Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 909 Easily Killed
On the treasure ship, Meng Xing and Yao Mei recounted their experiences to Xiao Ran.

Not long ago, this team spent a lot of money to invite the siblings and several other people to form a team.

The original plan was simply to guide these people to the Yunling Grottoes.

The reward was generous, and these people also had a jade treasure ship, so they were certain that there would be no danger along the way.

But soon after they set off, these people revealed their true colors, demanding that they lead the way to the more dangerous Ancient Stone Ridge.

That place is a notoriously dangerous place in Changbai Mountain. It is said that ancient gods once perished there, and it is a site of remnants left from a battle between gods.

Why would they take that risk, especially since they would have to cross several restricted areas along the way?

So he started arguing with them on the spot, but to his surprise, they turned on him and killed two people on the spot.

Forced by circumstances, they could only lead the way.

But these people on the road became increasingly outrageous, sometimes even using them as cannon fodder to scout ahead.

There were originally twelve people, but halfway through the journey, only four survived.

As they were about to reach the legendary Ancient Stone Ridge, Meng Xing and Yao Mei knew that if they went in, they would surely die.

Taking advantage of their momentary lapse in attention, he suddenly jumped off the treasure ship and rushed directly into this tomb of souls.

This place is a dead end; even a treasure ship would be affected if it entered. When the enemy saw them rushing in, they had no choice but to give up their pursuit.

The two of them stayed here for three days. If it weren't for the treasure that Yaomei had that made her immune to the soul-calling in the Soul-Calling Tomb, they wouldn't have made it this far.

Upon hearing about their ordeal, Lu Da cursed and swore, "These barbarian bastards dare to run wild on our territory! If I ever encounter them, I'll smash them into mincemeat and feed them to the dogs!"

"Do you know what these people are determined to do at Gushiling?" Xiao Ran asked.

“I know, I’ve heard them talk about it. It seems like they’re looking for someone or something, something that their ancestors brought in.”

The youngest sister spoke up, saying that these people were speaking behind their backs in foreign languages, but they didn't know that she had the ability to see into their minds. She couldn't understand what they were saying, but she could interpret their meaning.

"I see." Xiao Ran suddenly realized, and looked at Jin Chanzi: "Can we go to this place?"

Jin Chanzi took out a star map and compared it: "It's not far. Our treasure ship should be able to make it through."

After saying that, Jin Chanzi turned to look at Yaomei: "You said they have a treasure ship of jade quality, right?"

"Ah."

After receiving confirmation from the two, Xiao Ran and the others exchanged glances. Wasn't this just like someone bringing them a pillow when they were sleepy?

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and kill them."

Lu Da was already itching to smash the heads of these barbarian bastards into mincemeat and feed them to the dogs, so he immediately urged the golden toad to change course.

Xiao Ran and his group yelled and changed course, flying towards the so-called Ancient Stone Ridge.

In a sheltered hollow formed by rugged mountain walls outside Gushiling, a huge jade treasure ship is quietly moored.

Although this ship was similar in size to the Silver Treasure Ship that the Holy Son rode in, and was also powered by a rumbling power furnace, it was far from having the extraordinary aura of the Holy Son's ship, which was surrounded by auspicious light and regarded the forbidden area as a smooth road.

The ship's hull is ancient and heavy, bearing the marks of time and wear, silently lying dormant on the edge of this desolate place filled with an ancient and deathly atmosphere.

On deck, a scene of bustling activity was interspersed with an eerie silence. Controlled not by living crew members, but by countless, uniformly moving yet somewhat stiff metal or wooden puppets.

They tirelessly carried heavy boxes of supplies, shuttling between the ship's side and the shore like worker ants.

On the rocky shore, more puppets were tirelessly digging with special tools.

A blonde, blue-eyed woman was intently examining something in her hands.

She picked up a piece of ore that had just been dug out.

The stone has a rough surface, but its interior is filled with countless fine, sand-like gemstone particles that shimmer with an intoxicating red glow, densely packed like solidified stardust.

The woman gently pried at the stone with her fair fingers, and a small, deep red gemstone easily fell off and lay in her palm. Even after being separated from its parent mine, the gemstone still emitted a hazy, warm luster, as if carrying the embers of life.

"A wondrous residual energy... Such pure life essence, it's truly fascinating."

