Chapter 2: Traveling Between Two Realms

I'm back.

I'm really back.

Looking at the familiar furniture, appliances, air conditioning, water heater, and other products of modern civilization, Su Jie almost shed tears of joy.

In the past six months, he had suffered a lot at Ghost Ridge Palace.

Every day, he had to struggle for a living and watch out for the brutal competition within the sect, living on thin ice.

"Six months, do you know how I've spent these six months?"

With a complex look in his eyes, Su Jie stared at the Ancient Mirror in his hands, a mixture of bitter feelings welling up in his heart.

Fortunately, his six months of hardship had toughened his mentality; he calmed his emotions in just a few seconds.

Facing the portal door again, Su Jie stepped through and sure enough, he was back in the Tianyuan World.

After many trials, Su Jie confirmed his speculation.

The Ancient Mirror could take him freely between Blue Star and Tianyuan World, allowing him to shuttle between the two realms.

"Hiss, I admit I spoke a bit loudly just now, Magic Mirror, Magic Mirror, you really are a treasure."

A smile that Su Jie couldn't suppress hung on his lips.

Having experienced the treacherous and mystical world of cultivation, he didn't want to completely escape back to the real world.

Although the real world was safe, with no life-threatening dangers, and pleasures far exceeded that of the other world,

compared to the temptation of longevity, money and power were just fleeting clouds; Su Jie could tell which was lighter and which was heavier.

Su Jie only wanted to use the resource advantages of Blue Star to aid his cultivation in Tianyuan World.

Otherwise, relying solely on his poor cultivation talent, he would struggle to make a breakthrough even until death.

He found his phone on the bed and charged it. There were several missed calls and texts, all from the landlord asking for the rent.

Su Jie had paid half a year's rent upfront, and now it was almost due.

He then checked his bank account, the five-digit figure was clear at a glance.

"I need to make money."

Now, Su Jie immediately understood what he needed to do.

Wanting to use modern resources, having no money was absolutely not going to work.

"The total is thirty thousand, six hundred and three dollars, whether in Tianyuan World or on Blue Star, I'm truly impoverished!"

Su Jie said, laughing at himself.

Su Jie's mother had lost contact with his father when he was a child, and his father had sold the house and car to pay for medical bills when Su Jie was in college but did not survive.

By the time Su Jie graduated, that was all he had left.

If it had been just after his college graduation, Su Jie would probably have been very anxious about his dwindling family assets.

But now, possessing supernatural powers, making money wasn't a matter of committing crimes.

With his own talent for Insect Control, putting on a show or appearing on a program to make money was easy.

However, Su Jie had no thoughts of continuing to work a job.

It was too troublesome to make money that way, and it wasn't much money either.

The differences between the two worlds were vast; even a casual speculator could strike it rich!

Speaking of which, what products from Tianyuan World were valuable in modern society?

"Trading gold and silver, tsk, no, no, that might work for small amounts at first, but it becomes a problem in larger volumes."

Su Jie quickly thought it over, immediately ruling out gold, silver, and gemstones.

In either world, such hard currencies were valuable and not easy to obtain.

Even with profit margins, such dealings could attract attention, especially large transactions of precious metals which could draw governmental scrutiny.

Before his power had increased substantially, Su Jie did not plan to draw attention to himself.

"Antiques seem out of the question too; Tianyuan World's antiques aren't recognized on Blue Star!"

Su Jie frowned deeply in thought. While Tianyuan World, being a feudal society, didn't lack ancient artifacts,

the lack of shared cultural history meant these items couldn't fetch high prices.

As he paced back and forth in his rented room, he inadvertently bumped into the corner of the table.

A red mark appeared on his waist, but Su Jie didn't care; instead, he stood still, gazing at the wooden table, suddenly having an epiphany.

"Right, timber, I can sell timber! I can do a wood import business."

Su Jie slapped his thigh, coming up with a very suitable idea.

Around the mountains near Ghost Ridge Palace, ancient trees hundreds or thousands of years old were common.

Some of these trees were extremely rare and valuable species on Blue Star.

Such as Golden Nan Wood, Rosewood, Yellow pear wood, and so on.

These woods had become extremely endangered on Blue Star after thousands of years of logging.

In the Tianyuan World, these trees were just ordinary, and no one engaged in their random felling.

Su Jie only needed to set up a company with import-export qualifications or collaborate with a licensed import-export business to legally sell the timber domestically.

"Wow, this plan could really take off!"

Su Jie's eyes lit up Hua Country had imported over 100 million cubic meters of wood annually, and timber trading was extremely popular.

After searching the internet for more information, Su Jie had a clearer objective, planning to first cut down a type of tree called "Zitan."

This type of tree had already become extinct in ancient Hua Country, only remaining in the form of old stock passed down through generations; currently, only India had similar trees in production.

