Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 902 Fishing in the Thunder Sea
Tiger King was originally a master of external martial arts, with a physical body even stronger than Lu Da's. However, after this incident, his blood and energy were severely depleted, and he urgently needed to consume Dragon Soup, a nourishing delicacy.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been willing to give away what he had worked so hard to get to Xiao Ran.

"I see."

Xiao Ran nodded and gently pushed the food box in her hand to Tiger Barbarian King.

"One more question, where are those people headed now?"

Upon hearing this, Tiger Barbarian King immediately became alert: "You have connections with them?"

"A close, almost deadly, relationship."

Hearing Xiao Ran say this, Tiger Barbarian King was immediately relieved: "All I know is that they seem to be planning to go up to the Great Silent Mountain Range."

"Thank you very much." After learning about the group, Xiao Ran thanked Tiger Barbarian King.

Tiger King took the food box and hurriedly fled, fearing that Xiao Ran and the others would regret it and kill him.

"Just let him go like that?"

Lu Da watched Tiger King's departing figure with some resentment, wanting to rush over and give that old scoundrel a good beating.

"Let him go. It's not even certain whether he can get through this. Why bother arguing with a poor guy?"

Xiao Ran could see very clearly that this Tiger Barbarian King was all bark and no bite, his life force depleted, and he only had half a life left, or even that half life was just a sliver.

What seemed like a big commotion just now was actually just a bluff.

Now that he's taking the dragon soup with him, who knows how many little devils he'll lure away to take advantage of the chaos.

What did he just give you?

Wu Man walked over and asked.

Xiao Ran took out the box and opened it.

There are two items inside: a compass and a star chart.

This brings us to Jin Chanzi's expertise. He took a closer look and couldn't help but smile with delight: "No wonder this guy was so confident in exchanging with us; it turns out he has this kind of knowledge."

Jin Chanzi picked up the compass and walked to the golden plate on the treasure ship.

He then aimed the compass at an inconspicuous indentation in the gold disc and pressed it down.

The compass was perfectly integrated with the gold plate.

"This compass and the gold plate are a set. By rotating the star chart on the gold plate according to the coordinates on this star chart, we can adjust the course of the treasure ship."

In addition, the other side of that star map is a map of the entire Changbai Mountain snowfield, on which all restricted areas and flight routes have been marked.

So this thing is indeed a treasure.

It is also indispensable to them.

Xiao Ran took the star map, scanned it carefully, and found the Great Silent Mountain Range mentioned by Tiger Barbarian King.

Pulling out the ginseng spirit, Xiao Ran pointed to the map and asked, "Is there anything special about this place?"

Daji Mountain Range?
The ginseng spirit paused for a moment, then said without thinking, "This place is not to be visited, not to be visited."

"That place is said to lead to another extreme of the underworld, a place that even ghosts and gods cannot approach. Once you go in, you can forget about coming out. It is truly a place you must not go."

"You're talking nonsense. If it were that dangerous, how could people from the Changchun Association go there?"

Wu Man walked over and said fiercely, "I think you're just not honest. I'll break off a few ginseng roots from you later and see if you'll behave."

Upon hearing that Wu Man wanted to break off its ginseng rootlets, the ginseng spirit panicked and hurriedly explained;
"I don't know anything about the Changchun Society or the Changdong Society, but if these people are really heading towards the Daji Mountain Range, they must have some kind of divine incense. It is said that only by being guided by divine incense can one enter the Daji Mountain Range, but I really don't know what divine incense is."

Divine incense?

Wu Man looked at Jin Chanzi and Lu Da.

The two of them looked completely bewildered, not knowing what the divine incense was.

"I think I know what it is."

Everyone turned to look at Xiao Ran, who opened his palm and a box appeared in his hand. After he opened the box, three long white incense sticks lay quietly inside.

These incense sticks are as thick as a thumb, and each one is a meter long.

This is precisely the B-grade curse item that Mo Ju gave herself, [Hundred Bone Fragrance].

The B-grade cursed item, [Hundred Bone Fragrance], is a consumable that does not require activation.

Privilege 1: Reverence for God.

Lighting this incense can summon divine power to bless oneself.

With the blessing of incense, the power of the gods is greatly enhanced.

