Immortality begins with meditation puppets

"The demons are still too cunning!"

Zhou Weidao sighed softly, looked around, and saw that all around him were golden-armored puppets staring at him. In this huge Kaiyuan fleet, he was the only living person. There was no one to talk to to ease the tension. He couldn't help but laugh and shake his head.

But in the distance, there are rolling black waves, like collapsing mountains or tsunamis, stretching endlessly from south to north and from east to west, climbing high and reaching the sky.

The demonic forces are surging!

finally come!

Zhou Weidao was startled. With a thought, all the treasure ships in the Kaiyuan fleet extended their cannons. There was no need to save money for the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom; the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom's fiscal revenue could easily cover this amount of cannon fire.

Just fire away and that's it.

One after another, French cannons opened fire, their fire like a continuous stream of starlight, illuminating the pitch-black night sky over the nearshore coast.

One could see that the black waves, which were being swept up by evil spirits, were filled with demons and monsters that had been corrupted by them. Most of them wore the clothing of the Three Thousand Western Sea Islands, while others wore the distinctive divine cage robes with gold trim and lantern patterns from the Kingdom of Punishment and Slaughter.

These are the results of the demons' victories from other directions, and also the root cause of Zhou Weidao's increased pressure.

Demons are formless and intangible, not recognized by heaven and earth, and have no support within heaven and earth. They are like a gentle breeze, coming and going as they please. If a cultivator's Dao heart is firm and they are not tempted by demons, they can completely ignore them.

Zhou Weidao believed that he could deal with such evil spirits by relying on the anti-demon weaponry that Su Zhenjun had given him before he left.

However, the Three Thousand Island Kingdoms Alliance, led by the Thousand Island Immortal Kingdom, collapsed so quickly that the Punishment and Killing Divine Kingdom, without Gao Erqiang, immediately went from first-rate to third-rate, and its defeat was even more decisive than that of the Island Kingdoms Alliance.

Not only did it not alleviate much of the pressure on the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom from the demons, it also provided the demons with countless creatures as objects to which their demonic thoughts could reside, allowing them to gather such a large army of demons and beasts!

At this moment, Zhou Weidao didn't know if he could withstand it.

No, I absolutely cannot withstand it.

He was merely a Nascent Soul True Monarch; his own abilities weren't even enough to provide a feast for these demons, let alone excite them.

The only hope of withstanding this wave of demonic invasion and turning the tide is still with Su Zhenjun!
This massive Kaiyuan fleet, and the countless methods Su Zhenjun concealed in the near sea.

Both require an abundance of divine consciousness to control.

Zhou Weidao clearly lacked the ability to control the armed force given to him by Su Zhenjun. At least dozens of Nascent Soul True Monarchs would need to join forces and combine their divine sense power to possibly meet the requirements for controlling these puppets.

Currently, it is clear that the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom cannot gather all these True Lords.

But he alone is enough to control these puppets!
This is also why Su Zhenjun entrusted him with such an important task!
The Dao pattern that Zhou Weidao controls is called Drinking Heaven Light, which can ignore boundary barriers and serve as a receiver for the divine consciousness of powerful beings.

Possessing such Dao patterns, in ancient times, would have been the best way for immortals, gods, and Buddhas to manifest their divine bodies in front of people. They would probably be busy receiving guests day and night so that immortals, gods, and Buddhas could use their bodies to do things in the human world, such as inviting gods and saints. Others would have to build altars and chant scriptures, or draw talismans and pray. But for him, it would be a trivial matter.

Now, he is drawing upon Su Qing's divine sense to control these treasure ships, puppets, and other things that Su Qing must have arranged, but Zhou Weidao may not know about.

With Su Qing's divine sense drawn down, Zhou Weidao's pressure instantly dissipated. At this moment, his task was complete. All he had to do now was watch Su Qing operate. If he won, he would be greatly rewarded, and the credit and rewards would be plentiful. If he lost, it would only mean that Su Qing's skills were mediocre and that he still needed to learn and practice. If this battle was lost, Su Zhenjun would have to take the blame, and he, as a mere tool, would not get any of the blame!
Before even winning, one should consider the possibility of defeat; before losing, one should first assign blame. Having determined that he shouldn't be blamed, Zhou Weidao watched with extreme ease as Su Zhenjun battled against these demons.

Compared to him, Su Qing has more experience fighting against the demon army and is better at commanding puppets in battle.

Having just taken over the battle, he launched a heavy attack on the monstrous army of demons, whose imposing aura and overwhelming demonic power had turned the sky black.

The French cannons and missiles loaded on the treasure ships of the fleet opened fire fiercely.

Within the military bases deployed along the coast of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, magical cannons were also set up, their launch ports opened, and they opened fire in unison. A wave of saturation firepower instantly extinguished the momentum of the demonic wave, keeping them thousands of miles away and making it difficult for them to advance further.

After this wave of firepower, several Pengtian Armored Puppets in the sky launched swarms of golden beetle puppets with sharp mouthparts, as if cast from gold.

