Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 816 Devouring the Northern Tomb
Under Wu Man's command, the giant bacteria raced forward rapidly. Although it was not as fast as when Xiao Ran controlled it alone, the speed was not much different.

Moreover, there are fifth-generation mycelium; if they really can't win, they can rely on their invisibility to quickly escape the hunting party's pursuit.

Therefore, Xiao Ran was not worried about Wu Man and the others' safety. At this moment, he had already silently sneaked into the North Tomb area.

The mycelium in the northern tomb is completely different from that in the eastern tomb. When the consciousness of the fungal people here flashes through the mycelium, the mycelium will emit a sound similar to a suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument).

This is the uniqueness of the mycelium in the North Cemetery Area, which is completely absent in the other three cemetery areas.

This area is also rich in a unique type of spore called spore.

Similar to the wine spores they tasted in the no-man's-land, once the spores are absorbed, they can hear unique music.

Some high-quality spores can even evolve their mycelium, producing unique abilities.

Relying on her ability to remain invisible at all times, Xiao Ran headed straight for the residence of the Northern Tomb Master.

If Master Yang was hidden by the Northern Tomb Master, Xiao Ran felt that the most likely possibility was that he was in the Northern Tomb Master's mansion.

After all, this is the home ground of the Northern Tomb Master. Looking at the entire Central Tomb Area, even hunting groups can't gain any advantage here.

But the Northern Tomb Master probably never imagined that Xiao Ran's sixth-generation mycelium could achieve complete invisibility, and even he would not be able to detect Xiao Ran's stealthy infiltration.

“Tomb Master! The gold-dissolving liquid is ready. It can stimulate three million units of mycelium whenever you need it.”

Inside the tomb owner's residence, several powerful consciousness entities were reporting to the northern tomb owner.

"Six hundred thousand mushroom enthusiasts are ready."

"Breaking news: that group has already entered the upper tomb under the guidance of the Western Tomb Master, and the hunting team has failed to catch up with them."

A constant stream of pheromones surrounded the Northern Tomb Master, providing him with the latest firsthand information.

"Hmph, the hunting group is a bunch of useless trash, they're hopeless." Upon seeing the news about Wu Man and his group, the Northern Tomb Master couldn't help but complain.

Although it was a complaint, deep down they hoped these outsiders were as strong as possible, otherwise how could they attract the other three protectors?

"Very good, once the hunting party enters the upper tomb, we will set off immediately!"

After the master of the northern tomb gave the order, these capable assistants immediately left to begin preparations for entering the upper tomb.

After all, this time it involves the full strength of the nation. The four major tomb kingdoms will mobilize all their forces to flood into the upper tomb, and there are countless details inside that they need to direct.

After his subordinates left, the Northern Tomb Master separated a wisp of his consciousness, which quickly extended downwards into the soil along his thick root system.

After descending countless meters into the soil, they discovered a massive karst cave beneath.

The cave is also a unique world of mycelium.

Its scale surpasses that of Xiao Ran's biological factory; the enormous cultivation pools are rapidly producing large quantities of mycelium.

The consciousness of the northern tomb owner moved downwards along the mycelium until it stopped in front of a mycelial ball at the bottom.

At this moment, the fungal ball slowly wriggled, revealing a single clump of pale blue mycelium trapped inside.

"Old brother, it's been a while since I've been able to visit you."

The owner of the northern tomb sent out a pheromone.

The clump of blue mycelium slowly wriggled a few times, then directly cursed, "Old man, just spit it out, don't play these empty tricks, I'm not used to your Seventh Master."

Despite being greeted so intimately, the Northern Tomb Master was not angry at all. Instead, he took out some wine spores and sent them over.

"Old brother, don't be angry. I'm here today to tell you some good news."

"Tell me, what do you want your seventh grandfather to do for you?"

The mushroom ball, who called himself the Seventh Grandfather, didn't believe the Northern Tomb Master's story at all, and instead suspected that the other party wanted him to do something for him.

After all, this kind of tactic is nothing new here.

But this time, Seventh Master was clearly wrong. The Northern Tomb Master really didn't mean to ask him to do anything. He said to Seventh Master, "You misunderstand. I just wanted to tell you that your brother has arrived."

Upon hearing this, Seventh Master's spirit visibly trembled a few times, but he quickly calmed down and coldly transmitted a pheromone: "Is that so? You only remembered me after all these years. Heh, what kind of bullshit brothers are you? Let them get lost."

