The stone wall stood nearly three meters high, with a passageway built from huge timbers atop it. An Arrow Tower and watch post stood every two hundred meters.
A trench ran beneath the stone wall, densely packed with sharp wooden stakes. One could imagine what it would feel like to fall in.
Yet for some reason, when Zhang Yang saw the style of this village stronghold, it seemed oddly familiar. It did not come from Wang Ergou's memories, but felt more like some of the villages he had encountered in the Immortal Cultivation True Realm.
"Stop, Wang Er. Over there."
A squad of village patrolmen armed with spears and shields escorted Zhang Yang to the second layer of the village entrance as though facing a great enemy. There was actually a small barbican here.
At the very center of the barbican stood a huge incense burner. Behind it was a statue with a green face and fangs.
This was the village's guardian deity, but Wang Ergou's memories contained nothing about how exactly it protected the village.
Once the patrolmen brought Zhang Yang there, a skin-and-bones old man casually scooped up a handful of incense ash from the burner and dissolved it in a bowl of red water.
"Drink it!"
There was no room for argument. Zhang Yang had no choice but to pinch his nose and drink the bowl of strange water.
Then he felt nothing. It seemed he had passed.
Only several minutes later did the patrolmen relax. One particularly burly man laughed and slapped Zhang Yang on the shoulder, striking him so hard he nearly sent him flying.
"Not bad, Wang Er! You actually escaped the Iron-backed Grey-beaked Goose's pursuit. But even so, you won't be chosen as a Cultivator Apprentice. You might as well join the patrol