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

The roar of the Blood Spirit gradually weakened behind them.

Zhou Yang didn't turn around. He stared at the dragon spine fragment in his palm, his fingers rubbing it back and forth. The surface of the fragment was warm and smooth, like a piece of warm jade, and the three grooves on the edge corresponded to three different colors—crimson, black, and pale white.

This was earned with one's life.

Three hundred and twenty years of lifespan, burned down to only seventy-three. Zhou Yang silently recited this number in his mind, his teeth aching slightly. But his face remained expressionless; he simply tucked the fragments into his pocket and tightened his belt.

"Walk."

Qin Shuang nodded. The scythe in her hand was still dripping blood, dark red blood droplets sliding down the blade and dripping onto the bluish-gray stone slab with a soft "tap".

The two proceeded in the direction indicated by the map.

The path beneath their feet gradually became rugged. Cracks began to appear on the once smooth altar floor. Wisps of cold air seeped from the cracks, carrying a musty, stale smell, as if a thousand-year-old coffin had been pried open.

Zhou Yang sniffed. The smell was unpleasant, even stronger than the stench of dead rats in the Imperial Guard's prison.

"How much further?" he asked.

Qin Shuang unfolded the light screen map. The red dot was just ahead, no more than a hundred feet away. But within that hundred feet, the terrain suddenly rose, forming a nearly vertical cliff.

The cliff face was dark gray, its surface riddled with honeycomb-like holes. The wind whistled through the holes, making a mournful sound, as if someone were crying.

"Up there." Qin Shuang put away the map and looked up.

Zhou Yang looked up as well.

At the top of the cliff, the outline of a stone gate can be vaguely seen. The gate is embedded in the mountain, with only its lower half visible. The gate panel is undecorated, with only three deep carvings.

The marks are arranged radially, forming a triangle.

"Three-colored talisman." Zhou Yang narrowed his eyes.

He took the lead in climbing. The cliff face was brittle; when he gripped it with his fingers, loose rocks fell down in a flurry. Zhou Yang dared not use too much force, and could only look for the relatively solid protrusions, inching his way upwards little by little.

Qin Shuang followed behind him. Her movements were even lighter, like a cat on the night, making almost no sound.

It took a full quarter of an hour to reach a height of 100 zhang.

By the time Zhou Yang's hand touched the edge of the cliff, his palms were already blistered and bleeding. He rolled over and climbed up, collapsing to the ground, panting heavily. Qin Shuang then leaped up, steadied herself, and immediately locked her gaze on the stone door.

The stone gate is larger than it appears from a distance.

It was three zhang tall and two zhang wide. The material was not ordinary rock, but a translucent obsidian. When light shone on it, it refracted a deep, somber luster.

The three carvings are located right in the center of the stone gate.

The engraving on the left is a dark red, like dried blood. The engraving in the middle is as black as ink, bottomless. The engraving on the right is a stark white, like powdered bone.

At the intersection of the three engravings, there is a circular groove.

The size of the groove perfectly matches the size of the dragon spine fragment.

Zhou Yang stood up and dusted himself off. He walked to the stone door and looked up to examine it. The door was thick, obscuring what lay behind it. He reached out and touched the red engraving with his fingertips.

It's cold.

It wasn't the coolness of stone, but a bone-chilling cold that seeped into his bones from his fingertips. Zhou Yang withdrew his hand and shook it off.

"This is it," he said.

Qin Shuang walked to his side, her gaze falling on the circular groove. "Insert it?"

"It seems so."

Zhou Yang took out the dragon spine fragment from his pocket. As the complete fragment approached the stone door, it suddenly emitted a faint light. The light was soft, displaying a three-colored hue that corresponded to the engravings on the door.

He held the fragment in his hand, aiming it at the groove.

His fingers were a little sweaty. Zhou Yang wiped them on the hem of his clothes and clenched his fist again.

"Wait a minute," Qin Shuang suddenly said.

Zhou Yang stopped moving.

"There's a mechanism," Qin Shuang said, pointing to the bottom of the stone door. There, at the threshold, was a row of almost invisible fine holes. The holes were arranged in a line, running the entire width of the stone door.

"Poison gas?" Zhou Yang frowned.

"Perhaps." Qin Shuang crouched down and pulled a dagger from her boot. She gently pierced one of the small holes with the tip of the dagger, then quickly withdrew it.

"laugh--"

A pale green smoke billowed from the hole, accompanied by a corrosive sound. The steel tip of the dagger instantly turned black, as if it had been splashed with strong acid.

Qin Shuang threw the blackened dagger to the ground. Wisps of blue smoke rose as the metal touched the ground.

"Impressive." Zhou Yang clicked his tongue. "If I hadn't been so slow, my hand would be gone by now."