The woman muttered to herself, her emerald eyes gleaming with greed, as she carefully placed the ruby ​​into a specially made container.

The woman put away her container, and another companion approached. This was an elderly man with gray hair and a high nose. He looked at the vast stone forest before him and couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
"This place is simply a miracle site. It's a pity that it's located in the far east, and that those damned yellow-skinned monkeys occupy it. It's really terrible."

"Great Master, stop your grumbling. I've heard that the whole way here," the woman said, arms crossed, looking helpless. "Compared to this place, I'd rather go home. A day here is like a year outside. My poor son is probably an adult by now!"

The more the woman talked, the worse she felt. If it weren't for the organization's strong insistence, she really wouldn't have wanted to embark on this long journey.

Just as the two were talking, the woman suddenly turned around, her expression gradually becoming serious: "Someone is coming."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, the old man's expression changed, and he looked in the direction the woman was gazing: "That's impossible. I set up sentries along the way, but..."

The old man's words were abruptly cut off as a small, dark shadow slowly approached them from a distant mountaintop.

Even from a distance, you could hear the shouts and curses of this group of dark figures.

"You old fool, I told you that wrecked boat couldn't hold on, but you wouldn't listen!!"

"Baldy! How can you blame me? If you hadn't been jumping around on it, would the boat have fallen apart?"

"If I hadn't jumped, the ship would have crashed into the mountain long ago!"

The sound of cursing and swearing carried on the wind. The woman and the old man's expressions changed slightly. They couldn't understand Chinese, but they could tell that the cursing was very vulgar.

Suddenly, the woman raised an eyelid and saw two familiar figures following behind the group.

"It's those two monkeys that escaped!"

The woman recognized Meng Xing and Yao Mei at a glance. Last time, these two had run away, causing her to be severely reprimanded by the captain. She never expected that they would actually deliver themselves to her doorstep.

"Notify the captain and the others to come back; these people are not easy to deal with."

The old man's expression was tense. He had left behind many sentries, and they were very well hidden. Even experts of the same level would find it difficult to escape the sentries' detection. However, when the group of people came over, not a single sentry sounded the alarm.

This inevitably gave the elderly a bad feeling.

"What's there to be afraid of? They can't get close to the treasure ship at all. A-level defensive magic arrays have already been set up around it."

“But…” The old man hesitated. As a magician, his mental strength was the strongest in the team, but at this moment, he still felt a strong sense of unease.

The source of this unease comes precisely from the group of people ahead.

It's hard to describe. If I had to put it into words, it would be like... a nobleman meeting a king.

The woman saw that the curse marks on the old man's face were almost squeezed together before she spoke up: "Stop your worries, Archmage. I think these yellow-skinned monkeys don't even understand what magic is."

This explains her confidence. An A-grade defensive magic array would require at least five or six experts of her caliber to attack at full power for about twenty minutes to destroy. Even for these highly skilled individuals, breaking a magic array wouldn't be an easy task.

However, just as the woman finished speaking, one of the people in the distance suddenly looked up and stared at her.
With just a glance, the woman felt a chill run down her spine, and her muscles involuntarily stiffened.

Can he hear me?
Just as the woman was feeling uneasy, Xiao Ran's lips twitched slightly: "Magic? I think it's more like a magic trick."

Xiao Ran's voice echoed in the woman's ears.

"what!!"

The woman screamed shrilly, like a cat with its fur standing on end, as if every strand of her hair was about to stand up.

"Kill him! Kill him now!!!" the woman screamed shrilly.

The old man beside him immediately raised his withered finger and pointed in the direction where Xiao Ran and the others were.

In an instant, dozens of humanoid puppets, hidden in the shadows of the ship, in the corners of the cabin, and even behind the rocks on the shore, simultaneously raised their arms. These puppets were clearly equipped with heat weapons that had been enhanced with runes.

With a single thought from the old man, the dark gun barrels on the puppets' arms immediately aimed at Xiao Ran, spitting out blinding flashes of fire.

"Bang bang bang bang..."

In just a moment, countless bullets, like a dark blue rainstorm, tore through the air and poured towards Xiao Ran on the shore from all directions without any blind spots!

"Don't move, I'll do it!"

After speaking to the group behind him, Xiao Ran's figure vanished from their sight in an instant, only to reappear amidst a hail of bullets a second later.

