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

In the back room of the tea house, the oil lamp flickered dimly.

Zhou Yang sat at the table, with a dark red pill in front of him.

Blood Essence Pill.

These were items retrieved from the corpses of the Heavenly Principle Cult members; they were said to be able to transform a person completely. But Zhou Yang wasn't stupid; he never dared to touch anything from the Heavenly Principle Cult lightly.

He reached out and picked up the pill, feeling a slight warmth on his fingertips.

strangeness.

Normal pills should be cool to the touch or smooth as jade. But this pill seemed to be alive, pulsating slightly at his fingertips.

a bit.

Two times.

Like a faint pulse.

Zhou Yang put the pill back on the table and stared at it for a long time.

"system."

He silently recited it in his mind.

"Inspect this item."

No response.

His system isn't omnipotent; it only activates when the burn-in lifespan is estimated. Otherwise, it's as quiet as a dead man.

Zhou Yang wasn't in a hurry. He took out a silver needle from his pocket. He had bought it from an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor for ten taels of silver, specifically for testing for poison. If the silver needle turned black, it meant it was poisonous. It was the most basic method in the martial arts world, but it was also the most effective.

He pierced the surface of the elixir.

A dark red liquid seeped out and clung to the silver needle.

The silver needle did not turn black.

Zhou Yang breathed a sigh of relief, but he wasn't completely at ease. He knew some of the Heavenly Principle Sect's methods. Some poisons couldn't be detected with silver needles.

He thought for a moment, then picked up a mouse from the corner.

This was caught before and kept in a cage, all for this day.

He fed the mouse the drop of dark red liquid.

The mouse struggled a few times, then stopped moving.

Zhou Yang frowned.

died?

He looked closer and found that the mouse wasn't dead, it was just asleep. Its breathing was steady, and its heartbeat was normal.

But its fur color seems to have become a bit brighter.

Zhou Yang waited for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The mouse woke up and ran around the cage energetically, more than twice as lively as before.

"This is...something good?"

He muttered to himself.

Still not entirely convinced, I conducted another experiment with a mouse. The result was the same: the mouse became stronger and more agile.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems this Blood Essence Pill is indeed a treasure.

But Zhou Yang didn't rush to take it. His gaze fell on another thing on the table—a yellowed book.

"Xiantian Dingyang Gong"

This is a cultivation technique inherited from Fang Tian. The first two levels have long been mastered, but the third level, "Soul Refining," has yet to be broken through.

The bottleneck is right in front of us, but we just can't seem to get past it.

He opened the book and his eyes fell on the few lines of densely packed small print.

"Those who refine their souls nourish their souls with blood and forge their bodies with their souls. They must find items imbued with the essence of blood to achieve mastery."

Zhou Yang's gaze was fixed on the four words "blood essence".

Blood Essence Pill.

He looked down at the pill on the table, and a smile slowly crept onto his lips.

It turned out to be the case.

This pill is the key to breaking through to the third level.

He took a deep breath and silently recited in his mind, "System, deduce the pharmacology of the Blood Essence Pill."

"Deduction will consume five years of your lifespan. Confirm?"

Zhou Yang did not hesitate.

"confirm."

In an instant, he felt as if a piece of his body had been emptied out. The feeling was strange, as if someone had taken something from him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Five-year lifespan.

Let's try another breakthrough.

Is it worth it?

Zhou Yang didn't know. But he did know that in this chaotic world, without strength, you are nothing.

No matter how long one lives, one is still just a lamb to the slaughter.

He closed his eyes.

Countless pieces of information flooded into my mind.

The ingredients, refining methods, contraindications, and optimal timing of the elixir... all the knowledge became crystal clear in an instant.

He opened his eyes.

really.

The alchemist of the Heavenly Principle Sect was a master. However, he made a fatal mistake when refining this Blood Essence Pill—he overdid it.

Therefore, this pill actually has flaws.

An ordinary martial artist can only absorb a maximum of 30% of the medicinal power after taking it; the remaining 70% will be wasted. It might even damage their meridians due to the medicine's excessive potency.

But Zhou Yang knew about this flaw and could fix it.

He took out a small bottle of honey from his pocket and found a bowl of warm water.

Honey has a cooling effect and can neutralize the heat in elixirs.

He poured honey into warm water, stirred it well, and then swallowed the Blood Essence Pill whole.

