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

Zhou Yang tucked the fragments into his pocket.

The thing pressed against the skin of my chest, its chill seeping in bit by bit. It wasn't the simple cold of ice, but a kind of... hollow cold, like a small piece of time and space that had been carved out.

Black Steel's words echoed in his ears. An ominous sign.

This thing is more than just unlucky. It exploded out of that evil altar, carrying the aura of the upper realm; it's a real hot potato.

But now, they're like a group of rabbits chased to the foot of the mountain by hunters. Without venomous fangs, they can only wait to be torn apart.

Zhou Yang stopped in his tracks.

He turned around and looked in the direction they had come from. It was pitch black there, and he couldn't see anything. But he knew that the Heavenly Principle Sect's pursuers were like hyenas that had smelled blood, on their way.

"We can't keep running," Zhou Yang said, his voice steady.

Qin Shuang and Liu Qingyan were both looking at him.

"We can't outrun them," Zhou Yang continued. "They outnumber us and have more resources. If this drags on, we'll be worn down and killed."

Black Steel crossed his arms, said nothing, and waited for him to continue.

"So, we need to cause them some trouble." Zhou Yang took the fragment out of his pocket. In the dim moonlight, the edge of the fragment reflected a faint light.

He walked to a nearby crooked old pine tree and dug a hole in the soil with his dagger. He put the fragment into the hole, hesitated for a moment, then bit his index finger, and a drop of blood fell onto the surface of the fragment.

The blood was instantly drained.

The fragments seemed to come alive, emitting an extremely faint buzzing sound.

Zhou Yang quickly covered the soil with the soil and clapped his hands. The whole process took less than ten seconds.

"What did you do?" Qin Shuang frowned. She could sense that something invisible in the surrounding air had changed.

"I sent spam to the Heavenly Principle Cult's system." Zhou Yang grinned, but his smile was devoid of warmth. "This fragment and that altar share the same origin. I activated it, like placing a grain of sand into a sophisticated instrument."

He closed his eyes.

A strange sensation spread from the ground beneath his feet. He seemed to "see" an invisible net. This net covered the entire mountain area, each thread flowing with faint life energy. That energy seemed to be drawn from countless believers.

Just now, his actions at the altar only cut a small hole in this large net.

This fragment, like a virus, is infiltrating the entire network through this opening.

The network began to malfunction. The previously flowing energy became turbulent, even showing signs of backflow. Some nodes responsible for relaying and converting data began issuing overload alerts because they were unable to handle this abnormal data flow.

In his perception, the "system" of the Heavenly Principle Sect had finally been alarmed.

A powerful will, like a sleeping beast opening its eyes, began to meticulously unravel this vast web, attempting to find the source of the discordant "virus."

"They're here." Zhou Yang opened his eyes, a fierce glint flashing in them.

Sure enough, a sharp whistle rang out from the nearby mountains and forests. The sound wasn't from a human; it was more like the piercing cry of some kind of bird, so sharp it hurt one's eardrums.

Several dark figures darted out of the woods. They wore drab gray robes and moved with the agility of cats. They carried no knives, but rather palm-sized brass compasses engraved with runes.

They were not ordinary believers. They were priests.

The leading priest looked up in Zhou Yang's direction, his nose twitching as if he were sniffing something.

"Found you... parasite." His voice was hoarse, as if his throat was full of sandpaper.

The compass in his hand hummed, its needle spinning wildly until it finally locked onto Zhou Yang's location.

At the same time, Zhou Yang felt the ground beneath his feet sink.

Streams of life energy began to be forcibly drawn from the compasses in the priests' hands, gathering into a beam and converging towards their feet. This was preparation for an attack. They wanted to twist the life force of this area into a deadly rope.

But at the very moment the energy converged, a sudden change occurred.

Because of the "virus" Zhou Yang had implanted, the Heavenly Principle Sect system caused a temporary disruption in energy flow when it was sorting out its network. Some of the energy that should have been delivered to the priests was misdirected and flowed back.

These returning energies, like beads from a broken string, scattered in the air.

For the priests, this was a system malfunction.

For Zhou Yang, this was a windfall.

His lifespan depletion system was now like a greedy black hole, actively capturing these free-floating energy particles. The cold yet pure life force seeped into his limbs and bones through his pores.

He could even "hear" the lifespan count inside his body, slowly and steadily increasing.

"one two three……"

This feeling is like a person who is about to starve to death not only finding a feast, but also having food kept being served to him.

He was "stealing" the assets of the Heavenly Principle Sect.

This was a life exchange.

The priests were draining the life force from the land, preparing to attack him. But he, taking advantage of the chaos within their system, intercepted a portion of it.

"Make your move!" Zhou Yang shouted in a low voice.

He couldn't just stand there absorbing the energy forever. Once the priests realized what was happening and adjusted the system, he'd have no chance.

Qin Shuang and Hei Gang were already poised to make their move.

Qin Shuang's figure was like a white lightning bolt. She didn't rush directly at the priest, but retreated to Zhou Yang's side and front. With a flick of her hands, three crystal-clear frost arrows were nocked on the bowstring.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three arrows were shot out in a triangular formation.

The target was not people, but the three giant rocks in front of them, to their left and to their right.

The frost arrows exploded in mid-air, instantly transforming into thick walls of ice and stirring up vast swathes of icy mist. The mist spread out, immediately obscuring the priests' vision.

More importantly, the ice walls and cold mist severed part of the priests' connection with the earth beneath their feet. The speed at which they channeled life energy suddenly slowed down.

"Well done!" Zhou Yang thought to himself.

Black steel, on the other hand, is a completely different style.

He was like a tiger charging into a sheepfold, devoid of any skill, relying solely on sheer force and power. His target was the leading priest.

"A blow to the head!"

The black steel rod danced in the air, creating a blur of motion, and crashed down with a whistling sound as it tore through the air.

The leading priest's expression changed, and he immediately raised his compass to defend himself.

"clang!"

A loud bang.

The brass compass was smashed to one side, and the priest staggered back several steps. The "rope" that guided his life energy snapped instantly.

This was Qin Shuang and Hei Gang's mission. One created an environment to disrupt perception. The other went straight for the heart of the matter, physically interrupting it.

They created a brief "gap" for Zhou Yang in the most direct way.

In this moment of tranquility, the life energy within Zhou Yang surged forth at an unprecedented speed. His meridians felt waves of throbbing pain, and even a fine layer of blood beads seeped from his skin. This was his body's self-protection as it could not withstand the immense energy impact.

But he didn't stop.

He was like a greedy gambler, betting all his chips on this one hand.

Every extra bit of lifespan you absorb increases your chances of survival.

The priests finally realized that the problem wasn't with the enemy, but with their own "network."

"Disconnect the network! Reset the node!" the leading priest shouted hoarsely.

The other priests immediately sat cross-legged, formed hand seals, and attempted to forcibly cut off the energy supply to this area and then restart it.

too late.

Zhou Yang suddenly opened his eyes.

A powerful surge of life force erupted from his body, scattering the dust around him. His eyes shone with an alarming brightness, as if two flames were burning within them.

In those short few dozen seconds, his lifespan reserve increased by a full ten years.

That's enough for him to make another big gamble.

He stood up straight.

The fatigue and weakness from the previous escape and burning through his lifespan were swept away. He felt like he could punch right through the mountain in front of him.

The priests in the distance had also completed their reset. They raised their compasses once more, their eyes now filled with solemnity and murderous intent.

Zhou Yang looked at them, a slow smile playing on his lips.

He raised his hand and gestured "please" to the priests.

