Holy Bone

Chapter 1998 Qingxi Zhenren and the Great Green Ox Return to the Capital
Since the Celestial Master's Mansion was unwilling to discuss the matter of the Eight Scenery Sect elders, Jin An did not want to delve into it further. He briefly recounted his experience of subduing demons and monsters, saying that the problem had been resolved, and then took the initiative to offer his farewell.

The elders of the Celestial Master's Mansion tried to persuade Jin An to stay, but seeing that Jin An was determined to leave, they did not try to stop him. They only said that they would lead the elders of the Celestial Master's Mansion to personally visit and express their gratitude in a few days.

There was another reason why the elders of the Celestial Master's Mansion stopped insisting on keeping Jin An: they wanted to reunite with Master Qianlong and Master Zifeng as soon as possible and find out the many details of the past ten years.

"Then there's no need for you to see me off, Elder. Your Celestial Master's Mansion is very busy today. You should go ahead and attend to your business. I can take the carriage back to the Criminal Investigation Department by myself." At the entrance of the Celestial Master's Mansion, Jin An bowed and clasped his hands in greeting to the elders of the Celestial Master's Mansion.

The elder of the Celestial Master's Mansion hurriedly said, "How can that be? How can we let our distinguished guest from the Celestial Master's Mansion leave like this?"

"I will send a few disciples to personally escort Daoist Jin'an back to the Criminal Investigation Department, as a way of expressing my gratitude for his kindness."

"Master Jin'an, please don't say any more. This time, I must have my Celestial Master's Mansion personally escort you back."

Before Jin An could say anything more, the elders of the Celestial Master's Mansion had already summoned several disciples to escort him.

Seeing this, Jin An also accepted the escort from the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Next, Jin An boarded his Bixie carriage and headed back to the Criminal Investigation Department. The journey was peaceful; nothing happened, and he eventually returned safely to the department.

Jin An invited the few people from the Celestial Master's Mansion who were responsible for escorting the disciples to the Criminal Investigation Department to have tea, thanked them, and then let them leave.

As soon as those people left, Jin An immediately found Fatty Li and asked him to look up the surnames of a group of people.

The surname he was looking for was the jade slip with the character "墨" (Mo) that had fallen from the three-headed, six-armed, six-legged figure.

The order was personally issued by the Commander of the Criminal Investigation Department, so the subordinates naturally dared not neglect it, and the results were achieved quickly.

"Master Jin'an, the list search results are in!"

You'd never guess who those people really are!

Fatty Li rushed into Jin'an's study from outside.

The old Taoist priest urged, "Just say what you have to say, you're driving me crazy."

Fatty Li didn't deliberately delay and said directly, "Master Jin'an, do you still remember Elder Mo from the Celestial Master's Mansion?"

"It's that Elder Mo who died in the inner landscape of the Taoist Huangting."

"It's Elder Mo, the one who was with Elder Luo Tian on the Divine Ship in Jiangzhou Prefecture back then."

Upon hearing this, Jin An let out a soft exclamation and asked in slight surprise, "Could it be that the jade slip engraved with the character '墨' belongs to Elder Mo?"

Fatty Li clapped his hands, gave a thumbs up, and exclaimed, "Master Jin'an was right after all!"

"It is indeed Elder Mo's!"

"I have also looked up the names of the spirit tablets in the jade slip. They are all the close relatives of Elder Mo's family throughout the ages, including his parents, grandparents, uncles, etc."

Jin An's expression turned even more surprised, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "Have you checked it again and again?"

Fatty Li nodded vigorously and said, "I checked it myself again! It's absolutely genuine!"

Jin An frowned deeply.

Before Jin An could speak, the old Taoist priest beside him exclaimed, "How come this time it's related to Elder Mo again? Is Elder Mo a grudge against the Celestial Master's Mansion, and his restless spirit is coming to the Celestial Master's Mansion to seek revenge?"

"Is it because Elder Mo has a grudge against the Celestial Master's Mansion, and his relatives have come to the Celestial Master's Mansion in person to avenge him?"

After the old Taoist finished speaking, he immediately shook his head and shouted, "But that doesn't make sense either. The Celestial Master's Mansion is one of the three holy lands recognized by all the famous sects in the world. It is full of experts, and there are countless people in the third realm. How could Elder Mo possibly touch the Celestial Master's Mansion?"

"Moreover, to cause the disappearance of three third-realm elders of the Celestial Master's Mansion in one fell swoop, if Elder Mo or his relatives truly possessed such power, they would have been able to command the wind and rain long ago. How could they possibly be just an ordinary elder of the Celestial Master's Mansion..."

"No, no, something's not right. I don't think this is as simple as it seems. What do you think, young man?"

At this moment, Jin An spoke up, his brows furrowed as he said, "Old Daoist, do you remember I told you before that Elder Mo has an ancestor in the inner landscape of the Daoist Huangting, an ancestor from a thousand years ago?"

