Black Market

After the sale of the enormous sum had caused a sensation at the Sales Department, Su Jie drove his BMW M8 to the suburban Nanqiao Logistics Center, where he had just rented a warehouse.

Chen Yaoguang was already waiting there. He was not surprised in the slightest when he saw Su Jie arrive in a BMW.

After all, someone who could spend three million without batting an eye to buy his operation, a young man about the same age as his daughter, clearly had extraordinary wealth. Driving a BMW was only natural.

"Old Chen, did you bring all the goods I asked you to prepare?"

Su Jie parked the car securely and walked toward Chen Yaoguang.

"I brought everything, Boss Su. Take a look. This small truck is filled with the scorpions that I and several workers caught this morning. There are thirty thousand in total."

Chen Yaoguang hurriedly opened the side panels of a small truck. Several boxes were arranged neatly inside.

"Good. Unload the goods into the warehouse. From now on, come to the warehouse on time every day and deliver fifty thousand scorpions. I'll give you a key to the warehouse gate. Once you've finished loading and unloading, send me a message."

Su Jie waved his hand. The warehouse was in a remote location, making it suitable for the Thousand-Hand Centipede to feed.

Chen Yaoguang unloaded all the scorpions and put them into the warehouse without saying much throughout the entire process.

Although he was very curious about what channels Su Jie had for selling the scorpions,

Su Jie had not said anything, so he did not ask. He did not want Su Jie to think he harbored ulterior motives.

After Chen Yaoguang drove away in the small truck, Su Jie closed the warehouse doors and released the Thousand-Hand Centipede, which had long been famished and raring to go.

In an instant, the tens of thousands of scorpions seemed to have encountered their natural enemy. They went berserk, scurrying and writhing wildly inside the boxes.

After reaching the lower grade, the Thousand-Hand Centipede had grown to a length of one point two meters. Its appetite had greatly increased. At the sight of the scorpions, it excitedly shook its antennae and immediately entered slaughter mode, swallowing the scorpions one bite at a time.

Su Jie simply stood to the side and watched in silence. The thirty thousand scorpions weighed more than fifty kilograms, enough to satisfy the Thousand-Hand Centipede's appetite.

Fortunately, this was Blue Star. If he had been in the Tianyuan World, even if Su Jie worked himself to death, he would never have been able to catch so many poisonous creatures.

Although these scorpions were low quality, their sheer quantity meant they were plentiful and filling. Even the Poisonous Insects cultivated by the inner disciples and elders of Ghost Ridge Palace probably would not have been able to fill their bellies with so many.

The technology and productive power of modern society were on full display at this moment.

With a stable supply channel for Poisonous Insects, Su Jie immersed himself in cultivation over the next few days.

Time flew!

A week later.

Tianyuan World, Ghost Ridge Palace.

The autumn wind had grown increasingly bleak. The grass and trees had withered and fallen, and most of the Poisonous Insects in the woods had entered hibernation, reducing their activity.

Su Jie stepped out of the ancient mirror and looked at the room, where a fair amount of dust had settled. He exhaled a long breath of stale air and said, "My strength is more or less consolidated. With the addition of a Low-grade First Refinement Thousand-Hand Centipede, I now have, at least barely, some ability to protect myself among the outer disciples of Ghost Ridge Palace."

After spending a week on it, and thanks to the cultivation feedback brought by the Thousand-Hand Centipede's growth, Su Jie had thoroughly consolidated the unstable foundation from his recent breakthrough.

Sizzle.

The Thousand-Hand Centipede, perched on Su Jie's shoulder, raised its head and let out a delighted cry.

The Spirit Qi-rich environment of the Tianyuan World made it feel comfortable and at ease.

"All right, all right. I'll take you into the woods to play in a little while."

Su Jie stroked the Thousand-Hand Centipede's head. After being fed several tens of thousands of scorpions every day for the past week, it had grown considerably as well. Its length had already surpassed one point five meters, and it looked extremely robust and ferocious.

