Devilish Cultivator

In the late autumn season, twisted, bare withered vines and old trees stood silently in the autumn wind. In the rugged mountain cliffs and valleys, the chirping of autumn insects could be heard.

Whoosh!

A strong wind swept through, and countless moths seemed to flutter and shake within the myriad mountains and valleys, turning the world into a grayish-white hue.

Upon closer inspection, they were all thumb-sized, ugly insects with human-like facial features and plump bodies.

Squelch!

A net bag was cast down, trapping several Human-headed Monster Insects, which flapped their wings and struggled wildly.

Their sharp mouthparts spat acidic liquid, causing the rocks to sizzle and corrode, forming honeycomb-like scars.

Snap, snap, snap!

A glass bottle was quickly placed over a Human-headed Monster Insect, and the lid was tightened.

"Three Human-faced Moths, what good luck."

A young man, about twenty years old, wiped the sweat from his brow.

He wore a thick rubber suit and a beekeeping hood, with a well-defined face and bright, spirited eyes.

He tapped the glass bottle, watching the Human-faced Moths inside rage and spit.

Su Jie placed the backpack on his back at his feet. It already contained about ten similar Human-faced Moths.

"Twelve in total, plus these three. If I sell them at the Ghost Market, even if they offer a low price, I can still get one Blood Marrow Crystal."

Su Jie's face was filled with the joy of a farmer's bountiful harvest.

Ten Human-faced Moths usually exchanged for one Blood Marrow Crystal on the black market.

Human-faced Moths, these swarming, dangerous creatures, had keen hearing and were extremely thirsty for blood.

If too much noise was made, or if a wound was accidentally exposed, they would swarm and devour a person completely, leaving not even bones behind.

Having been here for half a year, Su Jie had already witnessed many clumsy fellow disciples meet a gruesome end.

To capture them, one needed to patiently lie in wait, and when a strong wind stirred them up, seize one or two.

Sometimes, if luck was bad, he would only catch a few in a day, all while guarding against the risk of death.

Because it was too troublesome, formally registered Devilish Cultivators wouldn't bother with such a tedious task. However, Human-faced Moths were a favored food for many Devilish Cultivators' cultivated gu worms.

Therefore, this task fell to newly initiated disciples, like Su Jie.

He was an outer disciple of the Ghost Ridge Palace and a specialized insect catcher.

The sound of the wind gradually subsided, and the Human-faced Moths flying in the sky settled back onto the treetops and rocks.

Su Jie quietly placed his backpack down and slowly retreated, leaving the insect valley.

Outside the mountains, a winding path led into the deep, secluded trail. Su Jie took off his stuffy rubber suit and bee hood, breathing in the fresh air.

"Brother Su, it seems you had a good harvest today."

A voice came from behind him. Several insect catchers, dressed similarly, greeted Su Jie.

"It's just barely enough to make a living. After all, I have to report to Master."

Su Jie nodded slightly. These people were also outer disciples of the Ghost Ridge Palace.

The Ghost Ridge Palace was famous for its gu worms, and it controlled this insect valley. This territory was the Ghost Ridge Palace's exclusive domain, and other Devilish Cultivator sects dared not appear here.

As they spoke, Su Jie quickened his pace, his eyes vigilant.

Although they were fellow disciples, they were Devilish Cultivators, so there wasn't much camaraderie to speak of. The law of the jungle prevailed; robbery and even murder were common.

"Wait for us, Brother Su. It's getting dark, and strange ghosts might appear. We'll have company if we stick together."

"You mentioning it reminded me. Brother Su, you're under Old Daoist Qiu, right? You have to hand over ten Blood Marrow Crystals every month. You've been here for half a year, so you must have lost at least dozens of Blood Marrow Crystals. They really don't treat you like people."

"Who says not? Our Master only has to hand over five Blood Marrow Crystals a month."

As they spoke about Old Daoist Qiu, their voices carried a hint of mockery. They quickened their pace, approaching Su Jie, their intentions somewhat stirring.

