Immortality begins with meditation puppets

"I've given you the Zhuxian Sword Diagram and the Xianxian Sword, and I didn't even take the Dao patterns. I've lost everything on this trip. You all have to take care of me in the future and give me a few big orders so I can go back and explain to the people of Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom!"

On the puppet throne in the Lingxiao Palace, Su Qing slapped his thigh, lamenting his loss, but the cultivators of the Lingbao Sect, as well as those from other sects, didn't really intend to pay him any attention.

Everyone knows that Su Qing didn't gain much from the tangible things in this Evil Sword Realm, but he gained a lot from the intangible things!

First, his coming to the myriad realms to destroy the Evil Sword Realm will bring him unparalleled prestige and make his influence in the myriad realms reach an unprecedented level.

From ancient times to the present, the Twelve Demon Realms have always been a major threat to all the worlds, a nightmare that plagues all living beings. Now, one of these Twelve Demon Realms has been destroyed by Su Qing. The shock this has caused to all the worlds and all living beings is self-evident. It may not be possible to say that it has made his reputation reach the level of the Primordial Sect, but it is at least better than the Eastern King Sect, which has been jumping around and has not accomplished much.

This intangible prestige and influence will greatly benefit the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom in expanding its market and establishing its power in the myriad worlds in the future. It will render the tangible and intangible blockades on the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom by the Yuanshi Sect and the Dongwang Sect ineffective, and the myriad worlds will no longer be able to blockade and siege the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom's industries as they did before.

In addition, this intangible prestige and influence are also of great benefit to Su Qing personally. Not to mention anything else, the boost this matter brings to his bid for the Heavenly Emperor and Human Emperor positions will make other candidates green with envy.

The Heavenly Emperor and the Human Emperor, bearing unparalleled glory, also bear immense responsibility. To be worshipped by all beings with heartfelt devotion, mere brute force is insufficient. Blindly brute force will only incite resistance from the masses, condemning you to the ranks of evil and tyrannical rulers. Thunder and rain are both forms of imperial grace; brute force and hegemony are not imperial power.

The Heavenly Emperor's responsibility is to eliminate all obstacles to the survival and development of all living beings in the world. Whether the sun and moon clock in on time, whether the seasons change in an orderly manner, when it rains, and when the wind blows—these are things that benefit all living beings in the world if done well, and will be cursed by all living beings if done poorly. The Heavenly Emperor needs to build a team to maintain and carry out these tasks.

The Heavenly Emperor and the Earthly Lord are in charge of the timing and location of heaven and earth, while the Human Emperor is responsible for the relationship between heaven and earth. As the overlord of heaven and earth, and the Human Emperor is the leader of the human race, he has the responsibility to maintain the balance between heaven and earth and all living beings, so that the competition among all races and living beings is in a good and orderly state, thereby maintaining the order of heaven and earth and allowing all races to coexist and live together.

The responsibilities of the Heavenly Emperor and the Human Emperor are heavier than Mount Tai, and those who wish to compete for these two great positions must demonstrate their abilities in fulfilling their duties.

Su Qing's past performance was already quite good. Now, by creating this Lingxiao Palace puppet and then destroying the Evil Sword Realm, which had plagued the myriad realms for many years with overwhelming force, he proved to the heavens and earth that he had the ability to be the Heavenly Emperor and Human Emperor, and also proved to all beings in the myriad realms that he had the strength to be the Heavenly Emperor and Human Emperor.

After this incident alone, Su Qing's original leading position on the Heavenly Emperor/Human Emperor track will truly become a commanding lead, reaching a point where those who come after him will have no hope of catching up.

To put it simply, given the current situation, unless the Heavenly Emperor or Human Emperor never appears again, but if a Heavenly Emperor or Human Emperor does appear, then the surname will be Su. He is currently the Crown Prince, and the previous emperor has long since passed away. He only needs to reclaim the old lands and then ascend the throne as Emperor, with the title of King.

If this is used to prepare for the identity of the Heavenly Emperor and the Human Emperor, and then in turn influences the situation in all the heavens, then things will be different again.

The Primordial Sect is formidable, one of the three major sects of the Dao lineage, the source of all laws, the leader of all sects, and has led all people for countless millennia. All realms and sects have benefited from its grace.

Su Qing did not deny this point, and also admitted that the current Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom's reputation in the myriad realms was not on the same level as the Yuanshi Sect. Even the Dongwang Sect, which was one level weaker than the Yuanshi Sect, was not as good as their Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom. After all, the Dongwang Sect was weak because they liked to challenge high difficulty and were eager to compete with the three sects of the Dao lineage. If the three sects of the Dao lineage were excluded, the Dongwang Sect could say that there was not a single sect in the myriad realms that could fight them.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, given the current development momentum of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, it would take at least hundreds of millions of years for it to reach the power and influence of the Yuanshi Sect and the Dongwang Sect in the heavens. This is assuming that these two sects make no progress. In fact, these sects that have been passed down from ancient times to the present world have no shortage of the ability to seize opportunities.

