Immortality begins with meditation puppets

February 5th.

The Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom welcomes a grand event: the Heroes' Assembly is being held as scheduled!

Early in the morning, amidst the sound of celebratory cannons, Mr. Li, the owner of Li's Restaurant, along with his staff and the wooden spirit servants who helped with odd jobs, dressed in neat and uniform uniforms, and with well-trained smiles at a 45-degree angle, saw off the distinguished guests staying at the restaurant as they went out to compete.

"Wishing Master Sha a resounding victory!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Turn left when you go out, go wherever there are lots of people. Today, Kaiyuan is a happy place, so it doesn't matter where you go!"

"Fellow Daoist Li, are you opening VIP rooms for another five days? Alright, Fellow Daoist, you're confident you can pass all five trials and win the championship!"

All morning, Boss Li's mouth never stopped. As one of the few restaurants in the far west inner city that didn't offer any special services and therefore couldn't attract any special tourists, he had to put in more enthusiasm and effort than his peers in order to win more spirit stones from cultivators from other places during this Heroes' Gathering!
After seeing off the last customer, Boss Li finally had a chance to straighten his stiff back. He rubbed his neck, looked at his impatient group of employees, and waved them off for a day off. Although it was a bit painful to pay them for this half-day off, if he hadn't been given this day off, his bastards would have skinned him alive.

He himself wanted to take a break!
The Heroes' Gathering, the founding of the court by all cultivators—such a grand event could probably only have been held during the ancient Tianyuan Dynasty, when humanity was at its peak. Now that he was here, how could he not personally experience it?

He even signed up for the Spirit Chef competition. Whether he achieved results or not was not important; what mattered was the souvenirs he received as a participant!

He quickly changed into his magnificent robes, not to show off, but simply to avoid bringing shame to the Kaiyuan people.

As soon as he stepped out the door, he heard the whooshing sound of cannons. When Boss Li looked up, he saw that the sky in the far west, which was shrouded in death clouds all year round, was bursting with brilliant fireworks. He heard the exclamations of amazement from the cultivators from other places who had never seen anything like it. The local cultivators knew to keep their amazement to themselves and, like Boss Li, quickened their pace.

"Once the cannon salute goes off, the opening ceremony will begin. Old Li, you're not going to be able to get a spot if you walk like this. Hurry up and get in the car, I'll give you a ride!"

Old Wang, an acquaintance, drove a flashy, ostentatious gliding hearse that served no real purpose other than showing off his wealth, and landed in front of Boss Li.

Mr. Li hesitated for a moment, thinking that although the hearse might not be much faster than his own two legs, Old Wang was a staff member in the Western Elder Hall. Just a few days ago, he was showing off the front-row tickets he had been allocated. If he didn't take advantage of him, he would be letting down all the suffering he had endured for currying favor with Old Wang over the years.

Holding Old Wang's increasingly plump waist, and facing the puzzled, suspicious, and slightly disgusted gazes of the out-of-town cultivators, Old Wang twisted the accelerator, and the gliding hearse glided along in the air for more than ten feet.

"Old Wang, it's been a while since you've been to the restaurant. You've gotten so thin! If you hadn't called me, I almost wouldn't have recognized you!" Boss Li said these heartless, beautiful words as he rode in his car, enjoying the breeze.

"Of course I've lost weight! I've been getting a lot of criticism these days. The elders said I was too fat and it was bad for the image of the Elder Hall. They kept forcing me to practice martial arts and lose weight. But I finally made it through. After watching the opening ceremony today, Old Li, you have to cook me some good dishes yourself!"

Old Wang licked his thick lips, the sound of slurping saliva drowning out the wind in his ears. Boss Li, suppressing his nausea, said:
"The Elders' Hall is going too far. With your talent and temperament, Old Wang, you are a symbol of the power of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom and an irrefutable proof of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom's preferential treatment of the Westerners. How could you be a disgrace? In my opinion, it is the elders in the Elders' Hall who lack political awareness!"

"Who is the Westerner? Old Li, how dare you speak like that? I, Old Wang, am from Kaiyuan, a true and upright Kaiyuan native!"

Old Wang, who was born and raised in the far west, was extremely displeased when Old Li called him a "far west person." He slammed on the brakes, leaving Old Li awkwardly standing there. Old Li immediately realized his slip of the tongue and quickly bowed apologetically, saying:

"Kaiyuan people, we are all Kaiyuan people. When the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom was established, you were already in the Immortal Kingdom. If you are not a Kaiyuan person, then who is?"

After a long apology, Old Wang's temper was finally calmed down. Once the gliding hearse had glided forward again, Boss Li wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Since the establishment of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, under the subtle guidance of Master Su, the identity boundary between the native inhabitants of the far west and these outside cultivators had become increasingly blurred. It had already realized the slogan proposed by Master Su: "Once you come to Kaiyuan, you are a Kaiyuan person." In fact, native inhabitants of the far west like Old Wang were now extremely sensitive to being called "far west people."

