Chapter 26: Incident Complete, Colossal Gains!

What kind of person is Chen Mo?

In the past, Li Yuan's impression of him was: a lapdog of the Imperial Consort, mediocre in strength, fond of visiting pleasure houses.

But that day at the training ground, Chen Mo's overwhelmingly dominant display made her realize this pampered young master was not as simple as she had imagined.

In the Way of the Blade, Li Yuan was confident she was second to none, undefeated among her peers.

Toward this man who had taken her first time, she could not help but develop a deep "interest."

Especially after witnessing that terrifying blade intent, defeating Chen Mo had almost become her obsession.

Even in the Illusion Realm, she had…

Yet this "arch-foe" in her heart, this lecher who had molested her not long ago, had burned his own life without hesitation to unleash that startling dragon-slashing blade, saving her from the demon's jaws!

Bewilderment, blankness, heartache… a flood of feelings welled up within her.

Li Yuan's mind went completely blank; she stared dazedly at the figure standing in the rain.

……

"my lord!"

Qin Shou's eyes nearly split with rage, his gaze blood-red.

Before Lady Liu transformed, she had swallowed all the black mist into her body.

When the crowd's vision cleared and they witnessed everything with their own eyes, their hearts were filled with an inexpressible shock!

Flesh and blood burned away over most of her body, white bones jutting out, like a skeleton from a grave!

Even so, she did not retreat a single step, slaying the evil fiend with her strength alone!

What kind of bloodlust and fierce bravery was this?!

The cries of alarm jolted Li Yuan back to her senses; she stumbled forward and caught hold of that body swaying on the verge of collapse.

A mist rose in her eyes, her voice choking:

"You lecher, you're not allowed to die! I won't let you die!"

"Hiss, are you the King of Hell? You want to die, you still need his approval… besides, who told you daddy is dying?"

Chen Mo endured the pain and said irritably.

Although his appearance was gruesome, his vital points had not been injured.

Within his acupoints, life essence surged forth unceasingly, continuously repairing his damaged body.

Lady Liu's methods were bizarre and extremely effective against martial artists; if not for the Nine-Turn Green Origin Pill bestowed by Her Highness the Imperial Consort as a safeguard, today he really would have flipped the car!

【You mangy slave, you live properly for this Palace.】

Recalling Yu Youhan's cold, aloof expression, the corners of Chen Mo's mouth lifted slightly.

Your Highness, love you!

Next time I'll still give you a foot massage!

But his body was damaged far too severely; even though life essence could grow flesh from white bone, it could not heal in a short while.

Suddenly, Chen Mo thought of something.

The big head looked at the little head, confirmed his second brother was unharmed, and only then breathed a sigh of relief.

As everyone knows, a certain part has no bones…

……

Chen Mo dragged his "wrecked body" over to stand before Lady Liu.

After the monster was slain, Lady Liu's concubines had already vanished; only Lady Liu herself remained, collapsed on the ground, a massive wound nearly cutting her in half at the waist.

Black dust drifted ceaselessly from the wound, her entire body fading away at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"I thought that little girl was bold enough; I didn't expect you to be even crazier than her."

A hint of admiration and appreciation flickered in Lady Liu's gaze as she looked at Chen Mo.

Then she sighed softly and murmured:

"Heaven's will is hard to fathom; I schemed and planned, a thousand stratagems and ten thousand schemes, only to end up with nothing in the end…"

"I'm sorry, Ruyan, your sister did her best…"

Her voice gradually faded, vanishing completely between heaven and earth.

Without pausing even a moment to mourn Lady Liu's death, a black-furred mouse darted out from beneath the empty Ling Yishan, scurrying along the wall toward the distance.

Bad news: gravely wounded by Chen Mo's slash, strength greatly diminished.

Good news: Lady Liu is dead, no longer controlled by anyone from now on!

Just as it was about to slip into the burrow ahead, a glint of excitement flashed in its beady eyes.

This little mouse, I seem to see the light of freedom…

Suddenly, a shadow fell over it.

Immediately after, a bare-white-bone sole stomped down hard!

Splat!

"Squeak!"

The little mouse became a mouse pancake.