In the Ghost Ridge Palace, Su Jie had always been an unremarkable nobody, making him an easy target for robbery without any psychological burden.

"I wouldn't dare speak such nonsense. My Master enjoys practicing curses. Perhaps I have his gu worms on me. If he overhears this, he won't let it go."

Su Jie's expression was calm, but his words caused the faces of the others to change slightly.

To casually insult an elder, outer disciples like them would be beaten to death without anyone batting an eye.

The idea of robbing him faded, as they couldn't be sure if Su Jie's words were true.

"Brothers, I'll be going ahead now."

Su Jie no longer paid attention to the people behind him and strode onto the winding path.

The sun began to set, the afterglow like blood, dyeing the horizon red.

Su Jie's steps were light. The distant and near mountains were hazy. Willow trees by the roadside silently drooped their branches, casting shadows over the overgrown path.

After putting some distance between himself and the others, Su Jie reflected on their words and thought to himself, "That's right! I've been in this world for half a year, and yet I'm still working as a cheap insect catcher every day."

Recalling past memories, Su Jie felt a sense of melancholy.

Su Jie was not born in this world; he came from the modern civilization of Blue Star.

Half a year ago, Su Jie had just graduated from an ordinary second-tier university and was still struggling to find a job.

In those days, let alone ordinary second-tier universities, even postgraduate students had trouble finding work, otherwise, so many people wouldn't have chosen to take the civil service exam to secure their future.

As a result, he didn't find a job. Instead, one night, an ancestral mirror in his family lit up with a soft glow and sucked him in.

By the time Su Jie reacted, he had already appeared in this cultivation world called Tianyuan.

And the place he appeared in, coincidentally, was the deep mountains and old forests of the Ghost Ridge Palace territory.

Unable to leave these mountains, he inexplicably joined the Ghost Ridge Palace.

After entering, Su Jie discovered that the immortal-like grandeur, the palaces and towers nestled among the mountains and clouds that he had imagined, were nowhere to be seen. Instead, he saw a devilish lair with forests of bones, flickering ghost fires, and poisonous creatures everywhere.

By the time Su Jie realized that the Ghost Ridge Palace was a Devilish Dao sect, it was too late to regret it.

Over the past six months, by constantly gathering information, Su Jie had learned some common knowledge about this cultivation world.

For example, Devilish Dao cultivators were universally reviled.

Achieving immortality, eternal life – what beautiful words.

But these belonged to the orthodox Daoist sects. Devilish Dao cultivators in this world were evil beings who were spat upon and hunted by everyone.

This was because the cultivation methods practiced by Devilish Dao cultivators were mostly bizarre and bloody, often involving live sacrifices, blood extraction, and soul stripping.

Such actions naturally led to universal rejection.

After the last great war between Dao and Devil 500 years ago, the Devilish Dao was defeated and gradually declined.

Nowadays, most Devilish Dao sects could only eke out a living in deep mountains, remote islands, and other desolate places, no longer possessing the arrogance of slaughtering thousands of miles during the flourishing era of the Devilish Dao.

The Ghost Ridge Palace, where Su Jie was located, was one such Devilish Dao sect.

And Su Jie, over the past six months, had gradually accepted his fate, extinguishing any thoughts of escape.

These deep mountains and old forests were filled with evil creatures, fierce beasts, and dangerous places, and all major thoroughfares were guarded by disciples.

Want to escape without a travel token? If caught, you'd be waiting for the Torture Elder to extract your soul and light a corpse lamp.

Fortunately, although they cultivated the Devilish Dao, the ultimate goal was the same.

Cultivating the Devilish Dao to a profound realm could still grant eternal life, which was Su Jie's hope.

However...

Su Jie's cultivation aptitude was very poor. Otherwise, he would have entered the inner sect and wouldn't have to spend his days catching insects.

