Bestowing Treasures

Su Jie and the others arrived at the entrance of the Immortal Gathering Pavilion and indeed saw Old Daoist Qiu there, along with a short, sinister-looking middle-aged man.

This man should be the Yi Jinggong mentioned by Wu Bin, Elder Yi.

"Disciple Su Jie greets Master."

Su Jie quickly stepped forward and bowed to Old Daoist Qiu. Gu Weinan and Chen Yun did the same.

One of the three was half-crippled, and the other was severely injured. Only Su Jie was unharmed. It was obvious to anyone who was in charge.

Old Daoist Qiu's gaze swept past the three disciples and landed on the three Strange Ghost corpses piled on the flatbed cart behind them. He spoke, "Where did you get these three Strange Ghosts? Explain in detail, and do not conceal anything."

"Reporting to Master, the Strange Ghosts weren't entirely hunted by our side. There were others present at the time..."

Su Jie once again embellished the 'heroic and selfless' demeanor of Meng Dongge and his group, portraying him as a fierce warrior who could fight ten men.

He claimed that his group was merely lucky to have obtained the spoils in the end.

"Never mind that. We Devilish Sect disciples don't care about the process, only the results. The Strange Ghost corpses are in your hands now, so the spoils are yours."

After listening, Old Daoist Qiu had no intention of criticizing Su Jie and the others.

Regardless of whether Su Jie and his group had reaped the benefits of others' labor, or if there were other schemes involved, he only cared about the final outcome.

"Elder Yi, do you have anything to say?"

After speaking, Old Daoist Qiu turned his gaze back to Yi Jinggong, his eyes dark and as still as a deep abyss.

"Hmph, I have nothing to say. My disciples are useless. I lost this round."

Yi Jinggong's face was extremely grim.

As Old Daoist Qiu had said, they were Devilish Cultivators. They focused on results in everything, no matter how dirty or despicable the process.

Yi Jinggong was not a sore loser.

After cleanly admitting defeat in the bet, he took off the string of prayer beads around his neck and threw it to Old Daoist Qiu.

Unbeknownst to them, many merchants nearby were inwardly shocked, not expecting the two to make such a large bet.

Those prayer beads were genuine top-grade mid-tier magic tools, and one of Yi Jinggong's signature magic tools, named the Primordial Soul Pearl. It possessed the powerful ability to refine souls and eliminate Sha.

Ordinary cultivators who were struck by it would have their souls immediately sucked into it, enduring the torment of burning in Yin fire until their souls were depleted, a fate far more terrifying than death.

"Primordial Soul Pearl, hehe. Such poor taste. Go home and use it as a dog collar."

Old Daoist Qiu accepted the Primordial Soul Pearl without politeness, and his words were just as sharp and mocking.

"Next time, you may not be so lucky."

Yi Jinggong became even more enraged. He looked at his disciples with sharp eyes, causing them all to break out in a cold sweat.

In contrast, Old Daoist Qiu found Su Jie more and more pleasing to the eye.

After obtaining the Primordial Soul Pearl, Old Daoist Qiu took out a flying sword from his storage bag. It was entirely snow-white, its spiritual aura shimmering brilliantly. It was the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword. He said in a low voice, "Su Jie, a good name. As the saying goes, five people are 'Mao', ten are 'Xuan', a hundred are 'Jun', a thousand are 'Ying', double 'Ying' is 'Xian', and ten thousand are 'Jie'. I hope you will live up to this name in the future and become a distinguished figure of the Devilish Dao."

With that, he handed the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword to Su Jie.

This action stunned and filled countless disciples and merchants with envy, their eyes filled with greed.

This was a low-grade flying sword, and among low-grade flying swords, it was top-tier, a level higher than high-grade low-tier magic tools.

Its price in the Black Market would start at least a thousand Blood Marrow Crystals, and it was priceless, something ordinary people wouldn't even dare to dream of.

Su Jie took a deep breath, knowing that if he accepted the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword at this moment, he would immediately become a target in many people's eyes and would completely offend Pei Haibing, an inner disciple.

But... what of it!

Su Jie had always acted cautiously in the past, but when he needed to fight for something, he would rise to the occasion.

He never believed in sayings like "what is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force."

Even without this low-grade flying sword, the wealth Su Jie would gain from selling the three Strange Ghosts would make him a target for many who wished for a sudden fortune. Such things were unavoidable.