It was his turn.

blood-red cracks

He placed his palm on the edge of the altar, as if pressing some forbidden button.

Guangye's peripheral vision absorbed his residual heat, bypassing the resistance of his skin, passing through his joints, and directly injecting into the floating array eye. The four petals of the array eye, which were originally closed, now appeared to him like a scroll being unrolled. Plum blossom-shaped cracks spread outward from the center, each crack carrying a reverse red light, as if pressing him back into his body.

He exerted force.

It wasn't his intention; the array's core was simply spewing something out. He merely added a little extra force within it.

The light field vibrated in his palm. The vibration carried heat, like a river crashing against rocks. Cracks appeared one after another, the focal point constantly leaping, passing through the void powder, striking the protective shield forged from runes.

"How much longer can you hold on?" Qin Shuang's voice rang in his ear, like a blunt iron pressing down on gunpowder.

"Watch it self-destruct." He didn't turn around; all he could see was that red light.

The crack drew close to the ring of compensating runes. The compensating runes originally relied on rotation to reclaim excess energy, but now he had made them into an object. He had Guangye hover in the crack for a few seconds, and the force feedback during those few seconds had already caused the structure of the array's core to emit a dry, cracking sound.

Then, he pushed outward with a jolt. An impact, a combination of physical force and light field disturbance, like thunder in the London fog, almost numbed his right arm. The impact didn't detour but transitioned directly across the crack, forcibly dragging the red light towards the compensation circle.

The light of the compensation rune reversed in that instant, the surging energy seeming to demand a life. It drew out the light it had already collected from the reverse flow, pointing it at Zhou Yang, attempting to close again. That was its last instinct.

He took a deep breath of cold air, his shoulders tensing, just like the taut waist he used to tighten during training. His body leaned slightly backward, the sound of gravel hitting the ground echoing beneath his feet.

"Don't let it go back!" Qin Shuang shouted, her voice almost cracking. Her gaze was being torn apart by that stream of orange light, and her lips were taut and pale.

"It wants to self-destruct," Zhou Yang said in a low voice.

At the point of impact, the compensating runes suddenly produced fragmented spots of light. They collided with each other, like a water film torn apart by an invisible hand, and in the next instant, a fiery red backflow surged out. It was the suppressed crimson true energy erupting, rushing to the center of the altar and twisting rapidly. He seized this backlash, connecting the light field with the blood flow within his body into a short and thick bridge.

Guangye was no longer docile. Engulfed by the bloodlust within its chest, it flared up into a counterattack. Zhou Yang directed that counterattack towards the crack, colliding head-on with the beam of light extending from the compensating rune. The forces from the two directions misaligned in mid-air, colliding and exploding into tiny sparks, like luminous pebbles.

Qin Shuang watched as the line of fire extended and collided directly with the compensation circle. The circle's rotation collapsed upon contact, the runes shattering into tiny needles that sliced ​​cracks into the surrounding area. Fragments of solidified light scattered across the altar, some landing on him, others piercing the ground.

"Crimson cracks," Liu Qingyan whispered, moving closer to Qin Shuang, her hand gripping the dagger trembling slightly. She pressed her eyes against the frame formed by her hands, like using a scope to see distant firelight.

"Yes, the backflow is deliberately turning against us." Qin Shuang looked away, noticing that each time the altar collapsed, it tried to return its energy to the original user. She added, "It wants to take your blood."

"We'll make it impossible for us to reach it." Zhou Yang slightly raised his arm, and the roar of the light field continued in his palm. He pressed his palm down, and the fiery cracks gleamed like the cold light of a knife. The light field used its inherent suction properties to transform the crimson flames into another kind of wave, which counterattacked towards the altar.

The crack resonated as it was suppressed. With each slight reduction, a deeper texture would curl up beside it, like a loosened rubber band. The red light flowed backward within this texture, its direction completely reversed.

Suddenly, a transparent figure shot out from the altar. It was the projection of the celestial messenger. It drew an arc, intending to follow the stream of light from the crack and absorb the crimson flames once more.

The projected hand reached out, its fingers twisting strange symbols in the air. The crimson flames that ignited on the palm hooked onto the backlash wave beside him. The flames, like oil on a skewer of meat, rolled on Mitsuno's arm, trying to draw the suction force into his veins.

He did not back down.

The light pulsed in his palm, sounding like the striking of a hammer, the echoes of light as real. Flames swirled around him, but the crimson parts were separated by the light, transforming into a wave composed of tiny runes. The crest of the wave slammed heavily onto the celestial envoy's projection.

The smile projected on the screen froze.

The flame he used for bloodsucking was pushed back the moment it made contact. It briefly solidified in mid-air before exploding into crimson fragments that shattered in the air around the altar. The fragments falling from the sky resembled a rain of blood, which was then absorbed back by Hikari in the next second.

"Done." Qin Shuang shouted the word first, gritting her teeth as if she were gripping the end of a rope, bloodshot eyes.

Zhou Yang also breathed a sigh of relief. He withdrew the energy into his body, his blood surging on his skin, and he felt the separated fiery hues leaving warm marks on his skin. The entire altar receded once more, retreating the furthest distance according to the method he had just suppressed.

Then, a crack finally appeared in the pillar of light at the center of the altar. An unusual red line spread out from the crack, like an inverted blood vessel. The entire altar silently collapsed. Gravity became a trembling cradle, and all the runes turned matte.

Qin Shuang turned to the side and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She looked at the gradually shrinking altar, a smile playing on her lips, as if she had made a bet with herself.

Liu Qingyan didn't speak, but she gripped the knife even tighter.

Zhou Yang's breathing calmed down. He took a few steps forward and pressed his hand against the remnants of the altar. The cracks were still trembling, and he could feel a heart beating beneath them. He pressed his palm down even lower, as if pressing on someone's throat.

"Come with me," he said to the two. His voice was slightly hoarse, the lingering embers of the rebounding energy.

The three of them walked towards the mountain path. The altar behind them emitted a hot, dry light in the wind, like a pile of embers that hadn't quite died out. The air was filled with the smell of burning electricity, which, along with the lingering heat of the light field within Zhou Yang's body, was pungent.

He didn't look back at the altar, only clenched his fist. Mitsuno was still writhing beneath his skin, like a saturated beast. He could clearly hear the echo left from the Compensation Rune's last attempt to lure him—a distorted voice, like the grinding of chains. He thought for a long time. Then he walked into the night, his steps heavy and steady.

Upper boundary projection

The night was as dark as a lake, with the last rays of sunlight still lingering on the mountain edges. A breeze swept through the greyish pine forest, its touch slightly piercing as it brushed against Qin Shuang and Hei Gang's shoulders. Zhou Yang took a step forward, his footsteps crunching on the gravel, but he didn't stop. He knew the sound wasn't clean enough, indicating that the projection from the upper realm was already striking the surrounding area with increasing frequency. Qin Shuang stood beside him, the back of her blade gleaming faintly, the aftershocks of the Light Wilderness still flowing between her fingertips.

The air on the mountainside ahead suddenly solidified, forming a vortex like a steel wire being pulled apart. A projection from the upper realm took shape in the mist, its pale blue halo like mottled ink wash. What they had previously captured were only fragments; now the complete projection possessed a humanoid silhouette, enveloped in a shattered spectrum. That energy was neither ordinary magic nor the acting of a Heavenly Principle Cult priest, but rather the blade of an intruder. It gently tapped at the surrounding reality, emitting low-frequency vibrations, like the breath of a distant beast.

