Chapter 39: 38 Web

38 Web

The figure of Si Liyu flashed past on the wall on the other side.

The surroundings were dark and he was moving fast, so his figure only flashed by, but Tang Zhao was very familiar with him and subconsciously called out.

The two were still far apart, but Si Liyu's figure paused, and he turned his head back.

Tang Zhao waved his hand and said loudly, "Teacher Si, I..."

Si Liyu said, "Why are you here? Go back quickly, it's dangerous here, I still have a mission." He did not shout at the top of his lungs like Tang Zhao, but Tang Zhao could hear him very clearly.

Seeing that he was in a hurry, Tang Zhao knew he could not ask to be taken along, and said nothing. Then he saw an object fly over, reached out to catch it, and was instantly overjoyed.

It was actually a Wooden Sword Art Tool!

With the sword in hand, Tang Zhao suddenly felt full of ambition, and the road ahead did not seem so terrifying anymore.

Si Liyu said from afar, "Take this, go back..." He suddenly paused, looked around, and said, "Go to that high building."

Tang Zhao followed his gaze and saw that there was indeed a high building not far away, several zhang higher than the surroundings.

"Go up and watch the battle, watch us eliminate the Fierce Beast, you must observe carefully." After saying this, Si Liyu did not say more and ran straight away.

Tang Zhao touched the Art Tool, feeling settled in his heart. If he had been asked to go to some high building and watch some battle before, he would not have wanted to go; in such Chaos, saving his life was the priority. But with the Art Tool, feeling the power surging, he was instantly full of confidence.

Eliminating a Fierce Beast, this excitement... this teaching battle, how could he not watch it?

At the same time, Tang Zhao also understood.

That light feeling just now was not because his martial arts had greatly improved between life and death, but the feeling of the Sword Art taking effect.

"First Layer Sword Technique: Disappearance. Attached Sword Art: Drifting Away, Sole Awakening, Forced Concealment, Lightness (Talisman)"

If Tang Zhao guessed correctly, the one that took effect was the last one, "Lightness."

Si Liyu had originally said that for an Art Tool to take effect, one needed to concentrate, but Tang Zhao's Inspiration was strong, so he could mobilize the Art Tool without needing to be specifically focused. However, a Dharma Artifact was clearly a grade higher; Tang Zhao could not grasp the knack of "Disappearance," and the Sword Arts on it could not be easily activated. But in that instant just now, Tang Zhao was extremely focused, and that Lightness Sword Art had taken effect.

The Lightness Sword Art did not look powerful, but only after trying it did he know how strong it was. In that instant, he was simply no longer human, but as light and agile as a cat or a bird.

He had always used a "Heavy Art Tool" that only strengthened power and had never had a "Sword Art" imbued. Upon trying it, he was amazed and, having tasted the sweetness, he really wanted to try what those True Artifacts that had both power and Sword Arts were like—how incredible they must be.

It was a pity that while the Sword Technique in the Dharma Artifact was difficult to trigger, the first few Sword Arts also didn't work; only "Lightness" was usable. Tang Zhao guessed it might have to do with the (Talisman) after Lightness.

Rune Formula... added by later people?

Thinking this, he ran toward the Gaota with the Art Tool.

The journey was smooth; it seemed that once the Spider ancestor appeared, everyone had no heart to continue fighting.

Arriving at the top of the building, looking far and wide, everything was indeed clear at a glance.

In the distance, a behemoth was entrenched in the night, pitch-black, furry, with a strange shape that was indescribable.

A giant spider!

The spider was not lying on the ground, but suspended on a web.

A huge web covered the nearby courtyards, the threads woven extremely densely, almost like a layer of snow covering the earth, so that even the roofs could not be seen. On the web, besides the monster-like spider, there were black spots. Looking closely, those were people entangled one by one, with only their lower bodies or even just their heads exposed; from afar, they looked like lice stuck in place.

This is... how many people are entangled here?

Such a thought flashed through Tang Zhao's mind, but his gaze remained fixed on that web.

That giant web was emitting a thin light.

The light was very faint and thin, so thin it was almost non-existent. If it were only attached to a single spider silk, it would certainly be invisible to the naked eye, but attached to such a wide and large spider web, it still emitted a sparse light.

It was that kind of light.

The kind of light that the Art Tool Rune Formula was wrapped in, the kind that repaired lenses.

Such a large web, it could repair a lens, right?

It was a pity he could not touch this spider web; if he touched it, it wouldn't be his turn to absorb the spider web—the spider web should absorb him.

But this was undoubtedly good news; that kind of light existed elsewhere in the world.

It was just that it was mostly accompanied by danger.

