A deacon reverentially carries with both hands the vessels containing the remnants (hair and blood) of the sacrificial animals, from the Da Cheng Hall, across the Main Courtyard, through the Yi Gates, across the central courtyard and through the Ling Xing Gates, before burying them in the grounds on the west side of the central Ling Xing Gate. The sacrificed animals include a bull, a ram and a boar which are slaughtered prior to the service.
Traditional custom dictates the use of livestock as the main sacrificial items. Livestock are nourished by the Earth, and so the burial of the remnants after the slaughter serves to compensate the Earth for that which was taken from it. Burial is thus a means of indemnifying the Earth for its continual efforts to nourish the myriads of creatures, so that they may constantly proliferate. The remnants are buried on the western side of the grounds. According to the Theory of the Five Elements, the west is the direction ruled by metal which is the element associated with sacrificial slaughter.