480: Chapter 480 Roaring Sky Dog

Han Jingyang suppressed a chest full of rage and followed the direction indicated by the compass.

Zhongnan Mountain is tall and deep, covering a vast area with undulating peaks, dense vegetation, and an exceptionally complex climate and environment. Not to mention outsiders, even people who have lived in Zhongnan Mountain for years can get lost.

When outsiders arrive, they lose their bearings halfway up the mountain.

However, Zhongnan Mountain is not a desolate place devoid of human presence; on the contrary, it is quite lively, with so-called reclusive masters and outside hermits scattered all over the mountains and plains.

Along the way, he encountered several groups of people—men, women, old, young, monks, Taoists, and ordinary people—and even a few practitioners.

Asking for directions and inquiring about the situation as he went, it took him an hour to find the murderer.

Han Jingyang gazed at the Taoist who had died a miserable death in the room, deactivated the tracking attribute, put away the compass, and crouched down to carefully examine the Taoist's wounds.

Sword wound.

A clean, swift strike through the heart.

Judging by the bloodstains, the murderer launched the attack from the front.

And this Taoist had been completely off guard.

"In other words... the two were acquaintances?"

"Was this a case of killing to silence someone?"

Han Jingyang held his breath while searching the Taoist's corpse. There was a Taoist certificate, which showed that this Taoist was called Zhang Fazhong, originally named Zhang Xiaozhong, born in the year '61, and his master was Bai Siyuan of the Quanzhen sect.

Aside from the Taoist certificate, all other personal belongings were present.

"No, the cell phone was missing."

The purple-gold copper Bagua plaque that should have been in Zhang Fazhong's hands was also gone.

"Could it be that they only did it for that purple-gold copper Bagua plaque?"

Copper Bagua plaques are common and can be found everywhere in the antique trade, dating from the Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and Republican eras; they are not rare items.

Purple-gold copper ones are slightly fewer, but purple-gold copper is not a rare copper material either. It is just adding some other metals to copper, and the requirements for precision and purity of the ratio are not high; it is easy enough to make the copper alloy exhibit a purple-gold luster.

Therefore, the market value of that purple-gold copper Bagua plaque itself was really not high; it was not worth someone of the "Fa" generation risking their life to commit murder and robbery.

Unless that plaque was a dharma instrument.

And a high-grade dharma instrument at that.

It might even have some special significance; after all, it is not impossible for a Bagua plaque to be used as a token by some high-ranking priest or sect.

Han Jingyang continued to search, finding a pile of odds and ends, but not much that was useful.

Only the white jade-handled whisk that Zhang Fazhong used to kill Liu Tingting's mother was decent. It was a dharma instrument, identified as Grade 6, and came with one skill. However, the skill effect was average, called "Silk to Sword," which meant it could condense the white threads on the whisk into a sharp sword capable of killing.

For ordinary people, it was a good item with an unexpected effect; after all, no one would expect a whisk with no killing power to turn into a sharp, lethal weapon at a critical moment.

But to him, it was truly better than nothing.

However, it could be sold for money.

There are always Taoists who like this kind of dharma instrument; although it is not very powerful, it has some practicality, looks good, and is definitely a tool for showing off.

Han Jingyang put away the whisk and continued searching, scouring the inside and outside of this Xuanzhen Temple.

He gained some things.

But not much.

The value was also just average.

But there was not a single clue regarding the purple-gold copper Bagua plaque he wanted to find most.

"What to do?"

"Which direction should he look in next?"

"Could he only ask Chen Zhongfei for help? Could he only use high-tech criminal investigation methods to check communication records and such?"

"Or should he find a police dog and use the most primitive method to search the mountain?"

One or two police dogs might not be enough. Zhongnan Mountain is too vast and the terrain is extremely complex. There are also wild beasts in the mountains like wolves, bears, wild boars, leopards, and giant pandas. The feces or urine of any one of these wild beasts would severely interfere with the police dog's work.

"Wait, police dog?"

Han Jingyang hurriedly rummaged through his storage bag.

He quickly found a painting.

