The clay sculptures' appearances became unfamiliar, transforming from mortal believers into cultivators.
Every anomaly in the temple stemmed from Old Daoist Penglai. This was very likely the Ziqi Sect from his memories, a place that revered Human Pigs in every corner.
Li Mo stood at the center of the arena, Old Daoist Penglai's indistinct chanting ringing in his ears as though he were singing the praises of the Ziqi Sect.
The statues hung in midair with terror on their faces, like livestock awaiting slaughter.
Li Mo remained calm. If things truly went wrong, he could leave the Secret Realm at any time, though Old Daoist Penglai's actions did make him somewhat wary.
He suspected that this Gold Devouring Insect had become neither human nor ghost only after suffering Old Daoist Penglai's possession.
The Red Ropes rubbed against one another as a statue slowly descended toward the ground.
Li Mo cursed inwardly. This was forcibly treating the arena as an Entry Level examination. It seemed Old Daoist Penglai had truly gone mad after possessing the Gold Devouring Insect.
The statue let out a miserable cry as an inexplicable metamorphosis spread across its body.
Crack, crack, crack...
Its spine bulged outward, its ribs opened wide, and countless fleshy tentacles emerged from the gaps where its limbs should have been, forming arms and legs.
By the time the Red Ropes lowered the statue onto the arena, it no longer looked human.
The statue staggered to its feet and muttered to itself, "Immortal Fate, Immortal Fate has come. I'm going to enter the Daoist Sect and become immortal..."
Under Old Daoist Penglai's influence, the illusion formed by the insect swarm seemed to become real, turning into the Iron Cauldron Trial held by the Ziqi Sect once every fifty years.
Li Mo took a deep