The old Taoist priest was taken aback and said, "I remember, young brother, you said that the ancestor was trapped in the inner landscape of the Taoist Yellow Court. He attacked the Martial King's Mansion for hundreds of years without success. In the end, he was dragged out for hundreds of years and died in the inner landscape of the Taoist Yellow Court."

"When that ancestor died, he was still unwilling to accept his fate. He left a will, revealing the situation in the inner landscape of the Taoist Yellow Court, hoping that future generations could pass through the Wu King's Mansion and fulfill one of his regrets in life."

Jin An nodded and said, "It is indeed him."

Why would Elder Mo's jade slip appear on a three-headed, six-armed, six-legged figure?

"As a supreme expert of the fourth realm, he would definitely look down on ordinary cultivation techniques and secret manuals, so it shouldn't be for the cultivation techniques and secret manuals in Elder Mo's jade slip!"

"It's impossible that the other party deliberately brought Elder Mo's jade slip to the Celestial Master's Mansion just to impersonate Elder Mo, because he could tell my true identity and what happened to me in the Taoist Yellow Court Inner Landscape. This shows that he knows the Taoist Yellow Court Inner Landscape very well and has most likely entered it before!"

Jin An frowned and continued his analysis, saying, "Since the two most likely possibilities cannot occur in the other party, then only one possibility remains..."

"The reason the other party preserved Elder Mo's jade slip so intact might not be for the cultivation techniques and secret manuals inside, but for the ancestral tablets inside—the ancestral tablets of the Mo family's ancestors throughout the ages!"

"And the fact that he respects the ancestral tablets of the Mo family so much makes his identity obvious... He might be the Mo family patriarch in the Daoist Yellow Court Inner Landscape, the one who infiltrated the Corpse-Carrying Clan a thousand years ago, entered the Daoist Yellow Court Inner Landscape, and then took the opportunity to slaughter the entire Corpse-Carrying Clan, wanting to replace them and lead them to immortality—that scheming and wicked patriarch!"

"Only this can explain why he valued the Mo family jade slips so much and carried them with him at all times!"

Hiss!

Upon hearing Jin An's words, both the old Taoist priest and Fatty Li couldn't help but gasp.

"Master Jin'an, this..." Fatty Li was dumbfounded. He wanted to say something in rebuttal, but found that he had no way to refute it.

Because what Jin'an said was highly likely.

The criminal investigation department has handled countless cases and seen all sorts of bizarre events. What Jin An said was still within the acceptable range for Fatty Li.

pat.

pat.

pat.

The old Taoist priest paced back and forth in the study several times, and finally slapped his thigh and said, "This is almost certainly true. It is very likely that it was the ancestor of the Mohist school a thousand years ago!"

"These highly skilled old bastards have many ways to survive even after death. Their ghosts linger, and they can even steal the sky and change the sun to live a second life! It seems that the Mo family patriarch either faked his death or truly died and his ghost lingered, following you out of the Taoist Yellow Court Inner Landscape and returning to the mortal world!"

Jin An nodded solemnly, his brows furrowed, as he began to consider countermeasures.

"If it truly is the return of the Mo family's ancestor from a thousand years ago to the mortal realm, with his millennia of cultivation, he certainly possesses the fourth realm! Perhaps even the fifth! So, young brother, how do you plan to resolve this troublesome matter?" The old Taoist priest adopted a worried expression, saying, "You killed a clone of the Mo family's ancestor from a thousand years ago, which is tantamount to forging a life-or-death enmity. His next target after dealing with the Celestial Master's Mansion might very well be you..."

The old Taoist priest looked at Jin An with considerable worry.

Although Jin An's cultivation level was also very high, his opponent's cultivation level was not weak either, both being at the fourth realm. If he wasn't careful, Jin An might suffer some minor losses.

Jin An didn't speak, but instead took out the "Mo" family jade slip and placed it on the Luo Geng jade plate, intending to use the divine artifact to personally search for the whereabouts of the Mo family's ancestor from a thousand years ago.

As a result, the Luogeng Jade Plate remained completely still.

Jin An frowned, then relaxed, sighed softly, and said, "Just as I thought."

"Young man?" the old Taoist priest said in a low voice, still worried.

Jin An explained, "I originally intended to use the Luo Geng Jade Plate to try and find out the whereabouts of the Mo Family Ancestor. If I could find him, I planned to resolve this matter as soon as possible to avoid future troubles."

"But the compass plate didn't react at all just now, which means that the jade slip has not been in the possession of the Mo family patriarch for long enough, and it is still assumed to belong to Elder Mo. And since Elder Mo is already dead, it is understandable that the compass plate did not react."

"What should we do then? How can we find the Mo family patriarch?" the old Taoist priest asked worriedly.

Jin An snorted coldly and said, "Then we'll meet force with force and water with water."

"There are laws that restrict the mortal realm. Although the Four Symbols Formation of Severing Heaven and Earth has been broken, the laws of heaven and earth are slowly loosening. Right now, everyone's cultivation can only reach the fourth realm. As long as we are within the fourth realm, I am not afraid of him coming for revenge."

