Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

Seeing that all four of them were looking at him, Li Hong didn't bother with any more mystery. With a flick of his hand, a ball of spiritual liquid radiating a soft, colorful light appeared in his palm.

"How is it?" Li Hong's lips curled into a confident smile as he glanced at everyone. "Is this essence of my magic weapon presentable? If it can be refined into one's natal magic weapon, it can at least increase the power of that magic weapon by 10%."

Even a Golden Core cultivator would recognize the value of this treasure's essence.

There are very limited ways to enhance the power of one's natal magic weapon. Generally, it can only be nurtured slowly in the dantian by the cultivator using true essence, or by finding suitable rare and precious treasures to be fused into the natal magic weapon.

The essence of magic treasures is one of the rare and precious materials that can enhance the power of one's natal magic treasure, and it is applicable to all types and attributes of natal magic treasures.

One-tenth of the power may not sound like much, but in life-or-death battles at the Golden Core stage, a difference of one-tenth of the power is often the chasm between life and death, enough to give a cultivator an absolute advantage in duels of the same level, and even the confidence to challenge those of higher levels.

But these four people are still weighing their options.

"I've already brought out such a precious treasure, yet you four fellow Daoists are still so hesitant?" The smile on Li Hong's face gradually faded, and his tone turned cold. "It seems you're not interested in this essence of magic treasure. Fine, just pretend I never brought it out."

As soon as he finished speaking, he slowly closed his five fingers, and the shimmering light was concealed in his palm.

This retraction was even more deadly than when it was first revealed.

The expressions of the four Golden Core cultivators changed simultaneously. They watched helplessly as the ball of colorful light disappeared into Li Hong's palm, as if the opportunity they had gained was slipping away inch by inch.

"Fellow Daoist Li, please wait!"

Wei Xinghe hurriedly spoke up, "Fellow Daoist Li, you jest! It's not that we're not interested, it's just that this item is far too precious for us to handle at the moment..."

"We don't have a bargaining chip that will satisfy Fellow Daoist Li in the short term," Song Kunlun finished the sentence for him.

Among the five Golden Core cultivators, he had condensed his Golden Core in the shortest time, only a little over a hundred years, and his cultivation foundation was the shallowest.

Since the completion of the Golden Core, my natal magic weapon has only been nurtured for over seventy years, and its power is indeed lacking. Naturally, I don't want to miss out on this magic weapon essence that can enhance the power of my natal magic weapon.

"Fellow Daoist Song is right..."

"That's right, that's right..."

Nangong Ling and Xuanji also hurriedly expressed their opinions.

Li Hong had been using a provocation tactic, and seeing that the others immediately expressed their opinions, a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes, but he still pretended to be calm on the surface. He opened his palm slightly again, and that warm, flowing, shimmering light reappeared in his palm.

"Since you are all interested, then it's easy to arrange." Li Hong's gaze swept over the four of them, and he spoke slowly, "The bet remains the same: whichever disciple brings out the most spiritual herbs, only counting the three main ingredients needed to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill. This time, the bet will be simpler: the winner takes all. How about it?"

"Alright, we'll do as Fellow Daoist Li says." Wei Xinghe was the first to agree, his eyes already showing a hint of determination. "My Tianxing Sect disciples are well prepared this time. I accept this challenge."

Although he didn't know why Li Hong was so confident, neither side was pushovers.

Song Kunlun, Nangong Ling, and Xuanji all nodded in agreement.

All of them were Golden Core cultivators with extraordinary status. Since the bet was made, they each took out their treasures as stakes for the game. The value of each item was equivalent to the value of the magic treasure essence that Li Hong had taken out.

The appearance of these treasures caused the Foundation Establishment cultivators waiting on the sidelines to become envious. They all marveled at the wealth and generosity of the Golden Core cultivators, who were actually willing to take out such precious treasures as a form of entertainment or a gambling prize.

Their yearning for the Golden Core realm intensified even further.

The disciples who entered the secret realm were naturally unaware that the Golden Core cultivators outside were gambling with their lives.

But what good will it do to know?

In this world, strength reigns supreme. A single word, action, or attitude from a high-level cultivator can determine the life or death of thousands of low-level cultivators.

The only thing a low-level cultivator can do is strive to survive, break through to higher realms, and one day become a player in the game, controlling their own destiny.

……

In the hidden realm, the night was deep.

There were still more than two hours until dawn, and the massacre continued.

Although Zhang Li didn't see it, he could faintly sense a bloody smell floating in the air.

