Chapter 1254: Person-faced Peach

This secret room was clearly a grotto-dwelling, accessible only by finding a hidden switch. Who could have guessed or found that there was another grotto-dwelling hidden within the underground palace?

From his observation, mysteries surrounding He were just piling up, impossible to unravel. The more he spent time with this man, the more unfathomable he seemed. He Lingchuan smiled at him and replied insincerely, "I'm just exceptionally gifted."

He casually wrung out his hair and led the way into the cave. Upon entering, they saw that the cave wasn't deep; though spacious, it had no other exits. It was clear that it had been artificially carved out into two sections, an inner and an outer room.

In the outer room, an offering table was carved directly into the stone wall. The spiritual tortoise patterns on its surface were very intricate, and faint traces of gold powder remained. Two stone-carved lotus candle holders sat on the table, showing signs of use. Their bases were integrated with the stone table. An idol had likely once been placed on the offering table, but time had been merciless; the wood had decayed, leaving only two small pieces scattered on the stone surface, its original form long unrecognizable.

Yet, the trio's gaze was fixed intently on the offering table, because there was still one more item on it: a black wooden box. The box was palm-sized, neither new nor old, and its corners had been worn smooth and shiny from handling. On closer inspection, there was a pattern on the box: a thick, twisted old peach tree, laden with abundant fruit.

He Lingchuan raised a hand and pointed at it, "Be careful." As he approached the box, the divine bone necklace grew even warmer.

Fu Liushan dabbed some pungent powder under his nose; Dong Rui, standing farther away, sneezed twice. "What is that stuff?" he asked.

"It's ghost-repelling powder," Fu Liushan replied, "to prevent spirits from possessing or taking over bodies." He also feared there might be a ghost inside the box that would rush out to ambush him the moment it was opened.

Prepared, he raised the tip of his staff with one hand and reached for the box with the other, but He Lingchuan said, "Let me." He volunteered, and Master Fu immediately stepped aside without a word, then offered him the powder to apply. He Lingchuan shook his head, "I won't need it." So far, no one had successfully taken over his body, not even a Naraku avatar.

He held the Soul-Capturing Mirror on his left arm, and his right hand moved like lightning with his knife, instantly prying open the box lid. Hidden deep within the Ghost King's underground palace and drawing the attention of the divine bone necklace, whatever was inside was likely not benevolent. Having witnessed the previous Ghost King's self-detonation, the three were prepared for a monstrous creature to leap out of the box.

However, nothing happened. The secret room remained quiet, the offering table was empty, and the open box showed no anomalies. In short, there wasn't even a ghost.

The trio leaned closer to examine the box. Ling Guang let out a startled gasp, "What is this!" They had not expected the box to contain a miniature bonsai! A peach tree grew from the soil at the bottom of the box. Its leaves were verdant, and it looked ancient, with cracked bark and many old knots.

"Isn't this the same pattern as on the box?" The bonsai inside the box was indeed identical to the pattern on the lid.

"Not quite," Fu Liushan said, carefully using the tip of his staff to push aside the lush canopy. "Look!" His voice was unusually serious. As everyone leaned in to look, their hair stood on end: on the tree trunk, there was a human face! To be precise, it was a ghost face—the face of Ghost King Xuanlu! Fu Liushan's prodding of the canopy didn't disturb it; the ghost face remained with its eyes tightly shut, looking serene.

Dong Rui instinctively lowered his voice, "What in the world is this thing!"

"This, I fear, is Xuanlu's true original form!"

"It's in hibernation?" Dong Rui, too, was knowledgeable.

"I predict it sent out too many avatars, depleting its power too much, so this wisp of its origin has fallen into a long slumber," Fu Liushan said, staring intently at the ghost face. "If we don't deal with the main body, killing any number of avatars will be useless. Over time, it will recover its strength!"

"How should we deal with it?" Dong Rui surveyed the human-faced peach tree. "Just chop it down?" It seemed that was the only option. Without delay, He Lingchuan swung his knife, and the peach tree was severed at its base.

Had these two forgotten there was a Heavenly Master right beside them? Had they forgotten that ghost-hunting was precisely a Heavenly Master's duty? Fu Liushan watched from the side, entering a silent mode of complaint. But then again, he seemed to have gradually gotten used to He Lingchuan overstepping his bounds.

Before the severed trunk could fall, He Lingchuan brushed his palm against his chest, then brought it closer to the peach tree. Fu Liushan quickly crouched down and tilted his head to see. This time, he was determined to see what treasure He Lingchuan had hidden in his palm!

With a whoosh, the fallen human-faced peach tree vanished. Fu Liushan vaguely saw a dark grey shadow in He Lingchuan's palm, but before he could identify it, the object was gone. He Lingchuan opened his hand towards him; his palm was empty again.

Fu Liushan was somewhat dumbfounded, "Just like that, it's over?" Ghost King Xuanlu, who had caused havoc for three hundred years and was beyond anyone's grasp, had simply ended so quietly and peacefully? There wasn't even a struggle at the end.

"Yes, it's over." He Lingchuan only truly relaxed the moment the human-faced peach tree was absorbed by the divine bone necklace. Once inside the Grand Square Gourd, no matter how capable the Ghost King was, it couldn't cause any more trouble. It could just quietly become fertilizer.

"The Ghost King won't reappear, right?" Fu Liushan recalled He Lingchuan saying the same thing after retrieving the Rashomon Armor. He Lingchuan smiled at him, "You know me well."

After the divine bone necklace consumed Xuanlu's true form, it quieted down. This thing was incredibly picky; it hadn't reacted to the Ghost King's avatars before, apparently only interested in the true form. However, He Lingchuan also noticed something else: strictly speaking, Ghost King Xuanlu hadn't been entirely consumed by the divine bone necklace. In that instant, a wisp of black smoke was drawn from the human-faced peach tree and absorbed into the Dragon Clang Armor. Intercepted? This was the first time the Grand Square Gourd had its food snatched from its jaws. Come to think of it, the long-standing feud between the Rashomon Armor and Ghost King Xuanlu had finally concluded.

Fu Liushan rolled his eyes, "No, not at all." Yet, for some reason, He Lingchuan's words made him feel quite at ease. Since it had also been taken by He Lingchuan, the Ghost King surely couldn't wreak havoc in the world anymore, right? Just like the Rashomon Armor. He didn't know how He Lingchuan managed it, but so far, the Rashomon Armor had been docile under his control, and He Lingchuan hadn't shown any signs of losing control or acting abnormally.

"This box—" He gently tapped the box with the tip of his staff, "It's probably what's known in legends as a soul box or soul urn."

"Does that mean it has other uses besides housing souls?"

"For merely housing souls, ordinary seabed wood would suffice," Fu Liushan, a qualified Heavenly Master, explained, particularly knowledgeable about ghost arts. "The Fu family's notes once recorded that some soul artifacts have special effects; besides nourishing souls, they can also imbue the spirits residing within them with new abilities."

Dong Rui had been observing the soul box, and at this point, he pointed to it, saying, "There are small characters on the side." Written in the language of ancient immortals, the content was simple: "This treasure is called the Peach Valley Soul Box, and it possesses the abilities to capture, nurture, and divide souls."