Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 859 Eastward Journey to Northeast China

The cold notification sound seemed to carry a lingering warmth in the empty morgue. The words "advancement" echoed in Xiao Ran's mind, instantly dispelling all fatigue and leaving only an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

"Om-!"

The [Suppressing Calamity Token - Transporter] hanging at his waist suddenly trembled, and a deep, dark light surged out from the depths of the token as if it were alive, instantly enveloping Xiao Ran's entire body, yet strangely not dissipating outwards in the slightest.

Xiao Ran clearly felt that the mysterious runes on the surface of the token, which were originally slightly blurry, were now as if they had been re-carved and lit up, flowing with a deep dark gold color, outlining a more complex and majestic pattern—the outline of a solemn palace could be vaguely seen, and countless shadowy figures seemed to be standing solemnly in front of the palace.

The detailed information about the Suppressing Calamity Decree then appeared before Xiao Ran.

Grade B Cursed Item: [Evil Suppression Order - Transporter]

With special permission from the underworld, one can travel freely in the netherworld.

Energy value: 30/100

Privilege 1: Yin Shuai

After activation, you will gain a portion of the Yin Marshal's authority and receive the protection of the Yin Marshal's Dharma form.

Note: Using this privilege requires consuming energy! The strength of a Dharma Image is judged by one's own mental strength; the stronger the mental strength, the stronger the Dharma Image.

Privilege 2: Soul Book

You can use the Soul Book on a corpse to browse its memories, skills, profession, and destiny.

It can collect the souls of the dead and transform them into ghost soldiers under its command.

Privilege 3: Underworld

Those who possess the [Suppressing Calamity Token] can obtain the Underworld and raise Underworld soldiers.

There is no limit to the number of ghost soldiers, but they consume a fixed amount of energy every day.

Privilege 4: Corpse Soul Modification.

The acquired memory books and skill manuals were re-implanted into a corpse. (Note: Although this is at the end of the advancement prompt, the content is the same as before, indicating that the original privileges have been retained.)
“Yin Shuai…Yin Fu…” Xiao Ran’s eyes flashed with a sharp light.

The improvement brought by this upgrade of the [Suppressing Calamity Order] far exceeded expectations.

The Yin General's Dharma Form is a level above his original Ghost General form. Most importantly, he can also recruit evil ghosts and form a Yin army.

Xiao Ran had experienced firsthand the power of the Yin soldiers. In the City of All Beings, they were attacked by Yin soldiers. If Xiao Ran hadn't gone to the Underworld and obtained the "Longing for My Lover's Return" from Meng Po's mount, the Demon Calamity, they probably would have had to find a way to escape.

However, although these ghost soldiers were good, Xiao Ran didn't care too much about them, since these ghost soldiers needed to eat military rations.

Although it is unknown how much energy each ghost soldier consumes each day, it is clear that ten or a hundred ghost soldiers are not enough to form a fighting force; at least a thousand ghost soldiers are needed.

Xiao Ran couldn't afford to support thousands of good-for-nothings.

However, the maximum energy value of the Suppressing Calamity Token has increased from 30 to a terrifying 100 million. There may be a chance for things to change in the future, but Xiao Ran is definitely not willing to do this now.

The Six Eyes and others under his command were much stronger than the ghost soldiers, and they didn't even need to eat.

"Crack..."

The heavy alloy door made a soft clicking sound as it unlocked, slowly sliding open a crack.

Old Xiao stood at the door. He first cautiously scanned the inside of the warehouse. When he saw that the heavy death aura and corpse demons that had been permeating the area had almost completely dissipated, leaving only a solemn silence and the neatly arranged, peaceful-faced corpses on the ground, his tightly clenched lips twitched slightly involuntarily, and a look of disbelief and profound comfort flashed in his eyes.

"Is everything... alright?" Old Xiao's voice was slightly hoarse as he tried to control his emotions.

Xiao Ran nodded, his weariness replaced by a restrained sharpness: "I have fulfilled my mission. May the three heroes and the brothers outside rest in peace."

"Good...good!" Old Xiao nodded heavily, saying "good" twice in a row. He strode in, his gaze sweeping over the restored and serene faces of Sun Zuan, Li Na, and Zhuo Jun.

This tough man's eyes eventually reddened slightly. He took a deep breath, straightened his back, and gave a perfectly standard military salute with immense force to the three corpses!
After the ceremony, he turned to Xiao Ran, his eyes filled with complex emotions—gratitude, reverence, and solemnity: "Comrade Xiao, we are deeply grateful! This kindness, along with all the brothers lying here, will remember! We've prepared some food outside; would you like to have a bite? You look like you've had a lot to eat."

Xiao Ran did feel his mental energy was excessively depleted and his stomach was empty, so he did not refuse. He put away his tools, put Six Eyes and Three Grains back into the Yin Soldier Gourd, and followed Old Owl out of the warehouse.

Back on the ground, it was already dawn.

The biting wind swept through the military camp, but it couldn't dispel the warmth in the old hawk's eyes.

The canteen was steaming hot, with several large plates of hearty meat buns, millet porridge, and a few side dishes laid out, clearly prepared on special occasion.

