I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 85 Evil Gods Clash, Infant Spirit Runs into Red Light
Chen Mo rushed out of the living room door and just happened to see Qiu Lan hurrying over.

"Young Master, what's wrong?"

Qiulan hadn't fallen asleep yet; she was in the side room praying for the young master and master, hoping for a smooth year ahead. Suddenly, she was startled by the loud sound of a broken window and rushed out of the side room.

Seeing Chen Mo rushing out the door in a hurry, they assumed something had happened.

Chen Mo, carrying the knife, quickly walked outside, asking as he did so, "Have you been paying attention to Liu Cui lately?"

Qiu Lan rarely saw Chen Mo with such a cold expression, and instinctively felt a little scared. She answered cautiously, "Young Master instructed me to take good care of Madam Liu Cui and tell her to have a good pregnancy. I have been following Young Master's instructions, sending Madam Liu Cui nourishing food every day, and regularly finding a doctor to check her pulse. There have been no problems."

Qiulan thought she hadn't taken good care of Liu Cui, which was why Chen Mo was angry with her.

Chen Mo strode forward. "I'm not blaming you for not taking good care of her. I'm saying, has Liu Cui been behaving strangely lately?"

Hearing this, Qiulan breathed a sigh of relief and jogged to catch up with Chen Mo, speaking much more fluently and naturally:

"The doctor said the fetus was developing quickly, and there were no other abnormalities. But I noticed something strange about Liu Cui. She often made strange noises in the middle of the night, she didn't like to take baths, and she didn't like to go out during the day, but preferred to be active at night. She especially liked to eat fruit. Once, a few pieces of raw meat went missing from the kitchen, and I found out that Liu Cui had stolen them. But Liu Cui said that she was too hungry and embarrassed to ask me for it, so she stole it to cook herself. At that time, Liu Cui knelt on the ground and apologized. I saw that she was all alone and pitiful, so I didn't hold it against her."

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat: This Liu Cui is definitely suspicious!

"Have you not seen Liu Cui for several days?"

Qiulan said, "When I went to bring her breakfast this morning, she was lying in bed saying she wasn't feeling well and told me to just leave the food on the table and not to bring her lunch. After that, I was busy with New Year's Eve preparations and haven't seen her since. It's been almost a whole day... Young Master, could there be something wrong with Liu Cui?"

"Liu Cui is probably possessed by a demon. Stay close to me."

Chen Mo rushed out of the central courtyard gate, passed through the screen wall, and arrived outside the room where Liu Cui was in the rear building.

It was late at night, and a cold wind was blowing. In front of the house stood a pine tree, its needles rustling in the wind.

Through the slightly ajar door, a dim oil lamp could be seen in the room, its flame flickering gently.

Qiu Lan shrank her neck and followed closely behind Chen Mo, always keeping a distance of five or six steps, not daring to stray too far.

Chen Mo had already awakened his six senses and was vigilantly observing all the movements around him. He then took his knife and entered the back room.

As soon as you enter, you feel a bone-chilling cold rushing towards you; the whole room is like a giant ice cellar.

Chen Mo activated his inner energy to dispel the chill before taking a closer look.

The room was small, about eight or nine square meters, and the furnishings were extremely simple. There was only a wooden table, a stove, a bed, and a wardrobe.

On the wooden table sat a bronze mirror, along with some combs and hairpins used by women for grooming. Next to it was an oil lamp, and under the lamp was a tray with food that had cooled and hardened.

The bowls and plates were still full of food, showing that Liu Cui hadn't eaten a single bite.

A gauze curtain hung above the bed, which was right next to the southeast corner of the wall. Now that the curtain was down, the figure on the bed could not be seen clearly. Only the quilt could be vaguely seen to be bulging up, as if someone was sleeping.

Qiulan then noticed the quilt bulging inside the gauze curtains, sniffed it, and said, "There's a bloody smell. Could it be that Madam Liu Cui has bled?"

Chen Mo did not answer, but walked step by step to the bed and used the scabbard to lift the gauze curtain. A cold wind blew out from inside the gauze curtain.

Liu Cui lay quietly under the covers.

She turned to the side, with her back to Chen Mo.

Qiulan found it strange and thought to herself: pregnant women usually don't sleep like this. She called out "Madam Liu Cui" several times, but Liu Cui didn't respond.

