Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 652 The Ghost Army Enters the Country
A touch of red between the brows, a dream of traveling the vast world.

The drop of blood between Xiao Ran's eyebrows gradually solidified, eventually resembling a dark red gemstone embedded in his brow.

Suddenly, Xiao Ran had a sudden realization, and her whole being became clear-headed.

This red mark between the eyebrows, also called the Brain God Seal, resembles cinnabar and is actually formed by the accumulation of one's own essence and blood in the Brain God acupoint.

Taoists refer to this acupoint as "Jing Gen Ni Wan Jun," whose responsibilities include governing thought, memory, and mental activities.

Just like the thoughts of the gods, a single thought is an avatar.

The dot between Xiao Ran's eyebrows is a "thought" formed by condensing all of her spirit and physical blood and energy together.

In other words, Xiao Ran has now developed her own skills.

Compared to the gods, he lacked the ability to create countless things with a single thought, or the ability to create millions of clones.

But with this thought, all sorts of magical techniques are nothing more than a smokescreen in Xiao Ran's eyes.

"Gululu..."

Just then, Xiao Ran's stomach started rumbling loudly.

A strong feeling of hunger struck, making Xiao Ran feel weak all over.

This is the beginning of the side effects from [Drug #3].

Pick up the strawberry-flavored energy bar on the table, tear off the foil, and take a bite. Although it looks harder than iron, it becomes very crispy as soon as it enters your mouth and gets wet with saliva.

I don't know how Wu Man made it, but the taste was just as he described, a strong strawberry flavor, sweet and sour, which was quite delicious.

Xiao Ran finished the energy bar in just a few bites, but this was only like an appetizer for her. She then picked up the beef-flavored one and started eating it.

After eating two energy bars, Xiao Ran's hunger gradually subsided.

To put it in perspective, one energy bar is enough to keep an adult elephant from eating or drinking for about three days. I ate two bars in a row before I was barely able to stop feeling hungry. This side effect seems to be even stronger than taking a nap.

"This old six!"

Xiao Ran's mind is now much clearer, and after a little thought, she understands Wu Man's thoughts.

[Potion No. 3] Such an important resource cannot be used easily by anyone who gets it. Wu Man has improved the side effects. No matter when, whoever gets this potion will have the initiative in their hands. After all, ordinary people probably wouldn't expect that this hunger relief would be so deadly.

If there is insufficient preparation in a hurry, there is a possibility that they could starve to death.

Although Xiao Ran's thinking might seem petty, the problem is that Wu Man even calculated the weight of the energy bars so precisely, it's hard to say he didn't have such intentions.

Of course, Wu Man did this not to guard against anyone, but simply as a means to prevent unexpected events from happening, much like a backdoor in a computer program.

After Xiao Ran finished eating the third energy bar, she regained her energy.

"This energy bar is a good thing. When we get back to Ruzhou, I'll have him make a lot for Brother Lu, just in case."

Xiao Ran calmed his mind, then sat cross-legged on the haystack and began to try to cultivate the third level of the Soul Cultivation Technique.

His spiritual power condensed into a single thought, and his comprehension improved by an unknown amount compared to before. The things that Plum Blossom Taoist had told him before, which seemed like heavenly books, were now completely understood by Xiao Ran. He could understand the principles without his master's instruction.

No wonder people always say, "The master leads you through the door, but the practice is up to you."

When you reach a certain level of spiritual cultivation, these things will all come naturally.

Xiao Ran's thought sank into her subconscious, and this feeling was different from when she cultivated the second level.

When thoughts haven't been formed into a coherent idea, it takes certain skills to allow them to seep into the subconscious mind and prevent them from being rejected by it.

Now that he had a thought in mind, all his mental energy condensed into a solid mass, and the power of his subconscious could no longer actively repel Xiao Ran.

However, Xiao Ran was also unable to continuously draw upon the power of the subconscious to amplify herself.

One's physical condition and mental state are linked. The stronger one's physical condition, the deeper one's subconscious mind. Just like a warship at sea, the greater the draft, the higher the tonnage of the warship itself.

Xiao Ran can now absorb a pitifully small amount of spiritual power, so he simply stopped absorbing the power of the subconscious. Instead, he used the subconscious to simulate the various techniques, fist techniques, suppression techniques, knife techniques, and of course, the skills of a barber and paper maker that he had learned.

Use your subconscious to help yourself improve what you lack, and then integrate and understand it.

Such a pace of cultivation is equivalent to several months for others in just one day.

The more this was the case, the more Xiao Ran felt the terror of the Plum Blossom Taoist: "This old monster has been hiding in Plum Blossom Manor for so long, he must be the sixth most powerful figure in the underworld. I hope he will never make me his enemy in the future."

For several days in a row, Xiao Ran hid in the cellar and tirelessly improved his strength.

The four arts passed down from the Plum Blossom lineage—Soul, Corpse, Kill, and Crossing—have been gradually integrated and reformed into one school under Xiao Ran's efforts.

