Was she beheaded in the market or did she die of sickness? She surprisingly couldn't remember...

She could only stare helplessly as four Yin (1) ghosts had dragged her by the iron chains on her body.

Above and below, countless yin fires flowed, and would sometimes fall on the red spider lilies, creating green flames two or three feet tall. The fire-red flowers were very enchanting.

There were many sidewalks connecting to the main road, and there were many people like her, wearing white clothes and being dragged forward by Yin ghosts. Some were crying, some were smiling, and a few were talking to themselves. The atmosphere was deadly and seemed to be able to consume all the people into its wrath of darkness.

In the end, they could only proceed silently and pass through the faraway gate of the city.

The Yin ghost that was leading her forward stopped, waiting to pass the door. She looked around lazily, seeing the gray sky, the flowing Yin fires, and the red spider lilies that were as red as fresh blood. The flowers were like a dragon's claws, enchanting, but a trace of hideousness was hidden inside.

She was looking into the distance, as bored as ever, when an Yin ghost said, "The new ghosts are so noisy, and I don't know how long we'll have to wait. Let's just have them drink the Forgetfulness River (2) water now. They'll have to drink it before they reincarnate anyway."

Forgetfulness River? She turns her head to see a Yin ghost take out a midnight black wine urn. Pulling aside the red flowers, a clear river was revealed.

She couldn't say what color the river was, and just felt that it was a rainbow of colors, and accommodated an abundance of things.

The Yin ghost walked over to a new ghost, taking the urn with him. It forcibly opened the new ghost's mouth, ignoring its cry, and forced it down. At first, it cried hard, and then a dazed and sluggish expression appeared on his face, like a newborn baby.

After feeding several ghosts this way, the crying gradually ceased. Seeing some water left in the urn, she couldn't help but stretch out her hand.

"Let me see," she said.

The Yin ghost said nothing, and picked up the board, about to hit her, but was hurriedly stopped by the ghosts that were escorting her.

"Stop! You know who she is! Don't be reckless!"

The Yin ghost seemed unconvinced and smiled coldly. "I actually want to know who she is! If she is a noble immortal official, how could she be tied up with a soul chain?"

A few other Yin ghosts dragged him aside and said in a low voice, "Who would dare tie her if her death was covered by the law? In addition, she isn't sane, or else she would have already taught you to destroy your own soul at this moment. Emperor Hou Tu had already tabooed her, let alone you!"

The Yin ghost was terrified. He turned its head to study her carefully, and found her extremely beautiful, but with an expression that seemed at loss, and found it truly peculiar to see evil spirits occasionally come out from between her eyebrows.

Seeing her hand still stretched out for the urn, he could only obediently pass it to her.

She dropped the lid and hurriedly stuffed her hand in to catch it, but only brought back up a handful of clear water, and saw parts of fragments, the memories from before his life.

Scooping up some more water, it was the memory of a demon, who was burning, killing, plundering, and finally beheaded in the market.

She continued, and now it's another palace lady, her emptiness contrasting with the tree full of blooming red flowers.

She scooped up water several times again, but the people's lives were all joyless, either being sick or lonely their entire life.

These fragments were familiar and unfamiliar to her at the same time. She wanted to know how she died and what she did when she was alive, but for some reason, she just couldn't remember.

Seeing her seemingly confused, the Yin ghosts couldn't help but panic. This person was extremely sharp and stubborn, and it would be hard to deal with her if she sees through them. They couldn't only smile and say, "Miss, go through the door now. Why not wait for the official to judge the Book of Life and Death inside?"

She nodded her head obediently and returned the wine urn. The Yin ghosts dragged her forward, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the beautiful city gate, so tall it towered over all of them.

Two gigantic immortals, one of which looked very strange, guarded the gate, and she and the Yin ghosts were stopped.

"Bring me your plate."

The Yin ghost smiled and hurriedly took out a vermillion colored plate with her name and the important events of her life written on it. The strange immortal glanced at it, and his face changed slightly. He then analyzed her more carefully, but she seemed oblivious of everything around her and had her head lowered, playing with her belt.

"Are you stupid? How could you tie her up?" The strange immortal asked in a low voice.

The Yin ghost shook his head, put his hand on his neck, and gave it away gently. The strange immortal understood immediately, stared at her scrupulously, and retreated to the side. "Please,"

The Yin ghosts carried the heavy soul chain and she was dragged in. However, there were many pavilions in the city, and were no different from the ones in the mortal realm, but the residents were Yin ghosts. There were occasional old ghosts working as assistants in teahouses, and they were all people without reincarnation.

