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

The black fog was very thick.

Like ink that can't be dissolved.

It's like some kind of living slime, clinging to your body, cold and slippery.

Zhou Yang opened his eyes.

My vision was swallowed up by the black mist, and I could only see about three feet in front of me.

The ground beneath my feet isn't solid.

It was a precipice hanging in the air, its edges covered with moss and very slippery.

"Cough cough."

Qin Shuang landed behind him.

She covered her mouth, her brows furrowed tightly.

The smell here is really unpleasant.

The smell of rotting meat mingled with the stench of corroded cast iron.

There's also a sweet, cloying aroma that's hard to describe.

It's as if someone poured a hundred pounds of sugar into the mortuary and let it slowly boil there.

"This taste..."

Qin Shuang held the sword to her chest, the tip pointing to the ground.

"Even more dangerous than a mass grave."

Zhou Yang didn't say anything.

He was trembling.

It's not cold.

The system is shaking.

The tremor climbed up my spine, like countless ants crawling around in my blood vessels.

The pale blue light screen at the edge of the field of vision was flashing wildly, with lines of red warning codes cascading down like a waterfall.

[Warning: High-energy reaction detected.]

[Warning: The host's current lifespan is insufficient to sustain...]

【warn:……】

Zhou Yang raised his hand and rubbed his temples.

Turn off those random notifications.

What's there to be afraid of?

As long as you don't die, you can live.

As long as you can survive, you can make money.

"Stay close to me."

Zhou Yang said in a low voice.

The sound was very soft, and it was almost swallowed up by the surrounding fog as soon as it came out.

He drew his knife.

The blade flashed a cold light in the darkness.

The name of the knife is "Judgment".

He stole it, and he bought it.

"Um."

Qin Shuang responded.

She didn't say anything, but simply moved closer to Zhou Yang.

Shoulders almost touching shoulders.

They could feel each other's body temperature.

In this deathly silent abyss, this little bit of warmth is the only sign of life.

The two walked forward along the cliff.

The road is very narrow.

On one side is a pitch-black rock wall, and on the other side is a bottomless void.

Occasionally, a breeze would blow up from below.

Sobbing and whimpering.

It sounds like someone is crying.

"rustle."

I stepped on something.

A crisp sound.

Zhou Yang lowered his head.

It's a piece of bone.

It was white and brittle, weathered and worn.

It's impossible to tell whether it's human or animal.

"Many people have died here."

Qin Shuang glanced at it.

His tone was very indifferent.

She was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and had seen too many dead people.

"The more people die, the better the treasure."

Zhou Yang kicked the bone into the abyss with his toe.

The bone rolled down, and there was no echo for a long time.

"That old fox Fang Tian loves to hide things that can't be brought to light."

As Zhou Yang spoke, his nose twitched.

Hidden within that cloying, putrid odor was a very faint hint of sandalwood.

That's the unique flavor of Fangtian.

That old man is very particular.

Before committing murder, one should burn incense; after committing murder, one should take a bath.

Even after becoming the Corpse King, he didn't change this bad habit.

Where is he?

Qin Shuang asked.

"have no idea."

Zhou Yang squinted, watching the swirling mist ahead.

"But the taste is fresh."

"At most, he's been dead for thirty or fifty years."

For a spiritual practitioner, thirty to fifty years is but the time it takes to take a nap.

The smell hasn't completely dissipated yet.

This indicates that Fang Tian visited this place before his death.

This might even be his final resting place.

Sudden.

Zhou Yang stopped in his tracks.

He raised his hand and gestured for a "stop" behind him.

Qin Shuang stopped abruptly.

He slightly raised the longsword in his hand, and a thin layer of frost appeared on the blade.

The wind around us stopped.

The howling wind suddenly vanished completely.

The entire abyss fell into a deathly silence.

The only sound was the beating of his heart.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"The direction at three o'clock on the left."

Zhou Yang's lips moved slightly.

There was no turning back.

His knife tip slowly drooped, and his body slightly squatted down.

Like a cheetah poised to pounce.

"several?"

Qin Shuang's voice was as cold as ice.

"group."

Zhou Yang grinned.

"Judging from the sound, they have quite an appetite."

The voice just fell.

The black mist on the left suddenly exploded.

There was no roaring.

There was no roaring.

Only the shrieking sound of claws tearing through the air could be heard.

Swish swish!

A dozen or so dark figures, as fast as lightning, rushed straight at the two men's faces.

I can't make out what it looks like.

All that could be seen were a pair of pale white eyes and a mouth full of interlocking fangs.

Like a person.

It also resembles a wolf.

But what was growing on his neck was not a head, but a twisted mass of flesh.

"Corpse wolf?"

Qin Shuang's eyes narrowed.

The sword flashed as it was drawn.

The icy blue sword energy erupted instantly, like a lotus flower blooming in the darkness.

The air was bitterly cold.

The two corpse wolves at the very front were instantly frozen into ice sculptures.

Snapped.

It shattered into a pile of ice shards.

But the zombie wolves behind them were not afraid of dying at all.

They trampled over the corpses of their own kind and still pounced frantically.

Don't save your energy.

Zhou Yang gave a low shout.

He didn't move.

He just watched those dark figures rushing towards him.

In my mind, the system's countdown began to tick.

[Flame life: Three days.]

[Deduction begins: Target—Abyssal Corpse Wolf.]

For an instant.

The world has slowed down.

Zhou Yang could see the trembling of every muscle in the corpse wolves, the saliva hanging on their fangs, and even the trajectory of their attack in that instant.

Where are the weaknesses?

Not at the head.

Not on my mind.

Right in the middle of that lump of flesh on the neck.

There is a red blood vessel pulsating.

"There."

Zhou Yang moved.

The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning.

It was so fast that the blade was invisible; only a blurry afterimage could be seen slicing through the darkness.

Chi Chi Chi.

A dozen or so soft sounds.

They rang out at almost the same time.

The corpse wolves that had pounced into the air suddenly froze.

The fierce glint in their eyes hadn't faded when their bodies were neatly split in two.

Blood was spilled all over the ground.

It did not land.

It evaporated into red mist in mid-air.

"Excellent swordsmanship."

Qin Shuang sheathed her sword.

She glanced at the bloodstains on the ground, a hint of approval in her eyes.

Having worked together for so long, their tacit understanding was ingrained in their very bones.

She was in charge of controlling the situation and freezing it.

Zhou Yang was responsible for both reaping the rewards and breaking the deadlock.

"Be careful with your praise."

Zhou Yang flicked the blood off his knife.

"We've only just entered."

He crouched down and reached out to wipe a handful of blood that hadn't yet evaporated.

The system beep sounded again.

[Lifespan gained: 12 days.]

"There's been some profit."

Zhou Yang stood up and casually wiped his hands on his clothes.

"Let's go."

"An old friend is waiting ahead."

The two continued to explore further.

The further you go in, the stronger the sandalwood scent becomes.

Strange characters began to appear on the surrounding rock walls.

It's not a character.

It's more like some kind of totem.

Twisted lines outline a series of hideous ghost faces.

Some of the ghost faces have dark red gemstones inlaid in the eye area.

An eerie light flickered in the darkness.

"These are runes from the Heavenly Principle Sect."

Qin Shuang recognized these things.

She has been investigating the Heavenly Principles Cult for so many years and has dealt with these things quite a bit.

"Fang Tian is the leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect."

Zhou Yang stared at the ghost faces.

