Chapter 1263

"No wonder the Xuanlu Ghost King's avatars kept coming one after another, endless." Dong Rui suddenly understood, "It turns out it's the function of the Soul Box."

"Before we cut down the peach tree, there were no fruits left on it. That is to say, the Xuanlu Ghost King's avatars had all been sent out, none left behind." Fuliushan nodded, "Its true form can only remain here in slumber, waiting to recover and then cultivate new avatars."

Dong Rui puzzled: "Why does it stay here instead of escaping the underground palace?"

"This cave dwelling is hidden; ordinary people would never discover it. Resting here is better than fleeing." Fuliushan glanced at He Lingchuan—this guy was no ordinary person; encountering him was truly bad luck for the Xuanlu Ghost King—"Besides, it probably wouldn't dare entrust the Soul Box to any random ghost."

Not a single ghost in the entire underground palace was trusted by the Xuanlu Ghost King.

It would rather lie in this cold, sealed chamber underwater, slowly recovering its vitality.

Dong Rui murmured: "In life and in death, this guy is equally pitiful."

He Lingchuan had been observing the tree stump inside the box: "This tree looks like it's about to die?"

The human-faced peach tree was cut down by him, sucked into the divine bone necklace, leaving only a stump in the box. In nature, tree stumps retaining vitality and regrowing are not uncommon.

But under the gaze of these several pairs of eyes, the stump slowly withered, the center turning black while the edges whitened—it was clearly about to die.

He Lingchuan raised the Floating Life Blade and lightly touched the stump with the back of the blade. I don't know if it was because the blade's killing aura was too heavy, but the peach stump aged rapidly, turning into a pile of powder in less than a dozen breaths.

"You cut too fiercely; the stump is ruined." Dong Rui snapped, "What a waste of a treasure!"

Lingguang also said: "The pattern on the box lid has disappeared."

He lifted the box lid to show the three of them—sure enough, the image of the old peach tree on the outer lid had been smoothed away, now completely blank.

He Lingchuan looked at Fuliushan, who shrugged, indicating helplessness. His specialty was catching ghosts, not planting trees.

Hmm, wait a minute—planting trees?

He Lingchuan thought carefully, and an unreliable idea popped into his head.

"Hold on."

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

The branch was very fresh, still bearing two lush green leaves.

At first glance it seemed unremarkable, just like something picked from the roadside, but Fuliushan knew he carried many treasures—pulling out anything at random was no small feat. And sure enough, after a closer look, he realized: "A Jialuo tree branch?"

A sacred tree capable of entering and exiting Qingming.

"Yeah." He Lingchuan casually replied, pushing aside the tree stump powder in the box, then inserting the Jialuo branch into the soil.

This was a cutting taken from the Jialuo tree in Panlongcheng, also leftover material from the last time he refined the Punishing Dragon Pillars—on a sudden inspiration, he grabbed it to make up the numbers.

Planting trees—he had done it before? The branch stuck into the miniature potted landscape stood firm and steady, unlike the original peach tree's twisted delicacy, but its form was tall and upright.

Dong Rui didn't believe it: "You just randomly stick a branch in—can it really replace the human-faced peach tree? Where's there such a good deal?"

This time, Lingguang refuted him, pointing at the soil in the box: "No, look!"

The tree stump powder on the ground was rapidly seeping into the soil, vanishing at a visible speed.

"The peach powder has been absorbed." Lingguang exclaimed happily, "The little tree needs nutrients!"

The ghost ape also grabbed one side of the box lid, grinning at Dong Rui and giving it a shake, letting out two squeaky laughs.

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

Oh ho, and it was generated instantly.

Does this mean the Jialuo branch has gained the Soul Box's approval and taken root in the miniature landscape? Fuliushan's eyes lit up: "Let's give it a try."

The instructions on the Soul Box were now very clear: for the tree inside to grow and bear fruit, it needs fertilizer.

Fertilizer means souls absorbed from outside.

Fuliushan immediately took out his bellows, squeezing out a ghost from within: "Let's use this for the experiment. It's a water ghost that harmed six or seven people."

He chained the water ghost and brought it near the Jialuo sapling, wanting to see how the box would capture souls.

The water ghost struggled desperately, but its strength was no match.

But he kept pulling and tugging, even dragging the water ghost in circles around the tree three times—the Jialuo sapling showed no reaction at all.

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

How exactly should it be used? "Is it the box that captures souls?" Lingguang scratched his head beside them, then carefully closed the box lid.

The instant the box lid closed, the Jialuo tree pattern etched on it suddenly extended countless black illusory shadows—clearly branches, but at first glance looked like evil spirits waving their arms.

They seized the water ghost four feet away and ruthlessly dragged it back.

The water ghost screamed in terror, even more frightened than when held by Fuliushan.

But its arm couldn't twist past its thigh—it was instantly yanked into the box lid and vanished without a trace.

He Lingchuan lifted the box lid again—the miniature landscape remained as before, but when he raised the glowing spores to observe, everyone noticed a fine, tender lateral bud had sprouted on the sapling!

Smaller than a sesame seed.

"Impressive, it's already sprouting new buds?" Fuliushan stroked his chin, "With the Xuanlu Ghost King gone, do you want to put a new soul in as the main soul—wait, the box's instructions have changed! Good grief, even the name has changed."

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

Jialuo Treasure Box.

The master of the Jialuo Treasure Box can capture souls to serve as nutrients for the Jialuo tree; the stronger the soul, the greater its fertility.

The spiritual flowers blooming on the Jialuo tree can nourish and heal the divine soul; when the flowers bear fruit, the fruit can transform into a ferocious Jialuo tree demon.

Where it once said "peach tree," it now says "Jialuo tree"; the box's soul-capturing ability remains, but it can no longer designate a main soul for the sapling, and the functions of flowers and fruit have also changed.

Dong Rui clicked his tongue in amazement: "I thought the human-faced peach was the treasure, but I never expected the box itself to be."

Such a changeable treasure—this was the first time they'd ever seen one.

The Jialuo tree cultivated in Panlongcheng, after being remodeled by the Great Vase, already had soul-devouring ability; now planted again in the Soul Box, who knows what it will ultimately become.

A new species?

He Lingchuan had seen the tree-people avatars released by the King of Treasure Trees—could the fruit of the tree in the box also transform into something like that?

He tilted his chin toward the box, asking Fuliushan: "Master Fuli, interested?"

Catching ghosts and nurturing souls—sounds like Fuliushan's cup of tea.

Fu Liushan patted his bellows: "The treasure for collecting souls and raising ghosts—I already have it, and it's an heirloom."

"Good." He Lingchuan didn't stand on ceremony, casually slipping the soul box into his bosom.

(End of Chapter)