Because of the landlord's participation, the progress on the master's side was much faster than Gu Yan anticipated.

They cleared the entire array, and in addition to those Gu Yan had previously strangled, they captured nearly a dozen old vengeful spirits that had been trapped inside for a long time, as well as nearly a hundred wild ghosts that were originally trapped under the graveyard but had run amok due to the influence of the formation.

Although the master's junior disciple Qing Yuan had secretly practiced forbidden techniques with cunning and vicious moves, giving him a slight upper hand compared to the master, the master had the help of the landlord and other companions. They sealed off all of Qing Yuan's escape routes, leaving him no possibility of getting away.

When they left the old residential area, only more than half of the setting sun was still visible above the horizon. The glow of the sunset poured over the old district, dispelling the gloomy air that had shrouded it. The rich golden light with a reddish tinge gilded the people standing on Pomegranate's back with a warm hue...

"Let's go." As soon as the landlord finished speaking, Pomegranate flapped his huge wings vigorously, soaring into the sky, riding the wind under his wings.

The distance from the residential area to the hospital was not short at all in the eyes of ordinary people, but for Pomegranate it was just a matter of flapping his wings a few times.

However, Pomegranate had only flapped his wings twice and had not yet flapped for the third time when the people on his back, who had been overlooking the entire city, suddenly called for a stop in unison.

"Huh?" Pomegranate instantly hit the brakes, changing the way it flapped its wings to hover in the air.

"That's the expressionless kid, right?" The master looked down for a while, clinging to Pomegranate's back, then pointed to two figures in a dead end not far away. The others who also saw nodded in confirmation.

"Tsk, can't see clearly, Pomegranate, fly a little closer." The landlord tapped Pomegranate's back with his toes, relying on the concealment talisman to hide them from being seen by ordinary people, wanting Pomegranate to descend a bit more.

Pomegranate obediently stopped flapping his wings and swooped down a distance, then abruptly stopped just as his belly was about to graze the top of a building.

"Who is the expressionless kid beating up?" The master had just asked when he reacted and hurriedly said, "Oh oh, this old man remembers, that scoundrel emperor!"

"The one whose entire family he wiped out and then had lingchi done to him?" Although the landlord knew what the master had done before, he had not directly seen that fatuous emperor, so he still casually asked.

"That's right."

"But--" Granny Camphor Tree looked for a while, smacked her lips, and said, "Ah, it's just so frustrating when souls fight. That's why this old woman hates dealing with ghosts the most. Hitting them is like hitting cotton - although they feel pain, you can't kill them unless their souls scatter. It's so stifling."

Mo Bao thought for a moment and said, "If Gu Yan wants to make that fatuous emperor's soul scatter, it's not impossible. He could directly absorb him. Isn't that how he used to deal with those ferocious ghosts before?"

The master stroked his beard, "Ah-- so to speak, you spirits who have never been human don't understand human thoughts. In my opinion, even if he absorbed all the ferocious ghosts, he still wouldn't absorb this one."

"Why?" Granny Camphor Tree didn't understand.

"It's revolting! Think about it, when he absorbed those ferocious ghosts before, the reason he didn't even frown was first, he didn't know those ghosts at all, and second, those ghosts had all committed crimes, so even if he didn't absorb them, they wouldn't have a good end anyway. This is different. He not only knows him, but has an irreconcilable, sky-high hatred. Would you be willing to absorb someone you don't even want to look at into your own body?"

Granny Camphor Tree shook her head repeatedly, "That's so disgusting."

When these few finished chatting and refocused their gaze on Gu Yan and that fatuous emperor in the dead end alley, they saw that Gu Yan also seemed very impatient with this endless fighting.

He was seen taking advantage of the fatuous emperor's inattention, flipping his hand to fling out a yellow talisman. The fatuous emperor failed to dodge and was hit squarely. His originally somewhat ethereal body contours suddenly became clear, with every strand of hair distinct.

The fatuous emperor was obviously a little surprised by his own change. He looked at his hands and feet that had turned solid with some disbelief, his whole person stunned.

Gu Yan seized the opportunity while he was in a daze and flew up with a kick, sending the fatuous emperor crashing hard into the wall that sealed the dead end.

The instant his back violently collided with the hard wall, the fatuous emperor's expression was twisted in pain as if his bones and tendons were shattered, but his eyes were full of joyful surprise: he could actually... hit the wall instead of passing straight through?!

However, he had just slid down the wall, with his toes barely touching the ground and not yet settled, when Gu Yan, who had also changed back to physical form, flashed in front of him before he could react.

Gu Yan's left hand grasped his neck and lifted him up, while his raised right hand carried the force of a thousand pounds. The five fingers in the shape of claws, with tips flowing with blade-like black evil energy, viciously pierced into his heart.

