Vermillion Bird Envoy

The moment the mask shattered.

Ian saw Chu Ling's true face and stood there in a daze. He had walked the mortal world for over a hundred years, yet he had never seen a woman with such breathtaking beauty.

He could no longer imagine it—

How delicious would the soul of such an incomparably beautiful young girl taste?

However!

The instant he bit down, he sensed that something was wrong!!

Under the Life Offering ritual, biting into a soul was merely an illusion. Its true purpose was the "transfer of life." Because the Longevity Technique he possessed was incomplete, a great deal of Life Force would dissipate into the void. After performing such a ritual, he could receive only one-twentieth of the drained person's lifespan.

But that was enough. This girl looked to be under twenty.

Even if she could only live another sixty years.

He would still gain three more years of life...

Yet when he took that first bite, it felt as though he had bitten into nothing. Ian felt as though he had gained nothing at all... Was it an illusion?

He hurriedly took a second bite!

Nothing happened. His "lifespan" had barely increased at all. Perhaps... it had increased by a few dozen minutes? In the long river of years he had lived through, those few dozen minutes were truly no more than a splash of water.

Unable to stir even a ripple.

But something "stimulating" soon arrived!

Ian's pupils contracted, and he let out a muffled groan. He felt an immense torrent of "memories" rushing toward him, pouring forcefully into his Mental Sea. This was the "price" of taking two bites, the unavoidable "draining" he had to endure. There was no free lunch in this world. If he wanted to consume the drained person's "lifespan,"