He made the Thousand-Hand Centipede shrink down and coil around his waist and abdomen. This could serve as a biological protective suit, while also allowing it to launch an attack at the first opportunity if a battle broke out.

After putting on the standard black robe of a Ghost Ridge Palace outer disciple, Su Jie pushed open the stone door of the cave dwelling, which had been sealed for a week.

"Oh, Brother Su, you're out of seclusion!"

As soon as he stepped out of the cave dwelling, his next-door neighbor, Peng Shiwen, heard the noise and greeted him.

"That's right. My strength is too poor, after all. I have to cultivate properly. I can't spend all my time running around catching bugs."

Su Jie smiled in reply. Seclusion was very common, except that outer disciples had to work to sustain themselves and could not devote themselves wholeheartedly to cultivation.

"There's nothing wrong with catching bugs. I've been finding it difficult to catch any lately."

Peng Shiwen gave a couple of bitter laughs and pointed at his left leg. He explained, "Yesterday, I went into Insect Valley and was bitten by a Tuotou Snake. I can't engage in strenuous activity for the next few days, so it's very inconvenient to enter the mountains looking for bugs."

"That's unfortunate. Aren't you going to get some medicine?"

"I was just about to make a trip to the Black Market to get some. Want to come along?"

"Sure. I also need to sell some Poisonous Insects."

Su Jie returned to his room to make some preparations, then soon walked out carrying a bamboo basket.

The two left Ghost Ridge Palace's grounds and walked for a while along a narrow, winding mountain path.

Along the way, they occasionally saw other Ghost Ridge Palace disciples. All of them hurried along with gloomy expressions. Although they were fellow disciples, they were even colder than strangers.

A short while later, Su Jie and Peng Shiwen arrived at a market deep in the mountains.

The market had been built on the spot out of trees. Its style was extremely crude, but there were quite a lot of people inside.

Besides disciples of Ghost Ridge Palace, there were also numerous merchants dressed in silk and brocade, bringing caravans in and out of the place.

This was the Ghost Ridge Black Market. It was true that Ghost Ridge Palace was a demonic sect everyone condemned, but whether in the Tianyuan World or on Blue Star, as long as there was enough profit, merchants were willing to take desperate risks, even at the cost of their lives.

For profit, merchants from the outside world continuously supplied Ghost Ridge Palace with all kinds of materials, then bought the resources produced by Ghost Ridge Palace at low prices.

Buying low and selling high in this way earned enough money to make anyone green with envy.

Thus, even though trading with a demonic sect was expressly forbidden, large numbers of merchants still came one after another to trade and do business.

Upon entering the Black Market, Su Jie and Peng Shiwen temporarily parted ways.

Peng Shiwen was going to find a pharmacy and get medicine, while Su Jie was in a hurry to sell the poisonous creatures he had caught in Insect Valley some time ago.

The Black Market looked far livelier than the outside world. Shopkeepers called out and promoted their goods, while Ghost Ridge Palace disciples lingered before Spiritual Pills, magical artifacts, spiritual materials, and other cultivation resources.

The tall buildings and large shops were especially impressive. Everything sold inside was extremely valuable, and the trading houses capable of opening such large stores were all renowned in the outside world, with Secret Treasure Realm cultivators stationed there.

"Ninth-grade Tianji Spirit Gathering Pill! Fifty Blood Marrow Crystals each! It can regenerate flesh and stop bleeding, rapidly heal injuries, and buying one is like gaining another life!"

"Dragon Bitter Melon Soil! Dragon Bitter Melon Soil from Yunzhou! Burrowing Gu insects love it! Fifteen Blood Marrow Crystals per pound!"

"Earth Melting Fruit! A ninth-grade spiritual fruit! Eaten by fire-attributed Gu insects, it can greatly increase the foundation for breaking through Spirit Refinement! Don't miss it as you pass by!"

One lackey after another handed out flyers and hawked goods by the roadside, making it seem at first glance as though this were a prosperous city rather than a demonic den crawling with vicious evil cultivators.

Su Jie looked enviously at the treasures overflowing with Spiritual Light. He knew that they were beyond anything he could hope for at present.