Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 807 Cause and Effect
A thin young man lay in the coffin before me, wearing the green military uniform typical of that era.

Time seemed to have left no trace on his face.

Li Qing gently stroked the coffin, his eyes already brimming with tears: "Feng Chui, it really is you. I've finally found you."

The seven brothers of yesteryear were full of vigor and high spirits, singing all the way. Those scenes seem like yesterday, but in the blink of an eye, time flies.

Of the seven brothers, one defected, one was trapped, and apart from himself and the second brother, the rest who deserved to die were all dead.

Fortunately, no matter what, they finally found their youngest brother.

Li Qing took a deep breath to calm himself down, then turned to look at Jin Chanzi. Ignoring the tears on his face, he quickly walked up to Jin Chanzi and said, "Young Taoist Master, please save them. I beg you, my old bones."

As Li Qing spoke, he was about to kneel down before Jin Chanzi. In his view, since Jin Chanzi had found this place and knew everything, he must have a way to save them.

"Oh, oh, oh, old man, you mustn't do that, you mustn't do that."

Jin Chanzi quickly helped Li Qing up and said, "Brother Lu, Xiao Ran, and I are good brothers. I will do my best in this matter. Please calm down and let me explain it to you."

Lu Cheng then comforted him, saying, "Master, don't get agitated. The people have been found, and there must be a way to rescue them."

The two helped Li Qing sit down to calm him down, and then Jin Chanzi spoke.

"Mr. Li, let me explain. Actually, we can't get involved in this matter."

Upon hearing this, Li Qing looked up at Jin Chanzi, his eyes filled with confusion.

Jin Chanzi slowly began to explain.

"Actually, the murals we saw earlier are messages left by Gu Xuan. The content is that he accidentally obtained a seed of mycelium from Changbai Mountain and learned that this thing could make people live forever, so he built this large tomb. He never expected that he would be so greedy and try to live forever, but he went astray..."

Jin Chanzi slowly recounted the contents of the mural.

It turns out that Gu Xuan was once a rising star in the Taoist sect. Later, he accidentally entered a labyrinth city and quickly became a beginner by using his Taoist skills. He also rapidly improved his strength by utilizing the resources within the labyrinth city.

In just a few years, he touched the threshold of becoming a celestial being.

He was regarded by the Taoist community as the future pillar of the Taoist school.

However, Gu Xuan did not think that way. Only when he touched the threshold of the Celestial Being did he realize that even the Celestial Being was merely a terrestrial deity, whose fate was actually influenced by the fortune of the human world.

Once a dynasty changes and the fate of humanity shifts, even celestial beings will perish along with it.

This is why, during each dynastic change, there are always some extraordinary people who emerge to help. To put it bluntly, these people want to influence the change of fortune, assist the new king in overthrowing the old dynasty, so that they can enjoy the new dynasty's fortune after becoming celestial beings.

Gu Xuan felt that this was not a good thing.

What he sought was immortality, to become a celestial being, not to become a terrestrial deity and watch the rise and fall of a dynasty to control his own destiny.

As for the Lost City, it was extremely rare at that time. It was called the Immortal Cave by Taoists and was something that could only be encountered by chance. Even if one became an novice, the number of times one could enter it was very few.

This road is too difficult to travel, and Gu Xuan doesn't want to take it either.

Thinking of this, Gu Xuan simply gave up his ascetic practices and instead left the Taoist sect to travel the world.

Later, while in Changbai Mountain, he accidentally discovered a primitive sect, which was shamanism. As a sect that was more primitive than Buddhism and Taoism, it still retained its complete tradition.

Gu Xuan was handsome, talented, and skilled in medicine, so he quickly integrated into the group.

During a religious ceremony, Gu Xuan learned by chance that there was a divinely bestowed fungus that could allow people to enter the realm of the Great Dao and Nature.

Gu Xuan initially found it unbelievable, but after he participated in the sacrificial ceremony and his consciousness entered the mycelium, Gu Xuan changed.

Gu Xuan was deeply fascinated by the feeling of being able to enter into the subtle mysteries of nature at any time.

So this outstanding Taoist master, a dragon among men, did something shameful: he stole the bacterial strain.

Afterwards, Gu Xuan knew in his heart that what he had done was dishonorable, and besides, the strain of fungus was too mysterious and unorthodox, so he absolutely could not take it back.

He simply changed his name and hid in remote Guizhou, befriended the local chieftain, and built this large tomb.

"Everything was just as Gu Xuan had thought, except that he didn't expect that his body had been parasitized by mycelium at some point."

Jin Chanzi sighed.

Because Gu Xuan had subtly described his situation on the mural, after the mycelium was implanted, his body was quickly contaminated by the mycelium, causing him unbearable pain every day, and his consciousness was sometimes clear and sometimes confused.

It was completely different from what he had imagined.

For this reason, Gu Xuan even sent someone to Changbai Mountain, hoping that the shaman there could save him.

Of course, Gu Xuan himself didn't have high hopes for this, and it was normal for others not to help, but he would give it a try, just in case.

