Courtyard.
Inside the house.
At a place where no one was looking, a slightly plump Daoist and a little boy in green robes were talking softly. Through the thin paper window, they looked at the hazy crowd in the courtyard.
The slightly plump old man was the legendary elder in charge of formations, Ren Qingshan.
The little boy beside him was dressed plainly. However, his facial features were round and smooth, making him look especially delicate. It was hard to tell if he was a boy or a girl.
The little boy looked outside the house and bowed, reminding the Daoist.
"Master, it's time."
"Sigh, why are there so many crooked people all these years?"
A gentle smile appeared on the Daoist's face. His chubby face was smooth and smooth, making one unable to sense the passage of time.
If the people outside heard what he said with such a smile, they would probably hammer their own chests … until their hearts bled.
"Master, don't panic. The Dao Imparting Garden's lineage is even more withered."
The little boy opened his innocent eyes and smiled brightly.
"That makes sense."
Ren Qingshan was satisfied when he heard that. He gently placed an ordinary stone on the table in front of him.
The edges of the stone had long been smoothed. Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, as if someone had rubbed it out.
"Go on."
After putting down the stone, the elder in charge of formations said softly to the little boy.
"Yes, master. I'll recruit ten satisfactory junior brothers and sisters for you right away. "
The little boy obediently hammered Ren Qingshan's back a few times, making Ren Qingshan beam. Then, he lifted the corner of his long skirt and walked out of the courtyard with light steps.
"Clang!"
The crisp sound of a bell drowned out all the other noises in an instant.
Yes, the small sound of a bell caused all the whispers to return to silence.
It was a strange feeling of suppression.
The little boy had a smile on his face. He was dressed in a long emerald green dress. Although he was dressed in women's clothes, he looked like a boy. His feet were bare. Every toe was round and smooth, white and tender, as if they were glowing. When the little boy walked, his long skirt fluttered and the sound of the bell rang incessantly.
It turned out that there was a red rope tied to each side of his ankles. At the end of the red rope was a small golden bell. The tinkling was pleasing to the ears like the sounds of nature.
"Junior brothers and sisters, sorry for the long wait. I am a flower boy. Today, I will be testing everyone on behalf of my master. "
The flower boy's voice was as clear and moving as the bells on his feet.
As he spoke, everyone sitting quietly in the courtyard, except for Irin, could not help but raise their heads to look at the young man in the emerald green dress who walked out of the house.
No one dared to underestimate the flower boy because of his young appearance.
It was said that the Flower Boy was the favorite disciple of the Elder in Charge of Formations. He was one of the most popular candidates to become Circumference Mountain's personal disciple.
Among the people sitting in meditation, whether they had just entered the sect or had stayed in the sect for a period of time, almost all of them had heard of the flower boy.
Every time Ren Qingshan went out, there would always be a flower boy by his side. The master and disciple were inseparable. It could be seen that Ren Qingshan doted on the flower boy very much.
Irin, who was deep in thought, finally raised his head. It had finally begun.
There was a faint smile on the flower boy's face. After a simple opening speech, the flower boy did not waste any time and went straight to the point. He sat on the long table in front of the house and raised his sleeves. With a flick of his sleeve, an elegant incense burner appeared on the table.
The flower boy smiled and knocked gently on the table.
"I have drawn a circle around everyone. The test is very simple. Those who can walk out of the circle within the time limit of three sticks of incense will pass the test and have the right to become an inner disciple of Circumference Mountain."
When everyone heard this, they were instantly confused.
A circle?
What circle?
"Look!"
At this moment, someone could not help but cry out and point not far away.
More and more people in the crowd noticed that something was amiss.
As the flower boy knocked on the table to distract everyone's attention, the flower boy had used some kind of tool to draw a large circle along the edge of the courtyard wall and on the soft soil on the ground. Over a hundred people were trapped in the circle.
The circle was very large. The edge of the circle was still a dozen or so steps away from the people in the outermost circle.
Of course, it would be rather impulsive to say that these dozen or so steps were taken in one step. However, everyone present was a beginner Qi Practitioner who had gone through the ordeal of the odd-job class. They had weak cultivations, but their physiques were far superior to mortals. If they really took these dozen or so steps, it would take them a moment to recover.
With that, the flower boy lit three sticks of incense on the incense burner and retreated to the door, saying no more.
"It has already begun!"
The incense on the incense burner was lit. Only then did many people realize that after the flower boy had finished explaining the rules, the examination had already begun without saying a word.
Whoa!
