Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 735 The Central Hub of the Ghost Capital (Two chapters combined)

Faced with sandbags that suddenly grew to the size of millstones and hurtled down with heavy wind pressure,
Xiao Ran's eyes sharpened. She pushed off with her toes, ready to leap backward to dodge.

However, something strange happened.

His mind was crystal clear, and his nerves were frantically sending out commands to dodge, but his body felt as if it were encased in steel and concrete, incredibly heavy. His muscles were stiff, like rusty gears, completely disobeying his brain's commands! The invisible constraints of the strange rules that enveloped him now displayed their terrifying control, completely stripping him of the option of "movement."

"Oh no!" Alarm bells rang in Xiao Ran's mind.

Seeing that the huge sandbags were blocking their view, Xiao Ran's brows twitched slightly, but he remained calm and first patted the [Yin Soldier Gourd] at his waist.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
Xiao Ran threw three corpses missing limbs in front of him to block them, while simultaneously using his mental energy to lock onto the trajectory of the sandbags and try to control them as they flew towards him.

When Xiao Ran enveloped the sandbag with his mental energy, he noticed that the sandbag was not a physical object, but a mass of chaotic energy compressed to the extreme.

boom! ! !
The sandbag, the size of a millstone, slammed heavily onto the corpse in front of them, making a chilling thud!
The three corpses, as if made of clay and paper, had their chests and abdomens collapse inward into huge craters the moment they came into contact with the sandbags. Fragments of internal organs mixed with purplish-black blood, like berries squeezed by a tremendous force, gushed out from the shattered chest cavities, forming a nauseating cloud of blood mist!
However, the next second Xiao Ran felt his body lighten, and the power of the rules that had been binding him disappeared instantly.

"Can we go now?"

Xiao Ran turned to look at the girl and instantly realized the rules of the game: as long as the girl didn't throw the beanbag, he could move; once she threw the beanbag, he would be bound by the rules and unable to move.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran decisively turned around and left quickly. He was extremely fast, his figure dodging left and right in the ruins, leaving countless afterimages. However, the girl's voice followed him like a shadow: "Big brother, are you hidden well?"

"Didn't shake them off??"

Xiao Ran spread his mental energy out like a fishing net, but his powerful mental energy swept through the area and he couldn't find any trace of the girl.

Instead, a strong sense of restraint suddenly came from the void.

Xiao Ran suddenly felt her body stiffen, as if she had been locked in by the rules again, unable to move.

Just then, a tearing sound came from the void, and a black sandbag flew out of nothingness, heading straight for the direction where Xiao Ran was hiding.

"Boom!" With a deafening roar, debris flew everywhere, and the surrounding abandoned houses were blasted to the ground. The girl's figure appeared not far away, looking around in confusion.

But soon her gaze shifted, and she saw Xiao Ran leap out of the shadows, then, like a cunning raccoon, constantly darting through the ruins.

"Found you!" The girl's eyes lit up, and the smile on her face grew increasingly sinister.

The figure, like a ghost, quickly chased after her. Once the girl was far away, a black pool of corpses began to churn on the ground in the corner. Soon after, a coffin emerged from it. The coffin opened, and Xiao Ran stepped out.

"Finally got rid of it."

The figure that lured the girl away was a paper doll made by Xiao Ran using the Zhou family's secret technique; it should last for a while.

Xiao Ran naturally had ways to deal with such evil spirits, but time was of the essence, and he didn't want to waste any more time on them.

The City God Temple was not far from here. Xiao Ran didn't dare to delay for a moment. He pushed the Nameless Step Technique to its limit and flew across the scorched wasteland. The three-dimensional model of the Ghost City in his mind pinpointed the location of the City God Temple, which was pulsating with red light, with exceptional clarity in his mental landscape.

The ruins receded rapidly, and the smell of burning and death seemed to deliberately avoid this invisible "central axis".

Soon, the outline of a relatively complete building came into view in the dimly lit field of vision ahead.

