Starting as a spiritual plant master, may I eventually become the master of all lands.

Song Chuan didn't have time to think about why Chi Ying Shu suddenly appeared, but the fact that the Thunder Control Sign had been taken by this woman was a great thing!

The arrow was already on the bowstring, and he pointed at the stone.

The stone instantly swelled to about a foot in size, then leaped like a locust, covering several feet in a single bound, and disappeared into the ground in the blink of an eye.

Immediately afterwards, the soil in front of Zou Qingfa and the other man turned over again, and the soil locust stones were launched out.

"You, surnamed Song, actually had accomplices! You treacherous and cunning fellow!"

Zou Qingfa said angrily, seeing that the earth locust stone was already close at hand, he and the Ren surname cultivator desperately used the defensive bamboo stick they had used before.

This divination slip is a top-tier defensive artifact; the hexagram symbols on it rotate slowly.

Although it's unclear why Chi Ying Shu's red rope could penetrate it, its defensive effect was in no way inferior to Song Chuan's shark silk net, and perhaps even better!

At that moment, Tu Huangshi leaped up and crashed headfirst into it.

In an instant, a bright yellow light shone forth, even more dazzling than the lightning emitted by the Thunderclap Sign!

With a loud "bang," the protective shield of this top-tier defensive magic artifact shattered on the spot after only a slight resistance.

The two were horrified and desperate, but could only watch helplessly as the earth locust stone leaped again and smashed into them.

After two screams, all four disciples of the Four Pillars Sect perished in this strange cave.

The earth locust stone leaped back, but much slower. By the time it shrank back to its original size and was held in Song Chuan's palm, the stone had lost all its spiritual power.

Song Chuan looked pained and carefully put it away.

"Earth Locust Stone! I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Song to have such a rare item. The human cultivators who can enter this Kongsang Mountain Range are truly all hiding their true abilities!" Chi Ying Shu said in surprise.

Song Chuan looked at her, puzzled, and asked, "Why is Fellow Daoist Chi here as well?"

"Shouldn't you thank me first? This Thunderclap Talisman is quite powerful, isn't it? Although the Earth Locust Stone should be even more potent, what if something unexpected happens? I'm being very cautious right now, hehe!"

Although Chi Ying Shu's tone carried a hint of reproach, her face was beaming with smiles.

Song Chuan glanced at the red rope in her hand. This magical artifact was truly bizarre, as it could somehow slip into a top-tier magical artifact without anyone noticing.

He chuckled and said, "Then thank you very much, Fellow Daoist Chi. However, I have already seen the Thunderclap Talisman earlier and know its significance. Unlike some people, who are wealthy and powerful, yet unwilling to use any of their abilities."

"Is Fellow Daoist Song mocking me?"

"I wouldn't dare. By the way, Fellow Daoist Chi's appearance here isn't for the Cave Salamander, is it?"

"What? Afraid I'll compete with you for it? Now that you've used up your Earth Locust Stone, you shouldn't have anything left that can threaten me."

Chi Ying blinked her beautiful eyes, glanced at Song Chuan's fire-cultivating hoe and shark silk net, and curled the corners of her mouth.

Song Chuan glanced at her sideways, thinking to himself, "You haven't had enough experience yet. What if I have some hidden trump card? Judging from your appearance, you'll be at a disadvantage."

However, there are indeed very few items that surpass the top-tier magical artifacts; the Thunderclap Talisman and the Earth Locust Stone are examples of this. Having even one is considered extremely fortunate.

Song Chuan saw that this woman didn't seem to be looking for the cave salamander at all. He was about to ask her how she found him when he suddenly remembered something and quickly said:

"When Fellow Daoist Aka came in, did you see an old man?"

"The old man? I didn't see him."

"What about the mutated demon bats?"

"I didn't see it either."

Hiss! This demon and this human have vanished without a trace.

We need to get down to business. If the demon bats return, we'll have to fight another big battle.

Song Chuan immediately went to the edge of the pool and watched the cave salamanders swimming and playing in the water.

This thing resembles both a dragon and a snake, and has an indescribable sense of holiness, yet it possesses no supernatural powers; it is simply a pure and pristine object of heaven and earth.

Who would have thought that deep within the stench-filled caves of demonic bats, there existed such a pristine creature?

Feelings of pity and reluctance arose spontaneously.

But everyone has to look out for themselves. To obtain the Foundation Establishment Pill, I have to take action against them!

"There are six cave salamanders here, but I don't need them. Fellow Daoist, you may take them all. The reward back at your sect will be quite substantial."

Chi Ying Shu suddenly spoke, her eyes fixed on Song Chuan.

Song Chuan shook his head slightly. His hands moved like lightning, reaching into the pool and grabbing two unsuspecting cave salamanders, placing them into Master Kuzhuo's insect pouch.

This insect sac can isolate the cave salamander's scent, preventing the shadowy bats outside from smelling it.

Let's go!

He glanced at the remaining four cave salamanders, then spread his five fingers, grabbed the storage bags of Zou Qingfa and the other man, and turned to walk out of the cave.

Chi Ying Shu watched his retreating figure, a hint of fiery red flashing in her eyes. After a few moments of silence, she smiled gently and followed him.

Just as Song Chuan and Chi Ying Shu were heading out of the cave, two cultivators were looking at a small hole about the size of a little finger in the ground, a place separated from this place by about ten mountains.

"Senior brother, there seems to be something in here."

"Don't touch it recklessly, it might be some kind of demonic insect."

"No, there's no demonic aura. It looks more like the burrows of cicadas in the mortal world before they emerge."

"What's so strange about that? The Kongsang adventure is almost over. We should find a place to hide so that no one might have any ill intentions."

"Hey! Senior brother, you don't know, it's so much fun! The cicada nymph's burrow will enlarge if you dig it, and it will crawl out. Let me try it."

His senior brother looked at him and shook his head helplessly.

The junior brother stretched out his index finger and poked the hole. Sure enough, the hole was loose, and the soil particles turned to the sides, becoming larger.

Immediately afterwards, a cicada nymph cautiously peeked out.

"Senior brother, look! It really is a cicada nymph. Are there ordinary insects in the Kongsang Mountains too?"

"Junior brother, get up! Didn't you see it has grown two horns? Hmm, it was just a mortal insect a moment ago, how come it suddenly has a demonic aura? It's transformed into a demon!"

"Oh my! That's really strange. It transformed into a demon as soon as it emerged from the ground. Let's see where it crawls; it might just be a strange insect."

The two stared intently at the cicada nymph with two small horns. The insect seemed to sniff the ground, find a direction, and quickly crawled several meters to a sacred tree.

Then, in a flash, he climbed up the spirit tree, and when he reached a height of about ten feet, he suddenly stopped.

Its shell trembled, and its back split open instantly, from which crawled a completely different demonic insect.

Its body is somewhat transparent, seemingly because it has just molted and is still quite immature. It has a pair of wings on its back, but the two small horns on its head are still there.

However, none of these things are unusual. What is unusual is that it is already a first-order demonic insect!

"Junior brother, something's wrong! Run! Look around!"

It turned out that these tiny insects had crawled out of the ground in countless numbers, leaving almost no place for them to land.

These tiny insects quickly searched for the spirit wood and climbed up it eagerly. In the blink of an eye, the sound of hatching rang out one after another, and they all turned into first-tier demon insects.

"Senior brother, it seems we can't escape."

A few breaths later, the two were overwhelmed by the swarm of insects, leaving no trace of their bodies.