Ghost Ridge Palace

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Ghost Ridge Palace (鬼岭宫)
Type	Devilish Cultivator sect 136
Affiliation	Devilish Dao 69
Occupation/Role	Cultivation sect, military power, and later administrator of Qingzhou and surrounding territories 734 767
Leader	Su Jie, Sect Master; Zhang Junwei previously held the position 719
Headquarters	Firefly Sea; its original mountain site and Insect Valley remain in use as a training ground and fallback route 735 736
Status	Active; its forces captured Great Li City during their wider conquest 846
First Appearance	Chapter 10

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Mountain-based Devilish Dao sect	69	Forced by the flourishing righteous path to occupy dangerous, harsh, resource-scarce mountains.
Major sect with four Dao Platform Realm experts	719	Su Jie became Sect Master; Zhang Junwei, Tang Peiqing, and Old Daoist Qiu were also Dao Platform Realm cultivators.
Dominant power of Qingzhou	728	Annihilated Tide Watching Pavilion and seized its resources, replacing it as Qingzhou's foremost power.
Three-prefecture governing force	767	Its institutional reforms in Qingzhou and Chongzhou were established enough to be replicated across its three prefectures.
Expanding regional conqueror	843	Captured the Western Four Prefectures in under ten days while separate armies advanced through Jingzhou and the Eastern Regions.
Captor of Great Li City	846	Its army entered Great Li City, leading residents to believe the Great Li Dynasty had been replaced.

Background

Ghost Ridge Palace originally occupied a mountain region with an Earth Vein beneath it. The Earth Vein produced large numbers of Strange Ghosts: powerful, intelligent corpses that normally avoided the sect's encampment and emerged only at night. 10 The sect's location was chosen from necessity rather than preference, as the righteous path's strength had driven Devilish Dao sects from fertile plains into dangerous mountain territory. 69

Its sole relatively safe route to the outside world was guarded by three stone towers, each hundreds of meters tall. Elite enforcement teams and rotating Elders manned the towers, whose carved formations could be activated for defense. A camp-town and caravans developed around this checkpoint, connecting the sect to its black market. 68

Ghost Ridge Palace recruited broadly despite its cruel reputation. It accepted newcomers seeking strength, longevity, or a second chance after failing righteous-sect examinations; its assessment emphasized aptitude but had a lenient threshold. Outer disciples received neither sect resources nor monthly dues, functioning instead through a paid-employment arrangement. 136

History

A prolonged Strange Ghost riot around the sect's territory became the first sign of a hidden rare treasure. Unlike earlier outbreaks that ended within one or two months, this one continued for half a year before the emergence of a lotus capable of absorbing the Azure Glazed Earth Spirit River's spiritual energy. 142 163 The treasure drew cultivators from distant sects and triggered an assault by Righteous Sect Secret Treasure Realm experts. 163 165

Ghost Ridge Palace initially faced a numerical disadvantage, but Sect Master Zhang Junwei emerged from seclusion and joined the battle. Tang Peiqing then summoned the Gu worms of Insect Valley, creating an insect sea that devastated the battlefield. 167 During the wider conflict, more than twenty Elders maintained the mountain-protecting formation at the outer outpost; without the formation and the threat of an Insect Valley uprising, the sect could not have resisted the combined assault of five righteous sects. 184

Following the sect war, Ghost Ridge Palace suffered heavy losses and reopened recruitment. Su Jie's Puppet Hall alone grew to more than fifteen hundred disciples, while the sect expanded its production of specialized puppets. 424 Su Jie's rise culminated in his succession as Sect Master, with Zhang Junwei stepping down voluntarily. 719

Territory & Infrastructure

• Firefly Sea — The sect's main base after relocating from its original barren mountain territory. The old site remained staffed because Insect Valley continued to serve as a disciple training area and fallback route. 735 736
• Insect Valley — A Gu-worm breeding and training ground central to the sect's military strength. 167 735
• Mountain gate towers — Three formation-equipped stone towers controlling the principal route between the original mountain territory and the outside world. 68
• Firefly Sea Jade Towers — Thirty-six towers being rebuilt as the area's protective formation. 731
• Thirty-three Layered Heavenly Palaces — A massive flying palace complex constructed for Ghost Ridge Palace. Its formations can suppress Great Dao Chaos Creatures and protect the Tianyuan World from threats beyond the thirty-third layer of the sky. 814
• Puppet Hall — Su Jie's rapidly expanded hall, responsible for mechanized weapons, industrial projects, and Spider Main Battle Mechs. 424 723

Organization & Practices

Ghost Ridge Palace initially operated through a harsh survival-of-the-fittest model, competing for disciples, Gu worms, resources, and advancement opportunities. 136 Under Su Jie, it later adopted a merit-based system: servant, outer, and inner disciples could obtain cultivation methods through merit points rather than birth or rank alone. 740

