Su Jie and the others arrived at the entrance of Gathering Immortals Tower, where they indeed found Old Daoist Qiu, along with a short, middle-aged man whose eyes were gloomy and sinister.
This man had to be Yi Jinggong, Elder Yi, whom Wu Bin had mentioned.
"Disciple Su Jie pays respects to Master."
Su Jie hurried forward and bowed to Old Daoist Qiu. Gu Weinan and Chen Yun did the same.
Of the three, one was half-crippled, another seriously wounded, and only Su Jie was unscathed. Anyone with eyes could tell who was in charge.
Old Daoist Qiu's gaze passed over the three of them 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 everything in detail. Do not conceal anything."
"Reporting to Master, the Strange Ghosts cannot be said to have been completely hunted by our side. At the time, there were also others..."
Once again, Su Jie thoroughly blew up the 'heroic selflessness' of Meng Dongge and the others, portraying him as a fierce man capable of fighting ten opponents alone.
His own group had merely gotten lucky and claimed the spoils in the end.
"Forget all that. We are disciples of the Devil Sect. We do not care about the process, only the result. The Strange Ghost corpses are in your hands now, so the spoils belong to you."
After hearing him out, Old Daoist Qiu showed no intention of criticizing Su Jie and the others.
Whether Su Jie's group had profited as fishermen from a fight between snipe and clam or had employed some other scheme, he cared only about the final result.
"Elder Yi, do you have anything else to say?"
After speaking, Old Daoist Qiu shifted his gaze to Yi Jinggong. His eyes were dark and deep, as silent as an unfathomable pool.
"Hmph, I have nothing to say. My disciples were useless. I lost this round."
Yi Jinggong's expression was exceptionally gloomy.
Just as Old Daoist Qiu had said, they were devil cultivators who valued results in everything, no matter how filthy or despicable the process had been.
Yi Jinggong was not the sort to refuse to accept defeat.
After straightforwardly admitting his loss in the wager, he removed the string of prayer beads around his neck and tossed it to Old Daoist Qiu.
The surrounding merchants were secretly stunned. They had never expected the two to wager on such a grand scale.
That string of prayer beads was a genuine top-tier mid-grade Magic Tool, and one of Yi Jinggong's signature treasures. It was called the Primordial Soul Pearl and possessed the terrifying power to refine souls and annihilate Baleful Intent.
When an ordinary cultivator was struck by it, their soul would immediately be sucked inside, where it would suffer the torment of Yin Fire burning their body until their spirit was exhausted. It was even more horrifying than death.
"The Primordial Soul Pearl? Heh, what terrible taste. Take it home and use it as a dog collar."
Old Daoist Qiu accepted the Primordial Soul Pearl without the slightest courtesy, and his mockery was even more merciless.
"Next time, you may not have such good luck."
Yi Jinggong grew even more furious. He turned his sharp gaze upon his disciples, making all of them break into a cold sweat.
By contrast, Old Daoist Qiu found Su Jie more pleasing the more he looked at him.
After obtaining the Primordial Soul Pearl, Old Daoist Qiu took a flying sword from his storage bag. Its entire body was lustrous white, its spiritual radiance dazzling. It was none other than the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword. His voice was low and distant as he said,
"Su Jie. What a good name. As the saying goes, five people are called mao, ten are called xuan, a hundred are called jun, a thousand are called ying, twice ying is called xian, and ten thousand are called jie. I hope you will live up to this name and become a great figure of the demonic path."
With that, he handed the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword to Su Jie.
The moment he did so, who knew how many disciples and merchants were left shocked and green-eyed, their gazes filled with greed.
This was a low-grade flying sword, and the finest among low-grade flying swords—an entire level above a low-grade advanced Magic Tool.
On the Black Market, its price started at no less than a thousand Blood Marrow Crystals. It was even something one could seek but not buy; ordinary people would not dare dream of possessing it.
Su Jie drew a deep breath. He knew that if he accepted the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword now, he would immediately become a fat lamb in the eyes of many people, and he would completely offend Pei Haibing, an inner disciple.
But... so what!
Su Jie had always acted cautiously in the past, but when it was time to fight for something, he would also rise up and struggle for it.
He had never believed in sayings like, "What is destined to be yours will eventually be yours, and what is not destined to be yours should not be forced."
Even without this low-grade flying sword, the wealth Su Jie gained from selling three Strange Ghosts would become a target for countless people dreaming of getting rich overnight. That was something no one could prevent.
