Above the Great Dao

Chen Shi returned to the underworld, hurrying towards the place where the stele stood with Black Pot.

"Black Pot, Grandpa Du said the Five Great Evil People, excluded himself. But Uncle Azhuo and Granny Sha, when they talk about it, all say that among the Five Great Evil People, Grandpa Du is the oldest and ranks first."

"Woof!" Black Pot said.

Chen Shi laughed and said, "You're right. I think they all just want to exclude themselves, so they only admit to five evil people, never acknowledging a sixth. Each has their own reasons, but speaking of which, my grandfather never said anything about five or six great evil people. He doesn't consider them evil people."

"Woof woof!"

"Nonsense, Grandpa is not an evil person!"

Chen Shi corrected it, but then frowned, "But speaking of which, regardless of how the personnel changes, Grandpa is always included among the five evil people they talk about. Grandpa's reputation has been tarnished by them."

They arrived at the place where the stele stood tall, searched around, but did not find the Soul Chasing, Sin Judge, and Sword Mountain judges.

Chen Shi was surprised, "Have they already left?"

He went to look for the stele that had not yet taken effect, but it was nowhere to be seen.

"The stele was engraved with Yan Shizong's birth and death year, but the time has passed; will it still take effect?" Chen Shi thought.

He really wanted to take this non-effective stele and find the Returning Void Realm master named Yan Shizong to see whether the tombstone indicates a death or continued survival.

Chen Shi left, returning to Immortal City.

He returned to Chen Yindou's Yuan Chen Palace, activated the prohibition talisman to enter the palace, but found the True Body of the Boat Lady still sitting there, motionless, and thought, "Strange, where did the Boat Lady go? Why hasn't she been seen?"

At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside.

"Could it be Grandpa's neighbor?"

He got up to open the door, only to see three small figures standing outside: one was a Bull Head little ghost, another was a Horse Face little ghost, and the third was a small Yaksha.

Each of the three little ghosts was carrying a bucket with some miscellaneous items and food.

They wore small round hats, with two tender horns poking up from the hat of the Bull Head little ghost, ears poking through the hat of the small Yaksha, and long furry ear tips protruding from the sides of the Horse Face little ghost's hat.

"We're not recruiting."

Chen Shi was about to close the door, but the Bull Head little ghost quickly said, "Benefactor, it's us! I am the Soul Chasing Judge Wang Fu, Horse Face is the Sin Judge Jia Yuan, and Little Yaksha is the Sword Mountain Judge Zhu Shun."

Chen Shi hurriedly invited the three inside, surprised, "How did you find this place?"

Sin Judge Jia Yuan said with a smile, "After you left, we felt it might be unwise to stay at the original place, so we immediately packed up the stele and left. To be honest, I am the Sin Judge, and I examined your sins in advance, so I could find you."

Chen Shi was enlightened, feeling curious, "I have been kind-hearted since childhood, and don't have many sins. It's impressive that Judge Jia could find me here."

Wang Fu and Zhu Shun had strange expressions, coughed twice, and looked around.

Jia Yuan said with a smile, "There are many people, but everyone has different sins. So as long as you identify the sins, you can find that person. When we arrived at Immortal City, your sins blazed like a torch in the night, guiding us."

Chen Shi understood the implication and didn't pursue the subject of sins further.

"How come you've changed into this appearance?" Chen Shi asked, puzzled.

"Our identities are special, and we cannot use the Golden Body, so we usually use the appearance of a small Yaksha to blend into Immortal City and gather information. There are many little ghosts in Immortal City, which makes it easy to hide."

The three bowed together, saying, "If it weren't for you and another benefactor risking your lives to save us, we would have been captured and imprisoned."

Chen Shi returned the courtesy, laughed, "It was just a coincidence, really."

Zhu Shun stepped forward and took out the stele.

This stele was enormous in Grave Stone Carver Du Yiran's hands, towering like a mountain, but now it had become ordinary in size.

Chen Shi examined the inscription on the stele, confirming it was indeed Yan Shizong's tombstone, and happily stored it in the small shrine.

The three judges saw the small shrine behind his head, revealing astonishment, exchanging glances.

Jia Yuan regained his composure and asked, "Young friend, could we enter your small shrine and take a look?"

Chen Shi smiled, "Why not?"

The three judges were about to enter, when Jia Yuan suddenly said, "I didn't bring any incense! Do you have any?"

Wang Fu and Zhu Shun shook their heads, saying, "It's always others who offer incense to us, who would carry incense?"

Chen Shi surprised, laughed, "Entering my small shrine doesn't require offering incense."

The three judges shook their heads, Zhu Shun solemnly said, "Although we have divine status, we must not be disrespectful."

"Three stubborn folks." Chen Shi shook his head, took out a bundle of incense, and handed it to them.

Each of the three judges took three sticks, lit them, and held them with both hands, showing respect.

The incense smoke curled and twisted in the air, drifting towards the small shrine.

The three judges began walking, their bodies shrinking in size as they stepped onto a path formed by the Incense Fire Qi, heading towards the small shrine behind Chen Shi's head, like pilgrims in reverence!

In the underworld, judges have high positions, ranking just below the Clerk and the Ten Halls of Yama. — Of course, the underworld has some powerful beings whose status is above Yama, but these beings are not part of the underworld system.

Such respectful behavior from the three judges was uncommon.

Jia Yuan, Wang Fu, and Zhu Shun entered the small shrine, arriving at the divine shrines and saw Stone Rock Lady and White-clothed Fairy seated atop two shrines, their faces changed slightly.

Wang Fu furrowed his brows, about to scold them and demand they roll down from the shrines. Jia Yuan saw his brow and knew he was about to act, quickly kicked him and whispered, "Don't make trouble."