Immortality begins with meditation puppets

The sea was calm, or rather, for Su Qing's fleet, which had eight Nine-Dragon Ships leading the way and a hundred Tier 3 Treasure Ships escorting it, this was the biggest storm in the Free and Unfettered Sea.

Two of the four demon kings who originally resided here were easily caught by Xiong Er. The deep-sea dragon hook of the Jiao Tu didn't even need to be dug up; sea monsters like the Nine-Headed Dragon couldn't resist taking the bait.

Once Su Qing finished refining all four demon generals, and the newly formed demon god army was large and powerful, Xiong Er, who was fishing outside, finally had no more fish demons to catch.

"We've reached the waters near Giant Corpse Island. This area is a dead zone for all living beings. Any sea monsters that linger here are sacrificed to the sea witch by the creatures of the island. Even if you're good at catching monsters, what's the use if there are no monsters to catch? Save your energy. Once we get to the island, you'll have plenty of time to work on it, Master."

Tong Chang walked up to Xiong Er, who had gotten nothing in return, and was amazed that there was a puppet in this world like him, who was blessed by heaven and earth and could cultivate and comprehend the Dao like a living being. He couldn't help but regard him as one of his own and couldn't bear to see him being exploited by Su Qing like this.

Good heavens, this Xiong Er has been hunting monsters day and night for more than half a month, and he hasn't gotten a single bite to eat. He's given all of it to Su Qing to refine into puppets. No matter how capable he is, he shouldn't do this. No matter how hard he can endure, he shouldn't have to suffer like this.

Before Tong Chang, who was indignant on Xiong Er's behalf, could say more, he saw Qing He, who had just emerged from seclusion, swallowed three demon beast inner cores, and forcibly elevated her cultivation to the third level.

The third-tiered lotus is extraordinary; its skin is fair and moist, like a lotus emerging from the water, giving people a refreshing feeling.

However, this fresh and innocent vibe vanished the moment she opened her mouth.

"By order of the master, the demon-hunting operation in the Free and Unfettered Sea has come to an end. We will now proceed with the final settlement."

In this operation, a total of three fourth-tier sea monsters were captured, each valued at 500,000 spirit stones; 267 third-tier sea monsters were captured, each valued at 10,000 spirit stones; and over 3,200 tons of first and second-tier sea monsters were captured, each valued at 100 spirit stones.

The acquired treasures include one fourth-tier treasure fish, the Golden Horned Pomfret; three third-tier treasure fish, the Emperor Ribbonfish; a fourth-tier treasure plant, Dragon Blood Algae; and a third-tier treasure plant, Black Light Grass. All of these are valued at 360,000 spirit stones. Additionally, there is a fourth-tier treasure material—the Gun God Oyster—which Fellow Daoist Liang has exchanged for three Longevity Peaches. These Longevity Peaches are also valued at 30,000 spirit stones.

Calculations show that this demon-hunting operation yielded a total of 4.88 million spirit stones. According to the previous agreement of a 10/90 split, Xiong Er will receive 488,000 spirit stones. If there are any objections, he can consult his master.

Listen!

How capable the Xiong brothers are! Their hard work over half a month is equivalent to the output of Langya Immortal Island over a hundred years.

What did it gain from all that hard work?
He received 488,000 spirit stones!
Damn it, if I had known he could earn this much, I, Tong Chang, would have been exploited by Su Qing and forced to work for him!
I missed it!

Upon hearing about Xiong Er's catch, Tong Chang felt no sympathy for it whatsoever. No wonder it worked so hard; with such benefits, Tong Chang would also stay up day and night, fishing to the point of exhaustion!
As the owner of Xiong Er Money Shop, Xiong Er had seen his share of ups and downs, but this was the first time he had ever received such a huge sum of hundreds of thousands of spirit stones.

Although she knew that Qinghe had calculated this gain at a price far below the market price, for example, the nine-headed dragon, just one of its heads could sell for more than 100,000 spirit stones, how could a corpse only be worth 500,000 spirit stones.

But even if it has objections, would it really dare to argue with its owner?
"I'll allocate 300,000 spirit stones as working capital for Xiong Er's money shop. As for the remaining 180,000, I'll have my master use them to find some fifth-tier materials for me. It's time to upgrade my runes to fifth-tier!"

