Meditating Doll

The next morning.

After bidding farewell to Ge Changyuan and his family,

Su Qing and Tang Wanqing set out on the road back to the Living Area.

Along the way, through the vision of the Wood Spirit Servants he had sent out, Su Qing occasionally spotted some ill-looking criminals. These people were likely Robber Cultivators who lurked around the area.

It kept him tense the entire way, and he did not dare relax in the slightest.

"Don't be so nervous. Setting aside their skills, these Robber Cultivators do have an eye for things. Very few would dare make such a grand show of robbing the two of us!"

Tang Wanqing, who had cast Gale Art and was speeding ahead, turned back to glance at Su Qing atop the Iron-Footed Horse and smiled brightly.

Su Qing himself had yet to realize how intimidating a Tier 1 Puppet Master was to ordinary Rogue Cultivators.

One had to know that after a normal Puppet Master became accomplished in their craft, the first thing they did was craft several Combat Puppets for self-defense.

Robber Cultivators naturally knew that Puppet Masters were rolling in wealth, but who knew how many Puppets they could pull out in battle? Thus, under normal circumstances, Robber Cultivators rarely robbed Puppet Masters.

What was more, she, a Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator, was accompanying him on this journey. There were even fewer Robber Cultivators willing to take such a desperate risk, so Su Qing truly had no need to be so tense.

Through the Wood Spirit Servants, Su Qing had also seen the wariness in those Robber Cultivators' eyes toward the two of them, and knew Tang Wanqing was not wrong.

But knowing was one thing; being nervous was another.

After all, aside from the Iron-Footed Horse beneath him being somewhat intimidating, he did not have a single Combat Puppet in his Storage Bag.

Once I get back, I must craft Combat Puppets. Without Combat Puppets, it's far too unsettling to travel outside.

Su Qing silently warned himself. Though he usually kept low in the Living Area and rarely went out, this was, after all, a cultivation world where people could erupt into violence and kill at any moment. He had to earn Spirit Crystals, but he could not neglect the means to protect himself either.

The Lizard Warrior was a good direction.

The Blueprints produced by the system were reliably high-quality. If Hundred Treasures Pavilion took notice of them, he would no longer have to worry about materials for crafting such Puppets. Once his Proficiency rose, the excess materials could even let him build himself a Lizard Guard.

Besides that, if he made good use of the Iron Northern Bear Beast Bone in his Storage Bag and crafted the Armored War Bear, then so long as he did not encounter a Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator, even three to five ordinary Mid Qi Refining Stage cultivators would be unable to do anything to him.

While he quietly calculated, the two of them returned smoothly to the Living Area.

"Farewell, Fellow Daoist. Over the past two days, I took some time amidst my busyness to craft the four Puppets for you. This humble Daoist has finished them. Please inspect the goods. If there are no issues, then this transaction will be settled, with payment and goods exchanged."

Before they parted ways, Su Qing stopped Tang Wanqing and brought her to his courtyard, where he released the four Puppets one by one.

The first was the deluxe Demoness Puppet, Tang Wanqing's fee for hiring him.

The Demoness Puppet modeled after the demoness Li Yun'er was lifelike and brimming with seductive charm. As Su Qing described its various functions one by one, even Tang Wanqing, experienced and well-traveled as she was, found a rosy glow spreading across her cheeks.

The Puppets crafted after the other two beautiful Female Cultivators were likewise breathtakingly gorgeous, but compared to Li Yun'er, they lacked that something capable of stirring a man's desire. Moreover, without pleasure-enhancing Runes such as Water-Fire Runes, they were even less comparable to the Demoness Puppet.

You got what you paid for, and Tang Wanqing did not say much about it.

It was only when Su Qing brought out the last Puppet, which had been crafted with Tang Wanqing herself as the model,

that she finally shot Su Qing an annoyed glare.

This Puppet had willow-leaf brows, phoenix eyes, thin lips, a small mouth, and a pointed chin. Her figure curved in all the right places, soft and alluring. Standing beside this Puppet, one human and one Puppet were like twin lotus blossoms growing from the same stalk, utterly indistinguishable.

Tang Wanqing swore that the Blueprint she had given Su Qing had never been this detailed.

Who knows how long this little thief had been sneaking glances at me? It was as if he had seen straight through every inch of me!

Tang Wanqing secretly spat in annoyance, feeling that Su Qing was not as proper as she had imagined. For some reason, however, a trace of delight flowed through her heart.

"What, Fellow Daoist? Are you dissatisfied? You shouldn't be. Though this Puppet is an inanimate object and cannot compare to even a fraction of the real you, Fellow Daoist, its looks are no less than those of the Demoness Puppet, since it was modeled after you.

"If Fellow Daoist is truly dissatisfied, this humble Daoist can return the payment for this Puppet."

