Immovable Heavenly King

The next few days passed peacefully.

Business in the Central District was booming.

Peaceful and Quiet Years reigned in the Living Area.

The Hunting Grounds were in full swing.

Nothing untoward happened anywhere in the Market. Even the Demonic Cultivator who had come to wreak havoc once before had shown no movement for more than half a month.

Su Qing was especially satisfied with such calm, stable days.

These past few days, he had worked day and night, never leaving his courtyard, wholly devoted to Refining Puppets.

The gains were extremely gratifying. Setting aside common Puppets like Iron Horses and Wood Oxen, which required little technical skill, he had successfully refined nine Lizard Warriors alone.

Of them, four had gradually been bought by cultivators who Came to the Door seeking to purchase them over the past few days, bringing him more than 5,600 Spirit Crystals and filling up the purse that had shriveled after buying Magic Artifact materials.

At the Same Time, he had grinded the Proficiency for refining Lizard Warriors to 126/200, and the Success rate had risen above sixty percent.

As for Runes:

Biomimetic Runes: 1254/5000 (Tier-2).

Intelligence Rune, Proficiency: 468/5000 (Tier-2).

Combat Rune, Proficiency: 47/5000 (Tier-2).

Immortal Path Rune, Proficiency: 2489/3000 (Tier 1).

Material Rune, Proficiency: 48/5000 (Tier-2).

All five Runes had improved. Most delightfully, both the Intelligence Rune and Combat Rune had advanced to Tier-2.

Even the Material Rune had advanced to Tier-2 due to his refining of Iron Horses and Wood Oxen. When he began working with Azure Steel Legs later, the initial Success rate should not be too low.

The only somewhat disappointing progress was with the Immortal Path Rune.

This Rune was the key Rune for refining Meditating Dolls, yet it had not reached Tier-2 even now, making it inconvenient for him to begin refining Meditating Dolls for the time being.

After all, unlike Demoness Puppets and Lizard Puppets, he had no major client supplying him with a certain amount of materials to help him smoothly get through the early stages.

Not only could Meditating Dolls not be sold to generate income, but the cost of failed refinements caused by the low initial Success rate would have to be borne entirely by him.

Therefore, before the Rune met the requirements, he could not bear to begin refining them.

"It is only half a month or a month at most. If I keep grinding, the Immortal Path Rune should reach Tier-2 soon enough!"

Su Qing comforted himself, reminding himself not to be impatient. It did not matter much if his cultivation progressed a little slower for now; steadily making money was his foremost task at present.

As long as he had enough Spirit Crystals, having ten or eight Meditating Dolls meditate alongside him in the future would not be a problem.

He pushed open the courtyard gate and went to the Central District to buy some daily necessities.

As his physique improved, his consumption of Spirit Rice and spirit meat had increased by the day. His daily Food Expenses had surged to more than ten Spirit Crystals. In the past, he could not have afforded it, but now? After working so hard every day to Make money, could he still treat himself poorly?

His luck was not bad today. Someone had hunted a Tusked Boar. This Demonic Beast tasted much like a wild boar from his previous life, only with a little more chew to it. Once prepared by a Wood Spirit Servant, it was exquisitely delicious. He spent over a hundred Spirit Crystals and bought half a carcass to take back.

In addition, he bought several more Qi Recovery Pills at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion. A single Pill cost him more than a hundred Spirit Crystals.

"With prices like these, who knows when they will stabilize. If they keep soaring like mad, how are those Rogue Cultivators who do not dare hunt Demonic Beasts supposed to survive?"

Watching an elderly Body Cultivator try to sell his family-inherited Combat Skill to the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Su Qing could not help sighing.

"Fellow Daoist Su is truly Kind-hearted, to still spare a thought for other Rogue Cultivators?"

Tong Xin smiled as he flattered him. He knew that while other Rogue Cultivators might have been having a hard time recently, Fellow Daoist Su's Profits Overflowing. In times like these, who could casually buy more than a dozen Qi Recovery Pills at once?

Su Qing shook his head.

