I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 144 Killing Shen Qianshui Shocks Nanyang Prefecture!
"Juan'er, come here."

Hearing Chen Mo's call, Juan'er was terrified of his aura, but she couldn't refuse his command. So she endured her fear and ran up the tree, standing on a branch next to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo reached out and gently stroked Juan'er's forehead.

He then sensed the extent of Juan'er's cultivation within her body.

Seven sticks of yellowed pages ghost.

Amazing.

Juan'er doesn't seem to need much cultivation; her cultivation level increases along with Chen Mo's... which is quite exaggerated.

With Juan'er's current cultivation level, coupled with her unpredictable and supernatural magic array techniques, dealing with a scion of a noble family at the True Fire Realm would be as easy as cutting melons and vegetables. Even if she encountered a scion of a noble family at the Blood Mist Realm, she could kill him.

Juan'er has now become Chen Mo's right-hand woman.

Seeing Chen Mo touching her head, Juan'er asked curiously, "Brother Mo, what are you touching?"

Chen Mo then stopped. "You're already a Seven-Choice Yellow Page Ghost, do you know that?"

Juan'er said, "I know."

Chen Mo nodded and pointed to the countless ships that were surrounding them in the distance, "Set up a maze, open the entrance, and let everyone into this swamp."

Juan'er tilted her head and thought for a moment, "Wouldn't a maze be too useless?"

Chen Mo shook his head: "Auxiliary formations and killing formations are certainly powerful, but they are also easy to detect. The opponent has top experts in charge, so to avoid being discovered, a maze formation is the most suitable."

Juan'er looked at the central pleasure boat and saw the middle-aged man standing at the bow. She muttered, "That's the man. His aura is indeed very strong. Even more terrifying than Brother Mo. Should we run away?"

Snapped.

Juan'er immediately received a flick on the forehead from Chen Mo, letting out a soft "ouch".

"You have so little faith in your Mo-gege?"

Juan'er then changed her tune, "Oh yeah, my brother Mo is unparalleled in the world."

Feeling extremely awkward listening to Juan'er's flattery, Chen Mo waved his hand and said, "Go and set things up quickly, but don't leave any obvious traces. Also, don't go near that pleasure boat."

"I understand." Juan'er immediately ran off and began setting up the magic array.

Chen Mo looked at the ships surrounding him from all directions and roughly estimated that there were at least twelve small boats and more than forty disciples in total. On the central pleasure boat, besides Shen Qianshui, there was another extremely powerful aura.

Chen Mo did not back down; instead, he felt a sense of excitement.

Jie Jie Jie.

"Everyone says that Shen Qianshui's skills are extremely advanced, second only to Shen Wudao. Even my master praised Shen Qianshui. He said that in another twenty years, Shen Qianshui will be able to catch up with my master... Today, let me test you. Is it you, Shen Qianshui, who is more powerful, or this freakish zombie of mine?"

After saying that, Chen Mo turned into a blur and disappeared into the nearby swamp.

……

wow~
Countless boats broke through the surface of the Huai River and surrounded the marshland ahead. When they approached the entrance to the marshland, the boats stopped and then retreated to the sides to welcome the large painted boat in the center.

Soon, the pleasure boat arrived at the entrance to the swamp.

Shen Qianshui, dressed in a golden long-sleeved robe, stood upright on the second deck of the painted boat, his robes fluttering in the wind, his cold eyes gazing at the vast swamp ahead.

"Sir. It's late and the dew is heavy. You've just come out of the pass, so please don't catch a cold." A refined middle-aged man in a long robe came out of the cabin with a cloak and draped it over Shen Qianshui's shoulders.

Shen Qianshui tightened the ties of her cloak and slowly asked, "Weiren, are you sure this is the swamp ahead?"

As Shen Zishan's eldest son, Shen Qianshui was the designated heir of the Shen family before Shen Wudao rose to power. Even though Shen Wudao has now inherited the family business, Shen Qianshui has been scheming for many years and naturally has a group of loyal confidants under his command.

This middle-aged man in a long robe was Shen Weiren, one of Shen Qianshui's right-hand men whom he had painstakingly cultivated. Not only did he possess extremely pure blood from a prestigious family, but he was also a master of the Blood Rift Grand Stage.

The level of blood cleavage is very broad, with some saying it can be divided into four or five parts.

Shen Song has only just entered the fourth level and barely mastered the first level. He only has a higher bloodline purity than Tang Lei and has the advantage of being born with a higher bloodline.

Only by perfecting the art of "Four Pieces and Five Separations" can one be considered to have achieved the Great Perfection of Blood Split.

Shen Weiren, on the other hand, was a master of the Five-Five Blood Rift stage, far surpassing Shen Song by a great margin.

Shen Weiren cupped his hands and said, "The place where Young Master Song died was in another swamp more than ten miles away. I went to investigate the scene. There were traces of a boat passing by. Based on the traces, it was a small covered boat. Since then, I have had people search everywhere. Finally, in the swamp ahead, I saw a covered boat. I am certain that this covered boat is the same one from before."