"Not just that." Qin Shuang stood up, pointing to the row of tiny holes. "This is a series of interconnected mechanisms. When a fragment is inserted, the mechanism activates. If the angle of insertion is incorrect, or the fragment is incomplete..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.

Zhou Yang looked down at the fragment in his hand, then at the three engravings. He suddenly understood something.

"It needs to match the color," he said.

Qin Shuang raised an eyebrow.

"Look," Zhou Yang pointed to the three grooves on the edge of the fragment, "crimson for the left, jet black for the middle, and pale white for the right. If you put it in the wrong place, you're dead."

He flipped the fragments over and adjusted their angle. The crimson side faced left, the jet black side faced forward, and the pale white side faced right.

Zhou Yang gripped the shards tightly again and took a deep breath.

He didn't insert it immediately, but first gently touched the edge of the groove with the edge of the fragment. The touch matched perfectly, a seamless fit.

"Step back a little," Zhou Yang said to Qin Shuang.

Qin Shuang didn't move. "Together."

"What if it explodes..."

"Together." Qin Shuang repeated, her tone leaving no room for doubt.

Zhou Yang glanced at her. Qin Shuang's face was pale, and her forehead was sweaty, but her gaze was steady. Those usually cold eyes were now fixed on him with a stubbornness.

"Okay." Zhou Yang grinned. "If we fry them, we'll all become roast pigs."

He no longer hesitated.

The fragments were slowly pushed into the groove.

The first inch, no reaction.

On the second inch, the three engravings on the stone gate suddenly lit up. Red, black, and white lights flashed simultaneously, illuminating Zhou Yang and Qin Shuang's faces.

The third inch, the fragment is completely embedded.

"Click."

A crisp sound came from inside the stone door, like the turning of an ancient gear.

Immediately afterwards, the row of tiny holes that had been spewing out poisonous gas suddenly closed. The stone slab slid, completely covering the holes.

"Oh, right." Zhou Yang breathed a sigh of relief.

But this is only the beginning.

The stone gate began to shake. At first, it was a slight tremor, but it grew more and more violent. Gravel fell from the lintel, hitting the ground and kicking up dust.

Zhou Yang pulled Qin Shuang back three steps.

Boom—

The stone gate slowly opened to both sides.

There was no blinding light as I had imagined, nor a deafening roar. The door opened slowly, making a heavy, scraping sound, like the sigh of a dying man.

Behind the door was nothingness.

It wasn't darkness, but pure nothingness. Light pierced through, only to be completely swallowed up, illuminating nothing at all.

A stream of air rushed out from inside the door.

The air carried a strong, sweet, and pungent smell, like an old blood bank being opened. Zhou Yang's stomach clenched at the smell. He suppressed the urge to vomit and covered his mouth and nose with his hand.

The airflow lasted for ten breaths, then stopped.

The nothingness began to change.

A point of light appeared in the depths. Then a second, a third. Countless points of light emerged, forming a downward staircase. The staircase floated in the void, without handrails or support, drifting aimlessly and extending into the unfathomable depths below.

"The Abyss Passage," Qin Shuang whispered.

Zhou Yang walked to the door and peered down. The staircase, composed of points of light, meandered and stretched endlessly. Each step was formed from milky-white light, about three feet wide, enough for two people to walk side by side.

He picked up a piece of gravel and threw it down.

The stone landed on the first step with a "thud," then rolled a few times before coming to a stop. It didn't fall.

"I can walk," Zhou Yang said.

Qin Shuang walked to his side and looked down as well. Her long hair was blown by the airflow from inside the door, brushing against Zhou Yang's cheek and tickling him slightly.

"I'll go first," Zhou Yang said.

"No." Qin Shuang took a step forward, stepping onto the first level of light. Her boots rippled slightly as she stepped on the light, as if she were walking on water.

She steadied herself and turned to look at Zhou Yang.

"Keep up."

Zhou Yang smiled. He touched the fragment in his pocket—it was now impossible to remove, as if it had become one with the stone gate. He then checked the knife at his waist to make sure it wasn't loose.

Then, he stepped onto the stairs.

The feeling underfoot was strange. It wasn't like stone, nor like wood, but more like a springy, gelatinous substance. Stepping on it caused a slight sinking sensation, then supported my body.

Zhou Yang took a deep breath.

Qin Shuang ahead had begun to walk downhill. Her back appeared somewhat slender in the milky white light, but her posture was ramrod straight.

Zhou Yang followed.

The stone gate slowly closed behind them. The light was cut off, leaving only the faint glow of the steps themselves, illuminating the area three feet in front and behind them.

Zhou Yang glanced back.

The stone gate was completely closed, turning into a flat rock wall. The way in was cut off.

"There's no way out," he said.

Qin Shuang stopped ahead and turned her head slightly.

