Mortal: Starting with the Falling Cloud Sect, I proved my Dao through gacha pulls.

After returning to his cave, Su Mu took out the "Beast Taming and Spirit Communication Technique," and with a deep thought, he probed into the jade slip to read it carefully.

His deliberate pursuit of this secret technique was a precautionary measure. In the cultivation world, there are many spirit beasts and strange insects with boundless potential, and he has always been quite interested in them, knowing that he will need them sooner or later as he ventures into the world and gains experience.

Only after he finished studying the entire "Beast Taming and Spirit Communication Technique" did he truly understand the mystery and danger of this technique.

The spirit pets contracted through this method grow at a much faster rate than those of ordinary methods, and there is no upper limit to the number of contracts that can be made; it all depends on the strength of the cultivator's spiritual sense and the level of their magical power.

However, the drawbacks are equally fatal. Cultivators need to constantly nurture their spirit pets with their own magical power, which will inevitably dilute their cultivation level and slow down their cultivation progress.

Once the divine sense is unable to suppress the number and power of the spirit pets, it will suffer a backlash and damage to the divine soul.

It is truly a strange and dangerous martial art with clearly defined advantages and disadvantages.

However, Su Mu was quite satisfied after reading it.

His spiritual sense far surpassed that of other cultivators of the same level, and his magical power was even more refined and pure. The various drawbacks recorded in this technique were almost negligible to him.

The only pity is that he doesn't have any rare beast eggs or insect eggs on hand right now, and ordinary spirit pets are mediocre and don't even catch his eye.

"It seems I'll have to be more careful in the future."

Su Mu murmured to himself, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

"In such a prosperous place as Tianxing City, with its abundance of rare and exotic items, you're sure to find something to your liking."

With a thought, Su Mu casually took out a communication talisman and instructed Ma Kui to keep an eye out for rare spirit pets and exotic beast eggs in the market in the future.

After giving his instructions, he took out a Crimson Essence Pill and swallowed it. He then sat cross-legged and continued to focus on purifying his own magical power in order to accelerate the refining process of the Nine Heavens Crimson Jade.

Time flies, and years pass by.

Five years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the insect chamber deep within the cave, hundreds of moths with hideous, ghostly patterns were frantically sucking up dozens of Spirit Feeding Pills in the air.

Su Mu raised his hand and summoned a ghost-patterned moth, which gently landed in his palm. He teased it lightly with his fingertips, and the insect was surprisingly docile, a stark contrast to its terrifying appearance.

Su Mu originally thought that, given the prosperity of Tianxing City, rare insect eggs should not be difficult to find.

Over the past five years, however, I have seen quite a few mediocre monster eggs. They either have long growth cycles or low potential, making them utterly useless.

The only truly remarkable insects that caught his eye were these Ghost-Patterned Moths; he just didn't know where they ranked on the list of remarkable insects.

However, the Strange Insect Ranking in Han Li's hands was originally compiled by a Core Formation cultivator from the Yu Ling Sect based on ancient fragments and his own observations.

That person's perspective was ultimately limited, and the list only had a modicum of reference value.

However, the Ghost-Patterned Moth's strength lies in concealing its aura, scouting enemy positions, and disturbing people's minds to create illusions. It is a purely auxiliary type of spirit insect and cannot be considered a powerful combatant.

It was still not quite the spirit pet that Su Mu truly desired, but the Ghost Pattern Moth was no ordinary creature after all, so it wasn't exactly a disappointment.

With a gentle flick of his wrist, Su Mu sent the ghost-patterned moth in his palm fluttering back into the swarm. He gazed at the hideous double-faced demons on the moths' wings, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

It has only been a little over two years since he obtained this batch of ghost moth eggs.

In such a short time, the swarm not only multiplied to several hundred, but the patterns on their wings also evolved into a two-sided form.

Even with the "Beast Taming and Spirit Communication Technique" accelerating its growth, such speed is still considered heaven-defying. If other insect-taming cultivators were to see it, they would surely be amazed and exclaim in disbelief.

The Myriad Beast Spirit Fire played a crucial role in achieving such results.

Su Mu slowly raised a finger, and a crimson flame flickered quietly at the tip of his finger. Deep within the flame, the phantom images of countless beasts surged and flowed, their ferocity concealed.

As soon as the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire appeared, the swarm of insects trembled slightly, then emitted a series of uniform buzzing sounds, all flying to Su Mu's side and circling around him endlessly, showing both awe and closeness.

Su Mu chuckled softly and blew gently.

The tiny flame instantly swelled, transforming into a gigantic fire lotus that enveloped the entire swarm of Ghost-Patterned Moths.

Strangely, these moths were not injured at all. Instead, they stretched their wings to the fullest in the flames, and their blood energy rose steadily. Clearly, they had gained tremendous benefits from being tempered by the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire.

About half an hour later, the moths all jolted, and the rising tide gradually subsided.

Seeing this, Su Mu knew that today's tempering had reached its limit, so he immediately withdrew the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire.

After bathing in the essence of the flames, the ghost moths drooped their wings and fell into a deep sleep.

Su Mu stopped looking and turned to enter the alchemy room.

He began to refine a new batch of Spirit-Feeding Pills, and also refined the pills that Jin Qing had asked him to refine.

Seven days later, in Su Mu's cave.

"My goodness, only Master Xiao could refine such exquisite pills!"

Jin Qing accepted the pills with both hands, his face beaming with joy.

"From now on, I, your brother, will finally no longer have to put up with the attitudes of those so-called alchemy masters in Tianxing City. They're all utterly incompetent, yet they have such high and mighty airs!"

His complaints clearly indicated that he had suffered a lot of mistreatment in the past.

Hu Yue, standing to the side, gazed at the bottle of pills with envy in his eyes. He rubbed his hands together and gave Su Mu a simple, honest smile.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, I, Old Hu, have almost gathered all the materials. Once we return from this expedition, we should have enough. I'll need to trouble you with your help then."

Su Mu nodded, smiled slightly, and looked on with a hint of curiosity.

"It was nothing, Brother Jin, Brother Hu, no need to be so polite. Judging from your words, Brother Hu, you've come together again to explore some secret realm?"

"No, that's not it!"

Upon hearing this, Jin Qing quickly and carefully put away the pills, his expression suddenly becoming mysterious as he lowered his voice and said:

"This time, we are not going to find a secret realm, but to hunt a rather rare monster."

Hunting monsters?

Su Mu's curiosity intensified. There were few monsters in the waters near Tianxing City. For the two of them to call it "rare" must mean it was no ordinary creature. Could it be that they were going to travel to the outer sea?

As if seeing through his thoughts, Jin Qing shook his head and lowered his voice even further.

"I know what Fellow Daoist Xiao is thinking. We are not going to the outer sea. That demonic beast is hiding in the sea area near Tianxing City. It is very well hidden. If Old Hu and I hadn't run into it by chance last time we went out, no one would have known about it."

"Oh?"

Su Mu was genuinely surprised this time. Cultivators were coming and going near Tianxing City. What kind of demon beast could hide so well?

Hu Yue, who was standing nearby, took over the conversation and offered a straightforward explanation.

"That was a level six demonic beast called the Mirage Demon, its entire body a treasure trove. If Old Jin and I hadn't happened to pass by that area of ​​the sea last time and witnessed it hunting sea monsters, probably no one would have discovered it!"