An hour of cultivation had come to an end, and Su Jie slowly opened his eyes, the orbs glowing brilliantly—an almost tangible manifestation of his spiritual power.
He swung his arms gently and walked over to his BMW M8. Crouching down, he exerted himself to lift the car.
A scene that would astonish any Blue Star human unfolded: the 1.9-ton car was hoisted above Su Jie's head with his bare hands.
"The quality of spiritual power from this reverse nourishment is quite high."
Su Jie let out a long breath, extremely satisfied with the gains from his recent advancement.
Beyond the changes in his body and spiritual power, Su Jie looked down at his own body.
Then, with his right hand shaped like a blade, he fiercely chopped down on his left arm.
Amidst the sound of breaking bones, Su Jie's left arm was viciously torn off at the shoulder with his fingers shaped like eagle claws.
Without the agony he'd imagined, at the severed shoulder stump, buds of flesh began to grow wildly outwards.
Within a minute, a brand-new arm had regrown.
The detached arm that Su Jie had thrown to the ground, as if possessing a will of its own, struggled unconsciously, its flesh eerily writhing, its arm resembling a vigorous Poison Insect refusing to die.
The division and super self-healing traits of the thousand-hand centipede were manifesting in Su Jie.
The body parts separated bore the influence of Su Jie's will, allowing them to act like living things.
Of course, if left unattended, the severed arm would soon die completely, for creating life was not something he could do at his current level.
Su Jie bent down to pick up the severed arm, placed it against his left shoulder, and the arm immediately sprouted buds of flesh, beginning to merge and adhere to the newly grown arm, quickly integrating completely, leaving no trace.
"Now, even with a pierced heart, I should be able to survive, heh, mere mortal wounds."
Su Jie thought to himself that if his cultivation kept improving, one day he could even manage to resurrect from a drop of blood.
After completing his cultivation, Su Jie let the thousand-hand centipede feed abundantly in the rearing field, then cleaned up any traces and left the breeding farm, driving back to Jingjiang No.1 Villa.
...
"Su Jie, you're back."
As soon as he returned to the villa, Liu Yingying, dressed in a hip-hugging skirt uniform, brightened up and hurried over to greet him.
"How did things go while I was away?"
Su Jie sat on the sofa, legs crossed, sipping the fragrant tea the housekeeper had brought him.
Liu Yingying approached proactively, her delicate hands gently massaging Su Jie's shoulders, a hint of pride in her voice, "I just got back from Hong Kong Island yesterday. I've straightened out the few companies you had before, and I've also registered three new shell companies. They are back-channeled to the Cayman Islands. I've also cleared the checkpoints from Country Shan in Southeast Asia, successfully registering several cross-holding raw material companies, which makes our business even more legitimate."
"So capable? Seems I made the right choice making you my secretary."
"Well, I did study finance, after all. These moves are no big deal."
"No difficulties encountered?"
"None. Money paves the way through anything; it works wonders. Especially in Chan Country, from customs to the forestry department and others, all the way up, they are blatantly taking bribes. Any document or procedure can be sorted out for you, as long as the price is right."
Liu Yingying went back to her room and brought out a stack of documents, placing them in front of Su Jie.
Su Jie picked them up and saw things like Fuju Trading Co., Ltd, Jinde Di Wood Import Company, Jie Xin Furniture, followed by some paperwork.
There were a series of related timber import and export documents including Chan Country's logging permits, fumigation certificates, plant inspection certificates, endangered species certificates, and the bill of lading.
With these 'legal' certificates from Chan Country, the origin wood could pass through customs using legitimate procedures, allowing the shell companies to operate smoothly, importing from Chan Country to Hua Country, and finally landing in the hands of Tianyuan Home Furnishing Company.
The reason Su Jie had taken such measures was that the mountains near Ghost Ridge Palace in the Tianyuan World had suffered from his actions; the Small-leaf Rosewood had been over-harvested and was increasingly hard to find.
In desperation, Su Jie planned to harvest other precious woods, like Golden Nan Wood, yellow pear wood, and Golden Camphor.
However, his previous low-profile activity under the guise of a family legacy no longer suited these operations.
Those woods had to go through legal channels for domestic trading, especially now that he had established Tianyuan Home Furnishing Company.
It was implausible for a company to only sell furniture made from one type of wood, so enriching the product line was necessary. Thus, this deceiving mechanism came into being, laundering the cherished wood of the Tianyuan Family onto the market.
For this, Su Jie planned to take a trip to Chan Country when time permitted, not just to prepare wood raw materials, but also to verify an even crazier idea in Chan Country.
As Su Jie was looking through these documents, Liang Lianjun, who had received news, hurried into the villa.
"Mr. Su, I'm sorry for my late arrival."
"Have a seat."
Su Jie gestured for Liang Lianjun to sit down before asking, "Did you manage to buy the factory?"
"We've secured the purchase, but..."
Liang Lianjun hesitated, looking somewhat embarrassed, "It's just that, with the incident involving Leng Baihe, Chairman Cui's children are fiercely contesting the inheritance, scrambling to liquidate Leng Baihe's assets. I've managed to buy a wood processing factory and some talent from the design department formerly under Leng Baihe, setting up the framework for Tianyuan Home Furnishing Company."
Su Jie laughed heartily and said, "What's wrong with that? Poaching the corner of our old employer is only smart if the opportunity presents itself; I certainly won't mind such a thing. As long as you can get the factory up and running as quickly as possible, that's all that matters."
