Identifier Evolution: Modification

Chen Mo had entered the internal arts, and his six roots and six senses had undergone a transformation—he could now see spirit bodies and evil spirits, and even hear what they said. But the others in the courtyard hadn't entered the internal arts, and with a wall in between, they couldn't see Li Hongxi or hear her words.

Even so, hearing Li Hongxi cry out to her mother for help... Chen Mo still found it rather chilling.

Her mother was that vile woman, Granny Li.

The Mad Demon Disease's symbiote.

She'd already used Paper Figures to come after him twice.

That woman was truly sinister.

"Can't let her keep screaming, or something bad will happen!"

Chen Mo didn't hesitate any longer. He slashed his palm again, letting blood splatter across the blade. A single strike laced with Bloodfire sliced toward Li Hongxi.

Li Hongxi, writhing on the ground, couldn't dodge—but the blade passed right through her body without resistance. However... the Bloodfire on the blade lingered on her. In an instant, the flames on Li Hongxi blazed even brighter.

"Mother, save me!!"

"Tch, still yelling? Again!" Chen Mo was facing a ghostly creature for the first time—how could he dare be careless? He immediately cut his palm once more and struck out with another wave of Bloodfire.

As one strike after another of Bloodfire landed on Li Hongxi, the flames on her grew larger and larger. She struggled and screamed within the fire, and before long, she became a human torch. Her howls and pleas for help gradually faded, until at last she dissipated into a scattered mass of damp vapor, thick with a foul stench.

Chen Mo stood with his blade held horizontally, watching Li Hongxi vanish in silence. Only then did his cold eyes slowly soften.

Hah!

Chen Mo took a deep breath. "Finally dead."

His body and mind, which had been taut the whole time, slowly began to relax.

This battle, though not a life-or-death struggle, was by no means easy.

The main thing was that he'd cultivated Internal True Qi. With his qi and blood surging, the enemy couldn't get close enough to harm him.

If he hadn't had Internal True Qi as a foundation, and she'd managed to grab him a few times, he'd probably have been beaten to death in no time.

Despite his victory, Chen Mo felt no joy. Instead, Third Master Xie's face surfaced in his mind.

Compared to an outsider like Li Wenqing, Third Master Xie understood evil spirits far better.

No wonder Third Master Xie's first thought upon learning the truth was to flee, not to seek help from his relative Li Wenqing. It was because Third Master Xie had long known that Li Wenqing couldn't handle a spirit like Li Hongxi.

What a pity...

Chen Mo tore off a strip of his sleeve and bandaged the several cuts on his palm. Then, focusing his eyesight, he saw a square frame appear where Li Hongxi had dissipated.

Chen Mo suddenly remembered: back when he'd stumbled into the Ghost Land at Li Manor, he'd seen Original Understanding Essence on Li Hongxi. Three Black Rods, no less.

He'd thought at the time: maybe he had to kill Li Hongxi to obtain the Original Understanding Essence.

But back then, his strength was lacking—just escaping with his life was a stroke of luck. Now, over three months later, he'd finally done it.

Chen Mo set aside his stray thoughts and fixed his gaze on the square frame.

Still three Black Rods.

But now there were three lines of text.

[Detected 100 absorbable Original Understanding Essence]

[Tip: Absorbing Original Understanding Essence can raise your Identification Level]

[Absorb?]

Three months since crossing over, and he could finally obtain Original Understanding Essence!

It hadn't been easy.

Without a second thought, Chen Mo focused his mind.

Absorb!

Buzz!

A brief dizziness in his head, and then clarity returned. The panel before him had changed.

[Original Understanding Essence +100]

[Identification Level rising...]

[Upgrade successful!]

[Identification upgraded to Read. Distance to next level, Deconstruct: 1000 Original Understanding Essence remaining.]

[Tip: Identification can only recognize surface-level, crude information. Read can access internal information. Deconstruct can analyze the formation factors of external objects.]

[Bonus reward: Modification Function obtained. Consuming Original Understanding Essence allows modification of key points and flaws read from targets—including oneself, techniques, items, and more.]