The dull sound of flesh being punctured was mixed with the crisp "crack" of the sternum shattering. The fatuous emperor's pupils suddenly constricted, his whole body convulsing, but he was powerless to break free from Gu Yan's hate-filled grip.

"Let go--" The fatuous emperor squeezed out two gasps from his throat, but was cut off by Gu Yan tightening his hand again.

Seeing this person who originally sat on the dragon throne now in such a wretched state, with a ferocious expression due to the pain, Gu Yan tightly furrowed his brows, his eyes full of viciousness and ruthlessness.

This person exterminated his entire clan, peeled off his flesh...

Countless people died under his casual decrees - loyal generals, famous scholars, old ministers, new officials...

Yet he still put on airs, holding that vicious, narrow-minded and suspicious heart, sitting on that chair with coiling dragons...

Gu Yan once thought he would have many questions to ask him, would torture him with the resentment of countless people, making him unable to live or die. However, when it really came to this moment, he found that he didn't even want to say a single word.

In front of this person who had destroyed his everything, he didn't even have the desire to speak. It was like someone who had walked too long carrying a heavy load, who had been thirsty for too long - when he really saw water, he might not even cheer, but would pounce over and scoop it up to drink.

"I-- I don't want..." The fatuous emperor struggled a few more times in a daze, striving to speak.

"What don't you want?" Gu Yan's voice, suppressing his emotions, carried a strong sense of weariness. He laughed, but his face remained expressionless: "You don't want to die? You've been dead for over five hundred years... For these five hundred years, you and I have been ghosts that can't see the light. But now, you can't even be a ghost anymore."

The fatuous emperor's originally narrowed eyes suddenly widened, and he struggled desperately with his remaining strength: "No--"

"You killed so many, and I only killed you. If we really count it, I'm the one who lost..."

After saying that, Gu Yan's face turned cold. His right hand clenched forcefully, crushing the fatuous emperor's heart. Then he tore off the talisman pasted on the fatuous emperor's body, and with both hands, he tore the fatuous emperor's soul out of the bloody hole in his chest. Then, as if throwing away garbage, he tossed it aside.

The one who once sat on the dragon throne now became a shattered soul, curled up in the corner of the wall full of weeds and dirt, motionless...

Gu Yan stood in the sealed alley. The dim light penetrated his body that had turned back into a soul, casting a blurry glow on the ground. He stood silently for a while, then turned around and walked out, stepping on the void. A few steps away, around the corner, was one of the city's commercial districts, with bustling traffic and crowds. That was the world he lived in now...

And a little further away was a hospital. In that white building, there was still someone he should cherish, waiting for him...

When he reached the entrance of the alley, Gu Yan's footsteps paused. He tilted his head and looked up diagonally, his gaze stopping on a not-so-tall building. Then he said in a deep voice to the empty void where there was nothing, "You can come down and take him away now."

The bunch who had been watching the whole process while sitting on Pomegranate's back: "..."

After a long silence, the old Granny Camphor Tree tilted her head and asked, "How did he know we were here? Didn't we put up a concealment talisman?!"

The landlord twitched the corner of his mouth: "Ghosts are indeed an elusive species..."

Master looked at the three identical men behind him with extra frustration, thinking to himself: In my eyes, no matter how elusive, it can't compare to even one ten-thousandth of you. At least I've never seen anyone else do something like growing their lover, let alone accidentally growing three...

Comrade Mo Bao crossed his arms and shook his head, saying, "He indeed didn't absorb this fatuous emperor..."

Collecting ghosts was not a very difficult task for the Master. Collecting a ghost that had already lost its movement and was at the mercy of others had a difficulty basically equal to zero.

So the Master, as if picking up junk, quickly sealed the fatuous emperor's soul and put it into a small bottle. He also put Granny Camphor Tree's few figurines and the pile of bottles and jars collected later into a large cloth bag, tightened the opening, and even pasted a talisman on it.

When they arrived at the hospital, Gu Yan had obviously been back for a long time. He had transformed back into a physical body, and there was no trace of blood on his hands.

It was unknown when he had cleaned up. Not only did he not leave the rusty smell unique to bloodstains and the decaying and rotting smell unique to yin souls, but there was a refreshing scent of plants.

Su Kun had been pasted with soul-fixing talismans by Stone, and he had been possessed by the fatuous emperor for a very short time. So the Master, in a few simple steps, set up a simple array, jumped around like he was performing an exorcism dance, and woke him up.

Su Kun, who woke up in a daze, first looked for Gu Yan. When he found that his hand was being held by Gu Yan, who was sitting by the bed, he breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he remember the Master and the others.

"Huh? Who are these three people? Why do they look exactly the same..." As soon as he shifted his attention away from Gu Yan, he saw the three men standing behind the landlord.

He was stunned for a moment, then a flash of inspiration struck him, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Holy shit, you really did grow a group of lovers?!"

Landlord: "..."