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

Zhou Yang opened his eyes.

The cave ceiling was sharply defined, jagged rocks. Three colors of light swirled, casting dappled shadows on his face. A chilling, rocky chill hung in the air, mingled with a faint scent of blood and gunpowder.

He moved his fingers. His chest felt like it was being crushed by a boulder; each breath felt like it was tearing at his lungs, sending sharp, stabbing pain through him. His life force was draining away—a feeling he knew all too well.

"You're awake."

Qin Shuang's voice was right next to his ear. She didn't look at him; her gaze was fixed on the slowly rotating tri-colored shield. Her hand was still on his wrist, and the warmth of her palm was palpable.

"How long have you been asleep?" Zhou Yang's voice was hoarse, like a broken bellows.

"Not long," Qin Shuang replied, "about a quarter of an hour. Shi Gun has been guarding this place the whole time."

Zhou Yang turned his head. Sure enough, the metal object stood silently at the cave entrance, like a statue. The tri-colored light and the radiance of the protective shield on its body blended together, presenting a strange beauty.

"King's blood, cursed seal, shadow's body." Zhou Yang repeated these words in a low voice, his eyes slowly brightening. It wasn't the confusion of someone on the verge of death, but the clarity of a chess player seeing victory.

"Have you figured out the riddle Shi Gun mentioned?" Qin Shuang asked.

"Understood." Zhou Yang propped himself up and sat up. This simple action made cold sweat break out on his forehead. He leaned against the rock wall behind him and took a few breaths.

"The blood of the king is me." He pointed to himself. "My bloodline, or rather, this life of mine that can be ignited at any moment, is the key."

"The Mark of the Curse is a fragment of the Dragon Spine." He reached into his robes; the fragment was icy cold, like a block of ice that would never melt. "It is both a curse and a mark."

"Shadow Body..." Zhou Yang looked at the stone roller, "It's you. Or rather, it's something inhuman like you."

Qin Shuang frowned: "A door requires three things to open. But we don't even know where the door is."

"No, we're already here." Zhou Yang laughed, a kind of mad confidence in his smile. "This cave, this shield, is the gateway to the door. The stone roller isn't telling us an ancient story; it's teaching us how to use this thing in front of us."

He struggled to his feet and staggered toward the tricolor shield.

"Doors aren't for walking through." He reached out, about to touch the shimmering surface. "Doors are for banging on."

Qin Shuang's heart tightened suddenly. She wanted to stop him, but she didn't move. She knew she couldn't stop him now.

Zhou Yang placed his palm on the shield.

There was no energy repulsion as expected. The shield seemed alive, and the tri-colored light instantly surged into his body through his arm. Zhou Yang's body trembled violently, and a suppressed groan escaped his throat.

He could feel his life force being frantically drained. It wasn't that he was actively burning; it was being forcibly extracted. The shield was like a ravenous beast, and he was its most delicious prey.

But he did not back down.

He bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the shield. At the same time, he attached the dragon spine fragment from his arms to it as well.

"Mark of Curses, acknowledge your master!"

He growled. The dragon spine fragment emitted a sharp buzzing sound, and the ancient patterns on the fragment were instantly illuminated, emitting a dark red glow.

The red light merged into the shield. The previously flowing tricolor light suddenly stopped, then began to rotate and contract violently. The three colors were no longer distinct, but intertwined, turning into a chaotic gray.

"Not enough!" Zhou Yang's vision began to blur. He knew that there was still one last thing missing.

He looked at the stone roller and, with his last strength, shouted, "Shadow Body, come here!"

The stone roller moved. Without the slightest hesitation, it took stiff steps and walked to the shield. It raised its metal arm and pressed it heavily onto Zhou Yang's palm.

"Click."

With a soft click, the stone roller's metallic body and the shield seamlessly merged together. The fluctuations of divine consciousness within its body became the final catalyst for harmonizing the chaotic forces.

Om-!

The entire cave trembled. The shield was no longer a shield; it was deforming. The light contracted inward, condensing into a fist-sized, high-density rotating sphere of light. At the core of the sphere was the ominous dark red of the dragon spine fragment, Zhou Yang's life essence, and the cold will of the stone roller.

"Qin Shuang, hold on tight to me!" Zhou Yang shouted.

Qin Shuang immediately stepped forward and hugged Zhou Yang's waist from behind. She could feel his body getting cold and his muscles relaxing, like a straw whose life force was being drained.

"You're crazy!" she whispered.

"Only madness allows one to survive." Zhou Yang stared at the ever-compressing sphere of light, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism. "The Heavenly Principle Cult's bishop's tower is built at the heart of this mountain. What they use to maintain the operation of their grand formation is the earth's ley line hub beneath the mountain. We can't get in, but we can... just smash through it!"

Before he finished speaking, the ball of light shot forward.

Instead of piercing the cave walls, it disappeared into the ground. The next second, the entire earth let out a muffled roar. The ground beneath their feet was no longer solid rock, but had transformed into a small boat adrift in a raging storm.

Zhou Yang and Qin Shuang, along with the stone roller that had turned into a shadow, were carried by an irresistible force and fell into the depths of the earth's core.

This is not a fall, it is a charge.

