Immortality begins with meditation puppets

"In the Northern Ocean there is a fish, its name is Kun. Kun is so large that no one knows how many thousands of miles it spans; it transforms into a bird, its name is Peng. Peng's back is also of immense size; when it flies in anger, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky. This bird, when the sea winds blow, will migrate to the Southern Ocean..."

Kunpeng, an ancient and extraordinary beast, unique in heaven and earth, once made a name for itself in the ancient world, both inside and outside the heavens and the universe. It was also a Dao Lord-level existence that was called the ancestor. It is said that it once dominated the Northern Sea, and even the dragons at their peak did not dare to directly confront it. It truly achieved a realm that countless demons and beasts dreamed of and could only look up to.

After the great calamity of antiquity, Kunpeng, who served in the Heavenly Court, did not perish with the Heavenly Court, nor did he, like other Dao Lords, scatter his Dao Fruits back to Tianyuan to help Tianyuan suppress evil. This Dao Lord severed most of his Dao Fruits in Tianyuan, intending to wipe the slate clean with Tianyuan, break out of Tianyuan, and fall into the myriad heavens of the universe to create a new world. Under the name Kunpeng, he has been in seclusion in the myriad heavens and myriad worlds for many years. His disciples are not well-known because they are suppressed by the major sects of the heavens, such as the Yuanshi Sect and the Lingbao Sect. They were not invited to this Heroes' Gathering.

It is worth mentioning that Su Qing learned from the Azure Dragon King, who had revived from ancient times, that the reason why the three strongest forces of the Golden Dragon, Azure Dragon, and Green Dragon were defeated so miserably in the Battle of the Fallen Dragon Sea was because of the Kunpeng, who was supposed to lead reinforcements to the aid of the dragons but instead led his troops to flee to the heavens. It was also because the Azure Dragon King could not defeat the Kunpeng. Otherwise, when the Dragon King went to the heavens last time, in addition to beating up the Cloud Dragon, Earth Dragon, and other disobedient dragon forces, he would definitely have also caused a great disturbance in the Kunpeng Realm.

Regardless of Kunpeng's character, its strength was forged in the hellish difficulty where ancient immortals gathered and great gods were everywhere. No one can question it; they only want to emulate its power and imitate its abilities!
Among the myriad creations, there is the Star Sea Giant Kun, crafted in the shape of the Kunpeng, which is the supreme weapon for the demon races of the heavens to conquer the star sea. There is also the Cloud Kun race, which was catalyzed by a drop of Kunpeng's essence blood in the past and has multiplied for countless generations, and has long since become a race of its own. It is the absolute main force for trade and transportation between the heavens. There was one before Tianyuan, which was the Cloud Kun of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. In the past, when Su Qing and Liang Haishun and others were trapped in Baiyun Immortal City, they even hoped that this Cloud Kun would take them away...

Su Qing once attempted to emulate the Kunpeng, creating a biomimetic amphibious puppet—the Kunpeng Treasure Ship—which would land on the sea, much like the Giant Whale, which he has now modified and upgraded to possess the power of a fourth-tier treasure ship. It would be capable of carrying thousands of magic cannons, equipping hundreds of vertical launch missiles, launching deep-sea tyrants, and remotely deploying carrier-based aircraft puppets. If a powerful enemy were to break through the frigate's defenses, a flying dragon could ride up to the vicinity of the treasure ship and instantly transform into a sky overlord like the fifth-tier Pengtian Armored Puppet, continuing to exert influence on the battlefield as an aerial mothership.

Unfortunately, after several attempts, because they had never seen the power of the Kunpeng and had no materials related to the Kunpeng, relying only on a few words in the Daoist book and their own imagination, it was impossible to replicate even a trace of the Kunpeng's power. In the end, this treasure ship puppet could not be made and could only be split into two, existing in the form of the Pengtian Armor Puppet and the Giant Whale, but it was no longer related to the Kunpeng at all.

Now, having paid a great price to obtain a drop of Kunpeng essence blood from the Primordial Sect, Su Qing no longer intends to innovate and develop on his own, or to work himself to death on the Kunpeng Treasure Ship. With only this one drop of material on hand, it would be over if he used it up. He would be content to simply follow the instructions and refine the giant Kun from the North Sea produced by the panel.

According to True Monarch Guangxian, this essence blood was originally an eighth-grade material. After all, it was obtained from Dao Lord Kunpeng, so its grade could not be low. Originally, the Yuanshi Sect wanted to use the Daoist mysteries contained in this essence blood to deduce the Daoist patterns and supernatural powers that Kunpeng possessed. Unfortunately, most of the ancient great powers of the Yuanshi Sect perished in the ancient calamity. The new generation of disciples have studied it generation after generation, but they have gained very little. Moreover, as time goes by, the surging energy contained in this essence blood has gradually dissipated. Now, it has fallen to the sixth grade.

If Su Qing hadn't offered the blueprints for a spirit explosion puppet to exchange for this item with the Yuanshi Sect, the Yuanshi Sect would have been prepared to use it as material to forge a sixth-tier magic weapon, so that this treasure wouldn't become completely useless.

