Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 823 The Great Shamanic Ritual
As Xiao Ran watched the figures getting closer and closer, she saw that these people were walking and jumping at the same time, and the snakeskin drums at their waists were being beaten to produce a light and cheerful sound.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in this mountain forest, seemingly carried far and wide by the gentle breeze.

From the distant mountain stream came a woman's loud shout: "Ah~~~Ya ya~ Ah~~"

"call!!"

As the shouts subsided, a huge bonfire suddenly burst into flames on the distant mountainside.

The firelight illuminated the mountainside, and then, starting from the campfire, countless sparks were lit, leading up the rugged ridge like a fire dragon illuminating the night sky.

Just then, the sound of a group singing came from the distant mountain ridge, the voice suddenly rising to an extreme! "Oh—hey—hoo—!!!"

The singing was powerful and poignant, reminiscent of the hoarse and simple style of Qinqiang opera, carrying a sense of resolute and devout sacrifice of life to nature in the face of adversity.

Instantly, the surrounding mountains, forests, trees, birds, and beasts echoed the clear rhythm of the hoarse song.

Even the venomous snakes under the bushes were shaking their bodies in time with the beat.

At this moment, the figures draped in black cloaks surrounded Xiao Ran, and only then did Xiao Ran see their faces clearly.

Their faces were covered in a thick layer of mud and ash, with crooked lines drawn on their cheeks with white lime. They were clapping drums around Xiao Ran.

At this moment, Xiao Ran's body seemed to be moving forward unconsciously in response to the drumbeats.

What is this?

Hallucination?

Wait, something's... smelling like a summoning of spirits?

Xiao Ran was fully conscious and knew that these were not real images.

But the more this was the case, the more bewildered Xiao Ran felt.

Because it's so real.

It wasn't just the loud singing, the fragrance of the earth in the air, the gentle breeze blowing from the mountains and forests, or even the stars in the sky above.

What I see, hear, and smell all seem to be telling me that it is all true.

It truly exists.

So... here's the question.

If everything you see is real, then it only proves that you are fake.

Or rather, I shouldn't exist here; it's more like some kind of ritual forcibly summoned me here.

This is why Xiao Ran felt a sense of being summoned by a spirit.

But this led to another inexplicable situation for Xiao Ran: where was she now?
The magnificent and massive mountain range in front of me could absolutely not be in Guizhou.

What kind of ability is it to transmit one's consciousness to such a distant place?

As Xiao Ran remained bewildered, more and more figures appeared around her.

Xiao Ran wanted to see these people's faces clearly, but the men's faces were covered with thick ash, and the women's faces were covered with masks that looked like those in Nuo opera.

However, unlike Nuo opera, which is ultimately just a play, the woman in front of Xiao Ran felt real.

They swayed around the campfire, their bodies moving in a strange, rhythmic pattern to the song. The scene, seemingly mad, sent chills down Xiao Ran's spine.

Surrounded by the crowd, Xiao Ran felt like a scarecrow or a statue being lifted high, and could only watch helplessly as they carried her up the ancient path illuminated by torches, heading up the mountain.

During the journey, Xiao Ran suddenly noticed a group of people in the distance. These people were dressed in clothing similar to that of the Qing Dynasty, with braids on their heads. They were dressed in gorgeous clothes and seemed to be members of the royal family.

But at this moment, they merely stood far away, prostrating themselves on the ground in a gesture of complete submission.

A little boy only looked up once, and his mother pressed his head down so hard that his face was pressed tightly into the muddy ground.

At this moment, they seemed not to be the high and mighty royalty, but rather servants who had come to serve this group.

Xiao Ran wasn't interested in these people's identities, but their clothing made him think of something.

Is this some kind of lost city?
Just as Xiao Ran was pondering, she saw the line in front of her suddenly stop.

Ahead is an altar made of piled stones.

With the help of these people, Xiao Ran was placed on the altar, and the once lively forest suddenly became quiet.

"Whirring whirring……"

On the altar, Xiao Ran could only hear the sound of the wind blowing the campfire.

All the sounds around seemed to have been silenced at that moment, and pairs of eyes stared straight at Xiao Ran, making her feel uneasy.

"Dingle bell, dinged bell!"

At this moment, several masked women helped an elderly woman out from behind the crowd. She was the only woman there who was not wearing a mask or covering her face.

The old woman, with her thick white hair adorned with various gold ornaments, walked step by step to the altar, holding a cane in one hand.

Xiao Ran looked the old woman up and down, but then the old woman raised her head. The moment their eyes met, a strong sense of unease startled Xiao Ran.

"Can she see me?"

Xiao Ran tried to open her mouth to ask something, but the old woman rattled off a bunch of things, leaving Xiao Ran completely bewildered.

What is she saying?

dialect??
It doesn’t look like it either.

Xiao Ran listened intently, writing down every single word, but he couldn't understand a single one. It was just a strange, tongue-twisting string of syllables.

