Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 706 The Land of Literary Pillars
What is the root capacity?

"Root": a metaphor for innate qualities and understanding, just as the root system of a plant determines its growth potential.

“器”: metaphorically refers to the capacity to contain the power of heaven and earth and nature, just as objects have different sizes for holding things.

Buddhism uses the metaphor of a fine horse to illustrate the differences in the capacities of sentient beings.

Superior innate qualities: able to know when to advance or retreat upon seeing the shadow of a whip, and to be diligent upon hearing about impermanence; possessing right understanding and the power of self-realization.

Medium-level talent: Only when the whip touches the body does one become alert; a more vigorous and forceful state of mind is needed for enlightenment.

Those of inferior capacity: awakening comes from whipping their flesh and blood; they are difficult to understand on their own and need external guidance.

Talent and aptitude are innate; some people are born with exceptional intelligence and can grasp anything quickly, while others are born slow and learn things much more slowly.

Those with superior spiritual capacity, like the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, were able to attain sudden enlightenment of Buddhism and receive the robe and bowl of Bodhidharma despite being illiterate.

Those of average capacity, like Zen Master Shenxiu, practiced Zen meditation through arduous recitation, using a "gradual cultivation" approach, taking it slowly, step by step.

Even a genius like Shenxiu could only cultivate through gradual practice, which shows that innate talent is predetermined and cannot be changed by external forces.

But this first test is to assess one's innate abilities, and what's even more unbelievable is that one can enhance their innate abilities by hunting down others.

"That does fit Huang Chao's personality quite well."

Xiao Ran carefully examined herself. As a being of the highest rank and protected by literary energy, the impact on her was negligible.

Those inconspicuous scales on his body were nothing more than some strange, supernatural powers attached to him.

This force seemed to want to penetrate his body, but his strength and physical abilities were over a hundred, his physical body was solid, and his mental strength was even more exaggerated. With his body of a hundred attributes, this force could not penetrate at all and could only attach itself to his skin and flesh.

As Xiao Ran channeled her mental power to crush the force, she instantly pulverized it.

Xiao Ran then looked around and saw that the forest in front of her was as dark as dusk, with huge, strangely shaped ancient tree roots twisting and turning like giant pythons emerging from the dark soil and sinking deeper into the earth.

The tree trunk was covered with thick, faintly glowing green moss and twisted, dark purple vines, from which an unknown, viscous liquid dripped.

The air was as heavy as solidified mercury, and every breath carried a strong, metallic stench... the smell of blood, fresh and intense.

"Heh heh... kill... my root weapon!"

"Don't come any closer! Ah—!"

Not far away, a shrill scream, inhuman and mixed with a greedy, low growl like a wild beast, suddenly exploded from all directions!

Xiao Ran's spiritual energy instantly spread out silently, like mercury spilling onto the ground. Almost simultaneously, his pupils suddenly contracted.

This forest... is alive! Not just a description, but a real, living thing!
Beneath the rough bark of every giant, twisted tree, covered in sticky moss or dark purple vines, lies writhing, twisted flesh! Deeper still, faint spiritual fluctuations belonging to different life forms are chaotically intertwined, like broken souls forcibly stitched together, continuously emitting cries of extreme pain and despair.

Those exposed, menacing tree roots are covered with thick, pulsating veins, and a dark red, viscous liquid flows slowly and heavily beneath the walls of the tubes. With each pulsation, a nauseating, fishy stench is released.

This so-called "examination room" is nothing more than a huge living cage formed by the flesh and blood of countless living beings, with flesh and blood and souls assimilated!
"Uh..." came a muffled groan from Shao Hongzhang beside him, a sound of suppressed pain.

The inconspicuous black spots that had appeared on Shao Hongzhang's face and hands under the light of the emerald green lanterns were now wriggling like living things!
The spots have blurred edges, spreading and expanding slowly like ink dripping into water, with a strange, oily sheen in the deep black.

Shao Hongzhang's body trembled slightly, as if he were being eroded by some invisible force. Fortunately, his literary energy worked at this moment, firmly blocking this power from his mind.

However, he himself did not have a physique as strong as Xiao Ran's, so he was unable to block this power outside his physical body.

Even if Xiao Ran wanted to help, this strange power had already seeped into Shao Hongzhang's flesh and blood. Unless 80% of Shao Hongzhang's flesh and blood were dug out, it would be completely useless.

However, Xiao Ran had another way. He took out a thread of destiny and threaded it into Shao Hongzhang's body. Using the power of the thread of destiny, he gradually guided this strange power to Shao Hongzhang's arm.

Before long, you could see Shao Hongzhang's arm rapidly swell, the muscles bulging, revealing worm-like blue veins, and grayish-white bone spurs piercing through the flesh, becoming like shields exposed on his arm.

Once the force stabilized, Shao Hongzhang breathed a heavy sigh of relief: "Phew, that feels much better."

He looked at his mutated left hand with a complicated expression. After trying to swing it a few times, he found that the arm was ridiculously strong.

It looks like you could crush a stone with a flick of your wrist.

"It seems that although this power is strange, it does have the power to change people."

Xiao Ran carefully examined Shao Hongzhang's arm and roughly understood what this so-called first test was for.

