Immortality begins with meditation puppets

Chapter 58 The Vanished Gao Family Butcher Shop!
Push open the door to the spirit house.

Su Qing saw Zhang Hai looking somewhat awkward as he was blocked by a group of lizard warriors dozens of meters away, with Huo Dan constantly watching him warily with his dog-like eyes.

Su Qing knew without a doubt that Zhang Hai, as a formation master whose combat strength was even weaker than that of a puppeteer, must be under a lot of pressure at this moment.

After having Fireball and the lizard warriors move aside, Su Qing cupped his hands in a respectful bow and said with a hint of apology:
"I never expected it to be Fellow Daoist Zhang visiting. I apologize for not welcoming you properly!"

"Fellow Daoist Su, you're too kind. I've come here specifically to thank you. Those five exorcism talismans on the gate of my academy, were they a gift from you? They saved my life!"

With a mix of lingering fear and gratitude, Zhang Hai bowed deeply to Su Qing.

"Did a headless evil spirit come after you, fellow Daoist?" Su Qingchu was taken aback, but immediately understood and asked urgently.

Before Zhang Hai could answer, she pulled him to a teahouse not far away. This teahouse was also owned by Baibaoge and was considered a good place to discuss matters.

As for why Zhang Hai wasn't invited inside for a detailed discussion, it was because the black children inside the spirit house were still helping him with his cultivation.

Su Qing had no intention of putting them in her storage bag and letting them rest for even a quarter of an hour!

"Two distinguished guests upstairs, please serve the finest spiritual tea, paired with the best spiritual spring water!"

Teahouses usually cater to wealthy and leisurely cultivators, and surprisingly, business is quite good here in the forward camp.

Clearly, the rogue cultivators have come to their senses. They live on the edge every day, never knowing when they'll die. What's wrong with being pampered for a few days?

After the two sat down, Su Qing asked about Zhang Hai and the current situation of the living area.

"Fellow Daoist has advanced to the first rank of Array Master? Congratulations! One success in a single day, from now on the immortal gates will be open to you, and your immortal blessings will be boundless!"

Hearing that Zhang Hai had finally overcome his hardships and independently crafted the first-order Golden Light Array, becoming a first-order array master, Su Qing felt a little envious.

Of all the arts and skills, formations are the most important.

This is a consensus among all cultivators in the Tianyuan Realm.

The fact that Liang Haishun, who was only a first-tier high-grade array master, could become a guest of honor of various major forces is proof of this.

Liang Haishun was old and his cultivation limit was set, but Zhang Hai was different. He was over forty years old, which is the age when cultivators are full of vigor and ambition.

"It was just luck. Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but I have exhausted all my resources during this seclusion. If I had not gained anything, it would have taken me another one or two decades to gather enough materials!"

Thinking back on the difficulty of his breakthrough, Zhang Hai still felt a lingering fear.

Being a rogue cultivator is not easy. Each breakthrough requires ten or twenty years of accumulation of resources. If one fails, countless years will be wasted.

The two chatted about this topic for a while, and the two, who already had some acquaintance, immediately forgot the awkwardness of not seeing each other for several months and chatted more and more enthusiastically.

As they chatted, the topic turned to the Gao family's butcher shop.

Su Qing learned from Zhang Hai that since he arrived at the front-line camp, headless evil spirits had begun to frequently appear in the living area.

Those cultivators who are prepared are in a better position, as they have exorcism talismans to help them, and the headless evil spirits cannot harm them.

However, those who were stingy and unwilling to buy exorcism talismans suffered some losses when the headless evil spirit came knocking on their door. The losses were not great; they didn't lose a single spirit crystal, only a head.

At this point, Zhang Hai once again expressed his deepest gratitude to Su Qing.

When he went into seclusion, the Gao family's butcher shop had not yet run into trouble, and the headless evil spirit had not yet appeared. Therefore, he had not prepared any exorcism talismans.

