Chapter 1232: Eradicate Evil Completely

"Huh?" Dong Rui asked in surprise. "What do you need that for?"

He Lingchuan smiled, touched his shield to the giant elephant zombie puppet, and it vanished.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror had requested it.

Apart from Emperor's Dew, it rarely asked its owner for anything. Besides, it had rendered great service today by luring Commander Shi and other Bixia people into its mirror world, so He Lingchuan naturally intended to reward it.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror, when moving, couldn't hold living beings, but storing a zombie puppet was perfectly fine.

He Lingchuan also guessed what it intended to do; the mirror itself already contained several small evil spirits.

The elephant puppet, a massive hulk the size of a small mountain, vanished into thin air, leaving Fu Liushan stunned. How could an ordinary storage ring hold such a large object?

Dong Rui, however, knew there was something unusual about the mirror-shield in He Lingchuan's hand, so he didn't ask further. He continued, "Oh, right, we need to go to Shrieking Forest."

"We?" Fu Liushan asked, puzzled. "You two are going too? What for?"

As a Celestial Master, investigating a forest infested by evil spirits was part of his duty. But what business did these two have in Shrieking Forest?

Dong Rui pointed to the zombie puppets scattered everywhere. "To trace the source of these things."

Seeing the sparkle in Dong Rui's eyes, Fu Liushan quietly asked He Lingchuan, "Is this what he enjoys?"

He wasn't foolish. The ghost monkeys of Rakshasa Armor that he and He Lingchuan fought recently in Jing Mountain seemed somewhat similar to these zombie puppets—both were, how should he put it, mutated monsters?

"Yes, he loves these things," He Lingchuan replied truthfully. "His lifelong passion."

Anything related to divine blood or bone made not just Dong Rui's eyes light up, but He Lingchuan's as well. Shrieking Forest was definitely worth a visit.

Moreover, He Lingchuan harbored another suspicion.

He suddenly asked Fu Liusheng, "Has the true form of Ghost King Xuanlu truly been annihilated?"

For matters concerning ghosts and spirits, a Celestial Master was the best authority.

Ghost King Xuanlu could recognize the aura of Rakshasa Armor on him, which would hinder his future plans. This threat absolutely could not be allowed to persist.

Fu Liusheng paused, then pondered before saying, "The surrendered Bixia commander's surname seemed to be Shi, right? He said that while trapped in the mirror world, Xuanlu's clone suddenly vanished mid-way. Calculating the time, it might have been when you killed the Ghost King outside. However, Xuanlu is cunning, so this still needs confirmation."

At this point, the Soul-Capturing Mirror, which was on He Lingchuan, chimed in, "Yes, yes, Master! The moment you killed Xuanlu, the clone in the mirror let out a wail and disappeared, leaving Commander Shi beside it completely bewildered."

Having followed He Lingchuan for a long time, it also understood what "bewildered" meant.

He Lingchuan gently patted the mirror.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror's inner world had been closed for repairs, or "debugging" as it called it, after He Lingchuan disrupted it two years ago. It was utterly loyal to its master, and He Lingchuan had always treated it well, feeding it an immeasurable amount of Emperor's Dew over the years. The mirror had also developed its inner world according to its own understanding of the world's laws.

Previously, He Lingchuan and a few people from Baoshu Kingdom could throw the mirror world into chaos; now, it could safely contain hundreds of Bixia soldiers.

Of course, it had also employed some tricks, using a labyrinthine strategy to separate the lingering souls within the mirror from the Bixia army, leaving only one "cave" for their entry and exit to minimize the external living world's impact on its inner realm.

Regardless, its capacity was now vastly different from before, which allowed it to achieve a great feat this time—

The "disappearance" of seven hundred Bixia people significantly eased the defensive pressure on Situ's army and effectively reduced their casualties.

Immediately, He Lingchuan ordered someone to bring a death soldier.

These were Gaopu people who had been forced to join the Bixia army after their country's fall and had unwillingly entered into a self-sacrificing contract with the Ghost King. Whenever the Ghost King made a demand, it could directly control their bodies in battle.

After He Lingchuan killed the Ghost King, they immediately regained control of their bodies and no longer fought for the Bixia people.

Fu Liushan asked him, "Do you feel anything unusual?"

The Gaopu man shook his head. "Only utterly exhausted."

Having been controlled by the Ghost King, he had been fighting intensely, severely overdrawing his physical strength. Now, his eyes were bloodshot and sunken. If not for the circumstances, he would have collapsed into sleep.

He Lingchuan had seen similar conditions among Nangong Yan's Golden Feather Guards.

Fu Liushan took out a pill and gave it to him. "Swallow this, stay still, and don't burp."

The Gaopu man swallowed the pill as instructed and soon began shivering uncontrollably, as if it were the dead of winter. This state lasted only a few breaths before he calmed down, suppressing the urge to burp.

The three quickly saw three faint, greenish flames flickering on his shoulders and the top of his head.

These were life flames, the fires of life deeply hidden within a person's spiritual hearth, also known as life lamps. They reflected the owner's state of being.

He Lingchuan himself, along with the Blackwater City army, had first used this technique when navigating the Panlong Desert.

"Don't move!" Fu Liushan reminded the Gaopu man again, then leaned closer to carefully observe the life flames.

There was wind at night, but it couldn't extinguish these three faint flames at all.

"Hmm," Fu Liushan stroked his chin. "It seems there's no problem. His contract with the Ghost King has been lifted."

The Gaopu man was overjoyed. "Lifted? Am I... am I safe?"

"Yes, you're safe, as long as Situ's army doesn't bother you."

They found another death soldier to test, and the result was identical.

Dong Rui was more cautious. "Can you tell if the contract was passively or actively dissolved?"

"There's no way to tell!" Fu Liushan said. "Being able to see from the life flames whether a life-controlling contract still exists is already a secret art passed down to very few! The moment you killed the Ghost King, these zombie puppets and death soldiers immediately broke free from control; the Bixia people also confessed that the Ghost King personally admitted he was there in his true form."

"Is what it told the Bixia people necessarily true?" Dong Rui spat. "Xuanlu went back on its word when it was alive; can it be trusted after death?"

That made a lot of sense. Fu Liushan pondered for a long time. "Actually, there's another method we can try."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

The three left Situ's army and returned to Jishi Village in Rolling Stone Valley.

Although the Bixia people hadn't divided their forces to attack, Ghost King Xuanlu had sent three or four zombie puppets, along with hundreds of evil spirits, to Jishi Village to plunder living souls.

It didn't want to spare a single living person connected to He Lingchuan.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan had long sensed its inherent malice and had asked Great Celestial Master Fu to make arrangements here in advance. Although He Lingchuan had anticipated the Ghost King's actions, he also had to prepare for contingencies. If the Ghost King and the Bixia people were to directly attack Rolling Stone Valley, the army hidden in Mian Village would flank them from behind, creating a pincer movement with the three hundred defending soldiers.

Therefore, he had actually prepared several contingency plans. Besides the villages with well-arranged formations, the reinforced mines were also places where civilians in Rolling Stone Valley could hide. These mines were stocked with supplies, prepared with weapons, and even capable of withstanding smoke and fire.