After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

The deep underground corridor slopes downwards, dimly lit.

The cold white fluorescent tubes embedded on both sides of the wall exuded a chill.

With my feet firmly planted on the anti-static floor mat, my steps were steady.

Zhou Ran stepped up the stairs, approaching step by step.

Bai Xuan rested on Zhou Ran's shoulder, its cap swaying restlessly from side to side.

"The smell is absolutely pungent."

Bai Xuan sniffed and grumbled in disgust.

"The stench of rotting flesh mixed with formaldehyde was a million miles worse than the air in Laoshan."

At the end of the corridor stands a half-meter-thick alloy explosion-proof iron door.

Zhou Ran glanced at the combination lock and ignored it.

Beneath the skin of his left arm, the black jade unicorn pattern lit up, and the hidden power deep within his bones burst forth.

With his five fingers pressed together like steel knives, he forcefully pierced the gap in the alloy door.

A hissing sound—the grinding of metal—echoed and echoed through the narrow space.

Zhou Ran used his arms to tear the explosion-proof door open to both sides.

The heavy steel plate twisted and deformed under the immense force, its edges curling up to reveal a gap about the width of a person.

Behind the door is a laboratory covering an area of ​​1,000 square meters.

Dozens of glass culture tanks were neatly stacked against the wall, with various limbs soaking in a light green liquid.

The central operating light cast a pale shadow, illuminating the stainless steel operating table.

Song Zhentian was wearing a white coat stained with blood.

A gleaming scalpel was held between his fingertips.

The old man had a full head of silver hair, and his face was etched with deep wrinkles, as if carved by a knife. His eyes held a twisted excitement.

The sound of the iron gate cracking made Song Zhentian stop what he was doing.

He put down his knife and turned around.

He tore off a piece of sterile cloth and carefully wiped away the blood from between his fingers.

"Zhou Ran".

Song Zhentian spoke, his voice hoarse.

"Tiancheng was ruined by you, so it's fair to say he's incompetent."

"But you shouldn't have barged in here."

Zhou Ran glanced around.

The bottom of the glass tank is crisscrossed with pipes.

Hundreds upon hundreds of life energies forcibly stripped from mortals are transforming into red blood energy that surges through the pipes.

These energies eventually flow into the deepest pool of blood.

Above the pool, a six-pointed star array is slowly rotating.

This was the fuse that ignited the dragon vein.

"Song Zhentian".

Zhou Ran stepped closer.

"After the Song family in Jiangcheng was destroyed, I also razed the Song family in the capital to the ground."

You're hiding in this ditch, playing a jigsaw puzzle game.

Song Zhentian threw off the blood-stained cloth and retreated to the edge of the blood pool.

He grinned, his withered face filled with greed.

"Young man, not only does the ancestor want your demonic body, but I want it too."

He slammed his hand heavily on the mechanism by the pool.

The blood was bubbling and gurgling.

A three-meter-tall monster burst through the hidden door at the bottom of the pool and appeared with a bang.

It was clad in tattered Sengoku period armor and carried a four-meter-long nodachi (a type of katana).

There was nothing beneath the helmet and visor except for two wisps of black and red smoke that were dancing.

The air inside the laboratory was filled with this oppressive, menacing atmosphere.

Bai Xuanzi slipped into Zhou Ran's collar, leaving only his head sticking out.

"Boss, be careful!"

"That thing is a demon samurai!"

Bai Xuan's tone was hurried.

"A murderous puppet created by mixing the malevolent energy of thousands of wronged souls with Japanese evil medicine and living corpses."

It feels no pain; its bones are as hard as iron, and spells are completely ineffective against it!

Song Zhentian laughed wildly.

"Cut him down!"

Extract that demonic soul, and this body will become my perfect vessel!

The demon warrior moved, its massive body moving with lightning speed.

With a single step, its iron boots cracked the ground.