Thus, Su Jie took another deep breath. With a solemn expression, he accepted the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword with both hands and said, "Thank you for granting me this treasure, Master. This disciple will cultivate diligently and will never tarnish your reputation."
Pei Haibing stared fixedly at Su Jie, icy light shooting from his pupils. Seeing that the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword was about to be taken, he finally could not hold back and spoke up. "Master, he is only an outer disciple, and this was purely a matter of luck. He is completely unworthy of the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword."
Pei Haibing had always regarded the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword as already belonging to him. How could he be willing to watch Su Jie take it away just like that?
Beside them, Yi Jinggong let out a cold laugh, contempt and disdain mixed into his smile. "It seems, Old Daoist Qiu, that you keep poor discipline! Even just any disciple dares talk back to you."
Old Daoist Qiu narrowed his eyes slightly. Pei Haibing's action had undoubtedly made him lose face—and in front of Yi Jinggong, no less.
With an displeased glance, Old Daoist Qiu's black python coiled around his hand rose up. His voice was cold. "My decision is something you can question?"
Pei Haibing's entire body stiffened. Only then did he realize that he had misspoken, but by the time he tried to explain, it was already too late.
Suddenly, Pei Haibing gave a muffled groan. The blood vessels beneath the skin of his face bulged violently, while one tiny snake after another, each as thick as an earthworm, wriggled beneath his skin. In the end, they broke through and crawled out like horsehair worms.
The intense pain made the veins on Pei Haibing's neck stand out as he trembled uncontrollably in agony.
Yet he did not dare truly scream, lest he cause Old Daoist Qiu to lose face.
Su Jie was secretly shocked, his attention fixed on the black python coiled around Old Daoist Qiu's hand.
Just now, that black python had merely flicked its tongue at Pei Haibing, and Pei Haibing had ended up in this state.
Su Jie had no idea how Pei Haibing had been afflicted. It was simply bizarre beyond belief.
The surrounding people immediately moved away from Pei Haibing, afraid of being caught in the aftermath.
"Master, Junior Brother Pei was merely careless just now. Please do not get angry."
Yu Wenxian stepped forward to smooth things over, but she had no intention whatsoever of helping him up. The faint smile at the corner of her lips looked more like schadenfreude.
"Take him down and lock him up for a few days so he can reflect."
Old Daoist Qiu stared coldly at Pei Haibing, who lay on the ground. The Gu-insect black python in his hand also stopped hissing and coiled back around his arm.
Even an inner disciple could not casually offend the majesty of a Secret Treasure Realm elder, even if the two were master and disciple.
Pei Haibing should have been glad that he was an inner disciple. If he had been an ordinary outer disciple, his corpse would probably already have gone cold.
Pei Haibing's two teammates cautiously came forward, hoisted him up, and fled as though their lives depended on it.
Withdrawing his gaze from Pei Haibing, Old Daoist Qiu looked at Su Jie again.
"Remember to devote yourself to cultivation."
This time, Su Jie successfully took the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword. After offering him a word of encouragement, Old Daoist Qiu, whose mood had been spoiled by Pei Haibing, turned and left.
He had accomplished his purpose for the day. He did not truly appreciate Su Jie all that much, so naturally he would not waste more time.
Yi Jinggong glanced at Su Jie twice, seemingly deep in thought, then also left with several disciples accompanying him.
"Congratulations, Junior Brother Su. The White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword is the finest among low-grade flying swords. You struck it rich this time."
Yu Wenxian approached with a bright smile.
"Senior Sister Yu, this is a hot potato. I wonder how many people want to get their hands on it."
Su Jie stroked the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword's cold blade and spoke with hidden meaning.
"You got the benefit and still complain. If you are afraid, hand it over to me for safekeeping."
"No need to trouble you, Senior Sister Yu. If I die because of this, I can only blame myself for being inferior."
Su Jie strapped the White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword behind him and refused outright. Once it entered his pocket, he had no intention of letting it leave.
"Such a stubborn streak."
Wrinkling her cute, delicate nose, Yu Wenxian rolled her eyes at Su Jie. Her tone sounded almost coquettish.
If Su Jie had not known Yu Wenxian's true nature, he might really have been fooled.
Su Jie exchanged a few more polite words with Yu Wenxian. When he saw the merchants gathering around them again, a smile returned to his face. The White Bone Heavenly Sha Sword had been an unexpected gain, but the true value of the Strange Ghosts had yet to be sold.
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