Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 815 Openly Repairing the Plank Road While Secretly Crossing the Chencang Pass (Two Chapters Combined)

Lingxi knew that Xiao Ran was very strong, a powerful professional, but she didn't know exactly how strong he was.

Only now, upon sensing Xiao Ran's massive, mountain-like fungal ball physique, did they truly realize how astonishing the gap between them was.

Even if I could become a professional and control bacteria, I'd probably still be no match for even a single finger of theirs.

This shock only intensified when Lingxi entered the inside of Xiao Ran's fungal ball, causing her even greater impact.

What appeared before her was an unimaginably massive, intricately operating industrial behemoth!

The four factory areas are clearly distinct.

Thousands of consciousnesses move through it, forming a complex assembly line network.

Compared to her own simple microbial nest with only a single cultivation function, this place is like four fully functional giant factories.

"This... is so shocking."

As a modern person, Lingxi could deeply feel how amazing the efficiency this factory could bring.

"Senior, may I... use the resources here? Don't worry, I'll only use a small amount, just enough for me to complete my mission."

Lingxi cautiously asked Xiao Ran a question.

"Yes, you can use most of the resources here."

Xiao Ran then informed Wu Man. Although Wu Man was surprised by Ling Xi's appearance, she didn't say anything and set up a small studio for Ling Xi in the third-floor factory area.

She can retrieve the necessary materials from the factory at any time; however, for some special materials, she needs to come to me for confirmation.

This treatment made Lingxi feel flattered and overwhelmed.

He quickly expressed his gratitude to Xiao Ran and Wu Man again and again.

After settling Lingxi in, Wu Man asked, "What happened? You picked up the bundle you dropped?"

"Don't say that. This girl has good potential. Since she's not in any trouble, let's lend a hand. Don't underestimate her. The things she trains are not much worse than yours."

Upon hearing Xiao Ran's words, Wu Man immediately became interested and thought she could go and observe it later. Then, Wu Man inquired about the mission items.

Speaking of this matter, Xiao Ran had no choice but to explain the whole story of the Eastern Tomb Master to Wu Man.

After he finished speaking, he asked Wu Man, "How credible do you think the words of the Eastern Tomb Master are?"

"It's hard to say. If what he said is true, and these people wanted to rebel against Gu Xuan, why would they wait until you came? If they wanted to rebel, they would have done so long ago. There must be another reason."

Xiao Ran agreed with Wu Man's words and said, "That's what I was thinking too, but since someone is willing to help, let's just wait and see. The fox will eventually show its tail, won't it?"

"That's true, it's like a sugar-coated bullet. Let's take the sugar coating first, and then talk about it after he delivers all the mission items."

Wu Man took it in stride, after all, the mission items were real, and it would take them a long time to collect them on their own.

Before long, the supplies that Wu Man had purchased were delivered.

To avoid causing too much of a commotion, Xiao Ran specifically asked Wu Man to split off a portion to create a disguised fungal colony to receive these supplies. As for the price of these supplies, Xiao Ran inquired about it and found that it wasn't cheap: six spores in fourth-generation culture medium and twelve spores in third-generation culture medium.

However, compared to the supplies obtained in exchange, all of this is worthwhile, as these supplies are enough for Wu Man to synthesize the seventh generation of mycelium.

If Wu Man's theory is correct, after completing seven generations of mycelium, Xiao Ran's mycelium will be able to sweep through the local mycelium population.

Of course, all of the above are just theories. Wu Man is actually not sure whether she can synthesize the seventh generation of mycelium.

The two had only rested there for a short time when Xiao Ran received a pheromone.

It was a message from the owner of the Eastern Tomb.

Xiao Ran glanced at it and found that the Eastern Tomb Master had found the materials she needed: Blood Fungus and Mushroom, and Albino Bone Fungus. However, the Spirit Eye Spore was something that none of the four Central Tomb Fungi in the country possessed.

