Chapter 481: 455 Evolution

Although separated by layers of shadows, Tang Zhao still vaguely made out that figure.

That figure could be called familiar, yet it was truly unfamiliar.

It was Shangguan Jianke.

Although he did not know how this person had arrived, Tang Zhao had seen with his own eyes how he had vanished.

Such a Sword Guest, who had once suppressed Meng Huazhou and shown off his might, had suddenly been swallowed by a Shadow giant, leaving behind only a wisp of a phantom, like a fart.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Tang Zhao's mind: What on earth did this person come here for?

As a Sword Guest, he had traveled thousands of miles to Baiyujing; what exactly was he seeking?

Having barely traveled a few hundred miles on the same path with him, Tang Zhao only knew he was arrogant, looked down on others, and kept a great distance from his fellow travelers. Everyone knew why he had temporarily joined the team, what his relationship with Meng Huazhou was, and what goal he intended to achieve?

These answers might be known to Meng Huazhou, but Tang Zhao would likely never know them.

To Tang Zhao, this was an unfriendly stranger. It was fine that he was dead, but his death had some benefits.

His death had bought a little time for Ling Baoyu and Aqin, allowing them to successfully escape into the great hall and gain temporary safety. At the same time, this series of actions had allowed Tang Zhao to clearly see a portion of the giants' behavioral patterns.

Through observation, Tang Zhao reached the same conclusion as Ling Baoyu: "Those giants are blind and deaf, but they do have their own unique way of sensing. It might be related to them living in the shadows."

Thinking of this, he added another sentence:

"Do these giants have a hive mind?"

Xiangyangzi asked in astonishment: "What is a hive mind?"

Tang Zhao mobilized his limited knowledge on this subject and explained: "It means that while each individual giant has consciousness, it is not much, but their consciousnesses can connect to each other to form a collective consciousness. This consciousness controls their overall actions and also controls each individual, transcending the individual."

Xiangyangzi made a few "hmm" sounds, not knowing if it understood or not.

Tang Zhao observed carefully and said: "It is still impossible to tell if there is a queen... If there is, then there is a subjective consciousness controlling all the warriors as a whole. If not, then each individual giant connects into a whole to form a consciousness, with an invisible hand controlling the group."

Xiangyangzi made a few more "hmm" sounds.

Tang Zhao looked at the position of Ling Baoyu and the others and said: "Let's go save them, and while we're at it, test these big guys."

He had wanted to go down directly, but the distance was great, and it would be very risky for the two of them to enter the thick of the giants. He still needed a better strategy. Thinking of "testing," his heart stirred, and he said: "Senior, do you have any living creatures? Shall we throw them over to distract these blockheads? Let's see if their consciousness can stand the test?"

Xiangyangzi said: "No living creatures, I am the only living creature..." It suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "But we can create them." After saying this, its flower disk split open, and it spat out "pu pu pu," just like spitting out melon seed shells.

However, what it spat out were not melon seed shells, but proper melon seeds.

"These are my seeds, every one of them is an essence. Use your Growth Sword Intent to urge them, and they will immediately take root, sprout, and bloom here. You can try throwing these flowers over; if they count as living creatures, that would be best."

Tang Zhao hesitated slightly and said: "Growth Sword Intent..."

He had just received the Growth Sword Intent and was still in the process of getting used to it, so he was still a bit unsure of the effect. In fact, he knew the significance of his Sword Intent and would be able to develop sword arts that promoted growth in the future, but for now... hadn't he not developed them yet?

Without using sword arts, could he urge plants to grow relying solely on the Sword Intent itself?

Xiangyangzi said: "No problem. You must know these are my seeds; they are naturally full of spirituality and brimming with vital energy. Actually, you don't need to do it; I could urge a patch of sunflowers myself. If it weren't for the concern that Zhugong is too small, that place would have been covered by our sunflowers long ago, and there wouldn't have been a place for you to step when you arrived. Today you should try your new Sword Intent; I will back you up, so try it boldly."

Tang Zhao nodded. Without moving his sword, he waved his hand, and a beam of light sprinkled over the seeds covering the ground.

Sword Intent was truly a magical thing. Although he had just obtained it, under the tacit understanding with his Sword Heart, he already knew what to do.

He saw the warm Sunlight shining down; the small melon seeds split, sprouted, shot up, and bloomed in one go. In the blink of an eye, there was a healthy sunflower, blooming even without the sun.

At this point, he could have ended the Sword Intent, but Tang Zhao's heart stirred. The Sunlight remained constant, and he saw two of the sunflower's petals grow larger and longer, finally transforming into the shape of two wings, flapping "hu-shan, hu-shan."

The sunflower had taken flight!

Xiangyangzi's Eye Beads widened. Seeing the sunflower actually fly, its two round eyes almost rolled off its flower disk. It said repeatedly: "What the hell is this? How can a flower fly? Even I can't fly!"

Tang Zhao tilted his head to look at it and asked strangely: "Aren't you a Sword Deity? Can't a Sword Deity fly?"

Xiangyangzi did not answer such a question and pointed at him again: "That's not right. Isn't yours the Growth Sword Intent? It's not 'Mutation' Sword Intent, and certainly not 'Fusion' Sword Intent. How can you turn a flower into a bird?"

Tang Zhao said solemnly: "It is exactly growth! Evolution, isn't that a form of growth?"

Xiangyangzi asked in astonishment: "Evolution... what the hell is that? Can it turn a flower into a bird?"