To Gu Xuan's surprise, the shaman actually came.

Moreover, the shaman didn't blame him for stealing the fungal strain; in fact, he even helped alleviate his pain. However, the shaman's words plunged Gu Xuan's heart into despair.

The shaman stated that this fungus was part of the sacrificial ceremony, and if he could not complete the full shamanic ritual, he would be trapped in the mycelium forever, never to be reincarnated.

This result left Gu Xuan feeling helpless; he had actually achieved immortality through another means.

The shaman stayed here to help him perfect the great tomb and complete the final step of transforming it into mycelium. However, in exchange, the shaman needed him to wait here for someone to perform the ritual for this step.

At this point, Jin Chanzi paused for a moment: "I've heard Xiao Ran talk about you. I think Li Jingqi came here back then to complete this step, but he failed to complete the sacrifice."

"So, my brothers aren't getting out?"

Li Qing's face immediately turned ugly.

Jin Chanzi took a deep breath and looked up at the mycelium around him. "No, the key to the sacrifice lies in that bracelet, and now the bracelet is in Xiao Ran's hands."

……

On the other side, Xiao Ran's massive body had transformed from its original egg shape into a more stable mountain shape. Thick first-generation mycelium mixed with the newly cultivated fourth-generation mycelium wove together at the bottom to form a huge and efficient track structure.

This combination not only increased the resilience of the mycelium several times over, but also reduced Xiao Ran's mental burden, and further improved Xiao Ran's movement speed.

The massive, mountain-shaped fungus kicked up billowing yellow sand and dust, forming a surging sand wave in front of it.

However, inside, the production lines in the four major factories remained completely unaffected, with various pheromones flashing alternately, continuously consuming the resources collected from the bandit gang.

At this moment, Xiao Ran was telling her grandfather about her experiences in the Lost City over the years.

This also includes the fact that he inherited all of Li Jingqi's estate.

Xiao Ran recounted almost everything she had experienced, except for Gao Yuting's matter, including her battle with Huang Chao, participation in the sword competition, killing the emperor, severely damaging the Changchun Society, and her subsequent trip to the Ghost Capital.

This made Zhao Qingming sigh.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ran's experiences in the Lost City were so rich.

Thinking of this, Zhao Qingming felt a little regretful. It was a pity that he hadn't caught the right time; otherwise, he would have become a beginner and ventured into that labyrinthine city.

Xiao Zhenye, on the other hand, remained silent. It would be a lie to say he felt no guilt, but he felt more proud than anything else.

Before Xiao Zhenye could speak, Xiao Ran changed the subject and cautiously probed, asking:

"Grandpa, I've told you all this not to prove how amazing I am, but actually... I want to ask you something: what's going on with my parents?"

Xiao Ran had doubts about her parents and her own background before, but she didn't dare to ask.

Asking is pointless and will only anger the old man.

Now that he possesses top-tier strength, it's no exaggeration to say that Xiao Ran wouldn't be intimidated even by a B-level professional.

Such strength is enough to suppress a region. Even the Changchun Association has been reduced to a pariah by Xiao Ran, and its vitality has been severely damaged, so much so that it doesn't dare to show its face.

Moreover, his true trump card is the Amazing Pavilion. The benefits brought by its enormous financial resources will only grow, and neither the company nor other forces can suppress his rise any longer.

With this confidence, Xiao Ran finally wanted to get to the bottom of things.

Moreover, since she was going to the Land of Return to the Extreme with Jin Chanzi in the future, Xiao Ran had to get to the bottom of this matter.

Seeing the pheromones released by Xiao Ran, Zhao Qingming's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "Good lad, so he was waiting here all along."

Zhao Qingming's consciousness immediately began to wander.

He actually knew something about Xiao Ran's parents' situation, but it was their family matter, and Zhao Qingming didn't want to get involved.

However, Xiao Ran was not happy that Zhao Qingming wanted to leave. With a thought, she sealed off the surrounding mycelium, preventing Zhao Qingming from leaving.

“Grandpa Zhao, you’re not an outsider. I’ve kowtowed to you before, so you don’t need to avoid this matter.”

When Xiao Ran first met Zhao Qingming in real life, she kowtowed to him and called him "Grandpa," a gesture she would never forget.

Since we've already called him grandpa, we absolutely cannot let this old fox stay out of it.

Xiao Ran's pheromones were transmitted, and Xiao Zhenye could see them too. He was immediately displeased and cursed at Zhao Qingming, "Old man, you even take advantage of my grandson? If you want to be a grandfather, go back and have your own."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qingming laughed and said, "I'm dead and can't have children, so your grandson is my grandson." After saying that, he simply stood on Xiao Ran's side and said, "Fourth brother, the child is grown up, and there are some things you should give the child an explanation for. If you can't say it, I'll say it for you first."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhenye became furious: "Get out! Believe me or not, I'll tear your mouth apart."

After lashing out at Zhao Qingming, Xiao Zhenye quickly calmed down and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking:
"How about this, after this is over, let's find a place and have a good talk, and then I'll tell you about your parents."

(End of this chapter)