Immortality begins with meditation puppets

As the saying goes, "He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world," and people's hearts are made of flesh and blood, and they will follow whoever feeds them.

Wei Debao and other outsiders from the far west had all followed Su Qing before. Whether they fared well or poorly, they were now somewhat respectable and could be addressed as "Master" when they went out. If they were to rebel against Su Qing, would they still be human? Xiao Lang and other local tyrants from the far west had had enough of living on meager rations. Now that Su Qing had run away, they were even begging him to take power!
Of course, everyone is different. Among the cultivators present, there were bound to be some who were ignorant of the bigger picture, ungrateful, arrogant, short-sighted, and stubborn, who wanted to challenge Su Qing. While the other cultivators bowed before Su Qing, sang his praises, and swore allegiance to become his lackeys, these few bad guys showed little reaction. Their eyes were filled with dissatisfaction and resentment as they looked at Su Qing.

"A mere rogue cultivator dares to think he can be in charge? I'm giving you face by calling you a True Person, but if I didn't, I'd send you to your grave!"

"The far west belongs to the far west people. Even if there are rules, they are set by us far west people. It's not your place to speak!"

"The elders will acknowledge you, but the four great families of the far west will not. We will not interfere with your building of an immortal kingdom, but you are not to be trifled with in our mines!"

"Damn it, you came to our far west just to raid our mines, didn't you? You even built a city for this, but don't even think about it. We, the people of the far west, will mine our own mines!"

The discordant voices, clashing sharply amidst the flattery and obsequious chatter, allowed Su Qing to quickly pinpoint these individuals.

Seeing that their clothing was characteristic of the far west, he assumed they were local cultivators from the far west. He snorted coldly and looked at the far west's Grand Elder, Fan Xiangchun.

As people age, so does their heart. Fan Chunxiang, who only wanted to live these last few years well, was startled by Su Qing's glare. Trembling, he stood up and stammered, explaining:

"Reporting to the True Immortal, although these people are cultivators from the Far West, they are not under the control of the Far West Elders Hall. They are all arrogant and unruly, bullies who prey on the local people. For generations, they have occupied the four major mines of Yaoshi Mountain, Xuan Tie Mountain, Zi Jin Mountain, and Chi Xue Mountain, feeding themselves to the point of being fat, but never sharing any profits with the people of the Far West."

The people of the Western Immortal Realm have suffered for too long, but the four great families are too wealthy and powerful, with strong men and horses. Our Western Elders' Hall cannot contend with them and can only endure it. Today, the True Immortal has arrived, and I thought that seeing the True Immortal's imposing presence would change their ways. But I never expected them to dare to speak so arrogantly to the True Immortal. This is my fault, and I beg the True Immortal to punish me!

Although Fan Chunxiang was old, he knelt down nimbly, making a thud on the ground. He then used his words to absolve himself of all responsibility, leaving Su Qing with no reason to blame him. Su Qing had to quickly take a few steps to help the old mascot up and offer him a few words of gentle comfort.

It should be noted that ever since he sent Hongshang to the far west, he has always treated the Far West Elder Hall with utmost respect. He even placed several elders in the Su Ji Group as guest elders, who could receive tens of thousands of spirit stones a year without doing anything. Were these spirit stones spent for nothing? He wanted them to use their accumulated prestige over the years to help him mediate and resolve conflicts between local cultivators and outsiders.

In retrospect, the salary he offered was still too high.

Not all local cultivators in the far west are subject to the Elder Hall's control!

Seemingly realizing he hadn't done his job properly, Fan Chunxiang turned and berated the group:
"Times have changed. This is no longer the era in which your four great families, Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li, dominate the far west. Considering our many years of acquaintance, I advise you to quickly submit to Master Su. Otherwise, you may not be able to withstand his wrath!"

No sooner had he spoken than those men who disrupted harmony and were clearly bad seeds began to hurl insults at Fan Chunxiang with the utter disrespect befitting their status.

"You old codger! You don't want to live anymore? How dare you talk to us like that! Isn't this the time when you were kneeling and begging me for money and goods to help the immortals?"

"You bastards, if it weren't for us working so hard to mine and give you a bite to eat, would you have been able to cultivate in the far west until now? Or is it that those few young men go out and risk their lives to earn a pittance, enough to support the millions of immortals in the far west?"

"Pah! Now that you've hooked up with these rich guys from out of town, you don't take us men seriously anymore. We don't blame you, but you're cursing us as soon as you pick up your bowl. We don't like that. You just wait, you'll get what's coming to you sooner or later!"