Click!

Shen Qianshui stomped his foot hard, and a powerful gust of wind burst forth, sweeping in all directions and causing the entire pleasure boat to sink slightly. The chilling killing intent made Shen Weiren feel frightened.

Humph.

Shen Qianshui snorted coldly, her anger blazing: "My son died a gruesome death, his body was even eaten by crocodiles, leaving only a few scraps of clothing. This murderer must not be let go. Has Taishan arrived?"

Shen Weiren said, "Mount Tai will be here soon."

"Alright, have someone surround that swamp. The area ahead is eerie; don't move rashly for now. We'll wait for Mount Tai to arrive before taking any action."

"Yes."

Shen Qianshui turned and went into the cabin.

This pleasure boat has two decks. The cabins on the second floor have excellent views and bright windows. The rooms are furnished with beds and desks. There is also an incense table in front, with some offerings and fruits on it, and an incense burner.

Behind the incense burner is a shrine with its door closed.

Shen Qianshui solemnly lit three incense sticks, inserted them into the incense burner, and then knelt down in front of the shrine, bowing devoutly: "Lord Blood Tiger, my Shen family has offered incense to you for many years, always with piety and loyalty. Now my son has been murdered on the banks of the Huai River, a truly pitiful death. Today, Qianshui personally led people here to wipe out this scoundrel. I beg Lord Blood Tiger to protect me and help me find Song'er's soul."

After saying that, Shen Qianshui kowtowed devoutly.

Incense smoke slowly flowed into the shrine.

After performing the three bows and nine kowtows, Shen Qianshui stood up, opened the window, and gazed at the dark swamp outside.

Shen Qianshui was over fifty years old. Unlike Shen Song, he was not arrogant and domineering. He was cautious in his actions and always had a backup plan.

Through the window, he could sense a ghostly aura permeating the swamp. Although the aura wasn't strong, Shen Qianshui still maintained a cautious approach.

After all, this place is only a hundred miles away from the Green Wolf Gang, and members of the Green Wolf Gang usually patrol this area. If it were an ordinary ghost, it would have been dealt with by the Green Wolf Gang long ago.

Now that this scoundrel dares to openly linger here, Shen Qianshui has no choice but to be cautious.

Not long after, a series of "bang bang bang" shaking sounds came from the deck outside, followed by a rough voice: "Grandpa, Taishan is late."

Needless to say, Mount Tai was a very large man.

Shen Qianshui walked out of the cabin and onto the deck, where he saw a three-meter-tall, burly man carrying a giant axe on his shoulder. "Taishan, Weiren has told you everything, right?"

“Brother Wei told me everything. This scoundrel dared to kill Young Master Song; he’s utterly lawless. I, Taishan, will go and cut off his limbs, turn him into a human pig, and offer him to you, sir, to vent my anger.” Taishan’s real name is Shen Taishan, and he is also Shen Qianshui’s right-hand man, a master of Blood Rift.

Shen Qianshui said, "Take some men and capture this fiend and bring it to me. If it is a ghost, just kill it."

"Yes."

Taishan accepted the order and set off, leading more than a dozen boats into the swamp.

Shen Weiren said, "With Taishan's intervention, even an eight-stick ghost would surely die. It's windy outside, sir, please wait in the room. I'll go make you some tea."

Shen Qianshui nodded, then followed Shen Weiren to the room to drink tea and wait for good news from Mount Tai.

Clearly, Shen Qianshui didn't take this guy seriously. While waiting, Shen Qianshui asked, "This place is under the jurisdiction of the Green Wolf Gang. Have you spoken to Tang Binghu about it?"

Shen Weiren, sitting next to him, said with a smile, "We've already spoken to them. Tang Binghu even expressed his concern and condolences for Song Shao's death and allowed us to stay here."

snort!
Shen Qianshui snorted coldly, "That scoundrel Tang Binghu even showed concern and offered condolences... what a hypocrite. Once Tang Xianhe dies, the entire Tang Family Fortress will belong to our Shen family."

Shen Weiren laughed and said, "That's for sure. Tang Xianhe is already ninety years old and doesn't have many years left to live."

At this point, Shen Qianshui's gloomy mood finally improved considerably. "If this person hadn't been one of the Four Great Masters and hadn't had a good relationship with the Prefect, my Shen family would have destroyed Tang Family Fort long ago. Although Tang Binghu's talent and cultivation were above mine, he was still far inferior to Wudao. With Tang Xianhe dead, the Tang family no longer had the ability to resist the sharp edge of my Shen family. It's just a pity about my Song'er, who was originally designated as the third-generation heir, but now he's gone too. I can't help but feel uneasy about it."

Shen Weiren comforted him, saying, "In this world, demons and evil spirits roam freely. It's really not easy for people to survive. Don't blame yourself too much, sir. Back then, in Nanyang Prefecture, besides the Shen and Tang families, there were also the Zhou and Zhong families. Those two families were once prosperous, but later they were afflicted by evil spirits and completely declined and perished."

