Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 715

"Salt……"

Xiao Ran was quite surprised to hear Shao Hongzhang's statement, and immediately thought of the Li family's salt shop and their practice of pickling corpses in ashtrays.

Are you sure it's salt?

"That's definitely right."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran's mind immediately became active. As for the rain that Shao Hongzhang mentioned, it was definitely unrealistic.

If you could really bring a heavy rain and ruin this place, then why would Huang Chao bother with all that?

However, if this place really is made of salt, perhaps the golden toad could have escaped from the stone statue.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran patted Shao Hongzhang on the shoulder: "You should study it more carefully."

After saying that, he strode into the shrine.

It wasn't evening yet, so Xiao Ran simply sat in a corner and closed her eyes to rest. About three hours later, the sky outside gradually darkened.

At this moment, Jin Chanzi's consciousness gradually recovered from the statue.

Xiao Ran immediately told Jin Chanzi about Shao Hongzhang's discovery and asked him if this method could be used to escape from the statue.

To Xiao Ran's disappointment, Jin Chanzi said, "It's no use. My physical body isn't here. The 'me' inside this statue is probably imprisoning my consciousness. I reckon my true body is outside."

At this point, Jin Chanzi pondered for a moment; "It's not just my original form, but others, including you, may have changed more than just their appearance."

"You mean... all of this is an illusion??" Xiao Ran's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Not really."

"Then what do you mean??"

"Truth and falsehood are intertwined. Judging from what you said last night, Huang Chao is intentionally trying to separate us from you. This place is a trap he set specifically for you. You can only find the answer yourself."

Xiao Ran nodded. It was indeed as Jin Chanzi said. Both Dai Long and Jin Chanzi were excluded from this game.

He could even imagine that Wu Man was currently trapped in some corner of the palace, perhaps even preparing meals for the eunuchs.

The two chatted for a while but couldn't come to any conclusions, so they simply stopped talking.

Xiao Ran decided to go out and try her luck after dark to see what this so-called opportunity was all about.

This time, Xiao Ran did not bring the tiger demon with her. Although her mental power was restricted, she was holding the writing staff, so even if she encountered trouble, she could escape unscathed.

The day and night here are two completely different worlds.

Often, when a cool breeze blows, you can hear sharp howls mixed in with the wind.

However, compared to last night, tonight is quite quiet, and I believe those 'examinees' have already figured out the situation here.

They would no longer venture into these shrines at night.

However, the fact that they didn't enter the shrine didn't mean they were safe, Jin Chanzi specifically reminded Xiao Ran.

Sometimes, strange things happen here at night.

Calling it a ghost story isn't entirely accurate, but when these things appear, it's best to find a shrine to hide in.

Compared to the dangers inside the shrine, encountering these things often means certain death.

Xiao Ran wanted to ask for more specific details, but Jin Chanzi said he didn't know anything more.

Although he has some mobility at night, he cannot leave his shrine for too long.

If they cannot return to the shrine before dawn, they will turn to stone and never wake up again.

This is also why the statues in the shrine dare not leave their shrines at will.

Fortunately, this situation is not very common, so as long as Xiao Ran carefully observes her surroundings, there will be no major danger.

"Shhhhh..."

Even without the support of spiritual power, it did not affect Xiao Ran's speed. With the special qualities of the Hundred Attributes Body, Xiao Ran was as light as a swallow, covering more than ten meters in a single stride.

Since reaching the third level of Soul Cultivation Technique, Xiao Ran has relied mostly on spells.

Now that her mental energy is suppressed, Xiao Ran has gained a deeper understanding of her physical condition.

But this is precisely where Xiao Ran is confused.

If, as Jin Chanzi claims, their consciousness was merely transferred in, then what about their own Hundred-Subject Body and their ability to use space?

But if it was his own physical body that was transferred in, then what about the Golden Toad?

"Just as Jin Chanzi said, it's a mix of truth and falsehood!"

"boom!!!"

Just then, a loud booming sound rang out in the distance, interrupting Xiao Ran's thoughts.

The sound wasn't close, but it was extremely jarring in the darkness. Xiao Ran leaped onto a shrine and looked up to see billowing smoke rising in the distance.

"Master!"

Even without the mental energy to explore, Xiao Ran had excellent eyesight and could see the figures flashing by in the smoke and dust from afar.

This reminded Xiao Ran of the guy who had also been rated as having superior potential.

"Could it be him?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran quietly made her way in that direction.

"Bang!! Bang!!" Before even getting close, several figures could be seen circling around a statue, constantly probing and trying to disrupt its vision.

