Internal Martial Technique

After giving Qiulan her instructions, Chen Mo returned alone to the East Courtyard.

The deaths of Lei Peng and Lei Ming left Chen Mo with a nagging unease.

Based on the information he already knew, Chen Mo reconstructed the scene in his mind: Lei Peng, gravely wounded by the swordsman, went back to see his son, only to find him madly biting himself. Unable to protect his son or beg for medicine, he tearfully stabbed him to death.

In the end, father and son both perished.

A truly tragic tale.

Shaking off those thoughts, Chen Mo took a Wei Qi Skin Paste, neutralized its side effects, and let out a slow breath of relief.

Before long, Qiulan arrived at the East Courtyard with Liu Cui, now neatly dressed.

Compared to her earlier disheveled state, Liu Cui had changed into a fresh set of clothes, her hair pinned up with a wooden hairpin, looking much more proper and composed. Still, her face remained pale, her eyes vacant, and her expression betrayed deep anxiety.

Chen Mo had Qiulan pour Liu Cui a cup of hot tea, then began his inquiry. "I went to the Lei Family Martial Arts School this morning. Lei Guan Zhu and your son have both passed away. Please accept my condolences, madam."

Liu Cui trembled but said nothing, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.

Chen Mo shot Qiulan a look, and she handed Liu Cui a handkerchief. After she wiped her tears and steadied herself a little, Chen Mo asked, "Madam, what happened at the Lei residence last night?"

Liu Cui sobbed as she began, "Last night, bandits broke into our home..."

After hearing Liu Cui's account, Chen Mo finally understood the full story:

The night before, a group of bandits had stormed the Lei Family Martial Arts School. Their leader, a swordsman wielding a soft blade, had gravely wounded Lei Peng on the spot.

With no way out, Lei Peng told Liu Cui to flee, then fought desperately to hold off the swordsman and buy her time.

At first, Liu Cui didn't want to run—she only wanted to die with her husband and son. But after ten years of infertility, she had recently become pregnant, and thinking of the child in her womb, she fled alone.

Terrified of running into the swordsman again, she didn't dare leave the city and had been waiting for Chen Mo ever since...

Chen Mo sighed deeply.

From Liu Cui's account, he could tell that Lei Peng's strength wasn't far behind that swordsman's. Even if he couldn't win, he could have escaped and saved himself. But for the sake of his wife and child, he chose to sacrifice himself.

Lei Peng was truly a good father.

Just unlucky.

"Young Master Mo, this concubine was barren for years and finally conceived a child. Please, take us mother and child under your protection." Liu Cui knelt on the ground, weeping and begging.

Chen Mo didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Do you know what that swordsman looked like? Any distinguishing features?"

Liu Cui said, "I saw him from a distance. He had a prominent scar over his left eye, was very tall, and his face was covered in pockmarks. I only heard my husband call him Liu Mazi..."

Liu Mazi...

Lu Wei's older brother?

And Lu Wei was currently locked up in the Rear House of the East Courtyard.

Chen Mo couldn't help but rub his forehead, feeling both sympathy for Lei Peng and a deep sense of exasperation: He had repeatedly warned Lei Peng to only capture lone criminals and not stir up trouble. But Lei Peng had been too impatient and grabbed someone without asking questions. Or maybe, desperate to get the Detox Pill from Chen Mo for his son, he had acted recklessly.

Now, because of that rashness, Lei Peng had lost his life—and might have brought disaster down on Chen Mo.

But Lei Peng was already dead, so blaming him was pointless.

Chen Mo also wondered if Lei Peng had told Liu Mazi, before dying, that Lu Wei was at the Chen Mansion...

Liu Cui, unaware of her husband's true cause of death, just kept kneeling and crying.

"Stop your sobbing and let me think," Chen Mo snapped, then began calculating in his mind.

He genuinely sympathized with Liu Cui.

But the Lei family had provoked Liu Mazi. If Liu Mazi came to the Chen Mansion openly, it wouldn't be a problem—there were plenty of guards. What worried him was a sneak attack.

Living in this chaotic world of demons and monsters, Chen Mo could barely protect himself. He had no desire to play the saint.