Shen Qianshui sighed, "Yes. Back then, the Zhou and Zhong families rose to prominence first, even surpassing the Shen and Tang families at one point. Later, due to the evil spirits, the gods worshipped by the families went out of control and devoured the members of both families. These two great demon-suppressing families were gone just like that. However, the whereabouts of the Four Soul Jade of the Zhou and Zhong families are still unknown. If we can find it, my Shen family will surely rise to a higher level."

Shen Weiren said, "Although the whereabouts of the Four Souls Jade of the Zhou and Zhong families are unknown, the Four Souls Jade of the Tang family is still there. After we destroy the Tang family, we can obtain their Four Souls Jade."

Shen Qianshui said, "Yes. Our four great families became demon-suppressing families because of that Four Souls Jade. If we can collect more Four Souls Jade, the future of our Shen family will be even more glorious."

After chatting for a while, Shen Qianshui showed signs of fatigue and waved his hand, saying, "I've been overtraining lately and feel a bit unwell. I need to rest for a while. You go out and take charge of the situation. If you capture this fiend, report back to me immediately."

"Yes, sir, please rest first. I will take care of the rest."

Shen Weiren bowed and left the room, then went to the deck and gazed at the swamp in front of him.

The moon was obscured by dark clouds, and the swamp was pitch black; even the torches were nowhere to be seen. There was also no sound of fighting.

This gave Shen Weiren a bad feeling. However, thinking of Shen Taishan's extraordinary strength, he felt relieved: "Perhaps I'm overthinking it. This scoundrel was able to kill Song Shao, so his strength is not weak. But he's no match for Taishan. With Taishan backing him up, there won't be any problems."

Shen Weiren waited for a long time but didn't hear any news.

Two full hours passed without any news coming in.

Shen Weiren was alarmed and immediately called his two disciples over: "Ajiu, Thirteen. Go check the situation in the swamp. If you find anything unusual, don't go any closer, just set off the signal flare."

"Yes!"

Ah Jiu and his two disciples immediately activated their true fire, walked on water, and soon plunged into the swamp ahead.

For a full half hour, there was still no news.

Not even a signal flare was fired.

Shen Weiren knew something was wrong.

Each of the dozens of disciples was equipped with a signal flare, so that someone would definitely detonate it in case of any accident. Moreover, although Mount Tai was large, he was cautious and would not lose his composure.

Why is there absolutely no news?
Shen Weiren felt it necessary to inform Shen Qianshui. Just then, he saw movement in the swamp ahead. Upon closer inspection, he saw a small boat emerging from the swamp, and standing at the bow was Shen Taishan.

call!
Shen Weiren breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "It must have been a tough battle, but Taishan won."

As the covered boat drew closer, Shen Weiren waved to Shen Taishan on the other side: "Taishan, why did it take so long?"

Shen Taishan said, "Brother Wei, that thing was tough to deal with, and we lost quite a few men. But I finally caught it. Brother Wei, come and take a look. I have something to tell you."

Shen Weiren had worked with Shen Taishan for many years and knew that Shen Taishan was a man of principle, so he didn't think much of it and immediately ran to the awning boat on the other side.

He glanced around; the deck was empty except for Taishan. There were two figures sitting inside the awning, but it was dark and their faces were obscured.

Shen Weiren leaned closer to Taishan: "What do you want to tell me?"

Taishan pointed to the two figures in the direction of the awning: "These two are the culprits who killed Young Master Song. I have already tied them up. But... with so many men lost this time, I really don't know how to explain to you, sir. I'm also afraid of your punishment. Please, Brother Wei, give me a solution."

Shen Weiren was shocked: "Everyone else is dead?"

Taishan looked guilty and slowly approached Shen Weiren. "Yes. This scoundrel is very powerful. I had to get everyone's attention to distract him before I could take him down."

Eh.

Shen Weiren sighed: "Since that's the case, there's nothing we can do about it. Just tell the truth to the old man. The old man can't stand his subordinates making excuses and shifting blame. You're working loyally for the old man, and I'll put in a good word for you later. The old man won't make things difficult for you."

puff.

Shen Taishan knelt down abruptly, deeply moved, and said, "Thank you so much for your help, Brother Wei!"

Shen Weiren was moved and stepped forward to help Shen Taishan up: "As long as this scoundrel is captured, everything will be fine. You and I have served under me for many years, we are brothers... Ah!!"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly saw Shen Taishan tackle him to the ground and bite down hard on his neck.

"Taishan, are you crazy... Pfft!" Before Shen Weiren could figure out what was going on, he felt a heavy slap on his back. He looked up sharply at the awning and saw that one of the figures inside was missing.

hiss!
Shen Weiren gasped, feeling an unimaginable threat. He immediately turned around and saw a bald boy standing behind him with long, sharp fingernails.

His fingernails were stained with his own blood.

The bald boy's eyes... had no pupils; they were red. He reeked of corpses, and there was an extremely chilling and sinister aura about him.

