A month ago, outside the True Monarch Bone Temple, Brother Ji Lingzhou led the Cangyi Group's core members, collaborating with Han Renshan to completely surround the hill adjacent to the Yin and Yang Realm Boundary Monument.
Ji Lingzhou glanced at his own diligent subordinates, then turned to look at Han Renshan, who was all alone, without even a Protector by his side.
"Where are your Celestial Heart Sect members? We agreed to join forces and evenly split what's in the divine relics.
For this matter, Brother Ji spared no expense to bring all the skilled members from various groups to the Ancient Yin River Dao; surely Saint Master Han can't expect to get everything for nothing?"
"..."
Han Renshan's face was troubled. For the past three years, he had left countless rendezvous marks along the Ancient Yin River Dao. Logically, his Double Supreme Envoys should have appeared by now, but there's been no sign of them at all.
As time passed, Han Renshan's unease grew. The disappearance of Qiu Yunlong and Sun Faping kept haunting him.
His Protectors, Bai Luo, Qing Luo, and Jin Luo, had similarly vanished without a trace in the Jin Sect.
Coincidentally, the entrance to the Ancient Yin River Dao was located within the realm of the Jin Sect.
Han Renshan always felt a certain conflict with this place. He had tried several times to leave the Jin Sect, never to set foot in this ominous land again, but now he has no way out.
The successive losses of the Double Supreme Envoys and several Protectors had already weakened him greatly. Without capable subordinates to manage the sect's power in various states, how could he mobilize the scattered congregation?
The only way to break through now is to obtain the divine relics, helping him to overcome the celestial person's shackles. Only then could he turn the tides and restore the greatness of the Celestial Heart Sect!
Han Renshan took a deep breath and bowed slightly towards Ji Lingzhou, saying, "Brother Ji, guarding the entrance to the Return to the Void requires few hands; the real dangers lie in the divine burial beneath the Bone Temple. Rest assured, my subordinates may be unable to come here, but I, Han Renshan, will certainly put in my utmost effort, assisting Brother Ji in obtaining the divine relics to complete our grand plan!"
Ji Lingzhou's heart stirred, and he smiled, saying, "Then I'll trouble the Holy Master."
Upon entering the Bone Temple, the first thing that caught their eyes was the statue of the Demon Exorcism True Monarch.
With black whiskers and a mustache, eyes wide with anger, mouth agape in a mystic chant; if not for the red robe and black boots, and the black gauze official hat worn on his head, anyone would consider this not a divine figure but a ghostly demon.
Han Renshan, having a bandit background, was less informed than Ji Mingzhou, and he frowned, asking, "Which heretic god is this? Why does it look exactly like the ghostly Bodhisattva locked in the temple?"
Ji Lingzhou laughed, saying, "This is not a ghostly Bodhisattva, nor any heretic god, but a true deity known for eliminating evil and promoting goodness."
"Hasn't Saint Master Han heard of the title of the Phantom-catcher Celestial Master?"
Ji Lingzhou walked to the foot of the statue, looked up to meet the statue's gaze, and said, "The Phantom-catcher Celestial Master, surnamed Zhong in the secular world, was a person from Mount Zhongnanshan, immensely talented, yet exceptionally ugly in appearance."
"After ranking first in the imperial examination, he was disliked by the king due to his looks, thus deprived of glory and never used."
"In anger, Zhong ran himself into a pillar and died. After his death, his soul entered the Underworld, where the Heavenly King of Fengdu, moved by his strong spirit, appointed him as the Demon Exorcism True Monarch, granting him a Treasure Sword to patrol the Yin and Yang Realms and slay foul demons and ghosts!"
Ji Lingzhou placed a stick of incense on the statue, and after offering his respects, he continued, "Later, the Imperial City was disturbed by ghostly shadows at night, horrifying the king and causing him to fall ill. Thereafter, every night, he would dream of being entangled by fiends."
"But just when the king felt helpless, the Demon Exorcism True Monarch appeared in his dreams, subduing the demons with bare hands, devouring their flesh alive, claiming that he suppressed the waste ghosts and relieved the calamities."
"The king woke up the next day and urgently summoned a master artist to draw a portrait of the Phantom-catcher Celestial Master holding a sword in the dream, posting it at the palace gates, causing all evil spirits to vanish."
"The Gate Gods paintings posted at the entrances of households during festivals include this Demon Exorcism True Monarch."
Han Renshan frowned and said, "Isn't this Bone Temple the locus of the True Monarch of the Dragon and Tiger Profound Altar Return to the Void? Why would there be a statue of the Demon Exorcism True Monarch?"
Ji Lingzhou shook his head and said, "It's not that strange; at the turtle head of the Bixi, there's even a burial constructed by the Ghost King. Over the centuries, having a Bone Temple on such an ancient tombsite isn't unimaginable."
Han Renshan squatted down, extending his hand towards the ground as a visible ripple began to pulse from the Bone Temple's Incense Hall outward.
"Fifty feet below, there's an empty chamber, likely the burial site of celestial relics."
Ji Lingzhou's eyes flickered, unreservedly praising him, "I've long heard that Saint Master Han possesses the ability to seek and break dragon veins; seeing it today proves its reputation isn't exaggerated."
Han Renshan glanced at Ji Lingzhou with appreciation, saying, "This is my house-guarding skill; without such expertise in surveying earth veins, who would find it easy to obtain the relic here?"
"Does Saint Master Han have a method to enter the burial chamber?"
Han Renshan stood up and paced, after measuring the layout of the Bone Temple, he suddenly looked up towards the statue of the Demon Exorcism True Monarch.
"The tomb passage is directly beneath the statue, thirty feet deep."
Ji Lingzhou was taken aback, and Han Renshan continued, "This True Monarch statue is somewhat bizarre, its foundation is connected to the earth veins. To enter the burial chamber, it's likely we must first destroy this statue."
"Brother Ji holds such respect for Him; will you still have the heart to do it?"
Clad in simple attire, Han Renshan looked cheerfully at the noble gentleman before him, dressed in a deep blue cloud-patterned brocade robe, crowned with silver.
Ji Lingzhou chuckled softly and didn't reply; he stepped in front of the statue of the Demon Exorcism True Monarch, bowed deeply, then drew the Treasure Sword at his waist, lightly brushing against the candle flame as he examined it.
At a certain moment, he suddenly looked up, eyes solemn, and said, "Brother Ji strives for the world; if anyone dares to obstruct, whether human, god, demon, or ghost, all will be slain by my sword, becoming wandering ghosts!"
"Apologies, Demon Exorcism True Monarch!"
That day, the Bone Lodge trembled, and the statue suppressing the earth veins within the Bone Temple's Incense Hall shattered completely.