Immortality and cultivation: Heaven rewards diligence, and success is inevitable.

The five Foundation Establishment stage cultivators stood in opposition to each other, none daring to make the first move, and none willing to give up directly.

Just when the tension was at its peak and an explosion was imminent.

"Gentlemen, since no one is willing to give up, how about we draw lots again to select one person to withdraw, and then the remaining four will compete again? What do you say?"

A powerful cultivator in a yellow robe spoke up.

This person was the one who initially echoed Jiang Shi, and it was also the one who arranged the lottery.

As soon as the yellow-robed cultivator uttered these words, another great cultivator immediately stepped forward and echoed them:

"Fellow Daoist, you are absolutely right. I agree to the lottery."

Since one person agreed, the other three couldn't refuse, so they all agreed as well.

With five people present, things will only become a stalemate. Although Jiang Shi isn't afraid of a chaotic battle, there's no need for it.

Thinking about it this way, it's not entirely unacceptable that one person is eliminated by drawing lots.

The yellow-robed Taoist quickly made lots, one for each of the five great cultivators, and those who drew a red lot were to leave.

After Jiang Shi drew his lot, he picked it up and saw a black mark on it.

Jiang Shi was relieved to see the black mark.

If he draws a red mark, he will have no choice but to withdraw and go to the second level. Facing four opponents alone, he can only protect himself. He relies on the "Lotus Steps" technique to pass through the stone gate and go to the second level.

But that would mean losing the chance to seize the treasure.

He wouldn't choose to do that unless it was a life-or-death crisis.

Fortunately, he wasn't the one who had to withdraw from the draw.

The great cultivator who drew the red mark was taken aback when he saw the slip in his hand, and hesitated for a moment.

In the end, he still chose to withdraw. Four mid-Foundation Establishment stage cultivators were not people that ordinary people could deal with, and he did not believe that he had the strength.

"With one of us stepping down, the four of us can then face off in pairs and engage in magical duels," the yellow-robed grand cultivator said after he withdrew.

"Fellow Daoist, I am Li Heng. I humbly request your guidance," said Li Heng, the great cultivator in yellow robes, to one of the other great cultivators.

"Please enlighten me, fellow Daoist!" The great cultivator who was challenged was not intimidated. He waved his hand and flew to the side.

Seeing this, Li Heng quickly followed. The two used their respective skills and fought fiercely, with spells flying everywhere.

Jiang Shi was facing off against a blue-robed cultivator; unsurprisingly, the two would be his next opponents.

Jiang Shi didn't care who his opponent was. The Crimson Sky, a high-grade magic weapon in his hand, was faintly glowing with fire. He was ready to kill the person in front of him at any time.

He has no fear of ordinary cultivators unless they are important figures from top families or sects.

Just as Jiang Shi was about to make a move, the man spoke.

"Fellow Daoist, I am Wang Xi," Wang Xi said respectfully.

Jiang Shi ignored him and instead became wary. He didn't have the habit of exchanging pleasantries before a life-or-death duel.

This person must have ulterior motives for doing this, and we must be wary.

"Fellow Daoist, I have something to say, you might as well listen to it." Wang Xi was not annoyed when he saw that Jiang Shi ignored him, but instead spoke up.

"Those two powerful cultivators clearly know each other; they're in cahoots."

"If we were to fight each other, regardless of who wins or loses, we would inevitably be attacked by both of them. It would be too risky for one against two. Why don't we form an alliance for now and work together to eliminate those two?"

"After we eliminate them, we will then engage in a battle of wits to determine the victor."

After Wang Xi finished speaking, Jiang Shi heard what he said and realized that the plan was feasible.

In fact, he had already noticed that something was wrong with the two of them.

However, he decided not to expose them yet, and to deal with the two great cultivators after killing the person in front of him.

Unexpectedly, the other party also noticed.

"Okay." Jiang Shi nodded in agreement without saying anything more.

After reaching a consensus, the two got up and flew towards the location of the two Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

Jiang Shi wasn't afraid that the three of them were conspiring to trick him. If they were a group, they would have already confronted him and attacked him. There was no need for this whole charade.

As the two approached, the yellow-robed great cultivator and his companion stopped fighting and waited for Jiang Shi to get closer.

"As expected, I couldn't hide it from you two," Li Heng said.

No one who can cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage is a fool; everyone saw Li Heng's obvious actions.

No one exposed him before because there were too many powerful cultivators in the arena. Exposing him would cause chaos and be bad for everyone.

Only then did everyone acquiesce to his behavior.

This time, the number of people has dwindled to the point where it's impossible to suppress them.

A life-or-death battle is inevitable between the two sides; neither will hold back.

Jiang Shi took the initiative, wielding the superior-grade magic weapon Chixiao with great force, unleashing a crimson blade of energy that traced a rainbow-like trajectory as it slashed towards Li Heng.

Facing the crimson blade energy, Li Heng neither dodged nor avoided it. The great cultivator beside him held a white jade gourd and stood in front of Li Heng.

A deep blue spirit pearl was inserted into the mouth of the gourd, and a faint mist of water vapor surrounded it, making it look quite extraordinary.

As the crimson blade energy approached, the great cultivator calmly picked up the jade gourd in his hand and gently tapped it.

The gourd spewed out a large amount of cold, rich aquatic spiritual energy.

These water-based spiritual energies formed a shield, colliding with Jiang Shi's crimson blade energy.

Water overcomes fire. No matter how powerful Jiang Shi's crimson blade energy is, it cannot escape the principle of mutual restraint among the five elements.

The crimson blade energy was instantly neutralized by him.

Seeing this, Li Heng and Li Wen, a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator holding a jade gourd beside him, nodded with great satisfaction.

They deliberately kept Jiang Shi in the draw because they saw that Jiang Shi was using a high-grade fire-type magic weapon.

The superior-grade magic weapon in Li Wen's hand—Ruoshui.

It's perfect for countering his fire magic.

The other king's face also darkened.

He also possesses a fire-elemental spiritual root and is proficient in fire-elemental magic.

"If you two leave behind all the magical artifacts and storage bags you have, my brother and I might consider letting you go."

As he spoke, a dark gold banner suddenly appeared in Li Heng's hand, with some poisonous snakes painted on it. He planted the banner in the ground.

The poisonous gas was faintly visible, and the venomous snakes on the dark gold banner seemed about to awaken.

While saying he would let the two go, Li Heng had already secretly released and summoned some venomous snakes to sneak into the ground and launch a sneak attack.

Jiang Shi also practiced poison skills and was very sensitive to poisonous creatures and insects.

Jiang Shi sensed the venomous snake as soon as it reached his feet.

"Hmph!" Jiang Shi snorted coldly, stood up and flew up, swinging his sword towards the ground.

The crimson blade cleaved through the ground, scattering charred snake corpses like rain.

"You're courting death!" Upon seeing this, Li Heng and his younger brother Li Yi attacked together.

At the mouth of the jade gourd in Li Yi's hand, the water droplet shone with a bright blue light, and a large amount of water-based spiritual energy gushed out, transforming into a raging torrent.