Chapter 5 Pristine Waters

It had to be known that even though demons and humans looked alike, they were still two completely different types of entities. It was not just a simple difference of a tail. Even the way that their bodies were constructed was completely different from each other.

Due to this difference, humans were able to cultivate in the Spiritual Essence system, and no matter how hard demons tried, no matter how ideal the cultivation techniques imparted to them, they would still be unable to cultivate in the same Spiritual Essence system. Likewise, there had never been any humans who were able to cultivate in the Slaughter Essence system.

What would happen to him after the demon cells managed to successfully implant themselves in his body?

If Lu Tianzi had a choice, then he would definitely not try to find that out!

Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to stop this from happening, he was powerless at the moment and could only watch helplessly as the cells continued to spread through his body.

Seeing one's own body slowly being taken over by foreign cells was a horrifying sight, and anyone with a weaker mind would have long fallen into despair. However, Lu Tianzi's spiritual will had already become incomparably strong the moment he hardened his resolve to conquer all odds on his journey to the top of the world.

Drawing upon his Spiritual Essence, Lu Tianzi strove to protect his core organs, determined to keep them from failing despite the invasion of demon cells. He might be unable to prevent the spread of the demon cells to these organs, but he was at least able to keep the organs functioning.

With every second that passed, the pain coursing through his body grew greater and greater as the demon cells spread to every single corner of his body, so much so that Lu Tianzi no longer even feel the pain from his wounds being exposed to the cold water.

Each time his heart beat, it sounded like rolling thunder, deafening to his ears.

Each time his body shivered, it felt like thousands of needles were simultaneously piercing into his body.

It was as though the cells of two different origins were battling with each other for supremacy over his body, one attempting to assimilate, the other attempting to separate. This battle at a microscopic level caused his internal temperature to continue rising despite the coolant in the form of pond water, and strength rapidly left his body.

At this rate, his blood would probably boil over before the night was over!

But at this moment, Lu Tianzi was frowning not because of this, but because he suddenly realised that another flow of energy had entered his body.

This energy… was it coming from the pond water?

Fully submerged in the pond, Lu Tianzi's entire body was exposed to the water. However, he never expected that this seemingly ordinary pond would possess a form of pristine energy, which his body actually started absorbing on its own accord.

The current condition of his body was already complicated enough. Now with another foreign factor mixed in, the final outcome would become even more unpredictable! Unfortunately, at his current cultivation realm, Lu Tianzi was still unable to close off his pores and prevent this external energy from entering.

All he could do was to continue observing the state of his body with his perception while trying his best not to lose consciousness from the overwhelming pain!

But when Lu Tianzi discovered the change that this flow of energy brought, his frown alleviated immediately. As it spread unhindered throughout his body, this pristine energy coming from the pond was unexpectedly calming the turbulent waves of battle that was raging between the cells of two different natures.

Then he finally understood.

Untouched in this underground cavern for perhaps hundreds or even thousands of years, the pond had managed to slowly accumulate energy from its surroundings. Without any form of disturbances, this energy had developed a pristine trait over time, containing within it the truths that dictated the laws of nature itself.

Cells were what made up life, but water was the origin of all life. Coupled with this pristine energy, it was able to overcome and rewrite the primal responses of the cells within Lu Tianzi's body, providing a sense of tranquillity in the midst of raging battle.

It was the cells' natural reaction to the origin of life, as if they were unable to resist the command of a higher order.

After the introduction of the pristine energy from the pond, even though the resulting effects were calmed, the assimilation of the demon cells continued. Bit by bit, the demon cells spread throughout Lu Tianzi's body, integrating with the original human cells to form a completely new entity.

Lu Tianzi was helpless as he watched on, but at least the worst had passed, and he no longer had to endure the deep agony that he was in just a moment ago.

His body temperature had fallen to a regular level, and the pain had subsided. Before long, Lu Tianzi felt strength slowly returning to his limbs.

Martial artists were able to drive their Spiritual Essence to improve their lung capacity, and staying underwater for hours on end was not a problem. He did not know how long he had stayed in the water, but that did not matter.

At this point, all that mattered was that he had survived to leave the water.

By the time he climbed out of the pond, he could see the traces of golden light seeping in through the entrance, indicating that the sun had already risen.

Lu Tianzi let out a sigh of relief as he threw his head back. He had managed to endure the pain that had lasted a full night!

It was then that he realised something strange, his wounds… they were not hurting anymore?

Just the day before, every movement he made caused him to ache all over due to the countless abrasions and scratches. But now, he merely felt a slight ache in the neck when he threw his head back.

Looking down at his limbs, Lu Tianzi realised that it was not just the pain that had vanished, but the wounds had healed as well!