These golden beetle puppets are only at the first level of power, and their production cost may not even be as high as that of a single Flame Cannon. One can imagine how powerful they are. After all, a puppet with a high production cost is not necessarily powerful, but a puppet with an average production cost is indeed of average strength.

However, they were numerous and plentiful; a single group of golden beetle puppets could number in the tens of thousands, and the Pengtian Armor Puppet's release of this wave of golden beetle swarms must have numbered in the hundreds.

Millions of golden beetle puppets, buzzing and rumbling, covered the sky and earth like warriors going to their deaths, rushing straight into the ranks of those demons and monsters.

With its golden teeth and sharp fangs, it pierced into the flesh of the demon beasts, flashing inside and exploding silently. The body, forged from obsidian, was activated by the spirit explosion runes and burst into flames, turning into dust. Each grain of dust carried powerful lethality, exploding inside the demon beasts. Its destructive power against the demon beasts was no less than that of the spirit explosion fire cannon.

This batch of golden beetle puppets was an order that Su Qing had prepared to complete for the Burial Immortal Realm. There are countless dead spirits and wronged souls in this realm, who often riot and cause trouble. They urgently need such cheap and easy-to-use puppets to deal with them. This batch of goods has not yet been delivered, but it is just right to use it for his own purposes first.

Only after the Golden Beetle Puppet displayed its power did the bomber squadron, which had always been part of Su Qing's puppet army, finally set out.

Using the fifth-tier Pengtian Armored Puppet as its mothership, numerous Golden Pengtian Armored Puppets, carrying Deep Sea Tyrants, self-destructing stone puppets, and other puppets equipped with exorcising warheads, landed atop the heads of the demonic beasts and hurled them down relentlessly. These puppets had undergone several upgrades and iterations. Even though their tier was limited by insufficient materials, preventing them from all reaching the fifth tier, among third and fourth-tier puppets, especially in their specialty of bombarding enemies, they were the best in all the heavens and myriad realms, with nothing more useful.

Their results were also quite remarkable. While the Pengtian Armor Puppet stirred up the demonic clouds in the sky with its wings to make it difficult for the demons to quickly lock onto and annihilate them, the bomber squadron, which had a moment to bomb the space, had already delivered all the explosive puppets it carried.

Then, from the depths of the sea, a deep-sea tyrant exploded like muffled thunder, suffocating the demons who were hiding underwater and controlling the demons and monsters. From the surface of the sea, swordfish puppets flew across the surface like arrows, ignoring the demons and monsters, relentlessly chasing and bombing the demons. In the sky, there were also beautiful puppets like butterflies, their wings fluttering and releasing golden Buddhist light. As soon as the Buddhist light touched the demons, it exploded, causing the demons who controlled the demons and monsters to scream in agony.

This wave of bombardment was what truly crippled the demons, with many mid- to low-level demons being blasted to death.

All the cultivators from the heavens who were paying close attention to the war in the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, as well as the local cultivators of the Tianyuan Realm, cheered from afar. Zhou Weidao, who was fortunate enough to be there and had a front-row ticket, was even more excited.

"Well done, True Lord Su! That's how it should be done! Demons and monsters are made of flesh and blood, but they can't withstand the bombardment of magic cannons and missiles!"

"Hmm? Why aren't they bombing anymore? It turns out that using magic cannons and missiles to fight these demons and monsters is too inefficient. Beetle self-destructing puppets are more useful and cheaper. As expected of True Monarch Su, as expected of the person our Taiyi Sect's founder has chosen. Even at this time, he is thinking about how to save money. The people of Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom are truly fortunate to have True Monarch Su leading them. I dare not even imagine how wonderful the future will be!"

"Is this the legendary bomber squadron? Where have these demons ever seen anything like it? They didn't even make a sound when it bombed them. Serves them right, let them be ruined, they deserve to be bombed!"

Zhou Weidao had to admit that Su Qing was powerful. Before, within the Taiyi Sect, no one else had reached the fifth level of Nascent Soul cultivation. No, Su Qing's fifth level of Nascent Soul cultivation came later. When he first became the Taiyi Sect Master, he was only at the fourth level of Nascent Soul!

With such cultivation, one could barely be a true disciple within the Taiyi Sect. Yet, simply because of a single word from the sect's founder, he ascended to the position of sect leader, a position that had historically been reserved for those at the seventh level of the Void Refinement stage. Within the sect, some disciples and elders were resentful and indignant, feeling that they could tolerate being overshadowed. However, this fourth-level sect leader, who was unworthy of his position, would likely become a laughingstock in the eyes of outsiders.

Now it seems that Su Qing is more than worthy of being part of the Taiyi Sect. His expertise in puppetry alone is unmatched by any other sect leader, elder, disciple, or true disciple in the Taiyi Sect throughout history.

This is a promising talent who could potentially become the progenitor of the Puppet Dao!
Think about why the Yuanshi Sect, the Taishang Sect, and the Lingbao Sect have been able to remain powerful generation after generation.

