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

The wildly popular online novel, "Cultivating Immortality: Heaven Rewards Diligence, Success is Surely Within Reach," is a heartfelt work by author Ju Jiuping.

Huo Lie walked at the very back, his steps growing heavier and heavier. His fire-elemental true essence was suppressed too much, and he could only walk using his physical strength. He began to pant after walking less than two miles.

"I can't go on, I need to rest." He leaned against a protruding rock, panting heavily.

Shui Lingxi also stopped and squatted down to examine the spirit beast's legs.

The spirit beast's left foreleg was a little swollen; it twisted it during the teleportation.

She took out a strip of cloth from her storage bracelet and carefully wrapped it up.

Feng Yiran stood to the side, his eyes closed, seemingly using his spiritual sense to explore the path ahead.

Jiang Shi did not rest.

He walked to a high rock and looked towards the stone gate.

The stone gate appeared larger than it did from a distance, and the giant bear relief on the gate was faintly visible. The bear's eyes were two glowing yellow crystals, which could be seen faintly even from this distance.

"Something is moving underground." Feng Yiran suddenly opened his eyes.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the ground collapsed.

Three enormous worms emerged from the ground, each as thick as a water bucket and two zhang long.

Their bodies are covered with yellowish-brown shells, with rings on the shells like tree rings.

Its head is a large, round mouth covered with rings of sharp, inward-growing teeth, which are dark yellow, like weathered bone.

Sand worm, mid-stage of Golden Core.

They have no eyes and rely on sensing ground vibrations to locate themselves.

The three creatures turned towards the four people at the same time, their large mouths opening and closing, revealing the dark esophagus inside.

A putrid stench emanated from their mouths, making it impossible to open one's eyes.

Huo Lie subconsciously raised his hand, only a few sparks appearing in his palm.

It hit the shell of the sand worm most recently, but didn't even leave a black mark.

The insect didn't even realize it was being attacked and continued to pounce on them.

"Damn it!" Huo Lie cursed and retreated to the back.

Shui Lingxi made her move.

Her spirit beast jumped off her shoulder, grew larger in the air, and became a blue spirit beast ten feet long.

The spirit beast opened its mouth and spat out a beam of ice-blue light, but the beam only flew five feet before dissipating, turning into a few drops of water that fell to the ground.

Shui Lingxi's expression changed, and she ordered her spirit beast to switch to physical attacks.

The spirit beast pounced and scratched several white marks on the sand worm's carapace with its claws, but it couldn't cause any real damage.

Feng Yiran drew his sword. Golden sword energy shot out from the tip of the sword, its trajectory deviating by two inches due to gravity. The first strike grazed the sand worm's scalp, shaving off only a small piece of its carapace.

He quickly adjusted the angle, and the second sword cut into the gap in the shell of the sand worm's head, where the shell was the thinnest, consisting of only a single membrane.

The sword energy exploded inside the worm's body. The sand worm let out a shriek, its body twisted violently a few times, and then it remained still.

As expected of a sword cultivator, he can still unleash his strength even in such an environment.

Jiang Shi is dealing with two at the same time.

He didn't rush to attack. He first activated the "Earth-Suppressing Mountain Technique," sinking his true essence into the ground to sense the flow of earth-elemental spiritual energy.

The movement of sand worms underground causes fluctuations in spiritual energy, much like fish swimming in water create ripples. He can predict where they will emerge half a breath in advance.

The first one emerged from three zhang (approximately 10 meters) below his feet.

Jiang Shi dodged to the side, and the Canglan Sword pierced the insect's mouth, the tip of the sword pressing against the inside of the insect's body. .

The divine light of Geng metal exploded inside the insect's body, and golden light shone through the gaps in the insect's mouth.

The sand worm's body stiffened for a moment, then went limp.

The second one attacked from behind.

It made no sound, and the ground did not vibrate when it moved.

However, Jiang Shi's spiritual sense detected the fluctuations in spiritual energy.