The moment the pill entered his throat, a surge of heat rose from his abdomen and quickly spread throughout his body.

heat.

It's hot.

It felt like a fire was burning inside my body.

Zhou Yang gritted his teeth, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He knew this was the medicine's effect impacting his meridians.

He sat cross-legged and began to guide the flow of heat according to the breathing method of the "Innate Yang Technique".

The heat surged through his meridians, but Zhou Yang remained calm. According to the system's deductions, he only needed to guide the heat to his dantian and then slowly refine it.

Time passed little by little.

The flame of the oil lamp flickered in the wind, occasionally crackling softly.

Zhou Yang's body began to tremble slightly, and his skin glowed with a faint red light.

The heat within my body grew stronger and stronger, as if a wild beast was surging through my veins.

Suddenly, he felt something inside him shatter.

A soft "poof" sound.

That's the bottleneck.

The bottleneck of the Hundred Battles Realm completely collapsed under the impact of this heat.

Zhou Yang suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing in them.

True Essence Realm.

He felt much lighter, and his senses became exceptionally sharp. He could hear the rats gnawing on wood in the next room and sense the dust particles moving in the air.

Is this the True Essence Realm?

Zhou Yang looked down at his hands. The skin was still the same skin, but his body had changed.

Reaching the True Essence Realm signifies finally entering the ranks of true masters.

In a small place like Anyang County, a True Yuan Realm cultivator can already roam freely.

But Zhou Yang was not satisfied. His gaze fell once again on the book "Innate Yang Technique".

The third level is Soul Refining.

He closed his eyes and began to sense his own soul.

Previously, his understanding of the soul was vague, and he could only barely control those few corpse puppets. But now, everything is different.

I could clearly feel that my soul was like a net, extending outwards.

In the courtyard, the corpse puppets stood silently in the shadows.

With a thought, Zhou Yang's Soul Net covered the area.

That feeling was wonderful.

He could feel every bone and every inch of flesh of the corpse puppets, as if they were part of his own body. He could even make them perform some delicate movements—such as holding a pen to write, or carrying water and chopping wood.

Previously, the corpse puppet couldn't do these things and could only perform some clumsy movements.

But now, everything has become simple.

Zhou Yang opened his eyes and revealed a satisfied smile.

The third level of the "Innate Yang Technique" has been mastered.

His spiritual power surged, and his control over the corpse puppets improved significantly. In future encounters with danger, the role these corpse puppets could play would be vastly different.

He stood up and stretched his limbs.

The bones made a cracking sound.

Zhou Yang walked to the window and opened it.

The sky outside was already beginning to lighten. He had been meditating for an entire night.

The morning breeze carried a slight chill, and its touch on my face made me feel much more awake.

I remembered what Qin Shuang said last night.

The prefect died suddenly.

The festival is about to begin.

These four words made me feel uneasy.

What exactly is the Heavenly Principle Sect plotting? And what is this festival?

I don't know. But I do know that I must become stronger.

Only by becoming stronger can one survive in this chaotic world.

He looked down at his hands.

Five years of lifespan were exchanged for the cultivation level of True Essence Realm and the realm of Soul Refining.

Is it worth it?

Zhou Yang smiled.

At least for now, it seems worthwhile.

He turned around and began tidying up the things on the table.

The Blood Essence Pill had already been taken; all that remained were the yellowed book and a few silver needles.

He carefully put away the silver needles and tucked the book into his bosom.

There's still a lot to do today.

The Heavenly Principle Sect won't let this go easily, and Wang Jingzhi is also keeping an eye on it, along with that mysterious ritual...

Zhou Yang straightened his clothes, pushed open the door, and went out.

In the courtyard, several corpse puppets had already tidied up the things that had been messed up last night, as instructed.

He glanced at them and felt quite satisfied.

This is true power.

He faced the rising sun and slowly exhaled.

A new day has begun.

And he finally had the right to make his move in this game of chess.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.

Zhou Yang's eyes narrowed.

Who could it be so early in the morning?

The footsteps stopped at the door, followed by three long and two short knocks.

This was the secret code he and Qin Shuang had agreed upon.

Zhou Yang walked over and opened the door.

A member of the Imperial Guard stood outside the door, pale-faced and panting.

"Lord Zhou, Commander Qin requests your immediate presence at the yamen."

"What happened?"

The Imperial Guard swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly.

"The Heavenly Principle Sect branch in the city was massacred last night. Not a single survivor was left."