Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 874 Spring chill shrouds the sky, golden light breaks through the dawn (Part 2)
When Ma Shuaijie, the leader of the amulet sellers, arrived with his group, he saw the bustling crowd around Qi Jinguang. It was like a red-hot iron branding his heart, and his eyes turned red.

The tiger tally business is one of the biggest profits in the entire mining area. Don't be fooled by the amazing profits from the five-colored stones; the real money is in the tallies!
Each person receives one amulet per day, which basically accounts for one-third of the miner's income.

Changchun will recoup at least three-quarters of the money he invested in purchasing the five-colored stones in the talisman project.
Yes, three-quarters. After all, a miner can't dig up a rainbow stone every day, but they have to buy at least one amulet every day.

The remaining quarter was earned back through reselling supplies.

Therefore, no matter how much money Changchun spends on buying colorful stones, it will eventually go back into his own pocket, resulting in a shockingly low final cost.

But now, someone actually dares to touch this piece of the pie? And for free at that?!

This isn't just stealing their business; it's uprooting them.

"Fuck your mother!" Ma Shuaijie squeezed out this vicious curse through gritted teeth, his voice distorted by extreme rage and fear.

"Let's go together! Kill him!" Ma Shuaijie didn't waste any words, nor did he have any leisure for the ways of the martial arts world.

In the mining area, especially when core interests are involved, the only power is fists and knives! He suddenly waved his hand, and the dozens of thugs behind him, who had been poised to attack, howled like hyenas smelling blood, each brandishing their weapons.

The cursed object's light exploded instantly on the cold snow!

Chains shrouded in filthy black mist howled toward Qi Jinguang, carrying a pungent, fishy wind.

Bone claws, shimmering with eerie green phosphorescence, appeared out of thin air, tearing through the air as they lunged straight for Qi Jinguang's throat.

In an instant, the light of the runes, the evil energy, and the metallic sound of tearing through the air intertwined, completely engulfing Qi Jinguang, who was still writing, and his simple table! The violent energy shockwave instantly blasted away and evaporated the surrounding snow, revealing the dark frozen soil. Even the air seemed to be ignited, emitting a hissing and burning sound.

Xiao Ran, Jin Chanzi, and Wu Man watched all this calmly from a distance.

Xiao Ran remained calm, Jin Chanzi's chubby face held a hint of amusement, while Wu Man, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, seemed to be watching a drama that had nothing to do with him.

Xiao Ran's mental power acted like an invisible barrier, quietly protecting the panicked miners and the surrounding buildings, but he had no intention of interfering in the slightest.

However, Qi Jinguang, who was at the center of the storm, showed no sign of panic.

In the instant that the dense attacks were about to hit him, the cinnabar brush in his hand did not stop. Instead, he drew the last stroke on the last unfolded yellow talisman at an even faster speed!
"Buzz!"

A clear, melodious buzzing sound emanated from the talisman that Qi Jinguang had just finished!
The talisman instantly burst forth with golden light that was ten times more dazzling and condensed than any of the previous ones!

The golden light spread instantly, not forming a thick protective shield, but transforming into countless fine, rain-like, and condensed golden runes, like a constantly rotating and expanding golden vortex, surrounding Qi Jinguang.

"Clang! Sizzle! Puff puff puff!"

The specially made cursed bullets and cursed objects, after emitting a crisp, metallic clang around Qi Jinguang, were deflected away.

The privileges of other cursed objects faded rapidly upon contact with the surrounding golden light, like ice and snow melting away.

"what?!"

Ma Shuaijie and the thugs at the forefront narrowed their eyes in shock. Their combined attack, with so many people and so many powerful cursed objects, had been easily neutralized by a single talisman and a circle of runes? Just who was this kid?!

Qi Jinguang slowly raised his head, his gaze calm, and chanted: "The profound origin of heaven and earth, the root of all energies. Through countless eons of cultivation, I have attained divine power. Within and beyond the Three Realms, only the Dao is supreme. My body is enveloped in golden light..."

Qi Jinguang was reciting the Golden Light Mantra. His voice was not loud, but every word was clear. While reciting the Golden Light Mantra, he was also teaching the miners around him how to recite it.

This is one of the eight great divine incantations of Taoism.

Even ordinary people who recite it can have the miraculous effect of protecting their true nature, realizing their true nature, and clearing away impurities.

Qi Jinguang's actions served as a demonstration for the miners, showing them how to use the talismans in their hands.

Under the golden light, Qi Jinguang raised his hand, and the ancient sword in his hand was drawn with a clang!
The longsword instantly transformed into several solid cyan sword energies, which rushed towards Ma Shuaijie and the others.

Screams erupted! The thugs at the front dropped their weapons, staggered backward, and blood gushed from their mouths and noses.

Qi Jinguang's swordsmanship is like an endless river, seemingly peaceful, yet containing an ever-growing power.

Each parry and each flick brought forth a sharp sword aura; with just a single sweep of the sword, several people were slain.

This scene deeply shocked the miners who were watching from a distance.

Ma Shuaijie and his group are all quite capable, including many D-level and even 2D-level beginners. Ma Shuaijie himself is a 3D-level beginner.

