312: Meng Lang's Pledge of Allegiance

He completely understood Yao Delong's purpose for bringing him here!

This was a warning; it was a pledge of loyalty!

If he didn't do as Yao Delong wished today, then this cell,

these icy chains, and this boundless despair would be his final destination!

Meng Bi's fate was the example he was meant to follow!

Having figured it all out, the bit of guilt and fear Meng Lang felt for his cousin

was instantly replaced by a twisted, almost frenzied 'desire for survival' and 'ambition to rise.'

He jerked his head up, his face no longer filled with fear,

but replaced by the twisted, gloating expression of a petty man who had achieved his ends!

"What's the matter? My dear brother!"

Meng Lang's voice carried a strange excitement and resentment.

He slowly crawled up from the ground, patting away non-existent dust from his knees,

his eyes filled with disdain and gratification. "Don't you understand yet? You're finished! Completely finished!"

"On what grounds?!"

Meng Lang's voice suddenly rose, filled with the resentment accumulated over many years.

"On what grounds were you born the Heir? Why were more than half of the Family's resources dumped into a waste like you?!

Brother Hu and I could only pick up the scraps that leaked from the cracks of your fingernails?! Just because your father is a Marquis?!"

He pointed at Yao Delong, a smile of extreme flattery appearing on his face as his form of address changed instantly:

"I refuse to accept it! I saw it long ago—following you, I'd only ever get to eat shit!

Only by following Master can I eat meat! Only then can I have a future!"

"Master?"

Meng Bi felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his single eye widening until it nearly split,

staring in disbelief at Meng Lang's groveling appearance.

"That's right! Master!"

Meng Lang straightened his back as if he had found a benefactor, his face wearing a morbid excitement.

"I defected to Master long ago! Before entering the Secret Realm, every move you made,

every plan you had to collude with Xiao Chen—it was me!

It was I, Meng Lang, who told Master every single word! Hahaha!

You were like a clown, played in the palm of Master's hand!"

"You beast! Traitor! Bastard! I'll kill you!!"

Meng Bi went completely mad! The immense sense of betrayal and the fury of being played instantly crushed his remaining sanity!

He struggled and roared frantically, foul language pouring out like a breached dam,

cursing Meng Lang with every malicious word he could think of.

Yao Delong watched this farce of fraternal strife with cold indifference,

his eyes showing not a single ripple. He wasn't here to watch a play.

"Enough." Yao Delong's cold voice was like an icy spring,

instantly dousing Meng Bi's roars and Meng Lang's excitement.

With a flick of his wrist, a pitch-black, hideously shaped dagger with a blade shimmering with a faint blue chill appeared in his hand.

The dagger emitted a thick Yin Baleful Energy; it was clearly no ordinary item,

but a lethal weapon specifically designed to pierce a Cultivator's Protective Aura and even harm the Divine Soul!

Clang!

Yao Delong tossed it casually, and the dagger landed precisely on the cold floor by Meng Lang's feet with a crisp metallic ring.

"Meng Lang,"

Yao Delong's voice was flat and emotionless, yet it carried an unquestionable command and a bone-chilling cold,

"Pick it up."

Meng Lang looked at the dagger at his feet, which radiated an ominous aura,

and his body began to tremble uncontrollably again. He knew exactly what this meant!

This was asking him to kill Meng Bi with his own hands! This was the pledge of loyalty!

It was a blood pact that would tie him irrevocably to Yao Delong's ship!

If he did it, the crime of killing his own kin would be branded upon him forever,

becoming a shackle he could never escape, and an absolute handle for Yao Delong to control his life and death!

"Mas... Master..." Meng Lang's voice carried a sob, his eyes full of pleading.

Yao Delong's gaze suddenly turned cold, like ten-thousand-year-old ice,

and his Mid Nascent Soul Stage pressure enveloped Meng Lang like something physical: "What? You don't dare?"

He took a step forward, his voice like a wind from the underworld, piercing straight into the depths of Meng Lang's Soul:

"If you hadn't sent intelligence 'on time,' do you think you would have the chance to stand here?

You wouldn't even be qualified to be a dog at my feet!"

The cold words were like a heavy hammer, smashing hard against Meng Lang's heart!

He thought of those prisoners locked in cages, living a life worse than death,

and remembered his previous hostility toward Yao Delong... immense fear instantly overwhelmed all hesitation!

"Brother Lang! No! You can't! I'm your cousin! We share the same Bloodline!!"

Meng Bi also felt the fatal threat,

his single eye filled with unprecedented fear and pleading, his voice hoarse and desperate.

"Ah—!!!"

Meng Lang suddenly let out a beast-like roar, as if trying to scream out all his fear and hesitation!

His eyes were instantly bloodshot and his facial muscles contorted as he grabbed the dagger from the floor,

pouncing like a demon toward the bound and immobile Meng Bi!

Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!

The muffled sounds of the blade entering flesh were exceptionally clear and piercing in the deathly silent cell!

As if driven mad, the dagger in Meng Lang's hand became a blur, frantically stabbing into Meng Bi's chest and abdomen!

Hot blood sprayed out like a fountain, instantly staining Meng Lang's clean, earth-yellow Daoist robe,

soaking it into a startling orange-brown!

"Die! Die! Die!!"

Meng Lang roared, every strike poured with his twisted hatred,

accumulated resentment, and a frantic longing for the future!

After the initial intense pain, Meng Bi's body convulsed violently,

bloody foam mixed with bits of internal organs gushing from his mouth, his single eye staring fixedly at Meng Lang,

filled with endless malice and disbelief.

He wanted to curse, to roar, but could only make a wheezing sound like a leaking bellows.

The Physical Body of a Golden Core Cultivator far exceeded that of a Mortal; even with his cultivation sealed, his life force was extremely tenacious.

Driven by fear and madness, Meng Lang didn't know how to look for vital points,

he just stabbed blindly and frantically to vent! He stabbed hundreds of times!

The entire cell was filled with a thick, nauseating smell of blood, and the floor was covered in viscous gore.

Meng Bi's body had long since been stabbed into a bloody mess, no longer resembling a human,

his breath had long ceased, but Meng Lang continued like a tireless machine, mechanically repeating the stabbing motion.

"Enough." Yao Delong's cold voice rang out again, like a binding spell.

Meng Lang's movements froze abruptly, and the dagger in his hand fell into the pool of blood with a 'clang.'

He panted heavily, covered in blood, his face and hair splattered with bits of flesh and blood droplets,

his eyes hollow as if he had just woken from a nightmare.

He slowly turned around and looked at the expressionless Yao Delong,

his eyes containing only boundless fear and total submission.

Thud!

Meng Lang's knees slammed heavily into the cold, viscous pool of blood, splashing up red droplets.

His hands trembling, he held up the hideous dagger stained with his cousin's blood,

raising it high above his head like the most devout of sacrificial offerings.