Zhou Yang found the right rhythm, not aligning with the frequency, but instead doing the opposite. He subconsciously opened his palm, the light field condensing into a faint starlight within. In less than a breath, he pushed the light field forward, the resulting waveform bending into a curve in the air. His target wasn't the projection itself, but the "spectral coordinates" near it. He allowed the light field's vibrations to squeeze into those coordinates, using the subtle changes in the backlash to bring his own frequency into the external node. This action was extremely dangerous; any slight mistake could synchronize him with the projection.

He felt a tense, reversed flow of light within him. The oscillator of the spectrum throbbed between his brows, like a taut string. Then, the outline of the projection suddenly trembled, white light flashing from the recessed areas, like a snapping steel wire. The upper-boundary spectral resonance was disrupted, and the multiple frequencies could no longer stably maintain their form. The projection began to disintegrate under the backlash of the light field, its main body becoming increasingly blurred, the energy spreading outwards like scalding liquid, attempting to regroup.

Taking advantage of this moment, Qin Shuang whispered, "The energy envelope from the upper realm hasn't completely descended yet; seal it off now." She lightly touched the ground with her toes, and frost instantly spread from her heels. She raised her hand, her two fingers drawing an arc, and star-like icicles slanted down from the sunlight, like raindrops but denser. Her movements were concise, without any unnecessary gestures, yet the temperature in the area did indeed drop. Those icicles condensed into a shower of stars in the air, and when they touched the remnants of the upper realm's energy, there was no explosion, only a heavy, dull thud. The star shower wasn't thrown, but rather it quietly adhered to the scattered spectrum, subtly clinging to it.

The upper-realm energy reacted swiftly; the unstable fluctuations that had initially attempted to be reintegrated through projection were enveloped by Qin Shuang's icy rain. The abrupt frost formed a suppressive zone in space, confining the energy's diffusion to a small area. The upper-realm's frequency attempted to reverse, but within the resonance of the light field, it could find no usable outlet. After several attempts, it once again dispersed outwards, overflowing like water being pulled. The system sensed the frequency anomaly, automatically reclaiming the remaining energy and quickly sealing off that area. The remaining blurry points of light from the upper-realm projection were relentlessly pursued by the icy rain, swirling into rings of light before finally merging into Qin Shuang's chill.

Black Steel stood behind the two, his gaze steady. He had witnessed the tremors created by Zhou Yang and Qin Shuang. He turned and took a step back, raising his twin blades. The jade-inlaid hilts glowed with a faint blue light in the night. The jade carried the vibrations from the passage of that day, like a soft feather fan, a gentle sway producing a low-pitched spectrum. Black Steel made no further movements, simply pointing the tip of his blade at the ground. The jade then released a concentrated wave of energy, spreading outwards from the blade tip to form a reticle-shaped network of light. When the network of light landed around them, it didn't resemble an ordinary array, but rather channeled the faintest energy in the valley into a fixed cycle.

He whispered, "Use this circle as a screen." His words were brief, yet they conveyed absolute control. Once the barrier formed, the frequency between the ground and the air was divided into three layers, each layer overlapping, like three armors being donned to the valley. When the energy from the upper realm attempted to impact again, it first struck the outermost frequency layer, then bounced off to the second layer, while the third layer absorbed the residue like soft mud. The barrier also ensured that the energy fluctuations of Qin Shuang and Zhou Yang did not miss, almost stabilizing the accompanying shockwaves from the backlash.

The projection vanished completely. When the night wind blew again, it no longer carried the hum of energy, only the sound of branches rubbing together. The three stood within the barrier, their only connection being their breaths and the warmth flowing between their bodies. Qin Shuang wiped the frost off the back of her blade and looked at Zhou Yang. "Go further, don't let go." Her voice grew faint, yet it spread like a pebble dropped into water.

Zhou Yang withdrew his palm, as if calming the turbulent surface of the sea. He looked down and touched his chest; the lingering warmth of the burning spot reminded him that the system was still observing. Although the fluctuating frequency spectrum had been blocked, he could hear the vibrations hidden within the sound within his body, still searching for the next one. Kurogane sheathed his sword, glanced at the distant mountain peak, and sensed that the frequency in that area was still stirring. He didn't speak, only letting the muscles in his arm relax a little.

"Let's go," Zhou Yang said. As they retreated from the barrier, a cold wind suddenly enveloped their bones, as if reminding them that the night was far from over. Hei Gang led the way, while Qin Shuang swayed slightly in the middle, adjusting the dampness left by the starlight. Zhou Yang was the last to leave, taking a long breath to disperse the last bit of moisture left in the valley before him. The projection from the upper realm was temporarily sealed, but he knew that the real threat had only just begun to lurch through the cracks in the spectrum. The pebbles beneath their feet still gleamed, as if waiting for the next frequency to land.

Sweep away the remaining ashes

A cold wind blew into my collar.

The three of them had only walked a few dozen steps on the mountain path.

Zhou Yang suddenly stopped.

Qin Shuang and Hei Gang behind him also stopped and looked around warily.

"What's wrong?" Qin Shuang asked in a low voice. Her hand was already on the hilt of the knife.

Zhou Yang didn't answer immediately. He turned back, his gaze fixed on the solitary mountain peak. There, the ruins of the altar still emitted a faint glow. The celestial envoy's projection was temporarily trapped, but no one knew how long that barrier could hold.

"Running won't help," Zhou Yang said, his voice dry. "It's recovering. The connection to the upper realm is still there."

Qin Shuang followed his gaze and frowned.

"That thing's energy is regrouping," Black Steel's voice was deep and muffled, like tapping on damp wood. "It's even faster than before."

They could feel it. The feeling of being watched by something high above them didn't disappear; instead, it grew thicker and thicker, like an invisible spiderweb, trying to stick the three of them firmly to the spot.

Zhou Yang pulled out the shard that had broken off the crystal from his pocket. The shard was small, with sharp edges, and gleamed with a cold, eerie light in his palm. This was his last trump card.

"Fangtian's jade talisman can guide the formation," Zhou Yang said, "but this thing is the core. I need to go to the formation's eye."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Shuang immediately understood his intention.

"It's too dangerous," she denied bluntly. "That projection could break free at any moment. If you get too close..."

"So I need your help." Zhou Yang interrupted her. His gaze turned to the two of them, calm but with an undeniable weight. "Qin Shuang, you guard the edge of the array's core, use your sword energy to stabilize the space, and prevent the energy from rushing around. Hei Gang, go to the other side of the altar and use your strength to press down on the ground. I need to inscribe an array on it, and there can't be any vibration."

Black Steel nodded without hesitation.

Qin Shuang stared at Zhou Yang. She looked into his eyes; they held weariness, madness, but above all, a calculated calm. She knew she couldn't dissuade him. Once this guy made a decision, not even ten oxen could pull him back.

"I'll trust you this once." She only said these four words. Her hand loosened from the hilt of the knife, then gripped it again, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

"Let's finish this quickly." Zhou Yang held the fragment in his hand and took out Fang Tian's jade talisman with his other hand. "I can only hold out for ten breaths at most."

Before he finished speaking, he moved.

He shot towards the mountaintop like an arrow released from a bow. The pebbles beneath his feet flew everywhere. The mountain wind was whipped aside by his movements, whistling sharply.

The projection on the mountaintop seemed to sense his intention. The barrier woven from light began to fluctuate violently, the figure within blurred for a moment, and then let out a silent roar. A mental shock swept down, like a giant hammer smashing onto everyone's foreheads.

Black Steel grunted, and the ground beneath his feet cracked. His leg muscles bulged, and he withstood the impact, charging towards the other side of the altar.

Qin Shuang drew her sword.

