Chapter 668: Hope for Restoration

Ever since the Glasses shattered, Tang Zhao had gradually shed the habit of relying on them.

It was not that the Glasses were completely useless; they were still useful when examining swords, the Sword Manual was still there, and he could still perform Sword Law. What Tang Zhao used most was performing Sword Law on the Sumeru Sword through the Vessel Artifact to create more Time Jars for himself. As a Sword Smith, he had a massive amount of materials that needed to be stored, and the number of jars in his possession was soon going to exceed even Ping Jiangqiu's.

Besides that, ever since Tang Zhao became a Sword Hero, he had never used a sword created through Sword Law for combat. His Jingxing Sword was his partner; he no longer needed other swords, even if those swords were more powerful than his own.

Moreover, he had ultimately shed the habit of needing to take a look with the Glasses for everything.

He had rediscovered the habit of observing, analyzing, and understanding things himself, just as he had done when he was a student, and he had not fallen behind in his progress because of it. To him, the Glasses had transformed from an indispensable walking stick for mountain climbing into a pocket watch from a bygone era; the hands had stopped moving, yet the golden luster alone still commemorated those gilded years of the past.

Naturally, he would not throw the Glasses away, and he even planned to investigate the secret of their shattering once he was finished with the affairs at Wangliang Mountain. Of course, even if he wanted to throw them away, he could not; only he could see the Glasses, and they would always return to his hands after being a certain distance away from him. They had already become an inseparable old friend of his.

Having been quiet for so many days, the Glasses suddenly heated up again, just as they had when they first gave him guidance; Tang Zhao was extremely surprised.

Could there be a turning point? Had the time for its return arrived?

This lifted his heavy spirits, providing a bit of unexpected good news.

He carefully took out the Glasses, trying his best not to arouse suspicion with his movements, but he did not cover them, leaving them exposed right before the eyes of the Ruyi Sword.

The Jinwu was a Sword Image, so it naturally followed his commands; when he said sit, it sat.

Rationally speaking, this Sword Seed had broken the lower limit of a Sword Seed's existence. It wasn't a question of whether such a small Sword Seed could be used for Sword Casting, but rather that if a Sword Seed were only this large, it likely could not exist.

That's it, that's it!

That world he was familiar with had returned!

Although the fairy had not yet returned, hope was already ahead.

Under such circumstances, what did it feel like to have one's vision suddenly become clear? It was like a drowning person suddenly reaching the shore, finally able to catch their breath, feeling refreshed all over.

Yes, the youth before him was the New Dongjun. He was not the Jinwu Sword, but the Jinwu Sword would not meet a new guest for a long time, and even if there were a Sword Guest, it would take time to grow; the position of Dongjun should not remain vacant for so long.

The Sword Seed fell into the Strange Stone, and the Jinwu's wound healed immediately. Everything seemed to go very smoothly, yet Tang Zhao shook his head inwardly:

Tang Zhao said, "I will try."

Tang Zhao was naturally in no rush, and neither was the Ruyi Sword. Although she did indeed want to ask Tang Zhao what he intended to do next and how the Jinwu Sword should be handled—if it were any other sword, it could be handled at will by the Sword Smith or the captor, but the Jinwu Sword was a crucial sword and could not be handled casually—these questions were not urgent. Especially, there was no need to disturb Tang Zhao's focus. She had endured long, long ages; patience was the one thing she did not lack.

Tang Zhao walked closer again, almost face-to-face, looking directly into the Jinwu's eyes, and said, "Your Highness, can you hear me?"

However, before he could even make contact, the Sword Seed suddenly flew up and lunged toward his eyes.

Come to think of it, who hadn't seen a Sword Seed before? He had been fiddling with several of them from time to time; if there were going to be a reaction, there would have been one long ago. The Glasses did not want just any random Sword Seed, but a specific one, or perhaps a few specific ones.

He was not in a hurry to find his target, but patiently removed the Sword Seeds from the Jinwu one by one. This patient work took quite a lot of time.

They stared at each other, silent together.

This was a Strange Stone, naturally capable of containing Sword Seeds; it was practically a natural nemesis of Sword Seeds. The Strange Stone absorbed the Sword Seed just as a strong magnet would pull out a steel needle stuck in the skin—it was the most effective and convenient method.

Just as Hua Yaozhi had said, what is meant to happen will happen, and there is no use in forcing what is not meant to be. Tang Zhao had originally been forced to accept that Sword Images were heartless, but the fact that the Jinwu had taken the initiative to fly back and protect him just now had caused a flicker of emotion in him.

When he removed one of the most inconspicuous Sword Seeds, which was almost only the size of a grain of rice, he keenly discovered something different about it. Without needing his vision to become scorching hot to remind him, he himself felt its uniqueness.

Tang Zhao wanted to see if the Ruyi Sword, a proper Sword Immortal, could discover the problem.

After a while, Hua Yaozhi said softly behind him, "If it has consciousness, it will not awaken today. You must have patience. The years are still long; there is no need to rush."

The Glasses did not react; it seemed this was not what it wanted.

Tang Zhao was indeed ecstatic:

Found it!

He had found it!

His own realm had grown higher, he had seen many more Sword Immortals, and he had even once defeated a Sword Hero fair and square while wielding the Jinwu Sword; his mindset had naturally changed. Perhaps he had even been calmly waiting for someone to reveal the secret of the Glasses.

Before Tang Zhao could even reach out to catch it, he felt a flash of heat, and the Sword Seed flowed past his eyes.

Now it was proven to be just his wishful thinking; the Jinwu was still unconscious, and Tang Zhao could... accept that.

