?The ventilation shaft ended at a grate. Jiang Chen peered through the slats, looking down into the heart of Elder Han's obsession.

  ?The underground laboratory was a cavern of hewn stone, illuminated by the sickly green glow of phosphorescent moss and the roaring fire of a massive furnace. The air was thick enough to chew—a miasma of sulfur, burnt copper, and old blood.

  ?Jiang Chen kicked the grate loose. He dropped silently, landing in a crouch behind a stack of wooden crates.

  ?He scanned the room.

  ?It looked less like a laboratory and more like a butcher shop run by a madman. Shelves lined the walls, filled with glass jars containing suspended organs—eyes, hearts, partially dissected paws of spirit beasts. On the central table lay a diagram of a human body, but the anatomy was wrong. Extra meridians had been drawn in red ink, connecting the Dantian to the spine in a way that should be fatal.

  ?"Disgusting," Apeiron's voice curled in Jiang Chen's mind, dripping with aristocrat disdain. "Look at the thermal insulation on that furnace. He's losing thirty percent of his heat to the floor. No wonder he can't refine anything higher than Tier 2."

  ?Jiang Chen crept forward, moving toward the main array.

  ?"He's not trying to refine a pill," Jiang Chen noted, looking at the central vat.

  ?The vat was connected to the pipes coming from the ceiling—the ones draining the disciples above. But there was another input. A thick, pulsating tube ran from a containment box made of lead.

  ?Inside the box, something was thumping.

  ?Thud. Thud. Thud.

  ?"A heart," Jiang Chen whispered.

  ?"A Chimera Heart," Apeiron corrected. "To be precise, the heart of a Three-Eyed Thunder Ape fused with the adrenal gland of a Swamp Hydra. He's attempting a biological graft. He wants to replace his own failing heart with a beast core to extend his life."

  ?Jiang Chen looked at the setup. It was monstrous, but in a twisted way, impressive. Han had built a machine to defy death.

  ?"It's garbage," Apeiron sneered. "He's using Mercury Grass as a binding agent. Everyone knows Mercury Grass destabilizes lightning-attribute blood. If he injects that, he won't ascend. He'll liquefy."

  ?Jiang Chen paused. "He'll liquefy?"

  ?"Instantly. The rejection reaction will turn his internal organs into soup. Unless..."

  ?"Unless what?"

  ?"Unless he filters the impurities through a 'Perfect Foundation' catalyst. A living filter to absorb the toxins."

  ?Jiang Chen went cold.

  ?"Me," he realized. "That's why he kept me alive. I was the filter."

  ?He looked at the vat. The green sludge was bubbling. The blood from the disciples above was mixing with the beast essence, creating a volatile, glowing cocktail.

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  ?"He doesn't have me," Jiang Chen said, a cruel smile touching his lips. "So he's trying to force the reaction with volume. He thinks more blood equals more stability."

  ?"He is incorrect. He is building a bomb."

  ?Jiang Chen walked up to the control console of the array. It was a circle of spirit stones embedded in the floor, channeling Qi into the furnace.

  ?"Can we detonate it?" Jiang Chen asked.

  ?"Too loud. We want him to consume it. We want him to think he has won, right until the moment his veins turn to acid."

  ?Jiang Chen hovered his hand over the control runes. The [Void Qi] in his palm flickered, black and hungry.

  ?"Guide me," Jiang Chen said.

  ?"Target the Stabilizer Rune at the three o'clock position," Apeiron instructed. "Do not break it. Invert it. Change the flow from 'Filter' to 'Amplify'."

  ?Jiang Chen extended a finger. A tendril of black smoke drifted down, sinking into the glowing blue rune etched in the stone.

  ?The rune didn't dim. It changed color.

  ?For a split second, it flashed violet—the color of the Void—before settling back to a deceptive blue.

  ?"Now the heat regulator," Apeiron continued. "Lock the safety valve. When the pressure spikes, the release vent won't open. The energy will have nowhere to go but into the subject."

  ?Jiang Chen moved to the furnace. He found the physical valve, a brass wheel crusted with soot. He gripped it.

  ?[Skill: Void Claw (Micro-Application).]

  ?He fused the brass threads together. The valve was now sealed shut.

  ?"Done," Jiang Chen whispered.

  ?He looked around the lab. His eyes fell on a small, unassuming wooden box on Han's desk. It wasn't locked.

  ?He opened it.

  ?Inside sat a book bound in human skin and a single, heavy ring made of white jade.

  ?[Item Identified: Elder Han's Private Ledger.]

  [Item Identified: Spatial Ring (Storage Capacity: 100 cubic meters).]

  ?Jiang Chen swiped the ring. He didn't put it on yet; he slipped it into his pocket. He opened the ledger.

  ?It wasn't just alchemy notes. It was a transaction log.

  ?Sold: 15 'Failed' Disciples to the Corpse Pit. Price: 30 Spirit Stones.

  Bought: One Chimera Heart from the Black Market. Price: 500 Spirit Stones.

  Bribe: 200 Spirit Stones to Sect Elder Mo to ignore the missing persons report.

  ?"He's been selling disciples for years," Jiang Chen murmured.

  ?"A common practice," Apeiron said, bored. "Moral outrage is inefficient. Focus. He is coming."

  ?Above them, the heavy iron door at the top of the stairs creaked open.

  ?Heavy footsteps descended.

  ?"Finally," Elder Han's voice echoed down the stairwell, trembling with anticipation. "The mixture... I can smell it. It's ready."

  ?Jiang Chen looked for a hiding spot.

  ?"No," Apeiron commanded. "Don't hide. The predator does not hide from the prey in the final moment. Take position in the shadows of the furnace. Let him see the prize before he sees the death."

  ?Jiang Chen moved behind the massive boiler. He slowed his breathing. He engaged the [Void Foundation], suppressing his aura until he was nothing more than a stone in the darkness.

  ?Elder Han stepped into the lab.

  ?He looked terrible. His skin was gray, sweat dripping from his forehead. He was dying. Old age was eating him alive, and he was terrified of the dark.

  ?He rushed to the vat. He checked the gauges.

  ?"Pressure is high," Han muttered, tapping the glass. "Good. High pressure means high potency. The blood is integrating."

  ?He didn't notice the fused valve. He didn't notice the inverted rune.

  ?He only saw what he wanted to see: Salvation.

  ?Han began to strip off his robes, revealing a withered, scarred body. He climbed onto the infusion table. He grabbed the needle connected to the main vat.

  ?"Years of research," Han wheezed, his hand shaking as he positioned the needle over his heart. "They called me mad. They said the Chimera Path was forbidden."

  ?He jammed the needle into his chest.

  ?"Let them see me now! Let them see me Ascend!"

  ?Han pulled the lever.

  ?The machine roared. The sabotaged array flared to life. The vat pressurized, forcing the volatile, poisoned, unfiltered sludge directly into Elder Han's heart.

  ?Jiang Chen stepped out from behind the furnace.

  ?"Enjoy your meal, Elder," Jiang Chen said, his voice cutting through the roar of the machine.

  ?Han's eyes snapped open. He saw the figure in the shadows. He saw the violet eyes.

  ?"You..." Han gasped, his hand freezing on the lever. "Jiang... Chen?"

  ?"I'm here for my performance review," Jiang Chen said.

  ?And then the chemical reaction hit.