"I wasn't planning on canceling it anyway," she said.

Zhou Yang nodded. He took out a tinderbox from his pocket and flickered it. The flame flickered in the void, illuminating Qin Shuang's profile.

"Let's go all the way to the end," Zhou Yang said. "Let's see what treasures the tomb's owner has hidden."

He extinguished the tinderbox to conserve fuel. The two of them, one in front of the other, followed the staircase of light deeper into the abyss.

Deep within the tomb, ancient runes are carved on the dark stone walls.

Light leaked from the cracks in the hanging fragments, illuminating a colossal statue.

The colossus was covered in dark dragon scales, resembling a sleeping giant beast.

A dark red gemstone was embedded in its chest, trembling slightly.

Suddenly, the gemstone lit up, and the entire statue emitted a deep roar.

The ground trembled slightly, and dust was stirred up.

The colossus slowly raised its left arm, the scales rubbing together to produce a piercing metallic sound.

The giant claws were outstretched, as if to grab forward.

Qin Shuang stood at the edge of the pillar of light, her light blade gleaming with a deep blue light.

"Are you ready?" Her voice was low, yet sharp.

Zhou Yang nodded, his gaze fixed on the ruby ​​on the giant statue's chest.

The light blade drew an arc in the air and rushed towards the left arm.

The blade pierced through the dragon scales, producing a crisp cracking sound.

Its left arm snapped off, and the colossus let out a painful roar.

From the crack, crimson light flowed out, forming a vortex.

At the center of the vortex was a beam of blazing energy.

This is precisely the core of the Colossus—its only weakness.

Qin Shuang took two steps back, her brows furrowing slightly.

"The core has been exposed, destroy it quickly," she said.

Zhou Yang raised the fragment of the halo in his hand.

A halo surrounded him, twinkling with starlight.

He took a deep breath, feeling the lingering warmth of his life force within his body.

"Compressed beam ready," he whispered.

The light rays gathered inside the halo gradually contracted, forming a thin beam of light.

The beam of light was golden in color, bright and hot enough to cut through steel.

Zhou Yang aimed the beam at the core.

The beam of light instantly broke through the vortex and struck the ruby.

The gemstone was pierced by the beam of light, emitting a piercing shriek.

The red light spread instantly, covering the entire chest cavity.

The colossus's scales were scorched and cracked.

Its roar turned into a wail, and its body began to sway.

"Retreat quickly!" Qin Shuang shouted, drawing her light blade and slashing in all directions.

Her blade flashed like rain, weaving through the shattered fragments of the collapsing colossus.

The fragments were cleaved by the blade and turned to ashes.

Zhou Yang maintained the beam of light without releasing it.

The beam intensity gradually increases until a small starburst forms inside the halo.

The starburst exploded on the Colossus's chest, shattering the ruby ​​into countless fragments.

The colossus emitted a piercing cracking sound.

Its body collapsed on the ground, raising clouds of dust.

Huge chunks of rock rolled in all directions, and dust drifted in the afterglow of the beam of light.

With a deafening roar, the colossus was finally reduced to a pile of charred fragments.

Ruby fragments lay scattered on the ground, emitting a faint afterglow.

The air was filled with the smell of burning, mixed with the sour taste of blood.

Qin Shuang stood in the center of the ruins, retracting her light blade.

A look of satisfaction flashed in her eyes.

"Now, the core is completely gone," she said.

Zhou Yang put away his halo and looked back at the fragments.

The fragments trembled slightly under the light, as if they were still breathing.

He chuckled softly, "With just one more piece, we can piece together the complete dragon spine."

Qin Shuang stepped forward and gently touched a shard with her finger.

The halo flashed again the moment the fingertips touched it.

She looked up at Zhou Yang.

"Are there any other tasks?" she asked, her voice light and tinged with a hint of amusement.

Zhou Yang shook his head, his gaze resolute.

"Let's take control of the energy here first," he said.

The two walked out of the tomb side by side, as a beam of light shone in from the entrance.

The beam of light traced two intersecting lines on the wall.

The tomb door slowly closed, leaving dust swirling in the air.

As he left, Zhou Yang glanced back at the collapsed giant statue.

The remains of the colossus cast long shadows in the beam of light.

The shadow was like a sleeping dragon, destined to be awakened.

Qin Shuang gave a soft snort and turned to walk towards the passage ahead.

Her steps were steady, and the stone slabs beneath her feet made a crisp echo.

Zhou Yang followed closely behind, holding the fragment of the halo in his hand.

The two figures stretched long in the lamplight, gradually disappearing into the distance.

The mountain wind howled outside the tomb, carrying away the lingering warmth of the blood.

Their figures gradually disappeared into the darkness, leaving only the afterglow of their halos.