"But this place has a history even longer than the Heavenly Principle Sect."

"This black tower probably existed long before the Heavenly Principle Sect."

Fang Tian was just someone who got lucky.

Or rather, he was the "key" chosen to be used in the sacrifice to the tower.

We reached the end of the cliff.

The road is blocked.

Ahead is a suspended stone bridge.

There are no railings.

The bridge is only three feet wide and spans between two cliffs.

Beneath the bridge, billowing black fog filled the air.

A huge shadow could be vaguely seen moving in the fog.

That's a big one.

"Will it be manageable?"

Qin Shuang glanced at the bridge.

"You have to get through it, even if you can't."

Zhou Yang shrugged.

"Unless you want to swim there."

He had just taken a step.

The stone bridge beneath our feet suddenly began to shake violently.

Boom!

A muffled thud.

It came from the bottom of the abyss.

Immediately afterwards, a huge claw gripped the edge of the stone bridge.

Those claws were as thick as a water vat.

It was covered with black scales, each scale resembling a shield.

"This place is really warm and hospitable."

Zhou Yang cursed.

"Hold on tight!"

He shouted.

With a swift movement, he darted away like a swallow.

Qin Shuang followed closely behind.

The two had just crossed half of the bridge.

The monster finally revealed its true form.

A giant python with wings.

It has no eyes.

It only has a large mouth full of sharp teeth.

It raised its head and let out a piercing shriek.

The sound waves struck the stone bridge as if they were solid.

Click.

A crack appeared in the stone bridge.

"run!"

Zhou Yang didn't even turn his head.

Burn-in life.

Burn for another ten days.

The speed increased dramatically in an instant.

He gave Qin Shuang a push on the back.

Using this force, Qin Shuang flew out and landed steadily on the opposite bank.

Zhou Yang touched the broken bridge with his toes.

His body soared into the air.

The giant python's mouth was already snapping at it.

A foul-smelling wind blew in.

Zhou Yang advanced instead of retreating.

A person in mid-air cannot gain any leverage.

But he doesn't care.

The sword is drawn.

This time, the blade glowed red.

That's the high temperature caused by the combustion life.

"Get the hell out of here!"

Zhou Yang roared.

He slashed the giant python's upper jaw with a single stroke.

puff.

The blade penetrated three inches into the flesh.

Black blood gushed out.

The giant python, in pain, suddenly shook its head.

Using the force of the swing, Zhou Yang was flung towards the opposite bank like a cannonball.

boom.

He crashed heavily to the ground.

It rolled several times before stopping.

"Cough cough..."

Zhou Yang got up and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"That fucking hurts."

The giant python on the opposite bank was still rampaging, smashing the broken bridge and sending rocks flying everywhere.

But they couldn't get through.

"Are you alright?"

Qin Shuang ran over and helped him up.

My hands are shaking a little.

"fine."

Zhou Yang patted the dirt off his clothes.

"It's a bit of a loss."

"That blow didn't kill it."

They lost several hundred years of their lifespan.

Zhou Yang felt a pang of regret.

But he was quickly drawn to what was in front of him.

This is a platform.

At the end of the platform is a door.

A huge black metal door.

There are no patterns on it.

There is only one groove.

The groove is shaped like a finger.

Tall and slender with well-defined joints.

Zhou Yang walked to the door.

He reached out and touched the cold metal surface.

The system was screaming wildly.

[Key item discovered: Corpse King's finger bone.]

High concentration of energy reaction detected.

"Found it."

A slight smile appeared on Zhou Yang's lips.

He turned around and looked at a corner not far away.

There was a corpse sitting there.

He was wearing a tattered robe, the attire of the leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect.

The body was dried up, like a piece of dead wood.

But one of his hands was raised high.

The little finger of that hand is missing.

The cut is clean and smooth.

It looked like it had been forcibly broken off by something.

"Fang Tian".

Zhou Yang walked up to the corpse.

Looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar face.

Even after becoming a dried-up corpse, a strange smile still lingered on his face.

It was as if he was still laughing at something before he died.

"Old fox."

"So you were also set up."

Zhou Yang squatted down.

He rummaged around in the corpse's arms for a while.

He took out a token.

The Heavenly Principles Sect Incense Master's Order.

There is also a small jade bottle.

I opened it and took a look.

Inside was a red pill.

Corpse Essence Pill.

nice one.

I managed to hold on to my last breath in this godforsaken place.

"You left your fingers to the door, and your life to this abyss."

Zhou Yang put the things into his pocket.

"The rest are all mine."

He stood up.

Walk to the raised hand of the corpse.

Looking at the cut on the severed little finger.

The system notification sounded again.

[Can the location of the severed finger be determined by tracing its burn-in life?]

"No need for deduction."

Zhou Yang sneered.

He reached out and grabbed the corpse's wrist.

With a forceful snap, it broke open.

Click.

The sound of bones breaking.

Something fell out from the dry cuff.

It's not a finger.

Instead, it was a black iron needle.

The needle tip is engraved with extremely fine lines.

"A key is not a finger."

Zhou Yang held the iron needle in his hand.

"The real key is this 'soul-stabilizing needle' you've hidden in your sleeve."

Fang Tian never took the needle out until his death.

He wanted to tell those who came after him:

To enter this door, you have to pay a price.

Or perhaps he was taking revenge on the owner of the door.

"clever."

Zhou Yang inserted the iron needle into the groove of the gate.

Not too big, not too small.

It fits perfectly.

Rumble...

A heavy scraping sound rang out.

The black metal door slowly opened to both sides.

An even more ancient and decaying aura wafted out from behind the door.

There was no light inside.

There was only a bottomless darkness.

But in the deepest darkness.

It has a hint of golden light.

It's flashing.

It was like the light emitted when some living thing breathes.

"It seems so."

Zhou Yang turned around and glanced at Qin Shuang.

"Our good luck has only just begun."

Qin Shuang gripped her sword tightly.

She looked at the darkness.

His eyes were firm.

"As long as you're here."

"I dare to take the plunge."

Zhou Yang smiled.

He strode across the threshold.

I walked into that darkness.

This time.

He's really going to make a big profit.

He would even have to look through the ledgers of the King of Hell.

See if I can cross out my name.

Chapter 740 Title: Beneath the Black Tower: The Corpse King's Beacon

The feeling of weightlessness came without warning.

It felt like I stepped into a hole and fell straight down.

Before Zhou Yang could even adjust his posture, everything went completely black.

This isn't the kind of darkness you feel when you close your eyes; it's the kind of... deathly stillness where all five senses are forcibly stripped away.

I couldn't see the light, I couldn't hear the wind, and even the sensation on my skin vanished in an instant. My body felt like it didn't exist; only my mind was still functioning.

This feeling is terrible.

Very bad.

An ordinary person would probably be screaming in panic by now. But Zhou Yang didn't scream; he held his breath immediately.

Even in such a nonsensical environment, holding your breath is the first step to survival.

Immediately afterwards, the burning sensation in my chest began to rise upwards.

That's the Corpse Emperor's physique automatically protecting its master.

A cold, sticky smell, carrying a faint stench of decay, spread from his chest and instantly enveloped his entire body. The smell was pungent, like an old salted fish that had been simmering in a coffin for hundreds of years, but at this moment, Zhou Yang found it more pleasant than any floral fragrance.

Because the feeling has returned.

That feeling of emptiness, of not being able to stand on solid ground, actually became real again under the influence of this corpse energy.

