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

Su Mu entered the stone hall, looked around, and then bowed to the two men.

"I just concealed the traces outside the barrier, which caused the delay. Can you two fellow Daoists discern anything special about this place?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Yue stomped her foot hard on the stone ground, spreading her hands with a helpless expression.

"This stone hall is completely empty, with traces of demonic beasts everywhere. Even if there were any rare treasures or magical artifacts there before, they were all ruined by these beasts long ago. I searched for ages, but I couldn't find a single decent item!"

Jin Qing then turned around and said with a smile, "Don't be discouraged. The ruins outside the palace are vast, and there may be hidden treasures. Now that Fellow Daoist Xiao has arrived, let's explore them immediately."

Su Mu nodded in agreement, and the group said no more. They each summoned their magical artifacts for protection and stepped straight out of the stone hall.

After leaving the stone hall, the clone continued to lead the way, while Jin Qing and Hu Yue stood on either side of Su Mu, the three of them forming a triangular formation to protect him in the center.

The light outside the stone hall was a bit brighter. When everyone looked up, they saw that the space was only about two hundred feet high, and the top was covered with a white-glowing array, from which all the surrounding light emanated.

Su Mu quietly spread his divine sense. The entire area of ​​the ruins was not large, only about sixty miles in circumference, and was completely covered by his divine sense.

However, he clearly noticed that there was a straight break at the edge of this relic, as if it had been cleaved by an unparalleled divine power. Obviously, this ancient relic was just a fragment.

The aura of that level-five mirage demon was hidden in a half-collapsed three-story building, which was presumably its lair.

Instead of rushing to find it, the group explored the dilapidated palaces along the way. Unfortunately, the damage was severe everywhere, with traces of monster rampage all over the place, which made everyone's faces solemn.

After walking for a while, the group arrived at a square where countless fragments of weapons were scattered on the ground, all of which had lost their precious energy and spiritual energy.

Hu Yue casually picked up a broken sword, and with a slight exertion of her fingertips, the broken sword immediately shattered into dust.

"This sword was originally a magical artifact. How many years has this relic been buried to become so dilapidated?"

"And those mirage demons are truly hateful! We searched all along but found nothing of value; they've ruined everything. Once we catch that demon, I'll definitely get my revenge!"

Jin Qing also sighed softly, looking at the ruins and rubble all around, his face full of frustration.

"These ruins have been sealed away for far too long, and the Mirage Demon has been entrenched there for so long. I can only hope that a few treasures have survived by sheer luck."

Su Mu's eyes suddenly flickered, and he raised his hand and beckoned. A broken silver plaque flew through the air from the ruins, its inscription faded and only a few strokes remained.

The crowd crowded around to try and make out the characters "sea" and "sword".

"Sea Sword... Brother Jin, you are very knowledgeable. Do you know if there was ever a sect with such a name in the Chaotic Star Sea?"

Su Mu stroked the broken plaque, knowing he wasn't very familiar with the forces in the Chaotic Star Sea, and immediately asked a question.

Jin Qing frowned, pondered for a long time, and finally shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, please forgive me. I have no clue whatsoever. It must be an ancient sect that has long been lost to the river of time."

Su Mu nodded, casually put the broken plaque into his storage ring, and pointed ahead.

"In that case, let's go directly to find the Mirage Demon. I can sense that its lair is not far ahead. This demon has been entrenched here for many years, and it may have hidden a lot of treasures it has plundered."

Upon hearing this, Jin Qing and Hu Yue's eyes lit up instantly, as they grasped the key point, their eyes filled with anticipation. Without further delay, the group activated their escape lights and sped straight towards the monster's lair.

As they approached the nearby area, a small valley suddenly appeared not far away. In front of the valley stood an ancient stone tablet, on which the three large characters "Spiritual Herb Garden" were still clearly visible despite the erosion of time.

The group immediately changed direction and quickly arrived at the entrance of the valley, their expressions excited and their hearts burning with excitement.

These ruins have been sealed away for a long time. If the spiritual herbs in the garden had not been damaged, they would have grown for thousands of years, and they would all be rare and precious natural treasures.

But then they realized that this place was right next to the Mirage Demon's lair, and that the demon must have already visited it. Their hearts tightened, and they didn't dare to delay. They quickly stepped into the valley.

Although the group had a premonition that something was wrong, when they actually stepped into the herb garden and saw the terrible scene before them, their vision went black and their faces turned extremely pale.

The land in the valley was ravaged and turned upside down, as if it had been completely plowed. Not a single plant of spiritual herbs remained, not even a tiny seedling.

"How could this be! Not even a single hair was left!"

Jin Qing and Hu Yue stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with regret and heartache, so angry they almost vomited blood.

Su Mu was also frustrated, but he was still unwilling to give up. He bent down and dug the ground, plowing it twice before finding a few strands of dried spiritual roots, which he could no longer identify as what kind of spiritual herb they were.

Jin and Qing initially thought he had found a forgotten treasure, but when they saw that it was just a few pieces of withered root, their faces instantly filled with disappointment.

Su Mu carefully collected the remaining roots, secretly wondering if the divine spring water could revive them now that they were so withered.

The group searched carefully for a long time, but ultimately found nothing and gave up hope.

The group exchanged glances, their eyes blazing with anger. They immediately turned murderous and headed straight for the mirage demon's lair.

A moment later, the group arrived at a dilapidated building. The ground was riddled with holes and pits, making it a mess.

The level-five mirage demon was hiding in the cave. When it sensed the approaching group, it immediately let out a violent roar, attempting to intimidate the newcomers.

The group, already seething with anger, didn't hesitate upon seeing this, and unleashed their magical weapons in unison, launching a fierce attack.

The Mirage Demon was shocked and tried to escape using the same trick, but was instantly intercepted by Su Mu's clone. The clone grabbed the two sides of the demon shell with both hands, and with the force of his arms, he forcefully pried the hard shell open.

Hu Yue immediately activated her twin-handled throwing knives, their cold light flashing as she relentlessly attacked the demon's body. Jin Qing, on the other hand, wielded a golden seal, smashing it down from mid-air with ferocious force.

After being ganged up on and beaten, the demon quickly died. At this moment, Hu Yue suddenly remembered something and hurriedly looked at Su Mu.

"Brother Xiao, can this demonic creature also refine the Spirit Splitting Pill?"

Su Mu shook his head and pointed to the remains of the demon beast.

"This demon is only level five and has never produced a mirage pearl, so it cannot be used in medicine."

Upon hearing this, Hu Yue kicked the demon corpse hard and whipped it several times before she felt relieved.

"Alright, let's check if there's any treasure in this nest!"

After collecting all the materials from the Mirage Demon, the group ventured deep into its lair. After navigating several bends, a spacious cave suddenly appeared before them, filled with piles of spirit stones.

In addition, there were dozens of other corpses of the Mirage Demons, but they had been dead for many years and their bodies had all turned to stone, rendering them completely useless.

"There are so many spirit stones!"

Everyone gasped in surprise.

Su Mu swept his divine sense across the area and found that although the stones here were all low-grade spirit stones, after removing the waste stones that had lost their spiritual energy, there were still more than 100,000 stones, which was a considerable amount.

He then moved to the dozens of petrified demon corpses, examined them closely, and was slightly surprised to find that they were all level seven Mirage Demons.

It is likely that all the spiritual herbs in the herb garden were devoured by these demons, which led to the formation of such a large group.