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

Soon, the four arrived at the nest of the Xuan Shui Turtle, which was an underwater cave.

The cave was surrounded by a protective shield. The four people entered the cave and found that there was no water inside.

The four of them walked to an underground staircase, looking down at what seemed to be a bottomless abyss.

The Xuan Shui Turtle was waiting for them below.

"It's inviting us down." Shui Lingxi looked at the little beast on her shoulder. The beast had stopped trembling, its ears perked up, and its eyes fixed on the depths of the steps. "It said that whoever takes the Water Spirit Orb must undergo a test."

Huo Lie walked to the edge of the steps, glanced down, and then pulled back: "The water elemental energy down there is terrifyingly dense. If I go down now, I might not even be able to stand properly."

The deeper you go, the denser the water element becomes.

"You wait up there. Feng Yiran, Shui Lingxi, let's go down," Jiang Shi said.

Huo Lie nodded and sat down against a pillar. He knew that going down now would only be a hindrance.

Jiang Shi walked at the front, with the water droplet floating above his head, its blue light illuminating the steps.

Feng Yiran followed behind him, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Shui Lingxi walked at the back, with the little beast on her shoulder, its blue light flickering like two small lamps.

The stairs are very long.

As you descend level by level, the surrounding temperature decreases and the air becomes increasingly humid.

Water droplets began to seep from the wall, flowing down the wall and forming thin streams that trickled down the edge of the steps.

After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the stairs came to an end.

Before us lay a huge underground cave.

The cave is even more spacious than the main hall above, and the dome is so high that you can't see the top.

The walls on all four sides were not made of crystal, but of natural rock covered with glowing moss that emitted a faint blue light, illuminating the entire cave.

There is a pool of water in the center of the cave.

The pool wasn't large, only ten zhang in diameter, but the water was a deep blue, almost black. The surface was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the moss on the dome of the sky like a starry night.

In the middle of the pool, a turtle was lying.

Mysterious Water Turtle.

Its shell is ten zhang wide, and its entire body is deep blue. The shell is covered with natural runes that flow slowly, like ripples on water.

Its head and limbs are retracted into its shell, with only its tail protruding. At the tip of its tail is a ball of blue light that flickers.

But it didn't sleep.

Its eyes were open.

Two enormous eyes, with golden vertical pupils, were staring at them.

It wasn't an aggressive look, it was a scrutinizing gaze.

Jiang Shi walked to the edge of the pool and stopped. Feng Yiran and Shui Lingxi stood behind him.

The head of the Xuan Shui turtle emerged from its shell.

Its head was three zhang long, its neck was as thick as a pillar, and its skin was dark blue and covered with wrinkles.

It looked down at Jiang Shi, its nose twitching a few times, as if it were sniffing something.

Then it opened.

The voice was deep and resonant, like a stone rolling underwater, and every word made the cave vibrate.

"The Five-Colored Golden Elixir... the balance of the five elements... I've been waiting for this for a long time."

Jiang Shi remained silent.

The Xuan Shui Turtle's eyes turned to Shui Lingxi, then to Feng Yiran, and finally back to Jiang Shi.

"You took the Water Spirit Orb; it's mine. But I don't want it back. The Five Elements Master left it here to wait for a destined person, someone who can pass the test."

"What kind of test?" Jiang Shi asked.

The Xuan Shui Turtle raised its tail, and the ball of blue light at the end flew out and landed above the pool.

The blue light exploded, transforming into an array.

The formation floated above the pool, with a diameter of ten zhang, and was composed of countless blue runes.

The runes were layered upon each other, like a blooming flower with a hollow center, and something inside the hollow was glowing.

"The complete version of the Five Waters Returning to Origin Formation," said the Mystic Water Turtle. "What you just deciphered was a simplified version, used to protect the Water Spirit Orb. This is the true test left behind by the Five Elements Master."

Shui Lingxi's expression changed as she looked at the formation. Her spirit beast barked nervously from her shoulder.

"This formation is ten times more complex than the previous one," Shui Lingxi said. "I can't understand the way the runes are connected."

"I'm not asking you to understand it. I'm asking you to decipher it. You don't need to understand the principles of the formation, you just need to use the power of the five elements to activate the five array eyes simultaneously. But this time, the five array eyes are not on the walls, but inside the formation. You need to enter the formation, find the array eyes in its operation, and then activate them simultaneously."

It paused, its golden eyes sweeping over the three of them.

"One person cannot do it. It requires the balance of the five elements. There are three of you, but only one of you possesses the power of the five elements."

It looked at the river stone.

"You are the key, but you alone are not enough. You need three other people to help you stabilize the other parts of the formation."

Jiang Shi looked at the formation and remained silent for a moment.

What will happen once we go inside?

"The formation will attack you. The attack method is the Five Elements magic: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, with each of the five attributes appearing randomly. You need to find the formation's core during the attack and activate it simultaneously. If you fail, you will be teleported out, but you must leave the Water Spirit Orb behind."

"How many times can we try?"

"once."

Shui Lingxi took a deep breath: "Once is enough."

She patted the little beast on her shoulder, and the beast jumped down, grew a little bigger, and the silver patterns on its body lit up.

"once."

Shui Lingxi took a deep breath: "Once is enough."

She patted the little beast on her shoulder, and the beast jumped down, grew a little bigger, and the silver patterns on its body lit up.

Feng Yiran drew his sword, his sword intent gathering.

Jiang Shi took out the Water-Stabilizing Pearl and the Crimson Spirit Feather, and then took out the Azure Wave Sword.

"Walk."

The three stepped into the formation.

The moment I entered, the world around me changed.

It was no longer a cave, but a blue void. There was no ground beneath my feet, no dome above my head, only endless blue.

Five points of light floated in the void, five colors: gold, cyan, blue, red, and brown, distributed in five different directions.

That's where the key points of the formation are located; we need to find them and activate them simultaneously.

But the point of light is moving. It's not fixed; it floats around in the void, its trajectory completely irregular.

"Find them and activate them simultaneously," Jiang Shi said. "Search them separately."

The wind also flew towards the golden spot of light.

Shui Lingxi flew towards the blue light spot.

Jiang Shi remained where he was, watching the blue and red lights.

The moment he moved, the formation attacked.

A golden sword aura shot out from the void, heading straight for Feng Yiran.

Feng Yiran dodged to the side, then slashed back with his sword. The sword energy struck the sword energy and exploded in mid-air.

On the other side of Shuiling Creek, countless green vines grew out of the void and wrapped around her ankles.

Her spirit beast spewed out ice beams, freezing the vines, and she took the opportunity to fly towards the blue light.

Red flames and blue ice spikes attacked Jiang Shi simultaneously.

With his left hand he held the water droplets, and with his right hand he held the crimson spirit feathers. The water curtain blocked the ice spikes, and the fire wall blocked the flames.

Both attacks were neutralized simultaneously, but his speed was reduced.

"That won't do," Jiang Shi shouted.

"We're going it alone, it's too slow. The key points of the formation are moving, we need to activate five at the same time, we must first immobilize them."