Privilege 2: Xiangyou

Once the incense is lit, the smoke curls around, and one can collect the smoke clouds to enter certain special areas.

This is something that can only be made in Hongcun Village.

Although it is only a B-grade cursed item, it has the privilege of entering some special areas.

Xiao Ran didn't understand what this so-called special area was before, but now she does.

The reason why Yinshan Daoist and his group helped Moju was only for these three sticks of incense. Their ultimate goal was the Great Silent Mountain Range.

"Now that I have divine incense in my hand, tell me, what exactly is inside this Great Silent Mountain Range?"

The ginseng spirit trembled, and faced with Xiao Ran's further questioning, he only dared to say, "I don't know either. I just heard from the elders of the clan that there is a Tree of Destiny inside. As long as you find this tree, you can even defy fate."

Xiao Ran put away the three Hundred Bone Incense sticks in her hand and asked Lu Da, "Great Monk, we are going to the Great Silence Mountain Range. Do you want to come with us? If not, you can still get off the boat now."

Lu Da pursed his lips: "If I get off the ship now, I'll lose everything, not even my underwear. Anyway, I've never been to any of the Great Desolate Mountains, so I'll accompany you on the trip."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Xiao Ran handed the star map to Jin Chanzi. No matter what Changchun was up to, or what the connection was between Yinshan Daoren and the others, he was determined to make a name for himself in this situation.

"This road is difficult to travel, but the place itself is a good place."

As the golden toad turned the compass, countless tiny starlight streamed inside the golden disc, reflecting off the compass needle.

Referring to the coordinates and flight paths on the star chart, ten fingers moved and adjusted rapidly like butterflies flitting among flowers on the concentric rings that could rotate around the edge of the golden disc.

As he moved, the golden disc emitted a deep hum, and layers of star rings combined and rotated in a specific sequence.

The crystal-clear hull of the treasure ship also trembled slightly.

The starlight and molten gold flowing inside the ship became even more dazzling, as if responding to the golden disc's command. The bow of the ship quietly turned, adjusting towards the channel leading to the Great Silent Mountains.

Just as Jin Chanzi was fully focused on manipulating the star chart and the treasure ship was slowly turning, Xiao Ran was not idle either.

He first activated the [Suppressing Calamity Order], summoned the Soul Book, and began to peruse Baili Xingdou's memories.

However, after flipping through the pages, Xiao Ran felt somewhat lost.

He thought that Baili Xingdou was the son of some important person, and that he could learn some secrets that ordinary people did not know from him.

As a result, Baili Xingdou's memories were completely disorganized.

After patiently sorting things out, Xiao Ran roughly figured it out, through a combination of guesswork and deduction.

To prove his conjecture, Xiao Ran walked to a relatively open area on the bow deck and waved his hand to release the sword cultivator's corpse that he had just packed into the gourd.

Dozens of corpses lay neatly arranged on the deck, their faces frozen in horror, one by one lying on the ground.

The headless body of Baili Xingdou was particularly striking.

A faint smell of blood and a chilling, deathly aura emanating from the Tomb of Ten Thousand Bones permeated the air.

Xiao Ran remained expressionless, her eyes devoid of any emotion, as if the person before her was not a pile of corpses, but a pile of materials awaiting processing.

He first pushed the corpses of the other sword cultivators aside for the time being, and his gaze fell on Baili Xingdou's corpse.

Xiao Ran extended her right hand, her five fingers spread wide, hovering above Baili Xingdou's severed neck.

Suddenly, a thread of fate, thinner than a hair, shot out from the fingertip and burrowed into the severed flesh like a living snake.

Sewing back together the head that Xiao Ran had personally severed was a piece of cake.

While stitching up the wound, Xiao Ran also secretly used the sutures to carefully examine the corpse.

"Sure enough."

Once the stitching was finished, Xiao Ran's face showed a look of sudden realization.

"What's wrong? Is there something amiss?"

Seeing Xiao Ran's melancholy expression, Jin Chanzi walked over and asked curiously.

"This Baili Shenfeng is very interesting."

Xiao Ran pointed to Baili Xingdou's corpse on the ground and said, "This guy was a puppet created by Baili Shenfeng."

Xiao Ran saw many people similar to Baili Xingdou in Baili Xingdou's memories.