At this moment, the giant spider suddenly moved, and a thick thread whipped over, stuck to a person on the web, and in the blink of an eye, dragged them over and sent them into its mouthparts.

The distance was too far; Tang Zhao did not hear any extra sound or see any extra color. It was just a clean and efficient movement, and in the blink of an eye, a person had disappeared. His mind felt a moment of trance—the person who had just been caught was wearing a Spider Suit, clearly one of their own, so why were they also being eaten by the spider?

Perhaps the spider had not been tamed? Once released, was it a mass-killing weapon that did not distinguish between friend and foe?

But... wasn't there someone on the spider's back?

A person was sitting on the spider's back, their whole body shrouded in a thin light, blurry and indistinct. If it were before, Tang Zhao would certainly have thought this was some ghost or spirit, but now his first guess was that the other party was wearing an Art Tool cloak.

Who was this person?

Tang Zhao saw the spider was about to feed again and felt anxious, thinking to himself: Why haven't Teacher Si and the others come yet? If they wait any longer, the spider will eat everyone!

It could be said that among these people there were many bad guys, and Tang Zhao did not care about them killing each other, but seeing people being swallowed alive by a spider was unbearable for any human. Or was this called "grieving for one's own kind"?

Just as Tang Zhao was anxious, his shoulder sank, and a hand rested on his shoulder.

Tang Zhao's whole body stiffened, and he felt his heart stop for a second.

His mind went blank for a moment, and he turned his head to look to the side.

Coming into view was a black and white Mask.

It was that person!

He had actually found him!

Tang Zhao opened his mouth, but before he could make a sound, the masked person already said, "Don't make a sound, it won't be good if you startle that spider."

His hand rested on Tang Zhao's shoulder and did not grip his vital points, but since he could grab Tang Zhao's shoulder without a sound, he could naturally choke Tang Zhao's neck.

Tang Zhao was silent.

At this moment, he remembered when he first fought that person, he had regretted not having an Art Tool in hand to fight, but now, with both an Art Tool and a Dharma Artifact, he had fallen into someone else's hands without even seeing their shadow.

It seems that besides power, there are still many lessons he needs to make up for in the world of the Jianghu.

Just then, someone behind him said, "This... Great Hero, I've brought you to the person, can I go now?"

This voice was slightly familiar, and Tang Zhao's heart brightened: It's him!

It's that monkey-masked man!

This person had failed in an ambush on Tang Zhao and was knocked unconscious by him; it seems he was found by that black-and-white masked person and brought here to lead the way.

Tang Zhao was secretly suspicious: How could he find me? Could it be that my force wasn't enough to knock him out, and he just went along with it, feigning unconsciousness, and later overheard the conversation between me and Teacher Si?

Whether or not that was the case, it was all due to Tang Zhao's lack of Jianghu experience, leaving behind too many traces.

Just as he was feeling remorseful, the monkey-masked man had already started walking backward, and the masked person said indifferently, "Stay."

The monkey-masked man stopped immediately and fawned, "Great Hero, you are a peerless expert in the world, while I am just a piece of trash waiting to die; please just let me go like a fart."

The masked person said, "Aren't you the lone-legged bandit 'Vulture' Sun Sheng?"

The monkey-masked man gave two dry laughs and said, "I didn't expect my lowly name to reach your ears; I am ashamed, truly ashamed."

The masked person said, "Don't be modest. Tie Xiezi invited quite a few experts this time; since he found you, it means you are also a person of some standing. That Iron Eagle Claw move just now was not bad."

Sun Sheng laughed twice more, his voice sounding much more natural, and said, "May I ask how to address you?"

The masked person said, "Judge."

That Sun Sheng said, "Ah, long admired, long admired."

After this sentence, there was a pause of several breaths; Tang Zhao did not turn his head, but somehow smelled a hint of awkwardness, thinking: He definitely doesn't know any Judge.

Of course, Tang Zhao didn't know him either, but Tang Zhao didn't know anyone, so that was nothing strange.

That Judge said, "Look at this spider; this beast is very rare."

Sun Sheng shuffled over and said, "I already looked just now. Most of our group got trapped in the web and are probably gone; if I hadn't run fast, you would have seen me in the web too. This goddamn broken villa is shooting itself in the foot; if they don't know how to tame them, they shouldn't keep them. Now their own people have been eaten too; they really deserve it. If you ask me, while they are both heavily damaged, we should go loot a few treasure vaults; that would make this fright worthwhile."

The Judge said to Tang Zhao, "What do you think?"

Tang Zhao said, "What?"

The Judge's voice drilled into his ears: "I know you are different from others and can see other things, which is why I specifically came to find you. I am not an unreasonable person; if you can help me do one thing, I will not only ensure your safety but also give you benefits. Think about it yourself, isn't it better to be a useful person?"

