Chapter 298: Meeting Peng Kai Again
Looking up at the monolithic, decaying entrance, a slow, predatory smile spread across his scarred face.
The place emitted a suffocating, evil energy that brought back a wave of dark nostalgia from his early days in this realm.
Shifting his weight, he used his Phantom Steps to glide soundlessly inside, tracking the thickest, most putrid concentrations of demonic energy wafting through the corridors.
Deep within the subterranean levels of the ruin, the silence was broken by a low, guttural growl and the sickening, wet squelching sounds of raw flesh being violently torn apart.
It sounded like a ravenous, wild animal tearing into a fresh kill.
Shen Yu rounded a sharp, stone corner, his heavy boots making no sound on the blood-slicked floor.
A few paces ahead, a figure sat hunched over in the dirt, his back turned to the entrance.
The man was dressed in filthy, tattered rags, his unwashed hair haggard and matted with dried gore as his shoulders heaved with every desperate bite.
Leaning casually against the cracked stone wall, Shen Yu uncorked his gourd, took a slow swig of the burning liquor, and let out a deep, gravelly laugh that echoed menacingly through the chamber.
"Peng Kai," he spoke, his voice dropping into a rough, booming growl that cut through the dark.
"Nice to meet you again."
The wet, sickening squelching sound stopped instantly.
The figure froze, a jagged chunk of raw, bloody beast meat dripping crimson between his filth-encrusted fingers.
For a long, suffocating moment, the only sound in the subterranean chamber was the low, echoing drip of blood onto the cracked stone floor.
Then, with the erratic, jerky movements of a broken marionette, Peng Kai slowly turned his head.
His appearance was a horrifying testament to absolute ruin.
The once-proud Patriarch of the Peng Clan was completely unrecognizable.
His face was hollow, his skin an unnatural, sickly pale tinged with dark purple veins that throbbed visibly beneath his surface flesh.
His eyes, completely devoid of any human sanity, burned with a chaotic, blood-red luminescence that mirrored the demonic corruption ravaging his broken dantian.
But the moment his wild gaze locked onto the towering, barbaric figure of ’Ni Tian,’ a violent shudder ran through his mangled frame.
The primal, predatory red eyes looking back at him instantly triggered a flash of terrifying recognition through his shattered psyche.
Looking into those merciless depths, the suffocating, boundless killing intent from that fateful day rushed back into his mind like icy water.
The sheer terror of the memory forcefully snapped his fragmented sanity back into place.
Trembling, Peng Kai hurriedly used his tattered sleeve to wipe the fresh beast blood from his mouth.
He forced his breathing to steady, his voice shaking as he spoke.
"B-Brother Ni... what brings you to this forgotten place?"
Shen Yu let out a low, gravelly chuckle, his scarred face twisting into a dark smile as he looked down at the pathetic creature.
"I came all this way to bring you good news, Young Master Peng."
Hearing those words, a flash of pure, demonic killing intent flared within Peng Kai’s crimson eyes.
His posture went rigid.
"Is it... is it related to the Golden Cauldron Merchant Union?"
"Heh, exactly," Shen Yu barked, taking a slow swig from his wine gourd.
"Master has already laid out a perfect plan for you."
Without wasting time, Shen Yu laid out the strategy.
It was a simple, brutal blueprint designed to use Peng Kai as a blunt instrument, entirely stripped of any complex layers so his fractured mind could execute it perfectly.
As the details unfolded, a manic, wide smile spread from ear to ear across Peng Kai’s gaunt face.
But as the explanation ended, his expression faltered, turning anxious.
"But... Brother Ni, I am still trapped at the peak of the Golden Core realm. Even though I have hunted and devoured countless Tier 2 and Tier 3 demonic beasts in these ruins, my body has hit a wall. I cannot force a breakthrough to advance further."
"Master has already thought of everything," Shen Yu rumbled smoothly.
With a deliberate flick of his wrist, a soft flash of light erupted from his storage ring.
A heavy glass vial materialized in his palm.
Encased within intricate, glowing containment runes, a dense drop of dark red essence blood levitated inside the glass, pulsing with an eerie, rhythmic heartbeat that sent a heavy wave of bestial pressure through the air.
The moment Peng Kai’s eyes locked onto the fluid, the raw demonic hunger in his veins surged, causing his sanity to collapse for a fraction of a second as he prepared to leap forward.
BOOM.
Instantly, Shen Yu unleashed a crushing wave of pure, unfiltered killing intent that slammed into the chamber like a spiritual wall.
Peng Kai violently shuddered, the invisible pressure forcing him to stand upright and freezing him in his tracks.
He forced himself to remain still, though his mouth watered uncontrollably as his eyes glued themselves to the vial.
"The Essence Blood of an Earth-Tremor Vajra Bear, a Tier 4 beast," Shen Yu stated, his deep voice carrying a chilling weight.
"Master went through considerable effort to secure this for you. Use it to shatter your bottleneck and force your breakthrough into the Nascent Soul realm."
With a casual flick of his wrist, Shen Yu tossed the glowing vial directly toward the desperate man.
Peng Kai snatched the glowing vial out of the air with both hands, his dirty fingers clawing at the glass as if he wanted to break it open right then and there.
The dark red essence blood inside pulsed fiercely, casting a sinister, rhythmic crimson glow across his hollowed cheeks and wild, bloodshot eyes.
He held it close to his chest, his breathing ragged and shallow, weeping tears of manic joy.
"Tier 4... Nascent Soul..." Peng Kai muttered, a jagged, trembling laugh bubbling past his blood-stained teeth.
"Hahaha! Yes! With this, I can rebuild my foundation! I can tear those hypocrites from the Golden Cauldron Merchant Union apart!"