Cultivation begins with harvest.

Having only passed through half of the forest, they saw that the fruits growing on the nearby spiritual plants had faint spiritual patterns on them, and the fragrance of the fruit was so strong that just one sniff made them feel that their mana was recovering faster.

It was a century-old elixir.

After a moment's thought, Chen Guang understood. Most of the fruits here had not been harvested for a long time, allowing their medicinal properties to accumulate continuously. The special environment allowed these fruits to remain on the trees without rotting or falling off. Once a certain quantity was reached, the quantity stopped increasing, and the medicinal properties naturally accumulated rapidly, turning them into century-old elixirs.

"These restrictions are still too difficult."

This is the root cause. Even excluding the overseas deacons, there are over ten thousand deacons participating in each five-year mini-competition. Among them, there are probably two to three thousand cultivators with the strength to be in the top one thousand. When the top one thousand is used as a benchmark, it is only a description of the level of strength, not that there are actually only one thousand people in the competition. Even so, they can only break through the outermost restrictions. The restrictions deeper inside have probably not been broken by anyone for a long time.

This is why more than half of the five elemental spiritual plants have produced fruits of the level of hundred-year-old spiritual herbs.

Chen Guang sighed inwardly as he walked towards the innermost part of the path.

Baowu Lake, shrouded in a purple mist, is as tranquil as a blue gemstone, without a ripple. Like a gemstone, it is more like a blue mirror, with only the outline of a pavilion in the center of the lake visible through the misty haze.

Just as Chen Guang was surveying Baowu Lake and the one hundred most important Five Elements spiritual plants on the shore—the fruits on them were so full of spiritual energy that Chen Guang felt they might explode at any moment, and the fruits were emitting a dazzling light that attracted attention—a cultivator beside him did not stop and waded straight into the water.

Chen Guang's gaze then shifted.

As soon as the cultivator stepped into the lake, the surface of the water broke apart like quicksand. Instead of the expected water droplets, square-shaped "droplets" gathered and were pushed aside. The cultivator who stepped into the lake immediately changed color, and a layer of light blue radiance appeared on his body. Wherever the radiance touched, the water flow became more intense, making way for a passage.

Chen Guang then saw that there was a jade walkway on the water where the cultivator was standing. The cultivator tried his best to stand on the walkway, but wave after wave of force surged, causing the cultivator's body to sway continuously. After taking more than ten steps, he could no longer maintain his balance and was forcibly pushed onto the water. An invisible force swept across the water and swept the cultivator to the shore.

The cultivator shook his head in frustration, glanced at Chen Guang, and left Baowu Lake with an expression that said "keep away."

Chen Guang remained silent and walked along the riverbank for a while. When he reached the area where Yu Hua was, he saw a tall stone tablet with a secret technique written in full detail, consisting of 5,400 characters – the Treasure Five Secret Formula.

"The celestial stars above, ever-changing and ever-shifting. The five elements of Qi and spirit enable me to attain true understanding..."

Profound and ever-changing, this is the secret of Baowu.

Only by cultivating this secret technique can one break through the surface of Baowu Lake, walk onto the jade plank road beneath the water, and reach the center of the lake. In the center of the lake, cultivators can simulate the connection between heaven and man during the Foundation Establishment stage. Although it is only a simulation, experiencing it in advance is naturally beneficial.

It is said that this setting was implemented because the simulation consumes too much energy, naturally filtering out a group of cultivators so that only those who truly need it are qualified to try it.

It makes sense, considering the ability to simulate the natural sensations during foundation building, and the sheer amount of investment involved is evident from the presence of these five elemental plants.

The Treasure Five Secret Technique is not a traditional secret method, but a framework for compound spells. By adding different spells according to one's understanding, a layer of magical light can be formed, and only with the help of this layer of magical light can the lake water be broken.

This requires cultivators to have an extremely high level of control over spells. Different spells need to work together to make the Treasure Five Secret Technique work. This layer of magical light is not only capable of entering Treasure Five Lake, but can also be integrated into the magic shield. However, it requires a special construction. In fact, the Treasure Five Secret Technique itself can exist as a separate spell.