After he emerged from seclusion, he was somewhat puzzled when he saw the three intact exorcism talismans pasted on the courtyard gate, and the two talisman remnants that seemed to have already taken effect and turned to ash. It was only after he learned about the situation and heard from a rogue cultivator that he had seen Su Qing commanding lizard warriors to scale the wall and enter his courtyard that he suddenly understood.

"It seems that the headless evil spirit has approached me twice. If it weren't for your protection with your runes, I wouldn't be alive today."

Thinking of his fellow practitioners who had been beheaded by the headless evil spirit, Zhang Hai was now sweating profusely.

"It's nothing, nothing to brag about. I originally wanted to thank you for helping me spread the word about the Lizard Warriors."

Seeing that my fellow Daoist was in seclusion and had not yet emerged, I posted a few exorcism talismans on the courtyard gate just in case. I hope they will be effective.

Su Qing accepted Zhang Hai's bow without hesitation. Although it was a small favor, he had indeed saved Zhang Hai's life.

"How is the Gao family's butcher shop doing now?" Su Qing knew where it all started, so she asked after Zhang Hai sat down again.

“Disappeared!” Zhang Hai whispered.

"Disappeared? Such a big shop, can it grow legs and run away?"

Su Qing considered two possibilities: that a Foundation Establishment cultivator could suppress and destroy the Gao family's butcher shop, or that even a Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn't do anything about the evil spirits in the butcher shop.

But I never imagined that Gao's butcher shop would disappear.

Zhang Hai didn't know the specifics, but he told him everything he knew.

"The headless evil spirit has caused a great disturbance. Two Foundation Establishment disciples of the Yunshan Sect, together with the Lord of Yuanlai Tower, the three Foundation Establishment disciples went to the Gao Family Butcher Shop to suppress and kill the evil spirit there."

Unexpectedly, there were still living people in the Gao family's butcher shop, and Gao Erqiang was still alive! But being alive was even more pitiful than being dead.

It was said that he had dozens of heads all over his body, each of which emitted a foul stench. As soon as the three Foundation Establishment cultivators entered the butcher shop, they engaged in a fierce battle with him.

We, the independent cultivators, have no idea what the outcome of that battle was. We only know that after that battle, one of the two Foundation Establishment disciples of the Yunshan Sect died and the other was injured, and it seems that the Lord of Yuanlai Tower was also injured by him.

The Gao family's butcher shop mysteriously vanished, and not even a headless evil spirit appeared in the residential area!

After listening to Zhang Hai's account, Su Qing remained silent.

He had anticipated that the evil spirit in Gao's butcher shop was no ordinary person, but he never expected that it would be able to control Gao Erqiang and defeat the combined forces of three Foundation Establishment cultivators.

As for the disappearance of the Gao family's butcher shop, it's likely that You Xie was afraid of being wiped out by the reinforcements sent by the Yunshan Sect, so he had no choice but to flee with his family.

Wandering evil is so hateful; it would be better if it were as dull as earthbound evil.

"The disappearance of the Gao family's butcher shop is ultimately a good thing for us rogue cultivators. Once things are settled here, I can finally go back home in peace!"

As long as the Gao family's butcher shop doesn't cause trouble for them, Su Qing felt much more at ease after figuring that it didn't matter where it went.

"What you say is true, fellow Daoist. The wandering evil spirits love places with dense blood and miasma."

To the west of Baiyunfang City lies Yunluo City, where daily battles rage and bloodshed fills the sky; to the east lies Baishou Mountain, a place of deep forests, thick fog, and rampant miasma.

"Wherever the wandering demon goes, it's better than staying in the residential area."

Zhang Hai nodded in agreement, then changed the subject, thinking of Su Qing's puppets he had just seen, and said enviously:
"I always thought you were destined for greatness, but I never imagined you would rise to prominence so quickly."

No, it must be that you concealed your cultivation level, fellow cultivator. At the peak of Qi Refining, you've managed to create so many puppets. How many of us rogue cultivators can reach your level?

(End of this chapter)