The harsher the insults they hurled, the redder Fan Chunxiang's face became, as if he was about to faint from the abuse, but he still felt warm and comfortable inside.

It wasn't that he was shameless or despicable; he simply knew that if these people dared to cause trouble today, they would definitely suffer the consequences. Only by clearing himself of any suspicions against them in front of Su Qing could he avoid being implicated by them!
And as expected.

Su Qing hasn't even made a move yet.

Inside the main hall, a group of powerful figures who wanted to impress Su Qing but lacked the opportunity rushed to attack the four.

Yao Guangquan was the quickest to act. He had always been very successful and could seize any opportunity to show his face in front of Master Su.

Upon seeing that some fool had spoken arrogantly to Master Su, he prepared in advance, carefully putting on the several sets of Heavenly Silk Armor he had purchased from Jia Tianxia at great expense. He then chose a position closest to the four people. As soon as he saw Master Su's expression change, he dashed out like a horse that had broken free of its reins or an arrow that had been released from a bow.

Immediately, he was thrown back with a whoosh!
"Your Majesty, I, Guangquan, am incompetent and have disappointed you!"

Guangquan lay on the ground, vomiting blood, and taking advantage of his miserable state, he didn't forget to boast to Su Qing.

Su Qing nodded to him, acknowledging his loyalty and courage, which meant that his blood loss had not been in vain.

After Guangquan, came the fifth-tier deity Yingjue Shen.

Even after becoming a deity, the old hero still wanted to show off his heroism, wanting everyone present to see how powerful he was as a divine general in his armor, so as to make a name for himself and better spread his faith in the far west.

But before he could reach the other side, a dark figure flashed past him and appeared in front of the four people in an instant.

By the time Ying Jue Shen arrived, the dark figure had not only subdued the four people, but had also slapped them four times across the face.

Ying Jue Shen, who wanted to show off but had no chance, looked closely and realized that the dark figure was none other than Tianpeng Zhenren!

How can it be repaired?
You're even worse than a human at acting like a demon!

It's one thing for others to want credit, but you're a foreign devil, not even part of the Far West's organization. Promotions and raises aren't for you, and rewards and recognition are none of your business. Why are you being so eager to compete with me?

Ying Jue landed beside Tianpeng Zhenren with a huff. He was so angry that he swung his hand and slapped each of the four men across the face. Only after seeing that the left cheek of each of the four men was more swollen than the right cheek did he nod in satisfaction.

He slapped the left cheek, which shows that his slap was more powerful than Tianpeng's.

These four individuals were used to lording it over others in the far west.

Even with their faces swollen like pig's heads, they were still full of resentment, cursing at Su Qing. Su Qing frowned slightly, knowing that these four people were delivered to his door by the four powerful families of Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li, who were there for him to kill.

These four people were prepared to die, just to show him the attitude of the four major families!

But even though they wanted to die, Su Qing refused to let them.

"It is said that if there are ten taels of gold in the far west, Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li will get nine taels. I, the true master, have long wanted to see it for myself. There is no time like the present, so today I will take you all to visit your respective families one by one, and see if your patriarchs are as stubborn as you are!"

Su Qing smiled, but the chilling killing intent emanating from her body made even the only fifth-level Yingjue God in the hall feel a chill.

Needless to say, the four members of the Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li clansmen were only at the third level of Golden Core cultivation, so how could they withstand Su Qing's pressure?

Despite their distress, they were secretly delighted.

People say that the four great families of Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li are vampires who live off the wealth of the mines in the far west.

Who knows the hardships these four families have endured!
Back when these four mines were being developed, they went to great lengths to preserve their family's power and went through a series of conspiracies and schemes before finally excluding the Western Elder Hall from the mines, which allowed the four families to monopolize the mines and enjoy wealth and glory.

After occupying the mines, they sometimes had to suppress the miners' uprisings. To do this, they went to great lengths, selling off countless minerals at rock-bottom prices, before finally establishing a relationship with the Liu family of Penglai. They managed to get them to open a channel and sell them some puppets and magical artifacts. Only by overwhelming them with equipment could they ensure that the miners would work in peace.

That's not enough. In years when severe weather such as the Great Ice Disaster ravages the far west, they also have to take out some spirit stones and supplies to appease the immortal people of the far west, so as not to make them desperate and fight to the death.

In short, being a vampire is no easy feat!
For example, is Su Qing someone to be trifled with now?

Who doesn't know that he is incredibly powerful and ruthless? Haven't they seen how the Penglai people, whom they tried so hard to curry favor with, have all suffered at his hands? These four families, with just a few people and a few guns, dare to oppose him?

