Immortality begins with meditation puppets

A human figure appeared inside the coffin of the Immortal Burial God.

Then one could see countless rays of light spreading across the sky and fields, and thousands of auspicious purple clouds rising.

On the road paved with the glow of dawn, there is the majestic Lu Wu divine beast, holding a sword with a scepter in its left hand, exuding righteousness, and holding the Yuan Tu sword in its right hand, exuding awe-inspiring power.

Following Lu Wu, Su Qing wore the Primordial Star Robe, his aura soaring to the heavens and his light reaching the stars. Behind him, the sun and moon revolved, and stars gathered. Beneath him, the phantom images of ferocious beasts and divine creatures such as Qiongqi and Taotie accompanied him.

In his hand, the Investiture of the Gods slowly unfolded, displaying the 365 pure and blessed righteous gods of the eight departments of the Three Realms, including: the righteous gods of the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, the 24 Heavenly Lords of Thunder who urge on clouds and rain, the righteous gods of Fire, the righteous gods of Plague, the righteous gods of the Five Dippers and their auspicious and inauspicious stars, the constellations, the 36 Heavenly Stars of the Dipper, the 72 Earthly Fiends of the Dipper, the Water Virtue Star Lord of the Five Qi of the Big Dipper, the stars under the Grand Duke Jupiter, and the four righteous gods who welcome good fortune and capture fugitives...

In addition to these 365 Pure Blessing Gods, each of them also has a servant deity system under their command. If the system is full, holding this Investiture of the Gods list will allow them to summon more than 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals.

Although the Three Pure Ones, the Six Emperors, the Five Elders of the Five Directions, the God of Justice and War, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and other top-ranking and prestigious officials cannot be appointed on the Investiture of the Gods list, the official positions and duties of all the gods on the list can be determined by the Heavenly Emperor with a single word. They are the Heavenly Emperor's greatest trump card besides his direct line of demon gods.

Although the Penglai Immortal Kingdom found the Investiture of the Gods in the ruins of the ancient Heavenly Court, it was too eager to build an artificial Heavenly Court.

The reason why the major sects of the myriad realms disregard this list is that the Penglai Immortal Kingdom has this list but no one has the majesty or power of the Heavenly Emperor. Even if they obtain this list, they cannot be appointed as true gods, but only as subordinate gods below the true gods. Their divine power and authority are worlds apart from those of true gods. The most significant difference is that subordinate gods cannot obtain fortune and merit from heaven and earth, while true gods have fortune and merit as a form of welfare.

Secondly, the Penglai Immortal Kingdom has the Investiture of the Gods but no God-Slaying Whip. Without the God-Slaying Whip to restrain those artificial gods, if they are not satisfied with the benefits, there is a high probability that they will not be bound by it and will not follow its orders. They will switch jobs or resign at will. They only have the ability of cattle and horses, but they are unwilling to be used as cattle and horses. They need to be carefully served. Even Liu Gandang dared not appoint too many subordinate gods, lest Penglai could not afford to support or control them.

These problems are not problems for Su Qing.

From the moment the Investiture of the Gods fell into his hands, the long-dimmed names and positions of the gods on it shone brightly, signifying that the 365 righteous gods of heaven and earth on the Investiture of the Gods, after being out of their positions for countless years, had reached the day when all gods would return to their rightful places. All Su Qing needed to do now was nod, and he could immediately confer the titles of the 365 righteous gods of heaven and earth.

He simply wouldn't do that, because he couldn't afford to support those 365 righteous gods.

Of course, it's not that he can't afford to support them. The Investiture of the Gods was originally one of the benefits of the Heavenly Emperor. The Heavenly Emperor could use them as he pleased, but their salaries did not have to be paid by the Heavenly Emperor. Instead, the entire world paid for them. This is why, even though he now has the Investiture of the Gods and the authority of the Heavenly Emperor to bestow titles, he cannot immediately bestow titles upon 365 righteous gods of heaven and earth.

Since this world has not yet recovered to its ancient peak, the existing spiritual resources are not enough to create opportunities for all living beings in the heavens. It is not appropriate to use 365 righteous gods of heaven and earth to compete with all living beings for opportunities!

However, he could bestow titles upon some deities. The construction of the temple area within the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom has always been quite good, and there are now tens of thousands of deities, large and small, within it. Among them, only a handful of the true gods of heaven and earth have obtained divine runes and gained the recognition of heaven and earth.

Most of them are self-proclaimed gods who use the methods of cultivators to dabble in the lives of ordinary people, accumulating incense offerings and faith. If he could give them a chance to be officially recognized as gods on the Investiture of the Gods list, even though this position would only be a contract job with benefits far inferior to those of the 365 true gods of heaven and earth, those self-proclaimed gods would never refuse to join in order to don this title, and there would be absolutely no possibility of them secretly complying with him, Su Qing.

Because beside Su Qing was Hu Dan holding the sword, which was bestowed upon Hu Dan by the ancient Heavenly Emperor. In ancient times, it was used to slay evil spirits and wicked gods. It had a special deterrent effect on the gods listed in the Investiture of the Gods. This deterrent effect was the supreme prestige accumulated by the ancient Heavenly Emperor in his rule of the ancient Heavenly Court for many years. Its deterrent effect on all the gods under the ancient Heavenly Court was no less than that of the God-Slaying Whip.