So, Su Jie took a deep breath, his expression solemn as he reached out with both hands to accept the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword, saying, "Thank you, Master, for bestowing this treasure. Your disciple will certainly cultivate diligently and not tarnish Master's reputation."

Pei Haibing stared intently at Su Jie, a sharp, cold light shooting from his pupils. Just as the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword was about to be taken, he finally couldn't help but speak, "Master, he is merely an outer disciple, and it was all due to luck. He is completely unworthy of this White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword."

Pei Haibing had always considered this White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword his own. How could he be willing to see Su Jie take it away so easily?

Yi Jinggong on the side sneered, his smile laced with disdain and contempt. "It seems your subordinates are not well-disciplined, Old Daoist Qiu! Any disciple dares to talk back to you."

Old Daoist Qiu narrowed his eyes. Pei Haibing's action had undoubtedly embarrassed him, and in front of Yi Jinggong, no less.

He glanced at Pei Haibing with displeasure. The black python coiled around Old Daoist Qiu's arm reared up, and he said coldly, "Are your words meant to question my decisions?"

Pei Haibing stiffened. He realized he had spoken out of turn and wanted to explain, but it was too late.

Suddenly, Pei Haibing let out a muffled groan. The blood vessels on his face bulged violently, and small snakes the size of earthworms writhed beneath his skin, finally breaking through the skin like horsehair worms.

The intense pain caused the veins on Pei Haibing's neck to bulge, and he shivered uncontrollably from agony.

Yet, he dared not scream out loud, lest he further embarrass Old Daoist Qiu.

Su Jie was inwardly alarmed. He noticed the black python coiled around Old Daoist Qiu's arm.

It was this black python that had flicked its tongue at Pei Haibing just moments ago, and Pei Haibing had ended up in this state.

He didn't even know how Pei Haibing had been afflicted; it was incredibly strange.

The people around immediately distanced themselves from Pei Haibing, fearing they would be affected.

"Master, Junior Disciple Pei's actions just now were unintentional. Please don't be angry."

Yu Wenxian stepped forward to mediate, but she had no intention of helping him up. The slight smile on her lips seemed more like schadenfreude.

"Take him down and lock him up for a few days to reflect."

Old Daoist Qiu looked coldly at Pei Haibing, who had fallen to the ground. The black python Gu worm in his hand also stopped its hissing and coiled back onto his arm.

Even inner disciples could not casually offend the authority of a Secret Treasure Realm Elder, even if they were master and disciple.

Pei Haibing should be grateful that he was an inner disciple. If he were an ordinary outer disciple, his corpse would likely be cold by now.

Pei Haibing's two teammates cautiously stepped forward, helped him up, and fled as if flying.

Recalling his gaze from Pei Haibing, Old Daoist Qiu looked at Su Jie again.

"Remember to focus on your cultivation."

This time, Su Jie successfully took over the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword. After offering Su Jie a word of encouragement, Old Daoist Qiu, whose mood had been disturbed by Pei Haibing, turned and left.

His objective for the day had been achieved. He didn't truly admire Su Jie that much, so he naturally wouldn't waste any more time.

Yi Jinggong looked at Su Jie for two glances, seemingly lost in thought, and then left the area accompanied by several disciples.

"Congratulations, Junior Disciple Su. The White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword is a top-grade among low-grade flying swords. You've hit the jackpot this time."

Yu Wenxian approached with a bright smile.

"Senior Disciple Yu, this is a hot potato. I don't know how many people would want to get their hands on it."

Stroking the cold blade of the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword, Su Jie said meaningfully.

"Ungrateful even after getting a good deal. If you're scared, you can leave it with me for safekeeping."

"I won't trouble Senior Disciple Yu. If I die because of it, then I can only blame myself for being less skilled."

Strapping the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword to his back, Su Jie directly refused. Once it was in his possession, there was no way it would leave.

"Such a character."

Yu Wenxian wrinkled her cute nose and shot Su Jie a glare, which sounded almost like a spoiled complaint.

If Su Jie hadn't known Yu Wenxian's true nature, he might have been deceived.

Su Jie exchanged a few more pleasantries with Yu Wenxian. Seeing the merchants gathering around again, he put on a smile. The White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword was an unexpected gain; the real value of the Strange Ghosts had yet to be sold.