The leader swept a glance over Su Jie and the already dead Peng Shiwen on the ground, pulled out a register, flipped to the page with their portraits, and said indifferently, "Su Jie, for the brutal murder of a fellow sect member, you know the rules, don't you?"
"I understand. I will take care of the monthly fee that belonged to Peng Shiwen from Master's side."
Su Jie immediately responded. The higher-ups of Ghost Ridge Palace didn't care about Outer Disciples killing each other; after all, such disciples were seen merely as consumables by the higher-ups, as long as the monthly fees were not shorted, everything was negotiable.
This was also the reason why Outer Disciples seldom killed each other, mostly opting for robbery instead.
Even if they killed someone, it was done where no one else could see to destroy the body and remove all traces; otherwise, the cumulative monthly fees would pile up, and killing the person would mean having to pay their share of the fees, which was too costly a price to pay.
"Are you selling the body, the body of a Third Level of Yunling Realm, I'll pay thirty Blood Marrow Crystals."
Another member of the Law Enforcement Team spoke, asking for Peng Shiwen's body on the ground.
The bodies of cultivators contain Spiritual Power, which is an extremely valuable resource for Demon Cultivators.
As for trading the bodies of fellow sect members, for Demon Cultivators this was no issue at all; they valued only power, not any kind of moral righteousness.
"Sell, I sell,"
Without hesitation, Su Jie responded. He had lost the monthly fee at Peng Shiwen's hands, and this was a good chance to recoup some of it.
"You are doing well,"
The member of the Law Enforcement Team said with a smile, patted Su Jie on the shoulder, handed over thirty Blood Marrow Crystals, and then dragged the body away without looking back.
Weighing the money bag containing the Blood Marrow Crystals in his hand, Su Jie was filled with many emotions.
Alive, Peng Shiwen could not acquire twenty Blood Marrow Crystals, yet in death, his body sold for thirty. The irony was profound.
Shaking his head to dispel the slight sadness in his mind, Su Jie turned and went to the neighboring stone cave, which was Peng Shiwen's house, planning to thoroughly loot it.
If he didn't loot it, others would come to do so; better that he benefit instead.
In the very similarly arranged room with sparse furniture and cushions, likely because he had lost everything gambling last time, Su Jie didn't find a single Blood Marrow Crystal in his house, only a few worthless poisonous insects.
"Hey, what's this?"
Suddenly, Su Jie made an unexpected discovery under a cushion.
A thin piece of golden paper, full of text.
"Gu Master's Secrets—Insect Control Technique"
Upon seeing the name of the scripture on the golden paper, Su Jie's eyes lit up; it was about cultivation techniques.
Looking further down at the author, there was a line of small text.
'This scripture is available only for inner disciples to read'
Seeing this line, Su Jie was stunned; it was a cultivation scripture for inner disciples.
The scripture didn't have much text, totaling just over ten thousand words. Su Jie carefully examined it and quickly understood what the scripture was about.
Just as the scripture's title suggested, this scripture allowed one to master sophisticated Insect Control techniques, including commands for controlling, releasing, and applying poisons through insects—all techniques that Su Jie had previously overlooked and never mastered.
"Where did Peng Shiwen get this good stuff; surely he didn't steal it from some inner disciple."
Su Jie muttered to himself, considering Peng Shiwen's miraculously skillful lock-picking techniques, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
He stuffed the Insect Control Wild Taoist Scripture into his bosom, regardless of how Peng Shiwen came by it, the treasure now belonged to Su Jie.
After rummaging through Peng Shiwen's house to make sure nothing was overlooked, Su Jie left and returned to his own house, impatiently sitting down on the cushion and pulling out the still-unwarmed Insect Control Wild Taoist Scripture.
This volume of Insect Control Wild Taoist Scripture was very easy to understand, focusing on the minute control of poisonous insects which even someone with Su Jie's talents could master effortlessly.
An hour later, having gained some insights, Su Jie caught a dragonfly, dripped a drop of fresh blood and mixed it with his own spiritual power before injecting it into the dragonfly's body.
In just an instant, the previously struggling dragonfly calmed down, its small eyes dully staring at Su Jie.
"Connected by heart and blood, revealing the breach of ways!"
With a soft chant of the spell, Su Jie's perspective shifted, seeing the ceiling, the walls, and nearly the entire cave's situation.
It was Su Jie's sight shared with that of the dragonfly; everything the dragonfly saw was instantly transmitted to Su Jie.
Given that a dragonfly's eyes have a special compound eye structure, it could see clearly almost a 360-degree range of objects, providing an extremely wide field of view.
Together with the dragonfly's small size which made it hard to detect, as well as its high-speed flying and hovering ability, it was a very useful scouting insect.
Buzzing!
Upon Su Jie's command, the dragonfly quickly took flight, swirling around the room and accurately recognizing any command from Su Jie.
In the past, It had been very difficult for Su Jie to minutely control such common insects, as their brain capacity was too low to recognize many of his commands, let alone share a field of view.
Now with the secret technique of Insect Control, he could manipulate common insects anytime and anywhere. Adding the shared vision, the scouting capabilities had achieved a qualitative leap.
"Not bad at all, having a scouting insect will grant a significant advantage in reconnaissance, and traveling through the Ancient Mirror will be safer as well," Su Jie nodded in satisfaction. The interdimensional travel through the Ancient Mirror was his greatest secret, and one could never be too careful.
Su Jie then turned his head and summoned the thousand-hand centipede, placing his right hand on its head cap, channeling most of his spiritual power into it.
Hiss!
The next moment, the thousand-hand centipede stood upright, its speed and strength greatly increased, transforming into a black wind and striking a basin-sized hole into the cave wall.
The pale human hands on its underside, like boneless snakes, suddenly stretched out a great length, filling half of the cave with terrifying shadows of human hands.
This was the Secret Poison Release Technique within the Insect Control Methods, similar to what Peng Shiwen had previously used to enhance the golden toad.
This technique allowed the maximum utilization of the host's spiritual power, activating the insect's combat instinct, making it fiercer and more powerful; however, post-application, the insect would be lethargic for several days. It was an indispensable choice for desperate situations.
"No wonder the inner disciples are so strong, their starting point is so much higher than ours."
Su Jie silently lamented, thankful that he possessed the low-grade first-refined thousand-hand centipede, and could shuttle between two worlds, leveraging the resources of Blue Star to catch up.
Just consider today's battle; without the interdimensional travel provided by the Ancient Mirror, he would still be a minor practitioner at the Second Level of Yunling Realm, without any means to oppose Peng Shiwen, and Su Jie would have been the one to die today.
"I still have to rely on you!"
Touching the Ancient Mirror, Su Jie then remembered what Taoist Qiu had mentioned today.
Peng Shiwen was nothing much, but the Alien Ghosts were the real terror. Ordinary Outer Disciples when alone against one, only had the fate of being brutally killed by the Alien Ghost.
"Ten days later, I'll have to patrol the mountains and confront the Alien Ghosts; a storm is brewing! I must rapidly strengthen myself and obtain more resources from Blue Star to hasten my cultivation progress."
Letting out a long breath, Su Jie looked towards the axe placed in the corner; it seemed he would have to work as a lumberjack for a while again.