Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 518 An unexpected gain
After climbing up the Tower of Babel again, Xiao Ran cast a spell to close the corpse pool. Without the supply of corpses from the pool, the passage below the Tower of Babel was slowly closed.

If it were before, Xiao Ran would definitely not be able to close the channel so easily.

But after receiving some pointers from Taoist Plum Blossom, Xiao Ran suddenly had a deeper understanding of the art of Taoism. The things he didn't understand before were no secrets to him now. He might not be able to open this channel out of thin air, but closing it was not difficult at all.

Then Xiao Ran carried the still unconscious Hao Laosan, quickly jumped off the Tower of Babel, and walked out of the village.

After walking a few steps, he heard the noisy sounds of gongs and drums coming from behind again. Xiao Ran looked back and saw that the ghosts that had just disappeared were now surrounding the Tower of Babel again, clapping and cheering at the lions rolling and jumping on it.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "The end of the magic is treacherous and changeable, but it is ultimately a trick! True and false, false and true, the more powerful the magic, the more confusing it is. Sometimes the caster himself may not be able to weigh it clearly. Fortunately, Plum Blossom Taoist can come up with the way of soul cultivation, but... what is he waiting for here?"

With doubts, Xiao Ran carried Hao Laosan out of Guizhuang.

The next morning, when Hao Laosan opened his eyes, he found himself lying in his own bed.

Just as he was about to stand up, Xiao Ran gently held him down: "Don't move, the needle is inserted."

Hao Lao San looked down and found that he was covered with dense silver needles. His face changed and he asked in shock: "What... are you going to do?"

"Treat you."

Xiao Ran slowly pulled out a silver needle from Hao Laosan's body, and then inserted another silver needle in another place. While giving Hao Laosan acupuncture, Xiao Ran said, "In fact, your illness is not a serious disease. If you go to the hospital for a check-up, you will know that it is just an external evil invasion that causes a cold to enter your body, causing a systemic wind-cold-dampness syndrome. Oh, it is rheumatoid arthritis."

"What??"

Hao Laosan looked at Xiao Ran with suspicion: "Rheumatoid arthritis? Really?"

"Of course, you have to believe in science."

Xiao Ran said seriously.

Hao Laosan was speechless when he heard this, thinking: "Science?? Then what happened last night, could it be my hallucination?"

Seeing that Hao Laosan didn't believe it, Xiao Ran stopped explaining to him and pulled out the silver needle from Hao Laosan's body: "You should have a good rest. I have already adjusted it for you. It will give you some relief for a while. For the rest, you need to go to the hospital for regular treatment."

Xiao Ran put away the silver needle and stood up to walk out. "Third uncle, take care."

"Hey...you..." Looking at Xiao Ran's back as she walked out the door, Hao Laosan opened his mouth, wanting to ask a question with a lot of doubts in his mind, but he couldn't ask it when he got to his lips. He just said lightly: "Take care."

After leaving Hao Laosan's house, Xiao Ran came to the homestay where he lived, said goodbye to his uncle and aunt, and then went straight to Qingcheng Mountain.

Actually, he had been to this place twice, but before leaving, Xiao Ran still wanted to go up the mountain to take another look, because he didn't see it clearly last time, and this time he wanted to see it more clearly.

This time, Xiao Ran took the cable car directly up the mountain and arrived directly at Shangqing Palace.

As soon as I got off the cable car, I saw a tour group gathering outside the Shangqing Palace.

"Everyone, look here. The Taoist temple in front of us is one of the oldest Taoist temples in Chinese history. This Taoist temple has a long history. During the Dazhong Xiangfu period of the Song Dynasty, it was called Shangqing Temple. During the Zhenghe period of the Song Dynasty, the Taoist temple was renamed Shangqing Zhengyi Palace. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Taoist temple was renamed Wanshou Palace, and in the Qing Dynasty, it was officially named Dashangqing Palace..."

The tour guide waved the small flag in his hand and explained the history of Shangqing Palace in front of everyone.

Xiao Ran followed the team and got the free stuff, not because he couldn't afford it, but because it was more enjoyable to get it for free.

Standing in front of the gate, Xiao Ran looked towards the Shangqing Palace in front of him again.
In Xiao Ran's eyes, every brick, every blade of grass, and every tree in front of the palace gate was shrouded in a fluorescence that ordinary people could not see. The sunlight shone through the gaps between the leaves, forming patches of light, making the palace gate seem to blend in with the surrounding environment, making people fascinated, yearning, and making people want to worship.

However, this feeling only lasted for a brief moment, and Xiao Ran soon broke free from this state.

After receiving guidance from Taoist Plum Blossom, Xiao Ran gained a deeper understanding of the various laws of the world. Although he was not able to cultivate to the second level of returning to the womb, his understanding of the art of soul cultivation was no longer the same as before, and he would not be easily confused by such appearances.

"The end of the art is a trick, so what is the end of the Tao?"

Xiao Ran glanced at the gate of the Taoist temple, frowned, and took a step forward. The moment he stepped through the gate, a special feeling immediately swept over his heart.

This feeling is very mysterious. It is clearly a door, but it gives Xiao Ran the feeling of two different worlds. It seems that stepping through the door is vulgar, and standing outside the door is also vulgar.

Only standing in front of the gate, neither entering nor exiting, is it just right.