"Even if one day in the future the laws of heaven and earth are restored to the point where one can cultivate to the fifth realm, I will not be afraid of him. I am already in the late stage of the fourth realm, and I can break through to the fifth realm at any time. As long as I reach the fifth realm, it will not be so easy for him to kill me."

The old Taoist priest sighed and said, "That's all we can do."

"Young brother, you must not slack off in your cultivation and strive to break through to the fifth realm as soon as possible."

Jin An wasn't particularly nervous. After hearing the old Taoist's words, he put on a wry smile and said, "That would require the laws of the Great Thousand Worlds to be restored to a state where one can cultivate to the fifth realm."

The old Taoist priest chuckled and said, "Hehe, that's true."

Hahaha.

Jin An laughed loudly.

Afterwards, Jin An stayed behind to handle some trivial matters, and the three of them boarded the Bi'an carriage, intending to return to the Wuzang Taoist Temple to spend the night and rest.

……

Three days later.

Jin An, who was cultivating in the Five Organs Taoist Temple, did not receive any visitors from the Celestial Master's Mansion. Instead, he was greeted by the most unexpected thing... a cow.

"Master Jin'an, Master Jin'an, look who's here!"

The primordial spirit of the Thousand-Eyed Daoist statue emerged from its body in broad daylight, with the sun above its head, and came to Jin'an's room to find him.

"Thousand-Eyed Daoist, you're now at the third realm, how can you still be so rash and unstable?" Jin An opened his eyes and glared at Thousand-Eyed Daoist.

The Thousand-Eyed Prop Statue didn't seem to care, and said nonchalantly, "Master Jin'an, if you knew who had returned, you would probably have the same expression as me."

"Oh, who is it?" Jin An asked curiously.

Just then, the old Taoist priest's loud voice came from outside the room again, shouting, "Young brother, come out and see! The big blue ox of the Five Organs Taoist Temple has returned!"

"Hahaha, the great blue ox that accompanied Master Qingxi to the East Sea is back!"

Huh?
Jin An's reaction was exactly as the Thousand-Eyed Daoist statue had predicted; he immediately stood up in surprise and walked out of the room.

As soon as he stepped out of the room, he saw the big blue ox getting along very well with the silly sheep. One was bleating and the other was mooing, the sheep and the ox talking to each other so affectionately, as if they had endless things to say to each other for ten lifetimes.

It was the great blue ox that the True Man of Animal Creation had transformed into!

He's back from the East China Sea!
Return to the Five Internal Organs Taoist Temple!

"Good guy!"

"You look like you've gained weight!"

When Jin An saw the Creator again, he was overjoyed and couldn't help but punch the big blue ox.

The big blue ox mooed and winked at Jin An, looking very familiar, and greeted him as if they were old friends.

Even the old Taoist priest laughed heartily and played with the big blue ox.

After spending half a year together, everyone had become quite familiar with each other. The fact that the Great Green Ox had finally returned from the East Sea brought a wave of joy to the entire Taoist temple.

"Old Taoist, go to the restaurant today and buy some good wine and food. The return of the Immortal of Creation is a joyous occasion, and we should celebrate it properly," Jin An said with a hearty laugh.

Upon hearing that there would be delicious food tonight, the old Taoist priest's eyes lit up. He readily agreed and then rushed out to buy good wine and food.

That night.

After the Wuzang Taoist Temple closed its gates and closed for the day, a large group of people sat around a stone table in the courtyard behind the temple, enjoying fine wine and discussing the experiences of Qingxi Zhenren and the Great Green Ox in the East Sea.

Sitting around the stone table were Jin An, the old Taoist priest, Xiao Jian, and Fatty Li.

Then the silly sheep and the big blue ox forced their way in.

On the treetops in the courtyard stood the magnificent Peacock Buddha Mother.

The Great Blue Ox then recounted everything he had seen and encountered along the way. When he talked about Qingxi Zhenren's entry into the Great Wilderness of the East Sea, the Great Blue Ox's voice grew louder and louder as he spoke at length about his experiences. Although this was his second time entering the Great Wilderness of the East Sea, this time accompanying Qingxi Zhenren had brought him many new insights and experiences.

Jin An and the old Taoist priest did not interrupt the big blue ox's long-winded talk. They enjoyed drinking fine wine while listening to its tale, which was quite a pleasant experience.

Even after the big blue ox finished telling his story, the two of them didn't forget to ask about some details along the way, and after hearing the details, they were both amazed.

Jin An suddenly looked puzzled and said, "That's not right. Qingxi Zhenren went to the Great Wilderness World of the East Sea Guixu to find clues related to her own background. Why didn't you mention Qingxi Zhenren's background after listening to what you said, Zaochu Zhenren?"

"What happened to Qingxi Zhenren's background afterward? Was it found in the Great Wilderness World of the East Sea Ruins?"

Everyone's eyes turned to the big blue ox, who was munching on a carrot with the silly sheep, and then the big blue ox froze.

(End of this chapter)