Chapter 4 Assimilation

He did not know how long he had been unconscious for, but when Lu Tianzi opened his eyes, it seemed like the sun was just about to set. The golden rays that shone down from above were waning, and there was a tinge of orange in the sky.

Not that he was able to see much of the sky through the thick canopy overhead.

But what he knew was that the top of the canopy now seemed to be much further away than before, likely due to the fact that he had fallen deep into some underground cavern.

When Lu Tianzi tried to get up, he suddenly became aware of a sharp pain surging through his veins, spreading to every part of his body. He had to grit his teeth and endure the agony in order to forcefully keep himself from shouting out.

It seemed that he had probably broken quite a few bones and tore some muscles while falling, but thankfully, other than that his life did not seem to be in danger.

Wait, what about the demon?

Lu Tianzi immediately struggled to sit up so he could take a good look around him. He had fallen into an underground cavern, but it was completely devoid of life. Rather than grass or plants, rocks and pebbles littered the ground. The walls of the cliff were almost vertical, comprising of loose rocks that threatened to fall at any moment.

Seemed like climbing up would be a difficult task…

Other than that, Lu Tianzi could see a path that led further into the cavern. But what caught his attention was the only other sign of life in the area – the demon leader.

Or at least, what remained of him.

The demon leader lay motionless on the ground, with a sharp rock protruding out of his chest. From the looks of things, he had landed on a protruding rock, directly having his heart pierced through. Even if he did not die instantly, he would have bled to death shortly after that.

In comparison, Lu Tianzi really lucked out!

All Lu Tianzi received were broken bones and torn muscles, as well as some bad abrasions and cuts on his skin. Of course, there was still that huge gaping wound at his side, but that was caused by the demon leader's earlier attack.

Still, he was not intending to take any risks, and only managed to let out a sigh of relief when he limped over to confirm the demon leader's death. The last thing he wanted to happen in the future was to be bitten in the ass just because of a moment of carelessness.

After which, Lu Tianzi continued limping into the depths of the cavern, hoping to find another way to get out of there.

With the current state of his body, even walking was difficult, not to mention climbing up the treacherous cliff walls!

On top of that, Lu Tianzi could already feel his stomach acting up in hunger, causing his body to feel even weaker than usual. Due to his injuries and blood loss, his body was desperately lacking nutrients in order to recover.

But things did not go the way he wanted.

Even venturing deep into the cavern, all he found was a small pond, nothing else.

Should he dive into the pond to take a look?

That thought lingered in his mind for a moment before he promptly gave up on it.

Even walking was a problem for him now, not to mention swimming. Moreover, most of his wounds were still open and untreated. Diving into the water now would only cause his wounds to open further upon coming into contact with the cold water, possibly resulting in him losing even more blood. In his current condition, that would only lead to a quick death!

But just staying in the cave was not a solution either…

Lu Tianzi fell to the ground in helplessness.

Do the heavens really want my life to end here? Is there really no way out?

No, I refuse to admit defeat even in the face of heavens' will!

If the heavens do not leave me a way out, then I will forge my own path!

If I am forsaken by the light, then I will blaze a trail through the darkness!

I, Lu Tianzi, am not going to die here alone without returning the favour to those who treated me as their pawn, nonchalantly arranging for my death!

Lu Tianzi steeled his resolve and stared at the demon leader's body. If he wanted to do anything, then he needed to regain his strength first, and the most straightforward way would be to relieve his hunger and replenish his nutrients.

But there was just one problem… demon corpses were inedible!

Since young, Lu Tianzi had been told that demon corpses contained a certain toxin that would lead to great agony when consumed, ultimately leading to one's death.

However, those had just been rumours, and he had never seen anyone actually eating demon meat, much less someone dying from it. Still, everyone preferred to err on the side of caution, staying far away from possible danger.

After all, everybody only had one life, why did they have to be the one to sacrifice and test out this rumour?

As such, Lu Tianzi was conflicted.

Should he try it out?

No, he had no choice but to do so.

From the design of the underground cavern, there was no way that any wild beasts would even be able to venture in. At this point, if he still did not eat anything, then his starving body would probably never be able to recover enough for him to escape this naturally formed prison.

With that, it was decided.

He could only hope that those rumours about a demon's corpse toxins were completely unfounded. But even if it was true, all that would change was him meeting his end here due to the toxins rather than due to hunger and cold.

When he thought about it this way, then it no longer felt like too big of a gamble.

Lu Tianzi sat down by the side of the demon leader and started searching his corpse for anything edible. This was a ditch effort to spare himself the need to gamble with his life.

He was already intending on searching the demon leader from the start, just that he now had an additional reason to do so. Otherwise, would it not be a waste if any precious items were left abandoned in this god-knows-where?

Unfortunately, the demon leader did not have any valuables or food on him. What he had, however, was a long sword tucked safely into a scabbard hanging by his side.

