Holy Bone

Chapter 2014: The Corpse-Driving Technique Resolves Matters of the Past Life, and Speculations about the New Imperial Advisor

As the paper effigy of Jin'an finished speaking, a handful of crimson soil rose up from the deep crimson pit and transformed into a woman with her hair tied up, her clothes disheveled, revealing large areas of her chest and thighs.

The woman looked at the black pill in the paper effigy of Jin An's hand, opened her mouth, and let out a piercing scream.

Thankfully, the paper effigy of Jin'an didn't have a head; otherwise, he might have suffered deafness from this injury.

The woman's palm suddenly became dazzling, and she raised her hand and pressed it down hard on the ground. A wisp of air was dispersed and slammed into the crimson ground.

In an instant, the ground shook violently, dust filled the air, and then an enormous, crimson earth dragon radiating intense heat flew and crashed into the paper effigy of Jin'an, which was standing right next to it.

boom!
A large amount of reddish-brown, hot soil suddenly exploded, like an earth dragon opening its scarlet maw, swallowing the paper effigy of Jin An whole.

Its entire body was enveloped in the crimson earth dragon's body.

At the same time, the woman's figure flashed, like a ghost, and she instantly appeared behind the paper effigy Jin An, thrusting out the blood-stained knife in her hand.

He stabbed at the chest of the paper effigy of Jin An.

Boom!

The earthen dragon exploded.

To her surprise, the woman's knife missed its mark.

There was no trace of the paper effigy Jin An inside the earthen dragon.

The Seventy-Second Transformation!
The Eighteenth Transformation! Earth Travel Technique!

The paper effigy Jin An did the opposite; his figure appeared behind the woman, each hand forming a Thunder God Fist intent, and his fists slammed into the woman's head.

boom!
The ground beneath their feet suddenly exploded, accompanied by a thunderous cracking sound louder than winter thunder. Then, the woman's head was smashed to pieces by the paper effigy Jin An.

Brain matter, corpse blood, rotting flesh, fascia, and bone fragments were mixed together, turning a perfectly healthy head into a bloody mess.

The head, which should have been intact, had been transformed into a long, narrow shape that was no longer human, a bloody mess, and extremely ugly.

The woman was not a living person; she was unaware of pain. After being ambushed by the paper effigy Jin An, she immediately turned around and attacked him.

The paper effigy Jin An once again used the eighteenth transformation, the Earth-Walking Technique, and disappeared from the spot, causing the woman's knife attack to miss.

The next moment, the paper effigy of Jin An reappeared behind the woman.

This time, he once again used the Thunder God Fist technique to strike the woman's back.

However, this time the woman was on guard, and after her attack missed, she vanished instantly, causing the paper effigy Jin An's attack to also fail.

Then, the figures in the arena kept changing. Earth-walking techniques and evil shadows kept shifting and attacking and defending back and forth. The battle was evenly matched, and the sound of explosions kept coming from the void.

The paper effigy of Jin'an was attacked by a woman.

The woman was also attacked by the paper effigy of Jin An.

However, the paper effigy Jin An had the advantage. As a martial arts immortal, no weapon could pierce his body or harm him, so the woman's attacks were almost entirely ineffective.

On the contrary, the paper effigy Jin'an's Thunder God Fist Intent, Divine Path Fist Intent, and Ancient Nine-Character Mantra could inflict injury on the woman's body with each attack.

In a short span of time, the two exchanged nearly a hundred blows. The woman's body had been injured multiple times and was now a bloody mess, making her unrecognizable as human.

At this moment, the woman no longer resembled a woman at all; she looked more like a monstrous and malevolent monster, her hands and feet almost entirely bursting into lumps of flesh.

"You are stronger than the little girl."

"But you're still too weak."

“If you weren’t at the peak of the late fourth realm, you wouldn’t be a match for me at all.”

"weak."

"weak."

"too weak."

After a hundred battles with the paper effigy Jin An, he had a clear understanding of the woman's fighting strength. He shook the paper effigy's head, his tone full of disappointment.

"It seems that the person who wanted to attack me did not have a clear understanding of my realm. They thought I was just an ordinary fourth-realm cultivator, and sent you two evil spirits to kill me."

"If I were to kill both of you in the underworld today, that person would probably make it more difficult for me to deal with him next time."

“I originally wanted to ask you who sent you to deal with my Criminal Investigation Department, but you are an evil spirit, only knowing how to follow orders and not understanding human relationships. Asking you would be pointless.”

After the paper effigy Jin An finished speaking, his primordial spirit left his body and he observed the Four Saints of the North Pole, the True Lord Yisheng. Then, he summoned the Imperial Bell, a magical treasure of the Four Saints of the North Pole, and as the bell jingled, a grand sound of the Great Dao emanated from it.