She looked from left to right, and thought of her surroundings as new and interesting, and seemed to have forgotten about the Forgetfulness River water.

She was led to a gorgeous platform, and saw that the layers of blue tiles spread upward, like the wings of phoenix. The auspicious clouds shrouded above and layers of emerald green buildings were things that could not be seen in the mortal realm.

"Miss, please come in." The Yin ghosts invited her in respectfully, and two of them loosened the chains on her waist, then left to report to the officer. The other two stayed in the main hall with her, waiting.

A blue faced young ghost with two sharp fangs brought over tea, seemingly panicked. She found the bump on the ghost's head peculiar and reached out her hand to touch it. The young ghost's face turned an earthy shade, and shouted as he cried, "Please spare me! Please spare me!"

The Yin ghost excused the young ghost, and smiled forcibly. "Miss, please do not blame him. He has not learned all the rules yet. Please spare him."

She nodded her head obediently, and asked, "I only thought his head interesting, couldn't I touch it?"

The Yin ghost could only smile bitterly and thought, You are the nemesis of all ghosts, so would dare let you touch even a finger? There is no word here at this moment. And the two other Yin ghosts. They brought the plate to the official, and the bearded officer didn't even know what to do after a while of pondering.

After a while, the officer asked, "How did you tie her up?"

The Yin ghost replied, "Since she's a human, we naturally tied up her soul after she died."

"Stupid servant!" The official frowned. "No one asked you this! Did you expect me to not know who she will be in her next life?"

The Yin ghost quickly smiled, and said, "My lord is wise. I am silly. It was said to not tie her up with the soul chain, but she died in the mortal realm without any disturbances. If she was not tied up, it would have been violating the law. Fortunately, she was sane, and she was taken into the underworld ignorant and obedient. But may I ask my lord, how should she reincarnate this time?"

Stroking his beard, the official pondered for a moment, then said, "Self-decision...It looks like she still hasn't achieved it yet. She's too hostile, and still needs to learn. She will go on the same path this time, with some added troubles, until she learns. If you still don't understand, then continue to make decisions by yourself...You tell them to send her into hell next time and let her fend for herself!"

The Yin ghost was just about to deliver the message when a voice from the curtain behind the official said, "Wait."

Both the Yin ghost and the official hurriedly turned around and bowed. "Greetings to Hou Tu Emperor."

The voice that was like that of both a female and male's said, "I have pondered for some time, and think that these sufferings may not be effective in teaching her the right ways.

The official bowed again and said, "What does Your Majesty have in mind?"

Emperor Hou Tu said behind the curtains, "Her previous lives have given her many pains and sufferings, but the evil energy inside her hasn't disappeared at all. I'm afraid that this is not a good strategy. It would be a better idea to use joy and ease to influence her, and have her feel warmth and love. Then she can reincarnate back into the heavens and cultivate to become an immortal again."

The official seemed troubled. "She will be making decisions on her own this time, and I'm just afraid that she won't devote herself to heaven...The road to immortality is also extremely difficult, and so few people have actually succeeded. If she doesn't succeed, I'm just afraid that your majesty's good intentions will be wasted."

Hou Tu pondered for some time, then said, "Leave her here, in the underworld for now, and teach her with the book about cultivation and immortality first. After a period of time, we will let her choose her own path."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Yin ghost came out to find her fidgety, looking around, curious at everything. He sighed. He wouldn't need to worry about scaring the young ones when there was an evil thing here.

He put on a smile, and walked to her. "Miss, congratulations! Emperor Hou Tu has decided that you may stay in the underworld for a while, and we will talk about reincarnation later."

She seemed to understand, but stared at him blankly. The Yin ghost groaned silently, and put on his fake smile again. "What I mean is...you can play in the underworld for a few days, maybe read a book or take a walk, and you will reincarnate when it's time."

She then nodded her head. She reached out her hand and touched the picture of the God of War on the wall, and said, "I like it here, so I'll just stay here."

The Yin ghost could only nod his head. "It's my honor that you like it here."

He ordered the young ghosts to tidy up the room, and then said to her, "Girl, one more thing. The emperor pitied your confusion about all of this, so he gave you a name."