After telling Qinghe that there were no fish to catch, Xiong Er, carrying the Vajra Pestle, landed in front of the mountain of sea monster corpses. He silently recited Buddhist scriptures to cleanse the resentment and evil spirits of these creatures who had died unjustly, thus accumulating merit. It was a way of making the most of these creatures, using them thoroughly from birth to death.

As he chanted Buddhist scriptures, the chanting of Buddhist hymns traveled from the Bixi Island to the giant corpse island, which was less than a hundred miles away. Suddenly, four evil lights rose from the island, and blood clouds filled the entire island, completely blocking out the Buddhist light and chanting.

"The four evil spirits are in the sky, able to block Xiong Er's Buddha light. Their evil energy is so strong that even the Baoxiang Bodhisattva cannot compare to them. They are almost on par with a fifth-order evil god. I don't know where that sea witch found her helper."

Su Qing, who had just emerged from the puppet workshop, was filled with surprise and doubt about the strange phenomena on the giant corpse island.

He had considered that the sea witch might be despicable enough to find accomplices.

But to my surprise, she despicably found four of them in one go.

Tong Chang, standing beside him, looked even worse. He took out a crane-shaped incense burner and remotely drew a wisp of evil energy from the giant corpse island into it.

In an instant, wisps of smoke emerged from the crane's beak. The smoke was reddish-black, deep and lingering, and it did not dissipate in the wind or cease in the water. The sea monster corpses that came into contact with it would stand up unsteadily and immediately become evil, without even needing to adapt.

"Evil energy, like ink, permeates all things, turning them a deep black, while demonic energy, like blood, annihilates all things, turning them a crimson red."

This aura, a reddish-black color, is no longer merely evil, but rather the aura of demons. On this island of giant corpses, not only is there the evil sea witch, but also four demons!

After he finished speaking, Tong Chang's hand holding the Hebi incense burner trembled involuntarily.

Everyone knows that another great calamity is about to begin, and the emergence of evil spirits is not far off.

But to run into them so suddenly was something no one could have predicted.

The emergence of these four demons also means that at this moment, in the islands of the Western Sea and in various places of Tianyuan, there are either demons that have awakened from ancient times or have been corrupted into demons in the present world.

“We’ve all fought these evil spirits before. Asu’s exorcism puppets are experts at dealing with these evil spirits. Even if demons are stronger than evil spirits, they shouldn’t have scared you this much, Lao Tong!”

Seeing that the sea monster's corpse, tainted by demonic energy, had been calmed down by Xiong Er's few words of Buddhist chanting, Liang Haishun felt a chill, but he didn't take this evil spirit too seriously.

Liang Haishun couldn't handle any evil spirits, but with Asu around, along with the Big and Little Ghost Babies, the Exorcising Missiles, and Bilian Xiong Er, those four evil spirits shouldn't pose much of a threat.

Liang Haishun, who loves the company of beautiful women but not the ancient Taoist texts, is unaware of the power of evil spirits and laughs at Tong Chang's cowardice. Su Qing, however, understands the source of Tong Chang's fear.

“Demons are not the same as evil spirits. Those who are tainted by demonic energy are almost immortal and indestructible. Moreover, they all possess demonic seeds and have been passed down demonic skills.”

Even the lowest-ranking demons possess fourth-tier combat strength, and their demonic arts are at least at the Heavenly level, such as Heavenly-level combat skills and Heavenly-level Taoist arts. If they also possess demonic supernatural powers, they are even more difficult to deal with.

The troublesome thing is that demons can plant demonic seeds, subtly corrupting living beings. Before they activate, the beings are no different from ordinary beings, and no one can detect them. Moreover, unlike evil energy, it can corrupt not only living beings, but also puppets, magical artifacts, and other creations of cultivation. It is truly impossible to defend against. A demon of the same level can be ten or a hundred times more troublesome than an evil spirit! Su Qing's expression was solemn. If a demon were to invade his puppet and suddenly attack him from within, he would probably be disgusted to the point of vomiting!
"What... what should we do? Even puppets can be corrupted by demons, so isn't Asu's puppet army useless? Why don't we turn around and leave, and let that sea witch go for now!"