As an outer disciple, the Hundred Poisons Gu Refining True Scripture, which he specifically studied for catching insects, was the most common Devilish Dao cultivation method.

After half a year of diligent cultivation, he had only reached the second level of the Spirit Nurturing Realm. His physical fitness had improved slightly, he was immune to some minor toxins, and he had a certain affinity for poisonous insects.

The Spirit Nurturing Realm was divided into ten levels. Someone at Su Jie's level of strength wasn't even considered cannon fodder in the Ghost Ridge Palace.

Outer disciples with poor aptitude usually got stuck at the fourth or fifth level of the Spirit Nurturing Realm by the time they were old and frail. In the eyes of the higher-ups, they were merely expendable resources.

Inner disciples, on the other hand, had the potential to break through to the Secret Treasure Realm. They usually reached the sixth or seventh level of the Spirit Nurturing Realm. With such strength, they were considered noteworthy among the disciples.

As for breaking through to the Secret Treasure Realm, those were no longer disciples but could hold important positions such as stewards, masters, or elders. Their status and strength would soar, making them the core power of the Ghost Ridge Palace.

Su Jie understood that his aptitude was poor, but this was his only chance to defy fate.

In the modern civilized world, he was just an ordinary wage slave, struggling even to find a job.

But here, he had the potential to wield the power to move mountains and overturn seas, and live as long as heaven and earth.

It was the same as working oneself to death. In the real world, working for a boss meant working hard to buy the boss a Ferrari.

Working for the Ghost Ridge Palace, at least, offered a sliver of hope for eternal life.

The sun had completely set behind the mountains.

Su Jie returned to the Ghost Ridge Palace's encampment before the last ray of light disappeared.

Corpse oil bone lamps hung high, and faint ghost fires lit blood-red candles.

An owl hooted from the treetops, its cry like a mournful whimper.

Under the illumination of the bone lamps, dark, incredibly simple stone caves appeared in view.

"Brother Su, you're back so late!"

A thin, young man greeted Su Jie.

"Can't be helped. If I don't catch enough poisonous insects to sell for money, I won't be able to pay my master's monthly dues."

Su Jie replied with a smile. The person before him was Su Jie's neighbor, Peng Shiwen. He had entered the Ghost Ridge Palace in the same batch as Su Jie and was also a disciple under Old Daoist Qiu, with a cultivation of the second level of the Spirit Nurturing Realm.

Because they were neighbors and had entered the Ghost Ridge Palace in the same batch, their relationship was a bit closer than that of ordinary disciples.

"Sigh, I wonder when this bitter life will end. Catching insects all day, I feel like I'm turning into a bird myself."

"Then you've hit the jackpot. Bird spirit beasts are natural enemies to many Gu worms. Why don't you try strapping on some wings and see?"

Su Jie bantered with Peng Shiwen for a bit before they bid each other farewell.

He arrived at a stone cave, took out his key, and opened the lock. This was Su Jie's residence in the Ghost Ridge Palace.

The room was about thirty square meters, furnished with a bed, cushions, and a desk, among a few other sparse items.

The most precious of these were the bottles and jars, neatly categorized and placed on shelves.

They contained poisonous creatures he had found on Ghost Ridge Mountain, such as the Blue-tailed Demonic Scorpion, Rainbow Blood Striped Snake, Evil Scissors Spider, and Crimson Poison Fire Ant, all of which were considered low-grade.

Upon seeing a living person appear, these ferocious and violent poisonous creatures flapped their wings and hissed.

Only one of the poisonous creatures remained quiet when Su Jie appeared.

It was a centipede, about the length of an arm, with a red and black body.

Strangely, the dense rows of legs beneath its body were actually pale human hands, giving it a terrifying appearance.

The Thousand-Hand Centipede typically inhabited damp, dark environments, being nocturnal and possessing venomous limbs.

This was the life-bound Gu worm that Su Jie had been cultivating.

Although it was also unranked, it had grown considerably after more than half a year of cultivation.