Chen Mo suddenly spoke up, "She's dead."

Qiu Lan was so shocked that she took two steps back, her pupils dilating in disbelief. "How could this be? I heard her reply when I came this morning..."

Chen Mo used the scabbard to lift the blankets, revealing Liu Cui lying on her side. He then turned Liu Cui's body halfway over.

puff~
Liu Cui immediately turned to lie on her back.

"what!!"

Upon seeing Liu Cui's appearance, Qiu Lan suddenly let out a piercing scream, so frightened that she sat down on the ground with a thud, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Even Chen Mo frowned upon seeing this.

This was because Liu Cui's death was truly gruesome.

She had become a dried-up corpse, every drop of blood drained from her body. Her mouth was agape, her pupils wide, and her hands clutched tightly at her abdomen, as if trying to embrace something. However, her abdomen had already been ripped open, as if some force had torn her belly apart from within.

Chen Mo made a decision:

'Sure enough, another infant in my Chen household has been possessed. Moreover, this infant is much more developed than the second mistress's child, and then it emerged from Liu Cui's womb.'

'So, the baby I just saw was a real baby.'

Solid baby...

This was the first time Chen Mo had seen it.

Whether it was the yellow-robed baby I saw earlier, the white baby I saw at Old Xie's house in Wuqiao Town, or the baby I absorbed last night... they were all just spirits.

The so-called spirit is simply a conjured form of ghostly energy. Although it is fast and difficult to kill, its destructive power is not great.

Now...real babies have appeared.

This is going to be difficult.

I had just woken up and immediately reached out to grab the baby, but the baby dodged me.

Although the situation was urgent and Chen Mo didn't use his full strength in his haste, the fact that a physical infant could dodge it shows that the other party was quite extraordinary.

However, solid babies also have a weakness: they cannot hide, making them much easier to guard against.

Pulling himself back to reality, Chen Mo wrapped Liu Cui's body in a blanket, then hoisted it onto his shoulder. "Qiu Lan, pack up all the clothes Liu Cui used in the room, then come with me to the courtyard to burn them."

Qiu Lan was already terrified and only regarded Chen Mo as her pillar of support. She had no other thoughts and immediately began to pack her clothes.

……

"Was the fetus in Liu Cui's womb possessed by a ghost? And it even escaped from her womb?"

In the central courtyard, after listening to Chen Mo's story, Chen Yinfu turned pale and his hands and feet trembled.

Lin Yulan and Zhou Liang, who were standing to the side, were also pale-faced, as if they had a blockage in their throats and their breathing became much more rapid.

Chen Mo grunted in response, then placed the blankets on his shoulder on the ground and opened them in front of his parents and Zhou Liang, revealing Liu Cui's body inside.

hiss!
When Liu Cui's parents and Zhou Liang saw the state of her body, they all gasped and shrank back.

They were all in their forties or fifties, and they had seen many dead people.

Such a horrific death is something I've never seen before.

Chen Mo had planned to show his parents and Zhou Liang Liu Cui's death: since the Chen family had encountered such a ghost, they had to face it. And his parents and Zhou Liang, as the heads of the household, should know the truth.

"Since we've seen it all, I'll burn it on the spot." Chen Mo had Qiu Lan bring firewood and, in front of everyone, burned Liu Cui's body and the utensils she had used to the ground.

The fire has been extinguished, but the fear in everyone's hearts continues to spread.

Lin Yulan, in particular, was very uneasy. "Second Brother, what exactly is going on? Our Chen family was doing well before, everything was peaceful and smooth. How come we've been encountering strange things one after another lately?"

"It all started when I fell ill with madness, and Li Yuanlong came to my house to perform an exorcism..." Chen Mo recounted his guesses and deductions flawlessly.

Chen Yinfu listened attentively, then involuntarily took two steps back, filled with self-reproach. "All of this is because of Li Yuanlong... the image he sent. It wasn't the image of the Red Lantern Goddess at all. This evil Taoist priest is trying to kill our Chen family! Alas, it's all my fault. I listened to slander and invited a villain to our door. Otherwise, so many things wouldn't have happened to our Chen family. It's all because I misjudged people..."