Tang Zhao sighed, silently reciting 'as long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood,' and said, "I feel... have I seen the person on the spider's back somewhere? Not that I've seen this person, but it feels familiar."

Once these words were out, the surroundings suddenly went quiet.

The breathing of the two people nearby stopped in an instant.

Tang Zhao practiced visualization, and his Spirit was growing stronger by the day; at this moment, it already exceeded that of an ordinary person, and he instantly captured this stagnation.

In surprise, he wondered, "Do you also feel it's familiar?"

No one answered him. In the eerie Silence, he suddenly realized another problem and probed:

"There is someone on the spider's back, right?"

"Nonsense!" Sun Sheng suddenly shouted; he seemed a bit neurotic, saying incessantly, "Nonsense, nonsense, you don't know a damn thing..."

That Judge suddenly said, "If there is a person, can you see their face clearly?"

Tang Zhao turned around—his nearsightedness was quite severe, and he usually couldn't see things clearly in places with poor light, but some things appeared exceptionally clear; for instance, right now, he could see the texture on the surface of those spider silks from at least thirty or forty yards away.

But when he looked carefully, he found that the figure was like it was made of water, vaguely having a shape but flowing incessantly, almost impossible to see a stable form, let alone fine parts like facial features.

The reason he said 'almost'... Tang Zhao looked hard, with full concentration, and for a moment it was as if he saw the water flow solidify, and that face appeared with a fixed shape like an ice sculpture.

He mused, "It is a woman, her appearance... beautiful."

Once the words were out, he remembered.

Before, when they were besieged, a ghost-like woman had appeared inexplicably in the room; although her appearance was different from this woman, the feeling was indeed similar. No, the two were still different; the previous woman was brightly colored and lifelike, while this woman was transparent and colorless like water, but the feeling they gave him was indeed similar.

Sun Sheng suddenly laughed out loud, like a gambler who had uncovered the dice cup and realized he had won, triumphantly saying, "Nonsense, nonsense, look, I said he was talking nonsense. I was almost bluffed by you, thinking you saw... some woman, and 'beautiful' at that; you're just a kid dreaming about women, spouting nothing but nonsense."

Tang Zhao felt annoyed; he was originally an enemy rather than a friend to this person, so he couldn't be bothered to explain.

The Judge mused, "There are indeed many women among Phantoms."

Sun Sheng suddenly shouted, "You believe his bullshit! Ordinary people can't see Phantoms at all—"

The Judge said, "Then he is not an ordinary person."

Sun Sheng said anxiously, "Even if one has Inspiration, one still can't see the facial features of a Phantom..."

The Judge said, "He doesn't have ordinary Inspiration—shut up, do you want to attract the monsters over?"

Sun Sheng was as if his throat had been choked, and he remained silent.

Tang Zhao thought: Phantom? Is it a Yin Ghost?

Ordinary people can't see them...

He suddenly thought of the story Wei Zhangle had told in the ruined temple.

Could it be that what Wei Zhangle could see, but his sister couldn't, was a Phantom?

Later, Xing Ji had also mentioned a Charm Disaster, saying it was a disaster caused by Phantoms; does this seem to match up?

Suddenly, his heart gave a start, and he said, "The spider web is expanding!"

That massive spider web was like water, no, like a thick mire, slowly flowing and spreading in all directions. In Tang Zhao's field of vision, the light covering the spider web flowed faster; first the light diffused, casting a halo around, and the spider web, like soldiers receiving orders, slowly spread out along the traces of the light.

Although the speed of the web's expansion was slow, it was unstoppable; wherever it reached, it was like an avalanche pressing down, submerging everything regardless of color, leaving only white, slimy spider silk.

Sun Sheng said tremblingly, "Black Spider Villa, this is the end. Sooner or later, there will only be a spider nest here. This is the Yin Calamity; a Natural Disaster is unstoppable. Let's run, let's run!"

Although Black Spider Villa was large, it was not infinite, especially since it was built on a mountain, which was not as spacious as a Pingyuan manor; if it continued to expand like this, there would be no place left in the villa in an hour or two.

Tang Zhao thought about that situation and felt his hair stand on end, thinking: Is this a Yin Calamity? Is the Yin Calamity really unstoppable? But Teacher Si said they had a mission; would the Inspection Division really just let it...

Whoosh—

A harsh sound of breaking air came, and the wind of the night sky was shattered by it.

Boom!

Seven long swords fell from the sky, pinning down the boundaries of the spider web in seven directions.

The seven swords fell together, making only a single sound.

Eight figures descended from the sky, landing in eight different positions.

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