While the various global factions were still bickering, Ren had already packed his gear. He led a fully armed Bai Xiaofei and Mu Tiancai to the front of the Gate of Hell.
The Corpse King arrived with two of his Heaven-level subordinates. By the time Ren's group reached the site, Long You had already dealt with the Papal Leader. The Gate of Hell cracked open slightly, and a brilliant golden light spilled out, illuminating the faces of the group.
"Stay here and guard the entrance. Do not let anyone pass!" the Corpse King commanded his subordinates.
"Yes, My Lord!"
With that, Ren, Xiaofei, Tiancai, and the Corpse King stepped through the threshold. Behind them, several Heaven-level zombies stood watch like silent sentinels.
After a dizzying bout of vertigo, the scenery before Ren shifted. Steel skyscrapers and bustling city streets materialized before his eyes. As a transmigrator, Ren knew these were mere illusions. Just as he prepared to break free, the scene shifted again: the Ninja Academy in Konoha, a dense forest, an endless desert, and finally, the neon lights of Beika Town.
With a thunderous crack, the illusions shattered. Ren opened his eyes to find himself in a pitch-black cavern. Scanning his surroundings, he saw no sign of his companions. It seemed the Gate had scattered them upon entry.
He appeared to be in a wooded area. In the lore of the Gate of Hell, the only place with a forest was the second floor—the domain of the Gourmet.
The Gourmet? Looks like my luck is holding up, Ren thought. The Gourmet possessed the ability to manipulate plants; once the Corpse King (or Ren) acquired that power, it would be useful even at the Super-God level!
However, before hunting the Gourmet, Ren needed to test his current strength.
His physical power remained at the peak of the God-level—even without external energy, this body alone allowed him to walk through the Gate of Hell unchallenged. He tried to activate his Sharingan; he strained for a while, but couldn't feel a drop of chakra, and his pupils remained unchanged. Then, he tried to tap into his Hollow Reiryoku. Total silence.
"As expected..."
Ren sighed, but he wasn't greedy. With his monstrous physical stats, he could still feast in this place. I should avoid getting involved with Satan and the Holy Lord, though. Even if they're suppressed to the God-level, I'm likely no match for their primordial methods.
Just as Ren prepared to move, a rustle came from behind him. He spun around, alert, as a man with green hair walked into view.
"Hello..."
Before the man could finish his sentence, his voice was cut short! Ren lunged forward, his hands transforming into sharp bone blades, decapitating the green-haired man in a split second.
"..."
The Gourmet was speechless—or would have been if he still had a throat. This was the first time he had met someone so incredibly rude. Couldn't they have a nice chat first? Maybe play along with some schemes before being gracefully eaten? What was with the immediate decapitation?
However, his vitality was immense. A mere beheading wouldn't end his life. But as the Gourmet prepared to speak again, his vision was suddenly engulfed by a massive, gaping maw.
"What the—?!"
With one final question left for the world, the Gourmet was completely swallowed by Ren!
Once the maw on his chest retracted, Ren closed his eyes, focusing entirely on digesting the Great Lord. The entire encounter, from meeting to consumption, had lasted less than two seconds. A Lord of the Gate had fallen in Ren's stomach.
"Digesting this guy will take a while. I'll head to the lowest floor first to see if that 'Golden' stuff can boost my constitution."
Ren transformed into a "Super Pangolin," his claws tearing through the earth as he tunneled toward the lower levels. The soil was filled with vicious flora and fauna, but before God-level claws, everything was sliced apart instantly.
With a sudden splash, Ren fell into a vast body of water. He remembered this floor was flooded; reaching the next level would require more digging. There's also that insect woman who uses 'Nana' to breed offspring. Once I've digested the Gourmet, I'll collect some of her DNA. He didn't plan to eat her directly; her consumption ability rivaled the zombie virus itself—even the Corpse King had almost been eaten by her. The safest bet was to harvest tissue, treat it in a lab, and then integrate it.
After another bout of frantic digging, Ren finally broke through to the lowest floor. He dropped from the ceiling, but before he could steady himself, he heard a piercing scream. The ground beneath him began to shake violently.
"WHAT IS THIS?! XIAO REN! REN! BROTHER REN! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
Bai Xiaofei's pig-slaughtering shriek echoed through the cavern. A moment later, Xiaofei burst out of a nearby tunnel, pursued by a colossal rolling ball of "gold." If it weren't for the pungent, foul odor emanating from the sphere, Ren might have mistaken it for real treasure.
Xiaofei spotted Ren and ran toward him as if he'd seen his savior. "REN! SAVE ME! SCARY!"
Faced with Xiaofei's sudden clinginess, Ren—acting quickly—landed a solid punch to his gut.
Pow!
Xiaofei collapsed to the ground, tears in his eyes. "Heartless cousin!"
Ignoring the theatrics, Ren stepped up to the massive sphere. He stopped it with one hand, then immediately dug out a chunk and stuffed it into his mouth.
A splayed-out Xiaofei witnessed this and gasped in horror. "Ren! Since when did your tastes get so... extreme?!" He scrambled back two steps, looking at Ren with total disgust.
Ren didn't have time for him; he was focusing on the changes within his body. After waiting for a while, there was no reaction. Ren felt a wave of disappointment. It seemed the "Golden Poop" couldn't buff a body that was already at the peak of the God-level.
He turned to the shivering Xiaofei and pointed at the sphere. "Stop looking at me like that! Come over here and eat this. It'll push your physical body to the Heaven-level. You've noticed, haven't you? In this place, you can't use any powers except raw physical strength."
Xiaofei nodded. He had tried to use his Killing Intent to shatter the sphere earlier, only to find his inner power—both internal energy and Killing Qi—completely unresponsive. All he had was his Earth-level physical strength.
Ren tossed a chunk of the "gold" to Xiaofei. "These spheres contain massive energy. Eat it to strengthen your body. Hurry up."
Xiaofei suppressed his revulsion and forced the substance down. After swallowing, he felt a tangible surge of strength. "Holy crap! It actually works!" Overjoyed, he forgot the smell and began shoveling it into his mouth.
Minutes later, Xiaofei was stuffed and panting, looking at his bulging muscles with satisfaction. "I look good!"
"The body stops growing after a tenfold increase. There really are no shortcuts for me here..." Ren noted, closing his mental notebook. Looking at the piles of remaining golden spheres, he felt a pang of regret that he didn't have any spatial storage. If he could take these out, he could raise a Heaven-level army in no time.