After the old woman finished speaking, she ignored Xiao Ran, turned around, and stuck her long cane into the ground.

Then several burly men came over carrying five cages.

Xiao Ran looked closely and saw that the five cages contained a weasel, a hedgehog, a python, a rat, and a fox.

And each one is very large.

When people took them out of the cage, these little creatures actually begged the old woman for mercy, mimicking human gestures.

The one that most resembled the fox in the middle school was undoubtedly the fox. Kneeling on the ground with its two little paws clasped together, bowing repeatedly towards Xiao Ran, it was clearly begging for mercy.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Ran immediately understood that these five little creatures were all spirit beasts that had already attained cultivation.

But then Xiao Ran thought about it again and realized that these were the Five Immortals of Northeast China.
So I'm in Northeast China?
Could this mountain be the Changbai Mountain that Gu Xuan mentioned?

While Xiao Ran was pondering, a scream suddenly rang out. When Xiao Ran turned around, she saw that the old woman was holding a sharp knife and had already chopped off the fox's head with one stroke.

Next will be weasels and pythons.

The large rat beside it trembled and suddenly turned to run into the bushes, but the old woman raised her hand and the void in front of her seemed to be sealed by some kind of force. The rat's body froze in place the next second.

The old woman silently walked up to the rat and slashed its head with a knife.

"puff……"

Blood splattered on the ground, and the old woman turned to look at the last hedgehog.

The hedgehog seemed to have resigned itself to its fate, simply curling up in a ball, shivering, and offering no resistance.

Xiao Ran could clearly see that tears were even streaming from the corners of the hedgehog's eyes.

This scene made Xiao Ran frown. Although it was just an animal, it was still a spirit beast with sentience. Seeing its sorrowful expression, Xiao Ran couldn't help but ask, "Can you spare its life?"

After Xiao Ran finished speaking, he found it funny himself. He was already in dire straits, so how could he have the leisure to care about the life or death of an animal?

Besides, what can I possibly change?

However, to Xiao Ran's surprise, the moment he spoke, the old woman seemed to sense something and glanced suspiciously in Xiao Ran's direction.

This made Xiao Ran's heart skip a beat. Then, after a moment of hesitation, the old woman actually put the knife away.

It walked to the hedgehog's side, and suddenly, as if by lightning, its thick finger touched the hedgehog's forehead, and a drop of dark red blood flew out and dripped onto its fingertip.

The hedgehog immediately looked listless, as if it had just recovered from a serious illness, and lay motionless on the ground, but it had managed to save its life.

The old woman dripped the blood from her fingertip into a wooden basin that had been prepared beforehand. The basin already contained the blood of the other four animals; the amount was small, only about the size of a palm.

People threw the surrounding mud and ash into it, and after several women kneaded the clay around the wooden basin for a while, they actually sculpted five lifelike clay figures, which were exactly the appearances of the five beasts from before. These figures were then presented to Xiao Ran.

The old woman turned around, raised her long cane stuck in the ground, and shouted something, which caused the whole hilltop to erupt in cheers.

The drumbeats that had just stopped started again.

Judging from the way things were going, it seemed like the music and dancing would continue.

Then he saw the old woman raise her hands and put a bracelet on a young girl's wrist.

That bracelet...

It is a five-dragon bracelet.

After putting on the bracelet, the girl casually picked up the short knife from the old woman's hand and strode over to Xiao Ran.

"No! Are they going to chop me up?"

As the girl approached with the short knife, Xiao Ran had a bad feeling.

Just then, the girl suddenly swung her sword and slashed.

Xiao Ran immediately felt a lightness all over her body, as if some kind of shackles binding her had been cut off.

I felt light as a feather, as if I could take flight at any moment.

"What did this woman cut off?"

Freed from restraint, Xiao Ran tried to lower her head and saw that a mycelium as thick as a grape vine had been cut off beneath her feet.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Ran was taken aback: "Could it be... that I'm currently attached to the mycelium?"

Just as she was thinking this, the woman threw the torch in her hand over, and the flames instantly set Xiao Ran ablaze.

No! You're going to burn me?!

Before Xiao Ran could even figure out the purpose of this ritual, more and more torches were being thrown at her.

A fire suddenly erupted.

Xiao Ran didn't feel any discomfort; on the contrary, she felt that her consciousness seemed to become more solid in the flames.

But at the same time, the flames seemed to have burned away the body to which her spirit resided, making Xiao Ran feel a force pulling her away.

Just as his consciousness began to fade, Xiao Ran caught a glimpse of the flames out of the corner of her eye.

But when Xiao Ran tried to see more clearly, she was engulfed by the scorching flames.

His consciousness jolted, his mind tightened, and he abruptly opened his eyes, only to find that his consciousness was now attached to the body constructed from mycelium.

What surprised him even more was that his mental strength was growing at an unexpected and frenzied rate...

(End of this chapter)