If I, a death row inmate, am not to become a demon, am I to become a member of the Imperial Guard?

Zhou Yang pressed his fingers against the crystal wall, and a bone-chilling cold spread from the skin of his fingertips.

This is no ordinary item.

He could feel that his own life force, before the crystal wall, was like a speck of moisture on parched land, about to evaporate instantly. But the boy in the cage was like a vast ocean, his life force so rich it was almost tangible.

It was a pure, unadorned, and immense power.

Zhou Yang withdrew his hand, looking at his still intact skin, and became even more certain. Trying to forcefully break through this crystal cage was nothing short of a pipe dream. He turned to look around.

This was a huge, brightly lit underground chamber. A strange smell permeated the air, a mixture of herbs and rust, with a hint of indescribable sweet-smelling odor. Dozens of crystal cages, identical to those before him, were neatly arranged. Most were empty, with only a few people imprisoned inside, all lying motionless like corpses.

His gaze lingered on the connection between the cages. There, a pale silver light shimmered, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, like a breath.

This is a prohibition.

Zhou Yang narrowed his eyes. He could see that all the cages in the entire underground chamber were connected as a single unit. This restriction system was even more sophisticated than he had imagined. It wasn't an inanimate object; it was functioning.

To save lives, we must first understand how this system works.

As he was pondering, a faint sound came from a cage next to him, like sandpaper rubbing against wood.

"Heh...hehe..."

Zhou Yang looked in the direction of the sound. In the next cage lay a gaunt old man. His hair and beard were all white, and his skin clung loosely to his bones. Only his eyes, in the dim light, shone with a murky clarity. He was looking at Zhou Yang, his face flushed with a sickly pallor.

"You little brat from the Heavenly Principles Sect, you've got yourself in here?" the old man's voice was hoarse. "Or are you a dog of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Zhou Yang didn't speak, he just looked at him quietly.

The old man grinned, revealing yellowed teeth. "If you dare touch him, you're dead."

"Him?" Zhou Yang finally spoke, his voice flat.

"Who else could it be but this precious darling in the cage?" The old man coughed a few times, as if he were about to cough up his lungs. "Do you know where this is? This is the royal alchemy room. Do you know what this kid is? He is a seed of elixirs, a living, walking thousand-year-old ginseng."

Zhou Yang's brow twitched slightly.

The old man seemed to enjoy Zhou Yang's reaction. He struggled to sit up, but lacked the strength, and could only remain lying down. He said in a boastful tone, "This is called the bloodline of a celestial being from beyond the heavens. It's the best medicinal ingredient by nature. The great figures of the royal family are waiting to skin him alive, pull out his bones, and drink his blood to prolong their lives. You dare to dabble in it with your meager skills?"

A celestial being descended from heaven?

Zhou Yang pondered the word. So that's how it is. No wonder the Heavenly Principle Sect went to such lengths to get their hands on this young man; no wonder that old dog Chen Qianhu turned against Qin Shuang over this. This wasn't just any ordinary treasure; it was the source that could elevate someone to heaven in one step, or plunge them into hell in one.

The value of the hunt instantly increased several notches.

"Young man, I see you're quite skilled, unlike those fools." The old man's voice lowered, carrying a seductive tone. "I used to be a protector of the Heavenly Principle Sect, and I know many secrets. I know another flaw in this restriction, one that even they themselves don't know. If you rescue me, I'll tell you, if we join forces, we still have a chance."

Zhou Yang didn't even bother to look at him anymore.

What value could the secrets of a prisoner who can't even save himself hold? It's most likely a desperate, last-ditch struggle. Making a deal with him is a waste of time and could even be a trap.

He turned and left the cage, taking a few steps to the shadows in the corner of the basement, completely cutting off the old man's view.

The old man behind him was so angry that he cursed loudly, but his voice grew weaker and weaker until it turned into feeble gasps.

Zhou Yang took out a talisman and a small piece of charcoal from his pocket. These were things he had prepared beforehand. He quickly drew a simple soundproofing array on the ground and stuck the talisman on the wall behind him. The surrounding noise immediately subsided considerably.

He sat down cross-legged.

Now, he has two paths. One is to wait, until the so-called guards change shifts and close the barrier. The other is to create an opportunity himself.

Zhou Yang never places his hopes on others. He prefers to take initiative.

He closed his eyes, and a thought flashed through his mind.

The system deduces the flaws in the restrictions here.

