Activate Inheritance Box

Ban Shu stared at the two stone statues before him, racking his brain to see if he could recall any clues.

However, due to the passage of time, the faces and features of these two statues had been almost entirely eroded away. Even the objects in their hands were things Ban Shu could only imagine based on their shapes; there were simply no clues to be found.

"What kind of deities are these, anyway?"

Ban Shu attempted to search the surroundings for some leads, but the place was far too dilapidated, completely devoid of any useful information.

"Xiao Ban, how is it?"

Golden Crocodile Douluo stepped forward, arriving before the contemplative Ban Shu. "Did you find anything useful?"

Ban Shu frowned and shook his head. "It's far too ruined; there are no clues at all."

At this moment, Bibi Dong suddenly reminded him, "Isn't there still that box? It ought to have some use here, shouldn't it?"

"The box?"

Ban Shu raised the box. The purple light that had flickered earlier had vanished once more, and it had returned to its previous dusty, gray appearance.

"Is there some kind of mechanism?"

Ban Shu pondered for a moment, then jumped onto the hand of the stone statue while carrying the box. Sure enough, there was a distinct rectangular indentation on it.

The moment he placed the box inside, the entire statue began to tremble, followed by the emission of a ghostly purple glow.

Ban Shu instinctively crouched down to steady himself, then looked at the box. The runes began to brighten slowly, clearly having triggered something.

"Did it work?"

Golden Crocodile and Qian Xunji stared intently at the statue, condensing the soul power within their bodies to prepare for the risk of the cave collapsing.

Gradually, the statue stopped shaking, and the purple light on its surface seemed to possess a consciousness of its own, slowly converging toward the scepter in its hand.

Streaks of purple light gathered on the gem at the center of the scepter, then transformed into a beam of deep purple light that poured entirely into the box.

Under Ban Shu's gaze, the box absorbed the purple light completely, and a seam formed between the box and its lid.

"It worked!"

After confirming there was no danger, Ban Shu couldn't wait to pick up the box and jump down from the statue.

"Xiao Ban, did you succeed?"

Seeing the expectant gazes of the three, Ban Shu smiled and nodded. "Yes, look, a seam has appeared on the box; it should be openable now."

"Is that so? Then open it quickly and see what exactly is hidden so securely."

Bibi Dong urged him impatiently.

"Right."

Ban Shu nodded and reached out his hand, preparing to lift the lid of the box.

But the moment his hand touched the box and he prepared to open it, his expression changed. His knees suddenly went weak, and he collapsed onto one knee.

"Xiao Ban!"

Seeing Ban Shu suddenly turn pale and break into a cold sweat, the three of them rushed forward to help him up.

"Xiao Ban, what's going on!"

Qian Xunji hurriedly reached out and threw the box aside. "There's something wrong with this box!"

However, the box, thrown into mid-air, suddenly stalled, then slowly drifted back in front of Ban Shu.

"What the hell is this thing!"

Qian Xunji's expression turned ugly. He reached out to summon the Angel Holy Sword and struck it with all his might.

Clang~

With a crisp sound of collision, the Angel Holy Sword struck the box, but the result was that Qian Xunji was pushed back half a step by the recoil, while the box remained completely unscathed.

"!"

Seeing that Qian Xunji was actually unable to do anything to this object, Golden Crocodile's expression shifted, and he immediately summoned his martial soul, preparing to take action himself.

"Teacher, Grandpa Golden Crocodile, don't attack. I'm fine."

At this moment, Ban Shu caught his breath, pulled out a pill to consume, and stopped the two of them. "I just exhausted too much soul power and suffered a momentary collapse."

"Exhausted too much soul power?"

Hearing this, Golden Crocodile Douluo halted his attack. "But you didn't do anything; why would you have such a massive consumption?"

Qian Xunji, holding the Angel Holy Sword, seemed to have realized something and pointed at the box. "Is it because of this box?"

"Yes."

Ban Shu reached out his hand, and the box wobbled as it drifted back into his palm. "Just now, when I wanted to open the box, I felt my soul power being drained away in an instant. I suppose this must be the method to open this box."

"Only by devouring enough soul power can this box be opened."

"In that case."

Golden Crocodile Douluo reached out his hand, condensing the vast soul power of a Title Douluo, and then covered the box with it.

To his surprise, the box generated a burst of recoil, knocking Golden Crocodile's hand away.

"Hmm?"

Golden Crocodile was stunned. Could it be that this box disdains me?

"It seems it only absorbs my soul power."

Ban Shu tapped the box. Having absorbed a portion of his soul power, a corner of the box's seam began to glow.

This process was extremely dangerous. Judging by the progress, it would take at least a year to fill the entire seam.

"There's no telling when these ruins might collapse. Let's leave here first."

"Mm."

Ban Shu nodded. Since there was no way to uncover the box's secret for now, he would study it carefully once they returned.

The next day, the four of them returned to Spirit Hall, and Golden Crocodile Douluo went back to the Consecration Hall to cultivate.

Qian Xunji went to handle the official business that had piled up over the past two days; many matters required his personal review.

Ban Shu and Bibi Dong returned to rest before proceeding with their daily training.

By now, Bibi Dong and Ban Shu had completed almost all the special projects assigned by Qian Xunji, so their subsequent cultivation was self-arranged.

In the morning, Ban Shu went to the library to absorb knowledge; in the afternoon, he conducted physical and combat training; at night, he cultivated his soul power.

Days passed by, one after another.

Spring departed and autumn arrived; before they knew it, another year had passed.

"Xiao Ban, what did you say you wanted to do?"

In the Pope Palace, Qian Xunji looked at Ban Shu, who stood before him, with some surprise.

"Teacher, I have already learned everything I should at Spirit Hall. Therefore, I wish to go out and gain experience for a few years to prepare for the upcoming sect tournament."

Ban Shu lowered his head respectfully and spoke to Qian Xunji.

Over the past year, Ban Shu had trained diligently, and his strength had increased day by day. His soul power had soared from level thirty-three all the way to level thirty-eight.

Rising five levels in a year—aside from Ban Shu's innate talent, the massive amount of cultivation resources was also indispensable.

This was already quite good, but soon, Ban Shu felt he had hit a bottleneck in his cultivation.

Of course, this was not a bottleneck in his cultivation level, but a bottleneck of the mind.

Having lived near Spirit Hall ever since he transmigrated, Ban Shu had never seen the full scope of the Douluo Continent, which made him gradually yearn for the outside world.

Simply put, he had been cooped up at home for too long and wanted to go out to wander and see the world.

Of course, there was also a part of him that wanted to visit the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. He had fully mastered the book on rare herbs and plants given by Yue Guan, and it was time to put it into practice.

Furthermore, he had some other ideas, namely, alchemy.