As Zhu He took his seat, both merely nodded expressionlessly, considering it as a greeting.
Just as Zhu He sat down, the second horn sounded in the Deep Valley.
At the sound of the horn, Jiang Hanyan stood beside Lin Youjian and clasped his fists, saying, "Master, the time has come."
Lin Youjian nodded and replied, "Mm. Hanyan, you may go."
At these words, Jiang Hanyan took a step forward and addressed the elders, "Uncles and mentors, Hanyan takes leave!"
As Jiang Hanyan finished speaking, her figure suddenly rose like a great bird, leaping directly off the cliff.
The elders of the Elder Hall watched Jiang Hanyan’s departing figure and nodded slightly.
This Jiang Hanyan, with her excellent talents and gentle, charming demeanor, was not only seen as a gem by her master Lin Youjian, but also made a good impression on the people of the Elder Hall.
In the valley.
As the second horn sounded, the sixteen shadowy figures on each Divine Statue suddenly began to perform the Sealing, murmuring Spell words.
"This is..."
Duan Rong’s eyelids twitched wildly.
As the shadowy figures on the Divine Statues began Sealing and Chanting, a faint blood light suddenly emitted from the eyes of the statues shrouded in mist.
At that moment, Duan Rong was almost certain this was the smoke offering Practice!
Although he had never seen the smoke offering Cultivation Method in the Fetal Concealment Scripture. But just because he hadn’t seen it doesn’t mean it didn’t exist.
After all, he only held the first twelve layers of the Fetal Concealment Scripture, perhaps the smoke offering Practice was found in later techniques.
As the colossal Divine Statues towering into the clouds in the Deep Valley flashed blood light from their eyes, a graceful figure, with skirts flying, leapt down from the peak of a solitary summit in the gloomy southeast, her toes gently tapping the treetops and rock walls as she bounded.
After several leaps, she landed gently on the altar at the center of the gloom as leaves fall with the wind.
Upon landing, Jiang Hanyan sat cross-legged in front of the Great Cauldron with three tall incense sticks inserted on the altar.
At this moment, a Copper Chime sounded abruptly from the mouth of the gorge where Duan Rong was located.
These registered disciples naturally remembered the rules; when the Copper Chime sounded, the assessment began, and crossing the white line meant passing the first trial.
At the instant the Copper Chime sounded, Jiang Hanyan took the black Ancient Zither from her back and placed it horizontally in front of her on the altar.
Her face behind the light gauze remained calm, her slender hands lightly plucked, and a clear note echoed through the valley...
The registered disciples at the mouth of the gorge were just about to show their movement, but as the clear note resonated from the altar, an immensely powerful spiritual pressure descended suddenly.
Everyone’s body trembled slightly.
Even Duan Rong was not exempt; it was not pretend. When the spiritual pressure descended, his body froze as if paralyzed.
The other registered disciples faired worse, with many instantly turning pale.
They felt this sensation when the clear note sounded from the altar and turned their angry gaze towards Jiang Hanyan, who was calmly playing the zither on the altar.
They believed that their agony was caused by the zither music!
However, Duan Rong knew well that it was the four Divine Statues with faintly blood-lit eyes that suddenly descended the immense spiritual pressure.
The Spell, Sealing, and smoke offering awakened the four Divine Statues.
The zither music sounding on the altar was actually protecting their Divine Soul, allowing them to endure the sudden pressure from the four gods without facing soul-shattering death!
This was the key point of the first assessment.