There were no unnecessary movements, just a simple horizontal slash.

A condensed, almost tangible white blade of energy shot out from his hand, not heading towards the projection, but instead tracing a perfect arc along the edge of the array's core. Wherever the blade of energy passed, the chaotic spatial ripples were instantly smoothed out, like a bucket of water poured onto boiling oil.

"Drink!" Qin Shuang shouted, and the blade flashed again. One after another, the blade energy formed a barrier in front of her, blocking all the subsequent impacts.

The position on the mountaintop was secured.

Zhou Yang had already rushed to the center of the formation.

This is the heart of the altar. The ground is as smooth as a mirror, etched with intricate patterns. Energy converges here into a pillar of light, shooting skyward and connecting to the blurry projection of the celestial messenger.

He took a deep breath and slammed the fragment hard into the ground right in the center of the pillar of light.

"Click."

The fragments fit perfectly with the patterns on the ground, as if they had been born to be here.

The next moment, Zhou Yang raised the Fangtian Jade Talisman and squeezed a drop of his blood onto it.

The jade talisman instantly heated up. Dark red lines lit up on its surface, like living blood vessels. An ancient and desolate aura spread out.

"seal up!"

Zhou Yang let out a low shout and slammed the jade talisman hard onto the fragments.

hum-

A deep, muffled roar seemed to come from the depths of the earth.

Centered on the fragment, a red halo suddenly expanded outwards. Wherever the halo passed, the array patterns that had been flowing with energy quickly dimmed, their color changing from gold to gray.

The pillar of light connecting to the upper realm emitted a crisp sound like shattering glass.

The beam of light suddenly contracted, as if someone had grabbed it by the neck from the clouds.

At the top of the pillar of light, the celestial envoy projection, which had maintained its majestic posture, began to tremble violently. It seemed to be struggling, trying to preserve its form. But the red halo, like the most deadly poison, was severing all connections between it and the world behind it.

The projected shape began to distort and blur.

"It's going to collapse!" Qin Shuang shouted. She activated her sword energy to reinforce the area she was responsible for.

Black Steel stood at the other end of the altar, his fists clenched, all his strength concentrated in his feet, pressing firmly to the ground. Veins bulged on his forehead, and sweat slid down his hardened cheeks.

Zhou Yang didn't move. He simply knelt on one knee, his palm pressed tightly against the jade talisman and its fragment. All the strength in his body was drained away at that moment. He could feel the jade talisman frantically burning his power, transforming it into energy for the seal.

The beam of light broke completely.

Without the energy supply from the upper realm, that enormous projection was like a punctured balloon.

It flashed weakly for a moment, then its entire body began to collapse.

There were no earth-shattering explosions.

It simply shattered silently, transforming into billions of tiny points of light. These points of light did not scatter and fly away, but instead formed a small sea of ​​light in the air, and then, as if drawn by an invisible force, surged toward the center of the array where Zhou Yang was located.

"Ugh!"

The light spots penetrated Zhou Yang's skin.

Like countless red-hot needles, it pierced every corner of his body. The excruciating pain almost made him faint. His body convulsed involuntarily, and red lines appeared on his skin, exactly the same as the lines on the jade talisman.

But then came the warm current.

A vast, surging, pure warm current.

Hikari writhed wildly beneath his skin, like a ferocious beast that had been starving for centuries and had finally encountered a feast. It greedily devoured all the light points that surged into its body, each one transforming into the purest energy.

The pain subsided, replaced by an indescribable sense of fulfillment. He felt as if he were filled to the brim, his limbs brimming with an explosive power.

This process lasted for about a dozen breaths.

All the lights in the sky disappeared.

The mountaintop returned to calm.

Zhou Yang slowly raised his head and looked at the location where the projection had been.

There, the figure of the celestial messenger disappeared.

All that remained was a translucent, cracked outline. It was like a crudely made porcelain doll, so fragile that it would shatter at the slightest touch. It floated motionless in the air, as if it had lost all consciousness and power, leaving only an empty shell.

The seal is complete.

Zhou Yang released his grip on the jade talisman, leaned back, and collapsed to the ground. He gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently.

Qin Shuang and Hei Gang rushed over immediately.

"Zhou Yang!"

"How are you?"

Zhou Yang waved his hand, indicating that he was fine. He struggled to sit up and looked down at his hands. The light flowed slowly beneath his skin, brighter and gentler than ever before.

He looked up at the cracked afterimage.

"Now, it's completely over." He said softly, his voice hoarse with the shock of surviving a disaster.

The altar collapsed

The afterimage did not disappear immediately.

It hovered in mid-air, the cracks on its surface deepening. Like a piece of porcelain about to shatter, the cracks were clearly visible. Blinding white light shone through each crack, illuminating the surrounding mountain walls in a ghastly white light.

Zhou Yang sat on the ground, his breathing gradually calming down. He stared at the afterimage, the unease in his heart growing stronger.

Suddenly, a sound rang out.

Click.

It wasn't a crisp snap, but a dull tearing sound. The sound came from the afterimage, as if it were trying to rip the entire space apart.

The next moment, the walls of the altar began to shake violently. A huge piece of bluestone broke off from the edge and crashed to the ground with a loud thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. Then came a second, a third. The falling stones grew larger and more densely packed.

The crimson lines covering the altar resembled blood vessels ruptured simultaneously. The light dimmed instantly. They broke off in segments, turning into scattered red dots that drifted in the air for a moment before extinguishing completely.

The central vortex lost its energy support. Its rotation trajectory began to become chaotic. The once stable funnel shape twisted into an irregular ball of light. The ball of light flickered violently a few times, and then suddenly exploded.

It did not make a loud noise.

The entire vortex shattered into billions of light spots, like a broken mirror, each piece shimmering with its last glimmer before silently dissipating into the air.

"It's going to collapse," Black Steel said in a deep voice.

Qin Shuang didn't speak, but she had already moved.

Her hands moved swiftly, forming hand seals, her fingers flying so fast it was impossible to see their trajectory. Beams of silvery-white light shot from her fingertips, weaving into a vast net of light in mid-air. The net's structure was incredibly intricate, with countless tiny runes flowing across it.

The net of light enveloped the crumbling altar ruins below.

The rune fragments that were about to dissipate as the stones crumbled were like iron filings attracted by a magnet, detaching themselves from the stones and air and converging on the large silver net. They continuously gathered and reorganized within the net, but never had a chance to take shape; they were simply trapped firmly.

Qin Shuang tightened her wrist, and the net of light rapidly contracted towards its center. All the rune fragments were compressed into a fist-sized silver sphere of light, which floated silently in her palm. Runes flowed across the surface of the sphere, but it could no longer escape.

"I've packed everything up," she said.

At the same time, Black Steel raised his right hand.

He placed his palm towards the center of the altar and slowly pressed it down. There was no earth-shattering force. A semi-transparent gray barrier silently spread out from his palm, quickly covering the entire area where the altar was located.

Beneath the barrier, the residual energy that had become violent due to the backlash from the seal was as if it were being gripped by an invisible hand. It no longer darted around wildly, nor did it emit any hissing shrieks.

These energies began to be forced to settle.

They shed their ferocious exterior, transforming into countless tiny crystalline specks of light. Like fireflies on a summer night, they were numerous and densely packed. They slowly drifted down from the sky, covering the ruins of the collapsed altar, and then completely lost all warmth and vitality.

Zhou Yang sat on the ground, quietly watching all of this.

The dynamism and fullness within him subsided. The previous agitation and bloating disappeared. The energy emanating from the altar was like a sweet appetizer for dynamism. Now that the dessert was finished, dynamism contentedly lay dormant, as docile as a well-fed cat.