It's not that they've forgotten their ancestors; it's just that they have nothing to miss about their time as Westerners. On the contrary, the prosperity of the Kaiyuan era for a hundred years has made them feel more identified with their identity as Kaiyuan people.

However, in reality, the people of the Far West are different from these foreign cultivators. At least, the policies of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom provide a lot of support for the people of the Far West, and they enjoy many preferential treatments for elders like Old Wang from the Far West.

But Lao Wang was a VIP customer of his restaurant, and Lao Li wouldn't be foolish enough to argue with him. The two chatted and laughed for a few more minutes before landing near the conference venue.

Sizzle!
Whoosh whoosh!
Choo Choo Choo!
They saw a flying roc puppet, a crane with auspicious clouds, and a cloud-carrying chariot quickly overtake their hearse. Because they overtook without warning, the spiritual energy they generated almost overturned the two people on the gliding hearse. Old Wang, with his fiery temper, immediately started cursing.

"Which rude family dares to race in the inner city? I'll install surveillance cameras in my hearse and report you!"

"Old Wang, what are you doing? Delete the surveillance footage right now! Those are people from the Temple District; they have special privileges!"

Mr. Li, who believed in making money through harmony, admired Lao Wang's indiscriminate and outspoken personality. However, after seeing the people opposite him wearing white robes with gold trim, he began to disapprove of Lao Wang's approach.

Since the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom attracted a large influx of people from outside, the inner and outer cities of the far west have been expanded several times, but they are still overcrowded and have many problems, one of which is transportation in the sky.

Originally powerful cultivators, in order to show off their superior cultivation, would rather fly in the sky than walk on the ground. The more people who fly, the more accidents are likely to occur, resulting in more people becoming disabled.

After the Su Group launched various flying puppets, other industries followed suit, launching flying vehicles like Old Wang's gliding hearse, which allowed people to realize their dream of flying regardless of their cultivation level. As a result, the sky in the far west city became more and more lively and crowded, with more flying people and more useless people.

Until Master Su introduced the Law of Flight, requiring all those who travel through the skies in the far west city to register and file records, and to restrict their speed and routes based on a comprehensive consideration of factors such as their cultivation level and tax payments, and requiring all flying vehicles to be equipped with monitoring puppets provided by the Su Group for mutual supervision, which would also help law enforcement officers make fair judgments in handling accidents.

This law led to a surge in sales of the Su Group's surveillance puppets. Leaving that aside for now, it's worth noting that since this law came into effect, air disasters in the Far West City have indeed decreased significantly. If judged by this law, those white-robed cultivators mentioned earlier certainly deserve criticism, but there are always those privileged individuals who transcend the laws of nature.

Several newly introduced divine attendants are among them.

In this world, evil spirits are rampant, and cultivators and mortals in the Tianyuan Realm suffer greatly from them. Therefore, the belief in ghosts and gods and the seeking of their help have become very popular among mortal cultivators, and the incense offerings to the gods have become more and more prosperous every day.

A deity can not only bring protection to the local area, but also drive the development of industries related to the deity, such as temple construction and incense and candle sales. Moreover, attracting a deity can attract a series of believers, making them highly sought-after talents in the various immortal kingdoms of Tianyuan today.

With his foresight, Master Su had long planned a temple district in the far west to house the gods. As a result, in this wave of competition for gods, Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom became the third choice for many new gods, second only to Penglai Immortal Kingdom, which created the Heavenly Court of Humanity, and Xingsha Divine Kingdom, which was ruled by gods.

As for these newly introduced deities, Master Su also gave them many special policies. For example, before they had adapted to the rules of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, the rules of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom would not apply to them for the time being!

But it was clear that Lao Wang did not agree with Boss Li's point of view and only thought he was a coward.

"Special privileges? So what if I have special privileges! Everyone has special privileges! I'm a native of the far west, someone whom Master Su has repeatedly emphasized the need for preferential treatment, a law-abiding citizen. What's wrong with reporting these street racers who are on the path of crime!"

Didn't you just say you were from Kaiyuan? Now that we're talking about privileges, you suddenly remember you're from the far west!

Boss Li was speechless at Old Wang's words, and whispered, "You've seen it clearly. These people are from the Feathered Serpent Cult. They are skilled in curses and like to play with snakes. The key is that after they worship the gods, they become ruthless and meticulous. If you report them, they will at most be fined a few hundred spirit stones, but you won't be able to sleep peacefully from now on."