This item is unique to the Upper Tomb area, and they can't get their hands on it.

As for the other Yin Bone Powder and Flesh Elimination Pills, they have already gathered them all, and Xiao Ran will need to wait for a while for them to be transported over.

After a quick mental calculation, Xiao Ran realized that one of the two side quests had been completed. As for the Spirit Eye Spore, she would have to wait until she went to the tomb area to deal with it.

While they waited there, bad news came from Number Two on the other side.

The wind hammer is not located in the central tomb area.

It turned out that when Zhao Qingming and Xiao Zhenye rushed to the Northern Tomb Kingdom, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the music being played there was the famous Yang family suona, the "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" melody.

This discovery brought tears to their eyes. Although they knew that Yang Fengchui was definitely alive, it was all just their speculation.

The emergence of this song, "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix," is like a shot in the arm for them.

Filled with excitement, the three of them rushed into the Northern Tomb Kingdom. Because of Xiao Ran, the Northern Tomb Lord had already received the news, so the three of them were warmly received by the Northern Tomb Lord when they entered the Northern Tomb Kingdom.

Only after some questioning did they learn that the mycelium that could play music did not originate in their northern cemetery area, but in the upper cemetery area.

He obtained the culture medium of the bacteria by chance and brought it down, which led to the advanced appearance of the Northern Tomb Kingdom.

The owner of the northern tomb also provided a detailed explanation of the origin of these mycelia.

It was discovered by a distinguished guest in the Upper Tomb area, but even as the master of the Northern Tomb, he could only hear about it and had never met this distinguished guest.

Upon hearing this result, Xiao Zhenye and Zhao Qingming were immediately disappointed.

Xiao Ran comforted the two through Number Two, saying that since they were going to the tomb anyway, finding Master Yang was inevitable, and there was no need to sigh and complain here.

The three of them learned more about Gu Xuan from the Northern Tomb Master.

This is basically consistent with what the owner of the eastern tomb said.

Since everyone's direction was pointing towards the tomb, Zhao Qingming and Xiao Zhenye had no reason to object.

When asked when they planned to take action, the Northern Tomb Master said that the four tomb masters had actually been making preparations in secret for a long time.

However, their movements are too loud, and any slight disturbance will be noticed by the four guardians of the Upper Tomb, who may even cut off your path to the Upper Tomb. Therefore, they need Xiao Ran and the others to enter the Upper Tomb first.

"Heh, to put it bluntly, they're just using us as stepping stones," Zhao Qingming thought to himself with a cold snort.

Even Xiao Zhenye felt that these people were too cunning. If they didn't gain any advantage, the four tomb masters might join forces to stab them in the back.

In fact, these people's tricks were not very clever, but Xiao Ran and his group had a reason to enter the tomb.

It's not just about finding Master Yang; their main quest and side quests also require entering the Upper Tomb area.

"So what's our next step? Grandpas, please make the decision."

Xiao Ran asked the two old men through Number Two.

While the two old men might not be very effective in a fight, their experience in the martial arts world and their keen judgment are unmatched by Xiao Ran and his companions.

“Hey, these four tomb owners are sure we’re going to visit their tomb. Since that’s the case, let’s not be polite with them. Just ask them for whatever you’re missing. If they don’t give you everything, we’re not leaving.”

Zhao Qingming spoke up.

Although he couldn't wait to rush into the tomb area to find Yang Fengchui, Zhao Qingming became more and more composed as the situation progressed.

"Yes, double the effort. Tomb raiding is dangerous, so we need to be fully prepared before we set off." Xiao Zhenye shared this view. After all, his grandson's safety was at stake, and even though he was anxious, he could remain calm at this moment.

These two are truly seasoned veterans; with just a little analysis, they immediately devised a solution that would be most advantageous to Xiao Ran.

Since the two elders have said so, why would Xiao Ran be in a hurry?

Although the main quest has a time limit, this time is greatly amplified during the mycelium's time.