He felt better than ever before.

Black Steel withdrew his hand, and the gray barrier disappeared. Qin Shuang also put away the ball of light in her palm and carefully placed it into a leather pouch.

The two walked up to Zhou Yang.

The dust has finally settled.

The once magnificent altar was now completely reduced to ruins. Only a few broken stone pillars still stood stubbornly, like lonely tombstones. The acrid smell of heat and chaotic energy had faded, leaving only the damp chill unique to the mountain night, enveloping them once more.

Everything fell silent.

"Is it over?" Qin Shuang asked. Her voice was clear in the silent valley.

Zhou Yang nodded.

"Yeah, that's all for now." He pushed himself up and dusted himself off. His movements were slow but steady.

He glanced at the ruins, then looked up at the sky. The night was still dark, with a few stars peeking through the clouds.

"We should go," Zhou Yang said. His gaze swept over Qin Shuang and Hei Gang. "We shouldn't stay here any longer."

Elder's cruel smile

Ash still floats in the ruins.

Zhou Yang walked across the gravel slabs, his boots crunching over the rune-carved stones. He was carrying a person in his hand. It was an old man with gray hair stuck to his scalp, and a penetrating wound on his right shoulder, the blood half-dried and forming a dark red scab.

The old man was an elder of the Heavenly Principle Sect. He was hidden in a secret compartment three inches below the altar and was pulled out by Black Steel, who shot him through the shoulder with a crossbow bolt.

Zhou Yang dumped the man on a relatively flat stone platform. The old man coughed twice, and blood splattered out, landing in the cracks of the stone.

"The celestial messenger you worship," Zhou Yang squatted down, poking the old man's chest wound with his finger, "came from where?"

The old man lifted his eyelids. His eyes were cloudy, but there was a strange light within them. He grinned, revealing his gums, which were missing two front teeth, and smiled.

"The Upper Realm," the old man's voice was like a broken bellows, "You think...we don't know?"

Zhou Yang didn't move his fingers, but his eyes tightened.

"Three months ago," the old man continued laughing, the laughter tearing at his wound and causing his lips to twitch, "the High Priest knew... that wasn't a true immortal. It was a watchdog thrown down from above..."

The wind blew in from the other side of the valley, carrying the smell of burning. Zhou Yang didn't speak, but just stared into the old man's eyes.

"But we have to keep worshipping them," the old man's smile twisted, "worshipping their lifespan, worshipping their flesh and blood...like worshipping ancestral tablets. Knowing full well that there's nothing behind the tablets, we still have to kowtow."

Zhou Yang stood up and patted the dust off his knees.

"So you knew perfectly well that it was a projection from the higher realms," his voice was flat, "and you still helped them take the lives of those below?"

"Otherwise what?" the old man retorted, a gurgling sound coming from his throat. "Resist? Like you? Can you seal the projection...can you seal the upper realm itself?"

Zhou Yang didn't answer. He summoned the system in his mind.

An abnormal energy flow was detected within the target body.

[Type: Self-Destruct Formation]

[Location: Around the heart vessels, distributed in a reticular pattern]

[Triggering method: External high-frequency energy stimulation]

Zhou Yang's eyes flickered. He raised his right hand, and a layer of pale golden light appeared in his palm. That was Guangye, something left in his body after he absorbed the altar's energy, now moving under his skin like a living thing.

"You have something inside you," Zhou Yang said. "Did they put it in you?"

The old man's smile froze for a moment.

Before Zhou Yang could answer, he pressed his palm down. Guangye flowed into the old man's body through his palm, like scalding needles.

The old man sprang up, only to be pushed back down by Zhou Yang. He opened his mouth wide, but no sound came out; only a rapid gurgling sound came from his throat. Red lines appeared under his skin, spreading outwards from his heart like a spider web.

"This is..." the old man finally managed to utter, "a self-destruct... array..."

"I know," Zhou Yang said, applying slight pressure with his fingers, "it's alive now."

A red glow crawled through the old man's veins. He could clearly feel the patterns contracting, like red-hot wire wrapped around his heart. The pain brought tears and snot to his eyes, and his old face contorted in agony.

"High Priest... he's packed them all..." the old man gasped for breath. "If they don't obey... they'll explode..."

Zhou Yang released his grip, and the light flowed back into his palm. The old man slumped on the stone platform, like a fish out of water, his chest heaving violently.

"So he controls you with his death," Zhou Yang said, "and you offer your lifespans to him. Mutual benefit?"

The old man didn't speak, only coughed violently. Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, this time a darker color, mixed with fragments of internal organs.

On the other side, Qin Shuang and Hei Gang were busy at the edge of the ruins. Qin Shuang held a copper plate in her hand, its surface engraved with fine markings. She was recording the glowing patterns on the ground—the meridian diagrams exposed after the altar collapsed.

"Here," Black Steel tapped the ground with the tip of his dagger, "the patterns fork."

Qin Shuang crouched down, pointing the bronze plate at the ground. The plate glowed faintly, imprinting the runes on the ground. The patterns seemed to wriggle slightly, as if alive, emitting a pale blue light.

"It's a control node," Qin Shuang said, her pen quickly sketching in her notebook. "Although the altar is destroyed, these meridians are still connected underground... they should lead to other branch altars."

Kurogane grunted, took out a glass bottle from his pocket, and carefully collected some glowing soil. The soil in the bottle started to glow as soon as it entered, with the brightness fluctuating.

"Take it back to Old Money," Black Steel said. "He knows about this."

Zhou Yang glanced back. Qin Shuang nodded to him, indicating that the recording was going smoothly.

Zhou Yang turned back and stared at the old man on the stone platform. The old man had recovered, but his eyes had changed. The previous madness and mockery were gone, leaving only a look of dejection.

"You're finished," Zhou Yang said. "The High Priest is trying to scare you with death, but I can make him die first."

The old man blinked, and a single, cloudy tear rolled down his dry eye socket.

"What do you want...?" the old man asked.

"Tell me," Zhou Yang leaned closer, his voice low, "besides this altar, how many other places are drawing lifespans? List, location, number of people?"

The old man's lips trembled. He glanced at Zhou Yang, then at Qin Shuang and Hei Gang, who were taking notes in the distance. The wind in the canyon grew cold, causing his thin robes to flutter loudly.

"Speaking out... will only lead to death..."

"If you don't talk, I'll make the energy flow inside your body explode right now. If you do, I'll dig that thing out for you."

The old man remained silent for a long time. The cry of an owl echoed from afar, reverberating among the ruins.

"Beishan... there are still three locations left," the old man finally spoke, his voice almost inaudible, "each location... will draw three hundred doses per month..."

Zhou Yang listened, his fingers tapping lightly on the side of his leg. The light flowed quietly within him, warm and docile.

After uttering the last word, the old man collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon. His eyes stared blankly at the night sky.

"I should have known..." the old man murmured, "To worship the devil... you'll end up as firewood yourself..."

Zhou Yang didn't reply. He turned and walked towards Qin Shuang, his footsteps making a dull sound as he stepped over the gravel.

"Is that enough?" Qin Shuang asked, putting away the bronze plate.

"That's enough," Zhou Yang said. "Three points. We'll start next month."

Black Steel stuffed the glass bottle into his coat and patted it. He glanced at the old man on the stone platform; the old man had closed his eyes, his chest was still rising and falling, but he looked like he was asleep.

"What will happen to him?" Kurogane asked.

Zhou Yang looked back.

"Tie him up and take him back," Zhou Yang said. "He's a witness."