"You, you...you all...Pfft!" Shen Weiren looked at Shen Taishan, then at Chen Mo...before he could say anything, he suddenly felt a rush of blood to his head and couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

Shen Weiren knew something terrible had happened. He was about to shout out to warn Shen Qianshui.

But... I can't bring myself to say those words.

My mind and body... are no longer under my control!?
How could this be?
Shen Weiren was a top-tier expert at the Great Perfection of Blood Rift. He could even put up a great fight against an Eight-Striped Zombie. Yet... he was controlled by someone.

"Jie Jie Jie~"

Chen Mo smiled sinisterly, emanating a chilling aura that terrified Shen Weiren. He then lifted the blood from his fingernail and licked it with his tongue. "Shen Weiren, I'm sorry. I accidentally cast my blood curse on you. Come crawl in with me, I have some questions for you."

Chen Mo lowered his fingers, put his hands behind his back, and entered the awning, sitting down beside the long table.

Juan'er made tea for Chen Mo.

Chen Mo held his teacup and quietly watched Shen Taishan and Shen Weiren crawl in, then kneel on the ground trembling as they reached him.

Chen Mo's strength has soared, and the power of his blood curse is astonishing.

Back when Chen Mo was just a Six-Choice Yellow Page Ghost, he was able to force the Eight-Striped Zombie Red Lantern Lady to peel off her flesh to protect herself using the power of his blood curse. Now that Chen Mo has become a monstrous Eight-Striped Zombie, controlling two Blood Rift Grandmasters with his blood curse is a piece of cake.

Chen Mo had just learned the whole story from Shen Taishan: Shen Qianshui knew that Shen Song had gone to investigate Master Jin Guang's incident, so he sent people to search along the riverbank. He was determined to kill Master Jin Guang at all costs.

The strongest right-hand men that Shen Qianshui brought this time were Shen Weiren and Shen Taishan.

However, Shen Taishan had less contact with Shen Qianshui than Shen Weiren. If he wanted to understand Shen Qianshui's strength better, he would need to consult Shen Weiren first.

Gulu.

Chen Mo took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Shen Weiren, tell me about Shen Qianshui's strength and methods."

Chen Mo would not be careless when facing the eldest son of the Shen family.

Shen Weiren clearly didn't want to say it, but he couldn't refuse Chen Mo's order, so he had no choice but to tell the story in detail: "Master is a master of the sixth level of the Blood Illumination of a noble family, and also a third-level Divine Servant of the Blood Tiger Lord."

The sixth and final layer of the aristocratic bloodline... Blood Image.

It is somewhat similar to the inner illumination of the Preservation of Spirit method.

Chen Mo, unaware of the details of the bloodstained image, asked, "How does it compare to yours?"

Shen Weiren said, "You could kill me ten times over with one hand."

So perverted?
Chen Mo frowned: "Explain in detail."

Shen Weiren said, "Blood Illumination is the highest supernatural power of the companion bloodline. It allows one to transcend the companion bloodline and begin using the power of the main bloodline. Blood Illumination is divided into inner illumination and outer illumination. Inner illumination is using the power of the main bloodline of the companion bloodline, while outer illumination is directly summoning Lord Blood Tiger."

"Lord Blood Tiger? Your Shen family's deity?"

"Yes."

What techniques are needed to use blood photography?

"By forming a mudra with both hands and pressing them together, one can activate the Blood Illumination."

"Must you put your hands together in prayer position to activate it?"

"Yes."

"Interesting." Chen Mo licked his lips, then made some arrangements, instructing Shen Weiren and the other man to proceed according to plan. After dismissing the two men, Chen Mo said to Juan'er, "Juan'er, stay away."

"Brother Mo, be careful!"

"I know. It's not that I want to cause trouble, it's that they've tried to kill me time and time again. If we don't kill them, we'll be in big trouble."

After leaving a message, Chen Mo immediately caught up with Shen Weiren and his companion.

……

Meanwhile, Shen Qianshui drifted off to sleep.

A while ago, her father publicly announced that Shen Wudao would inherit the Shen family business. Although Shen Qianshui had been mentally prepared for this, when she actually saw that scene, her heart still ached as if it were being torn apart, and she felt extremely unwilling.

From that moment on, Shen Qianshui practiced martial arts like a madman, harboring the idea of ​​catching up with Shen Wudao.

Because of this, I momentarily lost focus, causing a slight error in my cultivation technique. I've been feeling drowsy these past few days. Plus, the wind on the river is strong, and the sound of the water is loud, so I haven't heard any noise outside.

He would never have shown up if his son hadn't been killed.

Now that I've come forward, I'm determined to kill this scoundrel. If he has any family, I'll wipe them out completely.

dong dong dong.

Shen Qianshui was awakened by a knock on the door. She opened her sleepy eyes and called out to the door, "Is that Weiren?"

Shen Weiren's voice came from outside, "It's me. That scoundrel has been arrested. Please come out and deal with him, sir."

Shen Weiren was overjoyed upon hearing this. He immediately dressed, got out of bed, changed into a robe, put on cloud-patterned boots, and opened the door.