He didn't turn around. Lotus flowers rose beneath his feet, and he took the Lotus Step. Under the pressure of gravity, his speed was much slower, but it was enough to avoid that huge mouth.

With a backhand thrust, he pierced the head of the second creature.

Same position, same angle.

The sword energy exploded inside the worm's body, causing the sand worm to twitch a few times before dissipating into specks of light.

The three sand worms were all wiped out in less than twenty breaths.

Three fragments of earth spirit stone fell to the ground, emitting a faint, earthy-yellow light.

Jiang Shi bent down and picked up the broken pieces.

The fragments were warm to the touch, containing pure earth-elemental spiritual energy.

He handed one of the pieces to Huo Lie.

"Holding it in your mouth can help maintain a tiny spark of life."

Huo Lie took the fragment and held it under his tongue.

A warm sensation spread from his mouth to his lower abdomen, and he finally managed to rub a spark the size of a mung bean in his palm.

The sparks flickered a few times but didn't go out.

He let out a long breath, and the expression on his face relaxed a little.

"It's better than nothing," he said with a wry smile.

Shui Lingxi crouched down to examine the spirit beast's wound. The spirit beast's left foreleg had been slashed by the sharp teeth of a sand worm; the flesh was torn open and bleeding.

She took out a bottle of medicinal powder from her storage bracelet and carefully sprinkled it on the wound.

The powder is white and dissolves upon contact with blood, quickly forming a thin film that seals the wound.

The spirit beast licked her hand, making a low whimpering sound.

The four continued on their way.

After walking for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, a huge stone gate appeared on the distant horizon.

The stone gate is ten zhang high and five zhang wide, with a relief of a giant bear roaring to the sky carved on its surface.

The bear's eyes are two glowing yellow crystals, which can be seen faintly even from this distance.

On either side of the stone gate stood a stone pillar, its surface covered with densely packed runes.

The entrance to the Earth Core Temple.

Jiang Shi stopped and dispersed his spiritual senses.

The earth-elemental spiritual energy in the air was mixed with a strange aura—demonic energy.

It was so faint that it was almost undetectable without careful examination. He withdrew his spiritual sense and then released it again, carefully discerning the source of that wisp of demonic energy.

It wasn't formed naturally; it shows signs of human intervention.

He looked down at the ground again.

On the cracked loess, there was a series of footprints, bigger and deeper than theirs.

The edges of the footprints have been worn smooth by the wind and sand, but the direction is clear, extending towards the stone gate.

"The Five Elements Demon Sect members have already gone in," Jiang Shi said.

Huo Lie shifted the earth spirit stone fragment in his mouth and mumbled, "Let them go in first. They can help us scout ahead. Those five should fight the guardian beast to a standstill."

Feng Yiran placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze falling on the giant bear relief on the stone gate: "The bear's eyes are glowing, the formation is still in operation, and the temple has not been completely destroyed."

Shui Lingxi stood up and hoisted the spirit beast back onto her shoulder: "How long have they been inside? Can you tell?"

Jiang Shi squatted down and touched the edge of the footprints with his hand. The soil was loose, and the depth of the footprints indicated that the people had walked in a hurry and had not made any deliberate attempt to hide their tracks.

"It took less than an hour," he said. "They walked very quickly, as if they were in a hurry."

Huo Lie grinned: "In such a hurry to die? Let's go, we'll take it slow, no rush."

Jiang Shi stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.

"Walk."

He walked at the front, heading towards the stone gate.

Feng Yiran followed on the left, Shui Lingxi and the spirit beast on the right, and Huo Lie brought up the rear.

The shadows of the four people were stretched long by the light cast by the rocky island in the sky, like four black swords stuck in the yellowish-brown earth.

Behind them, the holes left by the sand worms were being filled in by the flowing loess, as if nothing had ever happened.

The wisp of demonic energy in the air had not yet dissipated, like an invisible snake coiled above the stone gate.