Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 811, the cemetery area

Xiao Ran's fungal body sped silently across the wasteland and soon arrived at the boundary of the central tomb area.

Ahead, a pale blue mist, like a flowing glass curtain, stretched across the entire gray world.

This creates a huge barrier between the central tomb and the no-man's-land.

"There's something wrong with this fog!"

Xiao Ran scanned the mist with his mental energy and quickly discovered that billions of nano-sized transparent mycelia were floating in the mist, as fine as quantum ripples, intertwined to form a three-dimensional spider web covering the sky.

If Xiao Ran hadn't experienced a significant increase in mental strength after consuming the two crystal fungal balls, he probably wouldn't have been able to detect these special mycelia at all.

“There’s no getting around it.”

Xiao Ran's perception dissected the mist structure like a scalpel, carefully observing the space inside. It was too dense. Not to mention her enormous size, even a simple consciousness would be contaminated by these mycelia if it tried to rush through.

"Then there's no need to go around it. I'll clear the way for you and we'll go straight in."

Zhao Qingming stated bluntly that Xiao Ran would certainly not agree to this method.

But Zhao Qingming explained, "There's no time to waste. I have the body of a spirit immortal. As long as the spirit tablet doesn't break and my immortal body doesn't perish, I can escape quickly even if I encounter danger."

“That’s right, time is of the essence. We don’t have time to waste here. Listen to what you, Master Zhao, say.”

Xiao Zhenye also agreed with Zhao Qingming's proposal.

These old guys aren't like Xiao Ran, who's young and full of worries. They're not like Xiao Ran, who's always willing to take risks or use underhanded tactics. They always do things in the most convenient and simplest way.

Most importantly, the sudden appearance of the hunting party means that Xiao Ran, this anomaly, seems to have alarmed the higher-ups of the Tomb Kingdom.

They didn't know exactly how alarmed they were, or whether Gu Xuan would become aware of it.

If they really alarmed Gu Xuan, given that old man's thousand years of cultivation, they dared not say they could escape unscathed.

Therefore, we must act quickly.

After thinking it over carefully and consulting with Wu Man, Xiao Ran confirmed that Wu Man also had no way to decipher the silk threads in a short time, so she agreed.

Xiao Ran used a mixture of third-generation and fourth-generation mycelium to create a body for Zhao Qingming.

With the support of the fourth generation of mycelium, Zhao Qingming's mental strength was not weak, and even far surpassed that of Wu Man, so his physical strength was no weaker than that of any bandit group.

After Zhao Qingming's consciousness was transferred in, he tried to move around a few times before rushing into the water mist in front of him.

In order to give Xiao Ran more space, Zhao Qingming deliberately stretched his body horizontally, pushing her across like a plank.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran immediately activated her invisibility and followed Zhao Qingming silently.

Soon, a large amount of gray mycelium wrapped around Zhao Qingming's body, and as Zhao Qingming continued to rush forward, the number of mycelium entangled on his body increased.

Two clumps of green mycelium moved closer together.

These two mycelial clusters are quite large, and the mycelium on them seems to have been cultivated specifically for this environment.

It moves nimbly and swiftly, and its bluish mycelium blends perfectly with the gray mycelium in the water mist.

"stop!!"

The two rushed toward Zhao Qingming, trying to stop him from advancing.

But Zhao Qingming ignored them and just kept rushing forward.

Seeing this, the mycelium on the two guards twisted and quickly formed two sharp spears, rushing towards Zhao Qingming, intending to tear him to pieces.

However, just as they were about to make their move, two even sharper spears suddenly appeared out of thin air.

Its speed far exceeded theirs by several times. The two guards didn't even notice before their bodies were pierced through. Xiao Ran's mental energy then flowed into their bodies along the mycelium that had pierced through them.

"Buzz!"

A sharp mental roar instantly killed all the fungal beings guarding the body.

After taking care of the two guards, Xiao Ran immediately pulled their mycelium towards her.

Wu Man and Number Two led a group of the fungal people inside Zhao Qingming to quickly occupy the bodies of the two guards, standing on either side of him as if they were escorting him forward.

“These mycelia are quite special. They’re not very strong, but they’re quite flexible, especially here. They move around so lightly. I think you could collect some of the past.” Wu Man immediately understood the characteristics of these blue mycelia and suggested to Xiao Ran.