But he remained calm and focused, sitting cross-legged on the treetop, silently replenishing his depleted internal energy and magical artifacts.

Time passed slowly, the sounds of fierce fighting sometimes near, sometimes far, and the third night in the secret realm finally came to an end.

As the night drew to a close, a faint glimmer of dawn appeared on the distant horizon.

The bloody massacre that lasted all night reduced the number of cultivators on the outskirts of the secret realm by more than half. Countless cultivators who had collected spiritual herbs ended up as easy prey for others to plunder.

Those cultivators who survived the massacre that night knew they had no hope of obtaining the treasure, so they all found a place to hide and became cowards, since this was their only way to save their lives.

At the treetop, Zhang Li slowly opened his eyes.

After a night of rest, his depleted magical power and inner energy have been fully restored, and he has returned to his peak condition.

After climbing down from the tree, Zhang Li turned his gaze back to the canyon that stretched between the two mountains in the distance.

It's time to head to the core area of ​​the secret realm.

The morning breeze was cool, blowing away the night dew that lingered on the branches and leaves. Although the bloody smell that had permeated the forest had faded, a lingering sense of desolation remained.

Zhang Li suppressed his aura and concealed all magical power fluctuations. With a flash, he silently disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

As we hurried along, we saw signs of fighting, broken branches, and still-wet bloodstains everywhere. Occasionally, we could see several cold corpses lying in the grass, silently telling the tragic story of the previous night.

But the closer one gets to the canyon, the fewer traces of the battle remain. There might be some reason for this, but Zhang Li doesn't know.

Just before daybreak, Zhang Li finally reached the entrance to the canyon.

Upon arrival, his gaze sharpened slightly.

On the steep cliffs on both sides of the valley entrance, several cultivator corpses were pinned to the rock face by sharp objects.

The long blade pierced through the chest and limbs, pinning the body firmly to the mountain wall. The tattered robes fluttered slightly in the cold dawn wind, and dark red blood slowly flowed down the crevices of the rock wall, leaving black bloodstains on the rocks.

Moreover, judging from the residual aura, these cultivators were all quite strong, probably of average strength among all the cultivators who entered the secret realm.

According to Zhang Li's judgment, these cultivators were not completely dead when they were nailed to the mountain wall, but they slowly died due to excessive blood loss.

The corpse was hung high in the only way in and out of the canyon, without any concealment. It was obviously done on purpose to deter anyone who wanted to enter the core area through the canyon.

Zhang Li raised his hand and unleashed several bursts of azure flames, which landed on the corpses. Then, expressionless, he walked into the canyon.

A few corpses were not enough to frighten him.

However, to Zhang Li's surprise, there was no ambush in the canyon as he had imagined, and he entered the core area of ​​the secret realm without any incident.

In the remaining days in the secret realm, Zhang Li relied on his own strength and cautious nature to win battle after battle, collecting a large number of the three main ingredients needed to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill, and also gained a lot of other cultivation resources.

Before long, the time limit for the secret realm came to an end, the spiritual light of heaven and earth trembled, and the exit slowly opened.

The surviving cultivators fled in a sorry state, many of them seriously injured and with little to show for it. Zhang Li was mixed in with the crowd, and his condition was not much better.

Although he kept the vast majority of the spoils, Zhang Li was still the cultivator who brought out the most of the three main medicines.

As a result, Song Kunlun won the bet and generously rewarded Zhang Li with a second-tier spiritual weapon as compensation.

Two months later, Zhang Li received the Foundation Establishment Pills he was entitled to after this trip to the secret realm, plus the Su family's share, for a total of six pills.

Holding a chance that could transform him completely, Zhang Li immediately went into seclusion.

This sitting has lasted for eight years.

One day, the silent cave suddenly roared, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged and gathered, and spiritual light soared into the sky!

The shackles were broken, and the foundation for the Way was laid.

Once the foundation is established, lifespan increases dramatically, and the physical body undergoes a complete transformation.

From then on, Zhang Li completely broke free from the precarious fate of a low-level cultivator in the mortal world and finally escaped his status as the lowest level in the cultivation world.

The mortal path ends, the immortal path begins anew.

From then on, the mountains and seas were vast, and the great road was boundless.

In the years that followed, Zhang Li had many opportunities and never stopped moving forward. His cultivation progressed rapidly, breaking through the Golden Core stage, reaching the Nascent Soul stage, and attaining the Divine Transformation stage. Finally, he broke through the barrier and ascended to the Upper Realm.