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

But this darkness was meaningless to Zhou Ran.

He stepped into the cave entrance.

A chilling aura, a mixture of blood and decay, swept over us.

Before me was a tiny mezzanine space of only five square meters.

On the ground, a complex and eerie circular array was drawn using animal blood mixed with cinnabar.

The dark red veins glowed faintly in the darkness, like the blood vessels of a living creature.

In the very center of the array stood a black altar about half a person's height.

On the altar, there was a statue the size of a palm.

The statue is entirely black, with a ferocious face and three eyes and six arms.

Each hand held a human figure with a pained, contorted, and struggling expression.

Scattered around the altar were the skeletons of more than a dozen small animals, their bones blackened and mottled by an ominous force.

"What kind of weird thing is this?"

Zhou Ran raised an eyebrow.

"That's interesting."

For the first time, Ye Futian's voice in his mind carried a hint of seriousness.

"A rudimentary version of the 'Gathering Yin and Stealing Yang Formation'."

"Stealing yang?"

"That's right."

Ye Futian explained,

"Look at the end of this array pattern, it connects to the ventilation points of the entire building."

In places like training rooms, a large number of living people practice daily, their qi and blood surging, and their yang energy at its peak.

"The person who sets up the formation uses this formation to extract the yang energy of all those who are training here, bit by bit."

They were gathered into this "evil god statue" as a sacrifice.

Zhou Ran suddenly understood.

No wonder!

No wonder I always heard my colleagues at the gym complaining.

Some members reportedly fell ill or became lethargic while practicing, even though they came to improve their health, they ended up feeling weaker.

This is not a gym at all!

This is clearly a slaughterhouse where lives are harvested!

"What a vicious method."

Zhou Ran's eyes turned cold.

"If this continues, it's not just about making money, it's about taking lives."

This loss of yang energy will not be fatal in the short term.

However, over time, a person's life essence will be severely depleted, shortening their lifespan and eventually leading to various strange diseases and premature death.

Zhou Ran reached out and touched the evil god statue, feeling a chilling malevolent energy emanating from his fingertips.

"This aura comes from the same source as that old guy called Ghost Hand from yesterday."

He was certain.

This must be the work of the Wuji Sect behind Ghost Hand.

The Wuji Sect's penetration into the mortal world seems to be deeper than he thought.

Who cares who he is?

"Kid, this is a very nutritious food."

Ye Futian exclaimed in Zhou Ran's mind.

"This formation has been in operation for at least two years. Although the accumulated yang energy has been transformed into extremely yin and evil evil energy, its purity is extremely high."

"For your Yin-Yang Manual, it surpasses all the elixirs and panaceas in the world."

Zhou Ran no longer hesitated.

He sat down cross-legged with an air of grandeur, landing precisely in the center of the array, facing the evil god statue from afar.

"Come on, let me see the results of your two years of hard work."

Zhou Ran formed hand seals, and the Yin-Yang Technique began to circulate rapidly within his body.

boom!

A domineering suction force that devours everything suddenly erupted from him.

The dark, malevolent energy that had been slowly flowing within the space seemed to be drawn in by a giant whale.

It transformed into countless tiny black snakes, frantically burrowing into Zhou Ran's body.

The evil god statue seemed to have been awakened, sensing a deadly threat.

The three scarlet stone eyes suddenly shone brightly and emitted a sharp, distorted shriek!

It was as if countless babies were crying mournfully in his ears, transforming into an invisible spiritual shock that pierced Zhou Ran's sea of ​​consciousness.

If an ordinary master of internal energy were here, this single strike would drive them mad and turn them into an idiot.

But what sits in Zhou Ran's sea of ​​consciousness is the remnant soul of the Demon Emperor who once dominated for countless ages!

"A mere fragment of a soul, yet you dare to be so insolent before me?"

Ye Futian let out a cold snort.

The mental shock dissipated silently before it even touched Zhou Ran's consciousness.

The red light on the evil god statue flickered violently for a moment, then suddenly dimmed, clearly indicating that it had suffered a backlash.