As the Imperial Bell resounded, all the saints descended, their divine light blazing, and one wisp of energy divided into myriad gods!

Even the most powerful cultivators in the mortal realm struggled to resist this great Dao music, let alone deal with the spirits of the dead. It had a deadly effect of stealing souls and causing the woman to have a splitting headache and scream.

The Four Saints of the North Pole, Yi Sheng Zhen Jun, holding the Emperor Bell and wearing the Kunlun Mountain on his head, traveled the world, searching for and capturing ghosts and gods. He transformed into the Black Killing Marshal of the North Pole, who was invincible and fearless. Using the hilt of the sword on the Emperor Bell as his weapon, he easily pierced the woman's body without any resistance.

The woman immediately cried out in pain. She still wanted to resist, but her body was pierced by the Emperor Bell, and she lost all strength to resist. She could only be suppressed by the powerful aura of the Three Pure Ones on the Emperor Bell: Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun, Shangqing Lingbao Tianzun, and Taiqing Daode Tianzun, and could not move.

The Emperor Bell is an important magical artifact in Taoism used to subdue demons and monsters. It is said that a woman who was stabbed by the Emperor Bell would soon have her body decay and disappear without a trace, returning to dust.

The Great Dao responds!

May you accumulate three million in good deeds!
May your good deeds amount to nine million!
"Hmm?" The paper effigy Jin An put away his primordial spirit and the Emperor Bell, and reappeared in the underworld in his physical form. He exclaimed in surprise.

Then, after thinking about it, I understood the reason.

Those three million merits must belong to the little girl.

It was just an ordinary fourth realm, which met his expectations. After all, the opponent's strength was too weak to pose a threat.

Unlike the woman before him, who posed even the slightest threat, and whose speed in shifting forms was only slightly faster than his.

As the paper effigy Jin'an annihilated the two evil spirits, the illusion disappeared, and the wooden plank walkway returned to its original state, pitch black in front and behind, with no way to see the way back or the future.

The paper effigy Jin An looked up at the wooden plank walkway ahead, then leaped away and disappeared from the spot, his body already soaring to the top of the cliff.

This wooden boardwalk had been explored countless times by those who came before, and any opportunities to explore it had long since been taken. That's why it was developed into a tourist attraction for ordinary people to visit. Therefore, he had no interest in exploring the boardwalk anymore, and since his business was done, he turned and left.

When the paper effigy of Jin'an reached the top of the cliff, he took out three Bagua amulets and released Zhang Weishan and his two fellow disciples.

The paper effigy of Jin An did not seal the talisman, and the three people inside, including Zhang Weishan, clearly perceived and understood everything that happened outside.

As soon as the three of them came out, they immediately bowed deeply to the paper effigy of Jin An, expressing their deepest gratitude: "Thank you so much for saving us, Commander!"

"Commander's skills are unfathomable, the best in the world!"

"Commander, you are invincible!"

The paper effigy Jin An simply smiled at the three men's flattery, taking it all in stride, and then said, "Now that things are settled in the underworld, let's go back to the mortal realm. There are still many things waiting for us to deal with there."

"Yes, Commander." Zhang Weishan and the other two nodded.

……

The subsequent resurrection was quite simple. The paper effigy Jin An awoke from the thousand-year-old black coffin in the Five Organs Taoist Temple, then found the old Taoist priest to get his head, and then flew back to the Criminal Investigation Department.

When Li Pangzi, Deputy Commander Yu, and the others saw Jin An return, their eyes lit up with joy. At the same time, Zhang Weishan and the other two, who had successfully returned to life, also came out of their respective rooms to meet Jin An.

Jin An then revealed a somber matter, sighing, "On my way here, I tried to search for the bodies of Chen Zhiyun and the other four in the mortal realm's Linya Street, but to no avail. I'm afraid their bodies have already been destroyed..."

"Hey."

Afterwards, Jin An recounted the general course of his journey to the underworld. When he talked about witnessing Chen Zhiyun and the other four become possessed and miss their chance to be reincarnated, Fatty Li, Deputy Commander Yu, and the others could no longer hold back their tears and began to cry.

The five members of the Chen Zhiyun group had been missing for so long, and everyone had devoted everything to finding them, their emotions running high. But when they heard that all five were dead, the pent-up emotions of the past few days finally broke down, and they wept bitterly.

"Master Jin'an, please help them! Help them reincarnate and start anew!" Fatty Li cried as he looked at Jin'an, tears streaming down his face.

"Commander, please help them!" The others all knelt on one knee, begging Jin An for help.

Jin An gently helped them all up with one hand, and solemnly said, "I have already figured out how to handle the funeral arrangements for Chen Zhiyun and the other four."

"Although I cannot bring them back to life, I can give them a brief 'resurrection' to settle their affairs in this life and then let them be reincarnated in peace."