There was no road ahead, only a tunnel forcibly carved out by the sphere of light. The rock strata were sliced, melted, and vaporized like tofu before the sphere. All around them was blinding light, deafening roars, and terrifying pressure powerful enough to grind steel to dust.

Qin Shuang held Zhou Yang tightly, channeling her inner energy into his body to protect his heart. She saw blood trickling from the corner of Zhou Yang's mouth, yet his eyes remained bright. He was like a nail, driven by this force, hammered toward his chosen target.

I don't know how much time has passed.

It may be a moment, or it may be forever.

The light in front of me suddenly dimmed.

They broke through.

A massive underground cavity. This is the foundation of the Heavenly Principle Sect. Countless energy pipes, as thick as giant pythons, converge from all directions onto a huge stone hub in the center. The hub is inscribed with dense runes, radiating powerful energy fluctuations.

This is the "power supply line" for the entire Blood River Formation.

Around the hub stood rows of priests dressed in black robes and wearing masks. They were clearly not expected that someone would suddenly emerge from underground, and they were all stunned for a moment.

The leading bishop turned around abruptly, his face covered by a golden mask, revealing only a pair of horrified eyes.

"You...you all..."

Zhou Yang didn't give him a chance to speak.

The ball of light beneath his feet exhausted its energy the moment it burst through the ground, dissipating into countless specks of light. Zhou Yang's body slumped forward due to blood loss and exhaustion.

But he still held the knife firmly in his hand.

That knife that he repaired and perfected with his lifespan.

He was in mid-air, his body unable to make any complex movements. But with the momentum of his forward thrust, with his last bit of strength, he swung the simplest of swords.

cut.

The blade flashed dimly. There was no earth-shattering momentum, no dazzling and spectacular moves.

It's just a simple, pure arc.

But this strike seemed to sever some kind of rule.

The blade struck the massive stone nexus.

There was no explosion, no loud noise.

The incredibly hard joint, like butter being cut by a hot knife, silently cracked open. Then, the crack rapidly widened, and the entire joint was broken in two.

"Click... snap..."

A crisp cracking sound echoed in the empty underground cavity.

The light from all the energy channels went out instantly.

"No--!"

The bishop let out a desperate roar.

Above his head, the towering command tower, the altar that held together the entire Blood River Array, lost all its energy support. Cracks began to appear on the magnificent tower, and the runes dimmed one by one.

The century-old foundation of the Heavenly Principle Sect was completely severed by this one strike.

The remaining believers were ashen-faced. They watched helplessly as their beacon of faith crumbled. Some began to frantically flee towards the exits, while others stood frozen in place, as if their souls had been ripped away.

Zhou Yang landed on the ground, kneeling on one knee. The knife was on the ground, supporting his swaying body.

He looked up at the slowly collapsing tower and grinned. His smile was tinged with blood, but also with a hint of relief.

"Adding more money...that's really expensive."

Just then, a dazzling red light suddenly erupted from the center of the broken hub. A palm-sized, more complete fragment of the dragon's spine shot into the sky from the ruins, flying straight towards Zhou Yang.

It seemed to have a life of its own, circling once around Zhou Yang's chest before merging with the fragment in his arms.

"Buzz".

A soft resonance resonated. The fragment in Zhou Yang's arms shone brightly, the original gap was filled, and the overall shape was two-thirds perfect. A warm current surged from the fragment, flowing through his limbs and bones, repairing his body that was on the verge of collapse.

Although it was only a drop in the ocean, the power originating from the divine weapon still allowed him to regain some strength.

He stood up and sheathed his sword.

Qin Shuang walked to his side and took his arm. Her face was also a little pale, but her eyes remained calm.

The stone roller's figure re-condensed beside him, its metallic luster dimmed considerably, clearly indicating that the "Shadow Body" had also taken a heavy toll on it.

"It's time to go," Qin Shuang said.

Zhou Yang nodded.

They looked no further at the chaotic cultists, nor at the giant tower sinking into the ground. Their objective had been achieved.

They turned and headed back towards the tunnel they had come from. That was the only exit.

The world behind them was collapsing, with cries, prayers, and the deafening roar of collapsing buildings intertwining to compose the final elegy of the Tianli Sect.

They were merely silent observers who left.

When they returned to the surface from the melted tunnel, it was already dusk.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the horizon blood red, echoing the still-flowing Blood River in the distance. But the Blood River's energy was dissipating, and the color of its water was gradually fading.

The era of the Blood River Heavenly Principle Sect has come to an end.

Zhou Yang took a deep breath. The air was filled with the scent of wild grass and trees, very refreshing.

He reached into his robes, feeling the now-complete dragon spine fragment. It was still cold, but now it pulsed slightly.

One last piece is needed.

He looked into the distance. The mountains stretched endlessly, and dusk was falling.

"Let's go." Zhou Yang's voice returned to its usual calm.

"Where to?" Qin Shuang asked.

"Go to where the last piece is."

The two stopped and walked down the ridge. Their shadows stretched long in the setting sun before gradually merging into the endless night.

Behind him was a dying river of blood and a destroyed cult.

Before him lay an unknown journey and a myth yet to be fully realized.