Ai Li was one of the few experts of the demon sect, occupying the position of right emissary.
He was second only to the demon lord.
He was below one person, and above ten thousand people.
In terms of aptitude, cultivation, mana, and Abhijna, he was not inferior to the eight great immortal sect's sect masters.
Even such an expert, when he went down the Stairway to Heaven, he had only gone down to a thousand steps.
However, now, among this batch of new disciples participating in the trial, there were already people who were about to step up to a thousand steps and it was not just one.
Ai Li watched as Alan got closer and closer to the thousandth step, and his breathing became heavier and heavier.
When Alan's left foot finally collapsed onto the thousandth step, Ai Li's hair stood on end, and his hair started to count backwards.
It was as if a bomb had exploded in his head.
"Demon lord above, this old man will be able to personally witness the strength of my demon sect in my lifetime. I will die without regrets!"
His face turned hot. He reached out and wiped his tears.
Ai Li's lips trembled. He picked up his sleeve and wiped it.
He secretly made up her mind. This batch of disciples, especially the leader, Alan, would definitely teach them everything.
Even if he had to sell everything, he would use the best resources to nurture them.
Without the demon lord, the demon sect would have to rely on themselves.
He would definitely nurture a batch of top experts for the demon sect.
He blinked his eyes and was just about to call Alan and the others back when she saw that Alan did not stop. He was teasing Little Qiu Ya while raising his right foot to step onto the 1001st step.
"Wait!"
Ai Li turned pale with fright and shouted loudly, disregarding the rules.
If he was not afraid of triggering the ground or erupting, Ai Li would have directly pounced down.
After reaching the thousandth step, the heat and mana transformation intensity needed for each additional step was nearly ten times stronger than before.
Not to mention the present in the age of chaos.
Even 10,000 years ago, when the demon gate was at its peak, there were very few people who could reach the 1,001st step.
This was also the capital that Ai Li had always been proud of.
Seeing that Alan's toes were about to step on the stone steps, Ai Li was so anxious that the corners of his eyes almost split open.
A loud shout startled Alan.
"What qualities!"
"Don't shout in public. What if you scare the children?"
"Even if there are no children, it's not good to scare the flowers and plants!"
Alan stood steadily on the 1001st steps. He turned his head to look at the anxious Ai Li. His expression was the same as usual. There was no abnormality at all.
"How is this possible!
"Could it be that there is such a genius here?!"
Ai Li was surprised and happy. He hugged the person next to him happily and kissed him without even looking at who it was.
However, before he could finish laughing, Alan's next move scared him so much that his eyes almost popped out.
Alan only turned his head to look at him. After a slight pause, he continued to walk down.
Reaching 1001 steps had already broken the 10,000-year record.
1002 steps was even more difficult!
Ai Li felt his heart beating rapidly. The stimulation today was a little too much, and he could not hold on any longer.
Fortunately, after Alan, Bai Ling, Qiu Ya, and the others stopped at the 1,000th step and did not continue down.
"Brother, I'm a little tired."
"Go down by yourself. I'll wait for you here, okay?"
Qiu Ya held Alan's hand and looked at Alan with her big, watery eyes.
It was not that they could not walk anymore.
It was that they were too close to the Earth's fire after reaching thousand steps.
Although Alan had absorbed the heat and magic power from the stone steps, the heat in the air was enough to make them feel uncomfortable.
At this moment, the holy maidens were already sweating profusely, and the people following behind them were panting heavily.
Seeing that Qiu Ya had taken the initiative to not leave, they all heaved a sigh of relief.
Some of the weaker ones sat down on the ground and began to pant heavily.
"That's good, there's not much left. I'll go down to take a look and then come back.
"If you guys feel that it's too hot, then go up first!"
Alan had always been curious why such a blazing place would give him a cold and familiar feeling, so he wanted to go down to the bottom of the cave to take a look.
Along the way, the golden core in his body was already the size of an egg.
With every step he took, the heat and magic power that surged into the stone steps multiplied, making Alan feel as if he had endless strength.
Although he could not figure out where the magic power of the stone steps was, Alan knew that this trip would be beneficial to everyone.
That was why he brought everyone along.
Qiu Ya and the others had almost reached their limits. Since they did not want to leave, there was no need to force them.
"No, I want to wait for brother here."
Qiu Ya shook her head, tied her ponytail to her chest, and sat down on the ground.
"Alright, I'll be back soon."
Alan touched Qiu Ya's head, tapped the tip of his foot lightly, and ran down at an extremely fast speed like a swallow grabbing water.
This was because he could obtain a lot of benefits without stepping on the stone steps once.
Alan did not leap over them either. Instead, he took small steps. He stepped on the steps without stepping on them and rushed down.
"He actually started running!"
When Ai Li saw that the large group of people had finally stopped, he just let out a sigh of relief.
He saw that Alan was like a wild horse that had lost its reins. He was happily walking down the stone steps.
The heat below a thousand steps was spreading, and he could no longer see it clearly.
Even with Ai Li's eyesight, he could only vaguely see it.
As for how deep the cave was, only the demon lord knew what it looked like down there.
The demon gate had a secret passage that led straight to the bottom of the cave.
However, this secret passage had always been in the hands of the demon lord, and Ai Li was not clear about it.
Ever since the establishment of the demon sect, there had never been anyone who could descend the stairway to the bottom of the cave.
Seeing Alan running so happily, Ai Li suddenly felt that some things were destined to be broken today.
"Lord demon god, this old man has lived for thousands of years, but I have never seen such a monster.
"If there really is a reincarnation of a demon lord, please guide him here.
"This old man's virtue is shallow, and I'm afraid I can't teach such a disciple!"
Ai Li put his palms together and imitated the appearance of a Buddhist disciple as he began to pray to the so-called demon lord.
Although the demon sect was called the demon sect, it had never had the tradition of offering sacrifices to the demon lord.
Even the demon lord was uttered from the mouth of the three blue-winged sea dragons a few days ago.
After all, this sea dragon had lived for more than 10,000 years and was well-informed.
It was reasonable to know some secrets that others did not know.
Some time ago, the bell rang throughout the entire nine regions, and Ai Li naturally heard it.
That soaring demonic qi could be felt even from half a continent away.
Therefore, it was not completely groundless for the three-headed blue-winged sea dragon to say that a demon lord had reincarnated.
Otherwise, how could they explain today's matter?
Ever since the existence of the Stairway to Heaven, there had never been such a grand occasion like today.
The hundreds of people had already begun to crawl back. Ai Li tried his best to calm his emotions and restrain his smile.
Pushing aside the crowd, he welcomed everyone's return with the most solemn expression.
Alan sprinted all the way down. The blazing power of the Earth's fire gathered in his Dantian through his feet. In the end, even his cultivation level, which had already reached the Sky Demon Realm, felt the scorching heat.
After crossing three thousand stone steps, a vast underground world appeared before Alan's eyes.