LingYue dragged his atrophied body over the sharp rocky terrain as he closed in on his prey, his eye set on the black, sleek surface of its skin, its tensile body that flexed with strength as it pushed forward.
As its forked tongue flickered back and forth outside its mouth, it turned its head as it recoiled upon seeing him.
LingYue lunged like a crazed fiend as his right hand soared through the air; its body thrashing about as it was caught; his teeth sinking into its skull as he bit off its head voraciously and began to chew.
Blood and pieces of flesh dripped from his lips as he ate with great relish.
* Crack*
*Chruurk*
He ate the flesh, drank its blood as well as ground the bones. Nothing was left unfinished as his bloodshot eyes swept the darkness as he looked for more.
Shortly after he finished his first meal in weeks, his body began to spasm. His lungs felt like they were set ablaze as he coughed vehemently, veins protruding from beneath his skin as they snaked their way up his neck and face.
As he lay curled on the floor, convulsing ever so often, a red hue covered his body as it began to turn into a mist-like substance.
The red mist looked similar to what the outer sect disciple devoured from the three slaves of The Smiling Tiger's caravan.
As it rose above him it congealed as it burrowed back into his body, increasing the frequency of the convulsions.
The mist drilled in through his nose, mouth, eyes and ears filling him with an unprecedented amount of pain as his body took a reddened sheen.
His nails embedded themselves into the hardened floor as they clawed at whatever he could grasp, his mouth dry and lips cracked as he heaved.
A sludge began to accumulate on the surface of his skin as the pain proceeded, his pupils turned to slits and his eyes bloodshot as he finally couldn't bare holding back his breath anymore.
His screams echoed through the cavernous area as the process continued, black sludge dripping onto the floor as a rancid smell assaulted his nose.
* Crack*
* Crkkt*
His bones cracked and reformed as the bones in his arm slowly realigned, the scars on his body diminishing as the scar on his face became less grotesque and noticeable.
The sludge that came into contact with the hardened floor soon left small pits as the floor was quickly corroded.
The smell was pungent as the area soon became a shallow puddle of sludge and grime.
After an incense worth of time, the pain receded like a tide as he dragged his weakened body from the area. Though he was still sallow and shrivelled, he felt revitalized with a newfound strength but also an overwhelming hunger.
His body had gone without sustenance for too long, it needed to replenish itself and he needed to find a food source.
As he moved his now rejuvenated left hand he was aghast as he stared blankly at what seemed to be a miracle.
"My hand...how? Is it due to that red mist? what the hell was that?" He muttered to himself as he checked himself once over.
His muscles felt stronger and firm while he still retained his remarkable flexibility. His eyes were now sharper than ever as all his senses seemed to have dramatically increased in accuracy.
He could now hear the wind around him throughout the tunnels and he could see within the tunnels as clearly as in the day; he noticed his claws had also regrew and seemed to be even sharper and stronger than before.
LingYue was dumbfounded at these new revelations as he stood up, the rancid smell once again assailing him.
As he looked at himself he saw that he was covered in a dark grey mucky sludge, a foul smell radiating from it as his nose wrinkled and his brows furrowed.
Having his shredded clothing nearby, he began to wipe away the filth on him as he retrospects on the strange occurrence.
"Was it due to the snake? Was it poisonous?" He queried to himself, unsure of how to proceed.
Soon after making sure he was okay, he decided to place the matter aside for now and to find out what he had gained from the parchment of paper within Kong Xiaobo's robes.
As he took out the parchment, he slowly unfurled it as he began to read; LingYue had a very basic knowledge of reading when he was four, but after entering the mines with Deng Li and the others, he was taught more of the language of the Barbaric South as well as understanding more of the outside world around them.
His eyes glanced across the top of the parchment as he read, [ Feral Crane's Agile Claw Martial Movements], it was an incomplete cultivation skill of the skill Kong Xiaobo used.
It was most likely due to this skill that he gained the achievements he had.
He read it over, repeatedly until he had every character memorized as he began to comprehend it.
The [Feral Crane's Agile Claw ] Movement Set consisted of a cultivation movement to strengthen the body, which was known as the Agile Crane Body Tempering Art as well as 4 Killing Moves.
The first move was the [ Wind Catching Wing] movement, which was a palm skill which could be used either to attack or defend against an opponent.
The second move was called the [Flying Feral Claw] movement, the claw skill was aimed to be quick and unpredictable which would confuse the opponent before landing a deadly strike to a vital area.
The third move was the [ Grand Severing Claw] movement, this Claw movement placed most of its emphasis on strength and heaviness, as it aimed to rip its enemy asunder.
The final move was the strongest of the killing moves, as each move was stronger than the last. This move was named the [ Reckless Wing, Careless Claw] movement, which sought to use two varying moves of palm and Claw interchangeably to attack and defend at will.
This move was also the hardest to master since even though Kong Xiaobo had this within his possession for a few years he never was able to master this final move.
One had to have enough comprehensive talent as well as the innate ability to multitask.
LingYue slowly got into position as he began practising the Agile Crane Body Tempering Art.
Like a graceful crane, his body's natural flexibility helped him easily in completing the first set of moves.
He soon finished the 2nd and 3rd sets, where he could faintly see a reddened sheen above his skin and as he reached the 4th set the sheen began to slowly rise like mist.
When 5th set was completed the mist slowly drilled back into him, but this time there wasn't an accompanying pain but rather a soothing feeling of unequalled comfort.
His muscles and tendons tensed and released in a rhythm similar to a heartbeat as every beat passed they became a bit stronger, but soon the mist disappear as he fell to the ground panting, tired and hungry while covered in sweat.
Though the Body Tempering Art had some small gains, he now felt quite empty after the mist and sheen had vanished.
He had noticed the mist which had looked quite similar to the one that appeared after he ate the snake and similar to what that one outer sect disciple previously used.
He wondered to himself. . .
"Do I need to eat another living being?"