I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 89 Revised Spirit: Turn Me into a Red Lantern Lady

"It was all my fault for being blind. I had gained some power over the new employees and then thought I could act arrogantly, which inadvertently offended Manager Chen. I beg Manager Chen to forgive me."

Even with its hands and feet bound, the cylinder still tried its best to bang its head against the ground, pleading desperately.

Chen Mo did not respond to Yuanzhu, but quietly watched Li Yuanlong and his apprentice.

He vaguely remembered it.

Last time, when he was working as a wait-to-be-assigned worker in the new recruits' quarters, he was almost killed by Yuanzhu. Afterwards, Li Yuanlong just casually said that he had "reprimanded Yuanzhu" and thought that would be the end of it.

Now that he has become the manager, he tied up Yuanzhu and went to apologize, and even had Chen Mo kill Yuanzhu on the spot.

When people talk to each other, it's like they're tailoring their approach to the individual.

Yuanzhu and Li Yuanlong, whom he once had to treat with respect, now bowed down before him.

The higher a person stands, the more different the scenery they see, and the more different others treat them.

Chen Mo ignored Li Yuanlong and his apprentice, but walked around them and stood in front of Guo Ziyu and Guo Songyang, bowing respectfully.

"Master Guo, Steward Guo."

Guo Songyang tapped his pipe, a rare smile appearing on his face. "Good, good. It's good that you're back."

Guo Ziyu simply hummed in response. Although she didn't say much, the appreciation and smile in her eyes were unmistakable.

"Manager Chen, congratulations!"

Guo Ziyang walked up from behind and bowed to Chen Mo in a very proper manner.

Chen Mo smiled and said, "Brother Guo, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Brother Chen or Young Master Mo as usual."

Hearing these affectionate words, Guo Ziyang was very happy, but he dared not actually call Chen Brother. “My sister told me to change how I address him, so as not to break the rules.”

Chen Mo laughed and said, "You're calling me, not your older sister."

Guo Ziyang was overjoyed, "Then... congratulations, Brother Chen."

Guo Ziyu and Guo Songyang, who were standing to the side, did not stop Guo Ziyang from changing his address. On the contrary, they felt that this Chen Mo was a truly grateful and magnanimous person, and they thought he was even more important.

After greeting Guo Ziyang, Chen Mo walked up to Li Qingniu, who was standing among the workers. "Qingniu, it's been half a month, and you look much stronger."

Li Qingniu was originally acquainted with Chen Mo, but now that he saw Chen Mo promoted to manager and personally escorted by the head of the Kaogong Hall, and the village chiefs and incense masters came out to greet him... he felt that Chen Mo was high and mighty, and he became hesitant to speak.

However, he quickly realized that Chen Mo had taken the initiative to greet him in front of so many people, and that he was trying to support him.

He was grateful and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Congratulations, Young Master Mo, on your promotion to manager."

Chen Mo patted Li Qingniu on the shoulder, "Study hard and learn your skills. In the future, you can be like me and become a manager in your area."

Encouraged by Chen Mo's public encouragement, Li Qingniu nodded emphatically, as if he had eaten honey, "Yes. I will."

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Li Qingniu, Chen Mo turned and walked step by step toward Li Yuanlong and his apprentice.

Yuanzhu's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to stop. He frantically slammed his forehead against the ground. "Manager Chen, I was so ignorant before. Please give me a chance to make amends."

Chen Mo walked up to the pillar, looked down at him, and said nothing.

Yuanzhu thought Chen Mo would beat him up to vent his anger, but Chen Mo did nothing and just looked down at him.

The more this happened, the more the cylinder felt a suffocating sense of oppression.

This posture was so suffocating that the cylinder pleaded with tears streaming down its face.

The silence made everyone around them tense.

The scene was momentarily suffocating.

After a long while, Chen Mo suddenly squatted down and untied the ropes on the cylinder.

Yuanzhu never expected Chen Mo to untie the ropes on his own initiative. He became even more panicked and hurriedly knelt on the ground to apologize and beg for mercy.

Snapped.

Chen Mo patted Yuanzhu on the shoulder, revealing a "kind and benevolent" smile. "We're all from the same village, so we should help each other out. These are just small things from the past, nothing to worry about. Daoist Yuanzhu, don't take it to heart. I'm not one to hold grudges."

The cylinder thought it had misheard and looked up at Chen Mo with disbelief.

Chen Mo ignored the pillar, stood up, and smiled at Li Yuanlong, saying, "Master Li, don't resort to violence so easily. Our Black Mountain Stronghold is a branch under the Empress's banner, and we are all her followers, not a bandit den. Don't you agree?"

