Magic Cannon Puppet

Facing Shopkeeper Liu's overture of goodwill, Su Qing's eyes lit up.

He had always preferred the way Hundred Treasures Pavilion treated its guest retainers. Fate Comes Pavilion was merely a one-shot deal, and he had no desire to change allegiances.

But he knew full well that Shopkeeper Liu was feeling uneasy.

There was no reason not to take advantage of such a bargain.

"There really is a piece of business I'd like to discuss with you, Shopkeeper!"

After saying this, he paid the Spirit Crystals and put the Misty-Sun Treasure Umbrella into his Storage Bag, then Shopkeeper Liu led him upstairs.

This time, he discussed the business of Spirit Lotus Legs and Azure Steel Legs with Shopkeeper Liu.

Ge Changyuan's words today had reminded him.

Now that blood and flesh were flying everywhere in the Hunting Grounds, countless Rogue Cultivators had lost arms and legs.

Having just made some Spirit Crystals, surely they would be willing to spend a little to fit themselves with a good leg.

With Hundred Treasures Pavilion's channels, this sort of business would be much easier for him to do. Moreover, refining Azure Steel Legs required mastery of Tier 2 Material Runes and consumed a great many Spirit Crystals at the outset. With Hundred Treasures Pavilion supplying that early investment, things would be far more comfortable for him.

Sure enough, once he explained the effects of the Spirit Lotus Legs and Azure Steel Legs, Shopkeeper Liu was overjoyed.

He had already prepared himself to take a loss if necessary to tie Su Qing to Hundred Treasures Pavilion, yet he had never expected Su Qing to produce Puppets like these—Puppets that could earn them a fortune.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Su. I'll have someone prepare the materials for refining these two kinds of Puppets at once and deliver them to you within the next couple of days!"

Shopkeeper Liu warmly saw Su Qing out. He deliberately glanced at Wang Rong across the street, who had witnessed it all and wore an ugly expression, before turning around with smug satisfaction and returning to the shop.

"Nothing unusual happened at Gao Family Butcher Shop last night. Could that Evil Entity really have left? Then what was with that Headless Person?"

Back in the Su Family Courtyard after returning from the Central District, Su Qing was somewhat puzzled.

He had just returned from Gao Family Butcher Shop, where he had secretly replaced a batch of Wood Spirit Servants.

From what the Wood Spirit Servants had seen yesterday, Gao Family Butcher Shop had operated as usual last night, without any accidents.

That made him wonder whether he had overpaid for the Misty-Sun Treasure Umbrella and all those Talismans.

The Golden Light Array Gao Family Butcher Shop had hired seemed quite useful.

"Could the Headless Person have been a new Evil Entity, with little to do with Gao Family Butcher Shop? Was I overthinking it before?"

Muttering to himself, Su Qing decided to observe for a few more days. If nothing still happened, there would be no need to pay it too much attention.

It was lunchtime. Only after wolfing down three large bowls of Spirit Rice and half a jin of beast meat did he finally put down his chopsticks in satisfaction.

Perhaps he had been working himself too hard lately, because his appetite had grown.

Being able to eat was a good thing, and he did not care much about it.

Yet after finishing his meal today, he felt pleasantly warm all over, exceptionally comfortable. With a thought, he opened his System Panel.

[Su Qing]

[Current Status: Slightly Depleted Qi and Blood.]

[Lifespan: 24/92]

[Cultivation: Fourth Layer of Qi Refining.]

[Puppet Master Realm: Tier-1 High-Grade]

[Items Owned: Iron-Footed Horse*1, Wood Spirit Servant*946, Spider Doctor*3917, Lizard Warrior*3, Misty-Sun Treasure Umbrella, Dust-Repelling Dharma Robe, Merit Wooden Fish, assorted materials.]

"My status changed from Depleted Qi and Blood to Slightly Depleted Qi and Blood!"

"My lifespan increased by sixteen years!"

"Five years! Do you know how I survived those five years? I didn't dare go to Red Sleeve Pavilion, didn't dare look at Female Cultivators, and didn't even dare use the Demoness Puppet myself. At last, I've nursed this battered body back a little!"

Inside the room, Su Qing was beside himself with excitement.