Through the feedback from No. 2, Xiao Ran could also sense the unique characteristics of these blue mycelia.

"stop!!"

At that moment, a shout came again from the mist ahead.

Number Two, Wu Man, and Zhao Qingming looked in the direction of the sound, but all they saw was a chaotic haze, and they could not see the other party's presence.

"Don't move, it's right in front of you."

Fortunately, Xiao Ran's pheromones alerted the three of them to stay still. They then saw a mist spreading out in front of them, revealing a massive wall of mycelium, even larger than Xiao Ran's physique, blocking their way.

This scene shocked the three of them. The high wall was like the Great Wall, stretching for an unknown distance on both sides, with no end in sight.

On the high wall, mycelium wriggled and emitted pheromones, asking, "Why did you bring this guy into the central tomb? Who is he? Is he a stowaway?"

Faced with the questioning, Xiao Ran and Wu Man were unsure how to answer, but Zhao Qingming took the initiative to speak.

“I have cultivated a special mycelium that I wish to give to the owner of the Eastern Tomb.”

"How special?"

"You can give it a try." Zhao Qingming split off a clump of mycelium and sent it to the front of the mycelial wall.

A wisp of will was transferred from the fungal wall and merged into the mycelium. Soon the mycelium began to wriggle, and wisps of pheromones were released.

"Not bad, very good, I didn't expect there to be something like this."

The characteristics of the fourth-generation mycelium are combined with the strength of the third-generation mycelium, resulting in a unique mycelium that is something that has never been seen before in the Tomb Kingdom.

A moment later, the will parasitizing this clump of mycelium said to the fungal wall: "Open the door and send him to see the Eastern Tomb Master."

"Kakakaka..."

Suddenly, the mountain-like city wall trembled and a huge gate appeared.

Xiao Ran and Wu Man both breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

"Grandpa, how did Master Zhao come up with this idea?"

Xiao Ran was surprised by Zhao Qingming's quick thinking and withdrawal of the offer to the owner of the Eastern Tomb.

"Since we were planning to cross the border illegally, we naturally gathered all the useful information beforehand. Among the four major tomb kingdoms in the Central Tomb, the tomb lord of the Eastern Tomb is known for his love of collecting all sorts of unusual mycelia. When we crossed the border illegally, we were also told that if we had any special mycelia, we could offer them directly to the tomb lord of the Eastern Tomb. Not only would we not have to cross the border illegally, but we could even get a lot of benefits."

After saying that, Xiao Zhenye added, "Of course, the premise is that the mycelium is unique enough, otherwise it may be wiped out on the spot."

"So that's it."

Xiao Ran suddenly realized why Zhao Qingming had come up with a solution so quickly.

Of course, Xiao Ran couldn't use this method. He had already been targeted by the hunting party. Even if he offered up all his possessions, he would still be doomed, let alone offer up the mycelium.

Following behind Wu Man and Number Two, who were disguised as escorts, Xiao Ran's enormous body, wrapped in fifth-generation concealment mycelium, silently passed through the city wall gate that resembled the open mouth of a giant beast.

The instant he passed through the portal, Xiao Ran's entire consciousness jolted violently!
The imagined open land did not appear; instead, a cold, heavy, and highly penetrating sensation instantly enveloped every inch of the mycelium.

What lay before us was not a gray and desolate world of soil, but a dazzling and magnificent kingdom of fungi!

The surrounding area was no longer soil, but flowed with a deep blue, almost inky liquid. Countless unprecedented mycelia grew, intertwined, and glowed here.

They come in all shapes and sizes; some sway gracefully like giant seaweed, others grow in clusters like strange coral reefs, and still others are transparent bacterial colonies as thin as cicada wings and shaped like jellyfish, drifting lightly with the "water flow".

Countless pheromones flickered, as if sinking the entire starry sky into the deep sea, omnipresent, dazzling, forming flowing bands of light, shimmering spots of light, and rotating vortexes of light.

The entire body of water is reflected like a dreamlike fairyland, full of indescribable vitality and exotic beauty.

Xiao Ran and the others were shocked: "We never expected that the central tomb would be in the water."

Just then, Xiao Zhenye suddenly realized something and his mind went blank: "Could it be that underground lake?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Zhenye was momentarily stunned: "So that's how it is! No wonder we couldn't find Gu Xuan's true tomb back then; he hid himself in the water!!"

(End of this chapter)