Xiao Ran stood in front of the door for a long time, as if he was about to enter. His strange movement made the tourists passing by turn around and cast strange glances at him from time to time.

But Xiao Ran didn't care. He savored the subtle differences carefully.

"This gentleman!"

At this time, someone called Xiao Ran, but Xiao Ran ignored him. Seeing this, the other party came over and waved at Xiao Ran: "Hello, sir."

Xiao Ran's thoughts were interrupted. He looked carefully and saw a young Taoist priest in a long green robe standing in front of him.

"Oh, sorry, I was just standing here in a trance."

"It's okay. My master asks you to go up."

Upon hearing this, the young Taoist priest bowed and pointed forward.

"Grandmaster?" Xiao Ran looked at the other person with some surprise. He looked at the young Taoist priest and frowned, "May I ask who your grandmaster is? Why did you ask me to go up? Where is this going?" Facing Xiao Ran's series of questions, the young Taoist priest smiled and scratched his head, "My grandmaster's name is Taiping. My grandmaster divined today and said that someone will stop in front of the door and not go in or out. He asked me to stand here and wait for him. You go up and there will be someone to show you the way."

"Divination!"

This inevitably reminded Xiao Ran of the letter that showed him the way when he first climbed the mountain.

"Could it be that this Grandmaster is the Taoist master who left a letter to me that night?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran did not dare to delay and went up the stairs in the direction pointed by the young Taoist priest.

There were quite a few tourists along the way, but Xiao Ran did not see the so-called guide. Just when Xiao Ran was standing at an intersection, not knowing which way to go, two tourists carrying mountaineering bags hurried past Xiao Ran.

"what!"

Xiao Ran just glanced at the other person and suddenly felt that he looked familiar.

It wasn't that the people looked familiar, but the fact that their steps were brisk but small, as if they were taking small steps all the way, made Xiao Ran feel familiar.

"Is this... an inch step?"

Xiao Ran thought about it carefully, and suddenly remembered, his eyes narrowed: "These two people are devils."

That’s right, the so-called inch-step is a unique way of walking of the Japs, and the inch-steps of the two people are different. The steps of the woman on the left are light and have a feminine force, while the steps of the man on the right are incredibly fast, and there is a strong wind when he walks.

It seems that they are not just devils, but two masters as well.

The reason why Xiao Ran knew all this was because he had plundered Senbei's memories and had a certain understanding of Japan.

"What are these two devil masters doing here?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran immediately followed them without moving, and began to wonder whether he should find an opportunity to kill these two guys.

Xiao Ran didn't have a good impression of the Japanese devils, especially since the two of them looked sneaky and it was obvious that they had no good intentions.

Xiao Ran displayed his extraordinary martial arts skills, his figure was as light as a ghost, and he followed closely behind the two Japanese devils.

Nowadays, Xiao Ran's attainment in lightness skills has already reached an extraordinary level. His feet land on the ground silently, as if he has merged with the surrounding environment.

The two Japanese soldiers had no idea that they were being followed. Instead, they stealthily took out a map, then quietly climbed over the wall and sneaked into the bamboo forest in the back mountain according to the map.

Deep in the bamboo forest, ancient trees are intertwined and their shadows are swaying.

The mountain breeze blows through the bamboo forest, bringing with it bursts of low humming sounds, like an ancient call, or like the rustling sound of a faint flute.

"Strange, what are they both doing here?"

Xiao Ran's figure was like a sparrow, stepping lightly on the bamboo leaves, floating in the wind, without any sound at all. He stared at the two Japanese devils below, and seeing that there was no one around, he began to wonder whether he should kill them first while there was no one here.

It's just how the saying goes.

Curiosity killed the cat.

Seeing the two of them acting sneakily, Xiao Ran couldn't help but be curious about what these two devils were doing here, so he simply squatted behind them and watched them to find out their purpose first.

After passing through the bamboo forest, there is a mountain wall. Under the mountain wall is a large natural cave. The cave is very large and there is a thatched house underneath.

An old Taoist priest wearing a thin cloak was sitting in front of the house.

When they saw the old Taoist priest, they looked at each other, then took out a sword from the backpack behind them and held it in their hands.

"what!!"

Xiao Ran was standing at the back. After seeing the special mark on the knife, he had an idea: "So they are from the Shinkage Ryu. I wonder what their relationship is with Senbei (Sanri)."

Just as Xiao Ran was thinking, the woman on the left took a few steps forward, holding a katana, and said in fluent Chinese: "Xinyinliu, the grandson of the sword saint Senbei, Senbing Liu Xuzi, is here to seek revenge!"

"Grandson of Senbei?"

Xiao Ran, who was hiding in the bamboo forest, almost bit his tongue when he heard this. He didn't expect that this Japanese girl was actually the granddaughter of Senbei.

"This guy actually has offspring, how amazing... um!!! Wait a minute..."

Suddenly Xiao Ran seemed to think of something, and he tilted his head and looked at the old Taoist priest sitting in front of the thatched hut with a strange expression.

They came to avenge Senbingwei, so... could this old Taoist priest in front of them be...

In a trance, Xiao Ran seemed to see again in the old Taoist priest the young Taoist priest who killed Qianbingwei with just a soft sword.

"Hiss!! Could it really be him?!"

(End of this chapter)