Flowing Cloud Villa

The current situation was quite easy to understand.

The merchant caravan must have encountered a Strange Ghost while on the road.

Although Ghost Ridge Palace had disciples stationed around the trade routes to intercept most Strange Ghosts, some would inevitably break through the defenses and wander onto the routes, leading to attacks on merchant caravans.

This caravan was just that unlucky.

At this moment, the Strange Ghost that had killed dozens of people was chasing them. The three survivors were a portly merchant and two martial artist guards.

Using the vision of a reconnaissance dragonfly, Su Jie noticed the portly merchant pull out a cerulean talisman from his embrace, throwing it at the Strange Ghost with a pained expression.

BOOM!

The talisman ignited in mid-air, transforming into an octagonal spiritual pillar cage that trapped the Strange Ghost.

A talisman capable of trapping a Strange Ghost was at least mid-grade low-tier, costing dozens of Blood Marrow Crystals each.

Seeing the Strange Ghost temporarily contained, the portly merchant, supported by the two martial artist guards, stumbled onward, running directly towards Su Jie.

The straight-line distance was too short, and soon the two parties met.

Upon seeing Su Jie's group of three, the merchant yelled at Su Jie, "Hey, you Ghost Ridge Palace people over there, are you blind? There's a Strange Ghost behind me, quickly help me stop it."

The merchant had run so fast his shoes had fallen off, and his plump face was covered in bloody scratches from branches and bushes.

Seeing Su Jie now, he immediately demanded help without a second thought.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying? Protecting us merchants is your job. Believe it or not, I'll report you to the Command Hall."

The merchant pointed at Su Jie, his attitude extremely hostile.

Merchants like them, who operated in the Black Market, were crucial for supplying Ghost Ridge Palace. Therefore, even a Devilish Cultivator sect like Ghost Ridge Palace wouldn't casually harm them, but rather sought to win them over and protect them.

As he spoke, the merchant fumbled around his body, intending to take out the transit token issued by the Command Hall.

However, he found nothing, realizing in his panic that it must have fallen somewhere.

"Fatty, you're quite noisy!"

Su Jie frowned, his sharp, cold gaze causing the merchant to tremble.

Then, as if enraged, the merchant flew into a rage, "Do you know who I, Jia Xin, am? Let me tell you, my uncle is the Manor Lord of Flowing Cloud Villa, Jia Geng, and one of the five special merchants of Ghost Ridge Palace. How dare you speak to me like this? Believe it or not, I'll have your Elder skin you alive."

"Brother Su, this fatty's background is quite impressive. He's a merchant from Flowing Cloud Villa. We shouldn't get into trouble with him," Gu Weinan seemed to recognize him and advised Su Jie to avoid conflict.

The so-called five special merchants were a cooperative mechanism established by Ghost Ridge Palace in conjunction with five aristocratic families.

Ghost Ridge Palace provided them with resources, and the five major merchants had to meet Ghost Ridge Palace's specific resource requirements.

What were these special resources? Naturally, they were people.

Devilish Cultivators couldn't cultivate without them.

In essence, the five special merchants were notorious slave owners, and the Black Market's human trade was essentially monopolized by these five families.

Because they could procure the scarce human resources needed by Ghost Ridge Palace, the five major merchants held a high position within the sect, which explained the merchant's arrogance.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and protect me. If I lose even a single hair, I'll make you regret it."

Jia Xin looked at Su Jie triumphantly. Just as he was about to speak further, he suddenly heard the roar of the Strange Ghost from behind.

Immediately after, the Strange Ghost's terrifying, hunched figure appeared in their sight. It had already broken free from the talisman's restraint.

"This is bad, Brother Su, let's retreat quickly."

Gu Weinan instinctively took a step back, his heart pounding. Not everyone had the courage to face a Strange Ghost head-on.

Let alone the fact that his leg was injured, and Chen Yun beside him was severely wounded.

Even if the team were in perfect condition, their chances of winning against such a Strange Ghost would be less than thirty percent.

Chen Yun took a deep breath, her eyes resolute, as if she had made a decision. She stepped forward and stood in front of Su Jie, saying, "Fellow Daoist Su, you go first. I'll hold off the Strange Ghost."

This action clearly indicated that Chen Yun had resigned herself to death, willing to buy time for Su Jie by holding back the Strange Ghost.

Su Jie completely ignored Jia Xin's taunts. He was merely assessing the gap between himself and the Strange Ghost before patting Chen Yun on the shoulder.

"There's no need. I'll deal with this Strange Ghost. You won't be able to hold it back."

Su Jie's gaze met that of the Strange Ghost. He was already looking for an opportunity to test the combat power of his second-stage Spirit Refinement Thousand-Hand Centipede, and this was a perfect chance.

BUZZ BUZZ!

A large swarm of Yin Fire Blood Bees flew out. Their tails curled upwards, and streams of fire rained down.

The Strange Ghost moved with incredible speed, skillfully dodging most of the fire streams with a few agile movements. The occasional splash that landed on its body was blocked by its pale skin, only burning off a layer of skin and not significantly hindering its actions.

Several Silver-winged Golden Cicadas also attacked fruitlessly, unable to penetrate the Strange Ghost's defenses.

"It really is powerful."

Su Jie took a step forward and suddenly charged into the nearby woods.

Attracted by the attack, the Strange Ghost instantly shifted its attention to Su Jie and roared furiously as it gave chase.