As Chen Mo stood lost in thought, Liu Cui pulled a yellowed, ancient booklet from her clothing and, trembling, held it out. "Before I fled, my husband gave me this. He told me to give it to you, Young Master Mo, and hoped you would take me in."

Chen Mo didn't reach for it. "What is this?"

Liu Cui's voice quivered. "This is the complete original text of the Blazing Palm. My husband was originally from elsewhere. He came to Honghe County years ago and trained at the Black Mountain Stronghold outside the city. Later, he committed an offense and was expelled from the stronghold. He eventually opened a martial arts school in the county. But because he taught the Blazing Palm to Xiao Ming... it ultimately brought disaster upon our family..."

As Liu Cui explained, Chen Mo finally understood the whole chain of events.

It turned out that the Black Mountain Stronghold was a secret branch of the Red Lantern Society, under the jurisdiction of Goddess Hong Deng. A powerful Red Lantern Attendant was stationed there.

The Blazing Palm was the stronghold's signature martial art, capable of restraining evil spirits and demonic entities. The stronghold had a strict rule: this technique must never be taught to outsiders.

Even expelled members of the Black Mountain Stronghold were forbidden from passing on the Blazing Palm. Violators would face extermination of their entire family.

But Lei Peng doted on his son and couldn't resist his repeated pleas. In the end, he secretly taught the Blazing Palm to Lei Ming. When he passed on the technique, Lei Peng warned his son never to use it in front of others.

Lei Ming initially followed this principle, and things went smoothly.

Later, Lei Ming went to the Spring Breeze Tower and encountered a patient suffering from the Mad Demon Disease, who lunged at him to bite. In a moment of panic, Lei Ming couldn't hold back and killed the man with the Blazing Palm. Even so, he inexplicably contracted the Mad Demon Disease himself.

Moreover, by using the Blazing Palm in public, Lei Ming had exposed himself, and the Black Mountain Stronghold found out.

After that, the thirty-odd members of the Lei Family Martial Arts School were wiped out by the stronghold.

Since Lei Ming had already contracted the Mad Demon Disease, the Black Mountain Stronghold didn't pursue the matter further and never spoke of it publicly.

Chen Mo understood.

He had long heard Qiulan talk about the Lei Family Martial Arts School. Earlier, Lei Ming and his elder brother often went to Spring Breeze Tower together. After his brother's accident, within just two days, Lei Ming also met with trouble at Spring Breeze Tower. In the following two days, over thirty members of the Lei family died in a single night, causing the once-thriving martial arts school to decline rapidly.

So it was because the Blazing Palm had been passed on outside, and Black Mountain Stronghold came knocking...

Black Mountain Stronghold!

That was where Daoist Priest Li Yuanlong resided. His father had mentioned visiting on Priest Li's birthday to ask if he could go study at Black Mountain Stronghold.

What a coincidence...

And since the Blazing Palm was originally a martial art of Black Mountain Stronghold, that made perfect sense—it was highly worth cultivating.

What excited Chen Mo even more was that Black Mountain Stronghold turned out to be a secret branch under the Red Lantern Society.

Thinking of this, Chen Mo hesitated no longer. He picked up the ancient manual and saw that its cover was made of animal hide, but years of decay had left it riddled with cracks. Clearly, this manual was at least several decades old.

On the cover, a line of bold characters stood out:

Bright Jade Skill—Blazing Palm Section.

Hmm?

Could this be the original Blazing Palm manual that Lei Peng once cultivated at Black Mountain Stronghold?

And Bright Jade Skill?

So the Blazing Palm was just a fragment of the Bright Jade Skill?

Rustle!

Chen Mo immediately flipped to the first page.

Blazing Palm, First Form, Inch Force.

The recorded mental technique and oral formula were no different from the copy Lei Peng had given Chen Mo earlier.

He flipped through several more pages to the Second Form, Subduing Pressure. Then came Palm Heart Fire and Blazing Sun Toxin. The content was identical to the copy. But after Blazing Sun Toxin, there was more.

This was something the copy didn't have.

Blazing Palm, Fifth Form, Blood Fire Seal!

So... the Blazing Palm had another form.

That Lei Peng really did have something up his sleeve.

After reading the content of the Fifth Form, Chen Mo couldn't help but feel a surge of joy inside.

No wonder it was the trump card.