【Slain Ghost-type Creature · Faceless Demon, True Spirit +100.】

【Slain Demon-type Creature · Mouse Bride, True Spirit +45.】

Gazing at the prompt text before him, Chen Mo's brow rose.

The incident wasn't over yet?

That meant there were still fish that slipped through the net…

Thinking of this, he turned and walked toward the Liu residence.

"M-my lord?"

The crowd stared blankly as a skeleton soldier, its footsteps clacking "clack-clack," quickly vanished at the end of the street.

"Is the Tot Flag my lord still… alive?"

"He's clearly nothing but a pile of bones, so why does he still seem so full of energy?"

"Could it be a last flare before death?"

"Stop gawking, hurry up and follow! In a bit the Tot Flag is gonna fall apart completely!"

……

The Liu Residence.

Chen Mo, gripping his horizontal blade, stepped through the great gate.

The entire manor was deathly silent; the maids and servants had all vanished without a trace.

Passing through the front courtyard, he arrived at the rear courtyard.

He pushed open the door and walked in.

The stench of decay inside the room was unusually thick, almost unbearable to breathe.

The Liu family's Second Lady, Qin Ruyan, lay on the bed, her face aged, her body shriveled, her entire form shrouded in black death qi.

When he'd seen her during the day, she'd still been a youthful, beautiful girl; now she'd become a woman on the verge of death.

Hearing someone enter, she laboriously turned her head.

Seeing Chen Mo's wretched appearance, she paused briefly, then broke into a brilliant smile.

"Sister didn't lie; she truly did her best."

Chen Mo gazed at her and said flatly, "If I'm not mistaken, what you're after is right under this bed, isn't it?"

At this point, it wasn't hard to piece together the general thread.

The reason Qin Ruyan stayed in this room and refused to leave wasn't that she didn't dare — she couldn't.

There had to be something here she absolutely had to conceal.

Qin Ruyan didn't answer; in a soft, storytelling tone, she said:

"My sister and I were born as one body, two lives. Since she's dead, I can't live much longer either."

"Liu-lang treated me extremely well. Knowing full well I was a ghost cultivator, he was still willing to help me conceal my identity… Unfortunately, the Rat Bride chose him first, so he had to die."

"Twenty-nine lives, just one more, and the Rat Bride could transform from a ghost into a fierce sha."

"To blood-sacrifice with a fierce sha's life, the great formation could be completed… Heaven didn't grant my wish; in the end, I was one move short…"

Clang!

A blade-flash swept past, severing her head.

Chen Mo shook his horizontal blade, his expression impatient.

"Too much nonsense."

Several lines of prompt text flashed before his eyes:

【All surviving members of the Liu family have died.】

【Event concluded.】

【Rating: Superior.】

【Obtained ancient text: "Great Expansion Heavenly Origin Formation Explanation."】

【Obtained title: Bane of Fierce Ghosts.】

【After equipping this title, you can sense the aura of yao and ghosts within a five-li radius, remain undisturbed by yao qi, and deal increased damage to yao and ghosts.】

【Monster! I could tell at a glance you weren't human!】

"Not bad."

Chen Mo nodded in satisfaction.

It seemed he hadn't guessed wrong — the so-called "surviving members of the Liu family" wasn't asking him to carry on the Wei Wind, but to wipe them all out!

With a shift of his mind, he took out the reward.

His palm grew slightly heavy as a black, thread-bound ancient tome fell into his hand.

The characters on the cover were mottled; faintly, the two words "Great Expansion" could be made out.

He flipped open the title page, and Jin Guang surged forth — dense, packed text and diagrams wrapped in golden light poured into his brow.

In an instant, his Lingtai was filled with heavenly light and drifting clouds.

The profound, unfathomable truths of the great Dao were within reach; his heart brimmed with indescribable comprehension.

The ancient text recorded countless formations, including many long-lost ancient great formations — all of which were now branded into Chen Mo's mind.

Merely memorizing them didn't mean he could use them skillfully.

But purely in terms of "knowledge reserves," he was already the equal of any great formation master.

"Basically the Wang Yu Yan of formation dao…"

"This title is pretty useful too. At least if I run into this kind of situation again, I won't be so passive."

After tallying the rewards, Chen Mo turned his gaze to the bed.

He was very curious — what exactly was hidden beneath it, worth paying such a price?