Old Wang looked closely and saw the white-robed man who had turned around after being attracted by his cursing. His sinister eyes were as frightening as a snake. He immediately shrank back and sincerely smiled and bowed to him along with Boss Li. He then grabbed the surveillance camera on the hearse and, regardless of whether Old Wang could see it clearly, quickly deleted all the footage from the previous video.

Only after the white-robed men in front of him turned their heads away and flew off in unison did Old Wang dare to spit down, saying with utter contempt:
"To be honest, although Master Su is wise and powerful, he was not very thoughtful in introducing deities. Good deities are fine, like the Peach Deer God, who is always smiling. As long as you offer enough spirit stones, you don't even need to go to the temple to burn incense. He will deliver peaches to your door. His service is impeccable. But the Feathered Serpent God has always had a bad reputation. Even his servants are so uncivilized. Who knows what kind of trouble he will cause in the future? Master Su should really choose carefully."

Spitting everywhere! You're not exactly a model citizen either! Mr. Li kept his complaints to himself, only saying aloud:
"Take it easy. We're both only at the Qi Refining stage; worrying about national affairs is completely unnecessary. Let Master Su deal with these people and these gods. We should keep our good mood and enjoy the show later. I heard Master Su created a whole opera troupe using puppets, and the opera they performed was..."

"Old Li, I don't like hearing you say that. So what if our cultivation is not high and our skills are limited? Why can't we worry about the important affairs of the Immortal Kingdom? You should know that our good days today are hard-won. Anyone who disrupts the peace of the Immortal Kingdom is our enemy. We may not have other skills, but we still need to have patriotism. However, you mentioned opera. That opera troupe is indeed quite good. The tragic operas they performed made my eldest elder cry his eyes out in the middle of the night when he thought about them!"

After a few more words, the gliding hearse finally glided to the conference venue.

The main venue is located in the Open Source Auditorium. This building was constructed by Suji Construction Group and completed on the tenth anniversary of the founding of Kaiyuan Kingdom. With its spiraling height reaching into the clouds, it is hard enough to withstand the full force of a fifth-order powerhouse without collapsing. Its comfortable temperature regulation and year-round spring-like climate have made it the first fifth-order spiritual house built by a contemporary cultivator in the Western Sea cultivation world. It has become the preferred venue for various festivals, celebrations and large-scale conferences held in Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom in recent years.

As soon as Boss Li got out of the car, he was eager to part ways with Old Wang. Although his front-row ticket was coveted, the people sitting in the front row were all privileged dogs with the same status as Old Wang. With Old Wang's foul mouth, who knew if he would get involved with him and offend someone that Boss Li couldn't afford to mess with.

As soon as he took a step, he saw a cute-looking, voluptuous merman maid walking enthusiastically toward Old Wang.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, please follow me inside and take a seat. We can use the internal passage; there's no need to queue to enter!"

The merman maid's voice was soft and sweet, exactly the type that Boss Li liked. He was instantly captivated and immediately reached out to hold her hand. However, he didn't dare to hold the merman maid, who was so powerful that even the privileged employees of Su Ji Group wouldn't dare to mess with her. Instead, he held Old Wang's big, fat hand and followed behind her. With the swaying of her hips as she walked, Boss Li's heart and soul were swept away, and he couldn't think of anything else.

"This woman is really something!" Old Wang said to Old Li with a knowing smile between them.

Startled by his words, Boss Li quickly covered his mouth and apologized again to the merman maid who was glaring at him angrily but looked even cuter:
"Fellow Daoist Wang has recently encountered some difficulties in his cultivation. His mind is sometimes clear and sometimes confused. If he has said anything offensive, please forgive him!"

The merman maid didn't believe his nonsense, but she didn't take it too seriously. She just snorted and turned away, continuing to lead the way. In the end, since following Master Su and joining the Su Group, her merman clan had indeed gained a status in the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom that they had never had before. But they were still in the service industry. There were often flirtatious cultivators around, and as long as they didn't actually assault her, she could tolerate it. According to Master Su, half of her salary was for these grievances.

Seeing that she wasn't going to pursue the matter, Mr. Li breathed a sigh of relief, but he could no longer appreciate the beauty and scenery. He was constantly on guard against Old Wang's actions.

The journey was filled with trepidation, because Old Wang himself was so rude and couldn't stand other rude people, which meant that Boss Li had to smile and beg for forgiveness more often than when he worked at his own restaurant.

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! Fellow Daoist Wang wasn't talking about you. He was saying I have a fat head and big ears, sell shoddy cotton, and make dirty money!"

"Excuse me, excuse me, Fellow Daoist Wang, let me wipe your phlegm!"

"Excuse me, excuse me, Fellow Daoist Wang... never mind, he's lost his mind!"

"Please forgive him, he's brainless!"

Don't argue with an idiot!

"He is the Third Elder's youngest son!" (End of Chapter)