Then, Jin An patted the human stomach pouch at his waist and took out the paper effigies he had bought on the way here, including bamboo blocks, bamboo strips, wooden sticks, scissors, paint, paste, etc. He then used the techniques from "The Corpse Collection Record" to make five paper effigies that were realistic enough to resemble real people.

These five paper figures were all made according to their appearance in life; they are Chen Zhiyun, Guo Zihao, Liangzi, Aqing, and Su Wei.

"Hey."

"Everyone, after I have helped you temporarily 'come back to life' this time, when you return home, be filial to your parents, love your wives, and cherish your children. Take good care of your affairs in this life and leave no regrets. Then, enter the cycle of reincarnation and be reborn. I will recite the 'Scripture of Salvation' to smooth out all the dangers and obstacles on your path of reincarnation."

After Jin An finished speaking, he used the eighth transformation of the Seventy-Two Transformations: Corpse Driving Technique.

The next moment, the five paper effigies came to life on the tablet. They stood up and looked around in confusion. When they saw Jin An and Fatty Li and their colleagues, they were overjoyed and hurriedly got up to reunite with everyone.

After a long-awaited reunion, the five people left one after another to take care of their own affairs.

Watching the five men leave the Criminal Investigation Department, and seeing them all the way to the entrance of the department, Fatty Li could no longer hold back and burst into tears again.

Jin An was also in a heavy mood, so he patted Fatty Li on the shoulder to comfort him.

"Master Jin'an, didn't you say you couldn't find out who was trying to harm our Criminal Investigation Department? But I, Fatty Li, have a guess about who it is, and I don't know if I should say it!" Fatty Li suddenly wiped away his tears, his face contorted with extreme anger.

Jin An nodded and asked, "Who did you guess?"

Fatty Li clasped his hands in a fist and said, "The person I'm guessing is someone of extraordinary status. Daoist Jin'an, please forgive me for my innocence before I dare to speak!"

Jin An frowned and said, "Fatty Li, we're on the same side now, so just say what you want to say. I've always trusted you."

Fatty Li gritted his teeth and uttered three words: "The new Imperial Advisor!"

Then, gritting his teeth, he continued, "Master Jin'an, didn't you say that a few days ago during the morning court session, the new Imperial Preceptor suddenly suggested to His Majesty that our Criminal Investigation Department should intensify its surveillance of those underground tunnels and ditches in the capital?"

"Logically speaking, this matter is not up to the new Grand Preceptor to propose, and it has nothing to do with him at all."

“Even if the new Grand Preceptor wants to make a suggestion, he can negotiate with you privately without having to report to the Holy Emperor and let the Holy Emperor make the decision.”

"The reason why the new Grand Preceptor personally proposed this matter in front of the Emperor and so many civil and military officials at the morning court is simply to see something happen to our Criminal Investigation Department so that he can intervene in our Criminal Investigation Department or make other arrangements."

"After all, so many people died in the Criminal Investigation Department. This matter could not be kept secret from so many spies in the capital. The Court of Judicial Review and the Censorate are always looking for ways to deal with us. This is a great opportunity for them."

Fatty Li said indignantly, "That's why I dare to guess that the new national advisor is trying to harm us."

"The purpose is simple: to cause trouble in the Criminal Investigation Department so that he can take over."

When Jin An heard Fatty Li mention the words "new national advisor," a hint of approval flashed in his eyes. After Fatty Li finished speaking, Jin An patted Fatty Li on the shoulder and sincerely praised him, "Fatty Li, even if I leave the Criminal Investigation Department in the future, with you here, the Criminal Investigation Department will certainly not decline."

After saying that, Jin An turned and walked into the Criminal Investigation Department.

After hearing Jin An's words, Fatty Li was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly chased after him.

"Master Jin'an, what did you mean by what you just said? Are you leaving the Criminal Investigation Department?"

"where are you going?"

Jin An did not answer.

Fatty Li pressed for a few more questions, and seeing that Jin An did not answer, he turned to ask about something else, saying, "Daoist Jin An, when I mentioned the new Imperial Preceptor just now, you didn't show any surprise or astonishment on your face. Did you also think of the new Imperial Preceptor?"

This time, Jin An finally responded, nodding slightly and saying, "Mm."

Fatty Li said indignantly, "We all thought of the same thing. I knew it was the new Grand Tutor who was trying to harm us."

"They want to replace our Criminal Investigation Department."

Jin An walked ahead without turning his head and said, "Although I have only met the new Grand Preceptor a few times, we already harbored mutual hatred from the very first meeting."

"This time, he probably didn't target the Criminal Investigation Department, but rather me personally."

"They want to bring me down through the Criminal Investigation Department."

Upon hearing this, Fatty Li exclaimed in surprise, "What! Daoist Jin'an, you've made an enemy of the new Imperial Preceptor!"