Another Mortal Transformation

The night was silent. Chen Mo lay quietly on his bed. This time, his Mortal Transformation was going better than the last.

At least he was able to stay in his room, and he was alone in it.

In his hand, he held a bronze gong, which he had secretly "borrowed" from the military camp's storeroom earlier.

The personal guards on night patrol were supposed to strike this gong every night. Even with only a few dozen of them left, they still struck the gong to mark the time every evening.

When there were more people, they assigned several teams to patrol and stand guard, so they would use two or three gongs at a time. Now, with only one in use, there were extras left over.

Chen Mo had quietly taken one. If he fell into the gray fog during this Mortal Transformation, he planned to try striking the gong himself.

Besides that, his steel spear, which he usually practiced with, and a short blade he carried were now placed within reach, ensuring he wouldn't be caught empty-handed like last time.

Confirming everything was in place, Chen Mo sat up cross-legged, focused his mind, and activated the Mortal Transformation Pearl.

Inside the Mortal Transformation Pearl, the Blood Essence he had accumulated over this period continued to spread, once again initiating his Mortal Transformation.

This time, the Mortal Transformation was no longer just a simple enhancement of his muscles and bones.

The Blood Essence first integrated into his internal organs, the foundation of the human body. Only when the internal organs were strong enough could they withstand a stronger physical body.

Otherwise, if the physical body and strength were great, but the internal organs were weak, it would cause an extremely severe burden.

If the internal organs could no longer withstand the physical body, they would begin to collapse, and the person would naturally perish.

As the Blood Essence integrated into his internal organs, Chen Mo's heart beat with increasing power and solidity with each pulse.

With each breath, he could inhale and absorb more air. These were just the most direct improvements.

He couldn't fully perceive the changes in other organs like his liver, kidneys, and stomach yet.

Especially after his stomach and intestines were strengthened, he would definitely be able to eat more food and digest more food.

This way, he could also absorb more Blood Essence from his food.

From now on, in addition to food, he could also try many medicinal soups to supplement his Blood Essence.

However, the price of these medicinal soups was much more expensive than food.

A superior ginseng root would cost at least ten taels of silver, and it wouldn't last for three days to supplement Blood Essence.

But ten taels of silver used for food, even if he ate meat every day, could last for over a month.

Drinking medicinal soup was indeed a good thing; it could speed up his Blood Essence improvement.

But to drink medicinal soup, he first had to solve a problem: money.

Chen Mo couldn't say he was destitute, but he was certainly penniless.

The reason he could drink medicinal soup before was entirely because General Sun had sent someone to deliver it.

Otherwise, with his financial situation, it would have been practically impossible to afford medicinal soup.

While the Blood Essence integrated into his internal organs, another portion of it began to converge into his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones. Chen Mo's practice of the Greedy Wolf Seven Kill Fist during this period inevitably left some hidden injuries and ailments.

Even with nourishing medicinal soups, this was still unavoidable.

Otherwise, how could this martial art achieve ten years of cultivation from inner true arts in just one year?

It relied on the excavation and consumption of the martial artist's physical potential to bring about the greatest improvement in the shortest amount of time.

At this moment, under the nourishment of his own Blood Essence, these hidden injuries and ailments were all erased and smoothed out. His physical body returned to a perfect state, leaving no flaws.

This was the benefit of Mortal Transformation. Regardless of the extent of the improvement, Mortal Transformation would transform his physical body from the inside out.

As the hidden injuries were healed, the remaining Blood Essence began to truly enhance Chen Mo's physical strength.

The improvement brought about by the internal organs could be said to have extended Chen Mo's endurance and increased his body's potential to withstand power, allowing him to unleash stronger bursts of power at once without adverse effects or hidden dangers.

However, the direct increase in his physical strength wasn't very significant. Now, as the Blood Essence began to nourish his muscles and bones, this was the direct enhancement of his physical strength.

Chen Mo carefully felt this Mortal Transformation. His entire body was enveloped in a warm, life-giving sensation. His mind was clear and invigorated, and his perception of the world was unprecedentedly sharp.

As the Mortal Transformation concluded, before Chen Mo even opened his eyes, he knew for certain that he had not fallen into a fog this time.

This was because he had just heard the gong sound, its clear and resonant tone echoing throughout the military camp.

Even if there was gray fog, it would have surely been dispersed by now.

He lay on the bed and let out a long sigh of relief.

The gong beside him was something he had secretly borrowed. He would find a way to return it tomorrow.

The management of these gongs was quite strict, even more so than many common military weapons.

If most of the personal guards hadn't been away from the camp now, it would never have been so easy for him to get his hands on this gong.

But they would all be back in a few days.

The twentieth day of the first lunar month was the latest return date for all personal guards. Most of them would definitely not wait until then; some would likely return on the eighteenth or nineteenth.

It was easy for him to get the gong this time, but it wouldn't be so simple to get it again.

He moved the steel spear off the bed and carefully hid the gong under the bed, planning to return it later.

Chen Mo exhaled a long breath, finally daring to relax and lie back down on the bed.

However, as soon as he closed his eyes, they snapped open again. He sat up from the bed as if he had been launched.

Something's wrong, very wrong.

Chen Mo's brow furrowed, and he refocused his attention on the Mortal Transformation Pearl.

The Mortal Transformation Pearl showed no abnormalities. It had just undergone Mortal Transformation, and the Bloodline Power accumulated within had been completely depleted, returning to its transparent, colorless state.

However, Chen Mo could sense the presence of a wisp of energy within the Mortal Transformation Pearl.

This wisp of energy was incredibly faint, yet it felt exceptionally resilient and substantial, as if it were incredibly sharp and capable of piercing anything.

Most crucially, this wisp of energy belonged to him. Chen Mo could even see the space where the Mortal Transformation Pearl was located through this wisp of energy.

Of course, this "seeing" wasn't literal sight, but rather another form of perception.

Previously, he could sense the Mortal Transformation Pearl was in his abdomen, but he couldn't pinpoint its exact location or the specific space it occupied.

But now, through this wisp of energy, he could roughly sense that the Mortal Transformation Pearl was located three inches below his navel.

If he remembered correctly, that seemed to be the location of the human body's dantian. He wasn't surprised by this, as he had already harbored this suspicion before.

With the Mortal Transformation Pearl in his abdomen, it was highly likely it was residing within his dantian.

Entering this wisp of inner energy, he could roughly survey the dantian. It was shrouded in a gray mist, devoid of any color, as if all things were dormant.

Only this wisp of energy emitted a faint glow. His consciousness could only perceive this wisp of energy and not the entire dantian.

The reason he could see the general state of his dantian was entirely dependent on this wisp of energy scouting within his body.

So, what exactly was this wisp of energy that had suddenly appeared in his dantian?

Could it be inner energy?

A guess formed in Chen Mo's mind.