I have to say, this Liang Lianjun is quite talented.
"So Tianyuan Home can operate normally now, can't it?"
"Yes, Mr. Su, now that the processing plant has all the necessary equipment and workers, we just need the raw wood to start making furniture."
"Getting the wood isn't an issue. Look here, I've even prepared various lists and data for you. Just place an order with Jinde Di Company on behalf of Tianyuan Home, and the wood can be shipped from Chan Country."
Su Jie said with a smile as he handed over a stack of documents. Liang Lianjun saw all the import and export documents for various types of wood on it and a smile immediately appeared on his face.
After taking a sip of tea, Su Jie continued, "I've got the wood ready for you, but as for the actual sales, I won't get involved. That will depend on your ability."
"Don't worry, Mr. Su. There's no shortage of buyers for these high-end and rare furniture pieces. The only thing we lack is sufficient supply. Our market competitiveness is too strong; selling them is not a problem at all."
Liang Lianjun patted his chest confidently, believing that even as a new brand, Tianyuan Furniture could rise to prominence with its variety of high-end wood materials.
"That's best."
After chatting for a while longer, Liang Lianjun noticed Liu Yingying's glances drifting towards him every now and then. Understanding the implication, he timely suggested taking his leave.
"Su Jie, you're not going out tonight, are you?"
Once Liang Lianjun left, Liu Yingying sat next to Su Jie, swinging her arm and exhaling a fragrant breath, her eyes enchantingly alluring.
"I still have things to deal with on my end, but..."
Liu Yingying had just shown a look of disappointment when Su Jie's tone changed, and he continued, "We still have a bit of time. Seeing as you've been running around so tirelessly both at home and abroad recently, as your boss, I should reward you properly and loosen those stiff muscles for you."
With his words barely finished and amidst Liu Yingying's shrieks, Su Jie scooped her up in his arms and carried her towards the bedroom.
...
After a bout of passion!
A spent Liu Yingying lay in bed, watching Su Jie, who had redressed tidily, her tone full of reluctance.
"Can't you stay a few more days? I don't want you to leave."
Her voice was soft and coquettish like a kitten's purr. If initially Liu Yingying was with Su Jie for money,
then after these days of being together, especially with the work Su Jie had arranged for her that allowed her financial expertise to shine, she was incredibly happy with the sense of fulfilment. She became more and more dependent on and infatuated with Su Jie.
"You little glutton, I'll be heading to Chan Country in a few days, and I'll have you accompany me. Then you won't have to worry about not having enough time together."
He flicked Liu Yingying's forehead and walked out of the bedroom amidst her cries of 'ouch,' then went to a secluded place to open the Ancient Mirror and return to the Tianyuan World.
...
Tianyuan World, Niu Jiao Ridge.
Su Jie had just returned when he heard some good news.
In the wooden cabin, Gu Weonian, holding a letter, said excitedly, "Brother Su, we've received a letter from the Command Hall. It permits us to return to the Sect to rest. Other disciples will come to guard Niu Jiao Ridge, and we can head back."
"It took four or five days just to wait for a reply, could it be any slower?"
Although Su Jie commented wryly, the news still brought joy. Any chance to escape the threat of Alien Ghosts was welcome.
"The Command Hall has always been like this; it's not the first day we've dealt with their slow responses," Gu Weonian remarked.
Chen Yun, caressing the now mostly healed ugly wounds on her face, shared the sentiment common among the Outer Disciples: the lack of fondness for the Command Hall.
"At least the letter came. If they didn't let me return, I'm afraid my leg would have gone lame," said Gu Weonian, who was the most eager to leave. His right leg had been corroded by a Fire Poison Cockroach explosion last time and was still not healed, revealing the ghastly white bones with most of the muscles in his lower leg corroded away.
"Your injury can be mostly healed with a Low Grade Regeneration Pill from the Black Market, don't worry," Su Jie reassured him, then went inside the cabin to drag out two Alien Ghost corpses, stacking them on a flatbed cart and covering them with thick tarpaulin.
This was the most precious spoils of war, and Su Jie had to escort them personally.
Gu Weonian and Chen Yun shouldered their bags. One was limping with a severely injured leg, and the other was slow-moving from serious injuries. Along with Su Jie, who was pushing the cart, the trio set off under the sun, leaving Niu Jiao Ridge and heading back to Ghost Ridge Palace Mountain Gate.
They had hoped the journey back would go smoothly, all of them eager to get back to the Mountain Gate quickly.
Things often don't go as wished, however. As Su Jie and the others made their way along a mountain path, they suddenly heard some screams and cries for help.
The screams echoed off the imposing mountains. Su Jie, Gu Weonian, and Chen Yun exchanged a glance, opting not to act rashly.
"You both stay here; I'll go check out the situation."
Su Jie told Gu Weonian and Chen Yun to stay put due to their limited ability to move and proceeded into the dense forest, sending the Reconnaissance Dragonfly ahead to scout.
Soon, with the dragonfly's field of vision, Su Jie discovered the source of the screams.
A small merchant convoy of about a dozen people lay scattered on the ground, their carts with heavy loads overturned, with human limbs and body parts strewn all around.
A three-meter-long Alien Ghost was chewing on a human thigh, its blood-red, ferocious eyes fixated on a few survivors desperately trying to flee.