Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 912 Wasteland Horror
"coffin?"

The crowd stared at the coffin before them, exchanging bewildered glances.

"Hiss, this place is really weird, the flowers are weird, the fish are weird, and this coffin... is weird too!" Lu Da touched his bald head, looked at the coffin in front of him, and felt uneasy all over.

Wu Man wanted to go forward to take a look, but Xiao Ran stopped her: "Don't move, this coffin... something's not right."

Xiao Ran gestured for everyone not to approach. He walked to the coffin and looked at it carefully. The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed.

"This coffin..."

Xiao Ran frowned and glanced back at the lake behind her.

"What's wrong? Did you see something?" Seeing his strange expression, the others asked him.

“I’ve seen this coffin before.”

Xiao Ran carefully examined the coffin in front of her: "This thing seems to have come from the Yellow Springs."

Indeed, although this coffin looked like an ordinary coffin, its appearance and style felt strangely familiar to Xiao Ran. He was certain that this thing was most likely related to the coffins in the Yellow Springs.

Xiao Ran didn't explain much, but gestured for Wu Man to take out the ginseng essence and asked, "I heard you say before that this Great Silent Mountain Range is connected to the Netherworld, right?"

"Yes, but I don't know the specifics. I only heard it from the elders in the clan." The ginseng spirit blurted out everything he knew.

Now I have no choice but to speak out. If these people die, I will lose my ginseng body and will not be able to escape from here.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran looked at the large fish in front of him again. He speculated that this lake might be connected to the Netherworld, and this fish didn't seem to be from the human world at all.

Perhaps it was originally a creature from the Yellow Springs, who came here by chance and was controlled by the lotus.

But this coffin...

Xiao Ran tried placing her palm on the coffin and felt that it was cold and icy inside, as if a dense yin energy was accumulating within. However, after carefully sensing it for a while, she found nothing unusual.

He simply raised his hand and pushed, opening the coffin.

"Click!!"

As the coffin lid was opened, everyone peeked inside, only to be greatly disappointed. There was nothing in the coffin except a pool of dark water. Wu Man picked up a twig and poked around in it, eventually finding a jade tablet.

Upon picking it up and examining it, one could see that the jade plaque had no words on it, only a beast-shaped pattern.

“This person must have been a powerful and wealthy family in ancient times, otherwise he wouldn’t be wearing such a jade pendant.” Jin Chanzi glanced at the jade pendant and deduced that this person must have an extraordinary background.

Unfortunately, nothing could be found in the coffin to prove the person's identity.

However, Xiao Ran noticed a gold box in an inconspicuous corner. The box was open and empty.

Logically, such an expensive box should contain some valuable items, but Xiao Ran scanned the coffin with his spiritual power and found nothing else.

After thinking it over and over, Xiao Ran still couldn't figure out where the problem lay.

I tried to use the [Suppressing Calamity Token] to collect the soul in the coffin, but it was still empty; there was nothing there.

"Just keep walking."

Since there was nothing there, the group decided not to waste any more time there, since every second spent there would be spent burning Hundred Bone Incense.

After this incident, everyone gradually became more cautious.

A white lotus flower is so eerie; who knows what else might be behind it?

The group continued along the steep mountain path, where the cliffs on both sides gradually narrowed, forming a deep canyon.

The mountainside is covered with ancient murals, some time ago, now mottled and fragmented.

These murals have been eroded by time, with most of the colors faded and the lines blurred, but the content they depict is still breathtaking.

The murals depict ancient deities of various forms and with a sense of vastness, which are quite different from the images of Buddhist and Taoist deities in the world today.

Each of them had three heads and six arms, a face like a demon, or a body like a giant mountain, sitting in one place and suppressing one region.

The crowd was mesmerized. Jin Chanzi stroked his beard and exclaimed in a low voice, "Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable... Is this a scene from the ancient divine court? It has actually been preserved in this place where heaven and earth are separated..."

Wu Man also restrained her usual carefree attitude, focused her attention, and tried to identify the names of the gods that had long since disappeared into the long river of history.

"Why do these gods look so different from the ones we have now?" Lu Da wondered, feeling that the gods on this site were even more monstrous than monsters.

"These are all ancient gods. Back then, there might not even have been a species like humans. Naturally, they grew in whatever way was convenient for them. The concepts of beauty and ugliness didn't exist." Jin Chanzi glanced at the big monk with disdain.