The three began to walk out of the valley. Zhou Yang walked last, glancing back at the ruins. The old man on the stone platform didn't move, but Zhou Yang knew that some words, once spoken, could never be taken back.

The cracks within the Heavenly Principle Sect began to fully open that night.

Afterglow

The mountain breeze blew all night. At dawn, mist seeped out from the cracks in the rocks and enveloped our ankles.

Zhou Yang sat on a rock, holding the fragment of the altar in his hands. The fragment was only the size of a palm, with sharp edges, as if it had been broken off by someone. Embedded in the broken surface were several crystals, the size of grains of rice, gleaming faintly.

He pried the crystal out and held it in his palm.

"system."

The thought had barely formed when a pale blue light flashed before my eyes.

"Special energy carrier detected. Purpose: To solidify the seal. Absorb?"

Zhou Yang narrowed his eyes. It seemed the system could directly convert crystals into sealing commands. He ran his thumb along the crystal's surface; it was cool, but something seemed to be slowly flowing inside.

"absorb."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crystal melted in his palm.

There was no pain, only a warm sensation traveling upwards along the meridians, finally stopping at the chest. A line of small text popped up on the light screen: "Sealing command generated, stability +15%."

He exhaled, feeling the tightness in his chest ease somewhat. The hidden injuries left when he sealed the projection from the upper realm were finally truly healed.

Qin Shuang walked over from the side. She was carrying a cloth bag, with half of a piece of yellow paper sticking out of the bag's opening.

"The markers are done," she said. "Three locations, scattered across different parts of the valley."

Zhou Yang nodded. "Was it useful?"

"I had someone tamper with the traction method commonly used by the Heavenly Principle Sect." Qin Shuang opened the cloth bag and pulled out the yellow paper. The paper was covered with intricate patterns, the strokes twisting like snakes. "If they dare to come again, the original path will become a dead end."

She folded the yellow paper into triangles and stuffed them into the crevices of the three rocks. Her movements were very gentle, as if she were placing something fragile.

Black Steel stood not far away. He held a crystal in his hand, not in a hurry to crush it.

"Can this thing really fall apart completely?" he asked.

"The system says it's okay." Zhou Yang stood up and stretched his shoulders. "If the residual energy from the upper realm isn't cleaned up properly, it could regenerate at any time. Crushing it is the simplest solution."

Black Steel glanced at him, then placed the crystal on the rock. He didn't use his hand, but tapped it lightly with the end of the scabbard.

The crystal shattered upon impact.

There was no sound, no light. There was only a slight chill in the air, as if someone had walked by and stirred up a small breeze.

The system screen flashed: "The signal of energy dissipation from the upper realm has been confirmed. There is no possibility of regeneration."

Black Steel swept the shard of crystal into the soil and looked up at Zhou Yang. "It's done."

Zhou Yang didn't speak. He looked down at his hand, which had just absorbed the crystal; there were no marks left on his palm. The warmth had completely seeped into his body, leaving no trace.

Qin Shuang buried the last marker and walked back. She dusted off her hands and looked at Zhou Yang.

"What about Changsheng? What should we do with those fragments?"

Zhou Yang lowered his head and thought for a moment. The altar was broken into several pieces, scattered throughout the valley. Some were embedded in the soil, while others had rolled into the cracks in the rocks.

"Take it back," he said. "Find a safe place to keep it. Just in case it comes in handy later."

Kurogane frowned. "Still keeping it? Aren't you afraid it'll cause more trouble?"

"Keep it." Zhou Yang's tone was steady. "The Heavenly Principle Sect went to such great lengths to build this altar, which shows that this thing is very important to them. We may not need it, but we can't just throw it away."

He bent down and picked up a larger fragment. The crystals on the broken surface had been completely absorbed by him, but the stone itself still shimmered with a very faint reddish light, like the color of dried blood.

Black Steel said nothing more. He sheathed his sword and turned to gather the remaining fragments.

Qin Shuang walked to Zhou Yang's side and lowered her voice.

"Do you really believe what that old man said?"

Zhou Yang glanced at her. "I don't believe you. But it's worth listening to. We can't control the current chaos within the Heavenly Principle Sect. But at least we know what they might do next."

Qin Shuang nodded. She thought for a moment, then asked, "That projection in the upper realm... is it really sealed off?"

"It's sealed off," Zhou Yang said. "The crystal has dissipated, the signal is confirmed. The system has given feedback; there will be no further developments."

He looked up at the sky. The fog had dissipated, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the clouds, falling into the valley and making the ruins gleam faintly.

Everything seemed to be back on track.

Black Steel wrapped the last fragment in a cloth and slung it over his shoulder. He glanced at Zhou Yang, then at Qin Shuang.

"Let's go. We have a lot of things to do back home."

The three walked out of the valley. Zhou Yang lagged behind, glancing back. The ruins of the altar still lay there, charred black. As the wind blew, some loose soil was swirled up, dancing in the sunlight.

He raised his hand and touched his chest. The sealing command was still there, firmly in place, without loosening.

"Let's go." He turned around and strode after the two people in front of him.

The footsteps faded into the distance, and the valley fell silent once more. The crushed crystals, scattered in the soil, carried the last trace of coolness as they slowly seeped into the depths of the earth.

The sun shone all day, drying out the moisture in the valley. The next morning, the fog never appeared again.

Chasing souls against the current

They had just emerged from the valley entrance.

Zhou Yang suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"etc."

Qin Shuang turned to look at him. Hei Gang also stopped, his hand reaching for the hilt of the knife at his waist.

"There are still some things I haven't taken," Zhou Yang said.

"What?" Qin Shuang asked.

Zhou Yang turned and looked into the depths of the valley. The sunlight illuminated the ruins brightly, making the outline of the stone platform somewhat blurred.

"Those life-span particles," Zhou Yang said, "the Heavenly Principle Sect went to great lengths to collect them; we can't let them go to waste."

Black Steel frowned.

"How do we get that thing?"

"I have a plan." Zhou Yang walked towards the ruins. "You guys wait for me outside and make some preparations while you're at it."

Qin Shuang looked at him.

"What are you preparing?"

"Set up a rune array," Zhou Yang said. "To track the flow of their next lifespan transfer. I need to know who these people are selling their lives to."

Qin Shuang nodded. She took out several yellow paper talismans from her bosom.

"How long will it take?"

"Soon," Zhou Yang said, having already reached the edge of the ruins. "At most half an hour."

Black Steel looked at the mountain wall behind the altar.

"There's another back cave over there; there should be more collectors inside. I'll go dismantle them."

"Be careful," Zhou Yang said, "there might be traps."

Black Steel smiled, revealing two rows of white teeth. He patted the heavy sword at his waist and strode towards the mountain wall.

The sounds in the valley quickly split into three different areas.

Zhou Yang squatted in front of the ruins, reaching his hand into the scorched earth. The crushed crystals were still buried beneath, carrying a faint coolness. He closed his eyes and began to circulate his internal energy.

Tiny specks of light seeped from the soil, like fireflies, and slowly drifted toward his palm. These life-giving particles carried the aura of their former owner, mixed with fear and resentment.

Zhou Yang's palm gradually glowed. He guided these points of light into his body, then carefully directed them to a special acupoint. A small vortex had formed there, specifically designed to store these foreign lifespans.

"Preset account, activate," he whispered.

The system interface appeared in my mind. Lines of data flowed by, confirming that the account had been created.

"Trigger condition: The next time the Heavenly Principle Sect performs a lifespan transfer, it will automatically release an interference transmission channel of equal lifespan."

After doing all that, he stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.