He could sense the direction of the airflow around him, and he could also feel the oppressive weight pressing down on him.

"Qin Shuang?"

Zhou Yang tried calling out.

The sound couldn't get through.

This area is like an absolute vacuum zone, with no medium capable of carrying sound waves.

He frowned, immediately mobilized the Corpse Emperor's Qi within his body, and suddenly grabbed at the void with his right hand.

They've caught them.

It was a wrist that felt cool.

Qin Shuang's wrists were very thin, and her pulse was beating very fast.

She was trembling.

This is normal. For someone accustomed to being in control, this sudden deprivation of sensory experience is more terrifying than facing a massive army. She still had her knife, but in this pitch-black place where she couldn't even tell which way was which, the knife was a burden.

Zhou Yang gripped her wrist tightly, and without any hesitation, he separated a strand of Corpse Emperor Qi and sent it into her wrist.

The aura was extremely cold. The moment it entered her body, Qin Shuang felt as if she had been hit by ice water, and her body stiffened abruptly.

But the chill quickly spread through her meridians, and then the maddening sense of emptiness disappeared.

She can "see".

Of course, not with the eyes.

It was a strange perception. It was as if an extra pair of eyes had appeared in my mind, allowing me to vaguely capture the trajectory of the flowing black mist around me.

She sensed Zhou Yang's presence.

It was just to her left, about half a step away.

That familiar man, with a touch of roguishness, was holding her firmly.

My panic and confusion subsided instantly.

Qin Shuang grabbed Zhou Yang's fingers with her other hand, her palms covered in cold sweat.

Although the two could not communicate, this one gesture spoke volumes.

Just then, the "eyes" in Zhou Yang's mind suddenly caught a strange thing.

left.

Three o'clock position.

The previously smoothly flowing black mist suddenly developed an extremely unnatural fault line.

There was no sound of wind, no murderous intent, and not even a faint trace of air movement.

But the hairs on the back of Zhou Yang's neck suddenly stood on end.

It's instinct.

An intuition honed through countless brushes with death.

Something is coming.

Moreover, this thing doesn't rely on sight or hearing.

It's after the life force of the living!

Without thinking, Zhou Yang suddenly pulled Qin Shuang into his arms, and at the same time used his waist and abdomen to forcefully twist half of his body in mid-air.

hiss--!

A sharp, almost ear-piercing shriek suddenly rang out.

A pale white claw shadow appeared out of thin air where Qin Shuang had just been standing. The claw was about half a foot long, covered with a viscous black liquid, and it grabbed at nothing.

What the hell is this thing?

Void Beast?

This thought flashed through Zhou Yang's mind.

Unable to see or hear, they can only hunt using this almost instinctive method.

If it were an ordinary martial artist, they probably wouldn't even know how they died.

Unfortunately, it ran into Zhou Yang.

A "living person" who specializes in dealing with the dead.

A ruthless glint flashed in Zhou Yang's eyes.

Want to kill someone?

You have to pay more!

But he didn't rush to make a move.

This thing moves extremely fast in the black fog; making a move rashly will only reveal your location.

He released Qin Shuang's hand and quickly wrote two words on the back of her hand instead.

Knife.

borrow.

Qin Shuang understood instantly.

Even if she couldn't see his face clearly, she could imagine Zhou Yang's nonchalant appearance at that moment. But that didn't matter; what mattered was that she trusted Zhou Yang's judgment.

With a flick of her wrist, Qin Shuang released the Embroidered Spring Blade that had been with her for many years.

It wasn't thrown out.

Instead, Zhou Yang caught it steadily in his hands.

Zhou Yang gripped the knife hilt; the cool touch invigorated him.

He was familiar with this knife.

I used it quite a lot before, and even used it to cut watermelons.

"ten years."

Zhou Yang silently recited it in his mind.

Burning lifespan, deducing martial arts.

For him now, ten years of life is just a number. As long as it can buy him the means to survive, it's a worthwhile trade.

The system panel flashed by.

[Effected by consuming ten years of lifespan, the derivation of "Corpse Emperor's Aura - Bloodstained Echoes" is complete.]

The next second, Zhou Yang closed his eyes.

If you can't see it, then don't look at it.

He completely emptied his senses, immersing himself entirely in the intense aura of the Corpse Emperor surrounding him.

The aura of the Corpse Emperor spread out in all directions like a giant net.

Fifty feet.

One hundred zhang.

Three hundred feet.

It's caught in the net.

Three.

There's one to the left front, one above your head, and one behind you.

They are all moving very fast, and each movement creates a slight, almost negligible, airflow fluctuation.

In the perception of the Corpse Emperor's aura, these fluctuations were amplified infinitely, turning into clear trajectory maps.

This is the "bloody echo".

Using the aura of the Corpse Emperor as a medium, it captures vibrations in the air and then feeds them back to the brain.

It's like giving him a cheat code that allows him to see through the entire map in this dark world.

"Thirty degrees to the left, downward chop."

Zhou Yang's voice was transmitted directly into Qin Shuang's mind through the connection between the two.

It was a wonderful "sensory connection" established between the two of them.

Qin Shuang did not hesitate at all.

Her body moved faster than her mind, and the energy of her blade exploded instantly as she slashed fiercely in that direction.

clang!

Sparks flew everywhere.

The sound of metal clashing against metal was particularly jarring in this deathly silent space.

Qin Shuang felt as if the blade had struck a hard iron plate, and the shock made her hands go numb.

But this cut landed squarely.

A piercing scream immediately followed.

It was a monster that looked like a bat but had a human face, with half of its wing severed, and black blood spurting out.

Zhou Yang was not idle.

The moment Qin Shuang drew her sword, he moved as well.

But he didn't use a knife.

He used his fists.

His right fist, imbued with the aura of death, slammed down with a stench of blood as it struck the dark figure swooping down from above.

boom!

A muffled thud.

It was like smashing a ripe watermelon.

The void beast didn't even have time to scream before its head was smashed open, and it fell limply from the sky.

There's one more.

The one behind was clearly startled and paused for a moment.

Just like that, it took its life.

Zhou Yang seized the opportunity and threw the Embroidered Spring Blade with a backhand.

The blade flashed like lightning.

A straight white line was drawn in the darkness.

puff.

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh.

The void beast that attempted to ambush was pinned to the void by a single strike—around its corpse, the black mist took on a strange, solidified form, as if there were an invisible wall.

Three, problem solved.

Zhou Yang landed lightly on the ground.

The feeling of being grounded made him breathe a sigh of relief.

This place is a bit eerie.

Qin Shuang also landed. She walked to the corpse of the void beast and drew her knife.

The blood on the knife wasn't red, but a grayish-white liquid that emitted a nauseating, fishy stench.

"Is this the true strength of the City of Ten Thousand Beasts?"

Qin Shuang asked herself a question.

This way of communication is amazing; you can understand each other without even opening your mouth.

"This isn't a foundation, it's a watchdog."

Zhou Yang pursed his lips and shook the sticky liquid off his hands.

"Looks like we didn't come to the wrong place. I can't think of anyone else who could raise something like this, besides that old pervert Fang Tian."

As he spoke, he looked around.

After the fierce battle, the thick fog around us seemed to have been stirred up quite a bit and dissipated somewhat.

The fog thinned, revealing the scene below.

This is an altar.

To be precise, it was a small altar built from countless bones.

Right in the center of their feet, there was a lone thing stuck in the ground.

That was a bone nail.