They were all puppets created by their so-called father, Baili Shenfeng, using a wisp of his own thought.

Although it is a puppet, it has its own independent thoughts, although its personality is somewhat similar to that of Baili Shenfeng when he was young.

They were all made arbitrarily by Baili Shenfeng according to his own mood.

As for those sword cultivators, they were also products created by Baili Shenfeng.
"This Baili Shenfeng's ability seems to be the ability to create things out of thin air. It can not only create physical bodies, but also souls. It's amazing."

"Created from nothingness?"

Wu Man, standing to the side, seemed to have thought of something: "This seems to be the ability of the Dream Weaver."

Because of her fondness for it, Wu Man has done special research on this sequence, considering it an A-level profession within the Dream Sequence.

Dream weavers can transform everything in dreams into reality, achieving the ability to create things from nothing.

Reaching this point is practically equivalent to being invincible.

Theoretically, it wouldn't be surprising if one person could create a kingdom if they were willing.

"That makes sense, since this guy really did build a sect on the mountain."

"Hey, I think this guy is just bored."

Wu Man said casually.

“He’s not just sitting around doing nothing.” Lu Da walked over and looked at Wu Man: “Cook, your dragon soup is ready. Hurry up and bring me a bowl.”

Wu Man replied irritably, "Tell me what you know first. My dragon soup needs to simmer for a while longer before the flavor reaches its peak."

"This guy, Baili Shenfeng, guards the summit of Changbai Mountain all by himself. It is said that people have gone up the mountain to see what is inside Changbai Mountain, but he chased them all down. So everyone calls him the gatekeeper."

This guy seems to be only allowed to guard the mountain gate and can't come down. So you can think of these people as his spies. If you kill them, you kill them; Baili Shenfeng won't come down the mountain to cause you trouble. But if you go up the mountain, you might not be able to get past him.

"So, this killing was a mistake?" Wu Man said, looking at the corpse on the ground.

Lu Da waved his hand: "It's nothing. Anyone who's been around Changbai Mountain has killed at least ten or eight people. We were starving, so this is just food that was brought down the mountain."

As they spoke, the sky suddenly darkened, not with the approach of dusk, but with a heavy, icy, leaden gray that spread rapidly. In the blink of an eye, a deluge of snowflakes began to fall like a celestial river pouring down, obscuring the sky and the sun. The dense snowflakes no longer drifted gently, but carried a heavy force, striking the crystal-clear hull of the ship with a rustling sound, instantly enveloping the treasure ship in a chaotic, silvery-white world. The sound of the wind was blocked by the snow curtain, leaving only the fine, clamor of snowflakes colliding.

After establishing a new route to the Great Silent Mountains, the treasure ship, guided by the golden disc controlled by the Golden Toad, slowly adjusted its direction and began to glide steadily eastward. The ship carved a blurry trail through the swirling snow, only to have it quickly filled with fresh snow.
Despite the heavy wind and snow, it couldn't suppress the wonderful fragrance rising from the boat.

The dragon soup, simmering in the cauldron, became increasingly fragrant and mellow.

Wu Man also timed it perfectly, making sure the flavor had reached its peak before carefully opening the True Flavor Cauldron.

As the cauldron was opened, the broth inside exhibited a strange state: it was viscous like molten gold, yet crystal clear, with countless tiny, star-like golden rays floating within it.

Each piece of dragon meat is crystal clear, soaked in broth, and seems to float gently in the golden "galaxy" like a living creature.

"Hurry, hurry, I can't wait any longer."

Seeing this, Lu Da was so hungry he almost cried, and he wanted to dive right in with his bowl and chopsticks.

"Look at your pathetic self." Wu Man took out a soup ladle and poured a large bowl of dragon soup into it. The large bowl in Lu Da's hand seemed to be dyed gold.

Once he got his hands on it, Lu Da didn't care about anything else. He grabbed the big bowl and couldn't resist bringing it to his mouth, slurping it down with a loud slurp.

One bite of the dragon soup!
In an instant, it felt as if I had swallowed a mouthful of scalding lava, but the heat was not destructive; rather, it was the wildest outburst of the very essence of life.