Xiao Ran also incorporated the essence of the "suppression method" into it.

He took out the "Suppressing Scripture" that the Yinshan Taoist had given him and reread it, using his subconscious to simulate the various suppression techniques in the book.

Judging from the expression of his master's wife, Madam Dongzhu, towards the [Suppressing Scripture] at the last Ghost Market, this [Suppressing Scripture] must be a treasure, but the copy given to him by the Yinshan Taoist must have a major problem. Xiao Ran didn't know the specifics of the problem, so he focused intently on studying it, constantly trying to simulate the suppression techniques described in the book.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Ran opened her eyes.

"As expected, there is a big problem. That old scoundrel from Yinshan has never had good intentions."

Through his continuous attempts and his own understanding of witchcraft, Xiao Ran discovered that most of the witchcraft techniques listed here were actually correct.

The problem lies in the book's detailed theoretical knowledge regarding the art of cursing.

The old thief from Yinshan modified some of the details. These details may seem insignificant, but if one were to perform the curse according to the methods taught in the book, then one's curse would deviate from the intended form.

This deviation is invisible to outsiders and imperceptible even to oneself.

However, if he were to encounter the Yinshan Taoist in the future, he might not even know how he died.

"His intentions are truly despicable!"

Xiao Ran cursed inwardly. Luckily, he had already developed his own theory on curse spells, and with constant subconscious simulation, he was able to find the problem.

"Now that we understand the problem, the spells and curses in this book are perfect for me to use."

So Xiao Ran spent several more days gradually integrating the curse techniques from the Zhenjing into his own system.

I don't know how many days I stayed in the cellar.

It wasn't until a series of rumbling sounds came from outside that Xiao Ran snapped out of her meditative state.

The commotion outside was immense; the entire city of all beings rose from the ground and was moving rapidly eastward.

In the past, the City of All Beings would move every once in a while, and Xiao Ran had gotten used to it. But this time was different. This time, the City of All Beings moved very fast and the movements were much larger than before, causing many houses outside to collapse due to the turbulence.

As Xiao Ran stepped out of the cellar, her immense spiritual power spread out, instantly sensing the panic and tension among the surrounding people, as well as the sounds of gongs and drums echoing through the streets and alleys.

Someone shouted, "The ghost army is coming! Hide quickly! Men, hurry up to the city wall and help with the defense!"

"It seems we've encountered a battle."

Xiao Ran showed no fear on her face; on the contrary, she was eager to try.

I wanted to use this opportunity to test my current abilities.

Immediately, Xiao Ran leaped up, his figure as light as a Kunpeng, stepping on the rooftops and heading straight for the city wall.

When he arrived at the city wall, blood-red characters appeared before his eyes.

Side Mission 2: Participate in the Campaign

Mission Description: Participate in the defense of the City of All Beings, defeat the Ghost Army, and you will receive 1 contribution point for each Ghost Army soldier killed. Contributions can be used to exchange for any resource in the City of All Beings, or they can be traded to other newbie members.

Note: Those who make negative contributions are not allowed to leave the City of All Beings and must obey the orders of the City of All Beings. Once the City of All Beings is captured, those who make negative contributions will be eliminated!

Task Difficulty: Level B

Task Reward: Rank B

(Note: Your current contribution level is 2897)

"It's not a negative number after all."

Xiao Ran was quite surprised, especially since there was such a large surplus.

Thinking about it carefully, this makes sense. After all, Xiao Ran has been very low-key since arriving here. She even has a large dormitory-style room and spends most of her time in the cellar, so she doesn't consume much energy.

As for the surplus, Xiao Ran guessed it was probably related to the mission of the Spirit God Sect.

He then glanced out of the city and saw billowing smoke and howling winds in the distance.

Xiao Ran's spiritual power penetrated the yin wind and saw countless ghost soldiers clad in armor and wielding blades.

These ghostly soldiers were all filled with ferocity, exuding a chilling aura that set them apart from ordinary spirits.

"They were all ghosts who died on the battlefield. How did they get controlled and turned into a ghost army!"

Xiao Ran frowned. On the battlefield, blood and killing intent surged. When a beginner's methods were used on the battlefield, they would immediately lose their effectiveness when hit by the killing intent.

Even beginners' abilities are suppressed, something Xiao Ran has experienced firsthand.

The spirits of those who died on the battlefield are even more malevolent and difficult to extinguish. They can often only be released through rituals, and it is very difficult to subdue them. If one is not careful, they may even turn against oneself.

It is truly unbelievable that such a massive army of ghosts is now marching in.

At this moment, Xiao Ran's gaze suddenly locked onto the rear of the ghost army. He saw a carriage protected within the army, with a large banner prominently displayed on it, adorned with flying dragons and tigers, and in the center the character "Li".
Most importantly, Xiao Ran noticed a seal on the banner. Upon closer inspection, she saw that the seal was inscribed with eight large characters in bird and animal patterns: "[By the Mandate of Heaven, May Your Life Be Long and Prosperous]".

(End of this chapter)