Seeing that Tang Wanqing had not stored this Puppet in her Storage Bag as she had the others, Su Qing could not help but speak.

Tang Wanqing's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "If you return the money, how do you intend to deal with this Puppet?"

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. Without your consent, this humble Daoist will absolutely not allow this Puppet to circulate outside. At most, I'll use it myself a few times before destroying it," Su Qing said without blushing in the slightest.

That was only because he regarded Tang Wanqing as a long-term customer. If an ordinary person wanted a refund, he truly would not be bothered to entertain them.

"Dream on. I'll take this Puppet, but I do not intend to send it out to receive clients. Don't you go secretly crafting more of them!"

"That is rather regrettable. In this humble Daoist's view, this Puppet's popularity would definitely be no worse than the Demoness Puppet's. Of course, since Fellow Daoist is unwilling, this humble Daoist naturally will not continue crafting them."

Su Qing spoke with some regret. Tang Wanqing had good assets, and her reputation in the Market was not small. If this Puppet were promoted, he might even receive several more orders.

"Not only from me. If others ask you to craft Passion Puppets modeled after me, don't accept those orders either!" Tang Wanqing did not forget to remind him before leaving.

Su Qing naturally nodded in agreement. Though Liu Yun'er was at Foundation Establishment Cultivator level, she had nothing to do with him, so offending her was no great matter. But he saw Tang Wanqing often enough; if he could avoid offending her, he should.

A Puppet Master's life was dry and tedious, yet also calm and stable.

Having already received a large order from Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Su Qing was in no rush to set up a stall for the time being.

For the past two days, he had mechanically crafted Demoness Puppets. Not only had he completed all of Hundred Treasures Pavilion's order, he had even made over ten additional Demoness Puppets to save for future stall sales.

At the Same Time, the Proficiency of his Passion Puppet finally reached 200/200.

[Passion Puppet Proficiency maxed out. Puppet Blueprint unlocked—Meditating Doll]

[Meditating Doll]

[Type: Cultivation-assistance Puppet]

[Rank: Tier-1 High-Grade]

[Function: The Meditating Doll can simulate its master's spiritual roots and aptitude to meditate and cultivate. Cultivation gains are affected by the master's aptitude, cultivated technique, Puppet Rank, and other factors. Current cultivation limit: Qi Refining Completion.]

[Required Materials: The user's own essence blood (one drop), Black Profound Gold (five liang and eight qian), Heavenly Sunflower Water or Pine Ren Water (seven jin and eight liang), Lightning-Struck Wood (one piece), Myriad Spirit Soil (seventy-six jin and nine liang), Tier-1 cultivation technique (compatible with the master's aptitude)]

[Rank Requirement: Tier-1 High-Grade (if the rank requirement is not met and crafting is forced, Puppet Proficiency cannot increase)]

[Rune Requirements: Immortal Path Rune (Tier-2), Biomimetic Runes (Tier-2), Intelligence Rune (Tier-2). (If the Rune requirements are not met, the crafting success rate will be extremely low. Puppet Proficiency can increase slightly, while the corresponding Rune Proficiency will also increase.)]

[Note: The Meditating Doll may only be used by the Puppet Master himself and cannot take effect on others.]

Inside the room, Su Qing read and reread the information on his System Panel.

After rubbing his eyes several times and confirming that he had not seen wrongly, he felt that everything before him had become brighter than before.

What had brightened was his future in cultivation!

As a Puppet Master, if he wanted to lie flat, his current abilities were already enough to let him live a life free from worries over food and clothing.

But having crossed into this world, now that he had the opportunity, who would not want to live long and see far?

Qi Refining Cultivators lived only a little over two hundred years, while Foundation Establishment Cultivators could live more than five hundred.

His aptitude had once been poor. Even if he cultivated by taking pills, he might not have been able to reach Foundation Establishment. But now, so long as he had enough Dolls, Foundation Establishment was no longer a distant dream!

"It's just that these materials are rather expensive. Gathering the materials for one Meditating Doll costs over six hundred Spirit Crystals?"

After his joy subsided, Su Qing began to worry again.

If the crafting success rate were one hundred percent, then a Meditating Doll that could cultivate in his stead would not be expensive even at six hundred Spirit Crystals, six thousand, or sixty thousand.

But of the three Runes required by the Meditating Doll, only his Biomimetic Runes met the requirements. His Intelligence Rune was only Tier 1, while he had not the slightest understanding of the Immortal Path Rune.

The success rate while he forcefully grinded at the start was bound to be painfully low. Unless he paid the price of hundreds of failures and ground out some Proficiency first, he could forget about crafting even a single Meditating Doll!

At the thought of having such a gold-devouring beast ahead of him, his liver began to ache.

"Even if it costs more Spirit Crystals, this Meditating Doll must be made!"

After pondering for a moment, Su Qing gritted his teeth and said.