It's only the length of a finger, its surface is blackened, and it's covered with densely packed runes. If you don't look closely, you might mistake it for a piece of rotten wood.

But Zhou Yang's pupils suddenly contracted.

This thing looks so familiar to him.

When Fang Tian died, his body was nailed to the ground with these bone nails to suppress his corpse energy.

Why is there one here too?

Moreover, judging from this, this bone nail is the "eye" of this black mist.

A strong sense of unease welled up in Zhou Yang's heart.

He walked over cautiously, reached out his hand, and his fingertips just touched the top of the bone nail.

Om-!

The system panel in my mind suddenly popped up automatically, flashing red, as if it were sounding an alarm.

【warn! 】

[A common source of contamination was detected: "Coordinates of the Corpse King's Heart".]

【warn! 】

Contact with this item may result in irreversible contamination.

Common source of pollution?

The Heart of the Corpse Emperor?

Zhou Yang was stunned for a moment.

When did this system become so verbose?

Didn't we used to just give you a properties panel and that was it?

However, this indirectly confirms his conjecture.

This bone nail was indeed left behind by Fang Tian.

Moreover, this thing is a "beacon".

Zhou Yang closed his eyes, his fingers remaining on the bone nail, but he increased the input of the Corpse Emperor's Qi.

boom!

A massive and chaotic flow of information instantly flooded his mind.

There are no visuals, only sounds.

That was Fang Tian's voice.

With a crazy, almost manic laugh.

"I've remembered... the coordinates... I've pinned them here..."

"The Black Tower... is a scam..."

"They want to use the Heart of the Corpse King to open a passage..."

"But I put a lock on it..."

"Zhou Yang... if you could make it this far..."

"Then break this lock for me..."

The sound stopped abruptly.

Zhou Yang suddenly opened his eyes, a fine layer of cold sweat seeping from his forehead.

That old fox.

They've been dead for so long, yet they're still setting things up here.

Is the Black Tower a scam?

Open the channel?

Zhou Yang took a deep breath, his eyes becoming somewhat complicated.

He initially thought it was just a simple treasure vault, or a backup plan left by Fang Tian. Little did he know, it was actually involved in a conspiracy involving the "Heart of the Corpse Emperor."

but……

Zhou Yang looked down at his hands.

The runes on the bone nail were slowly fading, seemingly because the energy inside had been exhausted due to the information transmission just now.

Since Fang Tian told him to smash the lock.

Then let's smash it.

Anyway, what he likes to do most is to cause destruction.

Whether it's a lock or a trap, as long as there's money involved or it suits his taste, he'll smash it.

"Hold on tight."

Zhou Yang turned his head and glanced at Qin Shuang.

Although Qin Shuang didn't know what he had heard, she could tell from his expression that things were serious. She didn't say anything, but simply gripped the hilt of her knife and nodded slightly.

Zhou Yang no longer hesitated.

He suddenly exerted force with his right hand.

Click!

A crisp sound.

The bone nail, which had been stuck there for who knows how many years, was forcibly pulled out.

In that instant, the entire abyss trembled.

The originally calmly flowing black mist surged wildly as if a pot had been boiled over.

The altar of withered bones beneath my feet emitted a teeth-grinding scraping sound before shattering with a deafening crash.

But strangely, it did not collapse.

Where the altar had shattered, a black staircase was revealed.

The steps continued downwards, extending deeper and darker into the underground.

At the entrance to the steps, a faint, eerie green flame could be seen flickering in the darkness.

That's... a road?

Zhou Yang weighed the bone nail in his hand, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

That old man, he even makes a big deal out of the road.

"Let's go."

He casually tucked the bone nail into his pocket.

"Let's go down and take a look."

"Let's see what kind of monsters and demons are lurking beneath this so-called Black Tower."

Zhou Yang took a step forward, and his figure disappeared at the end of the steps.

Qin Shuang followed closely behind, her blade slightly pointed outwards, her eyes wary.

The wind howled even louder in the depths of the abyss.

It was as if countless wronged souls were whispering in my ear, telling the secrets buried in this black tower for thousands of years.

The cold bone nail in Zhou Yang's arms was slightly warm, as if it were guiding something, or perhaps anticipating something.

Chapter 741 The End of the Black Stratagem: The Door of Life and the Door of Death

The black steps are very narrow.

There were no railings on either side, and the ground was uneven. Every step felt like stepping on a piece of dry bone, making a soft, cracking sound.

Zhou Yang walked ahead, at a slow pace.

He didn't turn around, but just raised his hand to signal Qin Shuang to follow closely.

The further down you go, the lower the wind whispers.

The wailing that used to be so intense and piercing was now like a drowning sound, with only muffled thuds coming from behind the stone wall.

Zhou Yang touched the bone nail in his arms.

It got even hotter.

It felt like carrying a piece of red-hot iron.

His eyelids twitched, and he pressed the bone nail back down, already having a pretty good idea of ​​what was going on.

This thing is not a key.

At least not just keys.

It's like it's finding its way.

After walking for about half an incense stick's time, we finally reached the top of the steps.

Suddenly, the view ahead opened up into a clearing.

It was no ordinary underground palace; it resembled more of a giant well that had been hollowed out. The surrounding walls were pitch black, and even the light from a fire couldn't reach far. In the very center stood a broken bridge, beneath which swirled gray mist. Occasionally, half a human face would peek out from the mist, only to disappear again in a flash.

At the end of the bridge stood two doors.

One left and one right.

The left door is entirely grayish-white, as if it were ground from a single piece of bone. A faint red light shines through the cracks in the door. Many fine lines are engraved on the door, like veins or chains. The right door is black iron-colored, its surface covered with scratches, layer upon layer, of varying depths, as if something has been scratching it from the inside for many years.

Each door has a single character on it.

live.

dead.

Qin Shuang stopped at the bridgehead, and gently tapped the stone surface with the scabbard of her sword.

"This place doesn't look like a burial site."

Zhou Yang stared at the two doors and chuckled.

"There's no such thing as being particular about where someone is buried."

His gaze slowly swept over them.

Three corpse puppets stood by the bridge.

Instead of standing and blocking the way, they knelt on one knee, like a guard or a person pleading guilty.

The first one was wearing a tattered Taoist robe, with half a sun wheel pattern still remaining on the cuff.

Tianlijiao.

The second body was draped in an old flying fish robe, with a ripped opening in the chest, through which a copper nail was driven.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The third body was the strangest. It was dressed in the gold-threaded robes often worn by palace officials, but its face had no skin, only a layer of blackened flesh, and a short jade hairpin was stuck in its head.

Qin Shuang glanced at it and frowned.

"All three families have come."

Zhou Yang squatted down, rummaged around the waist of the Imperial Guard puppet, and pulled out half an iron plaque. The words on it had long been worn away, leaving only the character "镇" (zhen, meaning "suppress").

"It's not that we've been here, it's that we've worked together."

He spoke very calmly.

But a spark of anger rose within me.

The Heavenly Principle Sect, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and imperial patrons.

While they were fighting to the death outside, they sat in rows below, like meat being cooked in a pot.

The bone nail burned again.

Even Zhou Yang couldn't help but hiss this time.

The bone nail slid out half an inch on its own, with the tip pointing straight towards the trapdoor on the left.

At the same time, the system panel flashed before my eyes.

High concentration of Corpse King remnants detected

[The coordinates of the Corpse King's Heart are close]

[Distance: Extremely close]

Zhou Yang narrowed his eyes.