They've been inside for so long, but from the outside perspective, it's probably only been half an hour. They have plenty of time to waste.

So Xiao Ran let Wu Man try to synthesize the sixth generation of mycelium without any rush.

Just as her grandfather and Zhao Qingming had said, not much time had passed before the Eastern Tomb Master had already sent over the things that Xiao Ran had mentioned earlier.

Blood mushroom, albino bone fungus, bone powder, and meat-dissolving pills.

Delivering these four items to Xiao Ran, along with the Heartbreak Noodles they obtained, means that they have completed half of their side quest 2.

Why do we say it's halfway done?

This task requires them to try all three poisons.

Each one is highly poisonous; once ingested, the mycelium will react immediately, and may even directly harm the soul.

In the Tomb Kingdom, these three kinds of deadly poisons are enough to make anyone turn pale, let alone try all three of them.

Therefore, it can only be said that half of it has been completed.

However, Lingxi was very interested in this task, not because she had this task, but because these poisons could help her cultivate new Gu worms. If she could cultivate Gu worms with these poison properties, Xiao Ran and the others could be detoxified by the Gu worms after consuming them.

After Lingxi told Xiaoran about her idea, Xiaoran immediately gave Lingxi a portion of the poison.

After completing the transaction with the Eastern Tomb Master, the Eastern Tomb Master indeed began urging Xiao Ran and the others to set off as soon as possible.

"Well... we're still short on a lot of materials, so we probably can't set off for a while. We'll have to wait a bit longer."

Following the instructions of Master Zhao and her own grandfather, Xiao Ran reluctantly addressed the owner of the eastern tomb.

The Eastern Tomb Master quickly responded with pheromones, asking, "How long will it take you? If there's anything we can do to help, please let us know."

"It will probably take... a while."

Xiao Ran couldn't say exactly how long it would take, so she could only give vague answers.

Seeing this, the owner of the eastern tomb could only wait patiently.

In the Tomb Kingdom, time is a very vague concept, and most of the fungus people don't even have a concept of time. Only people like the Eastern Tomb Master still retain a sense of time.

But after waiting and waiting, there was still no movement from Xiao Ran's side, and the Eastern Tomb Master gradually began to get anxious.

She sent another pheromone message to ask Xiao Ran when she would set off.

Xiao Ran reiterated his previous stance. He wasn't in a hurry; Wu Man's synthesis of the sixth-generation mycelium was already showing promise, so he could simply wait until the sixth-generation mycelium was synthesized before making any further moves.

Xiao Ran's passive-aggressive attitude quickly made the four tomb owners anxious.

Then, almost every so often, the Eastern Tomb Master would urge Xiao Ran to set off, but Xiao Ran's excuses were always the same: he lacked materials and needed to improve his strength before entering the Upper Tomb.

After several tugs of the gun, even the slowest of the four tomb masters gradually understood Xiao Ran's meaning.

Soon, people began delivering various materials to Xiao Ran.

They even gave Xiao Ran twice the amount of items that Wu Man had previously purchased, all for free.

"Young man, how much longer until you're ready? We can't delay any longer."

The owner of the Eastern Tomb sent a portion of his consciousness to visit Xiao Ran's fungal cluster.

When they saw the inside of Xiao Ran's fungal mass, they were astonished. They never expected that the inside of Xiao Ran's fungal mass would be so intricate.

But this also made the Eastern Tomb Master even more eager for Xiao Ran and her group to go to the Upper Tomb Area as soon as possible.

"Master of the Tomb, as you can see, it's not that I'm stalling, it's that I'm really busy. I can't improve my strength, so even if I enter the upper tomb area, I won't be able to help you kill Gu Xuan."

Xiao Ran sincerely led the Eastern Tomb Master to stroll around inside his fungal ball.

Xiao Ran was very sincere and honest in this regard, leaving the Eastern Tomb Master unable to find a suitable explanation for a while.