Tang Zhao said: "Of course. Evolution, or rather, the evolution of life, is a miracle of nature. Any direction of evolution is possible. From tiny plankton evolving into massive elephants, fierce lions and tigers, and eagles that fly in the sky—isn't this all evolution? How can a flower not evolve wings? It's just that natural evolution is natural selection, with the survival of the fittest as the law, while the evolution of the Growth Sword Intent is my choice."

Xiangyangzi half-understood, but Tang Zhao spoke with certainty and had a power that made people believe him. Moreover, he used professional terminology and had clear logic, as if a mature theory was supporting him, which increased his persuasiveness. Xiangyangzi was not known for profound knowledge and had always known that the world was full of wonders, so it couldn't help but believe him. It slowly nodded its flower disk and said: "So that's how it is."

In fact, Tang Zhao himself was a novice, as was Chen Zong, who had taught him this knowledge.

No matter how a flower evolves, it cannot evolve into a bird; the cellular structures are different. Animals and plants parted ways back in the single-celled organism period.

But Sword Intent, well, it is just that idealistic. He had a self-consistent set of logic, communicated well with his Sword Intent, and had the support of the massive Sword Essence inherited from the Sword Immortal, so he thought of it and achieved it.

From then on, his "Growth" Sword Intent included "evolution."

He had originally wanted to urge two Sun Birds to test the Shadow giants' consciousness, when he saw two streaks of Sword Light flying from not far away, one after the other.

Although the brilliance flashed by, Tang Zhao had already seen clearly—those were clearly two acquaintances, Yue Lai and Meng Huazhou.

The one fleeing in front was Yue Lai, and the one chasing behind was Meng Huazhou.

Tang Zhao was stunned again. When Shangguan Jianke died just now, he had wondered how these two were doing. He thought Shangguan Jianke was the strongest, and since he was gone, those two Mortals were likely in dire straits. He hadn't expected this only Sword Guest to be the first to die.

Still the same question, Shangguan Jianke, what did you come here for?

Also, why was Meng Huazhou chasing Yue Lai?

Wasn't Yue Lai determined to seek revenge on Meng Huazhou? He had been full of confidence at the time.

Immediately after, Tang Zhao felt a bit enlightened; he saw a sword strapped to Meng Huazhou's back.

Oh, a Sword Student.

Tang Zhao was very surprised; he hadn't expected Meng Huazhou to actually find a sword.

Although it was certainly not the Ruyi Sword, it must have been a sword that matched him and satisfied him. Meng Huazhou knew so many details about Baiyujing; perhaps he wasn't aiming for the Ruyi Sword from the start. Now that he had found his own harvest and successfully become a Sword Student, his strength had instantly risen a notch, and he was actually superior to Yue Lai.

He really got a sword... that's a bit annoying.

Looking at that streak of Sword Light, Tang Zhao suddenly wanted to chase after them and hack him with one sword, once and for all.

However, there was no need for him to take action. At this moment, countless giants had already swarmed up, surrounding the two of them tightly. If Tang Zhao were to chase after them, he would instead be trapped in the giants' encirclement along with them; there was no need to risk his life.

He took advantage of the time when the two of them completely attracted the giants to focus on the action of creating Sun Birds. At this time, he already had a further plan to break the siege, and he did not forget to say to Xiangyangzi: "Senior, please observe the flaws in the Sword Momentum."

Xiangyangzi said: "Don't worry about it, leave it to me." After saying this, it actually did not go to a high place, but climbed down from Zhugong alone and arrived at the ground covered by shadows.

At this moment, it carried neither the Lamp nor the Pearl, yet it landed steadily within the Shadow, not being tainted by even a fraction. After all, it was a subordinate of Dongjun, and its body had long been bathed in the purest Sunlight, making it inherently immune to all evil.

Once on the ground, it transformed its two feet into roots, firmly anchoring them into the earth, while its pair of bead-like eyes rolled downward and hid within its flower disk, remaining as still as a sunflower, sensing the world around it.

After a long while, its eyes emerged once more, and the first thing it saw in the sky was a sky full of Sun Birds.

"Ah, so many have been created in the blink of an eye. This kid Tang Zhao is quite capable. I think I'll get myself a pair of wings later too."

While looking enviously at those soaring flowers, it pulled its root system out from the ground and waddled its way up the building.

Tang Zhao was speaking with a Sun Bird, saying, "I understand her meaning now; although this plan is a bit slow, it is feasible. Let's just take it slow; it just so happens I have other things to do, and it would be best if she can deal with the giants."

After the instructions were finished, the Sun Bird flew away again, heading in another direction.

Tang Zhao turned his head back and nodded to Xiangyangzi, holding something like a Token in his hand. Seeing Xiangyangzi looking at the bird with curiosity, he said, "It was a message and a small gift from my companion. She already has a way to deal with those giants."

Xiangyangzi asked curiously, "You really have a companion? You didn't even pay attention to those few people just now, so I thought you and your companions were only on superficial terms."

Tang Zhao laughed, "Except for those three, all the living people in Baiyujing are my companions. Senior, have you found the weakness of the Shadow?"

Xiangyangzi tilted its flower disk and said proudly, "If I couldn't find it, why would I have come up here?"

Tang Zhao hurriedly asked, "Where is it?"

Xiangyangzi gestured downward and said, "Far away in the sky, yet right before your eyes!"