Duan Rong and the others followed the crowd, walking neither too fast nor too slow.
About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they heard a chaotic noise ahead.
As they followed the mountain path and turned past a large rock jutting out by the roadside, they saw a densely packed crowd at the entrance of a valley not far ahead.
A man in a tight outfit with a waist badge stood on a large bluestone by the entrance of the valley, shouting, "Don’t all block here. Move to the sides, there are paths to enter the valley on both sides."
The sea of people was surging, shoulder to shoulder, like a tide carrying Duan Rong and the others to one side.
Seeing the crowded masses, Duan Rong grabbed Xiao Yu’s hand.
Their fingers interlocked as they moved forward through the crowd, Xiao Yu occasionally glancing at Duan Rong’s profile.
They went around another valley entrance and found the crowd less dense at the next entrance.
As soon as Xiao Yu noticed the crowd was no longer dense, she pulled her hand away from Duan Rong’s.
Duan Rong turned his head to look at Xiao Yu.
Xiao Yu’s face was slightly flushed, she said softly, "There are too many people. It doesn’t look good."
Being squeezed in the crowd was not a big deal, but now that the crowd was dispersing, holding hands with Xiao Yu was indeed a bit conspicuous.
Just as Xiao Yu broke free from Duan Rong’s hand, Ximen Kankan and Shen Mizi pushed through the crowd and ran over to them.
They had been scattered a bit due to the surging crowd earlier.
Ximen Kankan, looking at the entrance of the valley not far away, said, "I squeezed through and checked. There’s another entrance further down, with fewer people. Let’s go over there."
Duan Rong smiled slightly; with Ximen Kankan’s hefty figure, it was impressive he managed to squeeze to the front.
Following Ximen Kankan’s suggestion, they made their way to another valley entrance where the crowd was sparse.
They joined the sparse crowd and slowly walked into the valley.
No one checked their Sect Cloud Scrolls or approbation slips along the way.
They walked along the mountain path at the valley entrance for a while and then entered a valley.
This valley was surrounded by towering cliffs, with five gorges leading into it. At this time, each gorge entrance was filled with a black mass of people.
Murmurs echoed in the valley, like a cacophony of chattering birds.
Many people stared in astonishment at the towering mountain structures in the valley.
Standing amidst the crowd, Duan Rong felt a shiver down his spine as if shocked by electricity.
"This is?"
It turned out that the peaks surrounding the valley were carved into four enormous stone statues.
The crowd standing there barely reached the toes of these statues.
These four enormous stone statues, carved out of the mountain itself, were the divine statues of the Four Great Kings from the Fetal Concealment Scripture.
"Why is the first test held here?"
Duan Rong’s eyes flickered with thoughts swirling in his mind.
The other registered disciples simply found the statues massive and majestic, soaring into the sky.
However, Duan Rong was shocked as the deep valley itself was a colossal Mandala.
This enormous Mandala reached unto the heavens, as if communicating with the laws of heaven and earth, radiating a terrifying divine soul pressure.
What kind of person could cultivate the Fetal Concealment Scripture in such a place?
Could such beings still be considered human?
At the center of the four gigantic statues, in the heart of the deep valley, stood a wide alabaster altar with complete railings, steps, and ornate carvings beautifully intricate.
In the center of the altar stood a Great Cauldron, within which three thick incense sticks burned, as thick as a person’s arm, spiraling smoke rising into the valley air.
Near the feet of the towering statues were sacrificial tables, each bearing three black iron trays with the heads of an ox, sheep, and pig.
In front of the tables, sixteen figures sat cross-legged on mattings.
They all wore loose Daoist robes, sitting with closed eyes, each with a small incense burner before them.
The incense burners contained a certain kind of incense, emitting a faint blue smoke and fragrance.
At that moment, a group of people in tight outfits with waist badges approached, all from the Internal History Department.
Duan Rong already knew that this test for registered disciples advancing to Outer Disciple was organized by the Internal History Department, with assistance from the Judgement and Rectification Department.
Yet along the way, Duan Rong hadn’t seen anyone wearing the Judgement and Rectification Department’s waist badge.
At the head of the group was a tall, skinny-faced middle-aged man, who walked to the crowd at the valley entrance and took a copper chime from someone behind him.
He took a mallet and struck the copper chime with force.
"Ding~"
The clear, penetrating sound echoed far and wide.
The crowd instantly quieted down.
The man surveyed the crowd and said, "Listen up! When I strike the copper chime again, the first test will begin. Understand?"
"Understood!" came a scattered response from the crowd.
The man continued, "When the test starts, walk forward. See those two lines? Crossing the white line means you pass the first test! If you cross the red line, not only do you pass the first test, but you also skip the second one!"
As the man spoke, the registered disciples looked ahead.
A conspicuous white line could be seen several feet ahead.
And three feet beyond that white line was a blood-red line.