Shen Weiren stood respectfully outside the door, reeking of the stench of a corpse.

Shen Qianshui frowned: "What's wrong with you?"

Shen Weiren said, "That fellow is indeed Master Jin Guang, but he has turned into a zombie. I only got a closer look just now, and that's when I noticed some of his corpse aura."

Shen Qianshui nodded slightly upon hearing this: "So it has turned into a zombie. No wonder Song'er fell victim to its evil deeds. Today I will tear this scoundrel to pieces. Take me to see this scoundrel."

"Please, sir."

Shen Qianshui followed Shen Weiren to the deck and saw Shen Taishan pressing down a bald boy with an axe.

The boy was covered in blood and reeked of death.

"You really turned into a zombie!! You bastard, you dared to kill my son, today I'll send you to the Yellow Springs to accompany him." Shen Qianshui rushed up and kicked Chen Mo twice hard.

Shen Weiren hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Sir, there's no need to get angry with a dying corpse. Don't ruin your health. I'll get a knife; sir, just kill this scoundrel."

After saying that, Shen Weiren took out a large broadsword and handed it to Shen Qianshui with both hands.

Ok.

Shen Qianshui's eyes were filled with intense killing intent, as if she wished she could tear Chen Mo to pieces.

The next moment, Shen Qianshui reached for the knife.

Just as Shen Qianshui's hand was about to touch the hilt of the knife, a sudden change occurred! Boom!
Suddenly, Shen Weiren gripped the hilt of his knife tightly and plunged it into Shen Qianshui's abdomen. With a sharp "plop," blood spurted out. Almost simultaneously, Shen Taishan's giant axe struck Shen Qianshui's chest with a resounding "crack," breaking his ribs and cleaving his body in two.

Click!

Chen Mo, who had been pinned to the ground by Shen Taishan, suddenly leaped up, baring his fangs and biting down hard on Shen Qianshui's neck. A large amount of corpse poison was injected into it. At the same time, his sharp fingernails pierced through Shen Qianshui's stomach.

Boom!

Shen Qianshui was suddenly struck by the three men in a deadly attack. His body flew backward and crashed to the ground. The deck shattered, the second-floor cabin collapsed, and he fell to the first floor along with them.

Wood chips flew everywhere, and the river flowed swiftly.

"Pfft!"

Shen Qianshui coughed up blood violently.

Chen Mo and his two companions showed no mercy. Tai Shan unleashed the power of his peak Blood Rift level, his axe cleaving wildly. Shen Weiren also unleashed his peak power, his broadsword hacking and slashing relentlessly.

As for Chen Mo, he showed no mercy.

As he infused the opponent with the Flower Bud Blood Curse, the corpse poison also erupted. The second level of the Dragon Elephant Technique was activated with a roar, and he unleashed punch after punch.

Even an eagle will go all out to catch a rabbit.

Moreover, when dealing with a top-tier expert from a prestigious family like Shen Qianshui, holding back is extremely dangerous.

In an instant, Shen Qianshui's body was cleaved into pieces, turning into fragments of flesh and blood, scattering a shower of blood.

Chen Mo then stopped and looked around warily.

Shen Taishan and Shen Weiren, on the other hand, were on the verge of a mental breakdown. They were reluctant to lay a hand on the old man, but they couldn't refuse. Their minds were in turmoil, and they couldn't control themselves, so they screamed in agony.

Chen Mo ignored him and looked around warily.

Just then——

"Jie Jie Jie~"

A chilling sound came from behind.

The scattered flesh and blood began to writhe, and several bones rapidly expanded, transforming back into Shen Qianshui.

However, this Shen Qianshui was different from the previous Shen Qianshui. Although she looked seven-tenths similar, her skin was dark and she exuded a ghostly aura. She was clearly a ghost that emanated an extremely chilling aura.

Clearly, Shen Qianshui had used the power of a ghost, and used it to such an extent that he was no different from a ghost himself.

"Fine, fine. You, Master Jin Guang, are quite something, and you've even become Tang Binghu's disciple... I underestimated you." Shen Qianshui stood in the howling wind. "With your meager skills, you're far from capable of killing me. How could you ants possibly know the power of the Shen family? You've shattered my physical body, forcing me to rely on ghosts to survive. Die!!"

brush!
Shen Qianshui's body swayed and then disappeared.

Chen Mo thought it was coming towards him, but he found it wasn't... Shen Qianshui appeared in front of Shen Weiren the next moment and grabbed Shen Weiren's head with one hand.

Shen Weiren panicked: "Sir, I... I was forced into it, I didn't mean it... Please, sir, save me!!"

"Save you? Fine, I'll free you right now!" Shen Qianshui squeezed his hand and immediately crushed Shen Weiren's head, his brains splattering all over the ground, making him as dead as could be.

Upon seeing this, Shen Taishan immediately ran away.

boom!
Before he had taken more than a few steps, Shen Taishan felt something pierce through his back. He turned around and saw that it was Shen Qianshui's ghost hand that had pierced his abdomen. "Grandpa, I... I didn't mean to."

