The contents of the Diamond Art surfaced in her mind. She tried to convert her internal energy into spiritual energy, hoping to strengthen her body, but once again, she failed.
Internal energy locked the energy produced by the body inside it. The older one grew, the stronger one's internal energy became, but the energy produced by the flesh was very weak.
Body tempering and immortal cultivation absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which was far more powerful than the energy produced by the body.
Body tempering absorbed spiritual energy, but without spiritual roots, one could not transform it into a golden core or nascent soul. Immortal cultivation, on the other hand, absorbed spiritual energy to nurture a golden core, a nascent soul...
Spiritual energy, spiritual energy. Mo Caihuan had an idea. If she had enough spirit stones, practicing the Diamond Art would not be impossible. If she could temper her body to full mastery and then sneak into the upper realm, she might still have a chance at immortal cultivation.
But spirit stones circulated only among immortal cultivators. Mortals could not find them at all.
She had asked a money-grubbing immortal cultivator about it. Buying even a low-grade spirit stone the size of a thumbnail would cost at least a thousand taels of silver.
Even if Mo Caihuan possessed wealth to rival a nation, she could not afford such extravagance.
Her feelings were complicated, but her internal energy kept circulating. She had already reached the Minor Circuit stage.
Fourteen years. Perhaps I should give up. Living a peaceful life as a rich family's daughter wouldn't be so bad. With my current strength, keeping the Mo Family the wealthiest household in the region would be easy enough. The Dominating Mountain Manor and the Five Colors Sect aren't much of a threat either. Circumstances were stronger than any person, Mo Caihuan thought. It was time to admit that she was a mortal.
Looks like I've entered the second stage of life, too. In the first stage, you admit your parents are ordinary people. In the second, you admit you are ordinary yourself. In the third, you admit your children are ordinary. This father I inherited was a heaven-born genius, skilled in both medicine and martial arts. By thirty, he'd already founded the Whale-Jiao Society and become one of the three great powers of Lan Province.
Unfortunately, even a genius like him died young without spiritual roots. I'm no different. Even though I transmigrated, even with my knowledge from Earth, I'm still only a mortal without spiritual roots. I really can't accept it. I finally got the chance to transmigrate-how can I resign myself to obscurity? How can I resign myself to being a mortal?
Since I can't cultivate immortality and become a ten-thousand-year-old turtle, I'll leave my name in history and become a mortal whose fame shakes the world. She made her decision. If she could only be a mortal, she would live a life that shook heaven and earth.
I'll unite the Heavenly South and merge its mortal kingdoms into a single nation. She set herself a small goal.
The Heavenly South was a region containing a dozen or so countries of various sizes. The Yue Kingdom was merely a medium-sized country in its center.
Lan Province, where the Mo residence stood, was one of the Yue Kingdom's thirteen provinces.
Jia Yuan City, where the Whale-Jiao Society had its headquarters, was merely a canal hub in Lan Province.
At present, livelihoods in the Yue Kingdom were in ruins. Bandits sprang up everywhere, officials colluded with outlaws, and the people could barely survive. The emperor was obsessed with immortal cultivation and neglected affairs of state, causing the nation's strength to decline.
Launching a rebellion at a time like this was entirely feasible.
Next, I'll make firearms. Having decided to become a mortal whose deeds would shake the world, Mo Caihuan resolved to develop weapons and equipment in secret and launch straight into an industrial revolution.
Mo Caihuan was the Mo Family's third young miss and its little genius. At fourteen, her martial prowess was already unfathomable, but what truly made her famous was not how many enemies she had killed. It was her beauty and kindness. She had organized an alliance of the members' female relatives, listened to the members' suggestions, and treated their problems as her own.
The society's members all greatly admired this fourteen-year-old third young miss.
Compared with the third young miss, the eldest young miss was skilled in martial arts but far too cold and aloof. The second young miss was an adopted daughter with a gentle disposition, but she did not take part in the society's affairs.
Only the third young miss disregarded formalities. She did not mind at all that the members were rough men and often ate with them. She also organized their female relatives to earn money together, letting the members offer suggestions through those women.
The members were all utterly loyal, and Mo Caihuan selected the most devoted among them to research gunpowder and develop firearms deep in the mountains.
She also needed to develop chemical manufacturing along the way. Concentrated acids and alkalis were the foundation of industry. Only with acids and alkalis could they carry out displacement reactions and develop more new materials.
