Immortality begins with meditation puppets

"This scoundrel is shameless! Our treasure ships are strong, and our cannons are fierce. We've fought to the death. What's it to bully you with cannons? Didn't you use your treasure ships to bully the merchant caravans traveling to and from the Western Sea in the past?"

"Master Su, ignore this bandit leader. We have the advantage now. If we bombard them for a while longer, I guarantee they won't even have any dust left. Don't give them a chance!"

"Asu, this time the situation is different from before, so you can't act recklessly. Listen to me, Lao Liang, just bombard them with cannons and that's it!"

"Master Su, Master Su, what are you doing? Please don't act rashly!"

"Fine, I'll take on the bet. Delong's life or death is irrelevant. I just need Master Su and all the fellow Daoists to take good care of my father-in-law and mother-in-law."

For the ship owners of Wanghai, the current battle situation was not just favorable, but a sure thing; they had never dreamed of such a favorable outcome.

With the skirt of the goddess of victory flying up halfway, revealing half of her underwear to them, how could they let Master Su risk his life and abandon the Bixi of Dragon Island to fight Ning Chengke one-on-one just because of the bandit leader's provocation?
Even Delong felt it wouldn't work, so he summoned the Wind Eagle King to fight in Su Qing's place.

Unexpectedly, Su Qing waved his hand, telling Shao Delong, who had finally found a chance to shine, to step back. He, Su Qing, would take over this battle.

It wasn't because he was worried about the Taotie ship that he hadn't yet obtained, or that everyone was bombarding it too fiercely and destroying his own Taotie ship.

However, they were reluctant to part with the various spirit-exploding puppets sent by the Bixi from Dragon Island.

With the roar of cannons bringing in wealth, and with war raging across the Tianyuan Realm in recent years, Su Qing, who exclusively possessed the Spirit Explosion Rune and mass-produced Spirit Explosion Puppets, naturally made a fortune.

But once he experienced war himself, he understood why Shi Lijing, as a Nascent Soul sect leader, treated him with great respect when negotiating arms deals, hoping for even a discount of one or two percent.

The reason is that war is extremely expensive!
In this naval battle alone, not counting the losses of the other captains at Wanghai, his own Dragon Island Bixi, Giant Whale, and Jiaolong ships have already delivered over ten million spirit cannons, a hundred and eighty spirit explosion puppets, a third-tier deep-sea tyrant, and the special forces puppets that are definitely going to die in the special operations inside Shipwreck Bay.

Add to that the Dragon Island Bixi itself, which costs at least ten thousand spirit stones, and the battle losses of all the treasure ship puppets, and it's truly a matter of ten thousand spirit stones every minute.

This was under the condition that the pirate king of Shipwreck Bay had launched six attacks out of seven and had been thoroughly outmaneuvered. If the elite forces of Shipwreck Bay were all still intact, even if Su Qing went bankrupt and tied up the accumulated wealth of the merchants of Wanghai, he probably still wouldn't be able to destroy Shipwreck Bay. No wonder the Thousand Islands Immortal Kingdom retreated after several attempts. This thing really costs spirit stones!
To save on artillery shells and puppets, Su Qingzhen wouldn't mind a one-on-one real man's battle with Ning Chengke.

He considered himself a pushover puppeteer.

Su Qing even thought he was a gigolo like De Long!

No disrespect intended towards Delong, but that's just the truth.

Ning Chengke, who had been suppressed by Wan Xiari in Shipwreck Bay for hundreds of years and had never fought a battle, naturally had the confidence to look down on Su Qing, who had experienced countless fierce battles during his Qi Refining stage.

Despite the repeated persuasion from the cultivators at Wanghai, they could not sway Su Qing's decision.

In Yu Ningchengke's overjoyed eyes, Su Qing, whom he regarded as weak and easily bullied, leaped down from the Bixi of Dragon Island, and gestured forward, inviting him to come out of the ship for a battle.

"How foolish! Master Su is of inestimable worth, how could he risk his life and do such a reckless thing!"

On the Bixi of Dragon Island, Duan Yang, whose mind had been clouded by Tong Laodao's Heavenly Master Daoist inscriptions, now knew that Su Qing's decision was not wise at all.