Meanwhile, Qin Shuang was busy on the outskirts of the valley.

She pasted the yellow paper talismans in different locations, forming a triangular array. For each talisman she pasted, she drew a bloodstain on it with her fingertip.

"Soul-chasing talisman, activate," she chanted softly.

The talisman spontaneously combusted without fire, emitting a wisp of green smoke. The smoke swirled in the air before finally settling between her brows. Qin Shuang closed her eyes, a glint of light flashing within them.

"Alright." She opened her eyes. "Next time they transmit their lifespan, I'll be able to sense the direction."

The sound of metal clanging could be heard coming from the cave behind the mountain wall.

Blacksteel was dismantling the collectors. The devices were made of bronze and black iron, covered in strange runes. He severed the connecting pipes with his heavy sword and then kicked over the base.

"Boom!"

The device collapsed to the ground, emitting a screeching sound. Black Steel paid no heed and continued his destruction. He intended to completely demolish the place, rendering it unusable by the Heavenly Principle Sect.

"All done." He walked out of the back cave and dusted off his hands.

The three people reunited at the mouth of the valley.

Zhou Yang looked at them.

"Is everything ready?"

Qin Shuang nodded.

"The rune array has been set up."

Black Steel nodded as well.

"The devices in the back cave are all destroyed."

Zhou Yang was satisfied.

"Then let's go."

He took one last look at the valley. The sun was blazing, casting long shadows of the ruins. The crystals buried beneath the earth had now become his reserves.

They left along the mountain path. The sound of their footsteps echoed on the gravel road, gradually fading into the distant forest.

The valley fell silent again.

But some things are different now.

In Qin Shuang's perception, an invisible chain had been opened, awaiting the next signal.

Inside Zhou Yang's body, a trap that could be triggered at any moment had already been laid.

Behind Black Steel, a key stronghold of the Heavenly Principle Sect has been paralyzed.

This is a closed loop.

Storage, tracking, removal.

All preparations for the hostage exchange have been completed.

Now, all we have to do is wait for them to take the bait.

Zhou Yang walked at the front, occasionally glancing back at the mountain path he had come from. The mountain breeze rustled his clothes, carrying the scent of grass and trees.

He remembered what the old man on the stone platform had said.

"Three points, we'll start next month."

The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

The game has only just begun.

This time, they had the upper hand.

Zhou Yang reached up and touched his chest. The sealing command was still there, firmly in place. But besides that, something new was accumulating power.

Those are life-life particles collected from the ruins.

This is enough to allow them to turn the tide at crucial moments.

As dusk fell, the mist rose again from the mountains and forests.

The three figures disappeared into the twilight, leaving only a trail of footprints of varying depths on the mountain path.

And the place those footprints point to will be the beginning of the Heavenly Principle Sect's nightmare.

Rejuvenating Dawn

Before dawn, a thin mist hung in the valley.

Zhou Yang squatted beside the altar ruins, his fingers drawing lines in the mud. The faintly glowing particles were still there, but much dimmer than last night.

He raised his hand, and a system notification flashed on his retina.

[Detected a steady decline in upper energy level... Current residual energy: 3.7%]

This number is a little lower than yesterday. Zhou Yang exhaled, and the mist dissipated in the morning air.

"Come and lend a hand," he said to someone not far away.

Black Steel walked over, holding an iron shovel. "What are you going to do?"

"Make a circle around it." Zhou Yang pointed to the outline of the altar. "Enclose this area and bury a jade talisman every three feet."

Hei Gang nodded and started working. The sound of the shovel digging into the soil was rhythmic, one stroke after another. Zhou Yang took out a small cloth bag containing more than a dozen carved jade talismans.

These jade talismans were hastily carved by him last night, and only the most basic monitoring array was recorded on them. But it was enough to deal with this amount of residual energy.

Qin Shuang stood a little distance away, holding a small notebook and writing something down. Her pen tip scratched across the paper, making a soft, rustling sound.

"We're still missing two pieces over there." Zhou Yang glanced at the progress of the black steel.

"Understood." Black Steel buried the last jade talisman in the ground and tamped it down with his foot.

Zhou Yang walked to the center of the altar, which was originally the place with the most concentrated energy. Now, only some faintly glowing crystal fragments remained, embedded in the soil. He squatted down and gently touched one with his fingertip.

A cool sensation traveled up my fingertips, but it wasn't biting anymore.

He stood up and took out three yellow paper talismans from his pocket. These were talismans specially made to absorb residual energy; they were laborious to draw, but the effect was good.

"Stand back," Zhou Yang said to the others.

He placed the three talismans in a triangle in the center of the altar, then bit his fingertip and touched the center of each talisman.

Blood seeped into the paper, and the cinnabar lines on the talisman began to glow. A faint light spread from the talisman, slowly covering the entire altar area.

The crystal fragments embedded in the soil began to melt under the light. It wasn't a physical melting; it was more like energy was being drained away.

Zhou Yang watched the process quietly. A few minutes later, the light from the talismans gradually dimmed, turning grayish-white. He stepped forward and picked up the three used talismans.

"Alright," he said, "the barrier is now set up. From now on, any energy fluctuations here will trigger a reaction from the jade talisman."

Qin Shuang closed her notebook and walked over. "I'm going to send the data I just recorded back to Anyang County. Should we ask an array master to come and verify it?"

"Okay." Zhou Yang nodded. "Let Old Zhang come over; he's reliable and keeps his mouth shut."

"Understood." Qin Shuang turned and walked towards the mountain pass, seemingly to find the carrier pigeon.

While packing up his tools, Black Steel discovered a pile of unused talismans at the entrance to the altar. These were left behind by the Heavenly Principle Sect, covered with various strange symbols.

"What should we do with these?" Black Steel picked up a piece of paper and looked at it. The paper quality was good, but the runes on it were very strange.

"Burn it." Zhou Yang said without hesitation. "Burn it all completely, don't leave even the ashes."

Black Steel took out a tinderbox from his pocket, blew on it, and a flame appeared. He piled the talismans together and lit them.

The flames suddenly shot up, crackling and popping. The talisman burned quickly, but the smoke wasn't ordinary black smoke; it was greenish. The smoke also carried a burnt smell, like charred feathers.

Zhou Yang wrinkled his nose and took a few steps back. He recognized the smell; it was the distinctive talismanic paper of the Heavenly Principle Sect. It certainly smelled terrible when burned.

"Get on the right track," he said to Blacksteel.

Black Steel moved to a different spot and continued to use the tinderbox to burn the few talismans in the corner. He made sure each one was thoroughly burned, leaving no corner untouched.

The smoke drifted through the valley, but was quickly dispersed by the wind. A few minutes later, only a clump of ashes remained of the pile of talismans. Black Steel stomped on it to confirm that it had all been burned to ash.

"It's all taken care of," he said.

Zhou Yang walked over, shoveled up the ashes, and buried them in the ground. "That'll clean it up."

Qin Shuang had already returned. "The carrier pigeon has been released; it should arrive by noon tomorrow at the earliest. If Old Zhang is quick, he can come the day after tomorrow."

"No rush." ​​Zhou Yang wiped his hands. "There's no threat here anymore; we should get down to business."

He looked at Black Steel, and Black Steel immediately understood.

"Is that old man still there?"

"Yes." Zhou Yang nodded, "But I reckon he'll wake up soon. The effects of the medication should be wearing off by now."

The three walked toward a small cave deep in the valley. The elder of the Heavenly Principle Sect had been tied up here last night, his hands and feet bound with specially made ropes, and his mouth stuffed with a wad of cloth.