With a light tap of his toes, a wisp of breeze spread from beneath his feet, causing the surrounding void to tremble violently, as if the air had been crushed in that instant.

Those countless bullets were frozen in mid-air for a moment.

This scene left everyone on deck breathless. These bullets had been specially processed and could pose a deadly threat even to D-level professionals.

But in front of Xiao Ran, he was frozen in mid-air.

"Impossible, what kind of ability is this?? Time-blocking??" The old man, a professional archmage, was ashen-faced. He also knew this kind of time-blocking magic, but he needed at least an hour to prepare before he could activate it.

The other party didn't even move, yet they managed to do this?

In shock, Xiao Ranren had already passed through the dense hail of bullets. His figure was fast, and in just two steps, he had already arrived in front of the treasure ship.

At that moment, countless mysterious runes suddenly lit up beneath Xiao Ran's feet, and complex geometric patterns instantly covered Xiao Ran's figure.

In an instant, the space-time around Xiao Ran distorted, as if he had been pulled into another space-time.

In an instant, flames, ice spikes, hurricanes, rock spears, holy light... countless pure and violent elemental energies crashed down on Xiao Ran, forming a terrifying elemental storm.

As an A-grade magic circle, it certainly has terrifying aspects.

The dense, suffocating elemental energy crashed down, enough to kill a professional in an instant.

But in Xiao Ran's eyes, these were just... too rough.

So this is what magic is all about—using the most basic elements?

This made Xiao Ran feel a sense of disappointment.

To be fair, this magic circle does indeed have an A-level strength, capable of generating almost endless elemental power out of thin air.

But simply relying on elemental power to smash things is really devoid of any skill.

It's like a strongman who has no skill, only brute force.

What Xiao Ran fears least is precisely this: he is king himself, encompassing the changes of the heavens, and his myriad transformations are nothing more than doing as he pleases.

Xiao Ran simply reached out and manipulated the void, and the almost suffocating elemental storm before him began to calm down and quiet down in the blink of an eye.

If the previous elemental storm was a violent lion, now it has become as gentle as a chick, completely harmless.

"I thought you guys could bring me some different surprises."

Xiao Ran's gaze pierced through the space and time before her, locking onto the two people on the deck.

The woman's expression froze completely, feeling as if her heart was being gripped by an icy hand, and even her scream was stuck in her throat.

The old man was struck dumb, his body swayed, and he almost fell to the ground.

"How could this be?! How did he manage to use such a massive amount of elemental energy?"

The Archmage is a B-rank profession, and the elemental manipulation they can control is already incredibly powerful, but compared to Xiao Ran in front of them, it's a completely different story.

However, Xiao Ran seemed to have heard his doubts and explained calmly, "Elemental power should not be used in such a crude way. If it is only about who has more, then what is the meaning of the so-called magic you speak of?"

As Xiao Ran spoke, he slowly raised his hands, and instantly the surrounding elements began to boil. In less than a moment, the magic array around the treasure ship began to emit a piercing buzzing sound.

Then Xiao Ran reached out and pinched it.

The surrounding elements instantly contracted in Xiao Ran's hand, condensing into a long, crystal-like staff. Xiao Ran simply patted it lightly.

"Snapped!"

A soft sound.

Like popping a fragile soap bubble.

The runes of the magic circle broke apart inch by inch, and all the elements turned into specks of light, drifting away in the air like unclaimed smoke.

next second.

Xiao Ran's figure appeared out of nowhere, like a ghost, between the blonde woman and the gaunt old man.

His speed was so fast that it was beyond visual perception, as if he had been standing there the whole time.

The woman felt a blur before her eyes, and a chilling, suffocating killing intent instantly enveloped her. In terror, she tried to turn her head, but instead heard a soft, teeth-grinding "crack" on her neck.

Xiao Ran's hand was already on the side of her neck, and then he twisted it seemingly casually.

The woman's eyes widened in terror, and she collapsed limply to the ground.

The old man next to him didn't even see how his companion fell; he only felt a tremendous force sweep across his head.

Xiao Ran's other hand gently pressed on his crown, as if brushing away dust.

"puff."

A muffled thud. The old man's head, like a watermelon struck by a heavy hammer, instantly caved in and deformed, and his body went limp and collapsed to the ground.

(End of this chapter)