Liang Haishun followed Su Qing and saw that he was used to using puppets to win battles when things were going well. Now that he felt things were going against him, his first thought was to leave. This sea witch was not someone he had to kill. Why gamble with his life?

Seeing this, Tong Chang secretly laughed at him, thinking he was truly cowardly, and said to comfort him:

"If a demon wants to plant a demonic seed, it must transform into a myriad of inner demons, such as a hundred charming beauties, the most beautiful women in the world, to provoke the cultivators' desires, or a hellish hell, a furnace of swords and fire, where hardships and obstacles make the cultivators fearful and terrified, or stories of old friends, old feelings and old scenes, regrets and sorrows that make the cultivators regret their past actions."

In short, if one's mind is free of distractions, even a demon cannot find a way in. And if one's divine sense is strong, one can easily see through the illusions created by inner demons, making it difficult to plant a demonic seed within them. Fellow Daoist Su's divine sense is so strong that even a fifth-tier demon might not be able to penetrate it, so naturally he wouldn't have much of a way to deal with his puppets.

"Ah, so this demonic seed means that the more weaknesses someone has, the easier it is for them to scheme against them? Does that mean I, Old Liang, am doomed?"

Liang Haishun, a man who indulged in all five vices of eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring, was also not strong enough in terms of spiritual sense and had a frightening number of weaknesses. After being told by Tong Chang, he was so frightened that he wanted to hide in the Bixi cabin on Dragon Island and dared not go to the Giant Corpse Island at all.

Su Qing didn't make things difficult for Lao Liang. She asked him to take out two longevity peaches so that she could replenish her health and mana during the battle. Then she asked him to put a Five Elements Water and Fire Flag on him and let him hide inside the Bixi on Dragon Island with Li Hailang and Qinghe.

"This... Fellow Daoist Su, it's not that I, Old Tong, don't want to lend you a hand, but I, Old Tong, have only recently completed the Celestial Master's dying wish. Previously, the Celestial Master's three great true skills were not bestowed upon me, but now I have obtained these three great true skills."

But I haven't had time to practice either the Supreme Response Five Thunder True Skill or the Altar Dipping Ritual Boundless True Skill. I've only studied the Geomancy Pointing and Dragon Vein Stabilizing True Skill a bit over the past few days. It's not only not good enough for serious study, but it also has no effect on evil spirits.

"Useless people won't bother you. Why don't you just let Lao Tong, Lao Liang, and I sit here on Dragon Island and wait for your triumphant return?"

Tong Chang, with Su Qing's arm around his shoulder, frowned deeply. He was genuinely afraid of the evil spirits on the island and truly regretted getting on Su Qing's bandwagon.

Tong Chang had just acquired the three great skills of the Celestial Master and was diligently cultivating on Langya Immortal Island with his wife by his side. Hundreds or thousands of years later, he would surely show the demeanor of the only Celestial Master of his time. How could he have ended up in this state of encountering evil spirits, his heart filled with fear and his spirit filled with trepidation?

"Fellow Daoist Tong underestimates himself too much. I, Su Qing, and my brother Erqiang, are known as the Three Heroes of Yunshan along with Fellow Daoist Tong. Now we are quite famous in the four realms of Tianyuan."

"Four mere demons? With you and me joining forces, they'll be easily captured, no problem at all. Once we're on the island, fellow Daoist, feel free to display your power. I'll be there to support you, exorcising evil and vanquishing demons, showcasing the magnificence of a Celestial Master!"

Su Qing gripped Tong Laodao's shoulder tightly, not only wanting to fight alongside him, but also wanting him to be the main force.

Although Master Tong complained repeatedly, he could not resist Su Qing's immense strength. After Su Qing arranged the nine dragon boats into formation, the cannons in a line spewed out fire in unison, breaking through the Netherworld Dark Light Formation performed by the four evil demons with the force of metal and fire.

