Astonishment

"It looks like we ended in a draw today."

At the same time, Old Daoist Qiu strode through the air down from Gathering Immortals Tower.

Wherever he passed, the merchants all lowered their brows and eyes, and the noisy scene immediately quieted considerably.

A Secret Treasure Realm elder was someone these ordinary Black Market merchants could not afford to offend, whether in strength or influence.

Some people dared to shout at Pei Haibing, but in front of Old Daoist Qiu, not even one person dared speak loudly.

"Hmph, Old Daoist Qiu, why don't we compare the number of Strange Ghosts hunted by all our disciples? That would better reflect the level of our teaching."

Yi Jinggong came leaping down with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger. Seeing this result, his eyes gleamed with especially fierce Baleful Intent.

His conflict with Old Daoist Qiu had a long history. Old Daoist Qiu had always been harsh toward his disciples, so he had been planning to suppress him in this area. This was a chance he had finally managed to find.

In terms of the number and quality of his disciples, Yi Jinggong considered himself far superior to Old Daoist Qiu. It was impossible for him to lose.

Old Daoist Qiu turned around. His narrow, vertical pupils narrowed slightly, and his gaze was like that of a venomous snake—cold, sinister, and slippery, making one's hair stand on end when it fell upon them.

Before he could speak, another commotion suddenly broke out in the crowd.

Vaguely, merchants could be heard shouting things like "Strange Ghost corpses," "Three of them," and "Hurry and grab them!"

The merchants originally gathered near Gathering Immortals Tower all turned their heads, only to see a crude flatbed cart being pushed over, with three Strange Ghost corpses arranged neatly on it.

At the sight, the merchants erupted and rushed over in unison, each scrambling to be first, hoping to secure a favorable position for the auction.

"Which family's inner disciple came over at a time like this?"

Pei Haibing felt that the attention had been stolen from him and muttered a curse in displeasure.

Senior Sister Yu, standing beside him, also cast a curious look over. Unlike Pei Haibing's cursory glance, she examined the scene more carefully and soon noticed that something was wrong.

"Wait, something's not right. Aren't those disciples from our branch?"

Senior Sister Yu spoke in surprise and uncertainty, recognizing Su Jie, Gu Weinan, and Chen Yun as disciples under their command.

"What are you talking about? How could they be—be..."

Pei Haibing nearly failed to hold back his laughter. What outer disciple could possibly hunt three Strange Ghosts?

But when he turned his head and looked closely, the three disciples around the flatbed cart were wearing outer disciple uniforms. He had a vague impression of them, and they really did seem to be from his branch.

Old Daoist Qiu heard the commotion as well. He focused his gaze on the scene, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking arc. He said darkly to Yi Jinggong, "Elder Yi, our competition isn't over yet."

Yi Jinggong's face darkened faintly, and his voice was hoarse. "Old Daoist Qiu, don't tell me you played some little trick and even interfered in the disciples' contest. Do you have no dignity at all?"

"What a joke. Why would I need to resort to fraud to defeat you, Old Daoist Qiu? Wenxian, go call them over and put Elder Yi out of his misery."

Old Daoist Qiu gave a cold snort. Although he had no idea where Su Jie and the other outer disciples had obtained three Strange Ghosts, it did not matter. As long as he could press Yi Jinggong down, that was enough.

"Yes."

Senior Sister Yu accepted the order and soon headed toward the flatbed cart.

"Everyone, don't be impatient. We're selling all our Strange Ghosts. The highest bidder gets them."

Standing on the flatbed cart, Su Jie stepped on a Strange Ghost's skull and looked at the merchants who had been drawn over, visibly excited.

The more people there were, the fiercer the bidding would become. Only then could he make more money!

"A thousand five hundred Blood Marrow Crystals. How about selling these three Strange Ghost corpses to me?"

A merchant squeezed to the front, but the moment he finished speaking, Wu Bin interrupted him with an irritated expression.

"Get lost. Are you trying to take advantage of us because you think we don't know the price? If you have no money, go home and ask your mother for some. Don't embarrass yourself here."

As Wu Bin spoke, he even raised a foot to kick him.

As a manager of the Command Hall, he was no outer disciple. Ordinary merchants had to smile and curry favor whenever they saw him.

"Young sir, our Zhang Family Merchant Association offers one thousand eight hundred Blood Marrow Crystals."

"Biyue Prefecture offers one thousand five hundred Blood Marrow Crystals, plus one low-grade magical artifact and two low-grade high-grade talismans."