He will not confer titles upon the true gods of heaven and earth for the time being, but he has the ability to do so. This is a big pie in the sky, and it remains to be seen whether these stone god officials in front of him will take it.

Before leaving the coffin of the immortals and gods, Su Qing was still a little uneasy, fearing that these stone officials might really rebel and no longer recognize the ancient Heavenly Court's system. After all, the ancient Heavenly Court had not paid them salaries for countless years. If they were unwilling to work for the Heavenly Court because of this, they would have a reason to do so anywhere.

But from the moment he held the Investiture of the Gods in his hands and made his grand entrance, when he saw the stone officials immediately stop fighting and look at him with eyes full of awe, he knew that he had made the right bet!

Yes, the Heavenly Court hasn't paid them a salary for countless years.

The crucial point is that they haven't been paid a salary for countless years!

If they no longer acknowledge the Heavenly Court and the Heavenly Emperor, all their salaries over the years will have been completely wasted!
On the contrary, if they still acknowledge the Heavenly Court, and if someone really becomes the Heavenly Emperor, there is a possibility that they will receive their salaries for all these years!

Previously, when they saw that Su Qing seemed to have the aura of an ancient Heavenly Emperor, the stone officials had already stopped their actions. Now that they saw him holding the Investiture of the Gods, which not only had the aura of an ancient Heavenly Emperor but also the ability to deliver benefits to them like an ancient Heavenly Emperor, they immediately understood what to do!

The stone man was not originally human. Although he was born as a spirit, after struggling in the cesspool of the Heavenly Court's workplace for many years, he developed human emotions.

They also know hardship and fatigue.

Over the years, within the Abyss, former colleagues have either fallen into depravity or turned to evil, but they have remained steadfast in their posts, faithfully fulfilling their duties to this day.

Isn't this the day we've been waiting for?

"The Stone Man Army, consisting of 3,600 stone men, has seen the Heavenly Emperor of the present world. The Emperor is glorious in the world and has descended upon all the heavens again. We are overjoyed."

Looking back, the Emperor entrusted us, the Stone Army, with a great responsibility in the Lingxiao Palace, ordering us to guard the Underworld for the Heavenly Court, so that evil could not be born here and the wicked would not be spared. At that time, the wind blew and the drums of the Heavenly Court shook the mountains and rivers, lightning flashed and the banners were high in the sun and moon. The Qilin in the sky had its own kind, how could the ants in the hole escape? It was the time when the Heavenly Court was prosperous in martial arts.

We, the Stone Army, are commanded by Heaven and sent to Earth. We have served and obeyed orders in this underworld for countless years. We dare not complain of hardship, but we hate that since the collapse of the Heavenly Court and the loss of the Heavenly Emperor's throne, there have been evil officials in the underworld who have insulted Heaven and Earth, defied the Dao and reason, poisoned the King of Hell, usurped his position, and falsely claimed the Mandate of Heaven. They used the loss of the throne by the gods and immortals of the underworld as an excuse to appoint themselves as the Lord of the Underworld, and also held the titles of the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, the Emperor of Fengdu, and other divine positions.

With such a wicked minister in charge of this abyss, in recent years, the evil winds within this secret realm have become even stronger than before, and evil spirits have run rampant. They hate that our cultivation is shallow and that we have not received supplies from the Heavenly Court for a long time, so we have little ability to suppress these treacherous and evil villains. We can only guard this Yama's Palace and prevent the evil villains from wreaking havoc on the human world.

Now that I have witnessed the Heavenly Emperor's reappearance and Lu Wu's return, and that the sun and moon will soon shine again, and the nation will be restored to peace, I am overjoyed and speechless. I hope the Heavenly Emperor will not be offended!

Among the stone priests, there was one who was even more imposing than the other stone priests. He stepped forward and knelt before Su Qing, delivering a heartfelt speech that brought tears to the eyes of the stone priests. The True Lords among the Burial Immortal priests were all deeply moved by his words.

The ancient Heavenly Court had loyal ministers! They hadn't been paid or paid for so many years, yet they still steadfastly remained at their posts.

It's only right that they cry now, because this is the time for them to reap the rewards of their years of perseverance!
Even Su Qing understood that he couldn't just make empty promises when facing these stone officials. These promises had to be kept in the future, otherwise, he would be destroying not just anything, but the reputation of the ancient Heavenly Court!
He raised his hands slightly, causing all the kneeling stone figures and priests to rise, before nodding to Hu Dan. Hu Dan then pulled Tong Laodao out of the Burial Immortal Coffin.

However, the plan was to have this old Taoist priest Tong act as the imperial eunuch, in his capacity as a modern-day Celestial Master.

And this has proven to be extremely effective.

When these stone officials saw Su Qing, who had the Dao patterns of the sun and moon in his palm and the aura of the Heavenly Emperor, along with the divine Lu Wu tiger egg that wielded the sword, and the Heavenly Master of the present world proclaiming the decree, they were all speechless with excitement, waiting for the Heavenly Emperor to make a promise to them.