It stands alone, like a piece of surviving black wood, amidst ruins reduced to scorched earth and rubble.

Just as Xiao Ran's spiritual perception had captured the key location, this temple was indeed the most "complete" building in this wasteland of ruins—at least its main structure was still barely holding together.

However, this relative completeness exudes an indescribable eeriness.

The temple's exterior walls are covered with heavy soot marks left by the fire, and the black scorch marks, like splashes of ink, viciously cover the original vermilion paint and bricks. In many places, only the twisted, charred frames of the carved wooden windows remain.

One side of the main gate of the City God Temple has disappeared, leaving only half of the gate open.

Xiao Ran stopped about ten feet in front of the temple gate, her sharp, hawk-like eyes carefully scanning every detail.

The gilded bells hanging from the eaves were mostly melted and deformed, even stuck to the charred rafters, making the whole house look like a half-melted ice cream.

Xiao Ran stepped into the City God Temple and looked up to see the City God statue sitting in the City God Hall. The statue was blackened by smoke.

Fortunately, this place is not dangerous, as it is the central area of ​​the entire Ghost City and is an extremely hidden secret.

Xiao Ran believed that Huang Chao would not easily reveal the secrets behind it.

Xiao Ran released her mental energy and quickly scanned every corner of the City God Temple. Then she took out three mirrors from her spatial storage.

These three mirrors are respectively the F-level cursed item [Disguise Mirror] (Chapter 71), the E-level cursed item [Flowing Light Eight Treasures Mirror] (Chapter 121), and the D-level cursed item [Mind-Stabilizing Mirror] (Chapter 383).

These three mirrors were cursed objects from Xiao Ran's past, and now they are being used as talismans to set up a curse spell.

Xiao Ran placed the three mirrors in three directions around the City God Temple.

He then took out his writing staff.

Looking at the writing staff in his hand, Xiao Ran's expression gradually became solemn.

"This thing..."

He was now at the center of the entire Ghost City, and there were not many ways to shift this center. The fastest and simplest way was to use the staff in his hand.

The staff has the ability to assimilate the void, a fact that was already verified during the exam.

"But... this thing just happened to appear in my hands so cleverly... isn't this all too coincidental?"

Xiao Ran calmed down and thought about all the details before and after she entered the Ghost City.

Ghost locust tree... peony and camphor tree... walking stick... the blueprint left behind by Huang Chao...

All the seemingly unrelated things eventually came together through her own hands. Even if Xiao Ran was slow to realize, she must have realized that there must be a force behind these things that was pushing her step by step to get to this place.

"Is it the person behind Huang Chao?"

Xiao Ran took a deep breath, slapped her thigh, and stood up: "At this point, even if it's a trap, I have no choice."

He couldn't help but admire the mastermind behind the scheme. Huang Chao and the Imperial Seal were bait, something he knew was dangerous, yet he had no choice but to take the bait.

The real purpose is probably right at this moment.

Even though she had already realized these things, she couldn't refuse them.

Outside, there is not only Lu Cheng's army, but also the pure land of Ruzhou. Once those demons are let out, all my previous efforts will be in vain.

So no matter what, I have no way out.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran took out the [Suppressing Calamity Token] and [Lu Ban Hand] from his space, adjusted himself to the best condition, and raised the staff in his hand high.

In that instant, Xiao Ran thought of Huang Chao.

He was full of youthful vigor at first sight, and later became a mature, steady, and exceptionally capable and virtuous man, but in the end, he suffered a complete and utter defeat.

"Perhaps it's not that fate is against you, but rather that this outcome was already predetermined from the moment you dared to use it as bait!"

Having said that, Xiao Ran took a deep breath and recited: "The great river flows eastward, its waves sweeping away countless heroes of the past. To the west of the old fortress, people say, lies the Red Cliff of Zhou Yu of the Three Kingdoms..."