With prices soaring, Rogue Cultivators would not be able to survive. Those willing to take desperate risks would multiply. Those with a bit of a bottom line would risk their lives in the Hunting Grounds, but Rogue Cultivators' bottom lines had always been flexible. More of them would likely switch careers and become Robber Cultivators.

Naturally, this would not be a good thing for him.

But there was no need to share such worries with Tong Xin. He pointed at the elderly Body Cultivator still haggling with the shop clerk and asked:

"Though that fellow Daoist is elderly, his eyes are focused and his blood and qi surge powerfully. He is at least a peak Tier 1 Body Cultivator. His inherited Combat Skill must be extraordinary. Why are you unwilling to take it?"

Tong Xin followed his gaze and immediately replied:

"Fellow Daoist, you may not know this. This man is called Tu Da. His cultivation and Combat Skill are both Not Bad. He was once a renowned Rogue Cultivator in several nearby Markets, and our Hundred Treasures Pavilion even hired him to escort goods before."

"But three years ago, in order to break through to Tier-2, he risked a deathmatch against a Tier 2 Demonic Beast and was severely injured by it. Though he barely escaped with his life, his foundation was damaged beyond repair. Not only was his Dao Path cut off, he now cannot fight others at all. The moment he does, his old injuries flare up, and he could drop dead on the spot.

"As for his inherited Combat Skill, it is the Mysterious Grade Low Rank Immovable Heavenly King Technique, a body-tempering Combat Skill. It truly is Not Bad.

"But this Old Daoist has been peddling this Combat Skill around several nearby Markets dozens of times over the past two years. Who knows how many people he has sold it to privately? A Combat Skill that is practically known to everyone holds no interest for our Hundred Treasures Pavilion!"

"Oh, it is actually a Mysterious Grade Low Rank Combat Skill? That is quite rare..." Su Qing was somewhat interested.

"If Fellow Daoist is interested in this Combat Skill, allow me to acquire it for you. This Old Daoist is best at tailoring his prices to the customer. If Fellow Daoist negotiates with him, he may well name an exorbitant price!"

Tong Xin did not understand why Su Qing, a Puppet Master, was interested in a Body Cultivator's Combat Skill. Judging by his appearance, refined like the son of an aristocratic family, he did not seem like someone capable of body tempering!

But that did not stop him from Working Diligently for Su Qing. This man was not only the shopkeeper's favorite, but also Tong Xin's major client. Naturally, he had to serve him well.

Seeing Tong Xin step forward to haggle with the Old Daoist, Su Qing—who had merely mentioned it and had not initially been too keen on the Combat Skill—thought it would not be bad to take one home to try if he could get it cheaply, so he let Tong Xin display his abilities.

"I am losing money, losing money! The Immovable Heavenly King, unmatched in the flesh! If this old man were not desperately short of money, how could I let your Hundred Treasures Pavilion take such a huge advantage!"

Before long, the Old Daoist left the Hundred Treasures Pavilion with more than three hundred Spirit Crystals tucked away, crying that he had taken a loss all the while.

Su Qing, meanwhile, left the Hundred Treasures Pavilion satisfied after buying a Mysterious Grade Combat Skill for roughly five percent of its market price.

When he arrived at the Gao Family Butcher Shop, he casually replaced another batch of Wood Spirit Servants.

These past few days, he had replaced a batch nearly every day, yet found nothing.

This made him optimistically believe that the Evil Entity might truly be gone.

Until today, when the two eerie Head Lanterns appeared once more in the images stored by the Wood Spirit Servants.

Only then did a chill run through his entire body.

"The Evil Entity has not left! Even the Gao Family Butcher Shop's Tier 1 Golden Light Array could not stop it. After seven days, it has come to reap again!"

Su Qing cried out, Shocked and Terrified. He felt that this Evil Entity seemed even stronger than before.

"As long as I do not provoke it for now, there should be no problem. It will only plague the people of the Gao Family Butcher Shop. If things truly get out of hand, the people of the White Cloud Sect will naturally deal with it. With my current preparations, there should not be any safety issues!"

Having the Lizard Warriors stand guard in the courtyard, closing the doors and windows, and pasting up Exorcism Talismans, Su Qing calmed his breathing and spread open the Immovable Heavenly King Technique.