They may not be the leaders of a particular cultivation trend or the creators of a cultivation creation that sweeps the entire cultivation world, but they are definitely followers of these things that can change the cultivation world and have a huge impact on it. They are the best followers, and even the followers who replace the leaders and creators.

Undoubtedly, the rapid development of Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom in recent years has relied on Su Qing's puppet, who is ahead of his time, and the emerging industries such as Ying's Armor Group and Langya Metallurgical Group that have sprung up in Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom under the guidance of his advanced ideas.

These emerging industrial groups have expanded their territories in the markets of the heavens and seized various cultivation resources from the Tianyuan Realm and the myriad worlds. This is how the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom was able to reach the strength and foundation of the major sects of the heavens in just a few hundred years.

Can these emerging industry groups maintain their leading advantage and market position in their respective industries in the long run?

Obviously not. As far as Su Qing knows, Ying's Armor Group's current armor products are facing resistance from similar products launched by sects such as Yuanshi Sect and Xuanwu Sect in Tianyuan and the Zhutian Market. Among the many puppets launched by Su's Group, apart from the exorcism puppet, the other puppets are also encountering the same resistance.

This is normal market competition. It's normal because it doesn't involve personal grudges between different factions; it's purely a business competition to determine who prevails. However, it's not entirely normal either, because these powerful sects from all realms are using rather unethical methods to compete with the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom. They've launched despicable market competition tactics, including price wars, propaganda wars, and channel wars, causing the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom to encounter unprecedented resistance in its market expansion across the myriad realms, gradually slowing its development and preventing it from reaching its previous rapid pace.

This is why Su Qing and the myriad realms believe that the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom has no chance of catching up with the Yuanshi Sect and the Dongwang Sect in millions of years.

These great sects of the heavens may indeed face great resistance to reform and lack the motivation for innovation due to their long history, complex relationships between various forces and interest groups within the sects, path dependence, and habitual adherence to old ways.

But this doesn't prevent them from consistently seizing the benefits of each spiritual revolution.

Because of their profound foundation and rich experience, when a new phenomenon emerges in the cultivation world, they can quickly replicate trendy products that align with current trends and are popular among the vast majority of cultivators, leveraging their accumulated advantages. Often, combining their various strengths, their replicas surpass the originals in both price and quality. In this way, they can swiftly crush the originals, preventing them from enjoying, or allowing them to enjoy only a small portion of the benefits of innovation, while they can reap the rewards of development in every era, thus maintaining their position as the overlords of the heavens for a long time.

This is also one of the reasons why the Tianyuan Realm, which is in the Dharma-ending Age after the ancient demonic calamity, can still develop its various industries and give rise to many new things. On the contrary, the Tianyuan Realm, which has never experienced the Dharma-ending Age, has a far greater number and quality of cultivators than the myriad realms of the Tianyuan Realm. In this respect, it is not satisfactory. Because they have exhausted themselves to make inventions, they have all become the wedding dresses for others. Why don't we just lie down and relax?
The Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom is currently facing such a predicament. Admittedly, puppets such as the exorcism puppets and spirit explosion puppets produced by the Su Group have a very low chance of being replicated or replaced due to the irreplaceable nature of their core runes. In addition, the Su Group's ability to ramp up production by utilizing puppet factories and the abundant raw materials provided by the Divine Realm is something that the Yuanshi Sect and the Dongwang Sect cannot imitate. As a result, the Su Group's puppet industry can thrive in all the heavens and myriad realms without being suppressed by major sects like the Yuanshi Sect and the Dongwang Sect.

However, other industries in the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom are not as irreplaceable and replicable as the Su Group. Industries such as Ying's Armor, Delong Logistics, and Debao Canteen will be subject to strong impacts from the major sects of the heavens now and in the future, causing them to gradually lose their competitive advantage in the heavenly market.

A single tree cannot make a forest. Although the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom is centered around the Su Group, after the leader, various industries should flourish. Only in this way can the entire Immortal Kingdom be driven, and then the entire Immortal Kingdom can drive the entire Tianyuan Realm, and finally benefit all the heavens and myriad worlds, becoming a pioneer of reform in the era of Tianyuan's revival.