After obtaining this blood, Su Qing saw the boundless Northern Sea and the mighty Kunpeng, which dominated the sea and sky, within this head-sized blood essence. He saw it suddenly plunge into the sea for 30,000 feet and leap through the clouds for 90,000 miles in an instant. He was filled with longing and wanted to steal the Kunpeng's magic.

However, after studying it for several days, he only exhausted himself, his spirit was weak and his primordial spirit was not vigorous. He did not gain anything from this drop of essence blood, so he was not disappointed. After all, the Yuanshi Sect had studied this drop of essence blood for so long, but they had not figured it out. If he could comprehend the Kunpeng Dao after studying it for a few days, how would the Yuanshi Sect view him, and how would Kunpeng view him?

He was just giving it a try; if it didn't work, so be it. After all, he wasn't expecting any extra gains when he exchanged his essence blood.

In the spacious and bright puppet-making room, the meticulously crafted puppets, as clean as new, were as sharp as mud and as heavy as ten thousand kilograms. They required hundreds of casters to pull them, which were operated by a large wood spirit. The twisted tree spirit, which had completely withdrawn from the front-line combat team due to the increasing number and strength of Su Qing's combat team, had countless branches that served as countless hands, capable of simultaneously performing the intricate and meticulous work of puppet making...

Besides these expensive puppet-making tools, there are a total of 3,200 large wooden spirit puppets, all skilled craftsmen who have followed him in puppet-making for many years. In the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, they have worked day and night without stopping, honing their skills to perfection. They are divided into twelve workshops, each responsible for one of twelve types of puppets that Su Qing is good at or that have received good market feedback, such as spirit explosion, exorcism, bionic, and passion-inducing puppets. In recent years, they have generated a large portion of the profits of Su Ji Group. As for those who can earn more than them, of course, it's mining and Xiong Er Money Exchange. How can those who play with technology compete with mine owners and those who play with finance!
To avoid keeping his fellow cultivators waiting, Su Qing had an entire puppet factory, staffed with elite soldiers and powerful puppets, all dedicated to serving him alone.

At this moment, he took out all the materials for refining puppets from his storage bag, and then used his divine sense to transmit his requirements for these materials to the large and small wood spirits and tool puppets.

Without him having to put in much effort, over a thousand Heavenly Roc feathers (mostly second and third tier, with a small number of fourth tier, obtained by skimming off portions from crafting the Heavenly Roc Armor Puppet for the Heavenly Roc Clan) were processed through several steps, including waterproofing, sharpening, and crystal coating.

When they fell into Su Qing's hands again, these feathers were like spiritual swords, their sharpness fully revealed and their cold light chilling.

"With this skill, even if you don't let me handle the materials, I could easily outsource the work to a weapon refiner!"

Su Qing rubbed his chin, pondering whether to expand the business. Based on these tool puppets and the Great Wood Spirit, he could build a material processing plant, which would definitely be profitable. Previously, there was only the local market in Tianyuan, so there was little demand to outsource material processing to others.

But things are different now. Now, all the worlds are pouring into Tianyuan, the market is bigger, and the demand is greater. Some products with unique competitiveness will inevitably win a feast of orders. Soon they will face the problems of insufficient production capacity and manpower. If someone can help them with the most tedious material processing problem, they will probably not be stingy with the 20-30% profit.

His idea stemmed from the immediate and effective advertising campaign his Su Group had launched at the Heroes' Assembly. Orders poured in from all over the heavens, and they were already preparing for the second and third puppet factories. This demonstrated how highly sought-after the unique and inexpensive cultivation artifacts would become when the resources of the Heavenly Origin Realm merged with the inheritance of the heavens. At that time, those sects and forces that had been hit by this windfall would have to beg his material processing factories to process their orders and convert them into spirit stones!
"It seems that the Eastern King Sect has been doing this business all over the heavens. However, their material processing plants do not use puppets, but rather the cultivators and mortals under their rule. They work three shifts a day, which is really inhumane. They are nothing like the puppets here. They work long hours, have high intensity, and receive little pay. The key is that they are not tiring at all!"

Realizing that the Eastern King Sect couldn't compete with him in terms of labor costs, Su Qing felt relieved. With a thought, he instructed Qinghe outside to contact Xiong Er immediately to handle the matter. Ideally, the factory site and workshops should be prepared before he emerged from seclusion. Once he allocated a batch of tool puppets and large wooden spirits, they could start production immediately. Although he couldn't receive orders from outside for the time being, organizations like the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom's top puppet shop, the Duan Family Puppet Shop, and the Buddhist Treasure Pavilion should also have needs. They had also benefited from the Heroes' Gathering, gaining considerable fame throughout the myriad realms. His material processing plant could alleviate their production pressure, which could be considered his support for the development of local industries! Alas, becoming the ruler of the Kaiyuan Kingdom and gathering the power of an immortal kingdom made cultivation smoother, but it also inevitably led to being entangled in various trivial matters, making it impossible to concentrate on puppet making as before.

