Two Realms: Don't call me evil!

The midday sun was scorching and blazing!

Amidst the towering mountains of Ghost Ridge Palace, a young man in pajamas listened to the occasional roars of beasts echoing through the primeval forests and the raptors soaring across the sky, his face filled with despair.

"Holy crap, holy crap! I didn't have any luck! How did I end up time-traveling?"

Su Jie held his head in his hands; he was devastated.

As a modern-day working stiff, Su Jie has been working diligently for the past six months since graduation, sleeping later than a dog and getting up earlier than a rooster, all in the hope of one day making a name for himself.

As things stand now, it seems he's really going to make a name for himself—well, the kind that means he'll lose his head.

Right now, in this desolate wilderness, Su Jie isn't Bear Grylls; he doesn't have wilderness survival skills. Besides, this is clearly a world with supernatural powers.

When Su Jie first arrived, he saw a colorful spider the size of a tabletop hanging from the top of an ancient tree branch. He was so scared that he almost peed his pants. Fortunately, the spider was eating its prey and didn't pay any attention to Su Jie, allowing him to escape.

Therefore, in such a dangerous and desolate place, even a wilderness survival expert like Bear Grylls would most likely die, let alone Su Jie, a recent college graduate with no job, no education, and no connections.

Nostalgic for his past life, Su Jie looked down at the family heirloom mirror in his arms. The mirror was simple and unadorned, with bronze rust patterns. It was this family heirloom mirror that had inexplicably brought Su Jie into this world.

"Oh, you've really put me in a lot of trouble!"

Su Jie was seething with hatred. Although being a nuclear-powered ox or horse in the new era was tough, earning only a pittance each month, at least there was no danger to his life.

Having transmigrated to this world, Su Jie was well aware of his own limitations and felt that he definitely wouldn't live more than three days.

Whether it was sensing Su Jie's thoughts or not, the forest ahead suddenly shook, and a two-headed venomous python, more than twenty meters long, with two heads, crawled out, flicking its tongue and exuding a dangerous aura.

Su Jie trembled, his pupils contracted sharply, and he stood motionless like a statue. This was not because he was calm, but because he was so frightened that he was stunned.

However, just when Su Jie thought he was doomed, the two-headed venomous python didn't even look at him. Instead, it slithered away in a panic, as if some terrifying creature was chasing it.

Before Su Jie could make a move, a figure flew down from the sky.

"A two-headed Yin Water Python, a mid-grade second-level Gu worm, not bad."

A hoarse voice came, and the fleeing two-headed venomous python raised its neck, as if it had encountered a natural enemy, and let out a warning roar.

Whoosh! A streak of rainbow light flashed by, and the two-headed venomous python was instantly bound and enveloped by a large red net. Its skin was torn and its flesh was ripped open, and it rolled around on the ground, finally exhausted and lying half-dead on the ground.

Only then did Su Jie get a clear look at the figure.

It was an old man dressed in a purple robe, about seventy years old, with a thin body. Most notably, his eyes were the cold, vertical pupils of a snake, which sent chills down one's spine.

"Where did this stranger come from?"

The purple-robed elder was also sizing up Su Jie, seemingly surprised that this strangely dressed human was here. Although this was the outer area of ​​Ghost Ridge Palace's territory, it was still a rare occurrence for an ordinary person to enter this place.

Immediately afterwards, the purple-robed elder saw Su Jie staring at him blankly and gesturing, and realized that Su Jie did not understand him.

"I wonder which ignorant child from some remote mountain village he is again."

The purple-robed elder understood. The Great Li Dynasty had a vast territory, and not every place spoke the official language. It was perfectly normal for different dialects to exist every hundred miles.

The purple-robed elder glanced at Su Jie, observed Su Jie's physical body, and then touched his bones to confirm Su Jie's aptitude. Although it was very poor, at least he could cultivate. Anyway, their demonic path did not discriminate based on aptitude.

Without a word, the purple-robed elder flicked his sleeve, and a rune formed in the void, drilling into Su Jie's forehead.

This is a phonetic notation that allows people to understand the official language of the Great Li Dynasty.

In an instant, Su Jie felt a cool sensation in his head.

"I am Elder Qiu of Ghost Ridge Palace. Would you be willing to become my disciple?"

The old man in purple robes, also known as Old Master Qiu, spoke slowly.

He has been short of disciples recently because other elders collect 5 Blood Marrow Crystals from their disciples every month, while he doubles that to 10. Each additional disciple means one more ox or horse that automatically spits out gold coins every month, and over time, it adds up to a considerable sum.

Su Jie finally understood what Old Daoist Qiu was saying. Given his current situation, if he continued to stay in this desolate wilderness, he would only face certain death.

Although the old Taoist priest in front of him had a cold look in his eyes and didn't seem like a good person, Su Jie had no other choice.