"How much longer...?"

"It's hard to say. At least we're still lacking in some key materials, especially..."

"No need to say anything more, we will send you the materials you are missing as soon as possible, but I hope you can enter the tomb as soon as possible."

"Of course."

Xiao Ran smiled and saw the owner of the Eastern Tomb out.

After the Eastern Tomb Master left, Wu Man's consciousness came closer and said, "They're in such a hurry, there must be another reason."

At first, Xiao Ran and Wu Man didn't understand what these people were planning, but as time went on, the problems gradually became apparent.

"Hmph, these people are bad, but they're not cleverly bad."

As Xiao Ran watched the Eastern Tomb Master's consciousness rapidly depart, he had roughly figured out a way to deal with these people.

Although this method is a bit underhanded.

"Let's go and take a look at the sixth generation of mycelium."

Wu Man led Xiao Ran to the cultivation pool, where the sixth generation of mycelium had already been cultivated by Wu Man.

After gathering the five basic elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, the sixth-generation mycelium began to follow a fusion route.

It looks very ordinary, just a little thicker than other hyphae, but it has all the characteristics of the first five generations of hyphae.

Most importantly, once the sixth-generation mycelium has taken hold, it can remain invisible for a long time, and the consumption of mental energy is almost negligible.

This is also what Wu Man is most proud of.

"That's enough. I'll leave the research on the seventh generation of mycelium to you on the way."

Xiao Ran was already very satisfied with the strength of the sixth-generation mycelium, but he couldn't wait that long for the seventh generation.

"no problem!"

Next, Xiao Ran handed over complete control of the entire fungal colony to Wu Man.

Xiao Ran's consciousness then transferred into the sixth generation of mycelium, and then silently detached from the mycelium.

After Xiao Ran broke free of the fungal clump, she silently merged with the surrounding mycelium and slowly crept towards the residence of the Eastern Tomb Master.

The reason why Xiao Ran was able to be discovered by the Eastern Tomb Master was not only because the Eastern Tomb Master's mental strength was strong enough, but more importantly, because Xiao Ran was just a spiritual body at the time, and the mycelium he was parasitizing was itself a part of the Eastern Tomb Master, so it was easy for the other party to discover him.

But now, with the sixth generation of mycelium protecting his body, Xiao Ran entered full stealth mode and easily passed through the protective shield outside the Eastern Tomb Mansion. Right under the noses of the guards, he swaggered into the Eastern Tomb Master's mansion.

At this moment, there were actually three other consciousness entities inside the Eastern Tomb Master's mansion.

Hiding in the shadows, Xiao Ran sensed the presence of three consciousness entities and deduced that these three consciousness entities were likely wisps of spiritual will that had split off from the other three tomb owners.

The four tomb owners gathered together, their pheromones spreading outwards.

"How much longer are they going to wait? If they keep delaying, things will fall apart."

Immediately following, another pheromone was transmitted.

"We can't delay any longer; things might change if we wait. Suzaku has already agreed that once it's done, we can have half the control."

"But he keeps putting it off. We can't force him to go to the cemetery, can we?"

The Eastern Tomb Master was very troubled. He had done his best to meet the conditions. After thinking for a moment, the Eastern Tomb Master emitted a pheromone: "How about giving him the Spirit Eye Spore?"

"We can't give it to them!"

The other three people buried in the tomb spoke up.

“If you give him the things, he will be even less likely to go to the grave.”

“That’s right. We’ve already said that the Spirit Eye Spores are unique to the Upper Tomb. If you bring them out now, you’re just admitting it. What if they suspect that the Wind Hammer is still in our hands?”

The other three tomb owners strongly opposed it.

What they didn't expect was that Xiao Ran was hiding nearby, spying on the pheromones they were emitting.

"As expected, these four guys are no pushovers."

Xiao Ran inwardly complained, but her mind started to wander. The matter of the Spirit Eye Spores wasn't urgent; she needed to think of a way to rescue Grandpa Yang first.