They don't want to either.

In recent years, the storms from the outside world have finally reached the far west. Since the Su Group moved in, a large group of people have come and started building a city. The sky in the far west seems to be changing, and the sky of the four major families is about to collapse!
Even though the entry of external forces such as Suji Group and Jia Tianxia made the four major families uneasy, they never considered taking action against them, mainly because they dared not.

They only think about everyone making their own money. They let you mine the mines outside that haven't been cleared of monsters, as long as you don't mess with their own.

That's all they ask for! Why is Su Qing so greedy? Why does he have to make things difficult for them? The most despicable ones are these lowly people from the far west. They've lived such miserable lives for so many years and they're still alive, don't they? Do they really think they'll have a good life just because they're associated with Su Qing? Once he's in complete control, he might live even worse than them!

Because Su Qing's ambition to establish an immortal kingdom was never concealed, just the fact that many immortal kingdoms sent envoys to the far west was enough to make the four major families recognize reality, abandon all illusions, and be ready to do something about Su Qing at any time!

The first step was to lure Su Qing to their mine!
There, they laid a trap, taking full advantage of the time and place, determined to kill him!

Knowing that the family had arranged for these Golden Core clansmen to see that Su Qing had indeed just ascended to the position and was in a position to establish his authority, they knew that if they went up to him like this, they would certainly die, but they would also be provoked, which was exactly what the family wanted!

Alas, now that we have eliminated that scoundrel Su Qing, the far west can return to normalcy, and our family can continue to prosper. I only hope that after we die, our families will take good care of our wives, children, and elderly parents, just as we agreed beforehand!
The four exchanged glances, each knowing what the other was thinking. To avoid being noticed by Su Qing, they decided to bite off the tips of their tongues to kill themselves.

Seeing them commit suicide by poison, Su Qing didn't even glance at them.

Their lives and deaths were not important to them.

From the moment they uttered those insults, it became a matter between him and the four major families.

After Hongshang arrived in the far west, the brick-moving puppets and train puppets that were busily working around the Su Group had already followed Su Qing's instructions and placed eavesdropping puppets in various parts of the far west.

The four major families are of utmost importance, and Su Qing has a complete grasp of their every move.

Their so-called inescapable trap was a joke in Su Qing's eyes!
"Let's go. I'll take you all, the True Immortals and the envoys from various countries, to see what the four great families of the Far West are capable of, and also to see the foundation of our Far West. If these four mines are nationalized and developed normally, there will be many opportunities for cooperation between us in the future!"

Su Qing waved his hand, letting Xiong Er hold the dead men in his hands. He then stepped out of the Su residence without a care in the world, leading the cultivators in the hall straight to the Zhao family's Yaoshi Mountain, the strongest of the four major families.

Beyond the outer and inner cities of the far west, where a large array regulates celestial phenomena and climate.

What they saw and heard was the bitter cold of the far west that people in the far west had been accustomed to for generations.

This is no ordinary land. As far as the eye can see, the mountains are covered in snow, devoid of any life. Occasionally, a cold wind blows by, bringing a sinister laugh that sends chills down one's spine.

The sky here is no ordinary sky. Even the domineering Penglai, which claims to be the people of the Western Sea, dares not set up an anti-air formation in the far west. The sky here is shrouded by a death cloud formed by countless wronged souls and dead spirits from the Western Sea, forming a huge vortex that is drawn into the Eye of Returning Ruins in the center of the far west.

As a result, for every zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) above the ground in the far west, one has to endure several times the pressure of extreme cold. If one does not have a body that is as hard as iron, and rashly goes to heaven, one will surely be taught a lesson by the far west and frozen solid.

Su Qing is naturally a rock-hard man, capable of enduring hardship even at high altitudes in the far west, but to establish his authority, he brought along a large audience this time.

To accommodate these soft-hearted men, Su Qing had to lower the altitude, landing a hundred feet in the air, and speeding along with them.

On the way, Ying Jueshen and the others, having witnessed the formidable cultivators of the four great families, wanted Su Qing to be careful and not to be complacent just because of his own abilities. They suggested that he release the puppet army first to avoid being ambushed and caught off guard.

But when they saw Su Qing stepping forward, with the sound of dragon roars always accompanying him, and the evil spirits and monsters in the far west being so frightened that they dared not utter a sound, they no longer thought Su Qing was arrogant. Instead, they thought he was too cautious!
With Azure Dragon on the left and Xing Tian on the right, even a fraction of their skill would be enough to wipe out the four great families single-handedly, without even needing to bring Tiger Egg and Bear Two along! (End of Chapter)