When he first obtained it, it was only the length of a finger.

"Little guy, time to eat. Today's a big meal."

Su Jie lifted the lid of the Thousand-Hand Centipede's container and, with a pained expression, took out five Human-faced Moths from his day's haul to feed it.

Crunch.

The previously quiet Thousand-Hand Centipede immediately came to life.

Its mandibles bit a Human-faced Moth in half, and it began to chew and swallow it voraciously.

The remaining Human-faced Moths let out cries, and the Thousand-Hand Centipede reared up, its human hands unfurling from beneath its body to easily crush several of them.

After more than half a year of cultivation, the Thousand-Hand Centipede had become quite powerful, at least among unranked poisonous creatures.

"Sizzle, sizzle."

The Thousand-Hand Centipede finished the Human-faced Moths in a few bites and then swayed the antennae on its head towards Su Jie, indicating it wanted more food.

"That's all. This is all the food for today."

The Thousand-Hand Centipede was persistent, crawling back and forth in its cultivation jar.

"Fine, fine. I'll give you some blood to drink then."

Helpless, Su Jie took out the special blood-drawing equipment provided by his sect and extracted half a tube of fresh blood.

The dripping blood was poured into a small bowl and placed in front of the Thousand-Hand Centipede, which quickly drank it all.

"It's really all gone."

Tapping the Thousand-Hand Centipede, which was still begging for food, Su Jie looked dejected.

The Hundred Poisons Gu Refining True Scripture he practiced emphasized the mutual killing and consumption of poisonous creatures to continuously improve the quality of the Gu worm.

His life-bound Gu worm was bound to Su Jie, and the stronger the Gu worm, the more cultivation feedback it provided to Su Jie, greatly accelerating his progress.

Unfortunately, the number of poisonous insects he could obtain daily was limited. In addition to feeding the Thousand-Hand Centipede, he had to hand over ten Blood Marrow Crystals to his master each month, and he also needed Blood Marrow Crystals for his own cultivation.

This resulted in the Thousand-Hand Centipede only growing to about forty to fifty centimeters in length over half a year, suffering from severe malnutrition.

Su Jie had seen the inner disciples, who had money and resources, feeding their life-bound Gu worms large quantities of poisonous creatures.

Some Gu worms that focused on physical growth were commonly several meters long; Su Jie was far, far behind.

Due to the scarcity of resources, as the Thousand-Hand Centipede grew, its daily demand for poisonous creatures increased, forcing Su Jie to feed it his own blood.

However, even this could not satisfy its appetite, and the situation was truly dire.

Placing the still-begging Thousand-Hand Centipede on his arm, Su Jie closed his eyes and began circulating the Hundred Poisons Gu Refining True Scripture.

The next moment, the Thousand-Hand Centipede clung tightly to Su Jie's arm, its aura matching his.

Energy surged through his meridians, and external spiritual energy was intermittently drawn into his body.

Based on Su Jie's own estimations, under normal cultivation, it would take him another year to reach the third level of Spirit Infusion.

After a period of cultivation, Su Jie's mood was not very good; the path to immortality seemed distant.

Two hours later, Su Jie, having finished his cultivation, slowly opened his eyes, only to be momentarily blinded by a flash of light.

He turned his head and saw that the ancient mirror he had placed in the room was emitting a brilliant light, illuminating the stone cave.

"Holy crap, you can still be used? I thought you were a one-time consumable."

Su Jie's heart trembled. He quickly got up, picked up the ancient mirror with both surprise and joy.

Red light flowed across the ancient mirror, and a void portal quietly opened on its surface.

Through this portal, he could vaguely see a modern-looking house on the other side.

Su Jie's mouth fell open; he was all too familiar with this environment.

It was the rental apartment he had lived in before he transmigrated.

He had been sleeping in that room when the ancient mirror brought him to this Tianyuan world.

Seeing this scene, Su Jie understood something. His excited heart could not be contained, and he stepped through the portal.