As the peculiar old man passed cage after cage, the ferocious and malevolent creatures inside fell deathly silent the moment they saw him. They trembled uncontrollably, as if they had laid eyes on something truly terrifying.

They were like livestock before a butcher, terrified of being slaughtered.

The old man ventured deeper into the prison, eventually reaching the section for Rank Two Spirit Monsters.

He stopped in front of an iron cell, one specially forged for powerful Spirit Monsters, and his murky eyes gazed inside.

Imprisoned within the iron cell was a majestic and incomparably ferocious tiger.

The tiger was massive and powerful, its eyes blazing with a green light. When it opened its gaping maw, it revealed fangs sharper than any Treasure Sword, capable of shredding a man to pieces with ease.

What was most frightening was the tiger's terrifying aura. It exuded the formless, domineering presence of an emperor—the king of all beasts—instilling an involuntary, uncontrollable fear in anyone nearby.

This was a Rank Two Tiger Spirit that had achieved its power through Cultivation. It had been locked in the Demon Prison for over two years.

It had once cruelly devoured an entire village of three hundred people.

Its crimes were so heinous that it drew the attention of the Demon Management Bureau. They spent a full month hunting it down before they finally managed to capture and imprison the Tiger Spirit.

"ROAR—"

As the hunched old man stood before the iron cell, a furious roar shot toward the heavens. A massive shockwave erupted forth with the force of an avalanche, causing the iron cage to tremble violently.

The shockwave washed over the old man, only to dissipate without a sound, as if it were nothing more than a gentle breeze.

The old man stared at the Tiger Spirit, his voice ancient. "Not bad. Two years of imprisonment haven't dulled your edge. Perfect."

"Damned human! Let this lord out, or I'll devour you whole!"

The Tiger Spirit's eyes blazed with green light. It was so ferocious that the aura it emanated caused the very air around it to ripple.

This was a Spirit Monster on the verge of reaching Rank 3, one that had a chance of achieving a true breakthrough. But alas, it was imprisoned. Forget about breakthroughs; it was lucky just to be alive.

"I already have one foot in the grave, yet you still want to eat me. Very well, I'll come in and let you try. I'm just afraid your teeth aren't up to the task."

With that, the old man produced a key with his skeletal hands and effortlessly unlocked the door to the iron cell.

In an instant, the Tiger Spirit's eyes flashed. The moment the old man took a single step inside, it roared like a beast descending from the mountains and pounced, its attack savage and terrifyingly swift.

Any ordinary person would have been scared witless by such a scene.

Yet the old man faced the ferocious beast without the slightest change in expression, as unflappable as if he were simply there to deliver its next meal.

Suddenly, as the Tiger Spirit lunged, the old man gave it a fleeting, chilling glance. That single look seemed to freeze time. A suffocating pressure washed over the Tiger Spirit, and a sudden, inexplicable fear gripped its heart, as if it had been plunged into the Hell Abyss.

A moment later, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from within the iron cell.

The scream did not belong to the old man, but to the Tiger Spirit.

Somehow, the old man's skeletal hand had seized the mighty Tiger Spirit, pinning it in place. With a vicious tug, he tore a chunk of hide clean off its body. Rich, vital blood poured from the wound.

'Tiger Blood. It is of the Supreme Yang and is rich with Energy. It can help me recover a bit of my vitality.'

In a flash, their roles were reversed. It was not the Tiger Spirit cruelly devouring the old man, but the old man brutally crouched over the Tiger Spirit, frenziedly drinking its blood.

The Tiger Spirit let out a wretched, desperate howl, utterly powerless to fight back.

And this was a Tiger Spirit on the verge of a breakthrough.

The Spirit Monsters in the surrounding cages trembled, their faces ashen. Paralyzed by the raw terror of death, they didn't dare move a muscle.

'That damned old man is back again,' one whispered. 'He used to only need to drain the Essence Blood of one Spirit Monster a year to sustain himself. Now, it hasn't even been three months, and he's back for another. And that stupid tiger actually dared to provoke him.'

'If we don't escape, we'll all be killed by that old man sooner or later.'

'They call us Demons cruel, but that old man is a hundred times more monstrous than we are.'

As the old man frenziedly drank the Tiger Spirit's blood, his murky eyes began to shine with vigor. His skeletal hands grew plump and full. His entire body started to reverse its age, growing younger and younger as if time itself were flowing backward for him.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, he transformed from a man in his seventies into a tall and powerful middle-aged man. The change was incredible, a spectacular sight to behold.

Ten minutes later, the Tiger Spirit was a shriveled husk, reduced to skin and bones. It lay on the ground, barely breathing, its eyes filled with utter terror.

Now a middle-aged man, he let out a low chuckle. "Your Tiger Blood is quite effective. Since it works so well, I'll just keep you around and let you recover."

He turned and stepped out of the cage. A man in black suddenly appeared and knelt before him.

"Don't let this tiger die. Feed it something good to help it recover. I might be able to get one more use out of it."

Hearing these words, the barely conscious Tiger Spirit shuddered violently and fainted dead away.

"Yes, Director," the man in black said, bowing his head to accept the order.

Director. That's right. The old man who used an Evil Technique to restore his youth was none other than the Director of the Wencheng Management Bureau, a man of immense power and authority.

He held the power of life and death over every Spirit Monster imprisoned here.

Due to a mishap in his Cultivation, his lifespan had been drastically shortened and his vitality was in decay, causing him to age rapidly. He had to drink the Essence Blood of powerful creatures to maintain a youthful appearance.

Now in the form of a middle-aged man, he wore a smile as he began to admire the Spirit Monsters in their cages, his expression as leisurely as someone strolling through a zoo.

Any Spirit Monster his gaze fell upon would tremble in terror, fearing it would be the next to suffer the Tiger Spirit's wretched fate.

The Director continued his leisurely inspection as he walked toward the exit. Just as he was about to leave the Demon Prison, a man rushed over. He was holding a special lamp, but it was dark and unlit.

"Director, it's terrible! Team Leader Leng Shuang has been killed in the field!"

He was holding a Life Lamp. Every member of the Demon Management Bureau had their own.

A life extinguished, a lamp gone dark.

Whenever a Martial Cultivator died in the field, their Life Lamp back at the Bureau would go out.

The Director stared at Leng Shuang's extinguished Life Lamp. His eyes flickered before he flew into a chilling rage. "Who in the hell dares to kill a team leader from my Demon Management Bureau? They're courting death! Find them! I want a full investigation!"

"Understood. I'll begin the investigation immediately."

After the man left, however, the Director suddenly burst into joyous laughter. 'The woman planted by the Leng Family is finally dead,' he thought, thoroughly pleased. 'Now there's no one left to oppose me.'

'Whoever did this has done me a great favor by removing a thorn in my side.'

Because of his hidden injuries and decaying vitality, many coveted his position as Director.

Everyone wanted to be the Director of the Demon Management Bureau, to hold that seat of immense power and authority.

And Leng Shuang had been one of them.

Leng Shuang was an Awakener of exceptional Talent and possessed the Ice Frost Elemental Ability. She had immense potential. 'To think she actually died out in the field.'

'Was this the secret work of another faction, or did she fall at the hands of some powerful Demon?'

The Director's eyes grew pensive, his expression becoming that of a deeply calculating strategist.