"Ungrateful."

Zhou Ran opened his eyes wide, and demonic flames surged deep within his pupils.

He took a deep breath towards the statue of the evil god!

call--!

A whirlwind suddenly arose from nowhere in the narrow mezzanine space.

The dense black energy was forcibly pulled and gathered into a visible black dragon, which flowed into Zhou Ran's body through his mouth and nose.

A layer of white frost quickly condensed on Zhou Ran's skin, and ice crystals clung to his eyebrows and hair.

His face was as pale as paper, but the blood vessels under his skin bulged out, turning an eerie bluish-black color, like countless tiny earthworms wriggling wildly.

"Give me the town!"

Zhou Ran clenched his teeth and focused his mind on his dantian.

Within his dantian, the primordial demonic energy cultivated through the Yin-Yang Technique transformed into a vast, all-encompassing net.

They tightly bound and forcefully crushed this violent, foreign Yin energy!

The domineering nature of the Yin-Yang Technique in plundering all things is now fully revealed!

Refine!

I don't care whose incense you're offering or whose resentment you're carrying; once you're inside me, you'll become my nourishment!

Sizzle—sizzle—

A terrifying sound, like meat being fried in boiling oil, emanated from Zhou Ran's body.

As time passed, the frost on his body began to melt, and billowing white steam rose up.

The already full dantian is now expanding at an astonishing rate!

Mid-stage of Qi Condensation Level 3...

Late stage of Qi Condensation Level 3...

Qi Condensation Triple Perfection!

"Not enough! Far from enough!"

He had devoured all the evil energy floating in the air, but the real culprit was still inside the core of that statue!

"broken!"

Zhou Ran suddenly raised his right hand, his palm surging with demonic energy, and slammed it down on the top of the evil god statue!

Click!

With a crisp crack, the statue split open.

A concentrated burst of dark red blood energy erupted from the fragments!

This energy was so immense that it even coalesced in mid-air into a distorted, malevolent human face.

It let out a defiant roar and tried to escape through the wall.

"Still trying to run?"

Zhou Ran stood up, spread his arms, and pounced on him.

To cultivate demonic arts, one must be prepared to cultivate demonic arts!

Plunder the heavens and earth, devour all things!

At this moment, every pore on his body opened up, forcibly pulling that frantically struggling energy into his limbs and bones!

Boom!

A deafening roar, like a muffled thunderclap, exploded from Zhou Ran's body!

A violent shockwave emanated from him and spread outwards.

The surrounding lockers were blown away by the blast wave, slamming into the wall and twisting into a jumble of scrap metal.

A faint jade-colored luster appeared on Zhou Ran's skin, which then quickly disappeared.

When everything settles down.

Qi Condensation Level 4!

Zhou Ran straightened up, and his bones emitted a series of crisp, resonant popping sounds.

After reaching the mid-stage of Qi Condensation, he wouldn't even need to use his spiritual energy when encountering an internal energy martial artist of Ghost Hand's level.

With just one punch, he could blast it into a bloody mist!

"Is this... the pleasure of demonic cultivation?"

Such a rocket-like upgrade speed is indeed irresistible.

No wonder that throughout history, countless people, knowing the dangers of the demonic path, have still flocked to it like moths to a flame.

Don't get too excited yet.

Ye Futian's voice rang out, carrying a hint of warning.

"Cultivation gained by absorbing external forces is ultimately based on a weak foundation."

"You need to hone your skills diligently for the next period of time, otherwise you risk going astray."

"I see."

Zhou Ran composed himself, and the red light in his pupils slowly faded, returning to clarity.

He glanced down at the debris on the ground.

The Yin Gathering Array was completely destroyed as its core shattered.

"This place is actually quite a good place for cultivation."

He was just missing a secluded room where he could stay undisturbed.

He simply cleaned up the traces at the scene, resealed the hole, and made some inconspicuous camouflage.

After doing all this, Zhou Ran took out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.