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

Jiang Shi opened his eyes and found himself standing on a metallic-looking piece of land.

The ground was silvery-gray, as hard as iron, and covered with sharp metal spikes, some several meters high, like swords piercing out of the ground.

The air was thick with the aura of metal, and even a single breath made my throat ache.

The first level of the Five Elements Secret Realm is the Metal Element Realm.

Jiang Shi stored the Five Elements Token in his storage bracelet and spread his spiritual sense to investigate the surrounding situation.

There was no one else within a radius of several hundred feet. The teleportation array was random, and each person landed at a different location.

He chose a direction and began to walk on air.

But after flying a few feet, he felt a huge pressure coming down from above, limiting his flight altitude to less than ten feet above the ground.

The secret realm has a no-fly zone, so you can't fly high.

Jiang Shi fell back to the ground and started walking.

He used the Lotus Step technique, and earthen-yellow lotus flowers rose from beneath his feet at great speed, leaving shallow footprints on the ground.

Before they had walked for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they heard rustling sounds ahead.

Jiang Shi stopped in his tracks, and the Canglan Sword flew out of his storage bracelet and landed in his hand.

The sword gleamed with a bluish light, exuding a chilling aura.

Three golden scorpions crawled out from behind the metal spikes, each the size of a washbasin, their stingers glowing a dark red.

Their carapaces were metallic, reflecting a cold light in the dim glow of the secret realm.

Golden Armored Scorpion, a peak Foundation Establishment stage demon beast.

The three golden-armored scorpions attacked simultaneously at an extremely fast speed.

Their tail stingers shot out like arrows, whistling through the air.

Jiang Shi swung his sword, and the water elemental essence on the Canglan Sword transformed into a blue sword light that swept across the area, the essence of which also contained sword intent.

The sword light swept across the bodies of the three golden-armored scorpions, cleaving them in two.

There was no blood flowing from the broken end of the Golden Armored Scorpion's corpse; only golden Geng metal energy emanated from it, which quickly dissipated into the air.

These demonic beasts left no corpses after they died, only pure Geng metal energy returned to the secret realm.

Jiang Shi sheathed his sword and continued on his way.

After walking for about half an hour, the terrain ahead changed.

The metal spikes have decreased, replaced by a relatively flat open space.

There were obvious signs of battle on the open ground; several craters had been blasted into the ground, and there were several pools of dark red blood, but the bodies had disappeared.

Someone has been here before, and a battle took place.

Jiang Shi squatted down to examine the bloodstains. The blood had not completely dried and must have been left several hours ago.

Judging from the amount of blood, at least two people were seriously injured, and may even be dead.

He stood up, and his spiritual consciousness spread out again.

This time, he sensed several auras in the southeast direction, about five miles away.

Jiang Shi thought for a moment and decided not to go in that direction. He didn't know whether the other party was friend or foe, and it wouldn't be wise to approach rashly.

He chose the opposite direction and continued forward.

After walking for a while, a huge metal mountain appeared ahead. At the top of the mountain was a hole from which five-colored light shone faintly.

That should be the entrance to the first core area, where the lair of the golden-armored giant wolf is located.

Jiang Shi quickened his pace and headed towards the mountain peak.

Just as he reached the foot of the mountain, three figures emerged from behind the metal spikes beside him and blocked his way.

The three newcomers were all at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, dressed in various colored Daoist robes, with storage bags hanging from their waists; they were clearly independent cultivators.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a square face, a short beard, and a high-grade magic weapon longsword in his hand.

Chapter update reminder: Chapter 293, First Floor, reading address.

"Fellow Daoist, are you alone?" The square-faced man asked with a smile, his tone very polite, but the three of them were positioned to subtly surround Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi looked at him expressionlessly and said in a deep voice, "What is it?"

The square-faced man rubbed his hands together: "Fellow Daoist, please don't misunderstand, we're not here to cause trouble."

I just wanted to ask if you'd be interested in teaming up? There are many demonic beasts in this secret realm, and people from the Five Elements Demonic Sect are also there. It's too dangerous to go alone.

Although the three of us aren't particularly strong, we can support each other, which is better than one person alone.

Jiang Shi glanced at the three of them.

The square-faced Golden Core cultivator was in the early stages and his aura was relatively solid.

The tall, thin man to his left was in the early stage of the Golden Core realm, his aura was weak, and he must have just broken through not long ago.

The short, stout man on the right, at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, possessed a steady aura and was quite formidable.

"No need," Jiang Shi said, and turned to leave.

The tall, thin man stepped forward, blocking his way: "Fellow Daoist, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Our leader kindly invited you to join his team, so please do him a favor."

Jiang Shi glanced at him.

With just one glance, the tall, thin man's face turned pale. He felt a terrifying pressure pressing down on him, as if he were being stared at by an ancient, ferocious beast, every pore on his body screaming for danger.

His square face also changed color.

He could tell that although the person in front of him was also at the early stage of the Golden Core realm, his aura was far stronger than that of ordinary early-stage Golden Core cultivators, and even comparable to some mid-stage Golden Core cultivators.

"Sixth Brother, step back," the square-faced man shouted.

The man with the square face clasped his hands and said, "Fellow Daoist, please calm down. We were impolite. Farewell."

After saying that, he led the two away quickly, disappearing behind the metal spikes.

Jiang Shi withdrew his gaze and continued walking towards the metal mountain peak.

He knew that the three people didn't genuinely want to team up; they were just testing his abilities.

If he's not skilled enough, teaming up will turn into a robbery.

This kind of trick is all too common in secret realms.

In the past, he would have already taken action to kill the enemy, but now that he has just entered the secret realm, he does not know the situation yet, so Jiang Shi did not take action directly.

After walking for a short while, a metal jungle appeared ahead, with countless metal spikes standing densely on the ground, like a stone forest.

Just as Jiang Shi was about to pass through, he suddenly sensed a powerful aura rapidly approaching from ahead.

He stopped and gripped the Canglan Sword in his hand once more.

A golden figure burst out of the metal jungle and landed ten feet in front of him.

The newcomer wore a golden Taoist robe, had a stern face, and sharp eyes.

It was Jin Bufan of the Five Elements Demonic Sect.

Jin Bufan looked Jiang Shi up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on the storage bracelet and the Fang family jade pendant at his waist.

"So you're Jiang Shi?" Jin Bufan asked, his voice cold. "A guest elder of the Fang family, the one who killed Chen Xuan."

Jin Bufan was able to recognize him because he detected the aura of Jiang Shi's five spiritual roots.

Jin Bufan sneered, "The Five Elements Master's legacy is not something an outsider like you can touch. If you know what's good for you, leave now, and I can pretend I never saw you."

Jiang Shi gripped the Canglan Sword tightly: "You can try."

A hint of killing intent flashed in Jin Bufan's eyes, but he ultimately did not make a move.

He gave Jiang Shi a deep look, then turned and walked into the metal jungle, his golden figure quickly disappearing among the spikes.

Jiang Shi remained vigilant, keeping his spiritual sense locked on the direction Jin Bufan had left in until he was certain that Jin Bufan had gone far away, at which point he sheathed the Canglan Sword.

The Five Elements Demonic Sect has already set its sights on him.

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