At this moment, Xiao Ran tightened the reins, his gaze fixed on a mural.

This mural occupies a large area of ​​the wall and appears to depict a gathering of the gods.

Numerous powerful deities sat high atop the majestic temple, their divine light gleaming, exuding an aura of overwhelming power. However, their gazes were not directed at each other or downwards, but rather focused on a solitary figure in the center of the temple.

That was a deity dressed in a dark black robe.

Facing the gods, he stands alone, seemingly out of place despite being in the center of the temple, a stark contrast to the surrounding magnificent and awe-inspiring scene of gold and the gods surrounding him.

Although the mural is simple, it vividly portrays the aloofness of the black-clad deity who stands alone in the world, as well as the tension of the subtle confrontation.

Xiao Ran's gaze shifted to the lower half of the mural, which was right next to it.

The deity in the dark robe had already left the magnificent temple, his figure appearing in a vast sea of ​​clouds, riding the clouds and flying towards a distant mountain standing between heaven and earth.

"what!!"

At this moment, Xiao Ran's eyes flickered as she noticed the unique peak formations of the mountain. After careful examination, she exclaimed in surprise, "West Tai Mountain?"

He took a closer look and confirmed that he was not mistaken; it was indeed Xitaishan.

Xiao Ran had been to this place twice, so she was quite familiar with it.

West Taishan was the first mountain to be given the name Taishan.

The name was later transferred to the former Daishan Mountain in Shandong.

Seeing this deity settle down on Mount Xitai, Xiao Ran's heart stirred slightly: "Could this person be the Immortal of Taihua?"

Puzzled, Xiao Ran continued searching on other murals, but there was no more trace of the Taihua Immortal.

It seems that this immortal from Taihua has been banished from this divine land.

If I were to summon Taihua right now, I wonder what feelings this immortal of Taihua would have upon revisiting this place?
As Xiao Ran was thinking, she suddenly saw a person hanging on the treetop in front of her.

When everyone went over to take a look, they saw that the person was hanging naked on the tree, his skin had been peeled off, his whole body was covered in blood and flesh, and his facial features were twisted together in pain.

The body was very fresh and clearly belonged to the Changchun Association.

But why was the other person hanging in the tree?
"Wait, why is there no blood on this corpse?" Wu Man sensed something was wrong at first glance. Upon closer inspection, there wasn't a single drop of blood around. In his experience, this person had definitely been skinned alive, and blood would have been splattered everywhere, but there wasn't a single drop here?
While hesitating, Xiao Ran said, "I'll know once I take a look."

As she spoke, Xiao Ran took out the [Suppressing Calamity Token] and with a wave of her hand, she absorbed the man's soul into her Soul Book.

I went through this person's memories.

The scene they saw sent chills down Xiao Ran and the others' spines.

In my memory, the group from Changchun walked along the mountain path and encountered an old Taoist priest halfway up the mountain.

The old Taoist priest was dressed in tattered clothes, and two white flames flickered in his empty eye sockets. His figure flashed and he attacked from hundreds of meters away.

Everyone took action, including the Yinshan Taoist and several elders of the Changchun Society.

Looking at the scene in his memory, Xiao Ran saw these elders protecting a mysterious person in the middle wearing a cloak, and their attacks were all incredibly powerful.

They used various supernatural powers and cursed objects, including witchcraft, divination, and Taoist magic. Jin Chanzi even saw the Five Thunder Heart-Righting Technique, a closely guarded secret of Longhu Mountain.

Its power was so great that even Xiao Ran found it troublesome.

But the old Taoist simply opened and closed his hands wide, and an invisible force around him completely neutralized the incoming spell.

Until the mysterious man, surrounded by several elders, made his move and charged at the old Taoist.

As the cloaked figure flashed by, the surrounding void seemed to be drained of all light, suddenly plunging into a thick, oppressive, and almost soul-devouring absolute darkness.

"Om..."

A muffled, chilling sound pierced the blurry image, as if the entire space itself were groaning in pain. Immediately following was a suppressed groan from the mysterious figure, filled with terror and agony!

The memories flashed by like a kite with a broken string, suddenly going black before returning to normal after a moment. But the perspective had become chaotic and dizzying, finally settling on the image of oneself being forcibly hoisted up by an irresistible force, as if being choked by the throat.

