Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 790 Underground Ancient City
The tunnel leads straight into the tomb, and the group walked along it.

After walking a few steps, apart from Lu Cheng and Jin Chanzi, Xiao Ran, Wu Man, and Ling Xi all suddenly stopped.

"What happen to you guys?"

Jin Chanzi turned to look at Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran took a deep breath and composed herself: "We've received a mission."

I thought this was just an ordinary tomb, but it turned out to be completely different from what I had imagined.

A message appeared before my eyes: [Welcome to the Mysterious Tomb Kingdom of the Lost City Valley.]

"Main Quest 1: Open the Coffin for Good Fortune"

Mission objective: Find Gu Xuan's coffin.

Mission Difficulty: BBB

Mission Reward: BB level.

Time limit: 26 hours.

Mission failed: 3 ghost money and 5% of all attributes will be deducted.

(Note: One day inside the tomb is equivalent to 5 hours outside.)
Side Quest 1: Tomb Kingdom Fungus Food

Mission Requirements: Enter the Tomb Kingdom world and find the four unique ingredients found only within this labyrinthine city.

Blood mushroom, spirulina spores, albino bone fungus, dragon tooth vegetable.

Mission Difficulty: BB
Task Reward: B
Side Quest 2: Tomb Kingdom Poison Fruit

Task Requirements: Try using three unique, highly poisonous ingredients found only in the Tomb Kingdom.

Yin bone powder, broken heart noodles, and flesh-reducing pills.

Task Difficulty: CC
Task Reward: B
The prompts for the three tasks appeared in front of them, but there was a slight difference: Lingxi's task was significantly different from Xiao Ran's and Wu Man's.

Her main quest is completed once she enters the Gu Xuan Tomb.

The side quest involves finding a unique type of Gu worm and using the unique poisons found here to cultivate a C-grade Gu worm.

Compared to Xiao Ran and Wu Man, her task was obviously much simpler.

"Looks like I'm in luck. I like all three tasks." Wu Man said with a smile. As a gourmet, these unique ingredients, whether mushrooms or poisons, greatly satisfied his hobby of collecting and studying them.

He even felt that the fatigue from this journey had instantly vanished.

In stark contrast to Wu Man's enthusiasm, Xiao Ran looked melancholy, his brows furrowed. His goal here was simple: to find his grandfather Xiao Zhenye and his group, ensure their safety, and get them out of this dangerous place.

He had no desire to get involved in any mission.

But now that the task was firmly on her mind, Xiao Ran had no choice but to do it, no matter how unhappy she was.

Thirty thousand ghost money is nothing, but a 5% penalty on all attributes is something Xiao Ran can't afford.

As for Lingxi, she was even more relaxed and even had some anticipation. She felt that these tasks were tailor-made for her. If she could successfully cultivate a C-level Gu worm, she would have the possibility of advancing to a C-level professional.

Moreover, with a master like Durian leading the way, Lingxi's mouth almost twisted into a grin when she thought of this.

What incredible luck I have!

"Out!"

After everyone emerged from the tunnel, they found only a rugged path in front of them, which had clearly been carved out by human hands.

Even the surrounding stone walls were actually built up piece by piece from the fragments of broken stones.

"Damn! What a waste of money, what a waste of money!"

This scene drove Jin Chanzi crazy. With so many Severing Fate Stones, if they were outside, those old guys on Longhu Mountain would probably be green with envy.

It's a terrible waste to use them as floor tiles and walls.

However, this also surprised everyone. Who exactly was Gu Xuan, that he could build such a large tomb here?
Xiao Ran looked at Ling Xi beside her: "Can your tracking Gu sense anything here?"

Upon hearing this, Lingxi immediately closed her eyes and concentrated. The inconspicuous little cloth bag at her waist opened, and several tracking Gu flew out. After circling around once, they returned to the bag.

A moment later, she opened her eyes, her delicate brows furrowing slightly: "Very weak... The strong guidance from before has disappeared. The walls here, and the entire environment, seem to be interfered with by a strange energy field. The Gu worm's signal is very chaotic, like... losing its sense of direction in a maze."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran tried to release her spiritual power.

Just as Lingxi said, there is a very strange and very weak magnetic field fluctuation here. These magnetic field fluctuations are so inconspicuous that they are almost imperceptible.

But it was precisely this unusually weak magnetic field that caused Xiao Ran's enormous mental power to be severely interfered with.

"strangeness!"

This was the first time Xiao Ran had encountered such a situation.

Fortunately, at that moment, Wu Man sniffed and said, "I can smell it from the east."

When everyone turned around, they saw that Wu Man's nose had somehow turned into a dog's nose.

Wu Man, completely unconcerned by the strange looks from the crowd, strode ahead, leading Xiao Ran and the others.

After passing through the winding tomb passage, the space in front of them suddenly opened up, and a deep blue light shone on everyone's faces.

"This is!!"

The sight before them astonished everyone: the vast cavern was filled with a dense, thick layer of mycelium. These mycelium shimmered with a faint blue light, even weaker than the fluorescence of fireflies, yet there were so many of them.

Thick, moss-like mycelium covered the entire cave floor and walls, and even hung down from the high cave ceiling, forming a strange forest with a faint blue glow.

