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

In the days that followed, Jiang Shi did not leave the villa.

He devoted all his time to cultivation.

Every morning upon waking, I first refine a drop of Five Elements Spiritual Liquid, then practice the Five Elements Divine Light, and meditate to accumulate true essence.

There are nine drops of the Five Elements Elixir left.

He takes one drop every day and processes and absorbs it.

With each drop of true essence refined, the essence became more abundant, and the five-colored golden pill in the dantian grew brighter and brighter.

Half a month later, all nine drops of the elixir were used up.

Jiang Shi felt that his cultivation level had increased significantly again.

However, there is still a distance to go before breaking through to the middle stage of the Golden Core realm.

He began to focus his energy on the Five Elements Divine Light.

This supernatural power was created by him. It was based on the Five-Colored Golden Elixir and the principle of mutual generation of the Five Elements, and it fused the divine light of the five attributes into one.

It was incredibly powerful, but also consumed a great deal of energy. He had tried it several times, and each time it consumed 70% of his true energy, and he could only use it once!

He needs to improve his proficiency and reduce his energy expenditure.

The training room in the villa was large enough that he practiced there every day for several hours at a time.

Five-colored light flashed in the room, and the array patterns on the walls vibrated and hummed.

A month later, he was able to control the consumption of the Five Elements Divine Light to 60% of his true essence.

It's still quite large, but it's better than before.

This is why Jiang Shi's cultivation technique progressed so rapidly, thanks to his destiny.

Fang Jiuyue would visit him every few days, bringing some pills and spiritual materials. Sometimes she would chat with him for a few minutes, and sometimes she would just sit for a while before leaving.

On this day, she brought news.

"Ninety-nine asked me to tell you that the opening date of the Five Elements Secret Realm has been set for the fifteenth of next month."

"There's one more thing I need to remind you," Fang Jiuyue said. "Although this Five Elements Secret Realm is only a small Five Elements Secret Realm and not a large Five Elements Secret Realm controlled by the Five Elements Demon Sect, many disciples of the Five Elements Demon Sect will still enter it."

"You must be extremely careful!"

Fang Jiuyue said with some concern.

Although Fang Jiuyue also knew that Jiang Shi had a high-grade spiritual artifact protecting him.

However, Jiang Shi is only at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, and in the Five Elements Secret Realm, there will be many enemies at the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

"I understand," Jiang Shi said expressionlessly.

Jiang Shi has faced countless rebellions since he began cultivating, and he's long been used to this situation.

Fang Jiuyue glanced at him, hesitated, and ultimately said nothing more.

After Fang Jiuyue left, he continued his cultivation.

Half a month later, Fang Zhenyue sent someone to deliver something.

It is a sword, a low-grade spiritual weapon.

The sword is bluish-green, with water ripple patterns on the blade, faintly emitting the sound of flowing water. Two characters are engraved on the hilt: "Canglan".

The sword was delivered by a steward of the Fang family, who was at the early stage of the Golden Core realm. He was very respectful to Fang Jiuyue.

"The elder said that Master Jiang needs a suitable weapon to enter the forbidden area. This Canglan Sword is a low-grade spiritual weapon from the Fang family's collection. It is water-based and compatible with Master Jiang's Five Elements Dao. It can be borrowed for the time being."

Fang Jiuyue took the sword and handed it to Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi drew his sword; its blade gleamed with a bluish light, exuding a chilling aura.

He poured his true energy into the sword, and the water ripples on the sword lit up, causing the temperature in the room to drop sharply.

Fine sword.

He possesses the Mountain and Sea Banner, a high-grade spiritual artifact, but its main functions are to trap enemies and defend, with only average offensive power.

Moreover, high-grade spiritual artifacts consume a great deal of resources; they are a means of protection, not a means of fighting ordinary enemies.

The Azure Wave Sword is a pure offensive magical weapon, which perfectly makes up for his shortcomings.

Announcement: Update coming soon, please stay tuned!

"Please thank Elder Fang for me." Jiang Shi put the sword into his storage bracelet.