After reading all the information, Chen Mo felt a surge of delight.

He'd expected the Identification Level to rise. Now that it had upgraded, he could presumably read more about the Black Rods' contents and get more detailed information—a huge convenience.

What truly surprised him... was the Modification Function.

Spending Original Understanding Essence to modify techniques, items, and even himself?

That sounded pretty impressive. Chen Mo was eager to see what it could do.

The pity was that the Modification Function could only be activated with Original Understanding Essence.

From Chen Mo's past experience, killing an Evil Spirit always yielded Original Understanding Essence.

Now that he'd entered the inner school and was about to join Black Mountain Stronghold to learn the art of exorcism, there would be plenty of opportunities to eliminate evil.

Scraping together some Original Understanding Essence shouldn't be a problem.

No need to rush.

"Reading doesn't require Original Understanding Essence. Let me first see how this reading function compares to identification."

Chen Mo stared at the box containing the three Black Rods.

[Readable object detected.]

[Current reading attempts remaining: 2]

"Oh? There are reading attempts again. That's fine, then."

Chen Mo focused his mind.

Read.

The next moment, lines of subtitles appeared.

[Name: White Shirt Ghost]

[Type: Yin Water]

[Abilities: Spirit Possession, Yin Water Erosion]

[Description: Twenty years of cultivation. Evolved from an initial wandering evil through accumulated resentment into a White Shirt Ghost. Its spirit form does not dissipate in light. At birth, it absorbed a trace of Ghost Qi from a spirit infant. It lived year-round in an Ancient Well and could not originally escape. But because of your blood, it got out.]

[Note: The trace of spirit infant Ghost Qi came from its mother. The Ghost Qi within its mother is far greater than that of this White Shirt Ghost!]

"Indeed, the information is more detailed and profound. Even the path of growth and the source of the internal Ghost Qi are clearly explained. As expected of an upgraded Golden Finger."

"But that last sentence... is unsettling."

Without a doubt, reading Granny Li would be far more difficult than dealing with Li Hongxi.

Moreover, the Golden Finger clearly stated that the reason Li Hongxi could escape from the Ancient Well... was because of his own blood.

Yet Granny Li had made two moves before and never abducted him.

The only time was when Liu Mazi wounded him, cutting a gash. At that time, Liu Mazi's soft sword was stained with his blood.

Could it be that Granny Li could use the Paper Figure stuck to Liu Mazi's back to take his blood from a distance?

Was there such a sinister art of blood-taking from afar in this world?

If so, that Granny Li was far too eerie.

Now that he had killed her daughter, Granny Li would surely not rest until she took revenge.

There was no escape.

That vicious woman had to die!

And Old Master Li couldn't be left alive either.

Pull the weeds and dig up the roots!

Chen Mo's eyes gradually turned cold and ruthless. His relaxed palm slowly clenched, tightening around the knife handle.

Though Old Master Li and Granny Li had to die, he couldn't act rashly...

Not to mention whether he could even kill Granny Li, the bigger issue was the family behind him. If he ran off to Blood Ridge Black Market to find Granny Li now and fell for her decoy tactic, the Chen Family would be in danger.

Chen Mo didn't like being played for a fool.

"Fortunately, Daoist Priest Li is coming to the residence tomorrow to finalize my apprenticeship at Black Mountain Stronghold. That stronghold is a secret branch under the Red Lantern Society. If I can get in, the Chen Family will gain its protection. Then, no matter how fierce Granny Li is, she won't dare come knocking on the door."

He could wait one day.

Once his mind was made up, Chen Mo hesitated no longer. He picked up his blade and walked over to Xie Cui.

Xie Cui was, after all, the wife of Magistrate Li Yu. Though Chen Mo had hacked her body to pieces with his broadsword and left her covered in burns, he still had to return the corpse.

Just as Chen Mo was about to lift Xie Cui's body—

A wisp of peculiar Ghost Qi quietly flowed into him...

ps: This is where the title finally comes into play—a bit slow to arrive. But the author wants to write good, engaging stories. More excitement to come. Please throw in your monthly tickets~