Li Yuanlong stared incredulously at Chen Mo, who was smiling slightly, and for some reason felt a chill run down his spine.

He knew Chen Mo's temperament well. If Chen Mo had actually killed Yuanzhu, he would feel at ease. But Chen Mo was thinking of killing you, yet he could still be smiling and talking to you.

This is outrageous.

Moreover, Chen Mo spouted profound truths, leaving Li Yuanlong with no way to refute him.

Li Yuanlong had no choice but to follow Chen Mo's lead and say, "Manager Chen is absolutely right."

Chen Mo replied politely, "That's settled then. Thank you all for coming out to welcome me today. Chief Zhu, I'm tired from my long journey and would like to go back and rest. I'll pay my respects to you another day."

Zhu Qingfeng naturally didn't say much, and waved to dismiss everyone: "Manager Chen must be tired from the journey and needs to rest. Everyone should go back and rest early. Remember, Manager Chen resolved the feud with laughter today. He is a role model for everyone, and you should all learn from him."

……

Entered the inner courtyard of Fufu Manor.

Chen Mo's treatment was naturally different from before; he was seated in the right-hand side seat. Guo Ziyang personally poured tea for Chen Mo.

"Ziyang, go to the outer courtyard and supervise the boys' martial arts training. I have something to say to Steward Chen." Guo Songyang dismissed Guo Ziyang and then asked Chen Mo, "Steward Chen, what happened that day?"

Chen Mo didn't hide anything and directly revealed that besides the child in her second mother's womb, Guo Ziyu also had another baby at home. Moreover, that baby had participated in the siege of the Red Lantern Temple and even escaped...

Aside from the fact that he had melted down the ghost infant himself and that the ghost infant's spirit remained in his mind.

After listening, Guo Ziyu breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's how it is. When I went to the Chen residence that day, I sensed a ghostly aura there. But I never expected there to be a pregnant woman there. It was truly dangerous. The reason why Shao Siming went to the Chen residence herself was because the baby who fled to your residence was the mastermind."

Chen Mo replied, "Yes."

Guo Ziyu nodded. "No wonder Shao Siming took you to the Empress's altar. It's clear that Shao Siming was suspicious of you at the time. How did you manage to escape?"

When asked this question, Chen Mo paused for a moment.

Only Chen Mo himself knows...

What happened that day?

Just as I was about to enter the ancient pagoda, a familiar voice echoed in my mind: Run! Run!! Don't go in!!!
That sound was the soul's whisper from that ghost baby.

This startled Chen Mo.

It turns out that the baby ghost wasn't quite dead yet.

For a fleeting moment, Chen Mo did have the thought of escaping. He was afraid that if he went inside, the Red Lantern Lady would see him. That would truly mean certain death.

But at that very moment, the phantom of the yellow-robed infant reappeared in Chen Mo's mind...

After the phantom appeared, it directly took away the wisp of the ghost infant's soul.

At that time, Chen Mo used the Spirit Preservation Technique multiple times to check his spirit and confirmed that the soul had disappeared... as if it had been taken away by the yellow-robed infant.

Only then did Chen Mo dare to enter the ancient pagoda gate.

The scene inside the ancient pagoda is also quite strange.

Inside was a very eerie altar, resembling a sacrificial altar. It was carved with various runes, and in the four corners—east, west, south, and north—eternal lamps were lit using mummified human corpses. An old woman in a red robe knelt before the altar, praying something.

In the very center of the altar stood a red coffin.

The material of the coffin was unknown; it resembled neither iron nor wood. Moreover, a red light emanated from the coffin, illuminating the entire ancient pagoda, both inside and out.

Chen Mo knew then that the one lying in the coffin... must be the Red Lantern Goddess.

He examined the coffin with his golden finger.

A square frame, thirty-six black bars...

Next, the old woman in the red robe walked up to Chen Mo. At first, she spoke normally, but then... she suddenly started speaking in a ghostly voice. It was probably because she was possessed by the Red Lantern Goddess. Then, the old woman in the red robe placed her hand on Chen Mo's mind.

It's estimated that they used their inner illumination technique to examine Chen Mo's spirit and soul. Ultimately, they found no residual ghost infant's soul, which allowed Chen Mo to escape unscathed.

Then the old woman said: "Chen Mo is a formidable character of the Second Divine Realm. You should nurture him well, Shao Siming. He will be of great use to the Empress in the future."

And so, Shao Siming led Chen Mo away from the altar to the backyard of the ancient pagoda, where she taught Chen Mo the Mingyu Gong and the Preservation of Spirit Technique. Half a month passed quickly, and Chen Mo finally returned to Black Mountain Village.

Looking back on that night, Chen Mo still doesn't feel good.