His gaze fell upon the deep forest, where the sounds of battle still echoed in the distance. He wondered how many people had participated in this campaign, and if things continued to develop like this, it wouldn't be long before something troublesome emerged.

"Do you have any other plans?" Xiao Ran asked Shao Hongzhang.

Shao Hongzhang nodded: "Of course, otherwise why would I go through all this trouble, but..."

Shao Hongzhang looked around: "Let's find a high place first, I need to confirm our location first." "That's easy!"

Xiao Ran grabbed Shao Hongzhang, leaped up to the treetop, and his figure flashed rapidly among the treetops.

On the way, Xiao Ran occasionally saw people killing each other below.

These people are all strangely shaped, resembling humans, ghosts, demons, and monsters. Their strength is not particularly high, but after they devour others, they undergo a qualitative change in a short period of time.

This vast forest is clearly a breeding ground for poisonous insects.

What exactly are your plans?

On the way, Xiao Ran asked Shao Hongzhang about it. Looking at the scene below, which resembled a battlefield, even Shao Hongzhang couldn't help but swallow hard. Upon hearing Xiao Ran's question, he explained:
"Huang Chao modified Chang'an and reversed the order of the universe, but he didn't know that there were two dragon pillars, one for civil affairs and one for military affairs, suppressing Chang'an from below."

The Wenzhu (文柱) pillar is located below the examination hall. Next, all we need to do is find the correct location, and we can turn this world upside down. Then we can invoke the literary energy of past sages to clear a path for us.”

As they were talking, Xiao Ran had already led him to a high, protruding hilltop.

Shao Hongzhang then came to his senses, looked back in the direction he had come from, and couldn't help but sigh, "With your lightness skill, it's a real pity you're not a flower thief."

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work." Xiao Ran rolled her eyes at him.

Shao Hongzhang scanned the surroundings, calculating the directions with his hands, but the world had changed so much that even for someone as upright as Shao Hongzhang, the Director of the Imperial Observatory, it would take some time to calculate the correct directions.

At that moment, Xiao Ran's brows twitched, and his spiritual power spread out like a large net.

The next moment, five dark figures were seen committing a frenzied killing spree in the distant forest.

These five people moved swiftly and were already quite strong. Now, with the help of that strange power, they were even more powerful, treating the others as prey. In an instant, they killed several people and devoured them.

These five people cooperated with each other and their movements were very coordinated. If they encountered a difficult opponent, they would work together to kill him.

Upon seeing the actions of these five people, Xiao Ran immediately thought of the Xuan Ding Guards under the King of Chu.

That is, the group of experts who were hoarding treasures, a total of thirteen people, five of whom happened to have entered Ghost City with Gu Xintang.

Judging from the perfect teamwork of the five of them, it must be them.

Normally, Xiao Ran would have killed all these people right now.

However, they entered through another examination hall, which was not on the same spatial line. Xiao Ran could only watch them take action, unable to intervene directly.

After about ten minutes, Shao Hongzhang finally determined the direction: "Due north!"

Shao Hongzhang raised his hand and pointed to the due north direction. If his calculations were correct, he would know the location of the dragon pillar. Once he found the dragon pillar, he would have a way to activate it. At that time, he could invoke the literary energy of past sages to restore order and break this so-called imperial examination.

Now that the direction is clear, the rest is easy.

Xiao Ran grabbed Shao Hongzhang's arm, jumped down, and quickly ran north in the direction Shao Hongzhang pointed.

Xiao Ran moved extremely fast. Although some people on the road noticed them, they could only see two blurry figures leaping past them.

Even if they wanted to chase, they would never be able to catch up with Xiao Ran's speed.

"These idiots, aren't they afraid of turning into monsters?"

Shao Hongzhang was carried lightly by Xiao Ran's mental power. Although the speed was fast, it was not tiring. Seeing those people who had fallen into madness, killing and devouring each other, he couldn't help but curse.

"That's not up to them!"

Without turning her head, Xiao Ran said, "Perhaps this is the effect Huang Chao wanted."

When Huang Chao was mentioned, Xiao Ran always felt that although this method was similar to Huang Chao's style, she couldn't figure out what his purpose was in doing so.

Having passed through a dense forest, Xiao Ran abruptly stopped at its edge. The warm, humus beneath her feet emitted a nauseating, sweet-smelling stench. The sight ahead caused even the seasoned Shao Hongzhang to gasp in shock.

In the center of an open area, a twisted and writhing "nest" stands out starkly.

It was not a pile of rocks or soil, but a huge aggregate of flesh and blood formed by the glued and twisted shreds of countless human remains, broken weapons, and blood-stained scholar's robes! Its surface was covered with a layer of wet, sticky biofilm that constantly secreted dark red liquid, beating regularly like a pulsating heart.

Each pulse was accompanied by a low, painful groan, exhaled from the mouths of those faces.

The ground around the nest was no longer soil, but a hardened, solidified, translucent gel-like substance, like a giant amber, with countless frozen faces of living people inside!
"What! How could this be?!"

Shao Hongzhang's voice trembled slightly, his eyes wide open, staring straight ahead, "Huang Chao, that beast! A beast!! He's heartless and insane!!"

This was the first time Shao Hongzhang had truly experienced Huang Chao's methods. In order to reform Chang'an, he actually turned the living people left behind in Chang'an into a malignant tumor...

(End of this chapter)