Chapter 1256: Fickle Treasures

The owner of the Soul Casket can capture souls to nourish the peach tree.

The owner of the Soul Casket can designate a primary soul for this peach tree.

Once a primary soul is designated, it cannot separate from the peach tree to act independently. However, when the fruits on the tree ripen and fall, they transform into avatars of the primary soul, executing its commands.

"No wonder King Xuanlu's avatars kept appearing endlessly," Dong Rui realized, "It was all due to the Soul Casket."

"Before we cut down the peach tree, there were no fruits left on it. This means all of King Xuanlu's avatars had been sent out, not one remained," Fu Liushan nodded. "His true form could only lie here in slumber, waiting to recover and cultivate new avatars."

Dong Rui was puzzled, "Why did it stay here instead of escaping the underground palace?"

"This cave dwelling is hidden; ordinary individuals wouldn't find it. Recovering here is better than escaping," Fu Liushan said, glancing at He Lingchuan. "And besides," he added, "it probably wouldn't dare entrust the Soul Casket to any other specter, would it?"

Not a single specter in the entire underground palace was trustworthy to King Xuanlu.

It preferred to lie in this cold, secret chamber underwater, slowly recovering its vitality.

Dong Rui murmured, "Whether alive or dead, that fellow was equally pathetic."

He Lingchuan had been observing the tree stump in the casket. "This tree looks like it's dying?" he remarked.

The Human-Faced Peach Tree had been severed by him and absorbed into the Divine Bone Necklace, leaving only a stump in the casket. In nature, it's common for tree stumps to retain vitality and regrow.

However, under their watchful eyes, the stump slowly withered, its center turning black and edges whitening, clearly on the verge of dying.

He Lingchuan raised his Fusheng Blade and gently touched the stump with its back. Whether it was due to the blade's potent aura or not, the peach stump rapidly aged, turning into a pile of dust in less than a dozen breaths.

"You cut it too severely; the stump's ruined," Dong Rui said irritably. "What a waste of a treasure!"

Lingguang also said, "The pattern on the casket lid has disappeared."

It picked up the lid to show the three, and indeed, the old peach tree pattern on the outer lid had been erased, leaving it blank.

He Lingchuan looked at Fu Liushan, who shrugged helplessly. His specialty was catching ghosts, not planting trees.

Hmm, wait, planting trees?

He Lingchuan thought carefully, and an improbable idea emerged.

"Wait."

He rummaged in his storage ring for a while, then suddenly pulled out a small branch.

The branch was very fresh, with two vibrant green leaves still attached.

At first glance, there was nothing unusual about it, looking like something picked from the roadside. But Fu Liushan knew He Lingchuan possessed many treasures, and nothing he casually produced was simple. Indeed, after a second look, he understood: "A Juluo tree branch?"

A treasured tree capable of traversing the Azure Netherworld.

"Yes," He Lingchuan replied casually, sweeping aside the stump's dust in the casket, then inserting the Juluo tree branch into the soil.

This was a branch cut from the Juluo tree in Panlong City, a leftover material from refining the Dragon Punishment Pillar last time, which he, on a whim, used to fill the void.

As for planting trees, hadn't he done that before?

The branch, once inserted into the miniature bonsai, stood firmly. Unlike the original intricately winding peach tree, its form was upright and robust.

Dong Rui was skeptical. "You just haphazardly stick in a branch, and it can replace the Human-Faced Peach Tree? Where do you find such good fortune?"

This time, Lingguang debunked him, pointing at the soil in the casket. "No, look!"

The peach stump dust on the soil surface rapidly permeated the earth, disappearing at a visible rate.

"The peach dust is being absorbed," Lingguang said happily. "The little tree needs nourishment!"

The Ghost Ape also grabbed one side of the casket lid, grinning and shaking it at Dong Rui, chattering with laughter.

Everyone could see that another pattern had appeared on the lid—this time, it was the Juluo tree.

Oh, and it had appeared instantly.

Did this mean the Juluo tree branch had been accepted by the Soul Casket and had taken root in the miniature bonsai?

Fu Liushan was enthusiastic. "Let's test it."

The instructions on the Soul Casket were clear: for the tree within to grow and bear fruit, it needed fertilization.

The fertilizer was souls absorbed from outside.

Fu Liushan immediately took out his bellows, squeezing a ghost from it. "Let's use this one for the experiment. It's a water ghost that's taken six or seven lives."

He used a chain to pull the water ghost closer to the small Juluo tree, wanting to see how the casket would capture the soul.

The water ghost struggled fiercely but was no match for him.

But despite his pulling and tugging, even dragging the water ghost around the tree three times, the small Juluo tree showed no reaction whatsoever.

Fu Liushan even pressed the ghost into the soil, but it still wasn't absorbed.

How was it supposed to be used?

"It's the casket that captures souls, isn't it?" Lingguang, who was standing nearby, scratched his head and carefully closed the casket.

The moment the casket closed, countless black illusory figures suddenly extended from the Juluo tree pattern depicted on the lid. Though clearly branches, at first glance, they resembled malevolent specters reaching out and waving.

They seized the water ghost, which was about four feet away, and fiercely dragged it back.

The water ghost screamed, more terrified than it had been in Fu Liushan's grasp.

But the weaker could not overcome the stronger; it was instantly pulled into the casket lid and vanished.

He Lingchuan opened the lid again. The bonsai appeared normal, but when they held up a fluorescent spore to observe, they discovered a tiny, delicate side bud emerging on the small tree!

It was even smaller than a sesame seed.

"Impressive, it's already growing new sprouts?" Fu Liushan mused, stroking his chin. "King Xuanlu is gone. Are you going to put a new soul in as the primary soul—wait, the instructions on the side of the casket have changed! Good heavens, even the name has changed."

The Soul Casket's instructions had, at some point, changed from three lines to two:

Juluo Treasure Casket.

The owner of the casket can capture souls to nourish the Juluo tree; the more powerful the soul, the higher its potency as fertilizer.

The spiritual flowers blooming on the Juluo tree can nourish and heal spirits; if the spiritual flowers then bear fruit, these fruits can transform into fierce Juluo Tree Demons.

"Peach tree" had become "Juluo tree."

The casket's soul-capturing ability remained, but it could no longer designate a primary soul for the small tree, and the effects of the flowers and fruits had also changed.

Dong Rui clicked his tongue in wonder. "I thought the Human-Faced Peach was the treasure, but it turns out the casket itself is."

It was the first time they had seen such a capricious treasure.

The Juluo tree cultivated in Panlong City, having been modified by the Great Square Pot, already possessed the ability to devour souls. Now, transplanted into the Soul Casket, it was uncertain what it would ultimately become.

A new species?

He Lingchuan had seen the treant avatars released by the Treasure Tree King; could the fruits of the tree in the casket also transform in that way?

He nodded his chin towards the casket, asking Fu Liushan, "Master Fu, are you interested?"

Catching ghosts and nurturing souls sounded right up Fu Liushan's alley.

However, Fu Liushan patted his bellows. "I already have a treasure for collecting souls and nurturing ghosts, and it's an heirloom."

"Alright," He Lingchuan replied, not being coy, and casually put the Soul Casket into his pocket.