As Xiao Ran recited the poem "Remembering the Past at Red Cliff," countless silver-gray lights flashed in his hand, shimmering brightly. As Xiao Ran's recitation grew stronger, it seemed as if a miniature star had gathered at the tip of the staff he held.

"Rocks pierce the sky, waves crash against the shore, churning up thousands of piles of snow..."

The chanting echoed through the deathly silent ruins, and the silver light on the staff, like long-suppressed subterranean fire, found an outlet.
"boom--!!!"

A pillar of energy composed entirely of silver light burst forth from the top of the staff, like a light sword piercing the universe, soaring straight into the sky!
"Kakaka..."

The sky, like a fragile glass mirror, cracked with a sickening sound that reverberated throughout the ruins of the Ghost City the moment the silver light struck!
The talent emanating from the staff increased, and the huge pillar of light, like the roots of an ancient tree rooted in the City God Temple, penetrated into the past, its branches extending into the sky and merging into the future.

In an instant, the three spaces intersected, and the entire Ghost City was now under Xiao Ran's control.

Xiao Ran's heart stirred, and the [Suppressing Calamity Order] was activated.

"Privilege - Yin God!"

When the enormous figure appeared behind Xiao Ran, its hand gripped the staff in front of it heavily, and with the twisting of the large hand, the entire Ghost City began to tremble.

At that moment, the once-open gates of the imperial capital quickly closed, and the entire space of the ghost capital, Chang'an, began to distort.

"Sure enough!"

Xiao Ran's brows twitched slightly. At this moment, the entire Ghost City was under her control. As long as she didn't want to, no one could leave from here.

Meanwhile, in a future timeline, the possessed demons, including Tan Shancai, seemed to sense something was wrong and let out deafening roars.

They even began to impatiently ram the city gate, trying to force their way out.

However, their existence is in the future, not the present. Since there is only emptiness behind the door in the future, even if they are demons, they are helpless.

This is the ingenious design of the entire Ghost City: of the three spaces, only the present space allows for true entry and exit from Ghost City. Otherwise, one would be trapped either in the past or in the future.

"Thump...thump thump...thump thump thump..."

Against this backdrop of dramatic changes in the world, a discordant drumbeat suddenly rang out. The drumbeat pierced through the chaotic energy fluctuations and the distorted space, striking Xiao Ran's eardrums clearly.

Xiao Ran's mind suddenly turned as cold as ice.

"Damn it! That thing has caught up!"

Worse still, it wasn't just the porcelain doll-like little girl who came with the sound of the rattle drum.

Beneath the shadow of the half-burnt and decaying gate of the City God Temple, several shadowy figures, exuding a strong aura of ominousness and death, slowly emerged.

Their very presence seemed to solidify the scattered ashes around them, and the air suddenly became thick and murky, mixed with the smells of rust, blood, stale corpse oil, and damp mold.

Clearly, Xiao Ran's actions were too drastic, attracting the evil spirits from this ghost city.

However, Xiao Ran was not flustered at all. With a light tap of his foot, as the corpse pool unfolded, the three mirrors set up in the City God Temple were quickly covered by the thick corpse aura.

The curse is activated.

In an instant, the corpse demons surged and covered the entire City God Temple.

"what!"

Feeling the murderous aura surging around him far exceeding his expectations, Xiao Ran couldn't help but sigh, "Just how many people died in this place back then?"

Back then, Huang Chao's great fire burned down the prosperous Chang'an, burying tens of thousands of lives. The resentment, fear, despair, and the essence of flesh and blood buried deep underground were tempered by the raging fire and settled by time, and have long since transformed into an extremely sinister and malevolent aura, buried beneath every inch of this scorched land.

At this moment, it was as if a dormant volcano had been completely ignited! Centered on the City God Temple, a vast, black, and viscous aura of malevolence surged forth from the ruins in all directions. It tore through the scorched earth, releasing a thick, foul stench of sulfur mixed with rotting flesh. This resentment and despair, accumulated over many years, was precisely guided and stimulated by Xiao Ran's curse, like a torrent finding its outlet!