"I'll borrow your spirit for a while." Shen Qianshui activated his dark ghost hand, instantly sucking the three-meter-tall Shen Taishan into a dried-up corpse.

"Master Jin Guang, Chen Mo! You destroyed my physical body, die!" Shen Qianshui roared, rushing to Chen Mo like lightning, his dark ghost hand slamming down on Chen Mo.

Chen Mo raised his hand to block.

The second level of the Dragon Elephant Technique unleashed a roar from a giant elephant, unleashing terrifying power that clashed fiercely with the opponent's ghostly hand.

boom!
A terrifying shockwave swept in all directions, exploding on the spot and causing the pleasure boat to shatter into two pieces and begin to sink.

Wow.

Chen Mo was forced to retreat frantically, his feet barely touching the water's surface. He felt his bones go numb and his blood surging. He couldn't help but think to himself: Is this the power of the Shen family's third-ranked expert? Blood Illumination level, truly remarkable.

"Oh? You can block my ghost hands?! Then let's see how many hits you can withstand!" Shen Qianshui shouted, his body treading on the water as he sped forward, his ghost hands attacking like mountains, carrying with them an extremely strong corrupting power.

"Then let me see just how capable you are, the third strongest expert in the Shen family!"

Wow!

Chen Mo immediately sprinted forward like a snake, unleashing the Giant Elephant Force with a wave of his hand.

With Chen Mo's monstrous zombie body and the power unleashed by the second level of the Giant Elephant Force, it was simply astonishing.

boom!
The Huai River was churned up with waves over ten meters high. The two men each retreated a dozen steps.

Shen Qianshui frowned, thinking to himself: This person is so ruthless, having mastered the Dragon Elephant Skill that Tang Binghu never passed on to outsiders. And he's an immortal zombie. Judging from the strength of his physical body, he's most likely a nine-patterned zombie. Zombies don't have the ability to regenerate health or strength, and they ignore the perception power of ghosts. Without a physical body, the ghost power I use isn't high-level; I won't gain any advantage in a prolonged battle with him.

Click.

Shen Qianshui clasped her hands together:
"Blood photo, internal photo!"

Almost at the same time——

Boom!

Two giant snakes, each over twenty meters long, suddenly rose from the water and bit Shen Qianshui's left and right hands respectively, preventing him from using his Blood Illumination Divine Power.

"you……"

At that moment, Chen Mo's body transformed into a snake and appeared on Shen Qianshui's body in a flash, coiling around her like a giant python.

The extremely terrifying binding force prevented Shen Qianshui from breaking free.

Shen Qianshui panicked for the first time.

He does indeed possess extraordinary strength, but there's a prerequisite... he needs to be able to use it freely.

Even an elephant cannot exert its strength if it is entangled by a giant python.

This is precisely what makes snakes so terrifying: their ability to coil.

The force of entanglement doesn't need a point of application; it only needs an object to strangle someone.

This binding force felt even more terrifying to Shen Qianshui than the second level of the Dragon Elephant Technique.

Can't move!

"Ah!! Get out of my way!"

Shen Qianshui struggled frantically with all her might, but it was no use. In the end, she fell into the water with Chen Mo.

Once underwater, more trouble arose.

Shen Qianshui's strength underwater is greatly reduced, while Chen Mo, as a snake-like corpse demon, is an amphibious monster. His underwater strength is completely unaffected.

"Waaah, gurgle gurgle..."

Shen Qianshui was going crazy, thinking to herself: What exactly is this Golden Light Master?

However, Shen Qianshui wasn't too panicked; he was now a ghost. He could hold his own against Master Jinguang even underwater.

Soon, something truly despairing happened:
Thousands upon thousands of large snakes appeared underwater and began to tear him apart...

"Aah~"

Shen Qianshui was utterly desperate.

……

after one day.

Shen Qianshui is dead.

They were bitten to death, suffocated underwater, or entangled to death by Chen Mo…

Shen Qianshui couldn't figure out exactly how she died; she was simply gone...

On the banks of the Huai River, a bald boy, dressed in rags, lay on a rock with a blade of grass between his teeth, and Shen Qianshui's head lay beside him.

The warm sunlight poured down, falling on the boy's face, highlighting his blood-red eyes and protruding fangs.

But the boy was laughing.

He looked at the warm sunshine, at the grass and trees on the mountain, and listened to the rushing river...

A moment later, the boy sat up and looked at Shen Qianshui's head next to him: "You idiot, how could I let you use your inner and outer lights? If I really let you use them, I would be in danger. The reason I chose to act on the water is because I have helpers."

Shen Qianshui's head was already dead, so naturally she couldn't answer Chen Mo's question.

Chen Mo then said, "What are you talking about, Shen family? I didn't take away the incense offerings in Dayu County and Ningdu County on my own initiative. I was forced into the temple. You want to kill me without explanation? That's really unreasonable."

Shen Qianshui naturally couldn't hear it.

Chen Mo said, "However, the experts from aristocratic families at the Blood Illumination level are indeed remarkable. I'm still struggling to fight them as an eight-striped zombie. I should be able to handle it when I evolve into a nine-striped zombie in the future."