Seeing that Seventh Master still didn't believe it, the Northern Tomb Master didn't press the matter and continued, "Don't worry, I didn't tell them you were here. I knew you didn't want to see them, so I lied to them that you went to the tomb."

"Fuck your grandma, you son of a bitch!"

Upon seeing the message from the Northern Tomb Master, Seventh Master immediately flew into a rage, unleashing a torrent of insults at the Northern Tomb Master.

Seeing this, the Northern Tomb Master smiled knowingly: "Hahaha, don't worry, your brothers are quite strong and have the ability to protect themselves, but I can't guarantee how long they will live."

The words of the Northern Tomb Master naturally drew another round of curses from Seventh Master.

After cursing for a while, Seventh Master gradually calmed down: "What exactly do you want?"

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, the Northern Tomb Master no longer concealed his intentions: "You know what I want. I don't want to waste time talking to you here. Time is limited. The faster you act, the faster I can move, and the better they will have a chance to survive."

Seventh Master was silent for a few seconds, then said, "I understand. Give me some time."

"Ha, I don't lack time, it's your brother who lacks time."

After saying that, the Northern Tomb Master's consciousness slowly faded away. Before leaving, he reminded everyone, "Don't try any tricks. Only I can save your brothers."

Once the consciousness of the Northern Tomb Master had completely disappeared into the cave, Seventh Master fell into a state of silence for a moment.

Just as Seventh Master was feeling troubled by this, he suddenly felt a tightness in his heart and sensed a consciousness forcibly merging into the mycelium he was parasitizing.

Just as Seventh Master was feeling annoyed, he heard a strange voice.

"Grandpa Yang, please don't misunderstand. I am Xiao Zhenye's grandson."

Upon hearing the name Xiao Zhenye, Yang Fengchui was startled, but he didn't immediately believe Xiao Ran and instead asked, "You're Xiao Zhenye's grandson? I don't believe you. What proof do you have?"

"Sun Miao is dead."

Xiao Ran didn't waste any words, using the simplest four words to reveal her identity.

Sure enough, upon hearing those four words, Yang Fengchui was immediately taken aback: "What did you say? Say it again?"

“Sun Miao is dead. After betraying his brothers, he changed his name to Beast Master and died about two years ago. I can’t explain the specifics to you right now. The four people who are here now are Zhao, Zhou, Li, and my grandfather.”

Xiao Ran gave a brief explanation of the situation. When Yang Fengchui learned that only Zhao and Xiao had entered the Tomb Kingdom and that it was not nearly as dangerous as the Northern Tomb Master had described, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Grandpa Yang, let's go, I'll take you out."

Taking the Wind Hammer away is simple; all you need to do is transfer its consciousness into your own mycelium. With the characteristics of the sixth-generation mycelium, you have no fear of being discovered by the Northern Tomb Master.

However, Yang Fengchui had no intention of leaving: "Good boy, it's remarkable that you were able to enter under the nose of the Northern Tomb Master. But Grandpa can't leave. If I leave, he'll notice immediately."

Yang Fengchui explained to Xiao Ran that because of his special nature, the consciousness of the Northern Tomb Master was constantly watching him. Once he disappeared, the Northern Tomb Master would not let it go and might even forcibly take over the entire Northern Tomb.

If Xiao Ran wants to leave then, it probably won't be so easy.

Yang Fengchui clearly couldn't comprehend the power of Xiao Ran's sixth-generation mycelium, and fearing that Xiao Ran would be discovered by the Northern Tomb Master, he resolutely refused to leave.

Seeing that Yang Fengchui was unwilling to leave, Xiao Ran did not force him, but asked Yang Fengchui what the Northern Tomb Master wanted.

"Grandpa, what exactly does he want from you? Why is he making such a big deal out of nothing?"

Upon hearing Xiao Ran's question, Yang Fengchui couldn't help but laugh; "Hahaha, what does he want? He doesn't want anything. I tricked him back then, but I didn't expect him to actually believe me."

Yang Fengchui told Xiao Ran about his situation.

It turns out that when he was accidentally drawn into the labyrinth city and entered the tomb kingdom, he had thought about settling down here first and then figuring out how to leave.

