Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 723 Leaving the Examination Room
Xiao Ran's poem "Po Zhen Zi" unleashed the vast power of his literary staff, causing a frost-like mass to cover the ground and crush the statues within a radius of dozens of meters into dust with overwhelming force. Stone fragments flew everywhere, and purple lightning dissipated amidst the silver light. The brief silence finally brought a moment of respite.

But this panting was so heavy it made one's heart pound.

The air was thick with the pungent smells of blood, burnt food, and choking dust. Those protected by Xiao Ran, having escaped death, could not hide the shock and exhaustion on their faces. The light from the overhead lamps was dimmer than before; many of their blood-lotus lamps flickered like candles in the wind.

The consumption is too great.

Even though these 'examinees' were all corrupted, and their physical strength and mental abilities were comparable to those of a D-level beginner, they still couldn't withstand such consumption. The depletion of their energy and spirit made them dizzy and lightheaded, as if they were about to collapse at any moment.

Xiao Ran suppressed her talent and quickly retreated.

Unlike the others, his face did not show any ease. His gaze was fixed on the darkness ahead, where a faint arc of electricity occasionally flashed in the distance.

A moment later, footsteps approached from the darkness in the distance. A metallic luster shimmered on the cold, hard black stone. More statues approached from afar, showing no anger or fear, only the purest killing intent.

Seeing this, many people began to despair. These idols were simply endless and grew stronger the more they were attacked.

"How much longer?!"

Xiao Ran turned around and called out to the Tan brothers.

"almost!"

The two brothers, Tan Shanyuan and Tan Shanming, were lying on the crack in the gate, and they kept sprinkling black powder into the crack.

These black powders are actually nothing special; they're not hard to find in ordinary workshops. They're made by mixing iron filings, corundum, and abrasive powder.

Then the two brothers raised the discs in their hands and placed them on either side of the gate. As the ripples trembled, a faint resonance could soon be heard coming from inside the gate.

The sound started out very soft, but grew louder over time. Shao Hongzhang tentatively placed his palm on the door and immediately felt a tingling sensation in his hand, as if the entire door was beginning to shake violently.

"Almost there! Just a little more effort!" Tan Shanming's voice was hoarse, almost drowned out by the resonance. Veins bulged on the foreheads of the two brothers, and the flame of the lanterns hanging above their heads flickered violently due to the extreme strain on their mental strength. They forcefully pressed more black diamond sand into the ever-widening crack.

Even a master of feng shui like Shao Hongzhang had to admire this skill.

In essence, tomb raiding and treasure hunting are not much different, but the methods of treasure hunters are more unfathomable. What they want to steal is not just treasures, but the spiritual essence of a mountain, the quintessence of a land, and mysterious things. Naturally, their methods are also like that.

Otherwise, some things, such as a stone bead embedded in a rock, cannot be removed without extraordinary means. If one tries to remove it by force, not only will the treasure be destroyed, but the person involved will also suffer a backlash and die a terrible death.

The method used by the Tan brothers at this moment is one of the secret techniques of treasure hunters: striking the mountain to intimidate the tiger.

It is a unique technique that excels at overcoming difficulties.

Tomb raiders can dig a tunnel in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, but they become helpless when they encounter rocks. Treasure hunters, on the other hand, could probably break through rocks with this method.

"They're attacking!!"

A scream made everyone turn around abruptly.

From the depths of darkness, the statues were already charging towards them, their pitch-black bodies leaving afterimages in the void, their outlines grotesquely distorted by leaping purple lightning. The oppressive atmosphere intensified, and an aura of destruction swept over them.

"Rumble..."

A dense barrage of lightning struck, instantly tearing through the crimson curtain of light and exploding amidst the crowd, while grayish-white dust began to fall from the sky.

In just a moment, dozens of people were turned to ashes by the lightning.

At this moment, Chen Cheng's face became even more unsightly, and he regretted in his heart why he had brought out this opportunity.

In fact, releasing this lightning ability would cause great damage to the user. Chen Cheng had used it once and it had caused him severe injury, which is why he used it. However, this drawback is negligible on these statues.

Wave after wave of lightning struck, but the statues only paused slightly and were otherwise completely unaffected.

On the other hand, many people on their side were struck by lightning in just a few breaths, and even those with demonic bodies were seriously injured and on the verge of death.

"Hold on! Hold on! The door is about to open!" Chen Cheng roared, leading the elite warriors around him to rush forward.

The ability of someone with advanced roots is roughly the same as that of a 3D level beginner, and in some ways, even much stronger than an ordinary 3D level beginner.

The problem is that there are too few of these superior beings; not counting the Tan family brothers, there are only less than ten.

Even if they fight back desperately, they can't delay it for long.

"Zizzizi..."

Fortunately, Xiao Ran's intervention had bought everyone a lot of time, and now a screeching sound came from inside the door.