"Editor?"

Chen Guang couldn't quite put his finger on it, feeling that it was similar yet not quite, but once he understood it thoroughly, he realized that it was a container that could be used to add other spells and constantly adjust and adapt to produce specific effects. The only thing that would never change was that no matter what the effect was, the Treasure Five Secret Technique would always be enveloped in a layer of light when it was used, and this form restricted the direction of the Treasure Five Secret Technique's effect.

Chen Guang pondered for a while, but found it to be very profound and obscure. Just understanding it would take a lot of time. Even with the help of the unique enlightenment mountain body of Tongchuan Cliff, progress was slow, let alone adding magic to construct the magic light. So he temporarily gave up the idea of ​​going to Baowu Lake to try his luck. He also tried to enter Baowu Lake, but without the magic light of the Baowu secret, he was immediately pushed out by an invisible force.

"I've circled around the Seven Treasures of Tongchuan Cliff, but I've only really looked at them. The only thing I truly benefited from was the mountain's ability to open up wisdom and facilitate change; otherwise, I would have returned empty-handed."

Chen Guang memorized the 5,400-word secret, then left Baowu Lake, found a spirit crane, and flew towards Yunlou.

Yunlou is located on the edge of the market.

Compared to Ziling Peak, it's like a bean sprout compared to a towering tree. However, when you get close, it still blocks out the sun and doesn't have the solidity of a tall building. It is supposed to be a building that reaches into the clouds and should be solid and support the sky, but it exudes a kind of ethereal and mysterious aura like a cloud.

The spirit cranes landed lightly beneath the Cloud Tower. The Cloud Tower was accessible from all four sides, and the outer ring was a place for the spirit cranes to land. In addition, the length of the Cloud Tower was measured in miles, and from Chen Guang's side, he could not see the cultivators on the other three sides, which showed how vast it was. The number of cultivators coming and going here was only slightly less than that of Tongchuan Cliff, but there were still many people. It was only because the area was large enough that it did not feel overly crowded, and it was far from being so crowded that it was impossible to walk.

To enter the Cloud Tower, all you need is an identity token.

Chen Guang stepped into the Cloud Tower. The tower had doors on all four sides, but upon closer inspection, it became clear that there were no actual doors, but rather a dark and deep, mirror-like light screen. The entry and exit of each cultivator would cause ripples to spread across the surrounding light screen.

Compared to Tongchuanya, Yunlou is more reserved, but its unique and unapproachable aura is even stronger.

Chen Guang took a breath and entered the Cloud Tower, passing through the light curtain in the blink of an eye.

"Thump—"

Like a drum being struck, Chen Guang found himself in a dark wasteland, unable to tell whether he was rising or falling, yet he was certain that he was not still.

As they drew nearer, forty-seven orbs of light, gradually radiating brightness, drifted toward him. Chen Guang, as if drawn by their presence, actively drifted toward the forty-seven orbs.

One, two...

Some of the orbs of light dimmed and remained stationary, with only the faint outlines of their light still shining to prove their existence. Chen Guang, however, seemed to be able to see the strange characters floating and rotating on the orbs. Although he had never seen them before, he immediately understood their meaning.

"Yan Ling, Su Zhen Tai Sha, Deng Fu Sou, Sheng Shao Fu, Cha Shou..."

Chen Guang murmured, "How can I not understand that this ball of light corresponds to the inheritance of a special skill!"

At the same time, he realized that the light of these lingering orbs had dimmed, which meant that he was no longer qualified. Among the dimming orbs, some of the skills were new to Chen Guangshang. As he watched them dim, although he told himself to stay calm, he couldn't help but feel regret.

Yunlou's special skills are not subject to specific conditions; if you meet the requirements, you meet them, and if you don't, it means you're not destined to be with them. This is the law of fate.

In the end, only eleven orbs of light remained in front of Chen Guang.

The inscriptions are respectively: Spiritual Plants, Alchemists, Weapon Refiners, Array Formations, Weapon Control, Talismans, Puppets, Beast Tamers, Gluttons, Candle Warriors, and Remnant Controllers.