“Shhhhhhhhhhh!”

The three cursed objects placed in the corner of the City God Temple—the Dressing Mirror, the Flowing Light Eight Treasures Mirror, and the Mind-Stabilizing Mirror—trembled violently the moment they were absorbed into this terrifying evil energy, bursting forth with colors completely different from before.

The flashing runes on it seemed to be violently stimulated at this moment, and began to twist, mutate, and emit a cold light.

Xiao Ran knew that doing this would inevitably destroy the three cursed items completely, but he no longer cared about that; he would delay for as long as possible.

In an instant, the space surrounding the City God Temple was completely distorted and alienated!
Countless mirrors appeared out of thin air! They were not physical frames or mirrors, but empty mirrors formed by the direct condensation, stretching, and twisting of pure, dense black evil energy! They had no regular shape, resembling black glass that had been shattered and forcibly pieced back together, or like inky ice crystals solidified in the air, layer upon layer, endless.

These malevolent mirrors are not arranged in a neat row, but rather stand, rotate, and float among the ruins at extremely strange angles.

Each mirror reflects not the present scene, but the distorted figures of people fleeing when the city was engulfed in flames.

Some scenes depict piles of skulls and fallen heads.

The bizarre and chaotic scene completely cuts, covers, and distorts the original ruins.

The strange little girl who had been chasing after them suddenly stopped playing the rattle drum.

For the first time, a hint of doubt appeared on her pale, porcelain-doll-like face. Just as her small figure rushed to the edge of the open space in front of the temple, a huge mirror wall suddenly stood before her, covered with hideous cracks and looking as if it had been splattered with congealed black blood.

She instinctively threw the sandbag in her hand.

"Whoosh!" The sandbag pierced through the mirror wall, but it seemed to have entered a void swamp without making a sound.

The mirror surface only showed a tiny, insignificant black ripple before returning to normal.

The little girl blinked her dark, empty eyes.

She tentatively took a step forward, trying to pass through the strange barrier. However, the moment her foot stepped into the mirrored area, the space seemed to be suddenly twisted by an invisible hand.

The next moment, her figure vanished from the spot and reappeared in a corner more than ten feet away, with her back to the City God Temple. Several crooked mirrors filled with malevolent energy were erected in front of her, reflecting countless pale and blank eerie images of her!

Realizing that the evil spirits outside were unable to break in for the time being, Xiao Ran felt much calmer.

However, he also knew that this was only a temporary measure. Once these evil spirits found the pattern of the curse, they would inevitably try to break in. He needed to act faster and completely dismantle the ghost before these evil spirits broke the curse.

At this moment, Xiao Ran suddenly remembered something, raised her hand and took out the [Decapitation Sword] from her space. After activating it, the sword flashed with an unusual color.

C-Rank Cursed Item: [Decapitation Sword - Paper Craftsman]

A killing blade meticulously crafted by Qi cultivators, used to strengthen themselves by slaughtering all living beings.

Lingyun LV3: 3816/100,000
Privilege 1: Spirit Demon

Once activated, the sword transforms into a malevolent force, unleashing a ranged attack on targets in front.

(Note: This skill requires a large amount of spiritual energy; the higher the level of spiritual energy, the stronger its destructive power.)
Privilege 2: Gathering Evil and Forming It

Once activated, it can quickly absorb the surrounding malevolent energy and transform it into spiritual energy. The stronger the malevolent energy, the more spiritual energy it can transform.

Since Xiao Ran used up all the spiritual energy in the [Decapitation Sword] in one go at the Demon Market, he hasn't had a chance to recharge the sword.

On the one hand, Xiao Ran was indeed too busy, and on the other hand, Xiao Ran now had a more powerful cursed object, so the need for the Head-Slaying Sword was not urgent.

Given the abundance of malevolent energy here, I'll summon this sword to replenish my spiritual essence.