He could completely cut down the trees, then rapidly dry them with spiritual power, or age them directly to legitimately sell them.

Since this type of tree was already extinct in Hua Country, there was no risk of illegal logging. Nowadays, most of the Zitan in the wood trading market were either handed down from ancestors or imported from India and were sold openly.

Thinking of this, Su Jie could no longer contain his excitement. He took a step back into the Tianyuan World to search for rare trees to cut down.

..........

Following his plan, Su Jie first exchanged a small amount of precious metals for millions in funds, then started to establish shell companies both domestically and internationally, paying people to negotiate relationships and secure import-export qualifications.

Once everything was ready, Su Jie commenced his plan.

Blue Star, Linping City, Leng Baihe Furniture Company.

Su Jie stepped out of the taxi and looked up at the towering, multi-story building that housed Leng Baihe Furniture, pondering the company's details as he walked inside.

Leng Baihe Furniture was a well-known home furnishings company in Hannan Province, specializing in high-end home furnishings, with its products distributed throughout Hua Country.

"Hello, sir, may I help you with something?"

Two receptionists offered professional smiles as they inquired about Su Jie's purpose of visit.

"I represent Hengyuan Company and I'm here to discuss a partnership. I contacted you by phone earlier, seeking your purchasing manager."

Su Jie went straight to the point; he was here to make money, and as for Hengyuan Company, it was a shell company he had someone set up to facilitate the transaction.

"Sure sir, just a moment, I'll make a call to ask."

One of the receptionists made a call and soon told Su Jie, "Sir, Manager Liang invites you to his office. I'll take you there now."

Minutes later, Su Jie successfully met Liang Lianjun, the purchasing department manager of Leng Baihe Furniture Company.

"May I ask your sirname, sir?"

Liang Lianjun shifted his gaze from his computer screen, remaining seated, his attitude neither warm nor cold.

"No need for formalities, my sirname is Su. I would like to know if Leng Baihe purchases raw wood materials?"

"Mr. Su, Leng Baihe has always had stable suppliers and overseas purchasing channels. Which timber factory are you representing?"

Liang Lianjun's attitude cooled further, assuming that Su Jie was a salesperson from a timber factory trying to penetrate Leng Baihe's supply chain.

Leng Baihe Furniture wasn't short of channel partners. Hua Country was currently Blue Star's largest importer of timber, with countless timber mills vying to hitch a ride on Leng Baihe's coattails.

"Manager Liang, just take a look at this first."

Su Jie did not respond immediately but instead took out his phone and opened the photo album.

It contained photos of his laborious two-day efforts of cutting trees in the Tianyuan World, which he showed to Liang Lianjun.

"Mr. Su, we at Leng Baihe have stable channels for beech, pine, mahogany, oak, black walnut, cherry wood, and the like. Cooperation might not be…"

Liang Lianjun hadn't finished speaking when it seemed he saw something unbelievable.

After rubbing his eyes, Liang Lianjun leaned in close, staring intently at the photos on Su Jie's phone screen.

"This is… top-quality Zitan, at least eight hundred years old. Mr. Su, you're not joking with me, are you? Do you really have this? Do you truly have it?"

Liang Lianjun's voice trembled, as excited and eager as seeing a dream lover, swiftly standing up.

Such top-quality Zitan!

This type of wood was called the king among woods, dense, hard in texture, and resistant to decay, able to withstand insects and moisture.

Moreover, Zitan grew slowly, gaining only one growth ring every five years, barely maturing in a hundred years. Throughout history, Zitan furniture was predominantly reserved for royalty.

Today, Zitan had been extinct for centuries in Hua Country, with very limited old stock remaining, let alone such top-quality material.

Leng Baihe specialized in high-end home furnishings but also rarely obtained such quality raw materials.

"I'm not one for jokes, Manager Liang. I have the stock ready, and you are welcome to inspect it. However, I should mention that this batch of wood is ancestral, and your company will need to handle the formalities."

Su Jie pocketed his phone, seeing Liang Lianjun's expression, he knew his plan had largely succeeded.

"Of course, of course. Is it convenient to inspect the goods now? If the material is fine, all else is easy to handle, and we at Leng Baihe would buy it all."

Liang Lianjun didn't seem concerned, for capital dared to trample all laws with enough incentive, especially a large corporation; regardless of whether it was ancestral, they could easily launder it.

"I'm available for the transaction anytime."

"Then let's not delay, I'll arrange for the company car now."

Liang Lianjun was overjoyed, thoughtfully serving Su Jie tea and water. Any initial aloofness had disappeared, now he was the one eager for Su Jie to sell him the goods.

This top-quality Zitan material was a seller's market, available only to those quick enough.

Failing to secure a deal due to negligence would be nothing short of criminal.