Lu Da trembled violently, as if countless golden-red magma were flowing beneath his bronze skin, and his bulging muscles bulged uncontrollably, emitting a dull, drum-like "thump-thump" sound.

His eyes widened, his pupils tinged with a pale gold, and he suddenly let out a roar that shook the ship: "Ha! That was exhilarating! That was exhilarating!!"

A surge of powerful energy exploded within him, washing over every inch of his bones and muscles. His already formidable body seemed to be undergoing a complete tempering and reshaping, with his power rising steadily, almost bursting out of his body.

"Oh!!"

Lu Da let out a long howl, revealing his broad chest, feeling an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

But when he turned around, he saw Xiao Ran and the other two looking at him like he was a complete idiot, and he immediately felt a little embarrassed.

"No, why aren't you eating?"

Lu Da looked awkwardly at Xiao Ran and the other two.

But Xiao Ran simply held a small bowl and sipped it slowly: "We should just taste this highly nourishing medicine."

The attributes that this thing can enhance are actually limited.

Relatively speaking, its real advantage lies in its ability to quickly restore one's blood and energy in a short period of time; gulping it down in one go is actually less effective.

Only a roughneck like Lu Da could finish such a large bowl in one go. Who in their right mind would drink it all in one go?

Now Lu Da felt like Pigsy eating a ginseng fruit. He smacked his lips and muttered to himself, "If I had known, I would have used a smaller bowl too."

After passing through the snowstorm, many faint golden spots began to appear around the treasure ship.

At first, these light spots were no bigger than a thumb, but soon their number increased.

Upon closer inspection, these points of light turned out to be strands of lightning suspended in mid-air.

It is very similar to the legendary ball lightning, but it is very stable.

It seems that as long as they don't actively touch them, these things won't harm them.

However, as the number of these things increased, they gradually spread around the treasure ship.

If this were to explode, the entire treasure ship would likely be affected.

Jin Chanzi took out a star map, compared it with the map, and pointed to the mountains in front of him: "Thunder Cliff is ahead, another forbidden area."

“Thunder Cliff! I’m very familiar with this place.”

Lu Da stood up and walked to the bow of the boat: "I was being chased by my enemies and hid here for more than a month. This place is my mother's home."

After saying this, Lu Da waved his staff, and the lightning that had been roaming around him began to converge towards him.

"rise!!"

Lu Da flicked his staff, and the lightning floating around him suddenly flashed, forming dozens of bolts that struck Lu Da directly.

But Lu Da merely shook his body, without leaving a single scratch.

"This guy's physical body is truly freakish."

Seeing Lu Da standing at the bow of the ship like a lightning rod, absorbing all the surrounding lightning into his body, Wu Man and Jin Chanzi couldn't help but feel envious.

Such physical strength cannot be achieved simply by increasing attributes.

It was not due to innate talent, but rather to his own cultivation and a series of fortuitous opportunities that he was able to achieve this level.

Even if someone of the same element were to fight Lu Da, with his massive physique, Lu Da could easily smash their head.

“BOOM!!!”

As soon as the treasure ship entered Thunder Cliff, the surrounding lightning became increasingly dense, and even Xiao Ran felt immense pressure.

His magical abilities seemed to be severely suppressed by the thunderous power of Thunder Cliff after he entered the cliff.

Moreover, the deeper you go, the stronger the sense of oppression becomes.

Fortunately, Xiao Ran had just cultivated the Black Relic, and even though his physical body was not as strong as Lu Da's, he had no problem protecting himself in the lightning.

As for Jin Chanzi, he drew a circle, including himself, Wu Man, the tiger demon, and the Crimson Blood Horse.

The lightning bolt struck, but before it could get close to the circle, it was bounced away by a force.

"Hahaha, that's great, that's really great!"

Lu Da swung his staff, and more and more lightning flashed around him. He then cleaved forward with all his might, and the lightning shot out along the staff, splitting open a hole in the void to ensure that the treasure ship could pass smoothly through the thunderclouds.

With Lu Da acting as a human lightning rod, constantly clearing the way, the perilous terrain could not hinder the treasure ship's progress.

Xiao Ran was quite interested in Lu Da's approach and stood aside to observe it carefully.

"How about it, do you want to give it a try?"