I felt things were going too smoothly, but I also felt things weren't as simple as they seemed.

But Chen Mo couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

Seeing that Chen Mo remained silent for a long time, Guo Ziyu said, "Young Master Mo, please speak frankly and don't miss any details. The Red Lantern Lady is not simple; she might do something to you."

After a moment's thought, Chen Mo realized that Guo Ziyu's words made sense.

"When I killed that ghost infant, a wisp of its spirit entered my mind. Perhaps because of this, the Lesser Master of Fate became suspicious and took me to the Red Lantern Temple to see the Goddess. But just as I reached the gate, that wisp of spirit miraculously disappeared. Later, I entered the altar and saw an old woman in a red robe, and a large, upright red coffin... The old woman said to me..."

After listening to Chen Mo's story, Guo Songyang and Guo Ziyu both took a deep breath, feeling incredulous.

Guo Songyang was moved to realize that the Empress was lying in a coffin.

Guo Ziyu was struck by the fact that Chen Mo's soul had mysteriously vanished. But both of them were equally astonished by one thing: Chen Mo was actually a dual-realm spirit!
No wonder he was valued and cultivated by Shao Siming; it makes perfect sense.

For a moment, the living room fell into a deathly silence.

Chen Mo broke the silence, "Miss Ziyu, have you ever seen Her Majesty? Do you know that Her Majesty has some special methods that can secretly bless me?"

Guo Ziyu shook her head. "I have never met Your Highness, but someone from my organization has. You should rest at the manor for a few days, and I will take you to meet the person behind me later. At that time, I will have him examine you to prevent you from falling into Your Highness's trap."

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Miss Ziyu."

Guo Ziyu waved her hand and said, "We're all family, no need to stand on ceremony. You must be tired from your journey, go and rest early. We'll wait for Chief Zhu to assign you specific duties and responsibilities."

Once you become a manager, you have an identity badge, and naturally you have authority and jurisdiction.

Now that the appointment has just been issued and Chen Mo has only just returned, Zhu Qingfeng naturally cannot come and assign tasks directly. He needs to give Chen Mo a few days to process things.

Chen Mo stood up, clasped his hands in greeting, and then left the living room, returning to his own room.

After closing the door, Chen Mo lay down on the recliner, utterly exhausted.

He is too tired.

For the past two weeks, I've been staying by Shao Siming's side, feeling restless day and night, unable to eat or sleep well, the pressure is just too much.

Now that I'm back here, I feel much more at ease and can finally get a good night's sleep.

She soon fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke up again, it was already dusk.

Chen Mo stretched and yawned. "That felt so good. I finally got a good night's sleep."

After a good night's sleep, I felt much more energetic.

Chen Mo rubbed his eyes, got up and stretched his limbs, and immediately felt energetic and refreshed, all his fatigue gone.

"This red light is too dangerous. I need to improve my martial arts skills as soon as possible."

Chen Mo picked up the broadsword and practiced it briefly in the living room.

His swordsmanship was skillful, powerful, and fluid.

In the past, such practice would have left him drenched in sweat. But now, with no body heat, even this intense sword practice doesn't feel hot, and sweating... that's an unattainable dream.

Shao Siming said that she was a Xuan Yin body.

But Chen Mo knew it wasn't true...

It's caused by an increase in the amount of cursed blood in my body, but I can't tell anyone about it. I have to find a solution myself.

However, the Xuan Yin Body can serve as a pretext for his actions. He doesn't need to worry about people discovering he has no body temperature.

Chen Mo cleared his mind of distractions, sat down cross-legged, and began to activate the Mingyu Gong, mobilizing his true energy to circulate within his body.

The true qi travels through the Chong meridian, Dai meridian, Yangwei meridian, and finally through the Yinwei meridian, completing a somewhat incomplete circulation within these four meridians.

This is a sign that the four meridians have been fully developed, which is the peak state of a fifth-level martial artist.

"Before, when I was following Shao Siming, I didn't dare to show too much brilliance and didn't break through the fifth meridian, Yin Wei Meridian. Now it seems that the time is right."

Chen Mo placed his hands on his lower abdomen, and frantically channeled his internal energy to break through his fifth meridian.

hum!
As his true energy circulated, a vortex of true energy formed around Chen Mo's body, causing his muscles and bones to vibrate and hum slightly.

Before long, the fifth extraordinary meridian, the Yin Qiao meridian, was suddenly opened. A large amount of true qi poured into it. After completing the circulation of the five meridians, the true qi became noticeably more profound and abundant.

"With the five meridians complete, I have finally entered the sixth level of martial arts master."

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the extraordinary transformation brought about by the improvement of his true energy.