They could produce not only gunpowder but chemical fertilizers as well. In short, the chemical industry was absolutely crucial to industrial development.
Another year passed in this fashion.
Today, Mo Caihuan was about to go out again when her birth mother's maid stopped her and said, "Young miss, Madam has asked you to come over."
"I'll be right there." She felt helpless, assuming her birth mother was about to lecture her at length again.
But when she reached the small building where her mother lived, she discovered that not only her birth mother but her three other mothers and two elder sisters were there as well.
Mature beauties and young beauties gathered in one room made for a feast for the eyes. If there was one thing that had made Mo Caihuan happiest since transmigrating, it was having a whole family of beautiful women to admire. Just looking at them could add years to her life.
"Greetings, Second Mother, Third Mother, Fifth Mother. Greetings, Eldest Sister, Second Sister." She greeted them one by one.
The Mo Family was a large household. Mo Juren had married five wives, and his first wife had died after giving birth to his eldest daughter. Four wives remained in the household. Mo Caihuan's mother was his fourth wife and also his younger cousin.
"Sit." The fourth madam told her daughter to sit down, then said solemnly, "Just yesterday, your father's disciple returned and brought a letter from him."
Mo Caihuan froze, realizing that this was an event from the original story: a disciple of the Dominating Mountain Manor impersonated a disciple of her inherited father to seize the Mo residence.
"Really?" Her eldest sister, Mo Yuzhu, was delighted. With her birth mother dead and her father away, facing a houseful of stepmothers put her under immense pressure. She felt less like a member of the household than someone living under another's roof.
"It's a lie." The alluring third madam curled her lips and delivered the cruel truth.
There had been no news of her father for ten years, and now the first news they received was false. Mo Yuzhu found it hard to bear. "A lie? How did he dare deceive our household?"
"Because he's the manor lord's last personal disciple," the fifth madam said expressionlessly. "According to the Secret Helm's intelligence, the Dominating Mountain Manor has devised a plan to annex its rivals, starting with the weakest and moving on to the strongest. In his eyes, the Whale-Jiao Society is the weakest opponent. He intends to swallow us first, then the Five Colors Sect."
The fifth madam had once been the first madam's bedchamber maid and was utterly loyal to Mo Juren. He had placed her in charge of the Secret Helm.
"Mother, what should we do?" Mo Caihuan asked.
All four madams looked at Mo Yuzhu.
Mo Yuzhu's heart sank. She realized that they must need her to step forward and keep the false disciple placated.
"Yuzhu, we intend to have you become engaged to the false disciple to keep the Dominating Mountain Manor placated for now. We're worried that once we expose them, they'll tear away all pretense and declare war outright," the fourth madam said.
Her eldest sister's expression grew heavy, and she said nothing for a long time.
The fourth madam was about to persuade her further when Mo Caihuan asked, "And after we've placated them? Even if Eldest Sister puts the bigger picture first and keeps the Dominating Mountain Manor at bay, what happens afterward? If we don't dare tear away all pretense now, will we dare later? Surely we can't actually marry Eldest Sister off to him and hand over the Whale-Jiao Society as her dowry."
All four madams looked at the little genius. They took her opinions very seriously, because her inventions had already become the Whale-Jiao Society's main source of income.
The fourth madam was deeply embarrassed. She had no follow-up plan.
In the original story, they had kept the manor placated for a year, and then Han Li arrived. They hoped to ask Han Li, an immortal cultivator, to kill the leaders of the Dominating Mountain Manor and the Five Colors Sect.
In the end, Han Li killed only the lord of the Dominating Mountain Manor. The Mo Family then attacked the Five Colors Sect, only to suffer a crushing defeat and be slaughtered in retaliation. Their household was destroyed, its members dead or scattered.
The Mo Family really had no follow-up plan at all. If Han Li had not appeared, they would have kept placating the manor indefinitely. And even his arrival had not enabled them to turn defeat into victory.
Her eldest sister also realized that keeping the Dominating Mountain Manor placated was all well and good, but what came afterward? Without a follow-up plan, wouldn't she have to keep it up for the rest of her life?
Mo Yuzhu could not help asking, "Third Sister, do you have any ideas?" She dearly hoped that her remarkable younger sister could offer a better plan. Although she was the eldest sister, she knew her third sister was cleverer than she was.
Everyone turned to Mo Caihuan at once.