Is this really a Sword Seed?

Ah... that is, the Glasses!

Tang Zhao, who had seemed frozen like a statue, finally moved, slowly turning his head, and said, "Many thanks for your guidance, Your Highness."

It is said that a Sword Seed can be cut using a certain method, turning one Sword Seed into two or even more. But the splitting of a Sword Seed has a lower limit; once it is smaller than that limit, the Sword Seed will shatter.

Although he did not fully know the secret, he already had a direction. He knew what he should look for, and after finding it, perhaps he could obtain the same Glasses, and the lost old friend could also return.

Even... to be closer still?

Tang Zhao was incredulous and instinctively reached out, wanting to make close contact with the Sword Seed. At this time, he was already a Sword Guest, his Soul defended by the Jingxing Sword, so even if he touched the Sword Seed, he would not be invaded.

She just watched Tang Zhao, lost in thought. She indeed had many things worth thinking about, but what interested her most at the moment was this New Dongjun.

Immediately following that, his field of vision became clear for a moment.

In any case, the Sun Court wanted a Sun Sword; as long as the strength was sufficient to support it, any Sun Sword would do.

It was as if the Jinwu were still that same Jinwu Dianxia.

Emotionally speaking, that Sword Seed seemed to give him a sense of intimacy; it was a very wondrous feeling. It was just like the sense of intimacy he felt when he encountered the Jinwu Sword as the Jingxing Sword.

Hua Yaozhi was somewhat baffled; the Sword Seeds on the Jinwu hadn't been completely removed yet, right? What was he happy about?

Hua Yaozhi, of course, would not know, because she could not see.

The person Tang Zhao was waiting for was clearly not the Ruyi Sword. Hua Yaozhi did not discover anything unusual, only saying, "It was invaded by Sword Seeds, and even dissolution cannot exempt it. Removing Sword Seeds is very troublesome, and I am not very adept at it. Perhaps you Sword Smiths have better methods."

Suddenly, at a certain moment, Tang Zhao stopped. His expression became strange, then immediately surprised, and finally, a faint look of joy appeared. That was clearly something he was forcibly suppressing; he must have been ecstatic inside.

When the Blue Stone approached, the Sword Seed was clearly attracted to it. Tang Zhao pressed the Blue Stone tightly against the tip of the wing, used his Qi to force it, and *whoosh*, the Sword Seed was sucked into the Blue Stone.

This also matched Tang Zhao's understanding. He had seen many Sword Seeds and knew well that Sword Seeds had sizes, but they were all within a range—the large ones were not too large, and the small ones were not too small. He had never seen such a small Sword Seed before.

Although the Jinwu had no consciousness, Tang Zhao still respected it greatly, just as he did with the Jinwu Dianxia. He took out a piece of Blue Stone and carefully placed it on the tip of its wing, where there was a Sword Seed the size of a fingernail.

The Glasses had recovered!

This was truly a surprise Tang Zhao had not expected. Ever since the fairy left, he had never thought there would be a day of restoration. Although, upon calming down, he discovered that only one lens had recovered, and there was still a clear crack on the lens, it was truly heaven and earth compared to before. Moreover, the rows of familiar Chinese characters scrolling before his eyes actually brought tears to his eyes for a moment.

This youth was quite good. Although his strength was still lacking, his future was boundless; reaching their realm would only be a matter of time, and considering his age, advancing even further was not impossible. Hua Yaozhi planned to observe him a bit more, and if he were suitable, she would recommend him to the Sun Court...

He waved his hand to create a soft seat for the Jinwu out of light, inviting the Jinwu to sit, being very mindful of its comfort.

Sword Smiths indeed have the means to perform Storage on a Sword Seed. The reason why a Sword Seed within a Soul is so troublesome is, firstly, it is invisible and difficult to observe through the physical body; it is impossible to extract the Soul to search for the Sword Seed. Secondly, one cannot damage the Soul, as the Soul is a most delicate thing. Without these two concerns, a Sword Seed would not be impossible to extract.

Previously, Tang Zhao was cautious in front of the Kun Sword Sword Saint, not daring to reveal even a trace of his Glasses, and he hid them left and right in front of others as well. Even knowing the other party could not possibly see them, once the other party's realm was higher than his own, he would remain cautious and not dare to reveal the slightest trace, fearing any unforeseen event. Now, unconsciously, his mindset has changed a great deal.

Now, as he extracts the Sword Seed for Jinwu, he can see it clearly at a glance, and it can easily be restored, so Tang Zhao's concerns are slightly lessened. He said softly, "Your Highness, please sit down."

In order to better perceive the key information, Tang Zhao put on his Glasses. However, ever since the Glasses shattered, they had long been unsuitable for wearing. But after using them several times, he still found a little trick to possess a bit of vision through the cracks. Yet that feeling of barely being able to see was very tiring and very blurry.

I hope that every old friend who has left will have a day of return!

I hope...

Tang Zhao suppressed his excitement, removed the Sword Seeds from Jinwu one by one, and brushed off Jinwu's body, almost styling it, before reluctantly dissipating it and returning the Jinwu Sword to its sheath. He then turned to the Ruyi Sword and said, "Your Highness, do you have any other instructions?"

This sentence sounded a bit like a courtesy, but Hua Yaozhi said seriously, "I have many things to Ask you, and you also have many things to do. But for now, let us tidy up and head out first."

Tang Zhao nodded. The matters here were concluded, but there were still many things ahead. Go out, regroup with everyone, and then purge Wangliang Mountain once more.

This protracted battle of Wangliang Mountain should come to an end. Just as the concept of Wangliang Mountain itself should also come to an end.