"Get used to it. This is nothing. I've been with Asu for so long, I've seen this kind of thing a lot. At least this guy is at the same level as him. In the past, he was an opponent who was a level higher than him. If Asu is unhappy, he can just attack without warning!"

Liang Haishun shook his head and sighed helplessly.

Although he was a puppeteer to Su Qing, it was common for him to occasionally act recklessly.

But in the past, in the White Cloud Immortal City, Su Qing and the others were just insignificant rogue cultivators, struggling at the bottom like two or three weeds. They were willing to risk everything. Now that he has accumulated such a large fortune, he is not afraid to risk his life, which is somewhat beyond the old Taoist's expectations.

After all, even after Delong became the son-in-law of the Ying family, he became more cautious in his actions and lost his former ferocity, because he was worried that if he died, his children would have a stepfather.

The cultivators at Wanghai didn't understand Su Qing's actions, but they weren't actually that worried about her.

Because apart from the Bixi of Dragon Island, most of the third-tier treasure ships floating around here are Su Qing's puppets!
"This pirate captain is quite clever, but he's misapplied his mind. He thinks that just because Master Su is away from Bixi on Dragon Island, he can only compete with him in terms of Taoist arts and combat skills. How naive! After Master Su's treasure ships unleash a barrage of attacks, we'll see just how tough his head is and whether it will be blasted to pieces by the Spirit Explosion Flame Cannon!"

The old fishermen and captains of Wanghai laughed out loud, mocking Ning Chengke for not knowing the true extent of Su Qing's strength and the number of his puppets!

The cultivators at Wanghai had great confidence in Su Qing, especially in his puppet, and believed that Su Qing had little chance of being overthrown.

The pirates on the other side were also shouting excitedly.

They were also aware of Ning Chengke's abilities. He could condense a third-grade Dragon Prince Pill and gather the Yazi Dharma Image. His Taoist skills could display the ferocity of Yazi. Among the pirate kings in Shipwreck Bay, only two or three pirate kings, such as Wan Xiari and Huang Zhi, could reliably defeat him.

Su Qing was so confused by the puppet's manipulation that he had no idea how powerful the Yazi Dharma Image was. He was determined to make it suffer a great loss.

Amidst the clamor of the pirates and cultivators, Ning Chengke rode the wind and waves, standing on a fiery red wheel-shaped magic artifact, with a blue-green bird hanging from his shoulder. He gracefully landed more than ten miles away from Su Qing, bowed, and spoke softly:

"Greetings, Master Su. I thank you for giving me this opportunity!"

"What opportunity? Let me make this clear first: if you want to fight me, your hands and feet have no eyes, and your magic is merciless. Fellow Daoist, you'd better be careful later, lest you give me the chance to kill you!"

Su Qing looked at Ning Chengke, whose face was covered in powder and who looked like a little eunuch, and kindly reminded him.

"In the same way, I will also give it to Master Su!"

Ning Chengke saw the disdain in Su Qing's eyes and got angry. He was immediately targeted by the spirit cannons and missiles on the many treasure ships.

Can you afford to play? If you can't, then don't play. What happened to the one-on-one duel? What's with all these treasure ships and giant cannons?!

Ning Chengke was under immense pressure, with countless treasure ships and the dark muzzles of massive cannons pointing at him.

He never imagined that these treasure ship puppets were controlled by Su Qing. After all, even Wan Xiari, a fake Nascent Soul cultivator, could only control three to five third-tier treasure ships when he was controlling the fourth-tier treasure ship Taotie with his divine sense.

Su Qing is only a Golden Core cultivator. Even though his puppeteer profession gives him an advantage in manipulating puppets, and even if he cultivates a secret technique of divine sense, at most he is still a Golden Core cultivator!
It's already quite an achievement for a Golden Core cultivator to be able to control such a massive creature as the Bixi of Dragon Island. Add to that the Golden Lion that's currently beating up the Western Sea Giant Demon underwater, and the entire group of fish and dragons—that's all his doing. He already controls enough puppets. How could he possibly control these treasure ship puppets? Ning Chengke simply refuses to believe it!
But he still has to believe in this evil!
Fearing that Ning Chengke might think he was cheating, Su Qing summoned the treasure ship puppets and simultaneously conjured countless runes, making it clear to Ning Chengke and the other pirates that these treasure ship puppets all bore his divine imprint and were indeed controlled by him, Su Qing!
"If Fellow Daoist Ning admits defeat now, I, this True Person, can still grant True Person Ning some dignity!"