The cave was dimly lit, but the situation inside was still visible. The old man leaned against the stone wall, his eyes still closed, but his fingers twitched slightly.

"He's about to wake up," Kurogane said.

Zhou Yang crouched down and patted the old man's face. "Hey, wake up."

The old man slowly opened his eyes, his gaze initially somewhat dazed, but he quickly regained his senses. Upon seeing Zhou Yang and the other two, he immediately struggled to get up.

"Mmm..."

Zhou Yang ripped the gag out of his mouth.

"Who are you?!" the old man demanded immediately. "Do you know who I am?"

"I know." Zhou Yang said expressionlessly, "Chen Fugui, an elder of the outer hall of the Heavenly Principle Sect. Right?"

Chen Fugui's expression changed. "You investigated me?"

"No need for investigation." Zhou Yang pulled out the glass bottle containing the corpse poison and waved it in front of Chen Fugui. "Do you recognize this?"

Chen Fugui's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Where did this...where did this come from?"

"I found it in the altar you used last night." Zhou Yang put the bottle away. "Looks like you're not stupid; you know how powerful this thing is."

Chen Fugui fell silent. His eyes began to dart around, as if searching for an escape route.

"Stop looking," Black Steel said. "There's only one exit here. The three of us will guard it; you can't escape."

Chen Fugui's face grew even uglier. "What do you want? Money? I can give you plenty of money."

"Money?" Zhou Yang laughed. "Elder Chen, do you think we went to all this trouble to capture you just for money?"

"So what do you want?"

"News." Zhou Yang crouched down, his gaze level with Chen Fugui's. "What big moves has the Heavenly Principle Sect made recently? Especially those related to the Upper Realm?"

Chen Fugui's eyes flickered. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Really?" Zhou Yang stood up and winked at Hei Gang.

Hei Gang immediately understood. He took out the bottle that had contained the corpse poison, removed the stopper, and waved it in front of Chen Fugui.

"Smell this," Black Steel said. "Just one drop, and you'll know what it means to be wishing for death."

Chen Fugui's face turned pale, and his body began to tremble. He was clearly well aware of the terrifying nature of the corpse poison.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" he immediately changed his tune, "but you have to promise to let me go!"

"A guarantee?" Zhou Yang shook his head. "Elder Chen, do you think we need to agree to your request?"

Chen Fugui's eyes dimmed. He knew he was in someone else's hands and had no room for negotiation.

"The Heavenly Principle Sect is indeed preparing a major operation," he said in a low voice, "on the fifteenth of next month, the day the moon is at its fullest."

Zhou Yang and Qin Shuang exchanged a glance. This time was roughly what they had predicted.

"What exactly is it?" Zhou Yang pressed.

"I don't know..." Chen Fugui hesitated for a moment, "I'm just an outer hall elder. Only the inner hall elders would know such core secrets."

"Then what are you doing at this altar?" Qin Shuang asked.

"Check the seals," Chen Fugui said. "Every month on the fifteenth, we check the seal points in various locations to ensure the energy is stable."

Zhou Yang seemed to be deep in thought. So, the Heavenly Principle Sect does indeed have many such altars.

"Where are the other sealing points?" Zhou Yang asked.

"I really don't know..." Chen Fugui shook his head. "Each elder is only responsible for the sealing points within their own area. I only know there are two in Anyang County."

Which two?

"One is here, and the other is in a mass grave on the outskirts of the city," Chen Fugui said. "But the one in the mass grave has long been abandoned; the seal has long been broken."

Zhou Yang nodded. This information was useful.

"What has your leader been doing lately?" Zhou Yang continued to ask.

"Master..." Chen Fugui hesitated, "The Master has been in seclusion for three months and hasn't shown his face yet."

"Seclusion?"

"Yes." Chen Fugui nodded. "It's said that he's trying to reach a higher realm. The vice-leader is currently handling all the sect's affairs."

Zhou Yang and Qin Shuang exchanged another glance. This information was crucial. If the sect leader was indeed in seclusion, it would be a golden opportunity for them to act.

"Who is the vice-leader?"

"His surname is Liu, and his name is Liu Zhenhua," Chen Fugui said. "The original deputy leader passed away last year, and Liu Zhenhua just took over this year."

"Liu Zhenhua..." Zhou Yang repeated the name, "What's his background?"

"I don't know," Chen Fugui shook his head. "I only know that he appeared suddenly and his methods are very ruthless. In the three months since he took office, he has already purged several elders who opposed him."

"Clear it?" Qin Shuang asked, "How do you clear it?"

"Well..." Chen Fugui made a throat-slitting gesture, "The internal struggles within the cult were fierce. After Liu Zhenhua took power, many people were dissatisfied, but in the end, they all died."

Zhou Yang understood. This Liu Zhenhua was no pushover.

"Is there any other useful information?" Zhou Yang asked.

"That's all..." Chen Fugui shook his head. "I've said everything I can say, please let me go?"

Zhou Yang smiled.

"Let you go?" He shook his head. "Elder Chen, do you think that's possible?"

"You broke your promise?"

"When did we ever promise to let you go?" Zhou Yang retorted.

Chen Fugui's face changed completely. "You...you're going to kill me?"

"Kill you?" Zhou Yang shook his head. "No, no, no, killing you would be too wasteful."

He looked at Qin Shuang, and Qin Shuang immediately understood.

"Take him back to Anyang County," Qin Shuang said. "Hand him over to the Zhenfu Division; there are plenty of ways to make him talk."

Chen Fugui trembled. He knew the methods of the Zhenfu Division; they were more terrifying than death.

"No! Don't send me to the Garrison Command!" he began to struggle frantically. "I still have value! I'm still useful!"

"What's the use?" Zhou Yang asked.

"I can help you! I can be an inside man!" Chen Fugui said eagerly. "I've been with the Heavenly Principles Sect for so many years, I know a lot of secrets!"

Zhou Yang squatted down and looked into Chen Fugui's eyes.

"Elder Chen, you just said you knew nothing. Now you suddenly know a lot of secrets?"

"I...I'm afraid of dying..." Chen Fugui's voice trembled, "But I'm telling the truth! I really can help you!"

Zhou Yang stood up and nodded to Hei Gang.

"Tie him tight, don't let him escape."

Hei Gang immediately stepped forward and tied Chen Fugui up even more tightly with a thicker rope, even making a knot that was impossible to untie.

"No! No!" Chen Fugui was still struggling.

Zhou Yang ignored him and turned to walk out of the cave.

It was already broad daylight outside, sunlight shone on the valley, and the morning mist was slowly dissipating. He took a deep breath; the air smelled of fresh grass.

"This Chen Fugui is still useful," Qin Shuang said, walking to his side, "but we really can't release him now."

"Okay." Zhou Yang nodded. "Take him back first and let Old Zhang interrogate him. He's very experienced in dealing with this kind of person."

"Should we go check out the sealed point at that mass grave?"

"Not for now," Zhou Yang said. "Since it's already a waste, there's no point in going. Our focus now is on the operation on the fifteenth of next month."

He looked up at the sky; the sun had already risen.

"Let's go, it's time to go back. Everything here is settled."

Hei Gang dragged Chen Fugui out of the cave. The old man was still whimpering, but no one paid any attention.

The three emerged from the valley, sunlight bathing them. Behind them, the jade talismans glowed faintly in the soil, silently monitoring the energy shifts in the area.

The threat from the upper realm has been temporarily averted, but the real battle has only just begun.

Zhou Yang glanced back at the direction of the valley, his eyes calm.

The day the moon is at its fullest on the fifteenth of next month will mark the beginning of the destruction of the Heavenly Principle Sect.