Arrived.

He's gone through all this trouble for this very reason.

Seeing his expression change, Qin Shuang asked in a low voice, "Did you find anything?"

Zhou Yang nodded, not hiding anything.

"You can reach the center from the left."

"The Corpse King's things are over there too."

Qin Shuang's hand rested on the hilt of the knife, but she did not move immediately.

She looked at the trapdoor and suddenly asked, "What about the one on the right?"

Zhou Yang looked toward the Death Gate.

The door was quiet.

It was too quiet.

Like a tightly sealed coffin.

"The suppression zone," he said. "It doesn't hold living people, nor does it hold ordinary inanimate objects."

After he finished speaking, he walked to the trapdoor and placed his palm on it.

The storefront was freezing cold.

That kind of cold wasn't just chilling air; it was a deathly stillness that seeped into your bones.

The moment my palm touched it, the runes on the door lit up.

One after another.

Thin red lines, as fine as hair, first climbed all over the facade, then converged in the middle, forming three strange marks.

Zhou Yang's temples started throbbing after just two glances.

This thing is too old.

If it can be dismantled by force, the cost will usually be considerable.

He exhaled and directly activated the system.

"Deduction".

"Target: Access control symbol."

"Show me the most life-saving way to drive first."

The panel jolted, and a familiar burning sensation shot through my chest.

[Will it consume three years of lifespan to deduce the conditions for opening the incomplete ancient restriction?]

"Three years?"

Zhou Yang's lips twitched.

They really know how to ask for a price.

However, we can't afford to be stingy at this point.

"burn."

The next instant, a jumble of images rushed into my mind.

altar.

living people.

针。

blood.

There is also a dark heart held in two hands.

Zhou Yang closed his eyes and waited for the dizziness to subside before pointing to the three marks on the door.

"The first requirement is the Corpse Emperor's Qi."

He pulled the bone nail from his pocket and handed it forward.

The gray mist on the bone nail immediately connected with the first mark.

A muffled thud came from inside the door.

The first course has begun.

"The second step is to use the Soul-Stabilizing Needle."

Qin Shuang was taken aback, her gaze falling on the bone nail.

Zhou Yang grinned.

"That old man really knows how to save trouble. He's crammed the key, the road sign, and the 'soul-stabilizing needle' all into one place."

He reversed his hand and pierced the second mark with the bone nail.

With a click.

The dim red light coming through the crack in the door suddenly flashed.

The second one has also opened.

Only one dish remains.

Zhou Yang stared at the mark, his expression slowly hardening.

"The soul imprint of a living person".

Qin Shuang understood.

"Human sacrifice?"

"Pretty much." Zhou Yang nodded. "But it's not about risking your life; it's about leaving a mark. Once inside, the door only recognizes this one. Whoever opened it can enter. Anyone who tries to force their way in will most likely die on the way."

Qin Shuang didn't ask anything else and stepped forward directly.

"How do I do it?"

Zhou Yang turned his head to look at her.

"Think carefully. Once this mark is applied, you and I will be bound to this door. If there are any old rules inside, we'll have to accept them as well."

Qin Shuang's expression remained unchanged.

"We've come this far, and you're still asking this?"

Zhou Yang looked at her for a while, then suddenly smiled.

"OK."

"Then we'll pay for it together."

He raised his hand and pressed it on the last mark, channeling his true energy and slowly releasing his divine soul aura. The gate mark took this bite, immediately lighting up halfway, but then got stuck.

Half less.

Zhou Yang turned his head.

"Your turn."

Qin Shuang didn't use her hands.

She drew her sword, holding the blade horizontally in front of her. The Xuan Yin sword intent condensed into a single line, like frost or an extremely fine needle. Her eyelashes lowered slightly, and the tip of her sword lightly touched the mark.

hum.

The entire trapdoor shook.

The three lines on the door lit up simultaneously and then receded to both sides.

A dark red light seeped out from the crack in the door, falling on their faces like a thin layer of blood.

Zhou Yang looked down at his palm.

There was a very faint mark there.

Qin Shuang also had them on the back of her hand.

The same.

"They really did tie him up." Zhou Yang clicked his tongue. "The rules at the bottom of this tower are even more domineering than those old fogies outside."

The trapdoor was already mostly open.

Behind the door was a stone path leading inward, at the end of which the outline of a high platform could be vaguely seen. Something seemed to be placed on the platform, the light flickering as if it were still alive.

But just then, the dead door on the right suddenly emitted a screeching sound.

Zhou Yang and Qin Shuang turned around at the same time.

The Death Gate itself cracked open.

Only one line.

There was no light inside, only a plume of black smoke billowing out. The smoke carried muttering sounds, which were initially indistinct but soon became a chaotic jumble, like many people shouting through the crack in the door.

"Blood sacrifice for alchemy..."

"Living people put into the furnace..."

"The Qin family presents the map..."

"The royal family ascended to immortality through corpses..."

"Close the door...close the door now..."

The last sentence was particularly sharp, like someone scratching your eardrum with their fingernail.

Qin Shuang's body stiffened, and the blade deviated by half an inch.

Zhou Yang grabbed her wrist and pulled her backward.

The black aura rushed onto the bridge surface and immediately condensed into dozens of twisted arms, clawing wildly along the ground. The three corpse puppets seemed to be stimulated, raising their heads simultaneously, ghostly flames emerging from their empty eye sockets.

Zhou Yang's eyes turned cold. He kicked the Heavenly Principle Cult corpse puppet over, then pulled out a bone nail and nailed it directly into the gap of the Death Gate.

With a hissing sound.

The black mist receded rapidly, as if it had been scalded.

The door gap was closed again.

The bridge returned to silence.

Only three corpse puppets remained, still trembling slightly. A moment later, with a few cracking sounds, they scattered into a pile of dry bones.

Zhou Yang stood still, without saying a word.

The Qin family presented the map.

The royal family borrowed corpses to become immortals.

These two sentences are enough.

Many of those old grievances were quickly connected.

Qin Shuang slowly sheathed her sword, her voice low.

"The Qin family...did someone send the Black Tower map away back then?"

Zhou Yang glanced at her.

"Asking this now is useless."

"Once we get the contents out, we'll be able to find out who sold out whom and who took whose life to refine the pills."

He paused, then added.

"If you want to kill someone, I won't stop you. But you have to get your benefits first."

These words still have that familiar, utterly despicable tone.

After hearing this, Qin Shuang calmed down.

She sheathed the knife and nodded.

"Go through the emergency exit."

Zhou Yang hummed in agreement and stepped inside first.

The temperature inside the door had risen considerably.

There was a burnt smell in the air, like something had been burning for many years and hadn't completely died off.

He took two steps, then stopped and looked back at Qin Shuang.

"That door just recognized us."

"Once inside, don't stray too far from me."

Qin Shuang looked at him.

"Are you afraid I'll die inside?"

Zhou Yang twitched the corner of his mouth.

"I'm afraid that if there's one less person to share the money, many accounts won't be clear."

Qin Shuang didn't expose him, but simply followed him with her knife.

The trapdoor slowly closed behind the two of them.

Just before the last crack in the door closed, Zhou Yang looked up and saw a fist-sized ball of black and red light pulsating in the center of the high platform ahead.

Like a heart.

one more time.

Chapter 742 The Second Lock Left by Fang Tian

As soon as the door closed, all the sounds outside stopped.

Zhou Yang didn't move at first.

