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

The white-robed man's gaze was like two steel needles hardened with ice, piercing Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang didn't move.

He didn't even open his eyes.

Only the pupils under the eyelids moved slightly.

He didn't like the man's gaze. Too cold, too arrogant, as if he were looking at an object, not a person.

Zhou Yang's breathing remained steady and long, his disguise flawless. But the knuckles of his hand, held at his side, were slightly white from the force he was exerting. The thin piece of metal, its cold edge pressed tightly against his palm.

opportunity.

He was waiting for an opportunity.

The man in white robes seemed to be merely glancing at the unremarkable "corpse," not lingering on it for long. He withdrew his gaze and returned it to the blue-eyed boy in the crystal cage.

He stretched out his hand, a wisp of pale red energy swirling around his fingertips.

"Let's begin." His voice was flat and emotionless.

Two assistants immediately stepped forward; one supported the crystal cage, while the other picked up a hollow silver needle. The needle was covered with intricate runes, which shimmered eerily under the light.

The Blood Refiner formed a hand seal, and the wisp of red energy slowly flowed into the silver needle. The silver needle hummed, as if it had come to life.

He needs to have his blood drawn.

The energy of the entire cell began to converge on the silver needle as he moved.

It's now!

Zhou Yang's eyes snapped open.

That wasn't the look a corpse should have. There was no confusion, no blankness, only extreme calmness and a long-brewing killing intent.

He moved.

There was no warning.

The body, which had been lying on the ground, suddenly straightened like a fully drawn bow. With a light touch of the toes on the ground, the person transformed into a shadowy figure that clung to the ground, silently lunging towards the man in white robes.

fast!

too fast!

The two assistants only felt a blur before their eyes, and didn't even see what happened.

Zhou Yang's figure had already appeared behind the man in the white robe.

The hand hidden at her side, leaving a blur, precisely gripped the Blood Refiner's throat.

"Snap!"

A soft, yet incredibly clear, crisp sound.

The Blood Refiner's hand seals froze in mid-air. The arrogance and coldness in his eyes were instantly replaced by astonishment and disbelief. He wanted to turn his head to see who was behind him, but his body would not obey him.

Zhou Yang's fingers were like an iron clamp, not only crushing his throat bones but also cutting off the flow of all the breath in his body.

The Blood Refiner's body went limp, like a lump of mud.

Zhou Yang did not go to see him.

His goal was never this so-called Blood Refiner.

At the same time he crushed the other person's throat, he pulled two objects from his pocket with his other hand and flung them behind him.

"Slap! Slap!"

Two muffled, soft sounds.

The two pieces of "blood tofu" that he had nourished with his essence and blood landed squarely on the chests of his two assistants.

The moment the blood tofu touched their bodies, it immediately turned into two beams of red light and entered them.

The two assistants shuddered, their faces instantly turning a deep liver color. Their eyes quickly became bloodshot, the whites of their eyes turning crimson.

"Heh...heh..."

They growled like wild beasts, their reason rapidly fading. The power within the blood tofu amplified the deepest violence and hunger within them.

They no longer remember who they are, no longer remember their mission.

All they knew was that they were hungry.

We need to eat meat.

One of the assistants turned sharply and saw a trembling prisoner in another cell next to him. He roared and slammed his fist on the iron bars of the cell door.

"Bang!"

He actually managed to bend a gap in the iron railing by smashing it!

The other assistant was even more frenzied. He lunged at the nearest companion, opened his mouth wide, and bit down hard on the man's shoulder.

"what!"

A scream rang out, and blood splattered everywhere.

Chaos erupted instantly.

The entire cell had become a chaotic battlefield. The manipulated henchmen began to attack everything around them, whether prisoners or their fellow inmates.

At the very moment all this happened, Zhou Yang rushed toward the crystal cage.

The alarm has not yet sounded.

He still has time.

Zhou Yang looked at the thin crystal wall without using any fancy techniques. He raised his hand, gathered a powerful internal force in his palm, and struck it directly.

"open!"

A low shout.

Ripples spread across the crystal wall. The restrictive runes inscribed on it dimmed instantly under the impact of Zhou Yang's pure power, and then shattered inch by inch.

"Splash!"

The crystal cage shattered instantly.

Zhou Yang stepped in, completely ignoring the scattered, sharp fragments. He reached out and placed his hand on the blue-eyed boy's chest.

It felt icy cold to the touch.

But beneath this layer of coldness, he could sense a volcanic life force slumbering beneath.

"Danmu, come out."

Zhou Yang silently recited in his heart.

Within his dantian, the dormant, life-like dantian mother was instantly awakened. It transformed into a beam of black light and emerged from Zhou Yang's palm.

The black light spun in mid-air, forming a black vortex the size of a fist.

The moment the vortex appeared, a powerful suction force erupted.

The fragments of the crystal cage, the dust on the ground, and even the light in the air were all drawn into that tiny vortex.

Its target is the body of the blue-eyed boy.

"Buzz—"

A black vortex was imprinted directly on the boy's chest.

The boy's body trembled violently, and his tightly closed eyes snapped open. They were pure blue eyes, without any impurities, like the clearest sky. But at this moment, those eyes were filled with fear and confusion.

He wanted to struggle, to resist.

But it didn't work.

His life force, the essence of his bloodline, was being frantically extracted by that black vortex in an incomparably domineering manner.

Visibly, the boy's plump skin began to lose moisture, becoming dry and withered. His jet-black hair turned gray at a visible speed and then fell out.

His flesh and blood, like a punctured water bag, quickly dried up and shriveled.

This process was incredibly fast.

It took no more than three to five breaths.

The once vibrant young man had been reduced to a skeletal, dried-up corpse right before Zhou Yang's eyes. He was still in the open-eyed position, but the light in his eyes had completely vanished.

"Waaaaah—waaaah—"

Just then, the piercing alarm finally resounded throughout the entire underground space.

Outside, the sound of hurried footsteps and angry shouts could be heard.

too late.

Zhou Yang felt as if his body was a container being instantly filled.

A massive amount of life energy, so pure it was unimaginable, flowed through his palm, through the black vortex, and surged wildly into his limbs and bones, converging in his dantian.

His body was trembling.

It wasn't out of fear, but because he couldn't withstand this immense energy. Veins bulged on his skin like writhing dragons, and his body emitted a faint red glow, like a red-hot iron.

In his mind, the lifespan number that only he could see began to jump wildly.

[Remaining lifespan: 187]

[Remaining lifespan: 287]

[Remaining lifespan: 587]

[Remaining lifespan: 1087]

……

[Remaining lifespan: 6587]

……

[Remaining lifespan: 12087]

[Remaining lifespan: 15887]

The numbers are still skyrocketing!

Zhou Yang felt his cultivation barrier being easily torn apart and shattered like paper under the impact of this energy.

The shackles of one's realm are easily broken.

His internal energy, transformed by life energy, became incredibly powerful and pure.

The black vortex absorbed the last bit of essence, slowly shrank, and flew back into Zhou Yang's body, where it fell silent.

At the cell door, a large number of believers had arrived. They stared in disbelief at the horrific scene inside.

Zhou Yang slowly straightened up.

He looked down at his hands and clenched his fists.

An unprecedentedly powerful feeling filled every cell of his body.

He looked up at the Heavenly Principle Cult members at the door, who were holding weapons and looking terrified.

The alarm was still blaring.

Zhou Yang's lips slowly parted, revealing a sinister smile.

He licked his dry lips and said softly.

"The feast is about to begin."