This was a color-ink figure painting on a scroll, painted by a late Qing dynasty painter named Mao Lin.

It was not large in size.

The artistry could only be considered excellent.

The market price might only be three to five thousand yuan; after all, the author was an unknown painter who couldn't even be looked up, the size was small, and the skill level was not high. Being worth a few thousand yuan was already considering the difficulty of preservation.

However, it just so happened to have an attribute.

Grade 6.

Eye-Opening +4.

Howling Celestial Dog.

Yes, the skill is Howling Celestial Dog.

The content of the painting was Erlang Shen Yang Jian leading the Howling Celestial Dog on a patrol of the mountains.

The skill effect was that it could summon the Howling Celestial Dog.

Of course, it was not the real Howling Celestial Dog, but rather something similar to "Guan Gong Manifests" or "Zhenwu Descends to Earth." What was summoned was just a virtual existence. In essence, the Howling Celestial Dog he summoned was no different from the Great Emperor Zhenwu or Guan Gong; it was similar to using different CG scenes for the same skill.

That was why he had never taken this skill seriously.

But just now, associating the police dog with this skill had opened up his train of thought.

The essence of the summoning was the same, but there were also some differences. The damage effects caused by Guan Gong and the Great Emperor Zhenwu were different, and their Qi attributes were also distinct.

But whether it was Guan Gong or the Great Emperor Zhenwu, the purpose of summoning them was purely for damage; he had never tried any other functions.

Now he wanted to try it.

"If different summoned characters all had different functions..."

"Then what about Guan Gong or the Great Emperor Zhenwu?"

"Besides fighting, what other functions did those great deities have?"

These functions were the most valuable part of this type of skill.

Any skill could improve his combat power, but those functions were unique existences; if he could fully develop them, how cool would that be?

Activate.

Howling Celestial Dog.

The moment the skill was activated, a black, slender, and tall hunting dog condensed out of thin air. After stretching its hind legs on the ground and giving a long yawn, it stood up, excitedly rushed to his side, and circled around him. While circling, it sniffed around his ankles, sharing the same habit as most domestic pet dogs.

It was especially similar to a rural dog.

"Good dog!"

If one could really raise such a hunting dog, it would be quite nice, but he had heard that this kind of pure, tall-legged slender hound was already extinct.

Thinking this, he drove his primordial spirit to issue an order to the summoned Howling Celestial Dog.

The Howling Celestial Dog moved instantly, rushing to the side of Zhang Fazhong, who had been dead for less than two hours, and sniffed around. Then, it jumped excitedly twice before shooting out like an arrow from a bowstring.

Han Jingyang hurriedly followed.

The movements and demeanor of this Howling Celestial Dog were exactly the same as a real dog—running while sniffing around, stopping occasionally to wait, and accompanied by that panting action, it was even more realistic and vivid.

To keep up with the Howling Celestial Dog's speed, he not only equipped two items that increased movement speed but also added two skills: "Wind Under Feet" and "Walking on Level Ground."

His speed soared instantly, running at over thirty kilometers per hour on the winding, narrow, complex, and steep rugged mountain paths, chasing after the murderer like a small motorcycle under the guidance of the Howling Celestial Dog.

After sprinting along the mountain road for twenty minutes, the Howling Celestial Dog suddenly barked silently at the dense forest ahead.

He was instantly overjoyed!

"Caught up?"

After patting the Howling Celestial Dog on the head, he slowed down and approached cautiously.

After bypassing layers of dense forest, the scene before his eyes suddenly opened up. On this mountain at an altitude of nearly two thousand meters, there was actually an open courtyard.

What came into view was a large, level open space and plots of farmland enclosed by fences, where vegetables, corn, sweet potatoes, and other crops were planted. Each plot was neat, spaced out, and orderly, and near the dense forest and the cliff, large quantities of flowers were in full bloom.

This scene was exquisite and full of rustic charm, appearing like a true paradise, and it was a place where a reclusive master with elegant tastes would live.

Ordinary people would not have such elegant tastes!

"Could the owner of such a place be the murderer who killed for treasure?"

"Could he have come to the wrong place?"