Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 824 Exposed
This feeling……

Xiao Ran couldn't describe how exaggeratedly her mental power had increased at this moment.

With just a thought, one can see the entire situation inside the tomb.

Even the little things that her grandfather and the others were doing were under Xiao Ran's watchful eye.

Unlike before, under Xiao Ran's gaze, many details about each person were revealed that Xiao Ran had never noticed before.

Xiao Ran could see that beneath the faint haze surrounding her grandfather's body lay a core about the size of a thumb.

That must be Grandpa's Soul Pill.

Xiao Ran examined it closely and saw that the Soul Pill was mottled and dull, and she could even see a dark red, fishy smell inside.

This shows that his grandfather's cultivation level was still too low, and his soul core was disordered, so he probably wouldn't achieve much in the end.

Xiao Ran was not surprised by this, after all, her grandfather was originally from the Yin path, and used his corpse energy to cultivate the ghost path, so he was not a true cultivator.

All he did was try to find Lao Qi; he didn't have high expectations for himself.

But this also sowed the seeds of future problems for the old man.

If this problem cannot be solved in the future, it will inevitably lead to major issues.

Then Xiao Ran looked at the others.

There's no problem with the golden toad. This guy got that lotus seed and was reborn. When Xiao Ran looked at it, he only saw that the guy's body was pure and flawless, as clear as glass.

Looking at Lu Cheng again, the result was as expected. Lu Cheng stood there, with auspicious clouds surrounding him, as if there was a door hidden inside.

Wu Man was a bit strange. Xiao Ran actually saw a scarlet aura on him, and there were even shadows of vengeful ghosts and evil spirits in the aura.

This is no one else's fault but Wu Man's own doing, which brought her evil aura. If this thing fell on an ordinary person, it would certainly not end well.

But for Wu Man, it wasn't a problem at all, but it wasn't entirely without impact either. Being haunted by evil spirits greatly affected her luck.

The reason why Wu Man has not been able to break through for so long is largely because this evil spirit has obscured his own destiny.

So this guy's luck isn't bad overall, but it always fluctuates.

Then Xiao Ran looked at the others. Her gaze towards Master Zhao, Master Li, Lingxi, and the others was like a CT scan in a hospital, dissecting all their problems, inside and out.

This feeling……

For the first time, Xiao Ran felt as if he had seen the source of everything.

"Did the Plum Blossom Taoist and the others see the world from this perspective before?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran's lips twitched uncontrollably a few times.

This feeling of shyness is like when you're on your way home from school and everyone is giving you strange looks, and a few girls are paying extra attention to you, making you feel more confident and cool. But when you get home, you realize that your zipper is open, and what's even more embarrassing is that you're not wearing underwear.

However, Xiao Ran did not indulge in the pleasure of looking down on all living beings.

At this moment, Xiao Ran noticed the crystal coffin beside him. Looking at the figure inside the coffin, Xiao Ran's heart stirred. As his thoughts swept over it, he saw that the crystal coffin was slowly dissolving.

It turns out that this crystal coffin is actually the product of another kind of specially made mycelium intertwined together. At this moment, Xiao Ran had a thought, and these mycelium immediately began to shrink, but the process seemed a bit slow.

He scanned the area but couldn't find Gu Xuan.

Strange, where is Gu Xuan?
Just as Xiao Ran was wondering, she suddenly felt a strange sensation in her body.

"Congratulations, young man."

This is Gu Xuan's voice.

Xiao Ran followed the sound and found that Gu Xuan's consciousness was attached to this body, but it only occupied a very small part of it.

Compared to before, Gu Xuan has now weakened to the point where he is even weaker than the four tomb masters.

"Your spiritual power has been transferred to me?"

"Haha, you know perfectly well what I'm asking." Gu Xuan replied with a smile, "As a sacrifice, everything I own—this tomb kingdom, and even all the fungal people within it—belongs to you, including myself."

"Is it?"

Xiao Ran expanded her mental energy and began searching the surroundings, but she did not seem to find any other traces of Gu Xuan.

“Young man, don’t be so suspicious. I’ve lived a long life, and I’ve lived enough. According to the high priest, I have gained everything, and I am also destined to lose everything. This is my fate, and I accept it.”

Gu Xuan's voice was flat, as if he were talking about something trivial.

However, his mental strength was getting weaker and weaker, and it seemed that he might be completely devoured by Xiao Ran at any time.

"Congratulations again on inheriting this perfect body and powerful spiritual energy, which is enough to make you a god in this world."

When Gu Xuan said this, Xiao Ran could clearly feel his excitement.

"Sigh, this is the first time I've felt so relaxed in all my years of life."

Gu Xuan sighed, his consciousness growing weaker and weaker: "Everything in the Tomb Kingdom is yours, but there seems to be nothing here worth staying for. Cut off the tail behind you, and you can leave this place."

After saying this, Gu Xuan's spirit gradually dissipated and disappeared completely, as if he had never existed in this world.

"Has this guy really disappeared?" The person who spoke was not Xiao Ran, but Yang Fengchui.

His consciousness was still trapped inside Xiao Ran's body, which was inside the fungal ball that Xiao Ran had previously inhabited.

