Mysterious mirror hanging high

However, the inheritance of the Taoist Lord, even if it is only at the Qi training stage, is of great significance. The structure of a small strongman puppet is interconnected, and any slight change will have a ripple effect on the entire body.

Wu Qi wasted several years before he finally managed to remove the "swimming" function of the Hercules Puppet without making it completely inoperative. As expected, the effect was outstanding, and the annual consumption of this puppet was really reduced by ten spirit coins!

"As the saying goes, the beginning is always the hardest part. Don't be fooled by the fact that stripping out just one feature has already taken several years. As the number of features decreases, the pace of stripping will accelerate significantly!"

Wu Qi said loudly, "If you fellow Daoists have any other ideas, you can come find me at any time, or go to the Puppet Pavilion and ask me to convey them. If you can get help from fellow Daoists, the improvement speed of this Hercules Puppet will be greatly accelerated!"

After about an hour, the exchange meeting concluded successfully. After the other puppeteers had left, Jing Yu stood up and walked forward, whispering, "Fellow Daoist Wu, is it necessary for you to make this improved Hercules puppet?"

Wu Qi was quite familiar with this older cultivator who often hung out with his son. Knowing that many of his relatives were mortal body cultivators, he simply asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhao, are you worried about the future livelihood of your mortal relatives?"

"No need to worry about that!"

"There are only a few cultivators of the Puppet Dao in Wushan Market, and we are all close friends. Although the Puppet Pavilion is managed by me on behalf of the market, my words are still useful. I will arrange for your relatives and friends to work in the Puppet Pavilion as helpers. They can always earn a living, which is definitely much better than doing the hard work now!"

"The problems with my nephews and nieces are easy to deal with. Even if they really have no livelihood, a few spirit stones a year to support them is nothing to me."

Jing Yu shook his head. "But Fellow Daoist Wu's move is to uproot all the mortal body cultivators in the market. Without work in the market, they can only try their luck in the Monster Mountain Range. Monsters are everywhere in that place, and there are probably more robber cultivators than monsters... Even the death rate of cultivators is ridiculously high, let alone mortals..."

Jing Yu didn't feel sorry for these mortals who had lost their livelihoods. In his opinion, the work of mortal body cultivators in the market town was mostly simple and repetitive, and they were too replaceable. It was only a matter of time before they were replaced by objects like the lower-cost and more efficient strongman puppets. This was not something that a mere Qi-cultivating puppeteer like Wu Qi could influence, but was a massive trend that was unstoppable.

However, Wu Qi, or the entire Wushan Puppetry, would inevitably face strong hostility from mortal body cultivators if they took on such a role! Perhaps Wu Qi was driven by fame, fortune, or even a loftier ideal, desperate to change the status quo. However, the short-term pain of changing the status quo, as well as the backlash from that pain, would also have to be endured.

As an immortal, Jing Yu has no need to wade into this muddy water. He just needs to hide in the dark and quietly observe the changes of the times, and then enjoy the dividends brought by the changes.

"Friend Zhao is overthinking."

Wu Qi laughed heartily: "I'm afraid that mortal body cultivators will only have a few more years to risk their lives in the Monster Mountain Range!"

"Once I've reduced the annual cost of the Warrior Puppet to a satisfactory level, the next step will be to improve the Combat Puppet! By then, whether a cultivator is exploring secret realms, gathering spiritual herbs, or hunting monsters, they can bring along a few combat puppets that can be trained on demand. Wouldn't that be much more useful than a mortal body cultivator who's always afraid of death and hesitant to take care of their own lives?"

Okay, okay, this is how you play, right?

Fortunately, these words were spoken behind closed doors. If Wu Qi had said this in public in the market town, Jing Yu would have been afraid of getting splashed with blood if he had stood within ten feet of him.

"Then I wish Fellow Daoist Wu success in advance." Jing Yu forced a smile and said, "I came here today for another reason. Zhao may have to withdraw from the Wushan Puppet Society..."

"Why is that?" Wu Bushun was horrified. In the past two years, almost everyone, even his own father, scoffed at his "Daoist Companion Puppet Plan". Only Jing Yu often encouraged him and was very optimistic about the future of his plan. He even wanted to invest some spirit stones and buy a share. This made him have a very good impression of this middle-aged cultivator who had just drawn Qi into his body. Although they had known each other for a short time, their relationship had long surpassed the scope of ordinary friends and could be considered a deep friendship.

"Why else could it be? I, Zhao, only began to draw Qi into my body at the age of forty-five. Now, I'm over fifty, but only at the third level of Qi training. In less than thirty years, I'll miss the best age for foundation building..."

Jing Yu sighed, "Fortunately, Zhao still has some talent in the Dao of Alchemy. With this skill, perhaps there is still a chance to continue his Dao."

"Next, I will go into seclusion for a long time, refining pills and practicing, and try to see if I can reach the ninth level of Qi training before I turn eighty... I'm afraid I can't continue to be distracted by the puppet."

Wu Qi nodded in sudden realization, "Daoist friend, your determination to seek the Dao is truly strong! With such perseverance, why worry about not being able to establish your foundation?"

"Actually, there's no need to quit the guild because of this. You can choose not to attend the exchange meetings in the future. However, if you go to the Puppet Pavilion to purchase puppets or related spiritual materials, you will still be charged the guild's internal prices!"

Then he turned around and scolded Wu Buchun: "Look at Fellow Daoist Zhao, what does it mean to be an old horse in the stable, with ambitions to run a thousand miles! Look at you, all you do all day is tinker with those broken puppets of yours... If you said you would either focus on cultivation or use your mind to make real puppets, I wouldn't say anything to you... But..."

"Daddy, stop nagging!" Wu Buchun quickly pulled Jing Yu away, leaving Wu Qi alone in the room with a scowl on his face.

When the two of them ran out of the yard, Wu Buchun said sadly:

"Uncle Zhao, are you really going to start a long-term retreat? Then won't we be able to see each other often from now on?"

Wu Buchun was, after all, the first cultivator of exceptional horoscope Jing Yu had encountered since his reincarnation. He didn't want to give up such a connection, so he said with a smile, "Why are you doing this, Fellow Daoist Wu? I'm in seclusion, but I'm not in a life-long retreat. If I have some free time after cultivation, it wouldn't be a problem for us to get together."

Then, he kindly reminded, "Fellow Daoist Xiao Wu, please advise your father to leave some room between him and those mortal body cultivators, and not completely block their path... It's not worth taking such a big risk for a few small gains."

"I've reflected on this." Wu Buchun whispered, "My father is determined to do what he wants. I can't persuade him... The most I can do is to persuade him not to go out casually in the future."

"Also, Uncle Zhao, just call me Bu Chun."

Wu Buchun said mysteriously, "I contacted a merchant friend a few days ago. In a few months, he will bring me a few [Beauty Painted Skins] painted by the spiritual painters of Xiaoyao Fairy City. I will then cover these painted skins on my newly developed Jade Pure Fat Puppet. It will definitely be the pinnacle of the [Daoist Companion Puppet] I have created so far!"

"In this vast Wushan market, Uncle Zhao is the only one who is close to me. When this puppet is completed, I will definitely give one to you so that you can appreciate it!"