Wei Suifeng and the others had no idea what had befallen them inside the Pixiang Hall, but Shen Mu was gnashing his teeth—clearly he had come off the worse for it. Shen Mu told them the location of Yujing City. While examining the Lame Elder's injuries, he said, "You go on ahead. Send the Pixiang Hall into Yujing City. The moment you trigger the seal upon it, leave at once—do not linger for even a moment." "Rest assured. I have been there before. Though I never reached its deepest recesses, I know something of its layout." Shu Jun said swiftly, "With me leading the way, there should be no mishap." Wei Suifeng put away the Pixiang Hall and departed swiftly with him. Shen Mu took out medicinal ingredients and refined elixirs, which he fed to the Lame Elder. The old man's breath was feeble and listless; carrying Shen Mu through the seal of the Pixiang Hall had damaged his life force and injured his very source, and only after Shen Mu's treatment did he improve somewhat. But to return to his peak condition would still require a period of recuperation. Shen Mu refined more elixirs, sorted them by type, and handed them to Granny Zhu, telling her when to administer each to the Lame Elder. Granny Zhu was astonished, but then saw Shen Mu take out the Glazed Azure Heaven Banner and give it to Yan'er, and then summon forth the souls of the Southern Emperor, the Ming Emperor, and others from his vertical eye, entrusting them to the care of Lan Yutian and Xu Shenghua. Granny Zhu was startled. She hurriedly pulled Shen Mu aside and said anxiously, "Shen'er, don't frighten me. Did you suffer an incurable injury inside the hall?" Shen Mu shook his head. "I fell into a trap. Granny, for the next few days I must remain in dream, using the Buddhist dharma to resist the invasion of the Primordial Sage of the Miluo Palace. You must guard me. If you see all of me within the dream reciting sutras..." He hesitated, then took out the divine bow and handed it to Granny Zhu, saying through gritted teeth, "Then shoot my primordial spirit dead!" Granny Zhu's expression changed drastically. She flung the divine bow aside. Shen Mu said hurriedly, "Even if my primordial spirit is shot dead, I won't die. I can reconstruct my soul—at worst I'll lose my primordial spirit's cultivation and start over. But if the Primordial Sage of the Miluo Palace borrows my power and escapes from the Pixiang Hall, I fear even the Ten Heavenly Venerables joining hands could not stop him! Granny, when the time comes, you must shoot my primordial spirit dead. Do not hesitate!" Granny Zhu's face was complicated. Silently she picked up the divine bow and handed it to the Blind Elder. He took it, pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I cannot do it." He wanted to pass the bow to the Silent Craftsman, but the Silent Craftsman also shook his head. "I cannot bring myself to harm the child I raised..." "Let me do it." Granny Zhu snatched back the divine bow, drew a long breath, and said with absolute resolve, "I was the one who picked Shen'er up all those years ago. It's better that I do it myself. I have a hard heart!" She panted heavily a few times—clearly her heart was not as hard as she claimed. Shen Mu said to Lan Yutian, "Whether to merge with your own remnant soul is a decision only you can make. No one else can make it for you." Lan Yutian hesitated, then nodded. Yan'er took away the soul of the Southern Emperor, the Vermilion Bird. Mother and daughter had finally reunited, and naturally they had much to say to each other. Only the Ming Emperor's soul drifted over this unfamiliar land, somewhat bewildered. "Where is this? Didn't I die?" He looked up at the heavens and down at the earth—this world was so utterly unfamiliar. He did not even know how long he had been dead, nor why he had come here. "You must not leave this place!" A little girl blocked his way, looking up at him, her voice clear and pleasant. "This is the Hundred Thousand Holy Mountains, a place the Ghost Capital cannot reach. You are a ghost—if you leave here, the Earth Lord will seize you and take you to the Ghost Capital! You were imprisoned in the Pixiang Hall, so you must have done many bad things while alive, right? The Earth Lord will whip your backside fiercely!" The Ming Emperor was caught between laughter and tears. He stopped and asked, "Who are you? Why do you block Our path?" "My name is Hua Xuanxiu, and this is Wen Yuan, my senior brother." The girl pulled over a handsome youth and said with a smile, "He is the young sect master of our Heavenly Sage Sect. After a few years of assessment, he can inherit the position of sect master. Of course, the old sect master is still alive. Our Heavenly Sage Sect's rule is that the young sect master had best be able to kill the old sect master to rightfully take the position. I'm afraid Wen Yuan won't have that chance—our old sect master is strong and vigorous..." Patriarch Wen Yuan said helplessly, "That was a corrupt custom passed down by successive sect masters who misunderstood Patriarch Wei's teachings. Now that Patriarch Wei has returned, that rule no longer exists. Ming Emperor, you have lost your physical body and are now in a ghostly state. It would be best for you to stay here. When the sect master awakens and finds the fragments of your former body, he can reconstruct a body for you and bring you back to life." Seeing how endearing and lovely the two were, the Ming Emperor could not help feeling a sense of closeness. He said, "I am now nothing but a lone wandering ghost with nothing to my name. Why don't I teach you two, brother and sister, my supreme arts as compensation..." Hua Xuanxiu and Wen Yuan exchanged a glance, then looked up in unison. "Is it the Wulou Zaohua Xuangong?" The Ming Emperor was stunned for a moment, then nodded, puzzled inwardly. "Even children know of my Wulou Zaohua Xuangong? What era is this? Has even my secret, never-transmitted art become as common as cabbage?" "We have both already practiced it." Patriarch Wen Yuan thought for a moment and said, "That's right. When the sect master mentioned you before, he said you were killed because your Wulou Zaohua Xuangong could not reach the primordial spirit—you could not make your primordial spirit transform along with your body into the three-headed, six-armed form. Since you cannot leave now, we will teach you the Red Emperor's Three Primordial Spirits Immortal Consciousness." The Ming Emperor's eyes went wide. His mind was in a daze, and as if possessed, he nodded. Then he suddenly came to his senses and asked, "Little friends, what era is this now?" "Jingping!" Hua Xuanxiu and Patriarch Wen Yuan said in unison. Lan Yutian, meanwhile, was looking at another version of himself—the Heavenly Venerable Yu. At this moment, the Heavenly Venerable Yu was a mass of remnant soul carrying memories from a million years ago. Whether to merge with his own remnant soul and become the Heavenly Venerable Yu made him hesitate. The Heavenly Venerable Yu was also looking at him. The two youths looked almost identical—though Lan Yutian was somewhat plumper. With Yan'er around, it was hard for him to stay thin. His face still held a childlike innocence, while the Heavenly Venerable Yu seemed much more mature—though his form was illusory, without a physical body, and his soul was severely incomplete. Lan Yutian looked at this former self in confusion. Though their souls were the same, and he himself was a consciousness born from this body, he still felt that he was not the Heavenly Venerable Yu. The Heavenly Venerable Yu seemed to see his confusion. He smiled gently and said, "Can you tell me about your experiences these past years?" Lan Yutian hesitated, then nodded. One person and one remnant soul sat by a cliff. Lan Yutian slowly recounted his experiences over the years. From his rebirth when he lost all memories, to the Heavenly Venerable You bringing him back to the Ghost Capital, then sending him out of the Ghost