With a casual toss, Xiao Ran sent the Executioner's Sword spinning in mid-air before embedding it in the roof beam behind him, making it one of the talismans.

However, unlike the three mirrors, the large amount of evil energy that surged into the Head-Slaying Sword did not cause irreversible damage to it. Instead, it replenished the sword's spiritual energy at an extremely fast pace.

Having set up the Executioner's Sword, Xiao Ran focused on controlling the Dharma Image, slowly turning the inscription pillar in his hand.

The process seemed simple, but every rotation and angle was the result of Xiao Ran's constant mental rehearsals.

Judging from the traces left by Huang Chao and the model of the Ghost Locust Tree, the entire Ghost City is like a meticulously constructed Luban lock.

If even one part is wrong, not only will all previous efforts be wasted, but the entire ghost may even collapse.

Once it collapses, those demons will be able to immediately break free of the ghost capital and be completely free.

This put Xiao Ran under immense pressure, and she mentally cursed, "I wonder which bastard designed this; it's so complicated..."

Outside the Ghost City, on an inconspicuous hill in the southwest direction.

"Ah sneeze——!"

A loud, somewhat disheveled sneeze abruptly broke the silence of the mountains and fields.

There sat a hunched old Taoist priest, sitting cross-legged on a half-weathered bluestone. He vigorously rubbed his red nose several times with his greasy, shiny sleeve, which was so dirty that its original color was almost unrecognizable, making the tip of his nose even redder.

He mumbled, his voice unclear and muffled, as if his mouth was full of something: "This godforsaken place is so eerie... Could it be that my dear disciple misses me?"

The pale moonlight barely outlined his features. A wrinkled, patched old Taoist robe hung loosely on his body, as if it might slip off at any moment. His hair was gray and disheveled, barely held together by a thin, withered blade of grass. A few unruly strands clung messily to his wrinkled forehead. Most striking were his small, cloudy eyes that occasionally flashed with a sharp light, now squinting as he gazed into the distance with great interest.

At the end of that gaze was none other than the ghost city of Chang'an, shrouded in a strange and distorted atmosphere, with ripples spreading through the space!

The three chaotic energies from different times and spaces were forcibly blended, stirred, and reshaped by the power of the staff that pierced through heaven and earth. Even though they were so far apart, the enormous and chaotic energy fluctuations spread out like a tangible wave.

Ordinary people cannot see the mysteries and changes involved, but how could he, the Taoist of Yinshan, the designer of this ghost city, not see that someone is trying to untie this knot?

However, instead of being tense, Yinshan Daoist's cloudy old eyes flashed with a barely perceptible hint of smugness and... mischievous smile.

He raised his hand, his calloused fingers, filled with black grime under his nails, pointing towards the City God Temple as if he were tapping the nose of some naughty child.

"My little foxes, don't blame your master for being heartless. It's just that I had no choice in the matter."

"Deserve it!"

As the Taoist priest of Yinshan finished speaking, a crow on the treetop suddenly began to speak in human language.

"I told you to cut your own throat earlier, but you still caused so much trouble."

The crow stared at the Yinshan Taoist priest with a very unfriendly tone.

Yinshan Daoist helplessly spread his hands: "Who knows? But this result is not bad. At least Emperor Yuzi has agreed to my request. As long as we complete this deal, the Yin registers of us old guys will be settled."

The crow flapped its wings, flew down from the treetop, and landed on Yinshan Daoist's shoulder: "That old ghost is no good either. I'm afraid you'll end up losing more than you gain. I think your Ghost Capital design will be dismantled soon."

"Well, I reckon it'll only take an hour or two."

The Taoist of Yinshan was very familiar with the ghosts he designed. They seemed ingenious, but once you found the trick, it was not difficult to break them.

But then his tone shifted abruptly, a ferocious glint appearing on his gaunt face: "But that's exactly the moment I've been waiting for him to unlock the Ghost Capital's secrets. Then I'll show this kid what it means to be caught in a dilemma!"

(End of this chapter)