Su Qing said casually that he was not afraid that Ning Chengke would shrink back and try to escape back to the Taotie, because once Ning Chengke confidently stepped out of the Taotie's protective range, his life and death were already in his control.

"It is true that I underestimated Master Su, but Master Su also underestimated me. I did not know that you had so many puppets, and you were unaware of my abilities!"

Ning Chengke laughed loudly, his methods were truly excellent.

A blood-black spiritual chain emerged from the man's body, and a phantom image of Yazi flashed across the chain. Before Su Qing could react, he felt dizzy and disoriented, as if the sun and moon had been reversed. He was pulled into an unknown space by the spiritual chain.

"Master, there is no need to panic. You and I are still on the Western Sea, still in the same place. This is just a low-level Taoist technique that I have comprehended after years of hard work in cultivating the fundamental skills of Yazi. It is called the Reincarnation Abyss."

This technique can isolate all external interference, allowing you and me to fight fairly. Only by sending one of us into reincarnation can this technique be broken. It is an application of the "Yazi Daomu" principle: a favor received must be repaid, and a grudge must be avenged!

Seeing that Su Qing had fallen into his magic, Ning Chengke felt greatly relieved and laughed loudly.

Su Qing frowned slightly. It wasn't what Ning Chengke thought. Without the help of the puppets outside, they would be at the mercy of others, just like other puppeteers.

Not to mention that besides the puppets placed outside, he also had many powerful puppets in his storage bag that he hadn't released yet, just one tiger egg would be enough to keep Ning Chengke from getting away with it.

He simply felt that after more than fifty years of development in Wanghai, he had developed an arrogant mentality of being fully developed and declaring himself invincible.

Little did he know that the world was vast and full of extraordinary people and techniques. Even Ning Chengke, whom he considered an incompetent gigolo, was able to unleash this deadly cycle of magic, catching him off guard. Who knew how many powerful methods the heroes of the Western Sea around Langya Immortal Island, who were pressing the old Taoist so hard they could hardly breathe, possessed?

Yu Suqing secretly reminded herself that declaring oneself invincible does not mean being truly invincible. Fifty years of development may not be comparable to the development of those old fogies in the West Sea who have spent thousands or tens of thousands of years.

Seeing that he was distracted, Ning Chengke took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

There was something he hadn't told Su Qing earlier.

In this cycle of despair, as the master of this technique, he can extract a portion of his opponent's vital energy and strength for his own use.

At the moment, the magical power he drew from Su Qing with a little effort was still manageable. Although it was much more powerful than that of a normal peak Golden Core cultivator, it was still within his expectations, at least not as ridiculously strong as his divine sense.

But what about that qi and blood? With his abilities, he could only extract one or two tenths of Su Qing's qi and blood, but even with just that one or two tenths, when it landed on him, he felt like he had been injected with chicken blood and was being roasted on a stove, feeling an overwhelming sense of burden on his body.

It's really strange. Although his physique is not as strong as that of a third-level body cultivator, and he has been tormented by his fat and unlovable Daoist partner and his plump and seductive concubine for many years, making him somewhat weak, it shouldn't be that he can't even withstand one or two tenths of his blood and energy!

Despite his weakened state and inability to absorb the tonics, Ning Chengke released the blue kingfisher on his shoulder, suppressing the turmoil of his internal energy.

This blue kingfisher was the old geezer's compensation for his grievances when he gritted his teeth and accepted his fat, unlovable Daoist partner back then.

It is a rare spirit beast, possessing the bloodline of the first-grade divine beast Azure Bird; its ability to fight enemies is secondary.

The main reason is that it possesses some auspicious Taoist patterns, which can turn misfortune into good fortune for its owner and bring bad luck to its opponents.

The moment he released the bird, Ning Chengke felt as if he were being blessed by some unseen force, and even the turbulent blood and qi in his body calmed down considerably.

That wasn't enough. Taking advantage of Su Qing's discomfort after his blood and energy were drained, and the brief moment when Su Qing was adjusting his blood and energy, he sent out several talismans from his storage bag, mostly third-tier talismans, and even one fourth-tier talisman.