The dark red light ahead was still flickering, and across a stone corridor, it looked as if someone had stuffed a heart into the tower, keeping it alive.

Qin Shuang glanced around and whispered, "It's not a high platform, it's a circular corridor."

Zhou Yang then saw it clearly.

Beneath their feet were semi-circular stone steps leading to a circular stone corridor. The corridor was built along the tower wall, and nine soul lamps were embedded around its perimeter. The lamps were incredibly ancient in design, resembling sections of human spine that had been carved out of stone. The flames inside were of different colors: some blue, some white, and some dark purple.

Three of the lamps had already gone out.

It wasn't just extinguished; the edges of the lamp were cracked, and black ash remained in the cracks.

Zhou Yang narrowed his eyes.

"Three of the nine layers of seals have been broken."

Qin Shuang looked at him: "You know about this?"

"Just a guess."

Zhou Yang walked over and ran his hand over the edge of an outdated light. The ash was fine and slightly sticky, like dried blood.

The system panel flashed silently.

[Remnants of an ancient seal were detected]

[Number of Black Tower Sealing Levels: Nine]

[Currently remaining: 6]

This guy is even more direct than he put it.

Qin Shuang also noticed the old patterns on the wall. She ran her fingers along the patterns, her back already tense even before she drew her knife.

"It's not something from the Heavenly Principle Sect."

"Um."

Zhou Yang walked forward, his gaze growing increasingly somber.

It is not a guiding array pattern left by the Heavenly Principle Sect.

Even earlier.

Older.

The stone wall is carved with many images, roughly sculpted with chisels and axes. The first image shows a tall tower pressing down on a giant, armored corpse. The second image shows nine chains hanging from the top of the tower, the chains driven into the corpse. The third image shows the kneeling worshippers in changed robes, and an altar, an incense table, and a door appearing beneath the tower.

Then the picture got dirty.

It looks like someone deliberately scraped it with a knife.

Zhou Yang glanced at it a few times and cursed under his breath.

"That old bastard Fang Tian left behind half a ledger even after he died."

At the end of the stone corridor stands a black stele.

The monument wasn't tall, only reaching waist-high. A short, rusty nail was stuck in it, its end trembling slightly, as if a lingering energy remained. As Zhou Yang approached, the Soul-Stabilizing Needle in his arms trembled first.

With a buzzing sound.

A crack appeared on the black monument.

A blurry figure emerged from the crack, its features indistinct and gray, yet Zhou Yang recognized its form at a glance.

Fang Tian.

It was neither a living person nor a remnant soul, but merely a mark of divine soul. It was as if he had always known that someone would eventually find their way here.

The illusory figure looked at Zhou Yang and actually smiled first.

"They arrived faster than I calculated."

Zhou Yang also laughed, but his laugh didn't look like that of a good person.

"You've become addicted to ripping people off."

Fang Tian didn't respond to that, but spoke slowly.

"If you see this place, it means you have passed through the Gate of Life. It also means that those madmen from the Heavenly Principle Sect have managed to dig out the Black Tower."

"This tower is originally called the Boundary Suppressing Tower. It doesn't suppress the earth's veins, but the Corpse Emperor."

"In the past, the Corpse Emperor was not destroyed, so he could only be sealed. Nine lamps and nine locks locked his bones, his soul, and his life. Later, the Heavenly Principle Sect found this place, changed the tower into an altar, and changed the sealing and suppression into a welcoming ceremony. They did not want to release the Corpse Emperor; they wanted to use the Corpse Emperor's body to welcome the immortal envoy to the world."

Upon hearing this, Qin Shuang's eyes turned cold.

Zhou Yang didn't interrupt, letting the illusory figure continue speaking.

"I joined the church not to make offerings to them. I want to cut off that path."

"There wasn't enough time to cut off all the supply, so we had to steal."

Fang Tian raised his hand, and the shadows of three things appeared on the stone wall.

A finger bone that was white to the point of being bluish.

A thin, long black needle.

There is also a yellowed page in the booklet.

"The Corpse Emperor's finger bone, the Soul-Stabilizing Needle, and a page from the Book of Fate. All three are part of the Central Key. I stole them and hid them for many years. The Sect Leader is after me, and the Celestial Envoy is also searching for me. If not for this, I could have survived."

Zhou Yang felt his teeth itch with rage.

That old fox spoke as casually as if he were giving his last instructions. But his simple statement, "You can only steal," led to the deaths of countless people.

Fang Tian seemed to have seen through his thoughts and even smiled again.

"You don't need to plead my case. I've never been honest in my dealings."

"If you take my things, you incur my debt."

"This debt can't be shaken off."

Zhou Yang sneered: "Well, you're quite good at picking your next partner."

"You're greedy, afraid of death, ruthless, and quick-witted," Fang Tian said calmly. "People like that live long and go far. Anyone else would have died out there long ago."

Zhou Yang couldn't find any fault with it for a moment.

Qin Shuang stood to one side, glanced at him sideways, and couldn't help but smile.

Fang Tian continued, "Remember. The real key isn't just the Soul-Stabilizing Needle. The central mechanism also has three locks: the Bone Lock, the Soul Lock, and the Life Lock. None of them can be missing."

"The bone lock is in the corpse well beneath the tower; use the Corpse King's finger bone to open it."

"The soul lock is in the middle of the lantern ring; use the soul-fixing needle to remove it."

"The Fate Lock is the most difficult. The Fate Book is only a corner of it; the true chart was kept by the Qin family back then."

Qin Shuang suddenly looked up.

The stone wall seemed to hear her presence, and a line of blood slowly seeped from the mural, outlining a fragmented clan emblem.

It was the old seal of the Qin family.

Fang Tian's mark turned towards her.

"The Qin family's extermination was not the work of a single family. The royal family wanted the map, and the Heavenly Principle Sect wanted the passage. The two sides joined forces, first silencing the witnesses, then seizing the scroll. Your ancestor was responsible for guarding the map, but in the end, he only gave away half a page."

Qin Shuang remained silent.

She just stared at the mural, her hand on the hilt of the knife, her knuckles tightening inch by inch. It wasn't like before the outburst; rather, it was as if something suppressed in her early years was slowly being brought to the surface again.

Zhou Yang glanced at her, then suddenly asked Fang Tian, ​​"What about mid-level authority?"

Fang Tian's illusory image faded a bit; it seemed this mark wouldn't last long.

"Behind the monument. Remove the needle, drip blood, insert the needle into the central nervous system, and you will gain half the control of the tower."

"half?"

"You can seize control first, then take the core."

As the last two words were spoken, the dark red light in the distance suddenly jumped again.

thump.

The stone corridor trembled.

The next moment, a black worm crawled out of the crevice beneath the black monument.

However, it had long knuckles, a ring of fine whiskers on its head, and its abdomen was covered with needle-like patterns. As soon as it emerged, it pounced on the back of Zhou Yang's hand.

Zhou Yang grabbed with his backhand, and his palm instantly became shriveled.

Lifespan is fleeting.

The system panel is flashing red text.

Encountering the Life-Marked Corpse Worm

[Current lifespan loss: one year, three years, five years...]

"Get out of the way!"

Zhou Yang shattered the insect with a single palm strike.

A second, a third, and a tenth stream emerged from the crack in the rock.

In the blink of an eye, it became a vast expanse.