"Master, your disciple Su Jie, please accept my bow."

Su Jie was very decisive and immediately became a disciple.

"Alright, alright, you'll follow me from now on."

Old Master Qiu was very satisfied with Su Jie's sensibility, but he didn't care about Su Jie's background at all.

In the demonic path, only those who survive are entitled to care about their background. Most people are just used as expendable resources when they enter a demonic sect, and studying those things is too troublesome.

Holding Su Jie by the collar, Old Qiu grabbed Su Jie with one hand and the two-headed venomous python on the ground with the other, and leisurely flew into the sky.

Feeling the strong wind blowing past, Su Jie's unease gradually dissipated, and a feeling of excitement arose spontaneously. He couldn't help but ask, "Master, your cultivation is so high, you must be a strong person from a righteous sect. I will definitely make a name for myself in the future and not disgrace your name."

"Righteous sects, huh! I don't care about losing face, just focus on surviving first."

Old Qiu glanced at Su Jie with a cold look in his eyes, then revealed a playful smile.

This silly boy has no idea what he's about to face!

Survive?
Upon hearing this, Su Jie suddenly had a bad feeling, as if he had stumbled into a den of thieves.

And so, Su Jie began his demonic cultivation career in Ghost Ridge Palace.

One month later!
Ghost Ridge Palace, Insect Valley!

Beneath a lush, ancient tree with abundant branches and leaves, the roots are strong, winding, and intertwined.

In the area where the tree roots are intertwined, there is a hidden burrow covered with fallen leaves, dug by insects.

Inside the cave, dozens of eggshells were laid out, their shells grayish-brown in color. Under suitable temperature and environment, they gradually began to move.

Rumble!
That night, a thunderstorm poured down, the rain connecting heaven and earth like a celestial river pouring down on the world.

Lightning ripped through the night sky, and rain pattered down to the earth. The water flowed into the burrows, creating a moist environment that promoted the hatching of the eggs.

Click!

The first eggshell cracked open, and a tiny centipede, about the thickness of a matchstick, crawled out.

The centipede was entirely pink, its exoskeleton soft and offering no defense. Its most distinctive feature was the dozens of pale, corpse-like hands growing from its abdomen; however, they were so small that they were barely visible. *Snap! Snap! Snap!*

Under the suitable ambient temperature of a rainy night, more and more small centipedes hatched from their eggs and began to crawl all over the ground.

When the rain stopped, the first rays of sunlight shone on the earth.

Driven by instinct, the little centipedes in the burrow began to crawl out, smelling the fragrance of the outside plants, feeling the embrace of the breeze, and enjoying the fresh warmth of the sunlight.

The little centipedes, experiencing freedom and the vast world for the first time, excitedly shook their bodies and, as if on a pilgrimage, struggled to crawl outwards to embrace their new life.

Only one little centipede was the slowest. Because of its delayed hatching, it was smaller than its brothers and sisters and was still not used to it. In addition to curiosity about the new world outside, it also felt more fear of the unknown.

One by one, the little centipedes crawled out of their burrows. Under the witness of the morning sun, what awaited them, besides a new world, was a sharp bird's beak.

The early bird catches the worm, but the early worm gets eaten by the bird; this is an eternal truth.

A spiky bird, about the size of a palm and with sharp, blade-like feathers, swooped down from the sky with excited cries. It devoured small centipedes one by one, like a person having a buffet, frantically pecking at the delicious food that crawled out of the burrow.

Although it was just a low-grade Gu worm, as a mature creature, it could devour a juvenile centipede very quickly, especially given its natural enemies.

In no time at all, the little centipede that had crawled out of its burrow was completely devoured by the spiky-feathered bird.

These newborn lives, before they could even fully experience the beauty of their new world, became food for the birds. This is the cruelty of nature: survival of the fittest.

Susu!

The spiky-feathered bird flapped its wings and flew away contentedly.

Inside the cave, only one small centipede remained, trembling and curled up in a ball.

Having witnessed its brothers and sisters being devoured, it now had no intention of leaving the burrow.

It's so scary outside!
The little centipede's antennae swayed on its head. It was the only lucky survivor on the spot. Because it crawled slowly and was timid, it hesitated to leave the burrow, which saved its life. Otherwise, it would have become food for the spiky-feathered bird.

The timid and shy little centipede was utterly terrified of the outside world and refused to leave the damp and dark burrow.

Next, driven by hunger, it carefully picked up fallen leaves and used them to block the entrance to the burrow.

Then the little centipede crawled around and began to gnaw on the fragments of its own eggshell that it had left behind after hatching.

After finishing his own food, he started eating the eggshells left by his brothers and sisters, barely managing to survive for a few days.