Ever since crossing over, his frail body had always been a sore point in his heart.

A normal Qi Refining Stage cultivator theoretically had a lifespan of over two hundred years. Hardship, overwork that damaged the body, or physical injuries could all shorten one's lifespan, but most Rogue Cultivators could still live to a hundred and fifty or sixty.

As for him, when he had first crossed over, he had possessed only a little over fifty years of lifespan. After more than five years—especially the nourishment he had received in the past half year after his circumstances improved—he had only just recovered to this point.

"Slightly Depleted Qi and Blood is about the same condition as an ordinary Puppet Refiner or Talisman Maker."

Crafting runes was an extremely taxing task for the mind. Therefore, Puppet Refiners, Talisman Makers, and artifact refiners generally did not live very long. In that respect, although they did not need to directly face danger, they were still making money with their lives.

The improvement in his physical condition put Su Qing in an excellent mood.

After lunch, he handed a Lizard Warrior over to a Dharma cultivator who had come to the door to collect it, then immediately threw himself back into work.

He had spent a great many Spirit Crystals over the past two days. Naturally, he had to hurry and earn them back.

From noon until nightfall, he refined one Lizard Warrior successfully and failed twice, matching his current success rate.

After returning home at nightfall, he continued refining without pause. Once he successfully refined another Lizard Warrior,

and saw that little spiritual power remained, he simply began refining Iron Horses and Wood Oxen instead.

Iron Horse, a common Puppet, unranked. It consumed one Spirit Crystal and could travel over three thousand li a day without tiring.

Wood Ox, a common Puppet, unranked. It consumed two Spirit Crystals and could carry ten thousand jin of goods and plow eight mu of fields.

Refining these two types of Puppets had once been his main means of making a living.

When he had stayed in Ge Family Village, he had refined who knew how many of them each year. Now that he was returning to his old trade, he was naturally skilled and familiar with it.

In less than half the night, he successfully refined three Iron Horses and five Wood Oxen.

He placed the Wood Oxen and Iron Horses into his Storage Bag, intending to complete Ge Changyuan's order as soon as possible before personally going to Ge Family Village to deliver goods.

For one thing, Ge Changyuan did not have a Storage Bag and would have trouble transporting these Puppets back. Moreover, the subsequent amount of Spirit Crystals would be considerable, and Su Qing did not feel comfortable having Ge Changyuan make the Round Trip.

For another, he was curious about the current situation in the Spirit Field District and the Hunting Grounds. He would not get involved in Hunting Demons; he would only go watch the excitement, so there should not be any problem.

"The premise is that, besides completing all my orders during this time, I must also build myself a Lizard Guard. Without some guarantee of force, I'd be better off not watching that excitement at all!"

Building a Lizard Guard had been in his plans from the very beginning.

As a Puppet Master, not having Combat Puppets of his own was truly rather unbecoming.

In the past, his business had been small, so being cautious had been enough.

But now, as his business grew larger and larger, anyone with ulterior motives only needed to do a little calculating to know that he was swimming in wealth. If he still did not raise his combat strength, someone might just murder him for his money.

In his plans, two Light Lizards, four Heavy Armor Lizards, and six Regular Lizards—a total of twelve Lizard Warriors—would form a guard that could let him face the threat of a Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator.

It was not that these twelve Lizard Warriors would necessarily be stronger than a Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator.

The key is that they feared neither pain nor death, and could even self-destruct. With them around, an ordinary Late Qi Refining Stage cultivator likely would not dare fight him head-on.

"Too bad they're all melee Puppets. If the System Panel could provide Magic Cannon Puppet Blueprints capable of casting Daoist arts from afar, that would be perfect. Combining the two would make my combat strength soar!"

Su Qing thought longingly. He now had Wood Spirit Servants for scouting, Spider Doctors for healing, and Lizard Warriors for close combat. All he lacked was a long-range artillery platform.

But even the cleverest housewife could not cook without rice. The cheapest Magic Cannon Puppet Blueprints available on the market started at five thousand Spirit Crystals, while one that met his needs would cost at least twenty or thirty thousand Spirit Crystals.

He could not afford to spend twenty or thirty thousand on a Blueprint.

He could only hope to get one from the System Panel for a free ride.