The black insect crawled along the ground and the wall, making a rustling sound as it landed, like someone scraping a coffin lid with their fingernails. Qin Shuang drew her sword, and with a sweeping motion, the insect's body was severed in two, yet it was still moving.

"Can't be killed."

"Nonsense, things that can drain lives aren't that cheap."

Zhou Yang cursed, but his feet had already retreated to her side.

He didn't rush to burn his life and unleash his ultimate attack.

In this godforsaken place, who knows how many more pitfalls lie ahead? We have to be careful with our lifespan. But even if we're careful, we can't be stingy right now.

He stared at the swarm of insects, opened the control panel, and began to deduce their existence.

[Consumes twenty years of lifespan]

[Begin deducing the structure of the life-patterned corpse worm]

[Deduction successful]

The swarm is ruled by a queen, who hides within the life-manifestation nodes of the wall.

A route map instantly flooded my mind.

Zhou Yang raised his hand to press his temple, cursed, and casually flung out the Soul-Stabilizing Needle.

The needle penetrated three inches into the stone wall.

hum!

The entire wall looked as if it had been pierced through. The swarm of insects froze simultaneously.

"Three steps to the left, two feet up, cleave it open!"

Qin Shuang arrived in a single step, slashing diagonally with her longsword, shattering the stone wall to reveal a fist-sized insect sphere curled up inside. Its outer shell was translucent, containing a dark red core, resembling a miniature human heart.

The insect sphere let out a sharp screech, and the nearby soul lamps all shook.

Instead of retreating, Zhou Yang advanced, grabbed the lump of something, and activated the system to forcefully swallow it.

"You can smoke, so can I."

My palm felt hot.

The queen insect struggled frantically, and the life runes within her body lit up one by one, drilling upwards along Zhou Yang's arm, as if trying to bite back.

The system panel was jumping wildly.

High-purity life-giving energy source detected.

[Beginning reverse absorption]

[Lifespan increased by 30 years]

[Lifespan increased by 50 years]

[Lifespan increased by 80 years]

The spherical insect ball quickly deflated.

The ground was covered with countless dead worms, which twitched and rolled around like earthworms that had died in the sun. After a few twitches, they stopped moving.

Zhou Yang exhaled a breath of stale air, and the wrinkles on the back of his hand slowly smoothed out.

made money.

And they make a considerable amount of money.

He looked up at the black monument, and his expression softened considerably.

"Brother Fang, if you had told me earlier that there was this inside, I would have scolded you less."

Fang Tian's illusory image had faded to the point of being almost invisible.

The last shadow only uttered one sentence.

"The authorization seal you need is on the back of the monument. Take it, but don't rush to touch the core. First, memorize the locations of the three locks before you proceed."

"Also, if the cult leader comes, don't try to reason with him. That man is even crazier than me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the illusory image dissipated.

Behind the black monument, a palm-sized black mark was revealed. The mark had three grooves, like spaces for three keys. Zhou Yang bit his fingertip, pressed his blood onto it, and the black mark trembled slightly before drilling into his palm.

In an instant, the entire structure of the tower seemed to unfold before his eyes.

He had a general idea of ​​which corridor led to which floor, which lamp was stable, and which stone wall concealed the array's core.

This is the middle-level permission.

Incomplete, but sufficient.

Zhou Yang closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, a fierce glint appeared in his eyes.

Qin Shuang then pulled out a tattered scroll from the hidden layer of the mural. The edges were charred black, but a few lines of life patterns remained in the middle, which matched a groove on the black seal.

She handed the tattered scroll to Zhou Yang in a very low voice.

"The Fate Lock Chart is truly in the hands of the Qin family."

"The details of that family massacre case are now even clearer."

Zhou Yang took the tattered scroll, read it carefully, and then put it into his pocket.

The black and red light in front was still flickering.

It's even more urgent than before.

It was as if someone knew they had come in and that they had figured out how to get in.

Zhou Yang weighed the Soul-Stabilizing Needle in his hand, then glanced at the black mark in his palm.

"The road is clear."

"Seize control first."

He turned his head to look at the center of the platform and grinned.

"Steal the core again."

Chapter 743 After the Death Gate, the Truth Behind the Qin Family's Annihilation

The high platform is not far away.

When you actually walk over, the stone bricks under your feet seem to have no end.

With each step, the flickering of the dark red light beside my ear intensified. It wasn't a sound, it was a pounding. Like someone punching my chest through a door.

Zhou Yang stopped first.

He raised his hand to stop Qin Shuang.

"Don't rush up."

Qin Shuang followed his gaze.

At each of the four corners of the high platform stood a black pillar. Thin chains were wrapped around the pillars. The chains remained still, but their shadows swayed, like water plants.

Zhou Yang squatted down and tapped the ground with the tip of his knife.

when.

A crisp sound.

The next moment, the stone surface in front of the platform cracked open, revealing nine black stone tablets. The tablets were not tall, only waist-high. Each tablet was carved with a ghost face with its eyes closed. The one in the middle even had a copper ring in its mouth.

"The gatekeeper of the Gate of Death."

Qin Shuang said in a low voice.

Zhou Yang didn't reply, but reached out and touched the black mark on his palm.

The mark is hot.

He suddenly understood.

"It's not about guarding the gate, it's about vetting people."

After saying that, he grasped the copper ring and yanked it hard.

With a click.

The nine black tablets opened their eyes simultaneously.

The stone wall behind the monument slowly parted, revealing a long corridor.

A draft of wind blew out, carrying a musty, old smell. It wasn't earthy or musty; it was more like the stuffy, stagnant air that builds up in a temple after incense has been burned and the doors and windows have been closed for too long.

Zhou Yang went in first.

Qin Shuang drew her sword and followed.

The corridor was straight, lined with stone carvings on both sides. There was one every three steps. There were no lights, but the blood-red patterns on the stone walls glowed by themselves, a dark red layer, as if they had just seeped in.

Zhou Yang lowered his eyelids after looking at the first picture.

The painting depicts a small town.

The city gates swung open, and the city was filled with kneeling people. Three seals stood on a high platform: a dragon-patterned seal, a white bone sacrificial seal, and a flying fish hidden seal. Below the platform, a large cauldron churned, and masked figures stood beside it, pushing living people in one by one.

There are inscriptions below.

"In the twenty-first year of Jinghe, in Ningchuan Prefecture, 8,700 babies were offered up to refine the true embryo."

A soft click came from the hilt of the knife in Qin Shuang's hand.

She gripped it too tightly, and the scabbard struck the stone wall.

Zhou Yang continued forward.

The second one, the third one, the fourth one...

The year, the place, and the way of dying all differed.

Some were disemboweled to draw blood, some were buried alive to gather evil spirits, and some had an entire city's infants sealed in bronze cauldrons.

Below each one are those three seals.

Imperial seal.

Seal of the Priest of the Heavenly Principle Sect.

Local secret police.

The characters were carved very deeply, as if deliberately intended to make them understandable to later generations.

Zhou Yang looked at more than a dozen paintings and suddenly laughed.

The voice was cold.

"No wonder people outside always say that the Heavenly Principle Sect is the root of chaos in the world."

"Turns out he was taking the blame for most of someone else's mistakes."

Qin Shuang didn't respond to that.

She was staring at a stone carving on the right.

The picture showed no blood pool, no bronze cauldron, only a tower. Several people stood in front of the tower. The person in the foremost position wore a python robe and held a small coffin in his hands. What lay inside the coffin did not resemble an infant, but rather a withered corpse.

In the corner of the stone carving, there is a line of extremely fine characters.