"The Four Soul Jade? What is that? The Zhou and Zhong families also possessed the Four Soul Jade, but unfortunately, their patriarchs went mad and ate their own family members... Later, the Shen and Tang families tried to find the Four Soul Jade from the Zhou and Zhong families, but they couldn't. Could it be that the Four Soul Jade is related to their becoming demon-suppressing families?"

"I remember Tang Xianhe saying that the four great families of Shen, Tang, Zhou, and Zhong were originally ordinary martial arts families, but they became demon-suppressing families because they received a reward from Jiang Hongyue. Could it be that this Four Soul Jade... is the treasure that Jiang Hongyue bestowed upon these four great families?"

Chen Mo had asked Shen Taishan about the Shikon Jewel long ago and learned about it.

After weighing the pros and cons, Chen Mo felt that the reason why the four families became the demon-suppressing families was mostly related to the Four Souls Jade.

"It's a pity that my appearance hasn't recovered yet, so I can't go back to the Green Wolf Gang and Tang Family Fortress. Otherwise, I could ask my master. But since I'm free anyway, I'll go to the Zhou and Zhong families' camps and see if I can find that Shikon Jewel."

Having made up his mind, Chen Mo took Shen Qianshui's head.

“There’s a ghost with eight incense sticks of cultivation in here. Although Shen Qianshui is dead, these eight incense sticks of his natal ghost incense are still here. I’m going to absorb them.”

Disciples of noble families are very cautious when using ghosts, fearing excessive backlash. Therefore, they generally use ghosts that are much weaker than themselves.

Just do it.

Chen Mo immediately sat down cross-legged and opened the control panel.

[Original Solution Essence +30000]

[Currently available original solution essence: 30000]

[Deconstructable material detected]

[Should we deconstruct it?]

"Deconstruction".

A sharp pain shot through my head, and soon lines of subtitles appeared:

【Name: Yellow Pages Ghost】

[Rank: Eight-Chapter Yellow Page Ghost]

[Type: Yin-type ghost]

[Note: Eighty years of spiritual cultivation, now haunted by evil spirits seeking revenge.]

[Ingredients: Originally a three-stick-long yellowed page demon, it later received the blessing of the Shikon Jewel and grew into an eight-stick-long yellowed page demon.]

[Characteristics: A minor demon, blessed by the Shikon Jewel, had its demonic qualities altered, granting it greater potential for growth.]

[Note: Even a small ghost will have its nature altered and its potential for growth changed once it has been blessed by the Shikon Jewel.]

"As expected... the Shikon Jewel has the ability to consecrate ghosts and make them more capable of growth. This Shikon Jewel is truly a wonderful thing. No wonder the original four great martial arts families were able to become demon-suppressing families; it was all because of this Shikon Jewel. I just wonder what exactly this Shikon Jewel is."

"If I obtain the Shikon Jewel, wouldn't my demon cultivation level increase even faster? Breaking through the Shadow Demon realm in the future would be a piece of cake. Also, I wonder if the Shikon Jewel has the same effect on consecrating zombies?"

"This Jiang Hongyue is truly terrifying. She casually passed through Nanyang Prefecture and gave four families a Four Soul Jade... which created four Demon-Suppressing Families."

Gathering his thoughts, Chen Mo began to absorb the eight sticks of natal ghost incense.

About fifteen minutes later, Chen Mo had absorbed all eight sticks of his natal ghost incense. Chen Mo's ghost cultivation had also reached the level of the eight sticks' perfection, just a hair's breadth away from the level of the nine sticks.

Before long, a petite figure came running over.

"Brother Mo, I've hunted two wild rabbits. Shall I roast them for you to eat?"

"it is good."

After this period of training, Juan'er became Chen Mo's personal maid, handling all the trivial matters single-handedly, saving Chen Mo a lot of trouble.

The roasted rabbit was ready quickly.

Chen Mo could still eat, but Juan'er wasn't used to it and only managed to take two bites under Chen Mo's intimidating presence.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Chen Mo said, "Let's go to the nearby villages and towns and inquire about the Zhou Zhong family."

Even though he knew the Shikon Jewel was left behind by Jiang Hongyue, Chen Mo knew he had no other way out. The pressure from Jiang Hongyue was too great; he needed to become stronger at all costs.

It would be good to become a little stronger.

……

Nanyang Prefecture, Shen Family.

Study in the secluded courtyard.

Shen Zishan practiced calligraphy in his study and wrote a large character "兴" (xīng).

His calligraphy is exquisite, with powerful strokes that seem to penetrate the paper.

Click.

Shen Zishan placed the wolf-hair brush on the brush holder with the character "山" on it, picked up the Xuan paper and carefully examined his handwriting. He became increasingly satisfied, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips as he praised himself, "Good handwriting. Very fitting for the occasion. In a few more years, the Shen family will be the only demon-suppressing family in Nanyang Prefecture."