"Never mind, I have a way to force them to set off sooner."

At this moment, the tomb owner sent out a pheromone signal: "Let's inform the hunting party. When they arrive, we only need to guide them slightly, and we don't need to worry about them not setting off to visit the tomb."

"good idea!"

The other three tomb owners praised the ingenious plan.

"Without delay, go to the East Tomb to inform the hunting team. To the West Tomb, get ready to receive them and cut off their retreat as soon as they enter the Upper Tomb. Then we'll assemble immediately, storm in from the South Tomb, and work with the Vermilion Bird to take that body."

The four tomb owners were extremely capable of taking action; once they had decided on their strategy, they immediately began to act.

Without the constraints of a physical body, the mycelium can often accomplish more than half of its task in the blink of an eye, with just a few thoughts flashing through its mind.

Only after the other three tomb masters left did the Eastern Tomb Master spare a wisp of his spiritual power to notify Xiao Ran and the others to escape.

However, the Eastern Tomb Master obviously did not expect that Xiao Ran was hiding right under its nose at this very moment.

However, Xiao Ran did not fall out with the master of the Eastern Tomb. Instead, she quietly withdrew from the Eastern Tomb residence.

After leaving the Eastern Tomb Mansion, Xiao Ran first sent a pheromone message to Wu Man, and then headed straight for the Northern Tomb Area.

Since Grandpa Yang is still in the central cemetery area, Xiao Ran believes that there is a high probability that this old man is in the northern cemetery area.

While Xiao Ran was rushing towards the northern tomb, Wu Man on the other side had already received the pheromones sent by the owner of the eastern tomb.

"Holy shit, these guys!!"

Upon seeing the pheromone message sent by the Eastern Tomb Master, Wu Man immediately realized that they had been betrayed by him.

He couldn't help but curse inwardly, cursing the entire family and ancestors of the tomb owner for eighteen generations.

But he couldn't care less about that now and immediately started sending out pheromones one after another.

Instantly, the entire inside of the fungal ball began to move. After all the resource spores were collected and protected in the core area, the entire fungal ball immediately entered a state of combat readiness.

Unlike Xiao Ran, Wu Man's mental strength was far from strong enough, making it no easy task for her to control this giant creature.

Therefore, Wu Man had no choice but to mobilize all the other mushroom people to the extreme.

Wu Man divided the fungi inside the fungal ball into four groups, numbered 1 to 4, with each group responsible for one function within the fungal ball.

Number 1 and 2 are responsible for the tracks, number 3 is responsible for defense, and number 4 is responsible for attack.

Even under Wu Man's control, the four formations, which had not yet worked together, were initially in a state of chaos and confusion.

The only good news is that Xiao Ran has already sent Number Two back to the fungal ball with his grandfather and Master Zhao.

Number Two's mental strength is no weaker than Wu Man's, and is even stronger than Wu Man's, which undoubtedly greatly reduces the pressure on Wu Man.

Soon, under Wu Man's command, the entire fungal ball began to move slowly.

Just as Wu Man was manipulating the fungal ball to prepare to move to a different location, Wu Man and Number Two suddenly felt a chill and immediately realized that they had been locked onto by a mental force.

This familiar feeling... there's no mistake, it's the hunting party.

After the Eastern Tomb Master relayed the message, the hunting party immediately came in a large force, far exceeding the scale of the last attack, with 10 crystal fungal balls among them.

The number of guard units was astonishing, reaching as many as thirty.

If they were to catch up, Xiao Ran's fungal balls would tear them apart alive.

Realizing something was wrong, Wu Man immediately issued an order.

"Number 1, go all out; Number 2, slow down."

"Click click click!!"

As soon as the command was given, the tracks beneath the clump of fungi immediately began to rotate. As the left track surged forward, the entire clump of fungi also changed direction and took off running.

(End of this chapter)