Chen Mo knew very well that the higher one's level in internal martial arts, the more difficult it became to advance to the next level.

Most of the incense masters in the Red Lantern Gang are at the level of third or fourth-level martial arts masters. Those who reach the fifth level can become deputy hall masters, and those who reach the peak of the fifth level, if they make great contributions to the Red Lantern Gang, have the opportunity to become hall masters.

Even a sixth-level martial artist like Chen Mo, with only average merit, can be promoted to hall master through special promotion.

Chen Mo no longer takes anyone else seriously in the entire Black Mountain stronghold.

The only ones who might be stronger than me are Guo Songyang and Guo Ziyu.

In addition, I wonder if the chieftain Zhu Qingfeng's strength has reached the sixth level of martial arts master?
"I'll try the method of preserving the spirit."

Chen Mo activated the incantation for the Red Lantern Spirit Preservation Technique, and the image of the Red Lantern Goddess appeared in his mind, shimmering with golden light and lifelike.

This is a sign that one's spiritual cultivation has reached perfection and that one is ready to enter into inner illumination at any time.

One advantage of entering the Inner Illumination is that you can borrow the goddess's magical power. However, there is also a downside: when you activate the Inner Illumination to borrow magical power, you will be monitored by the goddess.

However, Chen Mo did not hesitate.

The Empress has already met with everyone, but there is no better way.

Besides, I'm not even human anymore... so what's there to be afraid of?
"Begin... Impacting the inner light."

As his spirit continued to condense and be imbued upon the image of the goddess, Chen Mo's spirit and the goddess's spirit merged in an instant...

Before long, Chen Mo felt that his spirit and the goddess's Dharma form had merged and could perceive each other. The goddess's Dharma form seemed to be a vast ocean, and as long as he activated the Inner Illumination Technique, he could endlessly borrow magic power from this ocean.

Chen Mo knew that the method of preserving the spirit had already entered the level of inner illumination.

but……

How can the Empress's magical power be so vast and profound? Like a boundless ocean?
Could it be that while I am borrowing the goddess's magic power, the goddess is also absorbing my spiritual power?

There are quite a few managers and incense masters in the Red Lantern Clan who are well-versed in the inner workings of the clan. The goddess absorbs a portion of the spirit from each of them, and if she absorbs too much from many people... it becomes an ocean?

The fact that hundreds of thousands of people in Honghe County offer incense to the goddess further strengthens her spiritual power.

This is just exploiting people.

However, since the goddess had received offerings from the local villagers, the harvesting method was relatively gentle. The chives were always harvested after each new crop grew.

This lady knows how to run a business.

Chen Mo was starting to admire this empress.

Of course, even though they are both internal imaging techniques, there are differences.

Even those who possess the Tenfold Divine Power can only borrow one-tenth of the Goddess's magical power, even if they burn their life force to activate their inner light.

If one retains the spirit, then half of it can be borrowed.

Of course, this is the ideal situation. In reality, it also depends on whether the Empress agrees, and whether the body and mind can withstand it, etc.

"The power of inner illumination is good, but it should be used with caution."

Chen Mo thoroughly practiced the Inner Illumination Technique, ensuring that every detail was flawless, before concluding his practice and opening the control panel.

[Currently available original solution essence: 600]

[Remaining read attempts: 6]

[Consuming 1000 Original Essence will allow you to advance your reading skill to the next level: Deconstruction]

"I'm still short of four hundred original essences. I'll have to find a few ghosts to kill later to collect the four hundred original essences."

Just as Chen Mo was about to retract the panel, he suddenly saw a square appear in front of the image of the goddess in his mind.

Ok?
"After entering the Inner Illumination Realm, can I indirectly read the Empress's spiritual form?"

This feature wasn't available before.

Chen Mo needs to see it with his own eyes.

Now that I've entered the inner realm, my spirit is linked to the Empress's spirit, and I can read it now?

Chen Mo activated the Divine Preservation Technique and stared intently at the image of the goddess in his mind.

The box is becoming clearer.

Finally, thirty-six thick, black poles appeared. They were so densely packed that they were quite glaring.

[Unreadable]

This information is not surprising.

The coffin was also unreadable before.

But the next line of information left Chen Mo speechless.

[Consuming 600 Original Essence will modify your spirit to be completely compatible with the Red Lantern Goddess's spirit, so that there is no distinction between you, and no exploitative relationship between you and her. In the future, if your spirit is strong enough, you can even absorb the Red Lantern Goddess's spiritual power.]

Chen Mo was stunned for a long time before he understood what it meant.

Completely compatible, indistinguishable from one another...

"Isn't this... modifying my mind to turn me into the Red Lantern Lady herself?"

(End of this chapter)