Rumble!
The Earth's fire erupted violently, exploding even more than usual.
The Stairway to Heaven was roasted by the Earth's fire. It quickly turned red and melted, starting the next reincarnation.
All traces disappeared.
Ai Li was secretly glad that he did not go down to investigate.
If he encountered the Earth's fire when he was on the Stairway to Heaven, even if he was at the Heavenly Demon Realm, he would still be badly burned even if he did not die.
At this moment, the figure of a stout man suddenly appeared amidst the endless Earth's fire.
The man's figure was tall and straight, and his long hair fluttered in the wind.
The endless lava surrounded the man, but it was as if it was pushed aside by an invisible hand, unable to get any closer to the man.
As Dharmaraja Baku, Ai Li naturally knew that this was a picture of the eruption of the Earth's Fire.
After each welcoming ceremony, when the Earth's fire erupted, it would leave such an image in the heart of the Earth's Fire.
However, in the past, the pictures were of people climbing the Stairway to Heaven, or being roasted by the Earth's fire, or being crushed by gravity, with their blood and flesh flying everywhere and shouting.
This year, not only were hundreds of welcoming disciples safe but they even climbed thousands of stone steps.
Ai Li had once had a problem with the Stairway to Heaven.
Now, it seemed that it was caused by the appearance of this figure.
From the pictures, the second person should have reached the bottom of the catacombs.
The bottom of the catacombs was an important place of the demon sect, and ordinary people were not allowed to set foot there.
It was the top secret of the demon sect, and only the demon lord had the right to go down. Even Ai Li did not know what was inside.
Now that the demon lord's whereabouts were uncertain, the secret passage to the bottom of the underground cave naturally disappeared with the disappearance of the demon lord.
Then, how did this black-clothed man go down?
Could it be that there was really a reincarnation of the demon lord?!
Yes.
No wonder the Stairway to Heaven was so unusual this time. It must be because of the influence of the reincarnation of the demon lord.
Since the battle ten thousand years ago, the demon sect suffered quite a serious injury.
Although the spiritual energy was withering due to the battle between the righteous and the demons, after the nine regions entered the age of chaos, both sides deliberately restrained themselves.
They did not provoke another big battle.
However, overall, it was the demon sect that was at a disadvantage.
They could only hide in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, relying on their geographical advantage to survive.
The demon lord must be dissatisfied with the current miserable appearance of the demon sect, which was why he did not show himself.
How could a demon sect that even the demon masters did not know where he went be worthy of the reincarnation of the demon lord?
Was that why he secretly helped the disciples in the welcoming ceremony pass the trial?
Only when the demon gate rose again and stood above all the righteous paths in the nine regions, and climbed to the top of the mountains, would he be worthy of the demon lord!
Ai Li looked at the black figure in front of him with a fiery gaze.
Before this, Ai Li might still have doubts about the reincarnation of the demon lord.
However, today, after seeing with his own eyes that all the new disciples in the ceremony came out safely from the Stairway to Heaven, Ai Li no longer had any doubts about the reincarnation of the demon lord.
That was a thousand stone steps.
Back then, he was able to accomplish such a feat by luck.
Even so, he was already a rare genius of the demon sect.
He was taught by the previous leader of the demon sect and nurtured by the entire demon sect. That was why he had his current status.
If there was only one person who reached the thousand stone steps in today's welcoming ceremony, Ai Li could accept it.
He would even be extremely happy.
However, the sudden appearance of hundreds of people was a huge shock.
What right did this old man have to lead such a group of heaven's favored sons?!
Now that he saw the shadow of the demon lord's reincarnation, everything made sense.
The demon lord's reincarnation was to help the demonic sect increase its foundation!
Although these people did not truly complete the climb the thousand steps on the Stairway to Heaven, but even if they just walked on it once, the benefits they obtained were beyond imagination.
As long as they were properly nurtured, the demon sect would definitely rise in the near future.
It was just that they did not know where the reincarnation of the demon lord was now.
Ai Li thought of Alan, who was jogging on the Stairway to Heaven, and sighed in his heart.
Although he had been influenced by the demon lord, the difficulty of the trial had been reduced.
Perhaps running on the Stairway to Heaven was a record-breaking feat.
Such a person, even without the secret help of the demon lord's reincarnation, would probably be able to reach the thousand steps stone staircase.
At the very least, his aptitude was not below his own.
Perhaps only the demon lord's reincarnation was qualified to teach him spells!
Was this old man really qualified?
Ai Li fell into a deep state of self-doubt. He only regained his senses after all the strange phenomena in the Earth's fire heart had disappeared.
He looked at the group of people who had just climbed up the Stairway to Heaven and were panting heavily.
He took a deep breath and said, "Congratulations to all of you for successfully completing the test of the Stairway to Heaven. From today onwards, all of you will officially become members of our demon sect.
"I believe all of you have already seen it. Now that the Earth's fire has faded, the links between the various spatial planes will soon be reopened.
"But I have a word of advice for all of you. Before you pass on the information, check your bodies first.
"Your bodies, including your spiritual energy, have been demonized by the Earth's fire.
"In other words, you are already members of our demon sect. Imagine how you would react if you appeared in your respective sects in your current state.
"Don't get killed before you can pass on the information."
Ai Li laughed strangely.
It had always been a tradition of the demon sect to help the spies sent by the various sects wash their true energy during the welcoming ceremony.
It had always been rumored that the demon sect had a powerful disguise technique that could completely transform one's appearance and even imitate one's voice and memory.
The only flaw was that one's demonic qi could not be concealed.
Therefore, they would try every means to find an excuse to explain the origin of their demonic qi.
However, they did not have the slightest bit of true qi from their own sect.
In the eight great immortal sects, a systematic method of identification had long been formed.
Every time the demon sect's orientation assembly was held, the righteous path would send their disciples to go undercover. After the orientation assembly was over, the demon sect would also send their disciples to disguise themselves as righteous path disciples and carry out reverse infiltration.
For tens of thousands of years, it had become a reversed song for both sides.
They were never tired of it and never stopped.
"You have also said before how dangerous the Stairway to Heaven is, but now it seems to be very common!
"The demon sect has stood in the nine regions for so long. Is it just by talking big and blowing the conch?"
A handsome youth stood out and said with disdain.
He was also from the righteous path. Although he was not from one of the eight great immortal sects, he was also from a cultivation aristocratic family.
When they gathered in the square, he knew that his identity had been exposed. His heart was definitely in danger.
If he was too late, he might as well speak his mind.
Even if he died, he would die happily.
"I'm so angry!
"If you want to die, go ahead and try. I won't stop you."
Ai Li was speechless by this question. The fingers on the youth's lips trembled for a long time, but he could not say a word.
This time, because of the demon lord's intervention, everyone unexpectedly survived.
The Asura battlefield-like Stairway to Heaven had become a child's play.
The problem was that Ai Li had no way to explain it. He was so angry that he was blowing his beard and glaring at the side, waiting for the youth to pass on the news so that he could watch the show from the side.