The light was extremely faint, appearing like dust when viewed individually, but when they gathered together, they were enough to illuminate this vast space, outlining the contours of the jagged rocks and shrouding everything in a dreamy yet eerie light blue veil.

Wu Man was deeply attracted by the scene and taste before her, and her instinct as a gourmet instantly overwhelmed the eeriness of the environment.

Like a treasure hunter discovering a new continent, he squatted down with childlike excitement and scholarly focus, extending his fingers to carefully pick up a small tuft of slender mycelium.

These mycelia feel cool to the touch and appear soft as velvet from a distance. Upon closer inspection, you'll find that their surface is covered with a layer of crystalline mucus, and their interiors seem to contain countless tiny, translucent air bubbles, like countless miniature caviar particles tightly bound together.

He gently pinched it with his fingertips.

With a soft "pop," a few bubbles burst, releasing a faint, pleasantly fragrant moisture.

The texture is amazing; it's a moist, bouncy gel.

Without even the slightest hesitation, Wu Man quickly put the wisp of mycelium into her mouth.

The next second, Wu Man's eyes widened suddenly.

"Da da da da da!"

A series of extremely dense, crisp sounds, like countless tiny bubbles bursting in his mouth, rang out instantly as he chewed!
After the wonderful taste, a unique, clear and direct sweetness spreads across the tongue.

Unlike the richness of honey or the purity of cane sugar, this sweetness carries a mineral-like coolness and a unique plant fragrance, so pure that it contains no impurities, as if it were the most primal sweetness of nature.

"Sweet!"

Wu Man looked as if she had discovered a new continent, her eyes shining brightly, her face filled with the satisfaction and fervor of finding the ultimate ingredient: "This tastes amazing!"

With that, Wu Man simply grabbed a handful of mycelium and stuffed it directly into her mouth.

"You're crazy!!"

Seeing this, Jin Chanzi quickly stopped him, "Don't eat it. I feel like this thing looks familiar, but I can't remember what it is right now."

Wu Man waved her hand: "It's okay. If it's poisonous, I can transform to detoxify."

As she spoke, Wu Man deliberately took out a cursed object, which then transformed into a huge honey pot right before everyone's eyes.

When everyone saw that Wu Man could actually transform into a honey pot, they stopped worrying about him.

After all, the "Honey Badger" is also known as one of the most reckless and ruthless creatures in nature, capable of withstanding poison.

However, just in case, Xiao Ran urged, "Let's find my grandfather first. We'll probably have plenty of these things later. Let's not waste time here."

Upon hearing this, Wu Man smacked her lips reluctantly, but obediently deactivated her transformation and reverted to her sensitive dog nose.

He took a deep breath: "This way."

He pointed to a passageway deep within the cave, partially obscured by a thicker curtain of mycelium.

The crowd followed closely behind.

Just as Xiao Ran had predicted, the mycelium layer underfoot became thicker and stickier, gradually sinking from the ankles down to the calves.

Each step landed with a loud "pop" sound, instead of the previous soft "pop" sounds. Instead, it was as dense as if countless tiny, water-filled balloons were being popped, producing a continuous "da da da... da da da..." sound.

Gradually, the cave passages became more and more spacious, but the thick blue fungal carpet also became more and more lush, submerging from the ankles to the calves, then to the knees, and finally climbing up to everyone's lower abdomen.

A sticky, icy, and strangely bouncy sensation enveloped me from all directions, making each step incredibly difficult, as if I were sinking into a swamp.

"Da—da da da—da—"

Lu Cheng looked down at his lower body, which was almost completely covered by dark blue mycelium, and couldn't help but ask, "Wu Man, are you sure we haven't gone the wrong way?"

Without turning her head, Wu Man replied confidently, "No mistake! Brother Lu, it's right ahead! Trust my nose! It's more accurate than a GPS!"

As she was speaking, Wu Man suddenly felt her feet sink into the ground, and then her body sank down.

Be careful!

Everything happened suddenly, and Xiao Ran and the others had not anticipated it.

The group quickly peeled back the mycelium, revealing a hole the size of a manhole cover.

"Wu Man!!"

Xiao Ran called out.

"It's alright." Wu Man's voice came from below the cave, indicating that nothing was wrong. Immediately afterward, Wu Man's urgent shout was heard: "Quick, come down quickly, I think we've arrived."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran did not hesitate and was the first to leap into the opened pit.

The cave walls, covered with mycelium, were unexpectedly slippery. He slid down the steep curve at lightning speed, the light in front of him quickly changing from the dim light at the cave entrance to the deep darkness underground. All he could hear was the whistling wind and the rustling of his own clothes.

Following closely behind were Jin Chanzi, Lingxi, and Lu Cheng, who also jumped down.

The four of them were like riding a water slide, quickly moving through the smooth, wet passage covered with blue mycelium. After sliding for only a dozen seconds, the space in front of them suddenly opened up!
Thump!! Thump!
The four of them crashed into a thick, extremely slippery layer of blue mycelium at the bottom of the pit almost simultaneously, which cushioned most of the impact.

When Xiao Ran quickly propped himself up from the sticky mycelium, shook off the slime on his face, and looked around, even though he had seen all sorts of bizarre and mysterious places, he was deeply shocked by the scene before him.

A magnificent underground ancient city suddenly appeared before them.

(End of this chapter)