Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

A demon-revealing mirror?

Upon seeing this thing, Gou An's first thought was that it was this object.

If it really is this thing, will my hidden techniques still be effective?

However, since we've already arrived here, running away now would only arouse suspicion.

Therefore, Gou An could only continue to mingle in the crowd and wait to be tested one by one.

Upon seeing these cultivators, Luo Meng, who was leading the group, quickly stepped forward with a fawning smile: "Gentlemen, you've really worked hard! You have to guard this place all day long. Thanks to you, our town has been so peaceful recently."

"Enough with the nonsense, get in line and get tested!" One of the cultivators ignored his polite words. As cultivators, most of them considered themselves superior and naturally looked down on mortals.

"Test, test!" Luo Meng nodded immediately and waved to the crowd, signaling everyone to line up.

The crowd seemed to have gotten used to it and lined up in a neat, orderly fashion.

Gou An hid in the last position, giving himself more time to react.

Luo Meng was the first to step forward, standing in front of the floating bronze mirror with a curious expression.

"Master Taoist, this mirror is exquisitely crafted. May I ask what it is for?"

Faced with the question, the cultivator beside him looked impatient, but still explained, "This is the Bone-Illuminating Realm! It allows one to see human bones directly through the physical body."

Sure enough, after Luo Meng stood in front of the mirror for a short while, all that remained in the mirror was Luo Meng's skeleton.

Upon seeing this scene, Luo Meng was immediately startled.

The monk glanced at himself in the mirror a few times, then waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

"This thing is amazing!" Luo Meng muttered as he walked to the side, "I broke my arm when I was a kid, and you can still see the mark on this mirror."

"Hmph! What's so special about this?" The cultivator sneered. "The demon cultivators these days are incredibly skilled. They can all disguise themselves as humans, and ordinary methods can't tell them apart. They can change their appearance and aura, but they can't change their bones. As long as they stand in front of this mirror, they'll all be exposed."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Luo Meng quickly continued to boast, "It's all thanks to you guys, Daoist Master, that you have such skills!"

"That's right!" the cultivator said smugly. "If those evil cultivators pretend to be mortals, they can't escape the Bone-Revealing Mirror. After all, the bones of cultivators are naturally different from those of mortals."

As people lined up one by one to get tested, Gou An's heart pounded wildly.

If this thing is really that powerful, wouldn't I be exposed?

After all, both his own transformation technique and the Demon-Slaying Pearl that concealed his aura were external concealments.

Thinking of this, Gou An already planned to escape.

Looking around, the surrounding area was open on all sides, and there was room to run.

If we run now, it will definitely attract the attention of the Zhixuan Guards.

Gou An touched the ring on his finger, hoping Xuan Kongzi could come up with a solution.

But the little beast he was controlling was nowhere to be found. If it were discovered, it would definitely expose him.

With only eight or nine people left ahead of him, and it almost his turn, Gou An took a deep breath, already prepared to flee immediately if exposed.

"Master Dao, we are just ordinary people, herb farmers!" Luo Meng chatted with the cultivator beside him, seemingly trying to establish a connection.

The monk ignored him and focused on the skeleton standing in front of the mirror, carefully examining it. Once he was sure it was correct, he let the next person step forward.

"I've heard there are quite a few spiritual herbs in Black Stone Ridge that you might find useful, Daoist Master!" Luo Meng continued, talking to himself. "When we come back, Daoist Master can choose whatever catches your eye."

Seeing that the cultivator still ignored him, Luo Meng had no choice but to continue, "Master Dao, when will your sect recruit disciples? Even menial tasks are fine. I have a younger brother who has been smart since he was a child. Although no spiritual root has been detected, he is very diligent. If there is an opportunity, he would be more than qualified to be a menial task in the sect."

Unable to bear Luo Meng's incessant chatter any longer, the cultivator turned and snapped at him, "Shut up, are you annoying or what?"

Seeing this, Luo Meng could only quickly cover his mouth, not daring to say another word.

After all, these cultivators could kill them with a flick of their fingers.

Whether it was Luo Meng's incessant chatter that annoyed him or something else, the remaining few people waved their hands and said, "Never mind, let's all move on!"

"Such a large group of people, it hurts my eyes to look at them."

After saying this, he moved the mirror aside and waved his hand impatiently.

Seeing this, Luo Meng smiled awkwardly: "There are still a few left, let's test them all, we'll be very cooperative."

"Didn't you understand? I told you to get lost!" The cultivator glared at Luo Meng, who trembled in fright and quickly waved for everyone to come over.

The herb farmers knew they couldn't afford to offend these cultivators, so they quickly followed Luo Meng and tried to leave.

Gou An was deeply shocked by what he saw.

I had prepared for the worst, but I never expected it to turn out like this.

As expected, the cultivation world is also a huge makeshift operation, and it's definitely advantageous to follow the crowd.

Just as Gou An was blending into the crowd and about to pass through the checkpoint,

"Wait a minute!" An old man who had been sitting cross-legged and meditating on the side suddenly opened his eyes. It was the Yuan Dan cultivator.

Upon hearing this, all the herb farmers stopped in their tracks, and no one dared to move.

