Chapter 3: The Subterranean Path and the Twisted Demonic Qi
The intense heat of the sun beat down on his scarred skin. Mu Chen remained hidden in his timber crevice, spending hours attempting to comprehend the Demonic Energy he had recently acquired.
The Demonic Energy circulating within him did not immediately grant obvious physical strength. Instead, what it provided was sharper awareness and an endurance against pain far exceeding that of a common mortal.
"It's cold... but also warm..." Mu Chen perceived the contradiction inherent in the Demonic Energy.
Mu Chen began to experiment with controlling the faint black cold energy.
He tried to force it to flow into his right arm. The result was complete failure. The agonizing strain of trying to pull the Demonic Energy caused his muscles to spasm violently.
He then allowed it to flow along the path it desired on its own. The result was a slow movement. The Demonic Energy moved gradually along the lines of his injured veins. As it passed, the old scars from the beatings hardened, becoming rougher but slightly more resilient marks.
This Power was not one to be "controlled" by sheer will; it was a power he had to "surrender" to through his own frantic, primal instincts.
Throughout the morning, he spent five exhausting hours breathing deeply and trying to "Sense" the path of the Demonic Energy within his body.
Eventually, Mu Chen successfully made the Demonic Energy circulate in a small circuit around his heart.
His body felt slightly refreshed, and the wounds from two days prior began to mend in an abhorrent manner (the wounds closed but left large, darkened, jagged scars).
Hunger and thirst returned fiercely. Mu Chen knew he couldn't rely on absorbing life from corpses out in the open forever. He needed a better sanctuary.
Mu Chen crawled into the deepest part of the Filth Gorge, where waste from dye factories and slaughterhouses was dumped.
There, he discovered an old drainage tunnel that had been sealed shut with crumbling bricks.
Mu Chen found that even though his physical strength was still extremely weak, his sheer endurance was conspicuously superior to the average person. He worked tirelessly, relentlessly, under the scorching sun. After four frantic hours, he managed to demolish enough bricks to open a body-sized entrance to the tunnel.
Joy? No... only the Satisfaction of a beast that had found its safe burrow.
Mu Chen crawled down into the darkness and dampness of the old drainage tunnel. The stench became even stronger, yet he felt Safe for the very first time.
"No one will find me here..."
In that absolute darkness, he began to sit cross-legged, just as he had secretly watched the disciples of the Three-Headed Sect do.
He started manipulating the Demonic Energy in his body with the Instinct of Vengeance, abandoning the path of conventional meditation.