"Nether Pill Valley offers one bottle of Refining Pills, along with five hundred Blood Marrow Crystals."

A crowd of merchants surrounded Su Jie, tossing out one astonishing figure after another, making his heart surge.

Gu Weinan beside him was equally flushed with excitement. Although he would receive only a small portion of the profits, for an outer disciple, it was still an extremely considerable fortune.

Chen Yun, however, remained cold as ice. The shadow of losing her younger brother and husband had yet to fade.

"Master Su, Master Su, it's me! Our Taixu Pavilion is willing to purchase all three Strange Ghosts. The price is negotiable."

Just then, Su Jie heard a somewhat familiar voice.

He lowered his head and saw that the manager of Taixu Pavilion, the alluring young woman Cai Chun'e, had somehow rushed over. She was calling out to Su Jie while panting for breath.

As she spoke, Cai Chun'e unconsciously thrust out her full, rounded breasts. The movement nearly made the buttons of her bodice burst, while her phoenix eyes were enticing to the extreme. She was truly overflowing with charm.

When the surrounding merchants saw this, who knew how many cursed inwardly. She was actually using a beauty trap—completely shameless!

"Sister Cai, what brought you here too?"

Su Jie's eyes shifted slightly. He smiled and nodded, but did not agree to her proposal.

Although the woman before him was like a ripe honey peach, looking as though she would make anyone want to take a bite,

Su Jie would not sell out his own interests for a touch of beauty when enough value was at stake.

"Isn't it because Master Su came back without coming to see me? I had no choice but to come in person."

Cai Chun'e cast Su Jie a coquettish sidelong glance before saying, "These three Strange Ghost corpses—please give our Taixu Pavilion serious consideration, Master Su. Our offer absolutely won't be lower than anyone else's."

Her voice carried a trace of humility.

In truth, when Cai Chun'e had seen Su Jie earlier, she had almost been unable to believe her eyes.

For an outer disciple to hunt three Strange Ghosts was as laughable as saying a sow could climb a tree.

And yet, that was precisely what had happened, shocking her for an entire year.

"We'll discuss it later."

Su Jie shook his head, noticing a young woman in light gauze approaching. She was the inner disciple Senior Sister Yu, Su Jie's senior sister.

"Giggle, Junior Brother Su, it really is you! I knew I couldn't have mistaken you."

Senior Sister Yu smiled before speaking. Perhaps because her reputation was too fearsome, the merchants immediately cleared a space around her as she approached.

"Senior Sister Yu, what brings you here?"

Su Jie secretly grew wary. Could she have her eyes on this sudden windfall of his?

"Master is up ahead too. He wants you to go over."

Senior Sister Yu extended a slender jade finger and poked the Strange Ghost corpse on the flatbed cart. Smiling brightly, she said, "This time, Junior Brother Su, I'm afraid you're going to make a name for yourself with Master. Come over quickly."

With that, she gracefully led the way ahead.

Su Jie was still pondering what Senior Sister Yu meant when Wu Bin, seeing the dangerous woman leave, immediately asked in a low voice,

"You're a disciple of Old Daoist Qiu?"

He truly had not examined Su Jie's information carefully earlier. Otherwise, he would not have asked such a question.

"Yes. Why?"

"You don't know? Old Daoist Qiu and Elder Yi Jinggong have had another flare-up in their conflict. The two of them made a private wager, competing to see whose disciples could hunt more Strange Ghosts. They even each brought out generous rewards to motivate their disciples. Lately, the matter has been raging throughout Ghost Ridge Palace. He's probably calling you over for this."

Wu Bin truly lived up to his status as a manager of the Command Hall. He was well-informed and knew every bit of gossip among the elders.

"Ah, no wonder Master put up such a huge prize back then and offered the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword as a reward."

Gu Weinan suddenly understood and immediately figured out what had happened back then.

"Master's original deadline was one week, right? We exceeded that deadline long ago. Could the reward still count?"

Su Jie licked his lips. He had never considered this matter before. First, they had exceeded the agreed-upon week, and besides, the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword clearly seemed to have been prepared for Pei Haibing, who cultivated the Bone Transformation Dao Method. How could there be any chance for outer disciples like them?

"That's because Elder Yi ran into some trouble refining pills, which delayed things for a while."

Wu Bin explained the reason. Su Jie could not help feeling a surge of heat in his heart. Perhaps he truly had a chance to lay hands on the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword after all. Opportunities had never come for free. The righteous path had to fight for them, and the demonic path had even more reason to fight.