Perhaps in the eyes of the Strange Ghost, everyone else was prey to be toyed with. Su Jie, instead of running, dared to fight back, so it had to be dealt with first.

Su Jie's speed was no match for the Strange Ghost's, and he was caught up in no time.

As the heavy footsteps and panting sounded behind him, Su Jie also revealed his trump card.

The Thousand-Hand Centipede crawled out of his sleeve, its body rapidly expanding until it became a colossal creature six meters long, twice the length of the Strange Ghost. Its terrifying, upright form caused the charging Strange Ghost to slam on the brakes, leaving two long gouges in the ground.

ROAR!

The Strange Ghost let out a threatening roar, its sharp fangs still carrying shreds of flesh, a gruesome sight.

HISS!

The Thousand-Hand Centipede responded with a shrill cry, a strong, fishy wind sweeping over, causing the Strange Ghost's facial flesh to ripple like the surface of water. The difference in their auras was immediately apparent.

"Kill it, Little Qian."

Su Jie rubbed the Thousand-Hand Centipede's ferocious insectoid body as he issued the attack command.

The next moment, the Thousand-Hand Centipede obeyed Su Jie's order without hesitation.

Its massive body crushed a large patch of bushes, sweeping forward like a black whirlwind.

Without any fancy moves, the Strange Ghost, unwilling to be outdone, lunged forward, using its claws and fangs.

Its sharp claws and fangs, capable of easily slicing through steel, combined with its formidable physique, were the source of the Strange Ghost's dominance.

Ordinary outer disciples, when confronting a Strange Ghost, couldn't kill it in a single blow and could only use Gu worms to continuously inject poison to wear it down.

This was also why outer disciples who encountered a Strange Ghost alone were almost certain to die.

Unfortunately for it, today the Strange Ghost had encountered a being whose physical body was even stronger.

In close-quarters combat of similar size, an insect's senses, mobility, and capture methods were often superior to a beast's, let alone the fact that the Thousand-Hand Centipede's size far surpassed the Strange Ghost's.

In just one clash, the Strange Ghost was sent flying backward as if hit by a speeding train, rammed by the Thousand-Hand Centipede.

The Thousand-Hand Centipede then clamped the Strange Ghost tightly with its mandibles, smashing through towering trees along the way.

ROAR ROAR!

The Strange Ghost struggled frantically. Rocks and ancient trees, when touched by its claws, were like tofu, easily torn apart.

But when the target of destruction changed to the Thousand-Hand Centipede, the situation was completely different.

The Strange Ghost's seemingly sharp claws, when striking the Thousand-Hand Centipede's chitinous exoskeleton, only managed to carve deep grooves and scratches.

Occasionally, the more vulnerable parts where the exoskeleton segments connected were injured, causing green insect blood to spray out, but it would quickly heal.

The injured parts would even split, transforming into small centipedes that dropped off and burrowed directly into the Strange Ghost's flesh.

Sizzzle sizzzle.

The Thousand-Hand Centipede in battle grew even more excited, like it had found a great toy. Its pale, corpse-like hands extended, wrapping the Strange Ghost around the trunk of an ancient tree and twisting it off along with the tree.

In an instant, the two massive figures were buried under the fallen branches.

A few seconds later, only the Thousand-Hand Centipede could be seen standing upright. The Strange Ghost on the ground had all its bones broken, its colorful internal organs and intestines squeezed out from its belly, and it was no longer breathing.

Sizzzle sizzzle!

The Thousand-Hand Centipede, carrying the Strange Ghost's corpse in its mouth, lifted it high and shook its head back and forth, seemingly not having had enough fun.

"It's already done for."

Seeing this, Su Jie was somewhat taken aback himself.

Although Su Jie knew that the Thousand-Hand Centipede, having evolved to the Lower Grade Second Refinement, had been greatly strengthened, the current situation still exceeded his expectations.

Such a terrifying Strange Ghost, capable of wiping out a three-person team of Strange Ghosts, was killed by the Thousand-Hand Centipede in less than two minutes.

After it had its fill of playing, the Thousand-Hand Centipede placed the mangled corpse of the Strange Ghost before Su Jie.

"So this is the power of a Lower Grade Second Refinement Gu worm. As expected, my path is the correct one."

Su Jie looked at the Strange Ghost's corpse brought by the Thousand-Hand Centipede, a smile on his face. This meant another few hundred Blood Marrow Crystals were in the bag.

Hanging the Strange Ghost's corpse on a tree, Su Jie didn't rush back. It happened to be near where the merchant caravan had been attacked by Strange Ghosts.

Adhering to the principle of not taking advantage of a good deal being like being struck by lightning, Su Jie ignored the bloodstains all over the ground and began searching the corpses one by one.

These corpses had some scattered Blood Marrow Crystals, one or two pieces at a time. Su Jie didn't mind the small amounts and pocketed them all.

After a thorough search, Su Jie had collected a total of twenty-three Blood Marrow Crystals.

Finally, Su Jie's gaze fell upon several overturned carriages. These were goods the merchants had prepared for transport to the Ghost Ridge Palace Black Market.

A chill emanated from within the carriages. Su Jie lifted the tarpaulin and gasped at the shocking sight.

Inside the carriages were cubic blocks of ice, within which were frozen corpses of young children.

The largest of the corpses were no older than five or six years old, while the smallest were less than a year old. The deceased had clearly been strangled, with a dark bruise around their necks.

He checked a few more carriages, and they were all the same.