She was confused, and didn't really know what was going on. The Yin ghost gently nudged her, and she bent slightly. "His Majesty has given you a name, and you must kneel down to accept it."

She didn't kneel down, though, and only stared blankly at the ghost. He couldn't do anything else, and said plainly, "His majesty has named you Xuanji. From now on, you will answer to the name Xuanji."

She nodded her head, as if at loss, and turned her head to see a young ghost come down the stairs. She grinned and reached for the bump on his head, only to cause the ghost to burst into tears and howl loudly like a wolf.

So Xuanji stayed in the underworld temporarily in this manner. She was told that she was to help the official with some miscellaneous work and to bring him his tea, but how many people would actually dare to order her around? They could only allow her to wander around the city and hope that she wouldn't cause any trouble.

Everyday, the official would bring some books on immortality and cultivation, and teach her the principles of the world. She could recognize the words, and seemed to have a natural understanding of the topic, which astonished the officer greatly.

As time passed, the official couldn't help but silently praise the wiseness of His Majesty, the great Emperor Hou Tu. If that ignorant soul was immediately reincarnated, she would definitely make mistakes repeatedly, and would not know right from wrong. Now, she has revealed her intelligence through reading the books and swept away her previous silly air, and has shown interest in immortal cultivation.

She was like a stone at first, picked up from the bottom of the river, confused and not yet polished. But now, it's clear that the principles of the world and the stories of immortal cultivation have slowly refined her from head to toe, and her real beauty has gradually emerged.

But there was one thing that made his head hurt.

She was lazy, astonishingly lazy, so lazy that her laziness would make both people and the heavens angry.

She would never sit if she could lie down, never think if she didn't need to, and spent most of her days by the Forgetfulness River, scooping up handfuls of water, then put the water back in the river after sniffing it.

Everyone knew what she was looking for, but not a single person dared to tell her that all her memories from her previous life were taken away by Emperor Hou Tu. Hou Tu had decided to cut off her hostility by having her start over and live a new life.

The official looked for her for quite some time, but didn't see her, and asked the guarding Yin ghost where she was, and his reply was that Xuanji was at the riverside, viewing the flowers for the entire afternoon, and had not moved at all.

He was furious, and with a book in hand, he went to the riverside himself, with a decided intention to scold her. Over the past few months, their relationship became one like that of a teacher and student, and her intelligence had caused the official to relax to some extent and teach her as if she was his student. And there is no teacher who wouldn't be lazy at his student's laziness.

As expected, there was a thin white figure sitting at the riverside. He approached her quietly, but saw her staring at the red spider lilies on the other shore, as red as fire. He didn't know what she was thinking, but she must have been, because her eyes seemed to stare straight through the flowers.

He was about to call her, when she said without turning her head, "Teacher."

The official sighed rather loudly and walked over to sit next to her, and the two of them stared at the flowers on the other side, seeming to be condensed with blood. After a long time, he said, "What are you looking at?"

She said lightly, "Look at the color. I have a very familiar feeling, as if I see it often, but I can't recall it."

The official was slightly startled, but said, "The previous life is over. Don't worry about those mundane things, as they will violate the principles I have taught you."

"Yes." Said Xuanji. "Yes, Teacher is right. I have always thought that this makes sense. But although I understand these principles, they seem so far away from me, and they feel so hard to accomplish."

"Oh? What principles do you find hard?"

"You told me to cultivate my body and mind, and not to focus on those mundane things of the past or the possibilities of the future. Those things can attract and fascinate so easily, and even make the purest hearts dirty, and then it will be impossible to cultivate. When the six roots are contaminated, it will be easy to develop unwanted thoughts and feelings."

She picked a flower and crushed it with her hand, and watched the bright red juice trickle down her slender fingers.

"But, a person's heart is meant to think. Eyes are meant to see, mouths are meant to talk, ears are meant to hear. If I give up all of these things, then what should I look at? I don't understand Teacher's words about having an empty heart after becoming an immortal. So, if one becomes an immortal, will he know nothing?"

The official did not expect her to ask such difficult questions. Then thoughts for quite a long time, then said, "Not really, an empty heart still makes mistakes. It seems to know and not know at the same time, understand and not understand at the same time."

"Then what do they really know?" She asked seriously. "So if you know, you have to pretend you don't? Do they even live happily?"

The official frowned. "Xuanji, you are quite stubborn. Living happily? Do you think that the unwanted thoughts and feelings make people live happily, then?"