Later, an accident led him to discover that the mycelium here could actually be modified according to his own wishes. Because of his love for music, Yang Fengchui made some changes to the mycelium, which unexpectedly caused a great stir.

This earned him a warm welcome from the Northern Tomb Master, and with the Northern Tomb Master's support, Yang Fengchui developed special musical spores.

Unexpectedly, the owner of the Northern Tomb was already planning to discard the bridge after crossing the river.

After all, these musical spores were an excellent resource for developing the Northern Tomb Area, and Yang Fengchui absolutely could not let them leak out. Yang Fengchui also keenly sensed that something was wrong, and in order to save his life, he boasted to the Northern Tomb Master about a set of Great Sorrowful Music.

This musical movement is said to be incredibly powerful, capable of destroying the world, but it requires at least twelve pitches of mycelium to play.

This is why the Northern Tomb Master dared not easily kill him.

But this so-called Great Sorrow and Joy was purely a trick Yang Fengchui used to deceive the Northern Tomb Master in order to save his own life.

That's completely untrue.

Over the years, Yang Fengchui has gradually developed some mycelium for the Northern Tomb Master, and these mycelium have indeed had extraordinary effects.

This made the owner of the northern tomb even more convinced of the existence of the Great Compassion and Joy.

But this is also why the Northern Tomb Master imprisoned himself here. As long as Yang Fengchui doesn't hand over the mycelium needed for the complete Great Compassion Music, he lives a pretty comfortable life here.

"So that's how it is." Xiao Ran suddenly realized, but then her mind changed and she suddenly thought of something and said to Yang Fengchui, "Grandpa, this can't go on like this. I have a good idea."

"You?" Yang Fengchui didn't know what Xiao Ran was going to do, but he was quite happy to see what Xiao Ran was planning.

After Xiao Ran roughly explained her idea to Yang Fengchui, even Yang Fengchui was startled: "This... is too risky."

"Fortune favors the bold, and besides, Grandpa, you don't know my methods. If we were to fight, even these four tomb masters would be no match for me!"

If the four tomb masters attacked together, he might suffer some losses, but when facing one of them alone, Xiao Ran was not afraid at all.

Seeing that Xiao Ran had given such a firm indication that there was no problem, Yang Fengchui stopped worrying and immediately stepped out of the fungal ball to begin directing the fungal inhabitants in the cave to cultivate mycelium according to his requirements.

Yang Fengchui had long anticipated that the Northern Tomb Master would eventually become impatient, so he already had a plan for this final mycelium dish, which was not complicated to prepare.

The cave contained all the resources of the Northern Tomb, and with the help of a large number of fungal inhabitants, new mycelia quickly emerged from the cultivation pool.

The cultivated mycelium quickly filled the entire cave.

Upon receiving the news, the Northern Tomb Master immediately separated his consciousness and returned to the cave. Looking at the large number of mycelia that had been cultivated, he was overjoyed.

"Alright, alright, Brother Yang, I knew you were a loyal and righteous person. Don't worry, I will never treat you unfairly."

The owner of the northern tomb sent a message to Yang Fengchui praising him.

"Hmph!" Yang Fengchui snorted inwardly, too lazy to respond.

The Northern Tomb Master was not annoyed by this. He immediately took over the mycelium with his consciousness and carefully sensed it. Sure enough, he found that the mycelium was indeed different from ordinary mycelium. However, he did not know why, but the weight of these mycelium was much greater than that of ordinary mycelium.

"Brother Yang, why are these mycelia so heavy?"

The owner of the northern tomb asked Yang Fengchui.

Upon hearing this, Yang Fengchui said irritably, "The last chapter of the Great Compassion Melody carries the essence of the entire movement, so it is naturally different from other mycelia."

After saying that, Yang Fengchui warned again with a serious expression: "Let me tell you the unpleasant thing first, the last chapter of this Great Compassion and Joy is called Heaven and Earth Coexisting, its power is vast and earth-shattering, unless absolutely necessary, don't do anything reckless, otherwise if you accidentally hurt your people, don't say I didn't warn you."

Upon hearing this, the Northern Tomb Master was suspicious, but more than that, he was overjoyed: "Good, good, good, that's for the best."

Then he changed the subject: "Brother Yang, our team is about to set off. Didn't you want to see your brother? Come on, I'll take you to the cemetery area now. As for whether you brothers can meet, that depends on your own fate."

