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

As they drew closer to the stone gate, Jiang Shi walked at the front, his gaze never leaving the giant bear relief on the gate's facade.

The two glowing yellow crystals resembled the eyes of a living being, and their light seemed to grow brighter as they approached.

"Stop." Jiang Shi suddenly raised his hand and said warily.

Huo Lie and the other two immediately stopped and cautiously surveyed their surroundings.

They knew that Jiang Shi must have discovered something to do that.

Having gone through these battles, they now trust Jiang Shi completely.

The ground was shaking, very faintly, not from footsteps, but something was burrowing up from underground.

Huo Lie held the earth spirit stone fragment even tighter in his mouth, rubbing a spark in his palm.

Feng Yiran placed his hand on the hilt of the sword.

The spirit beasts of Shuiling Creek pricked up their ears and emitted low warning growls.

"Could it be those sand worms again!" Jiang Shi thought to himself.

They had recently encountered an attack by sand worms.

Just then, the ground bulged up and cracked open.

A group of earth spirits emerged from underground.

They are formed from soil and are small in size, with the tallest only reaching a person's knees.

Their bodies are brown and have a rough surface, like a dried-up riverbed.

Its eyes were two glowing yellow crystals, blinking like two small lamps.

The earth spirits lined up, blocking the four people's way. They held clods of earth in their hands, raised them above their heads, and made a throwing motion.

But their legs were trembling, and their crystal eyes were filled with fear.

A slightly larger earth spirit squeezed up from the back of the line.

It was a head taller than the other earth spirits, and its body had more cracks, as if it had been through many battles. It opened its mouth and made a hoarse sound.

"Who...are you?"

His voice was like stone being rubbed together, each word spoken with difficulty.

Jiang Shi stepped forward, but he didn't release his aura, afraid of scaring the little guys.

"We are passing monks who wish to enter the temple."

Jiang Shi used his mind to sense that these little earth spirits had no ill intentions or threats.

Otherwise, Jiang Shi would have already made his move!

The Great Earth Spirit stared at him for a while, and the light in its crystal eyes flickered.

It glanced back at its people behind it; the little earth spirits were still holding clods of earth, but their hands were already trembling.

"Put it down," the Great Earth Spirit said.

The little earth spirits looked at each other, not putting down the clods of earth in their hands.

"I said put it down!" The Great Earth Spirit's voice grew louder, carrying a commanding tone.

The clods of dirt fell to the ground, making a crackling sound.

The little earth spirits shrank behind the big earth spirit, only showing half their heads and two glowing eyes.

"My name is Rock Bone, the chieftain of the Earth Spirits in this area," the Earth Spirit chieftain introduced himself.

Jiang Shi gave his name and then introduced the three people behind him.

Rock Bone observed them for a while, and the light in Crystal Stone's eyes gradually stabilized.

"Are you going to the temple?" Rock Bone asked.

"Yes." Jiang Shi nodded.

"For the sake of inheritance?" Yan Gu asked. As the patriarch of the Earth Spirit Clan, he had seen far too many cultivators come here for the sake of inheritance.

He had seen those five demonic cultivators from the Five Elements Demonic Sect from afar, but because their demonic energy was too strong, Yan Gu did not dare to approach them.

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Jiang Shi did not deny it; he nodded and said, "Yes."

Rock Bone remained silent for a moment.

It crouched down and touched the ground with its hand, as if it were sensing something.

Then it stood up and took two steps closer to Jiang Shi.

"The Earth Bear is awake," Rockbone said, his voice even lower than before.

"It woke up a few days ago. It was supposed to sleep for a long time, but someone disturbed something in the temple. It's very violent now and will kill anyone it sees," Yan Gu said to Jiang Shi.

"People from the Five Elements Demonic Sect?" Jiang Shi asked.

Yan Gu nodded and said, "Five demonic cultivators, emanating the auras of the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth), have gone in and are fighting the Earth Bear. They've been fighting for two days now."

Upon hearing this, Feng Yiran frowned and said, "Two days? It's still not over?"

"Those five are very strong, and they even have a combined attack technique," Rock Bone said. "But they can't defeat Earth Bear. Earth Bear has a power boost inside the temple; they're just wearing each other down and trying to stay alive."

Jiang Shi kept Yan Gu's words in mind. He knew that the Earth Bear was probably the most powerful guardian spirit beast in the Five Elements Secret Realm.

Previously, the five disciples of the Five Elements Demon Sect hadn't even managed to defeat the Flaming Lion on the third level, so it would be very difficult for them to win against this Earth Bear this time.

Of course, Jiang Shi guessed that Jin Bufan might have some trump cards, but he couldn't be sure.

"What's inside the temple?" Jiang Shi asked, wanting to know about the situation inside the temple from Yan Gu.

Since they were about to enter, it was better to be careful. Jiang Shi knew the principle of knowing yourself and your enemy, and that you will win every battle.

Rock Bone remained silent for a while, as if hesitating whether to speak.

Finally, it spoke: "There are three trials in the temple. Only by passing the trials can you obtain the inheritance. The Five Elements Wheel and the Dao Seed are in the deepest part."

Upon hearing Yan Gu's words, Jiang Shi had an idea in his mind!

The Five Elements Wheel is an array composed of five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth!

This item is extremely important to Jiang Shi, a cultivator with five elemental roots!

It's even more important than a top-grade spiritual weapon!

"What do you want?" Jiang Shi asked directly. Yan Gu must have something in mind to have come looking for them.

Jiang Shi could tell that these earth spirits weren't bad people; they just needed help.

Upon hearing this, Yan Gu's eyes lit up.

"Please, Master, help us," Rock Bones pleaded.

"There is a piece of land to the north that has been polluted by demonic energy. Our people have been corrupted and turned into earth spirits that bite anyone they see. The source of the pollution is an earth demon scorpion, which is in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm. We can't defeat it."

"If you help us get rid of the Earth Demon Scorpion and purify that land, I can offer you these fragments of Earth Spirit Orbs. They can counteract the gravity suppression of the Earth Bear."

Yan Gu took out four yellow fragments from his pocket, each about the size of a thumb, emitting a warm yellow light.

"Earth Spirit Orb Fragment, Mid-Grade 3. Wearing it can counteract some of the effects of gravity."

Jiang Shi looked at the four fragments but did not immediately agree.

Huo Lie leaned closer and whispered, "Counteracting the effects of gravity is very useful for us; this is a worthwhile deal."

Feng Yiran nodded as well.

It was just a mid-stage Golden Core Earth Demon Scorpion; with the strength of the four of them, eliminating it would be a piece of cake.

Even with some influence in this Earth Element Realm, they are still capable of dealing with an Earth Demon Scorpion.

With this fragment of the Earth Spirit Orb, it will be of some help in dealing with the Earth Bear later!