Tong Laodao was caught off guard and was called out by Su Qing to do a errand, and he knew that this errand would not be easy.

Don't be fooled by the fact that these stone priests are as obedient as loyal dogs; they're still hoping for some benefits from Su Qing.

If these benefits are not delivered properly, they will simply disown this so-called Heavenly Emperor. Just like when they sensed the aura of the Heavenly Emperor on Su Qing, and before he produced the Investiture of the Gods and demonstrated the ability to deliver the benefits, they wanted to punish Su Qing as a villain and wanted to kill him.

Old Master Tong was incapable of delivering the promised benefits, and now, having received instructions from Su Qing, he could only hope that the promises Su Qing made would fool these stone figures.

"There is a Stone Man Army that has served countless generations from ancient times to the present day, through countless changes of time. They have devoted themselves to the cause of all living beings and served the ancient Heavenly Court faithfully. Their actions have moved Heaven and Earth and deserve a reward."

In ancient times, when the heavens collapsed and the earth split open, gods and Buddhas all disappeared. The Stone Man Army fell into the underworld, carrying out the mandate of heaven. They had no immortals or gods to protect them above, nor any colleagues to care for them below. They fell into a land teeming with wicked and evil people. They maintained their integrity and steadfastness with great merit. Their hearts were firm in their loyalty and obedience, and they were generous in their kindness. Therefore, the Stone Man Generals are hereby appointed as one of the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends of the Dipper Department. All other Stone Man Gods may be appointed as Gods of the Dipper Department.

In addition, for the contributions made by Shi Renjun over the years, Heaven and Earth have also bestowed upon him immeasurable merit and good fortune.

It's a pity that, currently within the ancient underworld ruins—the Abyss Secret Realm—the rewards bestowed by Heaven and Earth, including the position of a righteous god, cannot be immediately fulfilled. These rewards will be granted one by one after the Heavenly Emperor and the Stone Army return to the Heavenly Origin Realm!

After Tong Laodao finished speaking, his eyes were fixed on the group of stone officials around him. If they showed any signs of dissatisfaction, he would have to hide back in the Burial Immortal Coffin immediately.

He understands Su Qing.

That kid's talk is nice; he's offering both official positions and rewards.

The position is not insignificant. In the ancient Heavenly Court, although the Dou Department was the most dangerous, the benefits and treatment were excellent. Without connections and influence, one could not even dream of becoming an official in the Dou Department. Although the Stone General had the combat power of a sixth-order general and had a group of Stone Men under his command, the innate spirit monster had no backing. In the ancient times, even if it worked itself to death, it would never have had the chance to become an official in the Dou Department. Su Qing giving it a Dou Department Earthly Fiend Star position was definitely not a bad deal for it.

The reward isn't bad. You should know that these stone officials have guarded this Yama Palace for many years, preventing the demons and monsters within from running rampant. They have indeed made outstanding contributions to all the heavens and myriad realms. As long as they return to the Tianyuan Realm and receive the approval of the Heavenly Emperor Su Qing, and if he, as the Celestial Master, petitions Heaven and Earth and completes the formalities, Heaven and Earth will bestow immeasurable merit upon them. This merit is enough for them to secure their divine positions in the mortal world and enjoy inexhaustible blessings and incense offerings.

But this official position and reward cannot be obtained now; one must go to the Tianyuan Realm to obtain them.

However, this place is a perilous abyss, and it is unknown whether Su Qing can safely return to the Underworld.

This is still just a pancake, and it can only be redeemed if they are kidnapped and made to serve Su Qing, protect him through the Underworld, and return to the Heavenly Origin Realm.

Whether these stone priests would accept such conditions was something even Master Tong wasn't sure about.

But Su Qing seemed confident of victory, because he had already grasped the hearts of these stone priests!

He understood that these stone priests had no choice now.

If they do not follow him, a great change will occur in the Yama Palace. They will no longer be able to guard the palace as before, and the only outcome awaiting them will be to collude with those evil demons.

If they didn't want to be gods and insisted on being evil, they would have done so years ago. Why wait until now?

On the contrary, following him would be a gamble. If they could get through the Yama's Palace, they would be considered loyal ministers in the Heavenly Court and veterans of two dynasties. It would be no exaggeration to say that their path to godhood was boundless.

As he had expected, after Tong Laodao finished speaking, the stone priests did not hesitate at all. They led the stone priests to bow down and kneel before him again, accepting the reward and promising to obey his orders and serve him from now on!
They didn't get any real benefit from it.

He then took in 3,600 stone god officials as his servants.

Liu Gandang was filled with envy at this sight. Thinking of the three to five hundred artificial gods he had painstakingly created, he felt even more heartbroken and exhausted.

Su Qing was satisfied with her performance.

Just as they were about to lead the stone priests forward...

But then he heard someone shout from behind:
"These stone priests can all be granted divine titles in the Dou Department. Third brother, what do you think about your second brother, Erqiang, should be given?" (End of this chapter)