After boasting, Shen Zishan handed the Xuan paper to a maid: "Find a wallpaperer to frame this calligraphy, make it into a plaque, and hang it in Wudao's room to constantly remind him not to forget the great cause of our Shen family."

"Yes, sir." The maid respectfully took the Xuan paper and hurried off to find the paperhanger.

"I'm in a good mood today, let me write another one." Shen Zishan, brimming with youthful vigor, picked up his wolf-hair brush and wrote the character "兴" (xīng, meaning prosperity). Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door. It was Shen Baishan rushing over.

Shen Zishan chuckled and picked up the Xuan paper: "It's Baishan. Come and see, what do you think of my calligraphy?"

Shen Baishan, however, paid no heed to the sights and instead said, his face pale, “Father, something terrible has happened. My elder brother’s talisman, which he left at home, just burned. My elder brother… is dead. A few days ago, my nephew went to the Huai River by boat to investigate Master Jin Guang’s affairs and got into trouble. So my elder brother personally led a group to the Huai River to find the murderer, but he also got into trouble. In my opinion, it was most likely that Master Jin Guang who did it…”

Shen Baishan hadn't finished speaking—

Wow!

The Xuan paper in Shen Zishan's hand fell to the ground with a thud. It landed on the ground, and then, blown by the wind, it flew up again and landed on the hilt of a knife next to him. The character "兴" (xing, meaning prosperity) was rubbed into a hole by the hilt...

……

The Green Wolf Gang.

Other courtyard.

Tang Binghu is practicing cursive script.

He wrote a line: "A gentleman as fine as jade, unparalleled in the world."
Since Chen Mo left to go into seclusion, Tang Binghu has been very concerned about his disciple. He often writes Chen Mo's name when he has nothing to do, just to express his longing.

Tang Binghu thought the calligraphy was quite good. After examining it for a while, he finally smiled and called Tang Mei over, "Find a wallpaperer to frame this calligraphy and hang it in my study."

Tang Mei looked at the calligraphy and said, "The leader wrote about Young Master Chen Mo, but Young Master Chen Mo doesn't quite have a gentle and elegant style..."

Tang Binghu said, "Don't judge a book by its cover. In my heart, Xiao Mo is a rough gem with infinite potential."

Tang Mei wiped her forehead: "Yes, I'll have it framed right away."

Just then, Tang Lei rushed in, breathless.

Tang Binghu scolded, "What's the matter with such panic?"

Gulu.

Tang Lei swallowed hard and said, "Boss, I just received news that Master Shen, Shen Qianshui... was killed in the Huai River."

Tang Binghu thought he had misheard: "Say it again."

Tang Lei repeated himself, adding, "A while ago, the Shen family sent A Liang and A Kuan to the Huai River to investigate Master Jin Guang, but they both died. Later, Shen Qianshui's son, Shen Song, went to the Huai River to investigate Master Jin Guang himself, and he also died. Now, Shen Qianshui... Shen Weiren and Shen Taishan... have all died in the swamps along the Huai River."

Tang Binghu gasped: "Shen Qianshui is the third strongest expert in the Shen family, having reached the Blood Illumination level. Who could possibly kill him?"

Tang Lei said, "My informant reported that the Shen family believes it was Master Jin Guang who did it."

Tang Binghu was taken aback: "Master Jin Guang?"

Tang Lei recounted the origins of Master Jin Guang, then said, "Chief, I also secretly sent someone to the Jin Guang Temple in Ningdu, Dayu, to examine Master Jin Guang's image. This man is strange..."

Tang Binghu asked, "What's wrong?"

Tang Lei took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Tang Binghu: "This is a drawing made by my men at the Golden Light Temple based on the image of the Golden Light Lord. Take a look, Boss."

Tang Binghu took the blueprints and looked at them.

Hey!
Isn't this my disciple?
Tang Mei also came over to look, equally dumbfounded: "Isn't this bald guy... How is that possible? Young Master Mo is only sixteen years old and has only been a member of my Green Wolf Gang for a few months. How could he kill Shen Qianshui?"

Wow.

Tang Binghu rolled up the blueprints: "Nonsense, utter nonsense! Impossible, absolutely impossible! Master Jin Guang is Master Jin Guang, and my disciple is my disciple. The two are completely unrelated. There are plenty of bald people in the world. Besides, without hair, bald people are even harder to distinguish; they all look pretty much the same. Don't you agree?"

Tang Lei stared blankly at Tang Binghu: "Yes. I'll tell everyone that right away."

Tang Binghu dismissed Tang Lei: "Go."

After Tang Lei left, Tang Binghu said, "Tang Mei, go quickly to the banks of the Huai River to find Master Jin Guang."

Tang Mei: "Boss, why didn't you say anything just now..."

Tang Binghu said, "That's all just talk for outsiders. This Master Jin Guang is Xiao Mo. With Shen Qianshui dead, the Shen family is furious and will definitely use all their resources to hunt down Xiao Mo. Go find Xiao Mo and bring him back secretly. We must not let Xiao Mo suffer any harm."

(End of this chapter)