"All seven of them are of average talent!"

Based on the physiques of the seven people, Xiao Ran could roughly estimate their strength. Their intermediate-level cultivation was roughly equivalent to that of the second and third brothers of the Tan family, which was already quite impressive.

"It seems like the number of people with intermediate root conditions has increased."

Xiao Ran remembered that he had seen it before, and that before entering the second examination room, most of the people, apart from the Tan brothers, were of lower aptitude.

The strength of the middle-grade students had already reached the level of a 3D-level beginner. With so many as seven appearing at once, Xiao Ran figured they must have gradually improved to the middle grade level by absorbing other "examinees" after entering.

"boom!!"

A large hand emerged from the dust and slammed it hard onto the ground.

A statue over eight meters tall emerged from the dust. Unlike the other statues, this one was entirely black, with a dark sphere suspended in front of its chest.

"That must have been a stroke of luck."

Xiao Ran squinted as he examined the sphere, but without the aid of his mental energy, he couldn't determine what the black sphere actually was.

The enormous hand of the statue chased after the figures of the group, slamming it around them in a clumsy manner, making it look more like a stupid giant swatting flies.

The seven people used their demonized tentacles, as nimble as monkeys, to circle around the statue.

However, Xiao Ran could also see that these seven guys didn't cooperate well and were even deliberately holding back, unwilling to use their best skills.

Fortunately, although their coordination was not perfect, it seemed to be enough to deal with the statue.

Even worse, some of them hid directly on top of other shrines, so that when a statue punched them, it not only failed to hit these guys, but also angered the other statues.

"Ahhhhh!!"

A statue burst out of another shrine, saw its own shrine had been smashed down, and angrily swung its fist at the black statue in front of it.

This punch instantly cracked half of the black statue's face.

Large swaths of grayish-white stones flew in all directions.

"mine!"

A figure soared into the air, taking advantage of the moment when the black statue was struck hard and its body tilted backward. The figure leaped up, arms outstretched, and countless python-like tentacles reached for the black sphere.

"You can't hold your temper!"

Seeing this, Xiao Ran, who was well-versed in the art of treasure hunting, couldn't help but shake her head at the man.

Although it's a case of striking first to gain the upper hand, it also means being the first to stick your neck out. Without absolute strength, trying to seize the treasure while surrounded by the other six would likely be suicide.

"boom!!"

A deafening roar suddenly erupted from the dust. The figure that had rushed to the chest of the statue was struck as if by lightning. A cloud of snowflakes exploded on its chest, and its body lost its balance and fell to the ground.

"gun?"

The sound startled Xiao Ran, and she quickly locked her gaze in the direction of the gunshot.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

As a series of booming sounds rang out, Xiao Ran found the source of the gunfire on the distant shrine.

But it wasn't the gun he had imagined, or rather, it was completely different from the gun he had envisioned.

The rough arm split open, revealing an empty hole in the palm.

At the end of the arm was a huge lump of flesh, covered with holes.

As the cavity opened, the surrounding air was quickly drawn into the tumor, causing it to rapidly expand to a width of five or six meters.

Immediately following, the veins on his arm throbbed, and one bone spur after another was launched out with the air ejected from the tumor.

"Bang Bang Bang!!!"

Three more bone spikes were launched in quick succession. As the other two guys were knocked back, a sinister smile appeared on the man's fleshy face.

"Hahahaha, I'll shoot you all dead! How dare you try to steal from us brothers!"

As far as the eye could see, a man covered in brown armor rushed to the statue's chest and snatched the black sphere from its hand.

Seeing that his brother had succeeded, the man smiled.

At this moment, the other six people also reacted and attacked the shell-wearing man.

"It's too late to join forces now!"

Seeing this, the man muttered something under his breath and was about to raise his hand to force these people back when he suddenly felt a popping sound in the air hole on his shoulder, as if it was blocked.

The man quickly turned around and his pupils widened in surprise. He saw that someone had appeared beside him at some point.

Xiao Ran squatted down beside him, poking at the air vent with her fingers, as if she had discovered a new continent, her face full of curiosity.

"There's also this kind of structure. If it were sewn onto a corpse, could it also be used?"

In an instant, Xiao Ran thought of archers. The direction for strengthening archers had never been clear, but now it provided him with a very good reference.

"you!!!"

Upon seeing this, the man's expression changed drastically, and he abruptly turned around, pointing his palm at Xiao Ran.

But Xiao Ran's movements were far faster than he had imagined. The instant the man raised his arm, the heavy writing staff flashed with the light of talent, slicing through space and smashing heavily onto the man's head...

(End of this chapter)