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

A familiar feeling of the world being turned upside down.

Jiang Shi opened his eyes and found himself standing in the courtyard of Qingyun Sect.

The sky was overcast, and the air smelled of firewood and earth.

The sounds of outer disciples practicing their skills drifted from afar, intermittent and as if muffled by a wall.

He looked down at his hands. They were rough, calloused, and had dirt under his fingernails.

This is his body during the Qi Refining stage. He circulates his cultivation technique but cannot feel the Golden Core or the True Essence. Only the faint magical power of the early Qi Refining stage flows slowly through his meridians.

His cultivation level was suppressed, not sealed, but returned to its past state.

Just then, the door to the woodshed opened.

Lin Feiyu walked out, wearing that gray Taoist robe, his hair neatly combed, and a gentle smile on his face.

Exactly the same as back then.

"Jiang Shi, how's your cultivation technique coming along?"

His voice was familiar, gentle, and with a touch of concern, exactly the same as it was fifteen years ago.

Jiang Shi stood still, without moving.

Lin Feiyu walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

The warmth of that hand was real, the calluses on the palm were real, even the dirt under the fingernails was real.

"You are my good apprentice, and I will train you well," Lin Feiyu said in a gentle voice.

If others heard this, they might think he was a truly compassionate teacher.

Jiang Shi looked into his eyes, which held gentleness, kindness, and a hint of something Jiang Shi had never noticed before: calculation.

Like a farmer looking at the crops in the field, calculating when to fertilize, when to water, and when to harvest.

Jiang Shi had never noticed this subtle scheme before, or rather, he had noticed it but hadn't paid it any mind.

At that time, he was a beginner and knew nothing. He was already extremely grateful that someone was willing to take him as a disciple, give him cultivation techniques, and provide him with elixirs.

How could one possibly discern what lay beneath that smile?

But now he sees it.

"You are not my master," Jiang Shi said.

Lin Feiyu's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal: "What did you say?"

"You've never treated me like a disciple," Jiang Shi said, looking into his eyes, each word distinct. "I'm just a medicine. A medicine waiting for you to mature."

Lin Feiyu's smile vanished completely. His face began to change, his wrinkles deepened, his eyes turned red, and the gentle mask peeled away, revealing the true expression beneath: greed, scheming, and resentment.

"So what if you know?" His voice changed, no longer gentle, but sharp, like fingernails scraping against a stone slab.

"You were raised by me, so you belong to me. I laid the foundation for your Five Elements, and your Golden Core is also mine."

His body began to expand rapidly, tearing his gray Taoist robe and revealing the black magic patterns inside.

The demonic runes slithered across his skin like snakes, emanating a putrid stench.

"Your five-colored golden elixir is mine!"

Lin Feiyu pounced on him.

Jiang Shi didn't move. He stood there, watching Lin Feiyu rush towards him, watching that hand grab his chest, watching the demonic runes extend from his fingertips like tentacles.

He extended a finger and tapped Lin Feiyu's forehead.

There was no true energy, no sword energy, no magic. Just a single finger, gently tapping the forehead.

Lin Feiyu froze.

His body remained suspended in mid-air, as if frozen in place.

The expression on his face changed from ferocity to confusion, and from confusion to fear.

"You are not my master, nor are you Lin Feiyu. You are just a shadow in my heart. I fear you, therefore you have power; I do not fear you, therefore you are nothing."

"I was never afraid of you back then, so how can you possibly influence my heart now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Shi withdrew his finger.

Lin Feiyu's body began to disintegrate.

The magic runes on his body broke off one by one, like charred ropes.

His skin peeled off in patches, revealing the emptiness beneath.

Lin Feiyu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no sound came out.

A few breaths later, Lin Feiyu completely disappeared.

The tenement courtyard also disappeared. The woodshed, the outer gate, and Biluo Valley all vanished.

Jiang Shi stood in a void, his feet were transparent, as if he were standing on water.

The top of his head was also transparent, and he could see countless points of light flowing on it, like the starry sky, or something he didn't know.

A voice came from the void, not from any particular direction, but from all directions, as if the entire space itself was speaking.

"You don't hate him?"

Jiang Shi spoke without the slightest hesitation:

"What's the use of hatred? Hatred can't make me stronger, it can't take me further. I've gotten to where I am today not because of hatred, but because of myself."

"He never gave you his true heart, but you gave him yours. Don't you feel like you lost out?"

"You really can't see through my heart. It's all just a transaction, so how can you talk about sincerity?" Jiang Shi laughed as he spoke.

The voice in the void fell silent, and then a crack appeared in the water beneath Jiang Shi's feet, from which a door rose.

The door was made of wood, very old, with cracks in the door panel, just like the door of the woodshed in the courtyard.

Jiang Shi pushed open the door.

The arena is just outside the gate.

No one can influence Jiang Shi's Daoist heart. The reason he has come this far is not only due to his destiny, but also because his pursuit of immortality is eternal.

Shui Lingxi and Huo Lie remained seated, while Feng Yiran stood before the portal.

Upon seeing Jiang Shi emerge, Huo Lie was the first to jump up, aggravating his shoulder injury and causing him to grimace in pain.

"So fast?" Huo Lie exclaimed in surprise.

"How long has it been?" Jiang Shi asked, ignoring him.

"A cup of tea." Feng Yiran was not surprised at all. He had already understood Jiang Shi's Dao Heart when they were in the Fire Element Secret Realm.

Jiang Shi nodded and sat down to the side. He closed his eyes and focused his inner energy on his dantian.

The five-colored golden elixir is still there, the five-element wheel is still there, and the seed of Dao is still there.

Everything was normal, but there was a slight change. The five-colored light on the golden core was more solid than before it went in, as if some impurities had been removed.

This mental hurdle brought him some benefits.

Shui Lingxi stood up and patted the dust off her skirt.

"It's my turn."

She walked toward the portal of light, with the spirit beast following at her feet.

"Can spirit beasts be brought in too?" Huo Lie asked.

"It's more than just a spirit beast," Shui Lingxi said without turning her head. "It's half of me."

She stepped into the portal of light, and five-colored rays engulfed her and the spirit beast.

And so, the arena fell silent once more.

The three of them stopped talking and waited for Shui Lingxi to come out.

Huo Lie was restless, sometimes standing up and walking a few steps, sometimes sitting down again.

His shoulder still hurts, and he walks with a crooked posture.

"Why hasn't she come out yet?" Huo Lie asked anxiously.

"She just went in," Feng Yiran replied.

Jiang Shi and Feng Yiran could both tell that Huo Lie had probably fallen for Shui Lingxi.

Fortunately, Shui Lingxi also has feelings for Huo Lie.

The latest chapter is packed with exciting plot twists! Come check it out!