Chen Mo comforted him, "Father, don't blame yourself. It's because that scoundrel Li Yuanlong was hiding too well. I only found out he was problematic after I went to the village. I will deal with that scoundrel Li Yuanlong myself. The most urgent thing is to find the baby hiding in the house and get rid of him. Only then can our Chen family be safe and sound."

Chen Yinfu nodded repeatedly, "Xiao Mo is right, have you seen that baby?"

Chen Mo nodded: "I saw it. But this baby was incredibly fast, and I couldn't catch it at the time."

At this point, Chen Mo looked up at the sky.

The east was turning a pale white, and dawn was approaching.

"Uncle Zhou, I'll trouble you to stay by your parents' side and take care of them for the next few days. Don't let the baby hurt them."

Zhou Liang agreed, "Young master, rest assured, even if it costs me my life, I will not let that ghost baby harm you and your wife."

Chen Mo said, "That won't be the case. I will stay at home until I catch the baby. If I see the baby, just call out and I will come."

Hearing this, everyone felt much more at ease.

In this way, Chen Mo stayed in the living room in the central courtyard, keeping his parents company and talking to them, and the atmosphere became less tense.

According to Chen Mo's understanding, ghost babies mostly come out at night to harm people. Keeping watch at night is necessary.

Since no one was sleepy, Zhou Liang asked Chen Mo about his progress in martial arts.

Chen Mo held back a little, only saying that he had cultivated to the fourth level of internal energy cultivation and had also learned the Red Lantern's method of preserving spirit. Zhou Liang almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

Half a month... a fourth-level internal martial arts master.

simply……

In Zhou Liang's mind, only the three major martial arts schools and the military academy of the government office in Honghe County had internal martial arts masters. They were all renowned and even the county magistrate had to treat them with utmost respect.

After a long while, Zhou Liang finally managed to say, "Young Master is truly a prodigy. He's only sixteen years old this year, yet he's already on par with the forty- or fifty-year-old internal martial arts masters from the three major martial arts schools. The Chen family is destined for great prosperity."

Lin Yulan and Chen Yinfu were both very pleased to hear this.

Chen Mo, however, was not happy at all.

He knew his situation and what he was about to face... With his current strength, it really wasn't enough.

Suddenly, Chen Mo seemed to remember something, "Uncle Zhou has reminded me. May I ask if Uncle Zhou has now cultivated to the Great Perfection of the Blood Rush Realm?"

Zhou Liang's face lit up: "The plan that Young Master provided earlier was indeed very effective. I have been practicing the Fuyang Blade Technique and the Xuanyin Hand together, and with the help of the medicine Young Master provided, I have made rapid progress. I have now steadily reached the Great Perfection of the Blood Flowing Realm. However, I am getting old, and my potential in this life has reached its limit. As for the higher levels of internal martial arts, I have no chance to glimpse them."

Chen Mo said, "Qiu Lan, go to the main room in the east courtyard. There's a box under my bed with the manual for the Black Tiger True Qi inside. Bring the manual here."

Qiulan shrank back, glanced at the still dark sky, and was clearly afraid.

Zhou Liang smiled and said, "Wei Heng and Liu Jiang are guarding outside the courtyard. Have them accompany you."

Qiulan thanked her and then left.

Not long after, Qiulan returned with the secret manual.

Chen Mo handed the manual to Zhou Liang, saying, "This is a military manual given to me by Liu Hao, a centurion. It can be used to refine Black Tiger True Qi. I used this method to cultivate True Qi back then. Uncle Zhou, please take it and practice it, and try to cultivate True Qi as soon as possible. This way, my Chen family will have an extra layer of protection."

Zhou Liang was taken aback and stood up abruptly: "Young Master, this is far too valuable. We mustn't do this. If it gets out, the garrison will likely hold us accountable..."

Chen Mo asked, "Will Uncle Zhou leak it?"

Zhou Liang was taken aback, then said, "Of course not, Master has a deep affection for me..."

Chen Mo smiled and said, "That's settled then. Uncle Zhou doesn't treat my Chen family as outsiders, so naturally I won't treat Uncle Zhou as an outsider either. In this world where evil spirits run rampant, one ultimately needs to master sufficiently powerful internal martial arts to protect oneself. If Uncle Zhou can become an internal martial arts master, my parents will have an extra layer of protection. So let's not worry about these trivial matters. If Chen Wu cultivates to the peak of the Blood Rush Realm in the future, Uncle Zhou will pass on the Black Tiger True Qi to him."

