A faint hesitation stirred within his heart. At present, he lacked the strength to withstand the Azure Emperor's wrath. He dared not take such a risk. Yet, an innate spirit-gathering body was so rare. If he obtained her and used her to refine a medicinal pill, perhaps he could ascend to become an Emperor. Then, he would naturally be powerful enough to stand against the Azure Emperor... For a moment, two thoughts battled within his mind. Reason told him not to take this risk, yet another voice in his head urged him not to miss this opportunity. If he slaughtered everyone here! Then no one would ever know who had taken the disciple of the Azure Emperor! Even if the Azure Emperor discovered the truth someday, by then, he might already have ascended to become an Emperor. This thought sent a surge of excitement coursing through him once more. He stared at the child clutching the Divine Whip, gazing at her as if she were a priceless treasure. Children are sensitive, especially to unfriendly gazes. Now, seeing that strange thing—human or ghost, she couldn't tell—staring at her with such an eerie gaze, Yue'er clutched the Divine Whip tightly and glared back, her voice trembling with fear. "I... I'm the Azure Emperor's disciple! If you dare touch me, my master won't let you off!" Though she hated resorting to her master's name like this, the creature's gaze was terrifying! She couldn't fight back, couldn't run away, and had no one to call for help. What could she do? "Heh, is that so? Rest assured, your master will never know you were taken by this one." He seemed to make up his mind, revealing a sinister yet delighted grin as his soul drifted toward Yue'er. Song Mi'er clutched her chest as she scrambled to her feet. Seeing the soul approaching Yue'er, she shouted, "Whip him!" When the whip struck that soul form, half his body became slightly more transparent, and his aura weakened somewhat. So the whip must have been effective against him. Yue'er gritted her teeth and lashed out at him again with the whip. However, earlier he hadn't taken her attacks seriously. Now that he knew the whip was the Divine Whip, he naturally wouldn't let his soul form be harmed again. Thus, the instant Yue'er's whip fell, his soul form flickered and flew behind her, reaching out to grab her. "Watch out!" Seeing this, Song Mi'er, ignoring her own injuries, lunged forward violently, shoving Yue'er aside. His soul form grabbed at thin air. A flash of murderous intent flickered in his eyes as he spoke in a sinister tone, "Since you wish to die, I'll let you taste the power of the Soul-Binding Bell!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he extended his ethereal hand toward the direction of the back courtyard, simultaneously shouting, "Soul-Binding Bell, come forth!" In the rear courtyard, the middle-aged man who heard the call felt a jolt in his mind. Almost instinctively, he retrieved the small treasure he had stowed away earlier. The two tiny bells on the artifact swayed gently, emitting a crisp chime. In the next instant, as if pulled by an invisible force, the object shot forward with a whizzing sound, flying toward the front courtyard. Clang. The Soul-Binding Bell landed in the spirit form's hand. Though it appeared held, it was actually controlled by a force. "Seal!" He shook one of the bells toward Song Mi'er. A surge of air rippled, and with another crisp ring, Song Mi'er collapsed. A visible strand of her soul was drawn out and sealed within the bell. "Sister Mi'er!"