Lu Tianzi did not hesitate to transfer the sword over, and then proceeded to disrobe the demon leader. When he was finally faced with a naked demon corpse, Lu Tianzi raised the knife in his hand, and slashed down without any hesitation.

Despite knowing that it was a demon, the other party looked human in every single way, except for the long tail, so most humans would still have had some qualms about dismembering a demon corpse. However, Lu Tianzi's heart was already dead.

Since the other party wanted to do him in, he would not show any mercy even to a corpse!

Do demons even honour their dead anyway?

Driving his Spiritual Essence through the knife, cutting through a defenceless demon was easy. The only lamentable thing was that Lu Tianzi was unable to make fire in this place where there were only rocks.

Thus, he could only tear through the demon flesh with his teeth, forcing himself to swallow the raw flesh in order to obtain some form of nutrients.

He was no professional butcher, and blood splattered everywhere with every cut he made, dyeing red not just Lu Tianzi's clothes, but also the surrounding rocks. It was a gruesome sight that would have frightened even adults, but Lu Tianzi could not care less.

In this world where he was now cast away by the very people whom he respected the most, what he needed was not pride, but strength!

Strength to stand up on his own!

Strength to take revenge!

Strength to reach the pinnacle of the world!

Lu Tianzi himself did not realise this, but at this moment, it was as if his spiritual will was completely reborn, strengthened by his resolve to conquer all odds!

A martial artist's appetite was voracious. Since much of the consumed food was used to supplement their supply of Spiritual Essence on top of their physical functions, they naturally needed a lot more food to keep up. At the same time, they could drive their Spiritual Essence to break down food at a much faster rate, allowing them to eat a lot more than their stomach space allowed.

While Lu Tianzi did not pick the demon leader to his bones, he still managed to eat almost half of the demon flesh before his hunger was finally satiated. By then, night had already fallen.

Lu Tianzi's fur coat had been left hanging above the cliff in a bid to trick the demon leader, and now he was fully exposed to the cold night of winter. Thankfully he had at least had his fill, and that acted as a source of fuel to resist against the harsh conditions.

Even so, Lu Tianzi had no intention to stay out in the cold. Picking himself up once again, he limped towards the far end of the cavern, finally resting by the side of the pond.

Too many things had happened to him over the span of a single day, and Lu Tianzi was truly exhausted, both physically and mentally. After drinking a few mouthfuls of water, it did not take long for him to fall asleep.

But what Lu Tianzi did not know was that this was destined to be the longest night of his life… and it was only just beginning.

One hour into his rest, Lu Tianzi began to feel the first signs of discomfort. A dull itch had started to spread throughout his body, and he felt his temperature rising slowly. His head felt heavy and his body felt weak. However, Lu Tianzi chose to ignore it and attempted to sleep it away.

Surely he would be fine after a good night's sleep!

Two hours into his rest, the itch had turned into pain, and Lu Tianzi could no longer brush it off.

The pain grew increasingly unbearable, and Lu Tianzi coiled up like a fetus in agony. He could feel that his temperature had risen extremely high, and his body was completely covered in sweat.

Shit! What is happening?

Lu Tianzi gritted his teeth as he tried to endure the pain, but even his jaws now lacked the strength to bite down.

At this moment, he finally remembered the meal he had just before sleeping.

Demons were inedible!

It looked like the rumours were true after all!

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!

But even tormented by the pain, Lu Tianzi's firm will did not waver. He knew that from the beginning, this was the only way he could have survived.

Unfortunately, he had lost the wager against fate.

If anything, he regretted ever trusting Hu Yuanbo and his schemes!

No, he regretted ever trusting in people at all!

Pain flooded his nerves, but Lu Tianzi still managed to struggle to his feet. There was nothing here except for the pond, but that was all he was looking for. His body was rapidly heating up, and if he did nothing to stop it, it would only be a matter of time before his organs started to fail. Even at the cost of blood loss, he had to bring down his body temperature!

After inhaling a deep breath of air, Lu Tianzi resolutely threw himself into the pond.

With a loud splash, he was completely submerged in the dark and cold water. The drastic difference in temperature between his body and the water caused his entire body to shiver in response, but it definitely served its purpose in cooling his body down.

Even though this was only a temporary solution, this sudden change in environment also managed to completely revive Lu Tianzi's consciousness which was rapidly slipping away after being subjected to the torturous pain.

Having regained his awareness, Lu Tianzi immediately sank his perception into his inner world, trying to investigate where the demon toxins were. Even if he had to do it physically by cutting off a limb or two, he had to isolate and remove whatever was contaminated by these toxins.

Only then would he be able to preserve his life!

But when he finally saw what was happening within his body, Lu Tianzi was completely shocked!

It did not seem like he was being poisoned by toxins at all. If anything, it seemed like the consumed demon cells were assimilating with his body, trying to become one!