The Yuan Dan cultivator looked at the young cultivator and questioned, "Have all the tests been completed? You just let him through?"

"What if there are prisoners from the Locked Sky Tower disguised here, and we let them pass? What if something goes wrong?"

"They're all herbalists from the town!" The young cultivator quickly bowed to the old man. "They come every now and then, and it's always the same group of people."

"Besides, activating the mirror also consumes spirit stones, and I've already used up all of mine for this month."

The old man snorted coldly after hearing this: "What a shrewd fellow, unable to even part with such a small amount of spirit stones."

"You should know that if we really discover the prisoners who escaped from the Locking Heaven Tower, even just a piece of information, the Guardian of the Mysterious Realm will reward us with thousands of spirit stones."

"What's the cost of activating the mirror?"

Seeing that the old man had spoken, the young cultivator, though reluctant, still waved to the group of herb farmers: "Those who didn't get tested earlier, come and line up!"

Upon hearing this, the remaining people could only return to the mirror and wait for the inspection.

However, Gou An hid in the crowd and did not go up.

There were still six people who hadn't been tested, including myself. Only five people went up this time. Gou An was betting that they wouldn't notice.

As expected, Gou An's gamble paid off.

The monk in charge of controlling the bone-revealing mirror didn't have any specific knowledge of it; he simply reluctantly instructed the remaining few people to undergo the examination one by one.

After confirming that everything was in order, he waved for everyone to leave, adding, "Don't come this way unless it's absolutely necessary!"

Luo Meng readily agreed and immediately led everyone away.

Gou An felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders after successfully passing the test, having already gotten through another hurdle.

The further they went into Black Stone Ridge, the more difficult the path became, and everyone's strength was rapidly depleted.

Just as they were about to reach the best spot for gathering herbs, Luo Meng immediately told everyone to stop and rest on the spot.

We'll go into the mountains again once we've recovered our strength.

As soon as Gou An sat down, Luo Meng plopped down next to him and asked, "Young man, you didn't go for a test, did you?"

Gou An frowned upon hearing this, then laughed and said, "Brother Luo, what are you saying? Of course I've had the tests done!"

"No! You didn't!" Luo Meng shook his head, his tone firm: "At first you were standing at the very back of the line, and the second time you hid in the crowd. You were the only one who managed to hide."

"Really?" Seeing this, Gou An could only continue to play dumb: "Maybe I remembered wrong."

"Could it be..." Luo Meng frowned and pondered, "You have a problem, don't you?"

"What problem could I possibly have?" Gou An appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly he was already filled with murderous intent.

Luo Meng laughed and said, "How would I know you have any problems? I just think it's a bit strange that you managed to evade the Taoist priests' tests."

"Didn't you say that testing wastes people's spirit stones? I'm just trying to save you some!" Gou An smiled politely, but his eyes were fixed on Luo Meng's face.

"The idea is good!" Luo Meng, oblivious to Gou An's unusual behavior, said enthusiastically, "But if you do this, it's useless since the Daoist Master doesn't know!"

"If you want to build some connections with them, bring back some of the good stuff you find in the mountains. That way you can become familiar with them!"

"I still need to learn more from Brother Luo in this regard!" Gou An replied.

"That's right!" Luo Meng suddenly became interested as he said this: "Although I don't have spiritual roots, my cousin is an outer disciple of the White Wind Sect. He almost wasn't selected back then, and that was a method I came up with."

"And there's another cousin of mine. Although he doesn't have spiritual roots, I used my connections to get him into the sect as a handyman. Now he eats spiritual rice."

Seeing Luo Meng's smug look, Gou An quickly chimed in, "It's all thanks to Brother Luo!"

Luo Meng then boasted about his heroic deeds and no longer doubted Gou An's identity.

Gou An nodded in agreement from the sidelines and temporarily gave up on taking action.

In this sensitive period, if we really kill him, other herb farmers in the vicinity might witness it, so none of them can survive either.

With so many people dying at once, it's bound to attract the attention of the Zhixuan Guards, so it's best not to take action if possible.

After everyone had rested, they officially entered Black Stone Ridge to begin collecting herbs.

As arranged by Luo Meng, teams of three should be formed, and the teams should not be too far apart.

Gou An then followed Luo Meng into the deepest part of the area.

At this moment, Gou An was only thinking about how to escape. If he left directly, he would be one person short, and Luo Meng would definitely search for him everywhere, which might alert the Zhi Xuan Guard.

Just then, a crow landed on Gou An's shoulder, and Xuan Kongzi finally reappeared.

"Fellow Daoist, you're really planning to gather herbs here!"

Gou An turned to look at the crow and said, "Leaving is easy, the difficult part is leaving without leaving a trace."

"You always like to complicate simple things!" The crow shook its head helplessly. "Either we go straight, or we kill them all. Let's hurry up on the rest of the way. By the time they discover the anomaly here, we'll already be in the City of Ten Thousand Demons."

But Gou An ignored what he said and simply said, "If you want to leave, then listen to me."

"I don't want to end up like you, locked in that Sky-Locking Tower, because of a small mistake."