However, they were no match for Qi Jinguang. Anyone who wasn't a fool could see that Qi Jinguang, despite his young age, was a true top expert.

Even so, Ma Shuaijie hesitated for only a moment before raising the cursed object in his hand and rushing towards Qi Jinguang.

Ma Shuaijie's eyes flashed with a fierce light. Facing Qi Jinguang, who seemed to be in his own territory, he simply flipped his wrist, and an old-fashioned steelyard balance with a dark bronze luster appeared out of thin air in his hand. At both ends of the balance, the phantom images of ancient bronze plates, symbolizing "unyielding balance," slowly condensed, and a cold, greedy, and sinister aura that could manipulate the heart suddenly spread out.

Grade B cursed item: [Heartless Scales - Pawn]!
"You little bastard! Kneel down!" Ma Shuaijie's face was contorted as he roared and pointed the scale beam at Qi Jinguang, then slammed it down!
Privilege 1: Unparalleled weight on the scales!
Launch a special attack on the target, putting the opponent in your own balance. You can suppress the opponent by continuously adding weights until they are completely crushed.

An invisible yet heavy, eerie force descended instantly!

Qi Jinguang felt the surrounding air suddenly freeze, as if the weight of the entire mining area, along with the sinister malice of the bottomless abyss of curses, had turned into countless cold shackles, ruthlessly binding his limbs, bones, and soul!
The golden light that had been flowing smoothly and endlessly around him suddenly became sluggish and its speed dropped drastically, as if it had been thrown into a sticky swamp!

It seemed as if he had been forcibly placed onto an invisible, enormous scale! The other end of the scale was firmly held by Ma Shuaijie, who placed an extra weight on the scale in his hand.

"Crush him! Crush him to death!"

As Ma Shuaijie moved, streams of gray air, carrying the stench of blood and money, surged from the void and continuously pressed down on the scales.

Privilege 2: Shortchanging customers

The weight you apply can secretly double the leverage, making it appear several times more significant.

As the second privilege was activated, the void around Qi Jinguang began to distort.

However, Qi Jinguang merely glanced at him sideways, his expression calm and composed, while the golden light emanating from his body grew increasingly intense.

Upon seeing this, Ma Shuaijie's expression changed slightly, and he immediately took out ten more weights and placed them on top.

This weight is equivalent to 10,000 ghost money. Of course, this money doesn't belong to him; it's ghost money he earned from selling amulets.

Although he is merely the custodian, he can temporarily borrow the money. With his professional pawnbroking skills, even a professional would find it difficult to gain an advantage.

That's why he was given this special cursed object, which is also the reason why Ma Shuaijie dared to take action against Qi Jinguang.

With the added benefit of the privilege of being shortchanged, the price of these dozen or so weights has reached at least nearly 400,000 ghost money.

But Qi Jinguang remained unchanged.

Suddenly, an indescribable, bone-chilling cold swept over him, making Ma Shuaijie's heart tighten and giving him a feeling that disaster was about to strike.

"Impossible. Even if he were a professional, he should have been suppressed by now."

Little did Ma Shuaijie know that his actions drew a mocking smile from Jin Chanzi in the distance.

Just kidding, Qi Jinguang carries the fortune of the entire Longhu Mountain for a thousand years.

Someone actually dared to try to measure Qi Jinguang with a scale. Let alone those few small weights, even if you put an elephant on it, you wouldn't be able to shake Qi Jinguang.

As soon as Qi Jinguang clenched his fingers, the golden light around him, which had been somewhat sluggish due to the strange power of the Heartless Scale, immediately began to boil and expand violently.

At the same time, he joined his left index and middle fingers together like a sword, writing swiftly in the air with golden light as ink, creating a dragon-and-phoenix dance in the void in front of him!
The Dao manifests its power!

This is precisely the core professional skill of the Lead-Filling Taoist!
It can freely change the form of Taoist magic, and even, to some extent, alter its nature.

In an instant, a massive talisman, outlined in pure golden light and intricately complex, rapidly took shape in the void!
At the core of the talisman, countless tiny golden electric snakes formed an ancient seal script character for "thunder".
"Boom!!!"

The enormous golden lightning talisman hovering in the air, the moment it took shape, was like a heavenly punishment pestle with its fuse lit!

A blindingly thick, pure, and intensely white bolt of lightning, carrying the domineering power to annihilate all evil spirits, suddenly erupted from the center of the talisman!

Fast! Faster than thought!

The blazing white lightning appeared without warning, yet destruction descended so directly!

Ma Shuaijie didn't even have time to fully express his shock; his pupils only had time to reflect the ghastly white that devoured everything!

boom! !

The lightning exploded, and Ma Shuaijie was sent flying, his whole body billowing black smoke, his flesh turning into charcoal, and even the [Heartless Scales] in his hand turned to ashes in the lightning.

Most critically, with the destruction of the Heartless Scale, Ma Shuaijie suffered a backlash.

The privilege he previously exercised by shortchanging customers is now going to be returned to him in kind.

The nearly 300,000 yuan worth of ghost money he had stored in his spatial storage evaporated in an instant, and this amount was far from enough.

The next second, Ma Shuaijie's body also twisted in an instant, his muscles bursting and contorting, and he was twisted into a palm-sized "money" that fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)