The bug procurement plan proceeded smoothly and methodically.
Inside a warehouse in Lamao District, all kinds of poisonous insects and snakes purchased from outside were delivered there.
At this moment, the Thousand-Hand Centipede was sprawled on the ground, its body already more than nine meters long.
The massive amount of food it had consumed over this period had caused its body to grow at a terrifying rate. If anyone discovered the Thousand-Hand Centipede in this state, they would probably be scared unconscious.
Not far from the Thousand-Hand Centipede, Su Jie sat cross-legged on a purple meditation cushion. Fragrant sandalwood burned beside him, and he took a Nine Yang Pill from a jade bottle and tossed it into his mouth, swallowing it down.
Surging spiritual energy coursed through his limbs and bones, then was absorbed by the various meridians and stored within them.
While cultivating, the Thousand-Hand Centipede shrank its body and lay across Su Jie's waist and abdomen, its pale corpse hands pressing against him one by one.
As time passed, several hours went by.
The spiritual aura around Su Jie grew increasingly powerful, like a lotus breaking through the mud and rising from the water. At last, the spiritual power he had accumulated reached its peak and broke through a blocked section of his meridian network.
Bang!
Spiritual power flashed around Su Jie's body, and he smoothly advanced to the fifth layer of the Spirit Nurturing Realm.
The resources purchased with the thousands of Blood Marrow Crystals prepared in the Tianyuan World had allowed Su Jie's cultivation to soar in just two weeks. Now he had even reached the fifth layer of the Spirit Nurturing Realm—a height he would never have dared imagine in the past.
The Thousand-Hand Centipede climbed onto Su Jie's neck and happily rubbed back and forth, sharing in the joy of his advancement.
"You're about to advance too, aren't you?"
After stroking the Thousand-Hand Centipede's cold, insect-like body, Su Jie could sense the abundant vitality and life force within it.
Sizzle, sizzle.
The Thousand-Hand Centipede hissed in response.
It was evolving step by step toward its third Spirit Refinement.
With a plentiful supply of poisonous insects, it would face almost no obstacles before advancing into a mid-grade Gu worm.
But Su Jie had considered further ahead.
According to the records in the ancient texts, after advancing into a mid-grade Gu worm, a Gu worm could no longer advance effectively by devouring ordinary poisonous insects. Aside from relying on heavenly treasures and the tempering of time, it had to consume ranked poisonous insects. At that point, the poisonous insects on Blue Star would lose their usefulness.
Su Jie had come to this place in Zen Country precisely to plan ahead and make preparations in advance.
Once the Thousand-Hand Centipede advanced into a mid-grade Gu worm, Su Jie would bring over some poisonous insects from the Tianyuan World.
For example, he could take a non-ranked poisonous insect like the Human-faced Moth, feed it a massive number of poisonous insects until it advanced to low-grade, and then have the Thousand-Hand Centipede devour it.
In this way, smaller fish ate shrimp, bigger fish ate smaller fish, and a whole new evolutionary process could be completed.
To accomplish this, Su Jie had to gain complete control over a region.
After all, once poisonous insects from the Tianyuan World were brought to Blue Star, Su Jie would inevitably become the focus of public attention if they were discovered, with various factions and countries scrutinizing him under a magnifying glass.
In Hua Country, what Su Jie was doing would definitely be impossible. He was dealing with far too many poisonous insects, making it extremely easy to arouse other people's curiosity and investigation.
Once someone came to inspect the place, wouldn't everything be exposed?
But Zen Country was entirely different. The power of its state apparatus was weak. Controlling a region there would be equivalent to separating it from the rest of the country and becoming completely self-governing, offering far greater secrecy.
Leaving the Thousand-Hand Centipede in the warehouse to continue feeding, Su Jie turned and left, driving back to Jieko Company's base.
As soon as he entered, he saw Liu Yingying approaching with delight.
"Su Jie, we did it."
