Gou Zai Fei Men made up myths

Shen Mo's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface: "Speak."

"Chen Hao from Baibaoge personally delivered this item half a month ago." Han Lin carefully placed the wooden box in front of Shen Mo's desk, unsealed it, and said, "He said that it was obtained by chance by a Baibaoge merchant caravan in the depths of the 'Hanhai Gobi' in the far west, in an ancient ruin that had long been buried by sandstorms."

"The ruins were very small in scale, and were suspected to be a temporary cave dwelling or the place where an ancient cultivator fell. Most of the items inside were weathered and damaged, but this one was preserved because of its special material."

"Chen Hao knew that our alliance had been acquiring all sorts of ancient anecdotes and rare items at high prices, so he sent them over as rare commodities, demanding a very high price. After examining them, I felt that they might... might be related to what the sect leader was looking for, so I took it upon myself to buy them at a high price."

Shen Mo opened the wooden box. Inside, lined with soft silk, lay a flat bone fragment, about the size of a palm, grayish-brown in color, and irregularly shaped.

The bone fragments are dense, cold and heavy to the touch, with natural textures and tiny pores on the surface and jagged edges, resembling fragments of the scapula of some large animal, and are obviously extremely ancient.

What caught Shen Mo's eye were the extremely fine and ancient patterns and characters on the surface of the bone fragments, which were not naturally formed but were carefully carved on by someone with some kind of sharp object.

It was a... simple map.

The map features a meandering groove in the center of the bone fragment, resembling a dried-up riverbed, representing a path or river.

On both sides of the groove are some simple, symbolic symbols: triangles resembling mountains, clusters of dots and lines representing forests, and irregular circles resembling lakes... At the "source" of the groove, where the bone fragment's edge is most severely damaged, a relatively complex pattern is carved—

It resembled a bottomless vortex that kept spinning inwards, with a few tiny star (or point of light) symbols scattered around it.

Beside the vortex pattern, in ancient, distorted, yet still barely legible seal script, were two small characters that made Shen Mo's breath catch in his throat—

Return to the void!

It truly is a "return to nothingness"!

Moreover, Shen Mo's gaze was fixed on the simple map, especially the location of the "Return to the Void" pattern and its relative position and distance to other geographical symbols on the bone fragment...

His heart felt as if it had been struck hard by a heavy hammer, thumping loudly, almost leaping out of his chest!

The location of "Guixu" marked on this bone fragment map, its approximate orientation, and its relative relationship with certain symbolic landmarks...

It was almost identical to the direction he had "deduced" and "concepted" half a year ago in the Samsara Palace when he was "editing cause and effect" based on the outcome of "body merging with the Heavenly Dao," which was the possible location of "Return to the Void," a "desolate region of chaotic laws and folded spacetime" in the far west to north of this world...

It wasn't a perfect match—the bone fragment map was incomplete and blurry, with distorted proportions, and his "deductions" at the time were more directional and conceptual.

But the overall orientation, the connection with certain types of landforms (such as the wavy lines symbolizing "endless sea"? or the jagged markings symbolizing "spatial rifts"?)... gives people a feeling of great harmony!

It's as if... a location he imagined and fabricated out of thin air was actually recorded on a beast bone by someone in the form of a map countless years ago!

And these animal bones, after being sealed away for countless years, were discovered by the caravan of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and delivered to him by sheer coincidence!

Is this possible? Is this reasonable?!

Coincidence? Another damn coincidence?!

Shen Mo felt a wave of dizziness. He abruptly closed his eyes and pinched his brow hard with his fingers, trying to calm himself down.

In the sea of ​​consciousness,

The Myriad Laws Source Pearl seemed to sense his intense emotional fluctuations, trembling slightly and emitting a faint, soothing glow.

"Sect Leader? You..." Han Lin called out worriedly when he saw Shen Mo's changing expression and his closed eyes.

Shen Mo slowly opened his eyes, his gaze now unfathomably deep.

He picked up the cold animal bone, his fingertips tracing the rough engravings on it, feeling the vicissitudes of countless years and... an indescribable sense of "realism".

"Is there any other information about this bone fragment? For example, who made it? Are there any other discoveries in the ruins?" Shen Mo's voice was somewhat hoarse.

Han Lin shook his head: "Chen Haoyan, the ruins have long been eroded beyond recognition by the wind and sand. Apart from some worthless rubble and this piece of animal bone, there is nothing else. The animal bone itself cannot detect any residual spiritual energy or special aura, as if it were just a casual carving by an ancient person."

"That's why he dared to sell it as a rare item. Otherwise, if it were truly valuable, given the nature of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, they would have kept it for themselves."

"A casual sketch?" Shen Mo sneered inwardly. How could someone who could sketch a map of "Return to the Void," and whose location was so close to his "fabricated" version, have done it casually?

This beast bone either hides a deeper, undiscovered secret, or... it is a "token" destined to be delivered to him by some unseen karmic connection!

"At all costs, we must extract from Chen Hao the detailed location where the caravan discovered the bone fragments, as well as all the information they had gathered along the way."

"Also, check if the Treasure Pavilion has any other similar 'strange items' from remote ancient ruins for sale recently, especially those involving maps, celestial phenomena, or ancient legends," Shen Mo instructed in a deep voice.

"Yes!" Han Lin replied, then hesitated and said, "Sect Leader, this 'Return to Nothingness' place..."

"Classified as top secret, above everything else." Shen Mo interrupted him, his tone resolute. "The contents of this map must not be known to any third party besides you and me. Including Su Xiao."

Han Lin's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly bowed, saying, "I understand!"

After Han Lin left, the secret chamber returned to silence. Shen Mo, alone, took the beast bone and walked to the window. Outside, the summer sun shone brightly, and drifting clouds created a peaceful scene. But in his heart, a raging storm was brewing.

The appearance of the animal bone map, in the most direct and absurd way, "verified" his shocking "causal editing"!

Although he consumed a massive amount of his luck, damaged his soul, and shattered the jade slip, he only obtained a vague "answer" and direction in return.

This beast bone seemed to have flown in from the sky, gently and skillfully pinning the ethereal "Return to the Void" onto an ancient map!

What exactly is going on? Is it the power of the Myriad Laws Source Pearl, far beyond his comprehension, not only editing cause and effect, but also "drawing" or "creating" corresponding traces of reality?

Or is it that... this was all part of a predetermined "history," and his "fabrication" was simply because he "knew" it in advance?

Or perhaps... there is a larger, more invisible hand, using his hand, using Qingyun Sect, using all of this seemingly accidental, to drive a process that has already been planned.

Shen Mo felt a chill run down his spine. The power had come strangely, the truth was shrouded in mystery, and the future was uncertain. But he knew there was no turning back.

No matter what kind of turmoil lies behind this, he must keep going and see everything clearly.

He held the animal bone tightly in his hand, the cold touch seeping through his skin.

"The Ruins of Return..." He gazed at the vast sky outside the window and murmured to himself, "It seems I have no choice but to go and explore it. But it's not the right time yet..."