Turning to inspect the gaping wound at his side confirmed his suspicions. As expected, it was no longer there, not even a scar was left!

It seemed that with the passing of the night, all of his wounds had been miraculously healed!

Lu Tianzi took another quick glance at the pond beside him. It seemed that he had given far too little credit to this seemingly ordinary pond. If not for it, Lu Tianzi would have definitely died in this underground cavern without anyone even knowing.

But now that he had survived, Lu Tianzi would definitely make everyone pay for their sins!

Picking up the sword that he had taken from the demon leader, he made his way back to where he had first woken up, completely ignoring the half eaten demon corpse lying on the ground. Attaching the sword to his side, Lu Tianzi started his climb.

The cliff walls were mostly made of rocks, many of them loose and would give way with a slight tug. This made scaling the walls extremely dangerous. However, with the passing of the night, Lu Tianzi realised that his body had now gained a newfound strength surpassing that of his previous self.

With his heightened physical abilities, he was now able to easily latch onto the more difficult climbing paths, making his way up the cliff walls like a fish swimming through water. When he finally reached the top, he saw that his torn fur coat was actually still lying on the ground after being tossed aside by the demon leader.

Just as he was putting it back on, he heard the sound of twigs breaking and immediately scanned his surroundings in alarm.

"Looks like your level of alertness is not too bad at least!" the approaching demon realised that he had been discovered, and chose to walk out of the thick vegetation and into the open.

"Your approach is just too clumsy to miss," Lu Tianzi's eyes scanned his surroundings even as he replied, trying to find the other of the two demons.

Seeing how careful he was, the demon let out a grin, "I don't know where you were hiding until now, but this is the end!"

The demon drew his sword and charged forward, slashing down mercilessly towards Lu Tianzi.

However, Lu Tianzi was faster.

He had originally been a rare martial genius. Now that his body seemed to have undergone some form of strange transformation over the night, his physical capabilities had been enhanced, and he was able to move even more swiftly compared to before.

To the current Lu Tianzi, an opponent of the same cultivation was no longer a threat.

Lu Tianzi easily sidestepped the demon's slash and delivered a powerful knee into his chest, sending him flying through the air and landing clumsily a good few metres away.

"Cough… cough…!" the demon struggled to catch his breath after landing. That strike from Lu Tianzi had completely knocked the air out of his body.

"I have no time to waste on you!" Lu Tianzi did not bother giving him any time to recover, drawing his own sword as he took the initiative to attack this time.

"That sword…!" the demon was already in bad shape, but upon seeing the sword in Lu Tianzi's hands, his entire body froze for a moment.

That sword belonged to their leader!

Could it be…?

But the demon was destined not to be able to complete his thoughts as just that one moment of hesitation was critical in deciding the fight.

Lu Tianzi's drove his Spiritual Essence through the sword, slicing right through the demon as if a hot knife through butter. After which, the demon's head cleanly slid off his neck as blood spurt out like a fountain.

"Damn you!"

The other demon had been hiding and waiting for a good chance to strike since the beginning, but he was no longer able to hold back upon seeing his companion killed in front of his eyes. Filled with rage, he leapt down from the treetop, relying on his momentum to slash towards Lu Tianzi.

How foolish!

Lu Tianzi sneered as he was alerted by the demon's call of rage, turning around to meet the other party's sword with his own.

The sound of metal striking metal was crisp in the otherwise silent forest. The impact sent a powerful shockwave outwards, rustling trees and blowing away fallen leaves within a certain radius. Even Lu Tianzi's feet were hammered into the soft forest soil by more than an inch.

However, that was all there was to it.

Right as the demon landed, Lu Tianzi slashed out a second time.

The attack was too fast, and the demon was still recovering from the recoil of the first clash. There was simply no way for him to block it!

In that one clean sweep, Lu Tianzi completely separated the demon's upper body from his lower body.

Within a matter of seconds, Lu Tianzi had killed off two demons at the same cultivation realm as himself!

Even he was impressed with his own performance, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he stared blankly at the blood-stained sword in his hand.

Before this, even though he was able to defeat other martial artists of the same cultivation realm, he would still need to expend quite a bit of effort in doing so. But today, everything just seemed so effortless!

Perhaps it was because of the strange phenomenon the night before.

Perhaps it was due to him having hardened his resolve.

Or perhaps it was a combination of both.

Either way, it did not matter as long as he was able to become stronger. That was all that he needed to know!

Just then, he felt two traces of energy escaping from the demon corpses respectively, floating through the air towards him.

Thinking that the demons had something else up their sleeves, Lu Tianzi immediately drew back in alarm. But when he finally faced the two traces of energy floating in the air, Lu Tianzi froze in his tracks.

These traces of energy… why do they feel so similar to the demons' Slaughter Essence?