After saying this, the Northern Tomb Master signaled the surrounding fungus people to surround the Phoenix Hammer, forcing it to enter the Northern Tomb Master's body along with these fungus people.

Meanwhile, the newly cultivated mycelium was slowly pulled from the ground into its own body under the pull of the northern tomb owner.

"strangeness??"

However, as the hyphae took shape, the Northern Tomb Master felt increasingly strange. These hyphae seemed unable to perfectly merge with the other hyphae, as if there was an invisible membrane floating outside the hyphae.

The owner of the northern tomb wanted to ask why the wind hammer was there.

But then I thought that this might be what made this mycelium so special, its extraordinary power, which naturally prevented it from perfectly matching ordinary mycelium.

As the thought crossed his mind, the mountain-like body of the Northern Tomb Master began to writhe.

Countless thick, dark purple mycelia, like living giant pythons, emerge from all sides of the cultivation cave, pulling the newly cultivated mycelia into their own bodies.

Inside the main body of the northern tomb is a cylinder resembling a bagpipe.

Eleven cylindrical structures, made of various mycelia twisted together, are arranged in a circle.

This is the core design that Yang Fengchui made for the owner of the northern tomb. Each of these eleven cylinders corresponds to a syllable.

With the addition of the twelfth hyphae, it's just like the twelve notes of a suona horn are now complete.

Looking at the now-complete core, the Northern Tomb Master felt a surge of excitement.

He had been waiting for this moment for many years.

However, Yang Fengchui refused to hand over the last layer of mycelium.

If it weren't for the arrival of outsiders who allowed him to exploit Yang Fengchui's weakness, he doesn't know how much longer he would have had to wait for this moment.

"It's done! It's finally done! I've been waiting for this day for so long."

The Northern Tomb Master was overjoyed and couldn't wait to test just how powerful the Great Compassion and Joy really was.

Just as the Northern Tomb Master was overjoyed, a pheromone suddenly appeared in front of him.

"The tomb owner is truly cunning. It's one thing for us brothers to be your stepping stones, but why did you have to deceive my grandfather as well?"

Upon seeing this pheromone, the Northern Tomb Master was stunned, seemingly not yet realizing what was happening.

At that moment, a sharp, stinging pain struck, causing the soul of the Northern Tomb Master to tremble uncontrollably.

It was a pain as if a knife had been plunged deep into one's soul and was being violently churned.

Before the Northern Tomb Master could figure out what was going on, he was horrified to discover that he had lost control of the core area.

In that instant, the twelve enormous cylinders completely broke free from its mental connection.

Then, something even more terrifying and unbelievable happened: the twelve pillars began to play a piercing melody.

No, that wasn't music; it was pure noise. A huge sound wave exploded inside the Northern Tomb Master, and at least half of the fungal inhabitants fainted instantly.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xiao Ran's tentacles quickly pierced the surrounding area, beginning to frantically tear apart the soul of the Northern Tomb Master.

In the blink of an eye, one-third of the Northern Tomb Master's spiritual power was directly devoured by Xiao Ran.

This caused Xiao Ran's mental strength to surge by a full 200 points.

"You!! How did you get here?!"

Feeling that a third of his mental energy had been drained, the Northern Tomb Master finally woke up with a start, releasing a frenzied pheromone that, along with a mental shock, slammed into Xiao Ran.

Unfortunately, to Xiao Ran, this mental shock was nothing more than a deliberate act of betrayal.

This spiritual impact, imbued with the rage of the Northern Tomb Master, was like a stone thrown into the deep sea; it failed to even cause a ripple in the face of Xiao Ran's vast and unfathomable spiritual power.

As the Northern Tomb Master recovered from the absolute suppression, Xiao Ran's attacks came crashing down like a tidal wave!

"You wanted to hear the Great Sorrow and Joy, so listen to this piece carefully."

Xiao Ran no longer concealed himself. As his consciousness immersed itself in the twelve pillars, the pillars trembled, and a visible wave of air surged out from the vents.

It was a pure spiritual shock that instantly swept through the entire main body of the northern tomb.

The destructive noise that forcibly tore apart the spiritual link was like millions of steel needles piercing the soul of the Northern Tomb Master at the same time.

"what!!"

In an instant, the consciousness of more than half of the fungal people was directly overwhelmed by this terrifying resonance, falling apart and becoming nourishment for Xiao Ran's spiritual power.

(End of this chapter)