There was no sound in his mind, only a searing sensation that exploded from his heart and spread throughout his body. It was his life force burning away. He felt his life was slipping away at an alarming rate.

one day.

Two days.

Without hesitation, he chose to burn two days of his life.

After the excruciating pain came an unprecedented clarity. The entire underground chamber's restrictive system was instantly dissected in his mind into countless streams of data. The flowing silver light transformed into clear trajectories in his eyes. They intertwined, influencing each other to form a precise cycle.

He saw the node of the cycle.

That point is the instant the cage is replenished with energy. At specific times, the restrictions will loosen for a moment, allowing energy to flow into the cage. Three breaths before that moment, the entire system will pause extremely briefly in preparation for this infusion.

That pause was the flaw.

Its duration was exactly three breaths, no more, no less.

Three breaths are enough.

Zhou Yang opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife. He stood up, destroyed the soundproofing array on the ground, burned the talisman to ashes, and kicked it into a dark corner.

He began to find his place.

His gaze swept over the rows of crystal cages, and he finally chose a spot diagonally opposite the blue-eyed boy. There was an empty cage there, and next to it lay a prisoner whose fate was unclear. This spot allowed him to observe the boy's cage without drawing attention from the start due to its proximity.

He went over and rummaged through the prisoner's body for a while, tearing off a stained rag. Then, he found the chains he had previously discarded and relocked them around his wrists and ankles. He deliberately made the chains loose, as if they could break free at any moment.

Finally, he leaned against the bars of the empty cage, regulated his breathing, slowed his heartbeat, and his body entered a semi-conscious, weak state. In his hand, he tightly gripped the sharp-edged piece of iron he had picked up elsewhere.

Everything is ready.

He is now, like the other prisoners here, a guy waiting to be dealt with.

Time ticked by. The underground chamber was eerily quiet, save for the occasional suppressed cough in the distance and the faint hum of the restrictions in operation.

Zhou Yang closed his eyes, but his ears were picking up on the slightest sound.

After an unknown amount of time, a faint clicking sound came from the deepest part of the underground chamber.

The sound was very faint, like a stone slab sliding.

Zhou Yang's eyelashes fluttered, but he didn't open them.

The sound grew closer and closer, finally stopping inside the walls of the underground chamber. Then, the thick stone walls silently parted to the sides, revealing a pitch-black door.

A person dressed in a pure white robe walked out.

He looked very young, his face deathly pale, as if he hadn't seen the sun for years. He wore white gloves and carried a wooden tray. Behind him were two assistants, also dressed in white, each pushing a small cart loaded with various bottles, jars, and gleaming instruments.

Blood Refiner.

Zhou Yang's heart sank. This person didn't exude any ostentatious aura, but every step he took was unhurried, carrying an undeniable composure. It was the gaze of someone accustomed to controlling everything, someone who had witnessed life and death for so long.

The man in white robes stepped out of the secret chamber and first glanced around the entire underground room. His gaze didn't linger on any of the prisoners, as if he were inspecting his own merchandise.

An assistant behind him took out an hourglass and placed it upside down on a stone table.

"Begin the inspection log." The white-robed man spoke, his voice flat and devoid of any emotion. "Group B Dan Seed, Number Three, vital signs stable. Energy conversion rate: 17%."

The assistant was writing notes in the booklet with his head down.

The man in the white robe began to walk slowly along the passage between the cages. As he walked, he would occasionally stop, reach out through the crystal wall, and hover his hand above the head of a prisoner, as if sensing something.

His route is fixed.

We're getting closer and closer to Zhou Yang.

Ten steps.

Five steps.

Zhou Yang could smell a faint, cool scent emanating from him, a scent that resembled a mixture of herbs and disinfectant.

Three steps.

The man in the white robe stopped in his tracks.

He didn't look at Zhou Yang, but instead looked at the empty cage beside him. His brows furrowed slightly, as if he was puzzled as to why there was an empty cage there.

His assistant also stopped and looked at Zhou Yang.

"This person... doesn't seem to be from our group," an assistant whispered.

Zhou Yang remained unconscious, but all his muscles were tense. He gripped the metal plate in his hand even tighter. If his opponent made the slightest movement, the metal plate would instantly slit his throat. He wouldn't capture him alive; he only needed to create chaos.

The man in white didn't speak; he simply turned his head, and for the first time, his calm eyes fell on Zhou Yang.

His gaze, like a cold probe, tried to pierce through Zhou Yang's facade.