NOVPUBAll the disciples had crossed the road, and after one glance toward their elders, they stepped through the wooden door and disappeared into the darkness.
Watching their disciples leave, the smile on the elder's face faltered, and it was replaced with concern and worry.
"Hmph! Your turn, kids. Better not come back empty-handed." Chi Zu no longer waited for anyone to tell him what to do and looked at the members of his sect.
His cold voice made the smug look on their faces vanish.
Even the rogue cultivators could feel their souls trembling in fear.
"What more can you expect from a demonic sect?"
As soon as the crowd started whispering about him, Chi Zu's gaze swept over them, silencing them immediately.
They lowered their head as they felt like a cock on a chopping board, helpless and weak.
"A word of caution." Once the disciple of the Blood Demon Sect passed through the gate, Abbot Liang Chen voiced his concerns once more.
"A word of caution." Once the disciple of the Blood Demon Sect passed through the gate, Abbot Liang Chen voiced his concerns once more. "You might already know this, but I will repeat it for those who still do not know the rules of this place."
Everyone who was ready to just start running towards the gates halted once more.
"Anyone who is above the age of 50, if they step on the bridge, will fall through it." His voice was soft but somber. "Death is imminent."
"What… you've got to be kidding me." Someone muttered, clearly not aware of the rules of the domain.
"If you are thinking about flying through the air."
At the start, when everyone heard words coming out of his mouth, they felt a warmth compelling them to continue hearing him. n𝚘𝚟pub.𝚌o𝚖
But now?
There was a chilling coldness. It was a chilling coldness signing their death warrants. "Forget it. You will fall down."
"Even someone as powerful as me cannot fly into the domain of this valley."
Even Chi Zu, who was arrogant enough to challenge all of his authority, seemed to be a little scared.
Elder Meng and Elder Lei nodded along with the words that came out of his mouth.
"There is a reason this valley got the second name; it is the Valley of Fallen Bones."
Abbot Liang Chen paused and let his words enter their minds and hopefully reach their hearts.
"Once you pass the test of the bridge, then comes the trial of the gates themselves.
If your cultivation is less than the Foundation Establishment Realm or above the Golden Core Realm, you will be denied entry to the realm.
The only thing you can do then is to come back."
Once the abbot stopped speaking, everyone looked at each other with shocked, scared, and a bit hesitant gazes.
Many of them thought that the trials would only start once they entered the domain.
But who would have thought that the moment they stepped towards the domain, the trials would already have started?
"Mind it, the words I am saying are not to scare. They are what they are, the rules of this place." Seeing the doubts on their faces, the abbot reminded them for one last time before backing off. "You are free to challenge them if you want, but whatever happens will be the result of your choice."
"It is but your karma." The last words were so low that they drifted in the air, and no one seemed to have heard them.
But maybe someone did…
"So what if there is a restriction like that? I am qualified to enter this place anyway, so I will." After a moment of silence, a brave soul stepped forward with a scowl on his face.
He looked impatient from all the waiting and directly rushed towards the cloud bridge.
Woosh!
His feet touched the soft, cushion-like surface, and he firmly held on. Seeing he was not falling down, the man grinned and charged forward without looking back.
His feet touched the lotus, and he jumped straight through the void door, disappearing from the sight of the people.
"He went through…" someone muttered.
"We should go through with it too. Why let the words of an old man scare you?"
"He must have the qualification to go through with it, but I have a kid, and I am over 50 years old. No way I am taking this risk.
Even though I have left him with a widow neighbor, it does not mean I don't love him."
"Whatever, I am going for it."
It was not just a couple of rogue cultivators in the crowd, but hundreds of them were having doubts if they should go through with it or not.
The first ones to step forward were the ones who had confidence in passing through the trial.
As the abbot had stated, since they met the requirements, they easily passed through the trial with ease.
But there are always people who want to tempt fate.
Those who think everything is a deception and people are plotting against them.
And there was someone like that here too, a man who appeared to be young, in his later thirties.
He stepped forward with great confidence; with one step he was already before the edge of the stone platform.
Looking over his shoulder, he shot the others a mocking look. "You idiots only know how to follow the rules…"
In the middle of his words, the man had already taken a step forward, stepping on the cloud platform and feeling the strong hold beneath his feet. He smirked and lifted his foot with even more arrogance. "When all you have to do is break them—"
But things did not go as he had planned. Once both of his feet were off the ground and he had taken a step away from the stone ground behind him enough, his feet suddenly passed through the cloud. "—Eh?"
His eyes went wide, and the last thing he saw before disappearing in the sea of clouds was the disappointed look on the abbot's face.