The Canglan Sword, a low-grade spiritual weapon, was supposedly lent to Jiang Shi, but in reality, it was given to him.

The manager took his leave.

Fang Jiuyue looked at him and smiled.

"My father rarely valued someone this much."

"The forbidden area will open in half a month. How are your preparations going?" Fang Jiuyue asked.

"It's almost ready," Jiang Shi said. "I can leave anytime."

The main reason was that Fang Zhenyue had prepared everything perfectly, including pills, talismans, and magical artifacts for Jiang Shi.

Fang Jiuyue nodded, took out a cloth bag from her storage bracelet, and handed it to him.

"This is what I prepared for you: ten high-grade second-rank spirit talismans, five healing pills, and three recovery pills. Although the recovery pills are not as good as the high-grade third-rank one my father gave me, they can still restore 20% of your true essence, which will be useful in critical moments."

Jiang Shi took the cloth bag without refusing.

Thank you.

"You're welcome," Fang Jiuyue said. "This time, you've helped me even more."

She stood up, walked to the door, and glanced back at him.

"I will send you to the Five Elements Secret Realm in half a month."

Jiang Shi nodded.

After Fang Jiuyue left, the courtyard became quiet again.

Jiang Shi sat cross-legged in the training room, closed his eyes, and mentally reviewed the map of the forbidden area.

The first level is the Metal element, guarded by a giant golden-armored wolf. It's in the late Golden Core stage, fast, has high attack power, and decent defense. Its weakness is its abdomen, where the scales are thinnest.

The second level is associated with the Wood element, guarded by the Azure Wood Python. It is a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, enormous in size, possesses strong constricting power, and has thick, tough hide. Its weakness is fire.

The third level, Fire element, guarded by the Crimson Flame Lion. Late Golden Core stage, uses fire attacks, is fast, and has strong burst damage. Weakness: Water.

The fourth level is water-based, guarded by the Xuan Shui Turtle. It's a late-stage Golden Core cultivator with extremely strong defense but average attack. Its weakness is its slowness; it moves at a snail's pace, which can be bypassed.

The fifth level is the Earth element, guarded by the Earth Bear. It's at the peak of the late Golden Core stage, possessing immense strength and high defense, with virtually no weaknesses. Fang Zhenyue said this one is the most difficult to deal with and suggested using a talisman to injure it first, then looking for an opportunity.

Jiang Shi memorized the characteristics and weaknesses of each guardian beast and then began to plan his route.

Avoid the first and second layers if possible. If you can't avoid them, finish them quickly and don't waste time.

The third level is fire element, and his water-based spells have a counter advantage, so he can use the Azure Wave Sword to deal with the Crimson Flame Lion.

The Xuan Shui Turtle on the fourth floor is the slowest; you can simply bypass it and avoid fighting it.

If you fight the Earth Bear on the fifth floor, first use the Grade 3 Spirit Talisman given by Fang Zhenyue to injure it, then use the Five Elements Divine Light to finish it off.

The plan isn't perfect, but at least it gives us a direction.

He checked the equipment again.

Spiritual artifacts: Superior-grade Mountain and Sea Banner, Inferior-grade Azure Wave Sword, Inferior-grade Crimson Spiritual Feather.

Talisman: One Grade 3 High-level Metal-type Attack Talisman.

Pills: One Grade 3 Superior Rejuvenation Pill, three Grade 2 Rejuvenation Pills, and five Healing Pills.

Other items: Five Elements Token, Fangjia Protective Jade Pendant.

There aren't many items, but they're enough.

He sorted and put everything away, storing it in his storage bracelet, then closed his eyes and began his final meditation.

He needs two weeks to get himself into peak condition.

There was no turning back in the forbidden area; we could only move forward.

You either get out alive or you die inside.

There is no third option.

You should know that in the secret realm, the most terrifying thing is not the spirit beasts, but the other people!

This time, there are many Golden Core stage cultivators in the Five Elements Secret Realm, including some late-stage Golden Core stage cultivators.