As it stands now, other industries are being suppressed by the Yuanshi Sect and other major sects of the heavens, unable to make breakthroughs in the heavenly markets. They can only retreat to the Tianyuan Realm and develop slowly. This is only because Su Qing, the Heavenly Emperor, has adopted trade protectionist measures to prevent these local Tianyuan industries from being strongly impacted by the major sects of the heavens in the local market. However, this is obviously only a temporary measure and cannot be sustained in the long run. After all, if they are allowed to expand into the heavenly markets, then the major sects of the heavens must be allowed to enter the Tianyuan market. Trade protectionism is something that Su Qing himself deeply abhors. Once the Tianyuan Realm has passed the initial stage, he will take the initiative to withdraw this measure.

In short, due to historical issues from ancient times to the present, and the complex current environment of the heavens, the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom is constrained by the fact that its power is far inferior to that of the myriad worlds. Therefore, the possibility of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom catching up with the three major sects of the Dao lineage, including the Yuanshi Sect, and the other major sects of the heavens is extremely slim, and it will inevitably require a process that takes millions or tens of millions of years.

But normal won't work; abnormal will.

When Su Qing becomes the sole candidate for Heavenly Emperor and Human Emperor, his unparalleled prestige and influence, which is only higher than, and no lower than, the three major sects of the Dao lineage, will immediately drive the entire Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, allowing all forces within the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom to benefit from it. This will also make all forces that want to target the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom more hesitant to act. After all, forces that have made a name for themselves in the heavens should understand the cost of offending a sixth-tier puppeteer and offending a potential Heavenly Emperor or Human Emperor. Forces that do not understand this should not have the ability to influence the forces that the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom has expanded into the heavens.

Furthermore, within the current Tianyuan Realm, although Su Qing is a Heavenly Emperor incarnate and can act on behalf of Heaven, local forces such as the Penglai Immortal Kingdom and the Xuanyuan Immortal Kingdom are willing to follow his lead and gather under the banner of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom to compete with the myriad realms for related rights, everyone knows that these forces are only outwardly compliant but inwardly resentful, constantly muttering, "How dare a mere commoner obtain this position? I can take it over." To completely unify the power of the entire Tianyuan Realm and confront the power of the myriad realms, the power granted to Su Qing by a Heavenly Emperor incarnate is not enough, but the Heavenly Emperor and Human Emperor titles are more than sufficient.

To awe all the heavens, to unite the celestial realm, to bring submission to all under heaven, and to win the hearts of all under heaven—this is the significance of the Heavenly Emperor's throne.

"It is indeed a great joy for all the heavens and myriad realms that Su Tianjun has led the masses to wipe out this evil sword realm that has plagued the heavens. However, the scourge of evil is like a malignant tumor that has been present in the heavens and myriad realms for a long time. It cannot be solved by simply wiping out one realm and killing one demon!"

In the midst of a joyful atmosphere, Abbot Qingfeng of Wuzhuang Temple suddenly uttered a heavy-tongued remark, which seemed extremely discordant and drew the attention of all the cultivators.

It wasn't that they didn't understand what Master Qingfeng meant, nor were any of them so naive as to think that eradicating the Evil Sword Realm would eliminate the threat of evil. After all, the Evil Sword Demon was far less powerful than the great demons like the Demon Buddha, the Chaos Demon, and the Domain Void Demon, who had the blood of the Dao Ancestor and the Heavenly Emperor on their hands.

But even if it means this, it cannot be expressed at this time.

We've just achieved a great success, and everyone is celebrating, when you suddenly say something like that. Isn't that just deliberately trying to annoy people?
It's fine to annoy them; they have neither the ability nor the skill to argue with this old Taoist priest. But you can't annoy Su Qing. He's the chosen one of the Heavenly Emperor and the Human Emperor, a rising star. If you make trouble for him, you're really making trouble for yourself!

Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case. As a veteran who has followed the Wuzhuang Temple Master since ancient times, Master Qingfeng has been navigating the workplace for so many years and has extremely rich experience. He knows how to please his superiors, how to flatter them, and how to make others feel comfortable in their interactions. These skills may not be used much in recent years, but they are definitely not forgotten. They are ingrained in his very being. How could he make such a basic mistake now?

Amidst the doubts of the cultivators, Daoist Qingfeng continued:
"Precisely because the road to resisting demons is long and arduous, we must unite as we did when we were united under the Heavenly Emperor, the Human Emperor, the Three Dao Ancestors, and the Snail Queen. Since ancient times, the saints have declined and the great powers have perished. We have been leaderless, allowing evil spirits to wreak havoc on the world until now."

However, now, with Su Tianjun inheriting the legacy of the ancient sages and possessing the virtues of the Heavenly Emperor and the Human Sovereign, he is the leader we have been waiting for for many years. On behalf of Wuzhuang Temple, I hereby declare that in the future, I am willing to take Su Tianjun as my leader, bathe in the radiant light of Su Tianjun's great virtue, and fight against evil forces with an irreconcilable hatred... (End of this chapter)