cough cough
Silas shot up in an instant and saw the red figure. It was an incorporeal hand with long nails like a beast's claw, burning like flames. There was an eye looking at Silas in amusement.
"The fuck... Is this?" Silas rasped, his voice raw from disuse.
The red hand spoke, "who are you?"
"That's what I'm supposed to ask. Who are you?" Silas retorted, his mind racing. The air crackled with an unnatural heat.
"A mortal daring to question me, the world has grown a lot over time," the hand sneered, its voice echoing in Silas's skull.
"You don't deserve to know my identity," Silas said, his tone firm despite the tremor in his limbs.
"I don't have any use for your identity then, tell me why are you here?" the hand pressed, its claws mere inches from Silas's face.
"The body you are in, is mine," it declared, the eye narrowing.
"Such a blatant lie, demons always find an excuse to take over someone," Silas countered, his mind sharp as a blade.
"That body is of no use to me, take it," the hand dismissed, waving a clawed finger.
"Even without you surrendering it to me, I could take over it if I wish to. But affairs in the mortal world are of no concern to me, do whatever you wish," it said, before vanishing into thin air.
Silas sat there, the chill of the cave seeping into his bones as he contemplated what had just happened. The walls seemed to close in around him, the silence deafening.
Silas concentrated on his danjeon and saw the dark red Qi swirling in his lower dantian expanding steadily. The faint glow pulsed rhythmically, like a second heartbeat.
"It's merely the size of a pea right now," he murmured, his breath fogging in the cold air.
Silas as he was now, couldn't even defeat a mere guard from the estate he got kicked out. The memory of the guards' sneers and the duke's disdain still burned in his mind.
'The guards were around 1st Class Warrior Realm. The standards here are high, much higher than murim. All because of the dense mana in atmosphere.'
Silas had everything he needed for now, however without any backing and money there were many things he still couldn't do. The weight of his emptiness pockets pressed down on him, a constant reminder of his fall.
But for now, Silas had to get out of the cave. The dampness of the air was starting to seep into his bones, making him shiver.
Silas glanced on the ruins one last time, before swimming through the passage. The water was icy, each stroke a battle against the cold. After a minute, Silas reached the surface of the water.
At a glance he saw that both the beasts he'd seen the other day were lying dead. Their bodies bloated and motionless in the moonlight.
'It seems the wolf succeeded in killing the serpent but died because of poison.'
"They must've gained quite a considerable amount of energy, however both are poisonous and with such little mana in danjeon. I can't expel the poison and take the mana," Silas said to himself, his mind already calculating the risks.
Silas was a born opportunist, if there was an opportunity he'd take it. If not he'd create it. His fingers brushed against the herbs tucked into his sash.
"The herbs with me aren't going to be helpful, I'll gather more," he decided, his gaze sweeping the forest.
Silas had learned everything in murim, anything which could lead to an answer for martial arts peak. He'd spent countless hours poring over ancient texts and observing masters. For that he would even learn alchemy and create his own pills. If the answer lay in constitution, he learned medicinal knowledge. Even learned the process of forging swords through blacksmiths.
If a phrase could explain his life, it would be "Martial Fanatic."
The herbs grown here are much different from his own original world. So, he would have to run various tests.
"If only I had a medicinal guide for this, Tsk."
---
After hours of gathering and experimenting with the herbs, Silas's fingers were stained with juices of unknown plants. His clothes were torn from scrambling through undergrowth.
"It's done, now the Inner Energy Core. If things go well I could gain Myriad Poison Immunity," he whispered, holding up a small, pulsating core.
Silas put both the cores in his mouth and swallowed them, a burning sensation was rising within his dantian. His face twisted, the skin turning an unnatural shade of purple as poison coursed through his veins. Droplets of blood trickled down his mouth, staining his chin.
'Now, the next step.'
Silas instantly put the pill in his mouth with trembling hands. The pill instantly got absorbed in his mouth and energy started to gather in dantian.
'With the momentum gained from the pill's energy, I have to absorb the poisoned mana also,' he thought, his mind focused.
The mana within Silas's dantian was rampaging and wreaking havoc within the body. Veins bulged as he struggled to contain the chaotic energy. It took considerable amount of mental energy to calm and trap the mana. If it was a normal person, he'd instantly fall into Qi deviation with the mana overload. However, Silas was hailed as the greatest demon within murim.
Another thing Silas was attempting was to mix the poison with blood. Such a thing was only possible because Silas had learned the blood cult's martial arts and gained a thorough understanding over it. He could freely manipulate the blood within his body and channel Qi in the blood.
However, such a thing couldn't be attempted without having enough Inner Energy which was being taken care of by the Pill and Inner Core.
This poison in his body could later be used for Tang Clan's Martial Arts.
After a while the energy turbulence calmed down and Silas noticed that his energy increased by 40 Years.
He had to let go of most of the energy and yet he absorbed a considerable amount of energy.
With this Silas wouldn't lose his own against a Peak Realm Martial Artist. Not to mention that the Peak Realm Martial Artists are barely guards in an estate.
Silas stood up and took out a branch from a nearby tree.
'I can practice martial arts now and adapt to this body,' he thought, his muscles already responding to the flow of Qi.
"The basics of martial arts are the most important, a sturdy foundation leads to the strongest building," Silas muttered, recalling the words of old masters.
Silas raised the branch and began performing the 1st Form and its Three Techniques. He switched to the 2nd Form then began conducting the techniques in succession.
"The name of this martial arts is 8 Forms Of Dark Blade," he said, each movement precise and deliberate.
Only after he had performed to the 8th Final Form, did he stop.
"After the 3rd Form, it needs practice," Silas noted, his breath heavy.
Silas began sweating profusely. Yet he continued training for hours from dawn to dusk, he didn't stop till his muscles were sore.
'It's already night, huh.'
Silas made up his mind to stay in the cave for another night.
Silas had overworked himself for two days. Even if, excluding the day of his previous body he was still hungry.
Silas entered the cave and carved out a chunk of meat from the wolf. A gigantic dead wolf had nothing more to offer than it's flesh.
'Even though the martial arts are incomplete the gaps would be filled later on with enlightenment,' he thought, his stomach growling.
Silas dropped the chunk of meat on a huge rock.
'The most important part of my martial arts.'
'Perception.'
Silas began conjuring a dark flame in his mind. He put his hands atop the chunk of meat and sparks flew from his palm, fingertips later becoming a fierce flame engulfing the meat.
'With perception it's possible to achieve anything through this unnamed Qi.'
"However, it consumes mental power to maintain it steadily," Silas said, his brow furrowed in concentration.
After a few minutes, the flames died down because of lack of mental power.
"This is the limit, huh," he sighed, the smell of cooked meat filling the cave.
Fortunately the meat was cooked nicely. Silas began chewing on the meat and consumed it thoroughly.
After eating his fill, Silas began meditation and went to sleep later.
---
The night went without any trouble, Silas woke up and decided to immediately depart from this troublesome place.
It wasn't even deep in the forest yet he had encountered such threats. It could be life threatening to live here anymore.
Silas walked till he spotted the road and found a carriage going through that pathway. It seemed like a merchant was going to transfer some goods.
Silas lips turned into a smirk.
The merchant's carriage creaked along the road, its wooden wheels groaning under the weight of crates. Silas hid in the shadows, his presence masked by the predawn gloom.