While Annie was teaching Shi Qingxuan superior martial arts (magic) in the dilapidated Qiyun Temple, preparing to have her use the flute to kill the four wicked disciples of the Evil Emperor Xiang Yutian—"Defiant" You Niaojuan, "The Great Emperor" Ding Jiuzhong, Zhou Laotan, and "Enchantress" Jin Huan Zhen—Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had spent over a month reaching Chang'an with Wanwan, quietly retrieving the Yang Gong Treasury, and heading back. At last, they arrived near Pegasus Ranch.
By then, however, Wanwan was no longer with them.
When the three of them had retrieved the "Evil Emperor's Relic" from the Yang Gong Treasury's cavern, curiosity had gotten the better of them. As they examined and toyed with the round crystal ball, they accidentally touched the generations of Evil Emperors' essence within it—the very thing the Demon Sect's members had dreamed of obtaining. It surged into their bodies like a burst dam, nearly killing them as the overwhelming essence sent them into a qi deviation!
By a stroke of luck, the internal energies of the Longevity Formula and the Heavenly Demon Art tugged and worked against one another. Miraculously, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Wanwan separated and expelled the impurities from the immense Evil Emperor's essence, then simultaneously absorbed the refined, pure energy from the relic. In an instant, it was as if they had been reborn, their martial prowess and physical abilities both growing tremendously!
After narrowly escaping death, the three of them hurriedly packed the weapons, armor, and vast quantities of gold, silver, and jewels from the Yang Gong Treasury into their storage bags. To avoid complications or being discovered by anyone with ulterior motives, they disguised themselves and fled under cover of night.
Along the way, Wanwan took the "Evil Emperor's Relic," now drained of all its essence, and