Their status and esteem are due to the fact that the three sects of the Daoist lineage and all the Daoist traditions of the heavens originated from them.
Yes, no.

If an ancient reputation can be passed down for one or two generations, it is considered that the cultivators of the heavens have a decent conscience. If their disciples are not good at it, people will at most say that their ancestors were once rich and made contributions to the lineage of the heavens. After that, things will continue as before, and they will only be given treatment commensurate with their current strength.

This world has always been realistic; having strength is the only true measure of success.

The reason why the three sects of the Dao lineage have remained powerful for thousands of years is that these three sects have produced the Ancestor of Weaponry, the Ancestor of Pill Making, and the Ancestor of Sword Making.

The three lineages originate from the source of the Dharma, which blesses their descendants for countless generations, giving their disciples an unparalleled advantage in these three paths of cultivation. It has been said that as long as one is a disciple of the Yuanshi Sect, even if they hammer scrap iron, it becomes a blessed magical artifact; as long as one is a disciple of the Taishang Sect, even if they rub a mud ball on their body, it becomes a miraculous elixir. This is the blessing that heaven and earth bestow upon the ancestors of the three paths, which others cannot envy. In these three paths, there is absolutely no possibility of competing with them.

As a former branch of the Yuanshi Sect, the Taiyi Sect has lost the privileges afforded to disciples of the Artifact Ancestor since the Yuanshi Sect separated from it. Its disciples no longer experience increased success rates, mutations, advancements, or the creation of artifact spirits—all the advantages that come with forging magical artifacts. In the competitive market for magical artifacts across the heavens, the Taiyi Sect is completely outmatched by the Yuanshi Sect.

But if Su Qing becomes the Puppet Ancestor, the Taiyi Sect, by virtue of being the Taiyi Sect Master, can also enjoy the benefits of being under the Puppet Ancestor's tutelage. At that time, wouldn't the Taiyi Sect be in charge of the puppet market in all the heavens? Wouldn't it be possible for the Taiyi Sect to prosper for thousands of years like the three major sects of the Dao lineage?

I dare not think about it too much, for thinking about it makes me want to laugh out loud.

Zhou Weidao wiped away non-existent drool and focused intently on the battle before him.

The evil forces came with great momentum. Having tasted success in the Kingdom of Punishment and Killing, they thought that the Kingdom of Kaiyuan was just like the Kingdom of Punishment and Killing. They thought that the Kingdom of Kaiyuan was not strong without Gao Erqiang, and that the Kingdom of Kaiyuan was not tough without Su Qing. They underestimated their enemy and were hit hard by Su Qing's three blows, leaving their heads buzzing and making them realize the reality.

The demons, whose offensive had been thwarted, quickly regrouped. One of the fifth-tier demons transformed into a pair of demonic eyes, staring blankly at the sky like two red lanterns. It was only because Erqiang was not around that it dared to play such a game; otherwise, Erqiang would have hung it on the gate of his own temple.

This demonic eye is no joke. With a single glare, it falls upon the fleet in the near sea, scanning the living people here while also pinpointing the location of other demons. Once it has its eye on someone, other demons can arrive instantly, seize their body, and take their place.

Unfortunately, after looking left and right, it found that of the fleet that had humiliated them, only Zhou Weidao was still alive!
One living person is one living person. If they can control such a large puppet army, this living person must be of great value. As long as they can possess this person and successfully corrupt them with demonic power, the threat posed by this puppet army to the demons will be easily eliminated.

The moment the demonic eye locked onto Zhou Weidao, countless demons roared and surged toward him.

Before it even entered his body, layers upon layers of Buddhist light shone from the treasure ship that surrounded him.

The overlapping Vajra Subduing Demon Circles transformed into a Ten Thousand Buddhas Net, which remained hidden until these demons willingly walked into the net. Only then did the net close and catch the fish. In this single wave, thousands of demons, both large and small, were caught, including a fifth-order demon.

The evil demon in the sky was not spared either. Above the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, a great witch phantom emerged from the Xingtian Cave, holding a precious bow, drawing the string taut, and shooting an arrow without a trace. The arrow pierced both eyes, shattering the evil demon in one shot.

Following him, a great shaman in armor and a graceful azure dragon occupying half of the sky emerged from the Jiuli Cave Heaven and the Qinglong Cave Heaven, respectively.

Seeing this, the dozen or so demons leading this army of demons huddled together and whispered among themselves, discussing countermeasures.

"That's a tough idea, it seems impossible to get started!"

"I'm terrified by all the bombing and explosions. If we try to break through their blockade and invade this country, I don't know how many of our comrades will be lost!"

"Even if we were to invade this immortal kingdom, we wouldn't be able to deal with the Three Heavenly Caves True Spirits, would we?"

"Or should we retreat first? Lord Demon Buddha only told us to fight to the best of our ability, not to fight to the death. We've already done our best, so let's not risk our lives!" (End of Chapter)