Therefore, Su Jie was not complacent; he couldn't afford to slack now as he needed to continue getting stronger.
After exhaling, the Thousand-Handed Centipede gasped a few times, lifted its head towards Su Jie, and let out a joyful call, seemingly desperate for praise.
"Excellent, just as expected from my Xiao Qian."
A smile appeared on Su Jie's face, and the Thousand-Handed Centipede's cries became even prouder. It chose to settle down in a small forest, its breath gradually synchronizing with Su Jie's, feeding back its qi and blood to him.
Su Jie sat cross-legged on the head of the Thousand-Handed Centipede, using its feedback to break through to the Fourth Level of the Secret Realm.
Due to the immense qi and blood of the Top Grade Seven Refinement poisonous insect, just three hours later when Su Jie opened his eyes again, a light cracking sound resonated within his body.
It was as if an egg was struck by steel; the god within Su Jie's liver was instantly illuminated, seeming as if a deity had opened its eyes, watching over the mortal realm.
A vigorous vitality spread, and the silhouette of a Divine Wood towering into the sky emerged behind Su Jie.
Su Jie's aura surged, his meridians and sea of consciousness expanded, enabling him to accommodate more spiritual power.
From then on, with the god in his liver awakened, Su Jie also advanced to the Fourth Level of the Secret Realm.
"The Fourth Level of the Secret Realm, this sensation..."
Su Jie's eyes sparkled, his left hand extended forward. Rolling spiritual power continuously gathered along his meridians, finally lighting up a reddish glow in his palm, from which a column of fire shot out.
Initially, the column of fire was only half a meter in diameter, but as it moved further from Su Jie, it expanded increasingly, eventually becoming a giant ten-meter-wide column of fire, destroying everything in its path.
A smile appeared on Su Jie's face as he lowered his hand. In front of him, the forest looked as though it had been neatly parted, leaving a twenty-meter-wide and five- or six-meter-deep scorched earth canyon.
This Skyfire Breath technique was also impressive in Su Jie's hands: just one strike consumed thirty percent of the spiritual power in his body.
However, with the green divine glow from the god in his liver lighting up, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power within several kilometers boiled and surged violently. Su Jie's body transformed into a vortex-like form, frantically absorbing the nearby spiritual energy, converting it to replenish the lost spiritual power in his body.
This was the function of the god in the liver, enabling Su Jie's spiritual power to recover several times faster, continuously sustaining it and greatly enhancing his ability for prolonged battles.
Hiss hiss! Hiss hiss!
The Thousand-Handed Centipede emitted thunderous roars, happily scurrying back and forth, cheering for Su Jie's breakthrough.
But given its size, each bounce was like causing a level-nine earthquake, the shockwaves and gusts of wind blowing away the ancient trees.
"Let's go, we should head back."
Su Jie hopped back onto the head of the Thousand-Handed Centipede as the 300-meter-long creature soared into the sky and headed back towards the Mountain Gate of Ghost Ridge Palace.
A few minutes later, under the supersonic flight of the Thousand-Handed Centipede, Su Jie returned to the Mountain Gate of Ghost Ridge Palace.
At the thoroughly destroyed residence, Su Jie saw some familiar faces. Disembarking from the head of the centipede, he greeted, "Master, Elder Tang."
Those present were his master, Taoist Qiu, Tang Peiqing, and Ning Xinyue, who was accompanying Tang Peiqing.
"This insect you've raised is definitely fiercer than an ordinary Top Grade Seven Refine poisonous insect."
Tang Peiqing looked at the Thousand-Handed Centipede, for it had been strengthened all over by Su Jie using spirit stones; now upgraded to Top Grade Seven Refinements, its strength was dominant at this level.
"The Fourth Level of the Secret Realm, Ghost Ridge Palace indeed has a bright future!"
Taoist Qiu's eyes gleamed with satisfaction, as Su Jie's growing strength also solidified his position within Ghost Ridge Palace.
With Su Jie's strength and potential, he was highly likely to eventually take over as the Sect Master of Ghost Ridge Palace.
"It's all thanks to the master and the sect's nurture,"
Su Jie was very humble, not arrogant at all, "This time I could upgrade to a Top Grade Seven Refinement poisonous insect because the Sect Master bestowed the annual ring star marrow on me; otherwise, I wouldn't have improved so fast."
Tang Peiqing stroked his white beard and said, "We all heard from the Sect Master; based on your performance in the last major sect battle, a piece of annual ring star marrow is nothing."
Taoist Qiu nodded, "You must be extra careful when you leave the sect this time. The Righteous sect will spare no effort to target you once they discover your whereabouts; I still want to see the day you advance to the Taoist Platform Realm."
The two encouraged Su Jie, and he humbly accepted, creating a very pleasant atmosphere.
Su Jie, a rising star, already held a significant position in Ghost Ridge Palace; even Tang Peiqing, the chief elder whose seniority exceeded even the Sect Master, was extremely favorable towards Su Jie, the Immortal Seed.
After a round of admonishments, Tang Peiqing and Taoist Qiu finally turned to leave.
As soon as the elders left, Ning Xinyue became spirited and reached out to touch Su Jie.
"What are you doing?"
"Taking your luck away, maybe I can break through faster."
Ning Xinyue spoke with conviction, envious of Su Jie's rapid advancement.
"The Demon Path itself progresses quickly, and your progress isn't bad either, though just a tiny bit behind mine."
Su Jie pinched his fingertips as if holding the universe, lightly chuckling.
"Feels like you're mocking something."
Ning Xinyue puffed her cheeks, unable to help saying, "The Demon Path progresses so quickly; it makes me want to start raising insects. I'm only at the Second Level of the Secret Realm in cultivation, and you've left me far behind."
"You're at the Second Level of the Secret Realm?"
Su Jie was startled; he remembered it was about a year since Ning Xinyue broke through to the Secret Realm, and unexpectedly, she had already advanced to the Second Level.
Normally, it wouldn't be possible to progress so rapidly in the levels of the Secret Realm; one might even be stuck for a decade, but considering Ning Xinyue possessed a Xuanyin Body, ranked within the top thirty Divine Bodies, it wasn't so strange for Su Jie anymore.