Xiao Ran didn't stand on ceremony and sat down to eat heartily. Lao Xiao sat opposite him, silently watching him eat. Although the food on the table wasn't lavish, Xiao Ran ate with great relish.

"What are your plans next?" Old Xiao asked after Xiao Ran had finished eating.

"Keep heading east," Xiao Ran said succinctly, "to Changbai Mountain." Upon hearing that Xiao Ran's destination was actually Changbai Mountain, Lao Xiao's expression changed slightly: "Brother, is it absolutely necessary to go?"

Xiao Ran sensed the hidden meaning in Lao Xiao's words and looked up at him: "Squad Leader Xiao, are you familiar with that place?"

After all, this place is right next to the Northeast, so Lao Xiao and his men must know something.

Hearing Xiao Ran's question, Lao Xiao nodded, took out a lighter and cigarettes, and handed one to Xiao Ran. Xiao Ran took it, lit it, but only held the cigarette in her hand without smoking it.

Old Xiao lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a mixture of smoke and hot breath before speaking:

"The situation over there is very chaotic right now. A large number of evil spirits are converging there, as if something is attracting them. In addition to those evil spirits, there are also traces of some unidentified people."

"Unidentified persons?" Xiao Ran looked at Lao Xiao and said, "Are they those foreign saboteurs?"

"No!" Old Xiao waved his hand, flicked his cigarette ash, and said with a solemn expression, "I know those foreign elements you mentioned, but it's not them." As he spoke, Old Xiao took out a cell phone from his spatial storage, tapped a few times on the phone, and then played a video. He handed the video to Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran took the phone, and the screen lit up in the dim cafeteria lights. The image was a green light in night vision mode, somewhat shaky, clearly taken by a fixed camera or drone.

The location appears to be a wooded valley covered with thick snow.

A few withered trees swayed in the cold wind, the snow reflecting a faint night vision light.

Suddenly, a figure appeared at the edge of the screen. The person was wearing a dark gray Taoist robe, which blended almost into the environment.

But it's not hard to tell from the video that he is an old Taoist priest.

The old Taoist priest acted in an extremely strange manner.

Instead of trudging through the snow, it felt like gliding across the snow, with incredibly light and nimble steps, as if weightless.

The old man's face was blurred in the night vision lens, as if covered by a layer of constantly twisting and flowing water vapor, making his features indistinguishable, only a writhing shadow.

He seemed to be moving rapidly around a central point, his figure flickering and appearing and disappearing intermittently.

One of them suddenly stopped and turned towards the camera.

Even through the screen, Xiao Ran could feel a lifeless, icy gaze piercing through the lens, as if staring at her through the image.

Immediately afterwards, the image began to show intense snow noise, becoming extremely unstable and distorted. The blurry figures seemed to merge into the air and disappear completely, leaving only an empty, trampled snowfield.

The video ends.

Xiao Ran narrowed his eyes. He could also see something from the video, but the old man's behavior was very strange.

He pointed at his phone screen: "What time is this? What location is this?"

"Half a month ago."

Old Owl's voice deepened. "The location is in the direction of the outpost, in a secluded valley near a tributary of the White River. This is the last drone reconnaissance footage transmitted by one of our outer patrol teams before they went missing. The drone was later found crashed nearby, severely damaged, but the memory card preserved this footage."

The patrol team…including the drone operator, a total of five people, vanished without a trace. Only their scattered equipment was found at the scene, in perfect condition, as if… they had been wiped out in an instant.

Old Xiao paused, took a deep drag on his cigarette, and through the swirling smoke, a shadow fell over his resolute face: "Brother Xiao, I know your strength is extraordinary, but..."

Old Xiao actually wanted to advise Xiao Ran, but when he thought about it, all his words boiled down to four words: "Be careful in everything!"

After saying that, Old Xiao's gaze passed over the canteen window, as if piercing through the walls of the military camp and the distant distance, and landed on the majestic mountain range shrouded in mist and snow, as he silently smoked his cigarette.

"Thanks!"

Xiao Ran stood up and saluted Old Xiao: "If you return, I will visit again. Thank you for your hospitality. Farewell."

"Alright, when you come back, I'll treat you to a good meal and drinks. We'll drink until we drop." Old Xiao stood up and said to Xiao Ran.

After saying goodbye to Lao Xiao, Xiao Ran got up and walked out of the camp. Jin Chanzi and Wu Man were already waiting outside the camp.

When she saw Xiao Ran come out, Wu Man stubbed out her cigarette: "Why are you so slow?"

"I ate something to replenish my strength," Xiao Ran said, walking to Jin Chanzi's side. "Daoist Master, let's get going. How we proceed from here is up to you."

With a smile on his face, Jin Chanzi flicked his whisk, pointed to the main road to the east, and sang: "Look ahead, it's dark and gloomy, surely that's the thieves' lair. I can't help but rush forward and kill them..."

Xiao Ran and Wu Man exchanged a smile, and the three of them said in unison, "Clean and tidy!"

"Ow!!"

With a tiger's roar, the three figures gradually disappeared into the distance, vanishing completely at the end of the road in moments.

(End of this chapter)