"Seventh Grandpa, are you alright?"

"It's alright, child. You absorbed Gu Xuan just like that? Does that mean you're even more powerful than Gu Xuan now?" Yang Fengchui asked curiously.

"may be."

"Hahaha, then you'd be a god! Oh my, I can't even imagine what your grandpa's expression would be if he saw you. Let's go."

But after Yang Fengchui finished speaking, he noticed that Xiao Ran didn't seem to show any emotional fluctuation, so he asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Xiao Ran remained silent for a few seconds, frowned, and turned around to see an unusually thick mycelium connected to the back of her body.

This must be the tail that Gu Xuan mentioned earlier.

He suddenly spoke up: "I think I understand."

Yang Fengchui: "What do you understand??"

Xiao Ran did not respond, but simply opened his palm and stared at the hand in front of him for a while.

suddenly!

Xiao Ran focused her mental energy, and an invisible force enveloped her palm, instantly crushing it into pieces.

"No! Child, what are you doing?"

Seeing Xiao Ran's actions, Yang Fengchui was startled. He stared in shock at Xiao Ran's severed hand, not understanding why Xiao Ran would suddenly start self-harming.

Xiao Ran didn't respond to him, but just looked at the severed hand: "So, the so-called perfect physical body is really just like this, right?"

"you!!"

This seemingly random sentence left Yang Fengchui momentarily stunned.

Xiao Ran continued, "When we first arrived in the Tomb Kingdom, I thought Gu Xuan resembled someone, but now I understand that comparing Gu Xuan to him is an insult."

The person Xiao Ran was referring to was none other than Plum Blossom Taoist.

The reason for saying this is that Xiao Ran has probably figured out the purpose of this physical body.

In fact, the strength of this physical body is very low, and it is not much stronger than that of a professional.

To put it bluntly, it's just a mental storage device. By utilizing the properties of mycelium, one can distribute their mental energy across each mycelium, thus avoiding the problem of their physical body being unable to bear the excessive mental energy.

"So... rather than dedicating themselves to me, it's more accurate to say that they dispersed all their spiritual power into this body, into every hyphae and every spore. It seems like they are blessing me, but in reality, it's just an illusion."

Xiao Ran was not overwhelmed by this enormous power, a result that Gu Xuan probably never dreamed of.

After all, anyone would be excited, or even go crazy, if they suddenly gained such godlike power.

But Xiao Ran is different. He is certainly not a saint, and he also pursues power.

However, what Xiao Ran was pursuing was not what Gu Xuan possessed.

It's not an exaggeration to say that if Xiao Ran were willing, he could simply give up his physical body and, with his soul cultivation technique, possess abilities comparable to those of the Plum Blossom Taoist, though not divine.

It is precisely because of this that Xiao Ran is able to calmly view her own changes and carefully analyze the reasons behind them.

"Seventh Grandfather, no, it should be Daoist Gu Xuan..."

What you really want is the permission to leave this place.

As Xiao Ran finished speaking, Yang Fengchui's spirit trembled slightly. Although he wanted to deny it, the horror emanating from his spirit was impossible to hide.

"You won't admit it, huh!"

Before Yang Fengchui could speak, Xiao Ran immediately placed her other hand in front of her, preparing to destroy the other hand.

However, when Xiao Ran tried to move again this time, she found that she couldn't move at all.

At this point, Yang Fengchui's voice gradually turned cold: "When did you find out?"

"Are you impersonating Master Yang, or are you trying to fool me, a deity?"

Xiao Ran countered with a question.

In fact, Xiao Ran had never doubted this seventh grandfather at first, but when the seventh grandfather asked how Li Jingqi died, Xiao Ran began to have doubts. (From: Chapter 817)
Because I never told my seventh grandfather about this.

Afterwards, Xiao Ran confirmed this with her grandfather, which further confirmed her suspicions. (Source: Same as above.)
As for the latter matter, it's not that Gu Xuan's plan was flawed; rather, it was predetermined from the very beginning.

Because once Xiao Ran activated the oracle bone script on the tortoise shell, he understood the entire sacrificial process from it.

The final step of this ritual is to sever the fungus, but only those wearing the Five Dragon Bracelet are qualified to do so.

This is why Gu Xuan went through all that trouble to come up with this whole system.

So from the very beginning, that great shaman never truly believed in Gu Xuan. Leaving this tortoise shell was actually a way of exposing Gu Xuan's true nature.

Upon hearing Xiao Ran's explanation, Gu Xuan's mind suddenly became agitated: "Damn old hag, I should have torn her to pieces back then!"

After speaking, Gu Xuan's mental power began to surge rapidly, and at the same time, his consciousness revived in every mycelium, transforming back into that enormous creature.

"So what if you know, child? You're too naive. Since you're not cooperating, do you think you can leave? Or do you think you can survive?"

Gu Xuan questioned Yang Fengchui in the tone of an elder.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ran remained calm upon hearing this, and instead asked in return, "So, what makes you so sure that I'm the one you left behind?"

As Xiao Ran's voice faded, a bad premonition suddenly welled up in Gu Xuan's heart.

(End of this chapter)