Chapter 1251: Self-Destruction

This saber had the power to sever souls.

King Xuanlu was unwilling to sit idly by and wait for death. He counterattacked several times, but each attempt was blocked by the black battle armor. The piercing shrieks of vengeful spirits that it emitted made Fu Liushan and Dong Rui cover their ears, but He Lingchuan seemed oblivious, not even flinching. The Qianglong Battle Armor directly filtered out this soul-shaking attack.

The more King Xuanlu fought, the more frustrated it became. The dark chamber was too small, limiting its maneuverability, and the opponent's saber technique grew increasingly fierce, forming a vortex that seemed to draw it in. Meanwhile, Fu Liushan assisted from the side, employing a myriad of strange techniques: sometimes throwing talismans, sometimes thrusting a pestle, sometimes activating formations, and sometimes sprinkling it with liquids of unknown origin. While it could handle these individually, combined, they posed a significant danger.

In the blink of an eye, it was struck twice. The ghost poison paste on the opponent's weapon took effect, causing it immense pain.

Damn it! Earlier, in order to seize the Rakshasa Armor, it had allocated most of its power to the clones leading the expedition to Cotton Village, severely weakening its main body. Damn, damn, damn! Its commands were blocked outside this inexplicable space. Otherwise, its two powerful corpse puppets hidden in Busha Huating could have taught them a lesson, or at the very least, helped it escape! But now, it was trapped in this unknown space, utterly helpless!

It pleaded for mercy once more, and only then did He Lingchuan speak: "You were destroyed by deceit in life, and even in death, you still try to play both sides. You haven't learned a single lesson from your imminent demise."

In his view, the King of Ghosts' major strategic blunder was having too many clones. As each clone was eliminated, the main body's power was repeatedly weakened, making it insignificant in the current confrontation. It was time to finish it.

"In a chaotic world, I merely adapted to circumstances. What wrong have I done? What wrong have I done?!" The King of Ghosts saw his hard heart and wailed in despair, "You hypocrites, you pretentious, ungrateful wretches!"

"Do you really have the nerve to utter the words 'ungrateful'?" King Xuanlu's behavior perfectly illustrated what it meant to be "unrepentant even unto death," He Lingchuan sneered. "Adapted to circumstances? Did you win? You were slapped on the left cheek then the right by the Rakshasa Armor, losing again and again, until you were forced to cower in a sunless underground palace, living a life worse than a rat's. How dare you call yourself a King of Ghosts?"

He Lingchuan and Fu Liushan cornered it, attacking with both words and weapons. King Xuanlu's features twisted in rage. With a furious shriek, it charged at him: "I'll fight you to the death!" Its body suddenly seemed to solidify, even the texture of its face becoming visible.

Seeing this, Fu Liushan immediately took a deep breath and shouted, "Watch out!" Instead of advancing, he retreated, dashing a good distance (about ten feet / three meters) behind He Lingchuan, moving at the fastest speed of his life. As the Fucheng Saber descended with a faint glow, a point of blue light erupted from King Xuanlu's forehead. Fu Liushan immediately held the brass bell he always carried above his head. The bell instantly transformed into a giant spectral image, like a massive bell inverted, enveloping him in protection.

The Ghost Ape was already guarding Dong Rui, and Lingguang was also with them. When Fu Liushan cried out the warning, the Ghost Ape swiftly turned, its back to King Xuanlu, and pulled Dong Rui and Lingguang into its embrace.

Soul self-detonation!

Cornered and with a hundred regrets, King Xuanlu ultimately chose to self-destruct and perish with its enemies. A powerful wave of energy swept through the entire chamber. He Lingchuan, closest to the explosion's center, was flung back about fifty feet (fifteen meters), slamming into the stone wall with a thud. The Ghost Ape, with its back to the explosion, was also violently shoved against the wall. However, it had already curled into a ball, minimizing the damage.

With a crack, He Lingchuan fell to the ground. It took him a while to stir. Damn it, his whole body ached!

Legend has it that some immortals could self-detonate their primordial spirit before death, unleashing earth-shattering power. While King Xuanlu was not an immortal, its three centuries of cultivation were not to be underestimated. Although its strength had been significantly diminished after creating multiple clones, this final self-detonation was still considerably powerful.

Although the chamber was pitch black, when he opened his eyes, he saw a vast field of snowflake-like spots. The explosion had temporarily blinded him, and his vision had not yet recovered. He Lingchuan shook his head, still experiencing some ringing in his ears. He reached out and patted the Qianglong Battle Armor. It truly was an excellent treasure. The Qianglong Battle Armor had absorbed seventy to eighty percent of the impact, while the rest was distributed among several protective talismans. Otherwise, he would have suffered more than just a concussion.

He sat up and stretched his back. He saw the Ghost Ape stir, setting Dong Rui and Lingguang down before leaning against the stone wall itself. Dong Rui and Lingguang were perfectly protected and unharmed. The Ghost Ape, however, had reverted to a small monkey, sitting blank-eyed by the wall, suddenly bending over and retching continuously.

Dong Rui quickly checked its eyelids, then pressed on its head, neck, and pressure points before saying with a strained face, "Its soul suffered some shock and needs rest... If you had said less, the King of Ghosts wouldn't have exploded in a fit of rage."

"It couldn't escape and was bound to die. Was there a second option?" He Lingchuan stood up, leaning against the wall, as his dizziness quickly faded. "Didn't Old Fu mention beforehand that we should be wary of this move when fighting in a confined space?" They had indeed been prepared; otherwise, there would have been casualties from that attack.

Lingguang ran over and gave him a calming and soothing pill. "Is Old Fu alright?"

Fu Liushan was still standing in place, not having been flung back by the shockwave. He extended both hands forward, saying, "Look." The brass bell was shattered. A look of reluctance crossed his face. "My ancestral bell," he lamented, "it's been with me for decades."

"May shattering bring peace," He Lingchuan comforted him, patting his shoulder. "Your ancestors would surely be glad it served its purpose, saving a descendant like you." Suddenly, he paused, "Wait, how old are you, anyway?"

Fu Liushan, looking dejected, walked over to the Ghost Ape and lit an incense stick. "Take a few more breaths, and your head won't be dizzy anymore." The Ghost Ape inhaled deeply a few times and then exhaled, showing slight improvement.

Tranquility had returned to the chamber, but a sour, foul odor began to permeate the air. Dong Rui covered his nose. "Let's get out of here quickly!"

The three carefully checked the chamber, ensuring no lingering remnants of the King of Ghosts' soul remained. Lingguang also cleaned up the filth on the ground. Only then did He Lingchuan snap his fingers: "Open!"

At his command, the ceremonial gate behind them suddenly opened, and the light from the Bright Well streamed in again. The three quickly exited. As they stepped out of the ceremonial gate and onto the stone steps, Fu Liushan looked back just in time to see the "gate" vanish, while He Lingchuan retrieved a mirror and slapped it onto his arm, where it transformed into a hand shield.

Fu Liushan immediately understood: "Another mirror world?" During the battle in Cotton Village, he had witnessed the wondrous uses of this magical mirror. The cave disguised by the mirror world had easily deceived Commander Shi and the King of Ghosts' clones. This time, He Lingchuan had used the Soul-Seizing Mirror to create a one-to-one replica of "Busha Huating" behind the ceremonial gate.