Wrapping an arm around Su Jie's neck, Liu Yingying jumped and shouted happily.
"Stop, stop, stop. What happened?"
Su Jie patted the young woman's butt, reminding her to pay attention to her image.
"Hehe, Manager Liang is back, and he brought good news."
Liu Yingying's pretty face flushed red. She glanced around guiltily and only relaxed after discovering that none of the employees were paying attention.
The moment Su Jie heard this, he knew what had happened.
Upon entering the company office, he indeed saw Liang Lianjun.
"I have lived up to your trust, President Su. Our furniture has successfully broken into the market."
The moment Liang Lianjun saw him, he immediately stood and reported to Su Jie, joy practically spilling from his eyes.
"Tell me the details."
Su Jie asked Liu Yingying to pour some tea, then sat down opposite Liang Lianjun.
"Yes."
Liang Lianjun cleared his throat and began, "After that batch of timber was transported back to the factory, I immediately arranged manpower and worked around the clock to design and craft the furniture. We first rushed to produce a batch, then contacted several wealthy businessmen I knew before and held a small furniture sales exhibition.
"As soon as our furniture made its debut, it immediately attracted those businessmen. More than half of it was bought on the spot.
"Most of those wealthy businessmen's friends were also rich. The remaining furniture was all sold the next day.
"Moreover, the news spread by word of mouth. Later, many wealthy people came to our Tianyuan Home Furnishings and paid deposits to have high-end furniture custom-made.
"At present, the first batch of payments and deposits we've received adds up to a full five hundred million yuan. Once all that timber is sold, we expect to recover between 4.5 and 5 billion yuan."
Suppressing his excitement, Liang Lianjun recounted Tianyuan Home Furnishings' progress in detail.
At present, the high-end furniture market in Hua Country had long been unable to meet demand. With the appearance of Tianyuan Home Furnishings and the support of those extraordinary-quality timbers, it had effortlessly carved out the most delicious slice of the market and placed it on its own plate.
Given the temperament of Hua Country's wealthy, it was impossible for them not to be tempted by high-end furniture that could display their taste and wealth.
That was why, after discovering that Tianyuan Home Furnishings sold high-end furniture, they had sparked such a frenzied buying spree.
When Su Jie heard the figure of five hundred million, his eyelids twitched.
It was not that he lacked composure. A year ago, he had still been an ordinary person who had just graduated and could not even find a job. Now, he controlled hundreds of millions in cash flow and had tens of billions' worth of goods under him.
Even though Su Jie had been mentally prepared, he still felt excited.
"Haha, Manager Liang, I knew I hadn't misjudged you. No need to say anything else—tonight, you must stay and have a good drink with me. And as for your share of the profits, you won't be shorted either."
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. It all relies on that batch of raw timber from you, President Su. Otherwise, even with abilities reaching the heavens, I couldn't have sold it at this price."
Liang Lianjun repeatedly waved his hands modestly. His words were also the truth.
The greatest key to Tianyuan Home Furnishings' overwhelming success lay in the timber's exceptionally high quality. Su Jie's praise made Liang Lianjun somewhat embarrassed.
"Manager Liang, don't be modest. How could we not have a drink over such wonderful news?"
"Then I'll have two drinks with you, President Su."
Feeling how highly Su Jie regarded him, Liang Lianjun was filled with the sentiment of a scholar dying for the one who understood him.
After chatting with Liang Lianjun for a few more moments, Su Jie noticed that he was somewhat tired from traveling and taking rides along the way, so he had him go downstairs to rest first.
"Yingying, notify Jie Ke Biology and begin the second plan. It's time to expand the scale of our Jieko Company."
Su Jie gave Liu Yingying an instruction. Previously, constrained by a shortage of funds, the bug-catching plan had only been carried out in a dozen or so villages and towns.
But now that the funds were in place, Su Jie was naturally unwilling to keep playing small. He planned to completely cover the areas surrounding Mande City.
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