Chapter 154 The Test?
Chapter 154 The Test?
The six people stood warily before the so-called Six Paths Valley, waiting for the favor of the martial arts expert inside.
At this time, the branches are full of spring blossoms, and the moon is full in the sky.
However, these six mortals dared not let their guard down.
Because this place is just too eerie!
Not to mention the interior of the valley, there was a creepy feeling inside, as if some kind of terrifying monster was lurking there.
The entrance to the valley is also abnormal.
Whose valley entrance is covered in blood?
Five of the six people were adults, and only one was a teenager.
All six of them could see that a strange thorny plant was growing in the place at the mouth of the valley, which was filled with a strong, pungent smell of blood.
That plant is sucking the blood from the soil!
And there's that mound of earth at the entrance, like a grave mound.
Red mist occasionally emanated from the mound, sending chills down one's spine.
Therefore, none of the six dared to be careless when they saw the strange situation at the mouth of the valley.
The fear subsided slightly when there were more and more people, about twenty or so.
Some acquaintances were chatting with each other.
"Isn't this the Earth Cripple? With your long history of misdeeds, you also want to join Venerable Zhu's ranks?" A slender man holding scissors glanced at a girl squatting on the ground.
"The Venerable One didn't say assassins couldn't join." The girl glanced at him, her fingernails digging into the soil, her eyes scanning the man's chest, neck, and groin. "He also didn't say we couldn't kill here."
"You!!" the man said warily, "I'm not afraid of you."
"Of course, I'm not afraid of a double-edged sword." The girl withdrew her gaze. "But this isn't the underground world, and neither of us has any cultivation. We might as well behave ourselves."
"Hmph." The man snorted coldly and turned his head away: "With your body so thin and bony, it's impossible for you to cultivate martial arts."
"This isn't up to you," the girl said calmly. "I owe you one because I stole that rich man's head last time, but if you continue to target me like this, I won't be so polite."
The two seemed to have a deep grudge against each other, and those around them subconsciously moved away after hearing their conversation.
Assassins, lurking in the shadows, are the most feared and the most hated creatures.
At that moment, a black silkworm swung out of the valley on a swing using its silk threads.
"The Lord of the Six Paths Palace has decreed: Those who wish to join the Six Paths Palace must remain standing!"
Can't move while standing?
Everyone was startled.
It is springtime now, everything is coming to life, there are many insects, and the nights are still slightly chilly.
And you can't move while standing?
How long will we have to stand there?
Can I eat? Can I use the restroom?
Most importantly, after the black silkworm finished speaking, it remained suspended in the air by its tail thread, seemingly watching them intently.
The girl who had just been called the "ground crutch" stood up silently and remained motionless.
The man who had been playing with the scissors put them down and stood in a slightly more comfortable position.
Seeing this, the others also stood still.
Everyone seemed to understand something; perhaps this was one of Venerable Zhu's tests.
So everyone stood up straight and didn't move.
You should know that anyone who can run dozens of miles from Jianshui City to here, even without any cultivation, must have great perseverance.
Ordinary people know that inheritance is difficult, so none of them will give up easily.
Zhu Sisi, meanwhile, was hanging at the mouth of the valley, watching the behavior of these people.
Bored, she spun silk to retrieve a mulberry leaf from the valley and ate it.
Time passed just like that.
One hour, two hours, three hours —
Within the first hour, some people had already given up and fled; judging from their clothes, they must have come from relatively well-off families.
In the second hour, new people arrived, and old people left.
As dawn broke, Zhu Sisi remained silent, simply watching.
While watching, they ate mulberry leaves, and the rustling sound gradually filled the room, making people feel irritated.
More and more people retreated, and only eleven or twelve people were still persisting.
Some people relayed the news back, and now the whole city knew about this young master Zhu's rules.
Some people decided to wait until the third day to go, so they could stand for less time.
However, most people still felt it was just a small test, so they didn't delay.
But at noon the next day, Zhu Sisi suddenly ran away.
The reason was that Zhu Ge inquired about the situation and then learned what Zhu Sisi had done.
"You bastard—"
The bone monster clone was both amused and exasperated: "That works, but let's stop now. Remember how long those people stood there, and I'll reward you later."
"Okay, I'll remember," Zhu Sisi replied.
"Has the Mighty Monkey King not been refined yet?" Zhu Ge asked again.
"Not yet, but her complexion has improved a lot, so she shouldn't need to waste any more of her lifespan," Zhu Sisi reported truthfully.
Zhu Ge felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this.
There's no other way; life is hard for all living beings.
To gain power beyond one's own social class, one must pay an enormous price.
Zhu Ge was like this, Yu Xiucai was like this before, and Liu Jianjian is like this now.
"I wonder how much longer it will take for my true self to complete this enlightenment—"
Zhu Ge was also a little apprehensive.
He wasn't afraid of anything else, but he was afraid that his true form would starve.
It should be noted that at this point, the physical body is still just a mortal.
No matter how tough you are, or how much you train your body, you still need to eat.
It is said that no matter which path one takes, becoming a great being allows one to absorb the essence of heaven and earth, consume the sunlight and moonlight, eat the wind and drink the dew, and abstain from grains to prolong life.
Therefore, if the main body is starved for two or three days, it may not die, but it will definitely be severely starved.
"Sisi, go and make them stop, then ask Liusha about my physical condition," Zhu Ge instructed.
"Yes, Master."
Zhu Sisi immediately did as instructed.
At the mouth of the valley, earth and stones are piled up, resembling a large burial mound.
This was built by Hua Liusha because he was afraid that prolonged exposure to the sun would damage his roots.
Within the earth and rocks, a red mist swirled, protecting the very core of the blessing song.
Even sound cannot penetrate the fog.
Meanwhile, Zhu Ge's true form was still practicing his fist techniques, his eyes closed, and mysterious fluctuations flowing between his hands and feet.
Zhu Sisi approached, and Hua Liusha immediately looked up to respond.
After exchanging words for a while, Zhu Sisi left to record the duration of those people's standing meditation.
By afternoon, the mighty monkey in the valley had transformed into a single strand of hair and returned to Liu Jianjian's three thousand strands of green hair.
Liu Jianjian closed her eyes to rest and meditate until evening before opening them again.
Her expression revealed undisguised joy, and her cultivation level made even greater progress.
Instead of rushing to report to Zhu Ge, he first started communicating with the Mighty Monkey.
Both the Mighty Monkey and the Axe Mantis are the overlords of the Red River Prefecture, but their territories are far apart and they possess different information.
However, there are different understandings of the Plague God Sparrow and the Red River Dragon Python.
Having learned the gist of the matter, Liu Jianjian asked a few more questions about gossip before going to report to the Bone Monster's clone.