Su Qing shook his head, forcing himself to immerse himself in the refining of the giant Kun from the North Sea.

He had already handed over all the material processing to the tool puppet and the Great Wood Spirit. All he had to do was mix various talisman waters and prepare to draw runes.

This puppet is a creation-type divine beast puppet with fifth-order power. It has many advantages, such as being able to enter the sea and soar through the clouds, contain all things, and be both resilient and powerful.

Originally, it could have been used as a super-large merchant ship, a war fortress, or a mobile immortal city. However, Su Qing had too many weapons and suffered from a fear of insufficient firepower. Upon seeing the blueprints, he wanted to modify and redraw them to add some offensive capabilities to this giant Kun from the North Sea. Otherwise, it would just be a meaty creature that could only take a beating without fighting back!

The feather sword modified by Tianpeng Lingyu is just one example. It will be placed inside the breathing hole of the giant Kun and will suddenly burst out when needed, with the effect of a super-large rain of pear blossom needles.

Holes were dug into both sides of the Kun's body to install two Tier 4 Spirit Explosion Flame Cannons as main cannons, and then several thousand exorcism magic cannons and swift wind magic cannons as secondary cannons. It's not unreasonable to install such a huge Kun that flies so nimbly. What a great cannon mount. It would be a pity not to install more magic cannons.

A level 3 Vajra House is suspended in the abdomen, and nothing is placed inside except for explosive stone golems. Once it's down, the house will be blown up along with it. Don't worry about the cost; it's not like I don't have the means to do it now.

Exorcism missiles will definitely need to be installed on its back. That's just how things are now. When you're out and about, who can guarantee that you won't encounter a few evil spirits? Can you feel at ease without exorcism missiles? Let's dig a hundred or two hundred at the entrance of the hanging hair cave for now. It's not that there isn't enough space. The giant Kun's back is over thirty miles long and fifty thousand feet wide, with plenty of space. The main problem is that it doesn't have enough high-level missile puppets in reserve, and it doesn't have time to refine them on the spot. So it can only make do with this for now. When it has more free time in the future, it will dig more caves and install more missiles.

Such a huge Kun is already enough for the lizard riders to gallop on horseback. Shouldn't it be reasonable to station a platoon of soldiers to guard it permanently? Wouldn't it be normal to also set up a barracks for them?

Given the enormous cost of crafting this puppet, wouldn't it be appropriate to use it as a vehicle when going out in the future? It would be both impressive and not wasteful. So, let's not worry about the living experience. It's the size of a country's ruler, and having three palaces and six courtyards is an exaggeration, but shouldn't there be a rest room, a reception room, a training room, and a puppet-making room? Such a large place can't be managed by him alone, right? Wouldn't it be normal to arrange for dozens or even hundreds of fishmen to come in and manage it? Shouldn't the fishmen also live in large houses?

With all the various requirements combined, the final blueprints bear little resemblance to the original drawings.

He had already revised the blueprints, and all the materials were prepared according to the revised blueprints. Now that the tool puppets and the large and small wood spirits are busy, there's no way to make any further changes.

Su Qing only glanced at it briefly before focusing on preparing the talisman water.

Since it is a creation-type puppet, the sixth-order creation talisman water is indispensable. Among all the heavens and myriad realms, only Su Qing knows how to make this talisman water. You can't pretend to be someone else and slack off.

"Three branches of a ten-thousand-year-old Jianmu tree, five catties of brain fluid from a seven-tailed fox, thirteen body parts of any fifth-order spirit... All these materials must be mixed together and then tempered by heavenly thunder and earthly fire for three days and three nights to obtain this talisman water!"

These are all fifth-tier materials, enough to make a poor man weep, but he currently has plenty of spirit stones and spends money like water, so collecting these materials doesn't take him much effort.

The five catties of fresh brain fluid from the seven-tailed fox were a bit difficult to obtain. Even the second-generation demon king, the White-Faced Green Lion King, had no way to get it. It was his father who stepped in and used his charm to seduce a fourth-level fox demon king. The fox demon king took advantage of his ancestor's primordial spirit leaving his body and pried open his physical body and skull, and only then was he able to collect the full amount.

As for the tempering tools, Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire are easy to obtain. The Lingbao Sect sells Heavenly Thunder Swords, which can be used to generate Heavenly Thunder. They can be charged during thunderstorms, and a full charge can generate three to five hundred Heavenly Thunders. As a wealthy man from Tianyuan, he naturally bought the highest-end Heavenly Thunder Sword, a superior-grade Heavenly Thunder Sword that can generate five hundred Heavenly Thunders in a row.

Earth fire isn't difficult to obtain. All the major sects in the heavens with a tradition of weapon crafting have nurtured an earth fire furnace using the power of spiritual veins. They collect some ignition points from it and refine the fire within the furnace, thus creating an earth fire furnace. While not a common commodity, it's certainly not high-end. He only mentioned it casually, and True Monarch Peach Blossom Spring retrieved one for him from his sect's treasury without costing him a single spirit stone. (End of Chapter)