Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 819 Sacrifice
Gu Xuan has woken up!

Xiao Ran's knowledge of Gu Xuan was limited to just a name.

As for Gu Xuan, he only knew that this person might be an early beginner, and like the Plum Blossom Taoist, he was an extremely skilled master.

It's fair to say they have absolutely no background knowledge.

But the moment that massive mental fluctuation swept over, Xiao Ran knew that Gu Xuan had woken up.

This feeling needs no explanation.

Just like on a stage, when the protagonist walks onto the stage, all the spotlights will naturally focus on the protagonist.

That unique radiance belonging to the protagonist is enough to suppress everything.

The four tomb masters trembled with fear, which came from the depths of their bones and made them instantly forget their original purpose. The Eastern Tomb Master even chose to submit immediately.

All the mycelium under the command of the Eastern Tomb Master stopped their forward charge at this moment, as if they had frozen in place.

The other two tomb owners in the south and west tombs were in no better condition.

It's as if their original plan has become as ridiculous as children playing around.

The only one still holding on, the Northern Tomb Master, was already terrified. However, he knew better than anyone that his life was not in Gu Xuan's hands, but in Xiao Ran's. That's why he gritted his teeth and stubbornly refused to submit.

"call!"

A light breath escaped from the giant's mouth, the sound echoing throughout the entire tomb.

Now, not only Xiao Ran, but even Jin Chanzi and the others showed strange expressions.

"This thing!! It's weird."

Six Eyes had a strange expression on his face. As a demon god of the underworld, what kind of evil things hadn't he seen?

But right now, Liu Mu and Qing Hai both felt a strong sense of crisis, as if a pair of eyes were staring at them.

"It's been a long time!"

A weathered voice echoed in the tomb, and everyone, including Jin Chanzi, Xiao Ran, and the others, could hear it clearly.

"It's you again!"

Gu Xuan's consciousness swept across the area, instantly revealing everything within the Tomb Kingdom. When he discovered Li Qing and the others, he continued, "When you came last time, you were all still young. I originally intended to keep you here, let you enter my Tomb Kingdom, and give you an opportunity, but I didn't expect you to have some tricks up your sleeves."

Upon hearing this, Li Qing suddenly understood something. He stepped forward, looked at the deep well in front of him, and angrily questioned, "Those traps last time, were they your doing?"

When they arrived that time, Mao Si and Wang Shen had already discovered the mechanism in the tomb passage and alerted them.

Li Qing and the others were puzzled. They had carefully avoided the traps, so why were they still being triggered?

Now it seems most likely that Gu Xuan was behind it.

Gu Xuan did not deny this: "Isn't it good to stay here? The brothers who stayed here still look as young as they did in the past. I did not make things difficult for them. Time has not left any marks on them. But you! You have decayed to the point of being nothing but old bones, or even two lonely ghosts."

The wandering ghosts that Gu Xuan spoke of were none other than Zhao Qingming and Xiao Zhenye.

"fart!"

Xiao Zhenye couldn't hold back any longer and burst into a tirade: "A person lives only once, a blade of grass lives only once in spring. Everyone has their own destiny. You're leaving Lao Qi here. Do you know if he'll be happy about it?"

“You can only imprison him, not truly give him immortality. When he leaves here, he will only find that the Yang family is in ruins, the house is empty, he will miss his parents’ passing and the changing times. What difference is there between that and being in prison?”

Zhao Qingming questioned in a cold voice.

Faced with their questions, Gu Xuan calmly replied, "The mundane world is ultimately just fleeting smoke. You can't take anything with you when you're born, and you can't take anything with you when you die. What's there to be nostalgic about? The fact that you were able to enter means that the great era has arrived. Unlike you, his young body is qualified to take control of the great power."

After saying that, Gu Xuan asked in return, "Do you really want him to end up like you, the last one to become a ghost cultivator, someone who isn't even a ghost?"

At this moment, Xiao Ran suddenly spoke up: "Since you are so devoted to Seventh Grandfather, and the situation has reached the point you mentioned, please let Seventh Grandfather leave."

“Of course,” Gu Xuan replied with certainty. “I have never restricted his departure. Anyone can freely enter the Tomb Kingdom, and naturally, they can also freely leave.”

However, Gu Xuan then changed the subject: "But whether or not we leave is not up to me."

"What do you mean?"

"It's simple. I'll help you first. As long as I get out of this hellhole, they'll be free too."

"help you?"

Xiao Ran muttered to herself, wondering what this old guy was up to.

Xiao Ran glanced at the Seventh Master beside her again.

He then asked, "How do you want me to help you?"

"No rush! Let me tidy up first." After Gu Xuan finished speaking, a huge wisp of spiritual power immediately penetrated the entire fungal community, and in an instant, the originally chaotic fungal community was controlled by an irresistible will.

Under this will, all the fungi, including the four tomb masters and even the guardians such as the Vermilion Bird, returned to their original positions.

It's as if nothing happened.

