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

"Another force?!" Shangguan Shuo also stood up and said very seriously.

This other force reminded Shangguan Shuo of the people who sold large quantities of pills and talismans in Canglin City some time ago.

The more Shangguan Shuo thought about it, the darker his face became, and the more preoccupied he became.

Because he thought of the old man Gua Xiu Sui, he died tragically on the spot after only performing divination.

If the current affairs of Qingyun Sect are related to that unknown person, then Lingxu Sect can no longer participate in this matter.

"Since this matter has nothing to do with my Lingxu Sect, there is no need for us to investigate it further. Issue an order that all Lingxu Sect disciples, starting today, will no longer participate in any matters related to the Qingyun Sect," said Sect Master Xu of the Lingxu Sect earnestly.

The higher one's position, the more one understands how terrible this matter is.

Sect Master Xu once went to disturb the cultivation of the Golden Core stage ancestor of Lingxu Sect because of the death of Gua Xiu Sui.

When their Lingxu Sect's Golden Core stage patriarch learned of this, he ordered them to stop investigating the person behind it.

The higher one's cultivation level, the more afraid one is of death.

The same applies to the Golden Core stage patriarch of the Lingxu Sect. Having finally broken through to the Golden Core stage in this small region, he would never rashly make a move.

Although he held absolute power in the Canglin region, he was nothing special in the entire cultivation world.

After hearing the order given by Sect Leader Xu, Shangguan Shuo took his leave.

He quickly relayed the order, and then left the sect with his disciple Ouyang Yu, returning to Canglin City.

The three major sects in the Canglin region were all shaken by Jiang Shi's actions.

Jiang Shi, the instigator, has now left that place with Old Man Jiang and Jiang Yu.

Jiang Shi possessed a superior magical artifact, the Water-Stabilizing Pearl, which allowed him to travel extremely fast by water, covering a great distance in just one day.

Once he felt he had made some progress, Jiang Shi stopped traveling, returned to his previous state, and settled down.

While fishing for spirit fish, he continued to teach Jiang Yu how to cultivate.

And so the days passed by, and time flew by.

A month later, Jiang Yu sat cross-legged on the bow of the fishing boat.

At this moment, a surge of spiritual energy emanated from her body, and with the help of this spiritual power, she began to prepare to break through to the third level of the Qi Refining stage.

Jiang Shi was eating the cooked spirit fish while watching Jiang Yu's breakthrough.

The spiritual energy within Jiang Yu's body comes from the second-grade spiritual fish that Jiang Shi is currently eating.

Time passed slowly, and Jiang Yu was working hard to break through, but because of the bottleneck, the speed of breakthrough was not fast.

At that moment, the metal-type magic power within Jiang Yu's body underwent a strange change and began to mix with the water-type magic power.

It formed a peculiar vortex, and within this vortex, an exceptionally sharp water-based magical power emerged.

With the help of this water-based magic, Jiang Yu finally broke through the barrier and successfully cultivated to the third level of the Qi Refining stage.

The moment Jiang Yu broke through, her magical power increased once again.

Jiang Shi nodded with great satisfaction. Although Jiang Yu only had three spiritual roots, her aptitude was by no means bad, but rather excellent.

With the blessing of the innate [Metal Generates Water] principle, Jiang Yu broke through the bottleneck much more easily than ordinary cultivators.

Jiang Yu has broken through to the third level of Qi Refining in less than two months since he became a mortal. Although Jiang Shi helped him, it is undeniable that Jiang Yu is indeed a rare genius.

In Jiang Shi's eyes, Jiang Yu was already comparable to Lin Yanyi of Qingyun Sect.

With the right Foundation Establishment Pill, geniuses like them will surely be able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage and become great cultivators.

After breaking through, Jiang Yu began to consolidate his cultivation under Jiang Shi's continued protection.

Three days later, Jiang Yu had consolidated her cultivation after the breakthrough and stood up.

"Master, I've successfully broken through and am now at the third level of Qi Refining," Jiang Yu said to Jiang Shi, as if seeking praise.

"Not bad, not bad." Jiang Shi nodded with a smile.

"Now I can teach you a technique," Jiang Shi said.

"What kind of magic is it? Is it powerful?" Jiang Yu had only recently embarked on the path of cultivation and didn't know much about magic, so she asked with great curiosity.

Jiang Shi didn't explain much and led Jiang Yu ashore.

After finding an open space on the shore, Jiang Shi took out the superior-grade magic weapon, the Thousand Serpent Banner.

The magical power surged into the superior-grade magic artifact, the Thousand Serpent Banner, and then three mid-stage Qi Refining stage venomous snakes crawled out from it.

"Ah! A snake!" Jiang Yu was still quite young and very afraid of snakes.

Jiang Shi's purpose was precisely this: to face what he feared and then practice and cast spells would surely yield excellent results.

Because it creates a sense of crisis, and only with a sense of crisis can one break through personal limitations.

"Don't be afraid. Your master will teach you a technique to deal with these three poisonous snakes," Jiang Shi said.

As soon as he finished speaking, a ball of flame rose in Jiang Shi's hand, blazing fiercely and with extraordinary power.

This is precisely the technique of "Wood generates Fire," and it is also the first true meaning of the Five Elements that Jiang Shi learned.

"Master, but I have the three elemental roots of metal, wood, and earth, but not fire," Jiang Yu said with some grievance, feeling that her master was making things difficult for her.

"Feel the core of this flame with your heart, don't just look at the surface." With that, Jiang Shi threw the flame in front of Jiang Yu. As the flame landed, Jiang Yu was so frightened that she took several steps back.

Faced with this ball of flame, she dared not move forward, let alone observe it carefully.

Jiang Yu is not very brave and has not experienced many life-or-death crises. His mentality and will have not yet been tempered.

"Don't back down, or you'll get bitten by a snake, and I won't save you," Jiang Shi said, having already controlled the three venomous snakes to block Jiang Yu's retreat.

"Master~" Jiang Yu cried out, her voice trembling with fear. Faced with this scene, she was so frightened that tears streamed down her face.

Flames in front and poisonous snakes behind—she had never seen anything like it before.

Jiang Shi's move was intended to force Jiang Yu to unleash his potential.

The flames released by the true meaning of "Wood generates Fire" were not released out of nowhere; the true meanings of the five elements are actually interconnected and mutually generative.

Jiang Shi created the true meaning of "fire generates earth" by drawing on other true meanings.

Jiang Yu was born with the true meaning of "metal generates water". If he were to study the true meaning of the other five elements more closely, he would surely be able to understand them by analogy.

"Don't cry, focus on the flames ahead." No matter how much Jiang Yu cried, Jiang Shi did not release her.

Jiang Yu's personality is actually not suitable for the cultivation world. In the cultivation world, a world where people eat each other, a rogue cultivator with a cowardly personality probably wouldn't survive a day.

Jiang Shi can't protect Jiang Yu forever; she has to make changes on her own.

Jiang Shi could only give her a push from behind, using this as an opportunity to help Jiang Yu grow.

Chapter update reminder: Chapter 174 Jiang Yu's Breakthrough, read here.