Chapter 617: Chapter 381: The Metamorphosis of the Giant Insect

Puppet Hall.

After leaving the Sect Master’s residence, Su Jie came here for inspection.

Entering the Puppet Hall, he found it busier than before.

Ghost Ridge Palace had recently taken in a large number of new disciples, and, consequently, Puppet Hall had attracted many inexpensive laborers.

With Puppet Hall’s performance in the Sect’s great battle, joining to work and manufacturing puppets had become a path for many Outer Disciples.

Now, the entire Puppet Hall had a workforce of up to two thousand people, second only to the Alchemy Pavilion, Refining Hall, and Spirit Field Department in size within Ghost Ridge Palace.

Entering the production area, Su Jie witnessed a scene of bustling activity – rough prototypes of Spider Main Battle Mechas were being forged into shape, Biological Armors were being assembled piece by piece, and high-end Tianyuan Protective Clothing was being woven by nimble silkworm Gu insects…

On the south side of the hall, senior Puppet Hall disciples were researching the Flying Magical Boat, while a large number of disciples were sorting into distinct research and development departments, each with its own project.

It could be said that, even though Puppet Hall had only two thousand people, the production power it wielded was quite formidable, with the annual output of Spider Main Battle Mechas alone reaching an astonishing total of over a thousand.

Of course, although the Spider Main Battle Mechas were relatively cheap, they did use a fair number of Spirit Stones, and once built, they also required Spiritual Liquid to nourish the internal meat tumors, which is why Su Jie limited the production capacity here; otherwise, the burden would be a bit too great if too many were produced and raised.

“Greetings to the Hall Master.”

“So the Hall Master really is that young!”

“Of course he’s young, he was already at the Secret Realm at your age.”

Su Jie’s arrival turned many heads within the Puppet Hall. Many of the young disciples who had recently joined had never seen Su Jie before and looked at him with excitement, awe, and admiration.

“Hall Master.”

Chen Yun and Zhu Zhangqi also hurried over; one was responsible for managing the financial authority of Puppet Hall, while the other oversaw production and research and development.

Backed by their relationship with Su Jie, they both held substantial status and influence among the inner disciples, not to be trifled with by anyone.

“How is the production progress of Lanhai No.1?”

Su Jie didn’t waste any words and directly asked about what he cared about.

Lanhai No.1 was designed to be a steel behemoth with a displacement of 150,000 tons, prepared by Su Jie for naval battles.

“At present, Lanhai No.1 has completed the construction of the main hull. Now working on producing the weapons and power, it’s expected to be finished in half a year,” Zhu Zhangqi said with excitement in his voice.

Su Jie nodded. Lanhai No.1 was the main battleship Su Jie planned to build for naval warfare, with a hefty displacement of 150,000 tons.

A 150,000-ton battleship would take several years for Blue Star to construct, but here, only half a year had passed, and the construction of the main body was already complete. Within a year, it could be finished, all thanks to the powerful production capacity mastered by the cultivators. Tasks that would require large production machinery were here accomplished by just a few disciples.

“In addition, Hall Master, our secondary objective has started to enter production, and the fifth Mecha is nearing completion. We will soon be able to have the first trial unit on the ground,” Zhu Zhangqi added, sounding rather proud. The so-called secondary objective was a project to complement Lanhai No.1, another type of naval weapon, similar to the division between aircraft carriers and destroyers. With such an expansive ocean, it was impossible to rely solely on a solitary Lanhai No.1 to guard such a vast maritime area.

And the fifth Mecha was a heavy terrestrial weapon, with several similar projects within Puppet Hall.

“Not bad. Chen Yun, here are a hundred thousand Spirit Stones. Keep an eye on Puppet Hall’s expenses and don’t let these guys squander them,” Su Jie said, satisfactorily nodding before taking out a pile of Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag and handing them to Chen Yun.

Zhu Zhangqi looked on enviously while Chen Yun took the Spirit Stones and promised, “Don’t worry, Hall Master; I’ll keep a close eye on the funds and won’t let them waste a single cent.”

As she spoke, Chen Yun also handed over a detailed account of Puppet Hall’s expenses for the period, listing all expenditures and income.

Su Jie was pleased with Chen Yun’s work ethic. He encouraged her and then inspected Puppet Hall once more with both of them leading, assigning some new tasks.

After all was done, Su Jie returned to his private estate.

Now the estate had been renovated and expanded, especially the cultivation dojo, which had cordoned off a piece of the mountain forest. Underneath, intricate array patterns were inscribed, connected to the Spirit Vein beneath Ghost Ridge Palace, making the concentration of Spiritual Energy in the surrounding area seven to eight times denser. This treatment was reserved for senior elders of the Sect; even ordinary elders didn’t have such high-profile cultivation dojo.

Su Jie sat cross-legged on the ground and took out that piece of annual ring star marrow.

Sss sss!

The Thousand-Handed Centipede scurried out of his sleeve, stared at the star marrow without blinking, saliva glistening at its mouth, it was so eager that it began circling in Su Jie’s arms, making coquettish cries.

“Eat.”

Su Jie presented the annual ring star marrow to the Thousand-Handed Centipede.

With a howl, the Thousand-Handed Centipede opened its mouth without hesitation and swallowed it in one gulp.

It was as if a sun had erupted inside the thousand-hand centipede, with blazing purple light shining through its insect shell, radiating endless heat that spread far and wide. The centipede’s body became translucent, revealing the intricate detail of its skeleton, muscles, and blood vessels.

Boom!

