For such a treasure right before his eyes, Yuan Ming naturally wouldn't let it slip away easily. He immediately dug three feet into the ground and pulled out the entire Yellow Springs Tree, carefully storing it in his bag.

At the same time, the soul crow that was searching around in the Sky Pit also made a new discovery.

Yuan Ming immediately rushed over to its location, only to see another huge entrance at the other end of the Sky Pit, obscured by vines hanging from the wall, making it somewhat hidden.

At that moment, the soul crow was perched on a protruding stone just above the vines, with a round, golden, shiny object in its beak.

Yuan Ming reached out to call back the soul crow and took the metallic shiny object from its mouth. Upon close inspection, he found it to be a gold-colored scale with a unique pattern.

At a glance, the scale was very similar to those of the Golden Flower Poison Python they had previously slain, but it was obviously much larger.

While pondering this, Yuan Ming noticed something white sandwiched in the vines below.

He hurriedly reached forward and pulled the object out.

With this pull, Yuan Ming realized that it was, in fact, a section of shed snake skin from a fierce beast.

This piece of snake skin was six feet long and as thick as a bucket, with faintly glowing phosphorescence, making it quite distinctive.

"Such large scales and shed skin most likely belong to the Golden Flower Poison Python King," Yuan Ming thought to himself, his heart skipping a beat.

He first released his divine sense to scan the area and, finding no signs of living creatures, he carefully parted the vine curtains in front of him, revealing a gap to investigate further inside.

Behind the vines was a short passage that lead to a larger underground cavern, faintly illuminated by either fluorescent stones or something else, emitting a cold, ghostly white light that added an eerie atmosphere.

Yuan Ming, not one to take risks, had the soul crow fly through the opening into the cavern.

Once inside, he saw the vast cavern filled with towering stone pillars and stalactites hanging from above, embedded with chunks of fluorite that emitted a blue-white glow.

The cavern's enormity surpassed Yuan Ming's imagination.

His soul crow flew deeper inside for a long time until suddenly, a colossal object made him involuntarily gasp in shock.

It was an enormous Golden Flower Poison Python, coiling around a thick stone pillar like a small hill of flesh, with its tail end slightly trembling and making a "rustling" sound.

Under the blue-white cold light, the golden scales on its body emitted an icy metallic aura, seemingly impregnable.

After a brief observation, Yuan Ming had no doubt in his mind that this was indeed the Golden Flower Poison Python King.

He quietly called back the soul crow and moved to a comparatively safe distance from the entrance. He then took out the Jade Talisman given by the White Night Alliance and, without any hesitation, crushed it within his sleeve.

The exploding Jade Talisman made a slight noise, a flash of blue light passed over the surface before going out, leaving no further movement.

Yuan Ming then distanced himself from that entrance and returned to the one he had come through, remaining alert and quietly waiting for the White Night Alliance people to arrive.

After a long time, people began arriving one after another.

Only a small number came through the same passage as Yuan Ming, with many more locating the incredibly hidden entrance to the Sky Pit through the mark on the Jade Talisman, adding up to about a dozen people.

About half an hour later, Bai Ye arrived with two other official members of their alliance.

"Was it you who sent the mark?" Bai Ye approached Yuan Ming and asked.

"Indeed," Yuan Ming opened his palm, showing the broken Jade Talisman.

"Did you find the Snake King?" Bai Ye asked with a stern tone, frowning.

Before Yuan Ming, three others had crushed their Jade Talismans, but when they arrived, they found only tragically dead bodies.

Those were people who, faced with danger and unable to escape, crushed their Jade Talismans in the hopes that someone would come to their rescue.

Yuan Ming bore no visible injuries, clearly not in the same situation as the others.

"I found it," Yuan Ming nodded.

As he spoke, he swept his hand over his storage bag at his waist, and his palm immediately produced a large golden scale and a piece of white shed skin.

Bai Ye quickly took them into his hands and began to examine them closely.

At that moment, Huan Shi also arrived, hurried over, and intensely examined the items.

After a moment, the two exchanged glances and silently nodded at each other.

"Where did you discover this?" Bai Ye asked.

Yuan Ming immediately led Bai Ye and the others to the vine-covered entrance, lifted a corner, pointed inside, and whispered, "I found these there, the Snake King is inside."

"Did you go in?" Bai Ye asked, furrowing his brow.

"I sneaked in for a peek and saw the silhouette of the Snake King, then I dared to come out and report back. Otherwise, wouldn't that be slandering?" Yuan Ming continued in a low voice.

The cautious actions made everyone present tense up, somewhat convincing them of his words.

"Let's confirm it," Bai Ye turned his head and, unintentionally lowering his voice, spoke to an elderly man with graying hair.

The latter, also an official member of the White Night Alliance, immediately nodded.

Following that, he pulled a brightly furred white mouse from his sleeve and placed it at the entrance of the vine-covered hole.