As the Tan brothers continued their schemes, the cracks on the gate grew larger and larger until a loud "bang!!" was heard.

The door shattered in an instant, like ceramic pieces falling to the ground.

"It's open! The door's open!!"

As the gate opened, the Tan brothers felt a great weight lifted from their shoulders. But when they turned around and saw the corpses of their own brothers scattered all over the ground, they couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.

But at that moment, there was no time to worry about anything else. The instant the door burst open, people rushed inside impatiently. "Run, run!!"

Seeing that the gate was open, Chen Cheng and several other high-level cultivators manipulated the hanging lamps above their heads, mobilizing all their power to gather a light screen in front of them, urging everyone to leave quickly.

"Let's go!"

Xiao Ran grabbed Shao Hongzhang and threw him onto the tiger demon, then rushed through the gate with the group.

Inside the gate, there was a very narrow stone staircase leading upwards, its destination unknown.

"Step aside!!"

Everyone frantically ran upwards, wanting to leave as quickly as possible. Naturally, some people disliked those who were running too slowly and slapped them down.

At this moment, Xiao Ran noticed that several unfriendly eyes had begun to lock onto her. Seeing this, Xiao Ran snorted coldly and waved the writing staff in her hand. Talent energy rippled and swirled around Xiao Ran.

Those malicious looks suddenly turned kind and clear.

After everyone had climbed up the steps one after another, a bright light suddenly appeared before their eyes, and there stood a large door in front of them.

The gate was open, and the palace behind it could be clearly seen through it.

Colorful flags fluttered in the bright sunshine in front of the palace. The eunuchs they had seen in the examination hall were sitting quietly in front of the palace, waiting for them.

Upon seeing this, everyone was overjoyed and rushed into the door.

"Finally... finally out!!"

As the candidates passed through the gate one after another, the sunlight felt slightly stinging on their skin, but it also dispelled the gloom in their hearts.

"So this is... the end!"

Xiao Ran turned to look at Shao Hongzhang, who hesitated for a moment: "It seems so, but I don't know the specifics of the regulations."

The two stood in front of the door, watching as most of the people had already stepped over the threshold, before Xiao Ran and Shao Hongzhang followed them inside.

The moment they stepped through the door, the surrounding space seemed to become displaced.

Xiao Ran and Shao Hongzhang looked up and exchanged a glance, only then realizing that they had left the examination hall.

Looking back, I saw that the door behind me was tightly closed, but people were coming in one after another.

Xiao Ran suddenly felt her hand lighten, and saw that the writing staff in her hand had turned into the size of an embroidery needle.

"Once we leave the area of ​​the examination hall, this writing staff will naturally be affected, but it will not affect its use. As long as you have talent, you can use this three hundred years of talent at any time."

Shao Hongzhang explained to Xiao Ran, "But once we leave the examination hall, my technique will end. We're now on the same side as these guys, so be careful not to get too close to them."

"Don't worry, he's just a nobody who sells his wares at a low price."

Xiao Ran nodded, completely unafraid. As she left the examination room, her mental energy was instantly released, no longer affected by those eerie whispers.

At the same time, the rules of the ghost stories that suppressed him also disappeared.

This means that one can use cursed items and class skills.

Now that his strength has been restored, Xiao Ran no longer cares about these worthless creatures. He immediately collects the corpse on the fox demon's back, as it contains valuable materials.

But then Xiao Ran realized that the Tan brothers' bodies were gone.

"Where did one of the bodies go??"

"Um..." Seeing this, Shao Hongzhang immediately explained to Xiao Ran somewhat embarrassedly; "I used the corpse to seal the crack in the door before. The situation was urgent, and you weren't around, so I..."

"It's alright, it's not a big deal." Xiao Ran didn't criticize her for it; after all, there would always be plenty of material.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran quickly spotted the Tan brothers in the crowd.

This made the Tan brothers feel a chill run down their spines. Following that strange feeling, they turned around and noticed that Xiao Ran's gaze was fixed on them like that of a hungry wolf. The two brothers trembled and fear arose in their hearts.

Fortunately, Xiao Ran only glanced at the two of them before looking away. His eyes were fixed ahead, scanning left and right beside the old eunuch Wang Qiang, but he did not see Dai Long at this moment.

This made Xiao Ran somewhat worried about Dai Long's situation, wondering if something had happened to him.

After waiting for a while, the last group of people arrived. They were Chen Cheng and a few other people with superior roots. These people looked disheveled and were covered in bruises.

Even the one who looked like a butcher had his body torn open, with his intestines dragging along the wound on the ground—a truly gruesome sight.

Once Chen Cheng and the others had steadied themselves, a look of relief appeared on Wang Qiang's face. He turned to the eunuch beside him and asked, "Go, tell Xiao Li that the top scholar and the others are starving and to prepare to open the gate..."

(End of this chapter)