The thousand-hand centipede let out a thunderous roar, reverting to its original form–a colossal creature 150 meters in length, like a mountain floating in the air. Bathed in the noonday sun, it radiated thousands of streams of purple light, hanging in the sky dome like a purple sun.

After a brief moment of flight, the thousand-hand centipede descended again. Its body’s purple glow began to retract as surging waves of purple flames erupted from its surface, spreading over a hundred meters away.

The temperature of the flames was so high that even the ground below melted and burned through, transforming into a seething magma lake that continued to deepen, gradually forming a massive molten lava lake.

The intense heat nearly destroyed half of Su Jie’s mansion. Countless servants and attendants ran away in panic.

Su Jie could clearly feel the intensity of the thousand-hand centipede’s aura skyrocketing, and he smiled at the corners of his mouth.

The thousand-hand centipede bobbed in the molten lava lake, resembling the legendary dragon stirring up the waves, exuding a ferocious and terrifying presence. It occasionally roared alarmingly or leaped from the magma, sending up rock waves tens of meters high while countless droplets of fiery rain fell, shaking the ground violently and causing buildings within the estate to collapse.

Su Jie somewhat regretted it now. He hadn’t expected the centipede’s advancement to be so swift and cause such a huge commotion. It seemed he would have to ask the Sect to help repair the residence before it could be inhabited again.

“Eh, another thunder tribulation,” Su Jie suddenly remarked, turning his gaze to the sky. Now at the God Unification Level with his Primordial Spirit, he had begun to delve into the utilization of Heavenly Might. Therefore, as soon as the changes in the environment began, Su Jie immediately sensed them.

Layers of black tribulation clouds materialized from nowhere, covering half of the sky dome. The thunder that boomed within them sounded as if the gods were cracking whips, shattering people’s courage and resolve.

Lightning bolts as thick as barrels tumbled within the clouds, bombarding the magma lake. Each strike was like the explosion of an intercontinental missile, and each heavenly tribulation lightning bolt that hit caused the thousand-hand centipede’s skin to split open. In response, the centipede’s roars grew even more fierce and earth-shaking.

As a mountain spirit among the creatures, the centipede’s advancement from Mid Grade Six Refinements to Top Grade Seven Refinements also provoked the heavens’ intolerance. The tribulation lightning sought to obliterate the monstrous Poison Centipede.

The grand commotion disturbed the entire Ghost Ridge Palace. Numerous disciples looked up in astonishment, unable to believe the sight of lightning pouring down like rain above Su Jie’s residence, transforming the sky hundreds of meters above it into a domain of lightning.

The Gu insects they possessed all curled up and lay dormant, overwhelmed by fear due to the aura of the centipede’s breakthrough.

“Elder Su’s Poisonous Insect is breaking through, my heavens, is it advancing to a Top Grade Seven Refinement Gu Insect?” one disciple exclaimed.

“That momentum is terrifying. Many of my mosquito knife ghost insects have been frightened to death,” another confessed.

“Just one of those lightning bolts would incinerate me, but that giant insect can withstand hundreds,” said a third one in awe.

Countless disciples’ eyes widened as they set down their tasks to watch the rare spectacle.

This was a Seven Refinement Poisonous Insect, after all!

It was well-known that many Secret Realm Elders had top grade insects, but most were at the Four Refinements or Five Refinements level. The way Su Jie had maximized the potential at each grade of his centipede, resulting in three abnormal developments before each advancement, was extremely rare, almost unheard of.

The disciples all hoped to learn from Su Jie’s insect-rearing experience, dreaming of cultivating such a formidable ultimate Gu insect themselves.

Unfortunately, they simply could not discern the secret to his success.

Let alone them, even the elders, who had walked out from the estate were looking up at the roaring mountainous Gu insect, feeling their scalps tingle, while the Lifebound Poisonous Insects in their arms wailed anxiously.

“The Hall Master’s Gu insect, so powerful,” Zhu Zhangqi remarked, setting aside a mecha component and leaping to the rooftop, mouth agape in shock.

“A Seven Refinements Gu Insect, how did he raise it?” Chen Yun expressed with intense envy. She could hardly imagine that the Poison Centipede that once accompanied Su Jie on missions could have grown to what it was now–utterly terrifying.

Taoist Qiu emerged from his secluded meditation chamber and, upon seeing the giant insect roaring at the sky under the tribulation, a smug smile appeared on his face. “The student has surpassed the master, truly worthy of being my disciple,” he thought, even he, a senior elder, did not possess a Seven Refinements Gu Insect, which underscored the enormity of the centipede’s evolution.

“With such a formidable Immortal Seed in our Sect, the revival of our Sect is hopeful,” Tang Peiqing stood in front of a window, stroking his beard contentedly.

“He’s become stronger again,” Ning Xinyue stood next to Tang Peiqing, her voice filled with astonishment as she watched the familiar giant insect. She clenched her fists tightly, vowing to herself.

I must work harder at my cultivation. I can’t fall too far behind him. If I end up being unable to defeat even his centipede, that would be truly embarrassing.

Currently facing the relentless bombardment of heavenly tribulation, the thousand-hand centipede’s aura grew increasingly formidable. Its body underwent earth-shattering changes as its genes evolved and its bloodline purified.

The fresh and bleeding insect shell, battered by the heavenly tribulation, was rapidly regenerating with even bulkier and sturdier muscles growing beneath. A thicker and stronger insect armor developed, and the creature’s length repeatedly expanded beyond two-hundred meters, continuing its transformation.

Finally, the thousand-hand centipede burst forth from the molten lava lake, roaring as it soared into the tribulation clouds, directly absorbing the energy from the heavenly tribulation with its body to accelerate its growth.