Xiao Bai wrinkled its nose, sniffed, and then crawled inside.

The group waited outside for a long time, and suddenly a tiny white shadow rushed out from inside, obviously frightened by something, appearing very panicked.

The elderly man with a flower-patterned shell reacted quickly, grabbed the mouse, and held it beside his ear, as if listening to its story.

But the others could only hear the urgent "squeaking" sound.

A moment later, the elderly man put away Xiao Bai and said to Bai Ye, "Alliance Hierarch, it is confirmed without a doubt, this is the Snake King's cave."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Ye's eyebrows relaxed, and a hint of joy showed in his eyes.

"Find a way to tell everyone to gather here immediately! Let the others rest on the spot," Bai Ye instructed Huan Shi.

"Yes!" Huan Shi replied, and taking Tuozhe, he walked towards the entrance of the Sky Pit.

...

Within the next quarter of an hour, more people gradually arrived and gathered on the other side of the Sky Pit.

Yuan Ming glanced around and noticed that of the forty-one people who had entered the Snake King Valley together, only thirty-one had arrived at this spot.

Of the fourteen official members of the White Night Alliance, twelve were left, and of the twenty-seven temporarily recruited members, including himself, only nineteen remained.

Of the original six-person team he was a part of, except for the man in black named Kun Sha, the others were all present.

Yuan Ming knew clearly that many of those who hadn't arrived probably would never appear again.

The casualty rate among the temporary members was much higher than that among the official members.

The people who arrived here, besides the two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Bai Ye and Huan Shi, and a few official members, looked somewhat haggard; nearly everyone had bruises and injuries to some extent. Among the temporary members, many had complex expressions, carrying a hint of regret.

Compared to them, Yuan Ming was in the best condition.

"Fellow Daoist Hagon has done us a great service by finding the location of the Snake King. I wonder if you'd be interested in officially joining the White Night Alliance?" Huan Shi looked at Yuan Ming with admiration and said.

He had a deep impression of Yuan Ming, from the time he outwitted Tuozhe when he first applied, to Yuan Ming's performance in the Poison Miasma, and now finding the location of the Snake King, so he sincerely invited Yuan Ming to join, not just as a formality.

"Vice Alliance Hierarch, your kind offer should indeed be accepted, but there are many complexities involved in this matter, so let us discuss it later," Yuan Ming said smilingly with a cupped-fist salute.

"Fine. We'll talk after we leave Snake King Valley. The reward of three hundred spirit stones promised to you will also be settled afterward," Huan Shi responded with a smile and nodded.

Just as he finished speaking, Yuan Ming spoke, "Vice Alliance Hierarch, could we settle my spirit stones now?"

"Hmm?" Huan Shi paused, surprised.

Such urgency? His perception of Yuan Ming shifted slightly downwards.

"Wasn't it agreed beforehand that everyone has one chance to withdraw before we take action against the Snake King? I would like to withdraw now," Yuan Ming explained.

"Fellow Daoist Hagon, you managed to reach here almost unharmed, which clearly shows your strength is not weak. Why not take it a step further?" Bai Ye asked, showing some interest in Yuan Ming.

His suggestion was clear - with them already at this location, why not give it a try? Success could possibly bring more rewards.

This was likely also the thought of all the temporary members.

"I am just a mere Qi Refining cultivator, and I am aware of my own capabilities. Having reached here safely is purely good fortune; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to help everyone find the Snake King. As for joining the hunt, I'd rather not participate," Yuan Ming said with a smile, politely declining.

He spoke with great tact, not overly citing the fear of the Snake King to avoid influencing the others.

Seeing this, Bai Ye said no more.

"Are there any others who wish to withdraw now?" Huan Shi then publicly handed out three hundred and ten spirit stones to Yuan Ming, and asked the others.

The official members of the White Night Alliance naturally had nothing to say, but one of the temporary members, a woman, spoke up.

"I, I also want to withdraw."

Yuan Ming looked in the direction of the voice and saw that she was dressed in a black outfit that was somewhat tattered, revealing her pale skin with a shapely figure, her face covered with a thin black gauze. It was Bai Rong, previously a member of their team.

"She wants to withdraw as well?" Yuan Ming wondered.

He had previously noticed her unusual behavior in the Poison Miasma and suspected that she had targeted the members of the White Night Alliance, but now she chose to withdraw, puzzling Yuan Ming even further.

Just when everyone thought the matter had settled with just these two withdrawals, ten more individuals bluntly expressed their wish to leave as well.

Seeing suddenly twelve people opting out, both Bai Ye and Huan Shi's expressions darkened slightly.

Each person's departure meant a greater burden and potentially more injuries for the official members of the White Night Alliance.

However, they decided not to make it difficult for these people.

These individuals, including Yuan Ming, collected the ten spirit stones of compensation and subsequently left the Sky Pit, choosing to depart.

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