After chopping for a while, Lu Da turned around and shouted to Xiao Ran, raising his staff and gesturing for Xiao Ran to try.

This method of tempering the body amidst thunder is domineering, but its effects are excellent.

"it is good!"

After successfully cultivating the black relic, Xiao Ran wanted to see just how far he could go, so he took the staff from Lu Da's hand.

"Relax and feel the lightning bolts coming towards you. If you can't take it, swing your staff and strike the lightning away, using its force against it."

Lu Da taught Xiao Ran the tricks of the trade.

Xiao Ran took a deep breath and took the staff from Lu Da.

He imitated Lu Da's earlier actions, relaxing his body and opening his mind, with pale golden lightning orbs floating around the treasure ship.

At first, only a few tiny arcs of electricity, like sniffing tentacles, carefully wrapped around the staff, emitting a soft "sizzling" sound.

But as Xiao Ran relaxed her mind and stopped deliberately resisting, the situation changed drastically in an instant!

As if a floodgate had been opened, countless pale golden lightning orbs floating in the surrounding space suddenly became agitated!

The blinding lightning transformed into streaks of raging silver snakes, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek as they converged madly toward the Zen staff!

In an instant, Xiao Ran, along with his staff, was engulfed by a lightning ball so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at it!

"Zizzizi!"

A violent electric current instantly engulfed Xiao Ran's entire body!
Xiao Ran felt as if countless red-hot steel needles were piercing her body! Every muscle was twitching violently, and her bones were groaning under the unbearable pressure.

"Don't be nervous, don't resist directly, relax slowly, and guide this lightning through the staff."

Lu Da offered his advice from the side.

Xiao Ran's lips were trembling uncontrollably, but he still tried to follow Lu Da's method and throw his lightning power along the staff.

A loud "Bang!!" rang out.

Lightning exploded in front of Xiao Ran, the massive thunderstorm causing her internal organs to churn and nearly making her vomit blood.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Xiao Ran activated the dragon armor on her body in time; otherwise, this attack would have seriously injured her.

"Oh dear, how could you be so silly? These things should be left to nature."

Lu Da snatched the staff and demonstrated it to Xiao Ran again. With each swing of the staff, the surrounding lightning seemed to be tamed wild beasts, splitting countless bolts of lightning in the void ahead.

Xiao Ran looked at Lu Da's technique and found it increasingly familiar. After a moment's thought, she said, "Wait, let me do it."

As he spoke, he took the staff again.

Lu Da stepped aside, continuing, "The Tao follows nature. You'll get hit a few more times during this process. I was hit the same way back then..."

Before Lu Da could finish speaking, Xiao Ran suddenly raised his staff and threw it forward with force.

In an instant, the surrounding lightning was pulled by a gravitational force, falling from the staff like a white dragon, then tearing open a dazzling parabola in mid-air, blasting apart the thunderclouds in front.

Seeing this, Lu Da swallowed the rest of his sentence and looked at Xiao Ran in surprise.

Xiao Ran raised his staff high, and a [Thread of Fate] was wrapped around the tip of the staff. With a flick of his wrist, rolling lightning once again fell into the distance.

This set of movements, flowing smoothly like water, is so smooth it makes you question your existence.

But when Lu Da took a closer look, wasn't this just the action of fishing?
"No, are you fishing??" Lu Da stared wide-eyed at Xiao Ran's actions.

Xiao Ran smiled upon hearing this: "Perhaps there really is a big fish here."

He never expected that his fishing master skills would be used here.

He just felt that the more he swung, the more comfortable it became. He threw it forward with force, and saw countless bolts of lightning gather on the fishing line in mid-air, forming a fist-sized ball of lightning at the other end of the line.

Boom!

However, at the very moment the lightning ball was thrown out, the thick, lead-gray clouds above, churning with endless lightning, were as if torn apart by an invisible giant claw!

Xiao Ran and the others suddenly felt the light dim, and saw that the clouds above their heads had been torn apart, revealing an enormous fish head emerging from the sea of ​​clouds, opening its gaping maw to swallow them whole.

Xiao Ran, Lu Da, and even Wu Man and Jin Chanzi were all stunned.

Lu Da's mouth dropped open: "Holy crap, there really is a big fish!!"

(End of this chapter)