"Those who welcome the immortals must first prepare the shell."

Qin Shuang raised her hand, her fingertips slowly tracing the words, her expression gradually darkening.

"It's not about making elixirs of immortality."

Zhou Yang turned his head to look at her.

Qin Shuang's voice was hoarse, as if there was sand stuck in it.

"What the Qin family investigated back then was not as simple as the royal family secretly refining evil pills."

She quickened her pace and stopped in front of the next stone carving.

The edges of the painting are cracked, as if it had been repeatedly scraped with a knife. The painting depicts a large mansion engulfed in flames, with only half of the character "Qin" remaining on the lintel. Imperial guards stand outside the mansion, while several elderly people kneel inside. The person in the very center has his hands raised high, as if pressing something into the ground.

There is no text below the image.

There was only a mess of engraved marks.

While others couldn't understand it, Qin Shuang suddenly reached out and compared several of the marks to the marks one by one.

She had seen this cipher in her home school.

The Qin family only passes down its direct descendants.

She read very slowly.

"The celestial messenger within the tower is neither immortal nor human."

"Be careful when using a shell company; survive by feeding on others' blood."

"My Qin family has guarded the life-locking gate for three hundred years, forbidding the tower from opening and the corpse from waking up."

She stopped reading at this point.

The last few characters were torn in half by someone's fingernails, leaving bloodstains all over the stone surface.

Qin Shuang pursed her lips and continued to examine the text.

"If future generations see this... first kill the one who holds the imperial seal in the palace, then execute the white-boned priest."

"Don't believe in flying fish."

Zhou Yang stared at those lines of text and remained silent for a few moments.

He had long suspected that something big was behind the Qin family's massacre.

When it was actually placed in front of me, it was still a bit unexpected.

What the royal family wants to open is not a celestial gate.

It's about preparing a living shell for that thing in the tower that can withstand it.

The so-called blood sacrifice.

The so-called alchemy.

The so-called celestial messengers from the upper realm.

It's all a facade.

Those high and mighty people treat the world like ashes, and raise an old corpse.

Qin Shuang stood still.

She stared at the half of the Qin character plaque, her eyes devoid of moisture, but her face was deathly pale. It was as if someone had pulled an old knife from her chest, draining away years of suppressed pus and blood.

Zhou Yang put his hand on her shoulder.

I didn't try to persuade them.

He only said one sentence.

"Your family didn't die in vain."

Qin Shuang closed her eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, that coldness returned.

"Reaching the end."

"Dig out the accounts one by one."

At the end of the long corridor was a narrow room.

Inside the room sat a stone table, upon which rested a broken jade plate. The plate had seven holes in its center, the exact number corresponding to the number of life locks. The surrounding walls were covered with densely packed line drawings, resembling meridians or interlocking chains.

As soon as Zhou Yang got close, the tattered scroll in his arms started to heat up on its own.

Qin Shuang took out the tattered scroll and placed it on the stone table.

hum.

The entire narrow room trembled.

A crack appeared behind the stone table, from which a wisp of grayish-white mist rose and condensed into the phantom of an old man. His figure was faint, but his features bore a resemblance to Qin Shuang's. Especially his brow bone, which was as sharp as if it had been carved with a knife.

Qin Shuang's breath hitched.

She didn't call them ancestors.

He simply stuck the knife into the ground and stood upright.

The old man's illusory figure first looked at her, then at Zhou Yang, and finally his gaze fell on the broken map on the stone table.

"You still came."

The sound was faint, as if it were coming through many layers of cloth.

Zhou Yang didn't mince words and asked directly, "Was the Qin family wiped out because you started it yourself, or did someone else strike first?"

The old man glanced at him and actually nodded.

"That's a good question."

"We were the ones who lifted the lid first."

"They'll silence us again."

He spoke very calmly.

It's like talking about someone else's business.

"Our ancestors pursued the tower for three generations and discovered that the so-called immortal messenger within was actually a remnant spirit of an ancient corpse. It cannot ascend; it can only revive by possessing a human body. The Qin family holds the Life Lock to seal it. When the royal family learned of this, they were not afraid; instead, they desired it even more."

"They felt that since the immortal envoy could use a body, then the royal bloodline was the most suitable."

"Blood sacrifice for alchemy is not for prolonging life, but only to create a vessel that can hold the spirit of a corpse."

"The earliest Heavenly Principle Sect was nothing more than a group of swordsmen and priests kept in the palace. There were also people in the Embroidered Uniform Guard who specialized in covering their tracks."

The narrow room was eerily quiet.

Even the throbbing of that dark red core seemed to be kept out.

Qin Shuang asked, "Where is the Destiny Lock Diagram?"

The old man raised his hand and pointed.

The line drawings on the wall lit up instantly.

Rays of light pierced through the stone wall, landing on Qin Shuang's brow, and then splitting into several strands that wrapped around the black mark on Zhou Yang's palm. Zhou Yang felt a surge in his head as countless mechanisms, circuits, sealing nodes, and opening and closing sequences flooded in all at once.

A prompt also appears on the system panel at this moment.

[Complete life-locking map detected, ready for inclusion]

[In progress...]

[Inclusion successful]

[Evidence of Crimes That Can Be Printed from Stone Carvings]

Zhou Yang's eyes twitched, and he immediately raised his hand and placed it on the stone table.

The next moment, images of the stone carvings along the entire Evidence Corridor flooded into the system panel, including even the smallest marks and inscriptions.

This thing is worth more than silver.

Once he's out there, if anyone dares to turn the tables on him again, he'll smash this entire corridor in the face of the world.

The old man's silhouette had faded even further.

He looked at Qin Shuang, and for the first time, his voice became undulating.

"It has not been easy for the descendants of the Qin family to have survived to this day."

"The life-locking chains are yours. If the tower opens again, you will be the one to close it."

Qin Shuang's throat bobbed.

She said nothing, only bowed to the phantom.

The old man looked at Zhou Yang again.

"You're a mess, and your path is crooked."

"But you're quick and ruthless, and you always leave a way out for the weak. People like that are the ones who survive to the end."

Zhou Yang twitched the corner of his mouth.

"The senior has a good eye for people."

The old man seemed to want to laugh, but his expression quickly faded.

In the end, only one sentence remained.

"Don't keep the core inside."

"It is the seed of a container."

As soon as he finished speaking, the illusory image completely dissolved.

The stone chamber was filled with only a thin layer of white ash, which would dissipate with a gust of wind.

Qin Shuang stood for a moment, then squatted down, grabbed a handful of ash, and put it into her small silver pouch.

The movements were very steady.

Zhou Yang didn't disturb her.

After she had put it away, she looked up at the long corridor outside.

"We've settled the old scores."

"We got the Life Lock."

"Those guys outside are busy opening the tower, they probably think we're just going to our deaths inside."

Qin Shuang put the silver pouch into her sleeve and drew her knife.

"Then let's go out."

"Cut off the core first, then cut the person."

Zhou Yang hummed in agreement and turned to walk out.

When he reached the middle of the corridor, he suddenly stopped and looked back at the stone carving depicting the fire at the Qin residence.

The flames clung to the stone and did not go out for many years.

He reached out and gently patted the half of the character "Qin".

"Old man, I'll collect the bill for you."

After saying that, he strode out of the narrow room.

In the center of the platform, the black and red light was still flickering.

This time it doesn't look like a heart.

It's more like a piece of meat waiting to be butchered.