The hellfire in the demon den erupted once every hundred years, and the demon gate also held a welcoming ceremony once every hundred years.
When the hellfire erupted, it would melt through many dimensional barriers.
Through these temporarily discovered dimensional doors, many small dimensional spaces hidden in the dimensional gaps would be exposed.
Not every dimensional space had living creatures.
Some were rich in mineral resources, and some had crazy and unintelligent monsters.
These dimensions all needed to be explored carefully, to discover the useful things inside, and to increase the foundation of the demon gate.
Therefore, every Earth's fire eruption was the busiest time for the demon gate.
Similarly, due to the eruption of the Earth's fire, which disrupted the normal connection between space and time, the paper cranes in the hands of Bai Ling and the others could not fly out at all.
In all the previous welcoming ceremonies, spies from various sects would sneak in, but no one had ever been able to convey any caution.
This was also one of the reasons why the demon sect dared to wantonly rob the disciples of the eight great immortal sects.
When the people from the demon sect saw that the newcomers who had just arrived were constantly collecting intelligence, they did not pay any attention to them.
As long as they were participating in the welcoming ceremony, only one out of ten people would survive.
The one who survived would be labeled as a new member of the demon sect.
At that time, even if you did not admit that you were from a demon sect, it would be useless for you to follow the righteous path.
The righteous path would never tolerate you, much less believe anything you said.
There were only two paths left in front of him. Either he died or he joined the demon sect.
That was how most of the disciples of the demon sect came to be.
That was why the eight bitter Dharmaraja of the demonic sect were all looking at the eight great immortal sects.
However, the eight great immortal sects were not clear about this information, so Alan naturally did not know either.
At this moment, he had just left the plane space of the three-headed blue-winged sea dragon. He was burping as he digested his food, and at the same time, he was looking for a way back.
No matter how powerful Ai Li's divine ability was, he would never have thought that the genius who could develop the divine sword lightning controlling technique himself was actually a great idiot who could get lost.
The Hundred Thousand Mountains were vast and boundless. It was easier said than done to find the demon sect.
Those who could be sent as spies were all smart and intelligent people.
Not to mention having a photographic memory as they were at least smart and quick-witted people.
Just like Bai Ling and Qiu Ya.
Alan's talent was higher, so he should naturally be more outstanding.
The entire demon cave was only so big. If he got lost, he might as well crash his head into the ground and die.
When Alan was going around in circles, how could he not find the way back? He just happened to meet Ai Li, who was returning from an errand.
Before Ai Li could speak, Alan had already narrowed his eyes and asked with great confidence, "Should I ask for directions?"
"Hmm?"
Ai Li was stunned for three seconds before he realized that Alan was asking him if he should ask for directions. It was really bad for him on the spot.
'This is the demon's den, my territory. Do I need to ask you for directions?
'By the way, you're not lost, are you!
'With such qualities, you have the nerve to sneak in as a spy. Are you trying to laugh at me to death so that you can inherit my Five Ghosts Soul Severing Hand?'
The two of them looked at each other for a long time. In the end, Ai Li was defeated by Alan's confident appearance.
He came over and held Alan's hand, talking as they walked.
"Come with me. I'll bring you to a place."
"If you want to join the demon sect, you need to go through three stages. The first stage is to temper your body with the bottom fire, sealing off all the energy veins in your body. It's the one you used to roast your body with fire when you came."
"Roast your body with fire? Maybe next time. I really can't eat anymore."
When Alan heard that, he rubbed his stomach again.
He did not know what the three-headed blue-winged sea dragons were roasting for him. He was too hungry.
They had already strolled for three days, but their stomachs were still full. There was even a faint pain in their stomachs.
It was all because of how delicious it was. They could not help but take two more bites.
Now, they had a place to keep the good food.
"Are you really here to be a spy?"
Ai Li turned around and looked at Alan seriously. This fellow was not kicked out of the eight great immortal sects because he only knew how to eat, right?
"Of course not. I was kidnapped by you. Have you forgotten?"
Alan acted as if he was forced to, but his eyes were looking around, looking for the barbecue that Ai Li had just mentioned.
Whether he should say it or not, the demon sect was indeed worthy of being an organization with access to Earth's fire. Their barbecue skills were superb.
"I believed you!"
Ai Li saw that he could not get anything out of him, so he did not probe further. He only thought that Alan was a meticulous person who kept his mouth shut.
'You can be arrogant. After you pass the three tests and become the disciple of the demon sect that I hate the most, I'll see what kind of expression you'll have.'
Ai Li did not say anything. He just looked like he was watching a good show.
The two of them continued walking forward. On the way, Ai Li would stop from time to time to introduce road signs to Alan so that he would not be left behind.
After all, he was the one who brought the people here. If news of him getting lost in the demon cave spread, he could not afford to lose face.
"This is the edge of the demon's den. Do you see that spiral staircase? It's called the Stairway to Heaven.
"The Earth's fire erupts once every hundred years. After that, there will be a temporary silence.
"We can take this opportunity to follow the Stairway to Heaven all the way down to the depths of the demon's den to look for opportunities.
"The deeper we go, the better the opportunities we get, and the greater the benefits. The one who goes the deepest will not only be able to enter the inner sect and become a personal disciple, but also be able to enter the heaven reaching pavilion and choose a divine ability and cultivation technique that suits him.
"Isn't this interesting? Do you have the confidence to get first place?"
Ai Li pointed at the underground cavern before him and explained to Alan, even explaining some things that he needed to pay attention to in detail.
It was as if he was afraid that Alan would not be able to get a rank and enter the inner hall.
"What's at the bottom of the underground cavern?"
Alan stuck his head out to take a look, and the scorching Earth's fire even distorted his vision.
"Underground? Even I don't know what's underground."
"The Stairway to Heaven has at least 10,000 steps. Back then, I only went down 1,000 steps, so you don't have to think about it."
Ai Li looked at Alan smugly. A result of 1,000 steps was considered an amazing result in the demon sect.
The Earth's fire spewed out, and the hot flames could even melt through the spatial barrier.
The Stairway to Heaven was built by the demon cave. Although it was protected by a restriction and could withstand the Earth's fire, it was inevitable that the temperature would increase.
When climbing the Stairway to Heaven, everyone had to walk barefoot.
Moreover, the Earth's fire was extremely unstable at this time, and it was especially sensitive to true qi.
One could not use even the slightest bit of true qi during the climbing process.
Otherwise, if the Earth's fire moved slightly, even if there was only a small spark, these people on the Stairway to Heaven would be burned until not even ashes were left.
Moreover, the Earth's fire was very strange. Whenever there was a fluctuation of spiritual energy, the fire would burn to the same place.
There were very few cases of accidental injury.
There was a saying that the Earth's fire was actually fueled by spiritual energy, which was why it was so effective.
It was just that it had not been verified, so no one knew whether it was true or false.
Over the years, every time the welcoming ceremony was about climbing the Stairway to Heaven, at least 90% of the people would die.
The underground fire of the demon's den was the source of the demonic qi. One had to go through baptism before they could officially enter the sect.
No matter how big of a genius you were, if you could not get past this stage, there was no need to mention it.