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

Han Li chuckled and immediately withdrew his intention to attack.

He had intended to take this opportunity to test the power of the Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder within the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword, but with Su Mu right beside him, he naturally chose to conceal his strength and would never easily reveal his trump card.

Su Mu saw through Han Li's thoughts at a glance, chuckled, took out the Uro Umbrella from his storage bag, and casually tossed it into the air.

The umbrella grew larger in the air, emitting streaks of dark light, firmly imprisoning the flower basket monster who was trying to escape, preventing it from moving.

Su Mu lightly stepped in the air, and his figure appeared in front of the strange man in an instant. Ignoring the man's face full of horror and despair, he pointed a finger directly at the man's brow.

"Spare me..."

The Flower Basket Monster only had time to utter half a word before, under Su Mu's finger, his body burst into brilliant flames and slowly dissipated into the world, leaving only a beautiful ember.

Seeing Su Mu easily kill the flower basket monster with a single flick of his finger, Han Li was suddenly startled. Gazing at the slowly dissipating embers in the air, a sense of unease crept into his heart.

"This Fellow Daoist Xiao seems to be hiding quite a few secrets."

Su Mu ignored Han Li's thoughts and gently waved his hand, causing all the items left behind by the flower basket monster to fly to his front.

Apart from a pair of dull skulls, there was only the flower basket treasure and a storage bag.

He broke the seal on the storage bag and poured out all its contents. Apart from a few spirit stones and several bottles of pills, a scroll with flowing red light lay quietly inside, its spiritual energy so rich it almost overflowed.

"Fellow Daoist Han, we will return the magical treasures of all the other Daoists later. Now that we have joined forces to eliminate this fiend, let's divide the spoils of war between us."

Han Li nodded upon hearing this, his gaze lingering several times on the flower basket and ancient treasures, quite tempted. However, knowing that it was Su Mu who ultimately slew the monster, he immediately gestured for Su Mu to choose first.

Su Mu saw through Han Li's thoughts at a glance, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

Although this flower basket treasure was quite powerful, in his eyes, the real treasure this time was not this thing.

"Fellow Daoist Han, have you taken a fancy to this ancient treasure? I can give it to you, but everything else belongs to me."

Han Li naturally wouldn't refuse such a good thing. After thinking it over for a while and not noticing anything amiss, he readily agreed.

After handing the flower basket and ancient treasures to Han Li, Su Mu casually put away the remaining spirit stones and pills, then picked up the two skull-shaped magic weapons and gently weighed them in his hand.

Even after the Flower Basket Monster died, the treasure still possessed a strong evil aura, though its spiritual power was greatly diminished. He secretly thought that this item could be refined into the White Bone Demon Banner in the future.

Then, he took the red scroll and slowly unfurled it. Sure enough, a wisp of the spirit of the Fat Sun Bird was sealed inside, which was the very thing he had been most eager to acquire on this trip.

These Zhiyang birds resemble ordinary swallows in appearance, except that they are born from the essence of heaven and earth and love to eat all kinds of evil spirits and vengeful souls. They are very famous nemesis of evil creatures, but unfortunately, they have long been extinct in the cultivation world.

Although only a wisp of spirit remains in this scroll, and it is not the actual body of the Fat Sun Bird, Su Mu has many treasures at his disposal, so he may be able to truly revive this ancient spirit bird.

Outside the battlefield, Jin Qing and the others watched as the two massive, sky-covering clouds of insects slowly dissipated, their expressions complex and indescribable, with a deep sense of awe hidden in their eyes.

"Old Jin, is this what you two fellow Daoists meant by not being good at killing? I won't even mention Fellow Daoist Xiao, but how come this Fellow Daoist Han is so terrifying? Just looking at these insects gives me the creeps!"

Hu Yue rubbed the goosebumps on her arms, looked at Jin Qing, and spoke in a strange tone.

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"This... Fellow Daoist Xiao and Fellow Daoist Han are far too modest."

Jin Qing gave a bitter smile, momentarily at a loss for words.

Just then, the swarm of insects slowly dissipated, revealing Su Mu and Han Li, who flew gently towards the group. Upon seeing this, the group quickly went to meet them.

"Brother Jin, that demon has been killed by the two of us. These are the magical treasures that you have lost. Please keep them safe."

With a flick of his sleeve, Su Mu sent several magical treasures landing steadily in front of Jin Qing and the others.

Everyone quickly expressed their gratitude. As for the flower basket monster's spoils, they all knew what they were, but they all wisely refrained from mentioning them.

"Thanks to Fellow Daoists Xiao and Han for their help this time, otherwise it would have been quite troublesome. You two claimed earlier that you were not good at killing, but you were really good at hiding your true abilities. You fooled me so much! I, Jin, will definitely pay you a visit later and ask for a few more cups of spiritual wine!"

Jin Qing put away his natal seal, bowed to the two of them, and spoke in a tone that was deliberately complaining, but which instantly dispelled the strange atmosphere from before.

Su Mu and Han Li exchanged a glance and both chuckled softly.

Su Mu immediately responded loudly, "Brother Jin, you're too kind. A little bit of spirit wine is nothing; there's plenty for everyone!"

After carefully inspecting the area and confirming that there were no further hidden dangers, the group returned to the place where the formation was sealed.

The final layer of restrictions had already been broken, and at the center of the seal, a strangely shaped stone pillar suddenly emerged, coming into everyone's view.

The stone pillar is ancient and simple, with eight strange and huge runes spiraling from top to bottom. The patterns are twisted and obscure, and the pillar is also covered with countless fine and strange stripes.

Inlaid within are dozens of rare yin-yang jade pieces, with black and white energies flowing and emitting a faint glow.

"This is the Spirit Sealing Pillar."

While everyone was still looking at each other, trying their best to recall the records in the ancient books, Su Mu's eyes flashed slightly, and he directly said the true name of the stone pillar.

"The Spirit Sealing Pillar? It really is it! Fellow Daoist Xiao is indeed very knowledgeable."

Shi Die stared intently for a moment, and the more she looked, the more it matched the description in the ancient book. She couldn't help but gasp and look surprised.

Su Mu smiled faintly and did not offer any further explanation; he simply already knew the answer.

Upon hearing this, the others also became excited, their gazes fixed intently on the stone pillar.

"Rumor has it that this pillar was crafted from many rare materials, and this single pillar is worth thousands of spirit stones. It seems this trip was worthwhile; there must be a great treasure hidden below!"

Jin Qing stroked his chin, his face beaming with excitement.

"Ancient texts record that the Spirit Sealing Pillar can prevent spiritual energy from leaking out and stabilize the seal. It's just unknown whether it seals ancient spiritual herbs and medicines or suppresses some fierce spirits and ghosts."

At this moment, the excitement in Jianming's eyes gradually faded, and his expression became more serious. He spoke up to remind him.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions changed slightly, and their eyes flickered as they realized the hidden danger.

"No matter what lies below, how can we easily miss such an opportunity?"

Hu Yue pondered for a moment, then her eyes hardened.

"If there are ancient spiritual herbs, that would be best. Even if there are truly malevolent spirits or ghosts, we can simply imprison them within a magical artifact, which will also amplify the artifact's power!"

After he finished speaking, he looked at everyone.

"If none of you fellow cultivators have any objections, then let us join forces to open the Spirit Sealing Pillar and explore inside!"

The crowd exchanged glances and nodded in unison, with not a single person showing any intention of backing down.