The Fourth Form, Blazing Sun Toxin, already required a master at the Five Passes: Blood Infusion Realm to cultivate. As for the Fifth Form, Blood Fire Seal, not only was its power greater, but it also required Blood Infusion to Qi Transformation to master. In other words... the Blood Fire Seal was an Internal Martial Technique.

An Internal Martial Technique—how precious!

Unfortunately, the manual didn't record the method for Blood Infusion to Qi Transformation. Without it, he couldn't master the technique.

Even lacking the method for Blood Infusion to Qi Transformation, the Blood Fire Seal was still an extraordinary skill.

For a long time, Chen Mo had scoured everywhere for martial techniques, and even skills at the Five Passes: Blood Infusion Realm level were extremely rare. Let alone an Internal Martial Technique that required Blood Infusion to Qi Transformation to execute.

Moreover, after reading it, Chen Mo realized another issue: the Blazing Palm was likely an introductory branch of the Bright Jade Skill.

If that was the case... the Bright Jade Skill was an extremely profound Internal True Skill. And it probably came from the Red Lantern Society, with great power to suppress Evil Spirits.

Red Lantern Society, Black Mountain Stronghold, Bright Jade Skill... an Internal True Skill!

A top-tier secret art that no amount of gold could buy.

In an instant, Chen Mo developed a deep interest in Black Mountain Stronghold.

Why had the Three Great Martial Arts Schools and the Martial Arts Hall in Honghe County stood firm for generations?

Because among them were Internal Martial Masters, who possessed secret Internal True Skills and mastered the method of Blood Infusion to Qi Transformation.

For outsiders to covet the realm of Internal Martial Master, they could only grovel like dogs to the Three Great Martial Arts Schools and the Martial Arts Hall, wagging their tails for a lifetime without ever having a chance to obtain the method of Blood Infusion to Qi Transformation.

'I have an Internal Martial Technique now, but I'm missing the method for Blood Infusion to Qi Transformation. Blazing Sun Toxin already has some suppressive effect on ordinary ghosts. If I can find the method for Blood Infusion to Qi Transformation, I can master the Blood Fire Seal. Then... mere ghosts would be nothing to fear.'

Snap.

Chen Mo closed the ancient manual and fixed his gaze on Liu Cui, who was kneeling and begging on the floor. His mind began to calculate: With Lei Peng and Lei Ming dead, Liu Cui was the only one who knew he had cultivated the Blazing Palm. Keeping her in the mansion would allow him to keep an eye on her. Besides, Liu Mazi's younger brother, Lu Wei, was already in the mansion, and he couldn't explain that away either. He needed to improve his martial arts as quickly as possible.

He just didn't know if Lei Peng had told Liu Mazi that Lu Wei was at the Chen Mansion.

To do good deeds, one also needed a firm hand.

With that in mind, Chen Mo helped Liu Cui up and said with a smile, "Madam, please rise. From now on, you will live in the Rear House in front of the East Courtyard. Now that you are pregnant, you must rest well and take care of yourself. I hope you give birth to a healthy child."

Liu Cui was so moved that tears streamed down her face. "Thank you, Young Master Mo. Young Master Mo is a truly kind man."

Chen Mo comforted her with a few more words, then instructed Qiulan: "Clean out a room in the Rear House for Madam Liu to stay in. Make sure the furniture and bedding are all complete. Let Madam Liu rest and nurture the pregnancy properly."

The East Courtyard was a three-section siheyuan.

The Rear House was at the outermost perimeter. One had to pass through the front yard, cross the screen wall, and enter through the hanging flower gate to reach the main courtyard where Chen Mo stayed. Chen Mo wasn't worried that Madam Liu would discover the woman and Lu Wei locked up in the Rear House.

After dismissing the two, Chen Mo closed the door, reopened the ancient manual, and looked it over again.

"An Internal Martial Technique... a treasure that a thousand gold pieces couldn't buy, yet I got it thanks to Lei Peng. Now that I have the secret art, I just need to wait for the Golden Finger to identify it once more. It might even reveal the method to master the Blood Fire Seal."

Many readers have said the pacing is too slow. The author has received the feedback. The pace will pick up from here. The stories mentioned in the synopsis will all unfold one by one. What's coming will definitely, definitely be very exciting!