The fiery wheel magic weapon beneath its feet transformed into a crimson firebird, intending to join forces with the corresponding talisman paper to prevent Su Qing from sending out the remaining puppets from the storage bag, and to kill them all in one fell swoop within the storage bag.

"This magic is good, I'll take it. This bluebird is good, I'll take it too. These talismans... it's a real pity to give them to you, let me confiscate them too!" Despite having his magic power and blood drained and being cursed by the bluebird, Su Qing showed no sign of panic.

It's infuriating! This behavior is just like Ning Chengke's actions—a battle of wits and courage, he's acting like a clown!
"After you die by my hand, I hope you can still laugh this disgustingly!"

Ning Chengke hardened his heart and was about to unleash the pile of talismans he had accumulated over the years.

But his movements froze in that instant; in that brief moment, time seemed to stand still.

He watched helplessly as Su Qing, with a bear-like puppet on his body, used a vajra to knock out his bluebird, then skillfully stuffed the bluebird into his storage bag. Su Qing then reached out his bear paw and took the fiery red-hot firebird and the Wind and Fire Wheel into his bag. He could clearly smell the aroma of the bear paw being roasted by the fire wheel, but he was still unable to move. He could only watch as Su Qing took the talismans that were about to be activated and those that were not yet activated from his hand and put them into his own hand.

A single breath was far too long, long enough that all the methods Ning Chengke had prepared for many years to deal with Huang Zhi and other pirate kings were completely deciphered by Su Qing.

A breath is too short. Once time resumes, he will regain control of his body and prepare to kneel down and beg for mercy, telling Su Qing that he had just boasted. He said that this cycle of reincarnation is not something that can be broken by sending someone into reincarnation. He said that as long as he is willing to endure the backlash of the Dao technique and the great loss of his cultivation, he can break it on his own.

Su Qing didn't give him a chance to beg for mercy.

They obtained many valuable items from him and verified the effect of the Lotus Life Seal in controlling time, thus rendering him useless.

So what if he died? He was just a Golden Core cultivator!

No matter how ambitious he was or how many years of injustice he suffered, after his death, he was no different from anyone else.

Do not!
There is still a little difference.

Because Su Qing only allowed Hu Dan to draw his sword and gave him a quick death, without harming his physical body or soul, thus giving him dignity.

The Taotie ship showed him no mercy. The moment the cycle of death was broken, his physical body and soul were devoured by the Taotie ship. Only a few traces of Yazi Dao patterns, which were incompatible with the Taotie ship, were rejected and then captured by Su Qing using the Mountain and Sea Capture technique.

"Even if you only borrow a little bit of authority, your soul will be taken away after you die. This Taotie ship is indeed a bit greedy. Moreover, the current captain of this treasure ship is Yun'er's uncle. Even if I kill Ning Chengke, I still cannot completely control this ship."

"Could I borrow your place for a moment? Yun'er's uncle is also my uncle. We're all family, so borrowing him shouldn't be a problem!"

With Ning Chengke dead, Su Qing didn't give the other pirates a chance to fulfill their bet and surrender. Instead, he went to the Taotie and drove the Wan Ning family members off the ship. Then, he ordered the Wanghai cultivators to unleash their firepower on the pirates who were no longer protected by the Taotie.

"That's not right, Master Su. We pirate cultivators are the most trustworthy and keep our promises. Since Master Ning has lost, we should surrender. We are willing to surrender and admit defeat!"

"The rule of the underworld is that if you surrender, you lose half the stake!"

"Damn it, can't you see these bastards want us dead? Surrender? You'll have to cut off their heads before they'll accept your surrender! Now pick up your knives and fight them!"

"Don't fight, Grandpa Su, gentlemen of Wanghai, I've lived in Shipwreck Bay for hundreds of years. I know exactly which family has treasures and which place has good things. I'm willing to lead the way for you!"

Under the indifference of the ship owners of Wanghai, the pirates who were subjected to the baptism of cannon fire completely lost their former ferocity and arrogance that once roamed the seas. One by one, they perished in the sea of ​​fire, crying out for their fathers and mothers. Only a few of the guides who were quick to call for their grandfathers survived by chance and were taken to the Bixi on Dragon Island to serve them.

