding the area.

Ning Chengke turned to look at the bewildered Wan family members, his face hardening. Amidst the desperate cries and curses of his plump, unlovable wife, he sacrificed the entire Wan family to the Taotie.

"Don't blame me for being ruthless. Blame the old codger for giving me too little authority. With such limited authority, the Taotie is no match for this Bixi of Dragon Island. Only by sacrificing you, the clansmen who are related to the old codger by blood, can the Taotie unleash its full power!"

Ning Chengke hugged Wan Xiari's youngest son, who was terrified and mentally impaired.

This child, however, cannot be sacrificed, because it is his own offspring, and also the reason he gave to the old immortal after escaping death.

Although many members of your family died, at least I managed to save one of your sons, didn't I?
At the cost of the Wan family, the Taotie, the number one treasure ship in the Western Sea, finally revealed its true majesty and power.

The ship's bow resembled the gaping maw of a gluttonous beast, sucking in all the sea creatures that swam along its path. Blood-black worms writhed on its hull. No matter how fiercely the cannon fire from the ship's captains bombarded these worms, causing their juices to splatter everywhere, they would instantly revive as the gluttonous ship devoured sea creatures to replenish its supplies.

Under the protection of these seemingly inexhaustible and indestructible treasure ships, the pirates and cultivators who had been bullied by the cannon fire of the Wanghai ship owners drove their own treasure ships, gripped the hilts of their swords, and looked fiercely and excitedly at the Wanghai fleet opposite them!
They knew very well that no matter how ruthless the ship owners were at firing at them from a distance, once they boarded the treasure ship and it came down to a real fight, they would be nothing more than trembling lambs waiting to be slaughtered!

As they had expected, the ship owners at Wanghai visibly panicked when they saw a group of vicious pirates, seasoned veterans who had tasted blood, approaching the fleet under the cover of the Taotie.

Previously, they could follow Su Qing's instructions to send some artillery fire into Shipwreck Bay, making it difficult for the pirates and cultivators guarding the bay to peek out. But now they couldn't care less and frantically bombarded Ning Chengke's team with all their might.

What alarmed them even more was that the Taotie was like an unsinkable treasure ship, devouring all the artillery fire delivered from the sea, showing no signs of weakness except for being slightly smaller than before.

"Trying to withstand it with your bare flesh and blood? I'd like to see how much flesh and blood you have, and how long you can hold out!"

Su Qing snorted coldly, and the dragon island tortoise raised its head, a beam of light as thick as a hundred feet shot out from its mouth, swaying and falling in front of it.

Seal the divine light!

As soon as the divine light appeared, the speed of the Taotie and all the treasure ships behind it dropped by more than several times.

This is when Ning Chengke panicked.

Anyone with a brain knows that when under enemy fire, the slower you are, the more artillery fire you will take.

The Taotie, though known as an unsinkable treasure ship, can still withstand attacks from Nascent Soul cultivators.

But this ability comes at the cost of the flesh and blood essence that the Taotie has devoured over the years!
The combined firepower of the more than ten million treasure ships in Wanghai, especially the Dragon Island Bixi equipped with the third-tier Spirit Explosion Flame Cannon, was no less formidable than the attacks of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

In an instant, the Taotie ship was a size smaller than before. If this continued, by the time it reached the Bixi on Dragon Island, the Taotie ship would probably be smaller than an ordinary second-tier treasure ship.

Ning Chengke was decisive. Knowing that he would surely lose if things continued this way, he immediately used the method he had originally planned to use on the Dragon Island Bixi after getting close.

But then they saw the Taotie ship open its huge mouth, its lower jaw landing on the sea surface while its upper jaw reached towards the sky. It seemed as if it wanted to swallow the sky and the earth, and to suck the sea watchtower fleet that was constantly increasing the distance between them and using long-range artillery to bully them into its belly.

Driven by Wan Xia Ri, this ability to devour the heavens and the earth could swallow an entire island without feeling overwhelmed.

Under Ning Chengke's full power, the Wanghai fleet was rocking and swaying on the sea. It was a pity that the Dragon Island Bixi was a treasure ship no less than the Taotie. Its huge size remained as still as a mountain under the suction force that devoured the sky and the earth, protecting the entire Wanghai fleet behind it.

Although they could not swallow these treasure ships, under the influence of Devouring Heaven and Earth, the cannon fire of the Seawatch fleet gradually became less intense than before.

But this did not make Ning Chengke's expression much better.

Because the Dragon Island Bixi was unaffected, the Tier 3 magic cannon mounted on it continued to fire with a thunderous roar.

boom!
There was a loud bang.

The Taotie nearly capsized, prompting Ning Chengke to scan the ship with his divine sense, but he couldn't detect where the attack was coming from.

Only when he saw pools of blood flowing out from under his feet did he realize that the attack was coming from underwater.

"What kind of magic cannon could severely damage the Taotie with a single shot?"

Ning Chengke, who had never seen a Deepwater Tyrant before and never thought he would be bombed by one, was completely bewildered. After he came to his senses, he realized that today's battle was all part of the enemy's plan.

Even the Taotie, which he had placed high hopes on, could not lead him to victory.

But he still didn't want to admit defeat!

The puppet ship that Su Qing crafted was indeed powerful.

But he was, after all, just a puppeteer.

The treasure ships can't compete with him, but his personal strength may not be as good as mine!

Ning Chengke steeled his heart and transmitted his thoughts telepathically:
"Master Su, we pirates and cultivators respect strength above all else. If you want us to surrender, it's hard to convince us with just these treasure ship puppets and magic cannon puppets."

If Master Su doesn't want the Taotie ship, then I'll wager it, wagering the lives and fortunes of my many pirate brothers in Shipwreck Bay.

Please, Master Su, come out of your ship and fight me head-on. If I am defeated, then all talk is over. The mountain of treasures in Shipwreck Bay, the thousand treasure ships, the ten thousand magic cannons, along with this Taotie, are all at your disposal, Master Su. If I am fortunate enough to win, Shipwreck Bay is also at your disposal, Master Su. I only ask that you spare my life and that of my pirate brothers! (End of Chapter)