Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 822 Sacrifice
"Alright, we believe you, but please don't go too far, or you'll be driven to desperation and do something rash. Don't blame us brothers for ruining your place."

Zhao Qingming's tone immediately softened.

In just a fleeting moment, his eyes met those of Xiao Zhenye and the others, and he said nothing, but it seemed as if he had conveyed everything clearly.

"Rest assured, everyone. Please be patient. Once this ritual is completed, everything will be as you wish." Gu Xuan's voice gradually faded away.

For a moment, everyone fell into an eerie silence.

At this moment, Jin Chanzi suddenly took out three talismans from his sleeve and stuffed them into the hands of Wu Man, Xiao Zhenye, and Lu Cheng respectively.

Wu Man recognized the talisman; it was the Heart-Connecting Talisman that Jin Chanzi had given them before.

Holding this talisman, they can communicate with each other through mental activity.

"This Gu Xuan has probably been down there for too long; he can't even explain himself properly," Wu Man said with a sneer.

"No surprise, this man has been a local tyrant for over a thousand years, he's slow-witted and extremely stupid," Xiao Zhenye cursed inwardly.

Putting Lu Cheng aside, after Gu Xuan spoke, the group immediately understood that the old man probably had ill intentions.

This doesn't mean Gu Xuan is stupid; it's just that he hasn't interacted with normal people for too long. Even if he was a genius a thousand years ago, he was only more talented than ordinary people in cultivation.

Having been trapped below for a thousand years, even if Gu Xuan was a top genius, when it came to scheming, he was far inferior to Wu Man and the others, not to mention old guys like Xiao Zhenye.

"Gentlemen, what should we do now?" Jin Chanzi was good at scheming, but he was far inferior to the old guys like Xiao Zhenye, so he humbly asked for advice.

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Zhenye said, "When a knife is held to one's throat, everyone will back down, but when a gun is pointed at another gun, no one dares to fire rashly."

Jin Chanzi and the others were very clever, and after hearing what Xiao Zhenye said, they immediately understood.

“Understood, sir. I have a plan that will surely strike at the heart of this old Taoist’s weakness.” After saying this, Jin Chanzi began to explain his entire plan.

Even Xiao Zhenye and his group were inwardly shocked by this plan to export the Taoist priest, thinking that he was kind on the outside but ruthless on the inside and that he was extremely vicious!
Meanwhile, Xiao Ran and Gu Xuan were sitting at the tea table, drinking tea and chatting about things outside. To be precise, Xiao Ran was giving Gu Xuan a history lesson.

"The outside world? It has been completely transformed. Dynastic changes have occurred dozens of times, and the last emperor being overthrown by the people is a thing of the past, a hundred years ago. Taoism and Buddhism now mostly exist in temples and monasteries, still receiving incense offerings, but their former glory is gone. As for the current path of power..."

Xiao Ran talked a lot in one breath, covering the rise and fall of the four dynasties: Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. However, she didn't cover everything, and even some important historical events were omitted from her account.

The subsequent eight-year War of Resistance against Japan, the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the process of reform and opening up became the focus of Xiao Ran's lectures.

These words captivated Gu Xuan, leaving him completely absorbed in the story.

A thousand years is but a fleeting moment, yet this period of time has been so wonderful.

With a sigh, Gu Xuan finished his tea and then said to Xiao Ran, "Young brother, after completing this ritual, you will be a demigod. What are your plans for the future?"

"Since I'm a demigod, of course I should do things I like, like taking a stroll around the Japanese devils' house. As a demigod, it's not too much for me to accidentally crush a few beasts, is it?"

"Haha, not at all, of course not at all."

Gu Xuan burst into laughter. Just as the two were talking, the altar outside was almost finished.

The altar was enormous, with a perfectly square base that was probably over a hundred meters long on each side. It was made up of countless thick, dark golden mycelium strands that were as thick as giant pythons and tightly intertwined with each other.

The main body of the altar is formed by layers stacked and contracting upwards from the base, eventually forming a square pyramid shape that is tens of meters high and as stable as a mountain.

"Let's go, it's almost time."

Looking at the altar that had already risen from the ground outside, Gu Xuan said to Xiao Ran, "I'll have to trouble you later, young brother."

"Rest assured, fellow Daoist, I will do my best."

Xiao Ran stood up and responded solemnly. Seeing Xiao Ran's solemn expression, Gu Xuan's face showed relief. He then gently waved his hand, and his vast spiritual power began to be rapidly activated.

Instantly, the entire tomb kingdom trembled.

"Swish..."

Thick mycelia extend down from the wellhead, hooking around the four corners of the surrounding white crystal mycelia.

"rise!"

Gu Xuan spread his arms wide, his eyes flashing with white flames. In an instant, the entire tomb and even the entire mountain began to tremble violently.

The four mycelium strands hooked around the perimeter began to slowly converge, gradually pulling the entire core area upwards.

At this moment, Jin Chanzi and the others outside saw a snow-white, round sphere being slowly pulled out of the well.

This thing looks like a huge egg.

In the light, a figure as tall as a person could be vaguely seen sitting cross-legged in the middle.

As a pure spiritual wave swept over, the mycelium beneath the egg began to rapidly close, lifting the egg high like a ring holder.

"Young man, you can begin!"

As Gu Xuan's voice faded, the giant's forehead began to crack open, revealing a bone underneath. However, it was not a skull, but a tortoise shell.

The dry tortoise shell was covered with strange oracle bone script, densely arranged in a ring.

As the tortoise shell appeared, Xiao Ran suddenly felt an inexplicable force urging him to channel his spiritual energy into it.

Xiao Ran instinctively wanted to resist, but his mental energy uncontrollably began to approach the tortoise shell.

"What's this??"

Xiao Ran's heart sank, and she pressed Gu Xuan for an answer.

"This is the ritual instrument used to complete the sacrifice; only you can activate it."

Gu Xuan explained the origin of this item, saying it was given to him by the Great Shaman as a key element in activating the altar.

In fact, Gu Xuan had tried to activate this thing, but no matter how he tried, he could never figure out how it was activated.

Gu Xuan even suspected that the great shaman was deceiving him.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran tried to slowly bring a wisp of his spiritual power closer to the tortoise shell. Just as his spiritual power slowly approached the tortoise shell...

"hiss!"

A powerful suction force suddenly surged from the tortoise shell. Xiao Ran's heart tightened, and he felt as if his spiritual power was being forcibly dragged into the tortoise shell by some force, turning into liquid and merging into the oracle bone inscriptions.

Xiao Ran tried to break free, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape the gravitational pull of the tortoise shell.

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Ran felt that at least a third of her mental energy had been drained by the tortoise shell.

And this spiritual energy was then incorporated into an oracle bone script on the tortoise shell.

A wisp of information followed and was fed into Xiao Ran's consciousness from the tortoise shell.

This information seemed to appear out of thin air in Xiao Ran's mind. Xiao Ran's mind swayed, and in a daze, he saw a majestic snow-capped mountain appear in front of him. Directly in front of the snow-capped mountain, a group of people wearing black cloaks were striding towards him...

(End of this chapter)