The four-meter-long nodachi, enveloped in foul-smelling black smoke, slashed down at Zhou Ran's crown.

Before the blade even reached the ground, the sharp force of the blade had already ploughed a deep groove into the earth.

Zhou Ran stood rooted to the spot, his feet firmly planted on the ground.

The purple-gold demonic eyes opened, and the demon warrior in the field of vision was instantly dismantled.

It wasn't a living thing at all, but a pile of rotten flesh forcibly stitched together by malevolent energy.

Ordinary methods simply cannot deal with it.

"Spell immunity?"

Zhou Ran's lips twitched, revealing an air of arrogance.

"Then let me show you what primal violence is."

Facing the falling blade, Zhou Ran went head-on.

The black jade kylin pattern on his left arm was scorching hot, with muscles bulging out and a layer of dark, flowing light covering his bronze-colored skin.

He raised his left hand, intending to use his bare palm to strike the magical demon sword.

Song Zhentian looked disdainful.

He's courting death.

The blade struck Zhou Ran's palm hard, but no blood or flesh flew out.

When the steel-forged nodachi struck Zhou Ran's hand, it produced a piercing metallic clang.

Sparks flew everywhere, and a nick appeared in the tough blade.

The force of the recoil slid back along the blade, causing the Oni Samurai to sway.

Zhou Ran clenched his five fingers and gripped the back of the knife.

He could only fight with his left hand.

With a giant step forward, his shoulder, carrying immense force, slammed directly into the Oni Samurai's breastplate.

The armor shattered with a crash, the rotting flesh inside the chest cavity was smashed to pieces, and the sound of bones breaking was clearly audible.

But the monster felt no pain; it dropped its knife and lunged at Zhou Ran's face with its ghostly claws.

"An eyesore."

Zhou Ran's eyes sharpened.

The Yin-Yang Technique within his dantian circulated wildly.

The demonic energy and the Buddhist vows collided within his body, transforming into a ball of purplish-black flames that burned along his meridians to his arms.

His hands, like hooks, gripped tightly onto the Oni Samurai's helmet and shoulders.

The demonic fire seeped into his fingertips.

The demon warrior, who had been unconscious, suddenly let out a piercing howl.

The flames were burning the thousand wronged souls within its body.

The power of will is purifying, while demonic fire is devouring.

Zhou Ran exerted force with both arms, his muscles tensing.

With a tearing sound, this monster, comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator at its peak, was ripped in two.

Black organs lay scattered on the ground, and the remaining malevolent energy was licked clean by the flames before it could dissipate.

In less than two minutes, Song Zhentian's trump card was reduced to rubble.

The room was deathly still.

The arrogance on Song Zhentian's face vanished completely.

He stared at the mangled corpse on the ground, his voice shrill.

"impossible……

"You're only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, how could you possibly tear a demon warrior apart with your bare hands!"

His eyes were full of coughing.

But a smug smile played on his lips.

Zhou Ran wiped the blood off her fingertips and walked towards Song Zhentian, stepping over the broken glass scattered on the ground.

The sound of leather shoes hitting the ground seemed to be counting down the other person's death.

"You know nothing about body cultivation."

Zhou Ran stared at him, his murderous intent fully revealed.

"Stop the formation and tell us what you did to the dragon vein."

I'll give you a quick death.

Song Zhentian leaned against the array plate, panting heavily.

The fear in his eyes vanished, replaced by a twisted madness.

He burst into laughter.

"Zhou Ran, you're late!"

He turned around abruptly and placed his hands on the core of the array plate.

Runes were embedded in his fingernails, and blood flowed between his fingers.

He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood, which dripped onto the formation.

The previously stable formation suddenly went berserk, and the temperature inside the room rose.

The pipes on the wall trembled incessantly, and the red vitality transformed into a streak of blood-red light, rushing deep into the earth.

The demonic energy you unleash is the best fuse to ignite the dragon vein!