While they were annihilating the main force of Shipwreck Bay at sea, inside Shipwreck Bay, the body cultivator assault team led by Master Liaode, Yingjue Shen, and Lü Wentian, with the cooperation of special forces puppets, also wiped out the pirate families in Shipwreck Bay who dared to resist.

The dragon-shaped tortoise, too large to fit in Shipwreck Bay, was left outside the bay.

Su Qing led the excited ship owners of the Wanghai fleet through the narrow pass filled with mutilated corpses and countless dead bodies, and stepped into the pirate den that made countless merchants in the Western Sea grit their teeth in hatred.

Looking around, ignoring the bloodshed and chaos caused by the great battle, it is not difficult to find that this place has spiritual fields and houses, spiritual herbs and plants, and spiritual beasts and birds. If it is not called a pirate den, this place is much more prosperous than the average inland immortal kingdom. At least, the White Cloud Immortal Kingdom, where Su Qing started, although much larger than this place, is far less prosperous and wealthy than this place!

"One fourth-order spiritual vein, three third-order spiritual veins, several spiritual springs, and one mineral vein. Such a spiritually rich place is being wasted by these pirates using it as their hideout."

"Master Su, why don't we, the Wanghai merchants, occupy this place? With our development, this place might become a seascape overlooking the sea, and the spirit stones we earn will be no less than the treasure these pirates plunder!"

The old hero Ying Jueshen's eyes shone brightly. While the other ship owners were drawn to spirit crystals, spirit stones, precious materials, and magical artifacts, the old hero could see the value of the shipwreck bay itself.

If Yingjue Shen could recognize this, Su Qing naturally knew it as well.

However, this place is located deep in the Western Sea, and they have no seven pirate king ships to look out at, nor any Penglai Immortal Island to support them.

"This place is good, but I, Wanghai, cannot defend it. With my current strength, I have done my best to protect Wanghai. If we occupy this place, neither the Thousand Islands Immortal Kingdom nor the Penglai Immortal Kingdom will tolerate us. What will we do then?"
Old hero, don't worry about that anymore. Go quickly to the pirate family and gather their spoils. Given your merit this time, I can arrange for the three factions—Jia Tianxia, ​​Fobaozhai, and Shashenglou—to share the pirate king's spoils!

Su Qing regretfully rejected the old hero's suggestion. Although this den of thieves was good, it was located in the West Sea, where there were two major thieves from Penglai Thousand Islands and the forces of evil sea beasts were rampant. If they, with their strength, were to control this place, it would be like a child holding gold in a bustling market, something that could not be held for long.

Upon hearing this, Ying Jueshen wanted to persuade him again, but he believed that with Su Qing's ability to refine puppets and mass-produce troops, coupled with the countless treasures he had obtained from Shipwreck Bay and the resources produced after developing Shipwreck Bay, Wang Hai was not as Su Qing thought, and had no possibility of controlling this place.

But his good son-in-law Shao Delong pulled him aside, telling the old hero to wake up. This Wanghai is not Su Qing's Wanghai. It is still Erqiang's in name. Su Qing can lead the Wanghai troops out to fight, but if he can also help Erqiang seize a maritime base, wouldn't that make Erqiang ecstatic?
Ying Jue Shen let out a long, helpless sigh:
"Sometimes I think that Su Zhenren should be the Lord of Wanghai City!"

"Since the old hero says so, I won't let him take too much loot!" Su Qing said with a smile, waving his hand to tell the old hero and Shao Delong to hurry up and grab the treasure, and not to linger here.

"Brother Su, what's wrong with you today? This huge Shipwreck Bay is full of stolen goods. On any other day, you would have pounced on it long ago. What's wrong with you today?"

Before leaving, Delong looked at Su Qing with some doubt.

Before Su Qing could reply, De Long's father-in-law grabbed him and shouted:

"Master Su is not the same as before. He doesn't care about these riches and wants to give them to us at a profit. This is what it means to do great things. Even if we have to risk our lives on Langya Immortal Island after Master Su's actions, we will not hesitate!"

The old hero deliberately raised his voice, subtly employing his physical strength, so that all the ship owners vying for spoils in the Shipwreck Bay could hear him.

The boat owners, who were currently excited and eager to see the sea, immediately responded sensibly:
"Fellow Daoist Ying is right. Although True Person Su is not the lord of our Wanghai City, the things he has done are unmatched by any other city lord!"