Zhou Liang's eyes welled up with tears as he took the booklet and bowed deeply. "Young Master, rest assured, my life was given to me by the Master. And this future I have now is given to me by you, Young Master. No matter what happens to the Chen family in the future, as long as I have a breath left, I will not let any ghosts harm your family."

Chen Mo quickly helped Zhou Liang up. "Uncle Zhou, please don't be so formal. When I first started learning martial arts, it was you who led me in. Take a look at the book, and I'll explain the key points to you, which can help you break through faster."

Zhou Liang then settled into his chair, flipped through the book, and found it difficult to understand, making it hard to even begin. He truly wondered how the young master had mastered it in such a short time…

Chen Mo explained, "The Black Tiger True Qi mainly relies on squeezing the body's Qi and blood to refine internal true Qi. This internal skill is extremely fierce, excessively squeezing the body's potential and emphasizing rapid results. Taking Tiger Qi Pills is too slow and has significant side effects. Using ten-year-old cold-natured raw lotus root as the main ingredient, combined with snow lotus, bear heart, crocodile bone, and century-old Ganoderma lucidum, boiled in equal weights and taken orally, can greatly reduce side effects and quickly refine the Black Tiger True Qi."

Zhou Liang suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. Young Master was able to discover such a profound mystery and fill in the gaps. You are truly a genius."

Chen Mo: "..."

Chen Mo sat there until dawn before bidding farewell to his parents and returning to the East Courtyard.

"The body temperature has not yet returned to normal..."

Fortunately, he felt no other discomfort, so Chen Mo put the matter aside for the time being and took his broadsword to the courtyard to practice his skills.

He wondered if, if his Mingyu Skill advanced further and he reached the sixth level of internal martial arts master, with his more powerful true energy, he might be able to restore his body temperature...

Around the end of the 9-11 PM hour, a rare guest arrived at our home.

Guo Ziyang.

Guo Ziyang followed Qiu Lan into the east courtyard and explained his purpose, "Today is the annual festival of the Red Lantern Temple. It's a very grand event. All the incense masters and managers from various halls of the Red Lantern Temple have come. The annual festival is presided over by the Junior Master of Fate. My sister asked me to ask you if you're going. If you are, we'll set off now."

Chen Mo naturally wanted to go, but considering that there was an infant hidden at home, he feared that his family might be in danger if he left rashly.

After weighing the options, Chen Mo declined, saying, "Thank you for your kind offer, but I have some matters to attend to at home, so I won't be going. After the New Year's memorial service, please inform your sister that I have some matters to discuss with her at home."

Guo Ziyang repeatedly expressed his regret, "It's such a pity not to go and see such a grand scene. This is also my first time going to see it. I'll tell you in detail later after I've seen the whole thing."

"it is good."

After seeing Guo Ziyang off, Chen Mo continued practicing his martial arts in the courtyard.

Before we knew it, dusk had fallen.

Chen Mo stopped practicing his martial arts, thinking he should go to the central courtyard to keep watch. Also, the Red Lantern Festival should be almost over; he'd wait for Guo Ziyu to arrive and see if they could find the baby.

The only downside is... my body is still ice cold.

Chen Mo had no choice but to endure it for now. He changed his clothes, took his broadsword, and called Qiu Lan to leave the east courtyard and head towards the central courtyard.

As I passed by the training ground, I overheard many guards gathered together discussing something.

"I don't know what just happened, but all the yamen runners have been mobilized and rushed to the Red Lantern Temple. It is said that even the soldiers from the garrison have been mobilized and are all heading to the Red Lantern Temple."

"This has never happened before during the Red Lantern Festival. I guess something must have happened at the Red Lantern Temple."

"The Red Lantern Temple is the location of the Red Lantern Goddess's altar. What could possibly happen there? Don't talk nonsense. If you offend the Red Lantern Goddess because of this, you will suffer the consequences."

"..."

Chen Mo immediately realized something and leaned over to ask, "What are you talking about?"