When the Northern Tomb Master and his companions came to their senses, they were horrified to find that they had returned to the Northern Tomb Area. Aside from being slightly quieter, almost all the fungus people had returned to their original positions. It felt as if everything they had done was a dream. What horrified the Northern Tomb Master even more was that Xiao Ran and Yang Fengchui were also missing, seemingly forcibly left behind in the Upper Tomb by Gu Xuan.

Just as the Northern Tomb Master and the others were feeling a bit dazed, Gu Xuan's voice came again: "Prepare an altar for me. After this sacrifice is completed, I will give you your freedom."

As the sound faded, a blueprint, along with the necessary materials and synthesis formula, appeared in the consciousness of the four tomb masters, and even the rulers of the four tomb kingdoms of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

"Yes!"

Gu Xuan's words were like a royal decree. Even though the four tomb masters had just been clamoring to storm the upper tomb and seize Gu Xuan's body, they didn't dare utter a single word once Gu Xuan's consciousness was revived.

At the same time, Xiao Ran and the others gradually regained their senses. When they came to their senses, they found that they had all been transferred to another place.

Before me was a completely white space.

Without the mycelium to cling to, Xiao Ran's originally scattered spiritual energy regrouped and became one again.

"welcome!"

A voice came, and Xiao Ran looked up to see a Taoist priest sitting cross-legged in front of her.

The Taoist priest looked very young, probably only in his twenties.

Noticing Xiao Ran's unusual gaze, the Taoist priest asked, "What's wrong? Are you surprised?"

"A little, but not much. It's just that you look younger. Is this a change in your appearance?" Xiao Ran asked.

"Not really. I looked like this before I became like this." As he said this, Gu Xuan couldn't help but smile. "To be honest, I never really thought about what I would look like when I get old."

These words left Xiao Ran speechless; she had never seen anyone so narcissistic.

After exchanging pleasantries, Xiao Ran asked directly, "Tell me, how do you want me to help you?"

"No rush, there's still time. I haven't even had a chance to give you a brief introduction yet." Gu Xuan waved his hand, and a tea table appeared in front of him. He gestured for Xiao Ran to enter.

"Is this necessary?"

Xiao Ran said that, but she still sat down.

After all, this is someone else's territory, and I don't have any bargaining power.

Gu Xuan slowly poured Xiao Ran a cup of tea: "This is a special tea from the tomb, called Dragon Steed Tea. Its production is extremely low, and it takes about a hundred years to synthesize a pot of tea."

Xiao Ran looked at the green liquid in the teacup, placed her hand on the cup, but showed no intention of drinking it.

Seeing this, Gu Xuan deliberately picked up his own cup and took the first sip.

“Good tea!”

As soon as the tea entered his mouth, Gu Xuan couldn't help but praise it.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran picked up the teacup and tried to take a sip. Soon, a bitter taste quickly appeared in Xiao Ran's mind. This taste was very bitter and astringent, until a moment later when a little sweetness appeared.

Gu Xuan then stared intently at Xiao Ran and pressed her for an answer: "How was it?"

"Not good, too bitter and astringent."

Xiao Ran said without any politeness, "It's not as good as the green tea outside."

It's no wonder Xiao Ran gave such a review; it really didn't taste good.

Although it didn't taste good, after drinking this cup of tea, Xiao Ran found that her mental strength suddenly increased a lot.

It's about 50 points, which is enough to surpass the top-tier enhancement potions available outside. Just based on this alone, even if this stuff tastes like shit, it would still be incredibly valuable, enough to make most professionals scramble to drink it.

But Xiao Ran didn't have any particular feelings about it.

His mental strength has reached 600 points, a number that would probably shock even a professional.

But the problem is, no matter how high your mental strength is, your physical body can only support about 300 mental strength at most. The rest of the mental strength is simply not enough to handle. Before returning to your physical body, you have to cut off all this excess mental strength, otherwise your physical body will explode.

It really is true what they say: some are dying of drought, while others are drowning in floods.

While drinking tea, Gu Xuan slowly told Xiao Ran about his affairs.

Just as depicted in the murals, Gu Xuan did indeed steal the fungal strain from Changbai Mountain, resulting in his current state of being neither human nor ghost.

“I promised the Great Shaman that as long as someone completes the ritual, I can be freed from this damned state. Young brother, this ritual should have been completed by Li Jingqi back then, but he didn’t come. Now that the Five Dragon Bracelet is in your hands, you must complete the ritual in his place.”

After Gu Xuan finished speaking, seemingly worried that Xiao Ran might misunderstand, he quickly added, "Oh, don't worry, this ritual will only bring you benefits."

Xiao Ran had no faith in Gu Xuan and sneered, "Every sacrifice needs an offering, right?"

"Of course!" Gu Xuan stood up, opened his arms, and then spun around in front of Xiao Ran: "How about it?"

???

Xiao Ran was stunned: "What do you mean, how?"

“A sacrifice!” Gu Xuan stared at Xiao Ran. “I am the sacrifice for this ritual. Not only me, but the entire Tomb Kingdom is a sacrifice.”

(End of this chapter)