However, the meager nutrition was insufficient to meet the body's needs. The little centipede chose to use its weak jaws and thin, pale, corpse-like hands to scoop up the damp, rotten soil on the ground and put it into its mouth to absorb the meager nutrients.

By using its ability to eat dirt, the little centipede survived for another week and became increasingly adapted to this lifestyle.

Until this day, tremors came from outside the cave.

As the little centipede peered cautiously towards the entrance of the cave, it met the gaze of an eyeball—the eye of a young human.

The little centipede was terrified and frantically tried to bury itself in the soil, but it was too late.

"Huh, this kind of Gu worm looks like the Thousand-Handed Centipede mentioned in the book. I've finally found a Gu worm of good quality."

Su Jie's eyes lit up with delight. He carefully put on his special insect-catching gloves and pulled the centipede out of its burrow.

"The centipede with a thousand hands mostly inhabits damp and dark environments, is nocturnal, and its hands and feet can secrete potent venom."

Su Jie muttered to himself, thinking about the knowledge in the Gu Insect Compendium, and couldn't help but reveal a happy smile.

In the month since joining Ghost Ridge Palace, Su Jie has come to realize that he has not come to any prestigious sect, but to a bloody, cruel, and precarious demonic sect.

As an outer disciple, Su Jie's poor aptitude meant he could only work as a cheap insect catcher to earn a living. He had been running around the outskirts of the Insect Valley for days, and finally found a Gu insect suitable for his contract.

The little centipede was held in Su Jie's palm and made a threatening hissing sound, trying to scare away the big guy, Su Jie.

But this didn't scare Su Jie at all. Instead, Su Jie poked it with his finger, causing it to tip over.

"Speaking of which, judging from the color of its carapace, this Thousand-Handed Centipede should be about ten days old. Why is it still so thin and small, as if it's malnourished? It's a bit different from what's described in the book."

Su Jie stared at the Thousand-Handed Centipede, turning it over and over, before finally biting his fingertip and saying, "Never mind, having a contract is good enough. I don't have the right to be picky now."

A drop of blood dripped from his fingertip. As Su Jie circulated the "Hundred Poisons Refining Gu Scripture," the blood began to seep into the body of the Thousand-Handed Centipede in a strange manner. Su Jie intended to contract it to become his own natal Gu worm.

The little centipede was restless and resisted Su Jie's contract. It was timid and shy, and now all it wanted to do was escape from this strange human in front of it.

"It's quite difficult to handle, let's try this."

Seeing this, Su Jie reached into the basket on his waist and pulled out a human-faced moth, which was the favorite food of most Gu worms and a hard currency traded among the disciples of Ghost Ridge Palace.

Looking at the human-faced moth in front of him and smelling its delicious aroma, the little centipede shed tears of frustration, its stomach burning with hunger like a wildfire.

In the end, it couldn't resist the temptation and took a bite of the human-faced moth, savoring its deliciousness.

The little centipede was so excited after just the first bite of flesh and blood that its antennae thrashed about. This was the first time it had ever tasted flesh and blood since it was born, a far cry from the eggshells and dirt it had eaten.

Su Jie smiled as he watched the little centipede eat the human-faced moth, and then squeezed out a few drops of blood from his fingertip.

This thousand-armed centipede is too thin and weak. At least its blood contains some spiritual energy, which can help nourish the other party.

The little centipede ate and drank, its eyes squinting happily, experiencing the beauty of the world for the first time.

It ceased its resistance to Su Jie's contract and chose to accept it.

After all, in the little centipede's eyes at this moment, the strange human in front of it was a beneficial insect.

It eats insects and drinks fresh blood; what else could it be but a beneficial insect?
"Phew, the contract is complete. From now on, you will be my natal Gu worm."

Su Jie stretched out his fingers and rubbed the tender shell of the centipede with a bright smile: "I need to give you a name. I've got it. From now on, I'll call you Xiao Qian. As long as I'm here, I guarantee you'll live a life of luxury."

Let me tell you something! I, Su Jie, will become an immortal and a patriarch someday. Xiao Qian, you'll follow me from now on, and I'll train you to become the number one Gu worm in the world, even more powerful than a top-grade nine-refinement Gu worm.

Su Jie patted his chest and made a bold statement, knowing that no one could hear him in the desolate wilderness.

Zizizi!
Xiao Qian wiggled its antennae and nuzzled against Su Jie, its insect eyes filled with affection for him, as if to say, "I, Xiao Qian, am sticking with you for life."

The young man's bold words and unrestrained spirit might seem like arrogance to outsiders, but Xiao Qian remained as innocent as ever, firmly believing in Su Jie's words and convinced that Su Jie could do it all.

A gentle breeze blew by, the sun set, and amidst Su Jie's laughter and Xiao Qian's chirping, the figures of the man and the insect walked further and further into the forest, gradually disappearing into the afterglow of the setting sun. (End of Chapter)