Upon seeing the Second Young Master arrive, everyone fell silent, fearing a reprimand. Wei Heng, however, braced himself and spoke up, "Just now, while we were patrolling outside, we saw a large number of yamen runners and garrison soldiers rushing towards the Red Lantern Temple. We were all saying, 'Has something happened at the Red Lantern Temple?'"

Such a coincidence?
"You all stay here and keep watch. Don't get separated. I'm going out to check." Chen Mo left these words behind, then picked up his knife and left the Chen residence.

Shops on both sides of the street were closed, and peddlers scattered in all directions. Large numbers of soldiers and yamen runners rushed towards the Red Lantern Temple, creating an atmosphere of impending doom.

Just then, Chen Mo saw Li Wenqing leading his constables in a hurry, so he went over and asked, "Lord Li, has something happened at the Red Lantern Temple?"

Li Wenqing was delighted to see Chen Mo. After looking around, he told the constables to go ahead, and then went to the roadside. He pulled Chen Mo to a secluded corner and said, "This is a secret and should not be revealed. But Young Master Mo has been kind to me and my second brother. Since you asked, there is no reason to hide it."

He swallowed hard, his face showing surprise. "Something has disrupted the annual festival at the Red Lantern Temple and damaged the altar of the goddess. The red lanterns at the entrance of our county government office are warning us to rush to the Red Lantern Temple to help. The red lanterns at the entrance of the garrison are also warning us."

Chen Mo was shocked: In Honghe County, something dared to disrupt the annual festival of the Red Lantern Goddess and even damage her altar. Simply...unbelievable!

"Do you know what kind of demon did this?"

Li Wenqing looked around again. "To be honest, Young Master Mo, I've been aware of something amiss for a while now. In the last two weeks, there's been an increasing number of cases of madness in the city. And these madmen have become conscious, knowing to hide during the day and come out at night. The number of madmen our yamen has discovered is probably just the tip of the iceberg. I reckon that it was this group of madmen who stormed the altar of the Goddess. Who else but these reckless fools would have the guts to do that? Besides, there's something even more suspicious."

Chen Mo grew increasingly alarmed as he listened: "How is it strange?"

Li Wenqing said, "I've noticed that recently several pregnant women in the city have had abnormalities with their fetuses. Before they even reached ten months of pregnancy, the mothers died. I've seen the deaths of two pregnant women; it was as if the babies were bursting out of their wombs. The mothers were also drained of their life force. I suspect that it was these babies who, along with the madmen, stormed the altar of the goddess. These bastards wanted to sever the goddess's lifeline."

Chen Mo understood.

It turns out that this kind of thing happened not only to my Chen family.

There are others...

Are these babies conceived to challenge the altar of the Red Lantern Goddess?

"Lord Li, have you inspected the ancestral halls and altars of those deceased pregnant women's families?"

Li Wenqing was taken aback, then said, "I've checked. They all have red veils. But there's nothing under the red veils, which is strange. Well, someone's calling me, I have to rush to the Red Lantern Temple to help out. If I'm late, I'm afraid I'll be punished. Young Master Mo, hurry home and hide, take care of your family. If things at the Red Lantern Temple are resolved, I'll come and inform you."

After saying this, Li Wenqing gripped his broadsword and followed the yamen runners, hurrying towards the Red Lantern Temple.

The number of yamen runners alone must be several hundred. In addition, there are probably a thousand soldiers from the garrison.

This was the first time Chen Mo had ever seen such a scene.

After the soldiers and yamen runners had gone far away, Chen Mo leaped onto the roof beam and looked towards the direction of the Red Lantern Temple, where he could vaguely see flames soaring into the sky.

"If it weren't for my family, I would really like to go and see what's going on."

"The Infant Spirit is an evil god, and the Red Lantern Goddess is also an evil god. These two evil gods are actually fighting... How interesting! I wonder who will win..."

Upon closer reflection, Chen Mo felt immense pressure.

I underestimated this infant spirit before.

This infant spirit is surprisingly bold, which shows it is quite capable.

If the baby in the house hadn't gone to the red-light district to cause trouble, it would have been very difficult to deal with.

Thinking of this, Chen Mo dared not linger. He immediately jumped to the ground, grabbed his knife, and hurried towards the central courtyard...

"I wonder if today's events were purely a fight between two evil gods, or if someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes..."

(End of this chapter)