Su Qing leaped forward, carrying with him the Buddhist high-ranking cultivator Xiong Er, the naturally born sword-wielding tiger egg, the contemporary celestial master Tong Chang, and over ten thousand puppets including the Demon God Legion and the Exorcism Legion, directly charging onto the lifeless and deathly giant corpse island.

Giant Corpse Island may have once been blessed by heaven and earth, with lush forests, where plants welcomed spring, all things grew, and life was vibrant.

But when Su Qing set foot on this land, what came into view was a barren land and black mountains, with over a thousand giant corpses, and pools of blood flowing down from the top, where the soil and rocks crumbled, eventually flowing into a pool of blood.

The lake water gurgled and bubbled, like a giant cauldron boiling countless lives, the blood water boiling and filling the sky, casting a hundred-mile-long blood cloud in the air, its momentum extremely terrifying, and no one knew what kind of great terror was about to be unleashed within it.

The sea witch, who resembled a hundred-legged octopus, was bound by black chains and held in the hands of a black-scaled dragon man who was over a hundred feet tall.

The dragon-man was surrounded by crimson and black demonic energy, clearly indicating that he had been implanted with a demonic seed. When he saw Su Qing walk onto the island, his eyes, as straight as lamps, swept over him. A fierce and murderous aura caused Tiger Egg's Nine-Tailed Nine Swords to tremble. Xiong Er unconsciously clasped his hands together and chanted scriptures. Tong Laodao almost threw away a stack of talismans in his hand in a moment of shock.

Only Su Qing, with his blood and qi surging like rising smoke, his spine muscles bulging as if a great dragon were surging, used only his physical blood and qi to dissipate the evil aura of the dragon-man into nothingness.

"With such vigorous blood and energy, why didn't you come sooner? If you had come a day earlier, I could have saved three hundred of my clansmen. If you had come ten days earlier, my entire dragon race could have been spared. Why did you slaughter my entire clan just to satisfy the appetite of that blood lake?"

"You've become a demon, I deserve to die, but you deserve to die even more!"

Long Fengxian, as if possessed by a madman, roared a few times and threw the chains in his hand to the ground. The black chains seemed to be interwoven with unfathomable laws and principles, and even without anyone holding them, the sea witch could not break free. She could only scream pitifully. The more she struggled, the deeper the chains tightened around her, slowly dyeing the black evil energy on her body into a reddish-black color.

"The Dao Heaven Demon Seed Locking and Animal Creation Technique! This is to plant a demon seed in the sea witch, turning her into a beastly enslavement of a superior demon!"
Such demonic arts are certainly beyond the capabilities of this dragon-human demon. Behind it, there must be an even higher being. Perhaps this dragon-human demon has only recently had its demonic seed planted; otherwise, it should be ruthless and devoid of humanity, not constantly lamenting the tragic deaths of its people. Its demonic nature is not yet deeply ingrained, and its original nature has not been completely extinguished!

Tong Chang took out four Vajra Talismans, affixing one to each of the two men and their two puppets. He then slowly retreated several hundred steps, handing over the task of dealing with the dragon-man demon to Su Qing and his two puppets.

Yes, in his view, this dragon-man demon had only recently become a demon, and was still a lower-level demon, not having received the true teachings of demonic arts, merely a vassal of a great demon.

However, even though it was a lower-level demon, it was still a fourth-order evil demon, which was beyond what Tong Chang could handle.

"My old bones are already exhausted from dealing with a few giant corpse demons. This demon and the great demon behind him can be handled by Fellow Daoist Su."

"I think so?"

Tong Chang muttered to himself, slapped the talisman and channeled his magic. With a drop of essence blood taken from Su Qing on the tip of his tongue, he roared like thunder and charged towards the giant corpse gods who were charging alongside the dragon-man with the spear.

Beside him were the various ghostly children summoned by Su Qing, as well as a group of exorcising puppets such as the mountain demon and the spirit of burial. The two sides clashed and fought a lively battle.

It's at least more exciting than the battlefield over there where a single shot, a single punch, or a single clash decides the outcome!
God!

I, Tong Chang, am unworthy to be called one of the Three Heroes of Yunshan alongside Fellow Daoist Su!
It looks like a pretty ruthless fourth-tier demon.

How could he have killed him with a single punch?! (End of Chapter)