The figure in the tattered Taoist robe stood below, his empty eye sockets revealing two pale, cold flames staring at him.

A withered hand, like a bird's claw, slowly reached up.

"Hey!"

A tearing sound that made one's scalp tingle and teeth ache seemed to resound directly in Xiao Ran's sea of ​​consciousness as he read his memories!

That withered hand, as easily and completely as tearing a thin sheet of paper, peeled off a layer of human skin covered in hair! But this was only the outer layer.

The old Taoist priest's movements were completely uninterrupted, even displaying a nauseating familiarity.

The withered hand once again probed deep into the bloody, exposed muscle and fascia wound, and ripped it open again!
"Sizzle!!"

This time the sound was even more muffled, with a sticky feeling of flesh and fascia being forcibly peeled away! The second layer of structure, the dermis, which is more resilient and contains abundant blood vessels and nerves, was also forcibly torn off!
Strangely, not a single drop of blood flowed out.

The screen shook violently at that moment, accompanied by a silent yet soul-wrenching wail of despair emanating from the depths of the deceased's soul.

The body, now stripped of the protection of two layers of skin, was experiencing an indescribable, excruciating pain.

Soon, the person's consciousness completely faded away.

After reviewing the contents of the memory, Xiao Ran and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.

There's too much content; they need a little time to process it all.

"I think I've seen this old Taoist priest before."

Xiao Ran remembered that when Zhong Yi came to Ruzhou last time, she showed him some information that seemed to have captured the image of this old Taoist priest, but it was just a blurry figure.

I never expected to run into him here, and it seems this old Taoist priest doesn't need incense for protection.

Could he also be a deity?

There was also that figure protected by the Changchun Association. I had no information about him, only that several elders treated him with great respect.

Judging from the scene when the opponent made their move, Xiao Ran realized that the opponent's strength was definitely no less than her own.

It seems that although I have entered the Dao through techniques, my strength may not be as great as these old monsters.

After putting away the Soul Book, Xiao Ran signaled everyone to quicken their pace.

Judging from this guy's memories, Changchun will be far ahead of them, and they must catch up before they find the Tree of Destiny.

The group quickened their pace along the steep and rugged ridge.

The wind howled, blowing past the jagged rocks, creating a mournful echo.

As the altitude increased, the surrounding fog thickened, carrying an indescribable aura of decay and silence.

Along the way, the mountains were no longer purely pristine, but rather consisted of broken walls and ruins, with the outlines of houses built from huge, uncarved black stones scattered on both sides of the ridge.

Time and some unknown force have long since destroyed most of them, leaving only waist-high foundations and scattered fallen pillars, submerged in weeds and moss.

These ruins are exceptionally ancient, with a rugged and primitive style, unlike any other human civilization relics that people have ever seen.

“This place…was ever inhabited before?” Wu Man, with her sharp eyes, pointed to a cracked fragment of a pottery jar half-buried in the ground not far away.

Lu Da used his giant axe to part a patch of vines, revealing several stone tools that were clearly man-made.

"Huhu~~"

A cool breeze whistled in her face. Xiao Ran glanced at the Hundred Bone Incense in her hand and keenly noticed that the incense seemed to be burning faster.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran tried to make a hand seal, causing the surrounding wind direction to reverse.

However, this did not seem to work; the incense continued to burn very quickly, as if something nearby was desperately trying to absorb the incense.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran's eyes flashed with light, and he activated his Eye of Retrospection. The incense burned backward in his vision, and Xiao Ran caught a faint, imperceptible anomaly in the air.

A wisp of smoke drifted lightly away in the direction to the left.

"what is that??"

Seeing this, Xiao Ran simply followed the wisp of smoke and slowly walked forward. Before long, she saw a pile of rubble and ruins in front of her.

A glance around reveals a half-built statue standing behind the rubble, likely formed by the collapse of the statue over time.

Xiao Ran looked around but couldn't see anything wrong, but the incense in her hand burned much faster again.

"Strange? There's nothing there?"

Once she realized that all around her were rocks, Xiao Ran didn't linger and turned to leave.

But just as he turned around, Xiao Ran took out a mirror from his spatial storage and looked behind him. He saw that in the ruins of rubble behind him, the broken head of a deity was staring at him with blinking eyes.

(End of this chapter)