"What are you saying? In my heart, Master Su is the Lord of Wanghai City. I'll fight anyone who says otherwise!"

"What a wonderful city lord! He helped us blast open other people's homes by setting up ships and cannons, but when it came to confiscating their property, he showed great integrity. You can't find a city lord like him anywhere, not just in the cultivation world, but even among ordinary people!"

"Damn it! You idiot, I was just praising Master Su, and you dare to steal the spoils I've got my eye on!"

"I didn't steal it; it was Master Su's special forces puppet that stole it by imitating me!"

"This...this is unnecessary! It's one thing for the puppet to deceive pirates, but to deceive our own people too!"

"Stop talking! Master Su has already scattered countless special forces puppets to steal spoils, and Xiong Er is leading the Hammer Squad to move things from various pirate king families. If we delay any longer, we might not even get a hair left!"

"Master Su! You really are the Master Su I've always known!"

The cultivators were all shrewd. Compared to Su Qing, who didn't take a single penny, Su Qing, who was now releasing all sorts of puppets to frantically snatch the spoils, made the Wanghai ship owners feel more at ease. They knew that if they took what Su Qing left behind, they might be able to take it back to their hometown in Wanghai. If Su Qing didn't take anything, no matter how much they took, they might not be able to bring it home!

If the True Immortals don't take it, how can the Venerables take it? If the Venerables don't take it, how can the Foundation Establishment cultivators take it?
"Wow, it's finally my turn to make a fortune!"

In a hidden treasure vault, Qinghe, who had secretly taken away the Fire Egg to search for treasure, stood with her hands on her hips and laughed wildly.

She was born with nothing but hard work and deception, and after years of swindling and cheating, she finally had the chance to become rich overnight.
"Fireball, you calculate for me, how many times can these precious materials and spirit stones be enough to sleep with the master? Ten times, fifty times? Fifty times is enough, I'll get tired of it after that!"

Just as Qinghe's eyes gleamed with golden light as she gazed at the vault full of treasure and fantasized...

Suddenly, Huodan gave her a mocking look, and before she could even cover her mouth, Huodan let out a cruel howl.

Immediately, Xiong Er led two teams of blasting war bears, grabbed Qing He to the side, and packed up all the treasures and spirit stones in the vault and took them away.

"Fireball, you despicable bastard! We agreed on 10%, isn't 10% enough? Why did you call someone—no, why did you call Xiong!"

"Xiong Er, we've been colleagues for years and we have some feelings for each other. Today I'm working alone, and although I've done a good job, I don't deserve to take so much spoils. But please turn a blind eye and don't be so rigid. Once I've pocketed all this treasure, you'll definitely get your share! Thirty percent? Fifty percent? Sixty percent, how about that? You take the lion's share!"

Qinghe, who was being held in the air by Xiong Er, frantically grabbed Xiong Er's arm with both hands and kicked wildly in the air with both feet, looking like a crazy woman who was greedy for money but failed to get it.

Faced with the temptation of sharing the spoils and the bears, dogs, and humans all embezzling the wealth, Xiong Er and Huo Dan remained extremely calm.

"Woof woof woof! (I, Fireball, am utterly loyal to my master. My master treats me so well; if I, Fireball, were to covet my master's possessions, would I still be human? Would I still be a dog?)"

"Waaaah! (My master has already paid me, Xiong Er, for my work as a battlefield scavenger. I'm paid to do what I'm paid for, and besides, it's my master who paid me. These spiritual materials and treasures are good, but they can't compare to my master's trust in me!)"

A bear and a dog barked as they searched for the eavesdropping wood spirits hidden somewhere within the treasure vault.

Qinghe is still too young. Although the master did not come, there are his spies everywhere in the entire Shipwreck Bay.

By this time, Qinghe had already realized what was happening.

These two are no good; their sudden display of high moral character is simply because they know they have no opportunity to be greedy.

Immediately, he imitated the bear and dog, barking loudly:
"Master, Qinghe has found a treasure vault with the fire egg. Is there a reward?"

"See if there's anything left on the ground. Pick it up and share it with Xiong Er and Huo Dan!" From some corner inside the treasure vault came Su Qing's gentle voice, making the bear and dog tremble. (End of Chapter)