The sect also opened Firefly Sea to commerce. Merchants and commoners conducted business at the ferry crossing, a sight that surprised visiting Golden Sword Sect disciples accustomed to Devil Dao sects being isolated from ordinary society. 736

After taking control of multiple prefectures, Ghost Ridge Palace imposed the Noble Family Reform on aristocratic families and powerful clans. Measures included progressive taxes on spirit fields and mines, poll taxes, compulsory labor, and business taxes. 783 Resistance, tax evasion, or falsified land records could result in forced ledger inspections, soul-searching, confiscation, and clan extermination. 784

Military Assets & Methods

Gu Mastery

Ghost Ridge Palace's Gu Masters employ insect-based cultivation and warfare on a large scale.

• Tang Peiqing summoned Gu worms from Insect Valley to form a battlefield-devastating sea of insects. 167
• Its Wild Insect Control Technique gives Gu Masters a reconnaissance advantage through insects that use scent, thermal perception, and biological radar. 361
• Some Elders use the Human-Insect Sacrifice Method, transforming into monstrous insect-human forms for direct combat. 725
• Gu worms are also used in interrogation and punishment, including torture severe enough to force captured enemies to reveal information. 400

Puppet Hall Forces

The Puppet Hall fields large-scale mechanized forces designed for cultivator warfare.

• More than one thousand Spider Main Battle Mechs participated in Ghost Ridge Palace's advance against Tide Watching Pavilion. 723
• The mechs are powered by spirit-stone formations and modified for the Tianyuan World's combat environment. 723
• They are highly effective against lower-level Spirit Nurturing Realm disciples but are not decisive in high-level cultivator battles. 726
• Their weapons include main cannons and autocannons; a 203mm main cannon could destroy Spirit Nurturing Realm Fifth Layer cultivators on direct impact. 783

Formations and Mobile Warfare

• The mountain-protecting formation once linked the original territory's defenses and required numerous Elders to maintain during wartime. 184
• The sect deploys flying magic boats to transport Elders and inner disciples, establish garrisons, and project force across Qingzhou. 734
• Its Thirty-three Layered Heavenly Palaces serve as both a flying palace complex and a defensive wonder against Great Dao Chaos Creatures. 814

Relationships

• Su Jie — Current Sect Master. Former Holy Son whose succession elevated Ghost Ridge Palace into a major Dao Platform Realm sect. 584 719
• Zhang Junwei — Former Sect Master; stepped down for Su Jie and remained one of the sect's Dao Platform Realm experts. 719
• Tang Peiqing — Grand Elder; commanded Insect Valley's Gu worms during the conflict with the righteous sects. 167 719
• Old Daoist Qiu — Su Jie's master and a senior sect figure; advanced to the Dao Platform Realm by Su Jie's succession. 719
• Annual Ring Worm — Ninth-grade Gu worm and ancestor of Ghost Ridge Palace; formed a contract with Su Jie after his succession. 719
• Heavenly Soul Sect — Allied with Ghost Ridge Palace against the righteous path, though the relationship remained strained by territorial rivalry and lingering grievances. 328 487
• Tide Watching Pavilion — Principal Qingzhou rival destroyed by Ghost Ridge Palace, whose resources and former territory were seized afterward. 728
• Golden Sword Sect — Sent its first group of exchange students to Ghost Ridge Palace after Qingzhou's sects were subordinated. 736
• Fire Cloud Hall — Received Ghost Ridge Palace's ultimatum and submitted rather than fight Su Jie's Purple Mansion Realm power. 760 761
• Esoteric Buddhism — Mobilized against Ghost Ridge Palace after Su Jie killed Holy Monk Ayiti Gala; Ghost Ridge Palace later annihilated the sect. 764 778

Notable Events

• Strange Ghost activity around the original mountain territory became abnormally frequent and began occurring during the day. 10
• A rare lotus treasure emerged within Ghost Ridge Palace territory, triggering an invasion by several righteous sects. 163 165
• The sect war ended with heavy righteous-path losses, while Su Jie's battlefield role raised his standing within Ghost Ridge Palace. 423
• Su Jie led Ghost Ridge Palace's forces in destroying the Zixia Sect, looting its resources, burning its structures, and contaminating its spirit vein with Gu poison. 580 582
• Ghost Ridge Palace defeated Tide Watching Pavilion and became Qingzhou's dominant force. 728
• It integrated Qingzhou's righteous sects into its administration, opened exchanges, and expanded commercial activity at Firefly Sea. 734 736
• It annihilated Esoteric Buddhism and gained control of the Western Regions, forcing the Great Li Dynasty to appease Su Jie with the title of King Qing. 778
• Its armies later conquered Jingzhou, the western prefectures, and parts of the Eastern Regions while crushing resisting clans and sects. 842 843