One by one, the outer sect disciples who were determined to win suddenly stood up.
When those people stood up, they seemed to have sat for too long. Their back joints cracked, and their legs were sore and numb.
However, they could no longer care about the numbness in their legs. Some people wanted to be the first to complete the examination and win the crown so that their future master would see them in a different light. Without another word, they suddenly moved their legs and rushed out of the circle with the momentum of a hundred meter dash.
The distance of a dozen or so steps was covered in the blink of an eye. However, the few people who rushed out of the circle were walking in a crooked manner, as if they were drunk. Even so, they still tried their best to get closer to the outside of the circle. After a while, they finally arrived at the boundary and took a step.
When the others saw that the first few people were so successful, the expressions of many outer sect disciples who had planned to observe in secret changed instantly. They could no longer sit still.
This time, another dozen or so people could not hold themselves back and took a step forward.
At this moment.
Something strange happened.
The first few people who took a step forward were clearly about to step out of the circle, but at the last moment before their feet landed, they unexpectedly turned around at the same time and strangely turned back. Looking at their faces and expressions, their pupils were dilated, their mouths were agape, and their breathing was rapid. It was as if they had seen something terrifying and their thoughts were in turmoil.
"As expected of the inner sect disciple that the elder in charge of the formation is most proud of!"
Seeing the flower boy's ability, many people were surprised and delighted. They were surprised that the flower boy had set up a maze that no one could see through in the span of a few breaths from the moment he left the room to the moment he finished speaking.
They were delighted that even the flower boy under the elder in charge of the formation had such ability. If they were lucky enough to gain Ren Qingshan's favor and learn a thing or two from him, where in the world could they not go?
They were different from Irin.
Yi Lin had come here on a whim, so he decided to go.
However, before they came, they had done their homework.
Circumference Mountain, the elder in charge of the formation, Ren Qingshan. Needless to say, from his name, it was obvious that he was an expert in formations.
As for the assessment, it was nothing more than to work on the basics of formations.
In terms of the functions of formations, it could be roughly divided into four categories: trapping, mazing, killing, and chaos.
Trapping formations, as the name suggested, could trap the enemy within a certain radius.
Mazing formations, those who entered the formation would be bewildered and unable to escape.
Killing formations, endless killing intent. Life and death were up to the heavens.
Chaos formations, chaos gods, killing hearts, and unpredictable moods.
Now, the flower boy had set up a formation with just a wave of his hand.
Looking at the performance of the challengers, they were like headless flies wandering around in the formation. The formation under their feet seemed to be a trapping formation. However, looking at their eyes, they seemed to have seen an illusion. It also seemed to be a maze.
Everyone was shocked. Looking at the terrible performance of their 'seniors', those who stood up later did not dare to be careless and walked forward carefully.
One wrong step led to many wrong steps. Each step was frightening.
With the increase in the number of challengers, the huge courtyard quickly became a mess.
A group of outer sect disciples foolishly walked in circles on the spot. Some even bumped into each other and cried out in pain. The two people facing each other did not seem to see each other. They turned around and walked in different directions.
Men bumped into women, women bumped into men, men on top of men, women on bottom of women. The scene was chaotic and very lively.
Irin had not stood up. Looking at the group of people blindly jumping around in front of him, he pondered.
Soon.
One incense stick burned out.
There was less than half of the second incense stick left.
There were only a few dozen people still sitting on the ground.
These people included Irin and Zhong Lin.
Not everyone was confident. Some people didn't dare, and they didn't know what to do.
Zhong Lin who was sitting beside Irin had bloodshot eyes. His gaze constantly swept across the empty scene in front of him, searching. He muttered to himself as if he was looking for something.
His gaze swept past the flower boy, the three incense sticks, the strange craggy rocks, and even every grain of sand on the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the second incense stick had burned out. The third incense stick was like a death sentence, causing Zhong Lin to sweat profusely and his face to turn pale.
Zhong Lin shook his upper body and prepared to get up to challenge the array.
Even if he was not confident, he did not have much time. He could only try.
If he did not try, how would he know?
What if he succeeded?
Zhong Lin clenched his teeth and prepared to try.
Just as he made up his mind.
Irin who had lowered his head to sculpt again not long ago, other than a short moment of thinking, he was relaxed like an outsider. He whispered to Zhong Lin with a smile.
"Shh, don't move. If you want to pass the test, listen to me. "
Under Zhong Lin's shocked gaze, the young man had a mocking smile.
"Until the three incense sticks burn out, don't move. Sit tight."
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