She lowered her head, and said softly, "I understand what teacher means. I just don't understand this principle in general. If we shouldn't have thoughts or feelings, then why does it exist? I don't understand at all, and have thought about this for a long time, and have come to the conclusion that I can't do this. If I have a heart, then I will feel, then I will think. If I won't, then what's the purpose of it? Teacher, you're probably very disappointed in me right now."

The official saw that her eyes were clear, but they were also foggy deep inside, which made her expression quite strange. He couldn't help but feel alarmed, knowing deep inside that she was just too smart, and would eventually remember her taken memories of the past. Then, if she became a demon, there would be no redemption, and the Heavenly Emperor and Emperor Hou Tu's good intentions would all be for nothing.

He pondered for a very long time, and finally thought of a solution. He suddenly clapped his hands together and exclaimed, "I have understood what Xuanji means!"

Xuanji's eyes became rounder, and she curiously asked, "What has Teacher understood?"

The official smiled. "Let me show you your previous life! But this will be the only time."

She was overjoyed, her hands seemed to be dancing, and she couldn't even speak.

The official picked up a handful of soil from the shore, and sprinkled it into the Wang Chuan river, saying, "Look at it thoroughly and slowly. You will not be allowed to ask about this after today."

She hurriedly leaned forward, and the water gradually condensed into a girl in white. Xuanji was taken aback when she saw the girl's face.

The girl was herself.

But she also looked different.

Her face was very murderous, her eyes were like pieces of broken ice and her chill was extremely permeating. The girl suddenly conjured a sword from thin air and spun around, her skirt blowing slightly in the wind. The river didn't show what she stabbed, but her entire body was suddenly covered with fresh blood. She then took back the sword and wiped her face, leaving a streak of fresh blood across the left side of her face. She smiled strangely, as if she was ecstatic.

Xuanji found the scene familiar, that smile, that white dress stained with bright red blood, that pair of eyes that could crush snow and ice. She then seemed to remember the sound of a horn, the golden iron horse, the shouting that could be heard from the mountains to the sea. The general on the horse had three heads and six arms, and was completely surrounded by a circle of flames.

Asura! (3) That was an Asura! She suddenly grasped a little inspiration in the dark, and was about to blurt out something, when she was pushed hard into the river. She couldn't keep her balance, and fell right into the Forgetfulness River, taking a few sips of the bitter water.

Like a big cat who fell into the water, she crawled to the shore in a panic. As soon as her hands touched solid ground, she only felt half-conscious. She tilted her head at the official on the shore, and thought that she had something to tell him, only she forgot who he was.

"You..." She murmured. "I..."

Strange, it seemed as if she'd forgotten something important. What in the world is it? The official ordered a Yin ghost to tie her with the soul chain and they pulled her ashore. He said loudly, "Xuanji, you have stayed in the underworld for over three months, and you have regained your sanity, so I will now send you to reincarnation. I hope you will work hard to cultivate to become an immortal, and go back to the heavenly realm as soon as possible."

So, she was sent to reincarnate.

Seeing Xuanji in a daze, and knowing that it was because she had drunk the water from the Forgetfulness River, he asked cautiously, "My lord, um...what world will you send Miss Xuanji to? Will it be like last time, to the world of the Asuras?"

The official shook his head. "No, she is no longer who she used to be. At such a critical moment, if something suddenly happens, she will surely become a demon. So I will make her drink the Forgetfulness River water and have her reincarnate. She should never go back to the world of Asuras, or everything that we have done will all be put to waste. There are many immortal cultivators in the mortal realm now, and they respect the immortals, so I shall send her to the mortal realm. As long as her heart is sincere, there will no doubt be a good result in the future."

The door to the mortal realm has opened, it's light quite glorious, and many different paths could be seen. The bright line shone on Xuanji, she gradually became transparent and then turned into a shiny orb.

The official picked up the orb, walked through the door, and threw it into the red dust. "If fate determined us as teacher and student, then we can surely meet in the heavenly realm in the future. Take care." He thought.

It was deep in the night when the wife of the sect leader of Shaoyang Peak gave birth to two daughters. That night, the room shone brightly, as if it was day. The sect leader Chu Lei had a dream on the eve of the births, in which he saw the turquoise Linglong jade and the brilliant stars in the dark sky, and decided on the names: Linglong and Xuanji.