Chapter 794: Insect-ification

"This is truly troublesome." In the gradually brightening jungle, Tang Zhao sighed after once again using a soundless and shadowless "Burning Ray" to shoot down a Fierce Beast.

"Wait... what's wrong?" Xiao Yang sat behind him, his view blocked by Tang Zhao's body, feeling somewhat confused and a little panicked. "Isn't this going quite well?"

Throughout this journey, Tang Zhao had been driving the Six Dragon Carriage through the woods, effectively killing any god or Buddha that stood in his way. Many times, before Xiao Yang could even see the shadow of an enemy, the opponent had already vanished into thin air. Although Tang Zhao's strikes were absolutely stealthy, clean, and efficient—truly beyond anyone's perception, not even leaving a drop of blood—Xiao Yang, watching from behind, felt as if he were witnessing a feast of slaughter, with the glint of blades and the spray of blood everywhere.

This cruel stimulation made Xiao Yang tremble all over, yet feel a strange sense of exhilaration, like drinking strong liquor. Suddenly, Tang Zhao saying it was "troublesome" gave him a sudden jolt, causing him to feel flustered: if such a formidable young Sword Hero said it was troublesome, then it must be truly terrible.

Fortunately, Tang Zhao's tone remained very relaxed as he said, "Look at how many Fierce Beasts I've already eliminated?"

Xiao Yang recalled carefully and shook his head, saying, "I can't count them all, maybe seventy or eighty?"

Tang Zhao sighed, "Exactly. Your intuition is sharp; you are worthy of being an excellent hunter. Indeed, there are no fewer than seventy or eighty; that is quite a number. But I still haven't seen any Tianmo. Doesn't this mean we haven't reached the core area yet? If there are this many Fierce Beasts just in the outer perimeter, it shows this mountain has long since become filthy beyond repair."

Xiao Yang gave an "en" sound. On this point, he was more open-minded than Tang Zhao, saying, "This was already a filthy and wretched world to begin with; it's no surprise even if it's dirtier or more chaotic. We are just surviving and growing here. If a great savior could open up a safe, pure land for us, that would be the fortune of three lifetimes, but if not, we still have to keep living. We can't just go and die, right?"

Tang Zhao laughed, "That's true. However, we should be getting close to the lair. Firstly, the mountain forest has depth; it isn't endless, and we have reached the deep mountains now. Secondly... have you noticed? The Fierce Beasts here are becoming increasingly powerful, which shows that more Yin Qi has invaded and the 'Fierce Beast-ification' is deeper. If we go any further, if it's not a Tianmo, it will at least be a Phantom."

Xiao Yang let out an "Ah?" and thought to himself: Have the Fierce Beasts here become more powerful? I don't feel it; aren't they all one sword-stroke each?

At this moment, Tang Zhao added, "But I don't think there are many core Tianmo here. Have you noticed? Although these Fierce Beasts are also eroded and turned fierce by Yin Qi, they actually share commonalities, looking as if they have a single source."

Xiao Yang said blankly, "Is that so? But they have pigs and rabbits, bears and tigers; they look fundamentally different." He had dealt with these Fierce Beasts for many years and wasn't without his own conclusions, but those were all based on behaviors and weaknesses. For Tang Zhao to arrive only a few hours ago and immediately assert they were from the same source seemed too arbitrary.

But then he realized that this clever person from the outside world had no intention of consulting his opinion; he had already reached a conclusion and was just saying it for his own benefit. If it sounded credible, one should naturally applaud and support it, so that when he returned to report to the Elder, he would have a direction for future battles. If it wasn't credible and sounded like nonsense, it was best not to point it out to his face; it had nothing to do with him anyway, and there was no point in arguing with such a powerhouse.

Tang Zhao said, "From the outside, of course, they look completely different. Because they were originally different beasts, they couldn't possibly mutate into the exact same thing. But the process and trend of their 'Fierce-ification' have some similarities. For example, their bodies have all hardened significantly."

Xiao Yang immediately said, "That's right. Once a Fierce Beast is infected, it immediately becomes copper-muscled and iron-boned, impervious to blades. We can only injure them by using Spirit Martial Techniques. If only we had those precious Spirit Weapons."

Tang Zhao said, "Hardening and hardening are different. When we cultivate, our skin becoming tough and thickened is hardening, and like a turtle, the extension of bone plates into a back shell is also hardening. But the hardening of these monsters is the hardening and deterioration of the skin, turning into a carapace. Moreover, their bodies are beginning to segment; the chest and waist are clearly differentiated, the rudiments of wings are appearing on their backs, and some even have extra limbs growing from their waists and abdomens. Isn't this very obvious?"

Xiao Yang said in a daze, "Ah?"

Tang Zhao said affirmatively, "They have become insect-like!"

Xiao Yang thought about it carefully, but still didn't quite understand how this deduction was so logical; he didn't feel they looked like insects. But since Tang Zhao was so adamant, he vaguely played along, "So that's how it is... and then what?"

Tang Zhao frowned, "My point is, if this is the case, then the Tianmo that is the source of the Yin Qi might also be related to 'insects.' This explains why the Fierce Beasts cannot be wiped out and even increase the more you kill them. Who can compare to the reproduction speed of an Insect Calamity? This is still considered few; if they were to 'spawn' like insects, they might have eaten the mountain bare long ago."

Xiao Yang said according to his own knowledge, "That's true, insects breed a lot. When there is a locust plague, they cover the sky and the earth, and people can even eat them. I don't know how they manage to produce so many!"

Tang Zhao took a breath and said, "We should reach the lair in a moment. It might be an insect nest. You need to be prepared; don't let your trypophobia act up."

Xiao Yang felt a chill and hurriedly reminded him, "Sword Hero Tang, I haven't been here either. We hunters have never ventured this deep. For the path ahead, I can only be a burden to you. Why don't you leave me behind?"

Tang Zhao shook his head, "Once we are here, if I leave you alone in such a dangerous mountain forest, would you even survive?" However, Xiao Yang was right; everything ahead was unknown, and he was indeed a burden now. Tang Zhao thought for a moment, then took out a Time Jar and, without further discussion, placed Xiao Yang inside. Previously, Xiao Yang had been a qualified guide; Tang Zhao had been able to travel unimpeded from the outer perimeter to the deep forest because his directions were very accurate, but now he had successfully completed his mission.

Tang Zhao no longer needed directions, because the Glasses could guide him.

Yes, he was now very close to the Fragment he was targeting. The guidance of the Glasses was becoming increasingly clear; on the unbroken part of the lens, it was almost as if a map had been drawn. It looked like the Fragment should be near the Tianmo's lair, or perhaps even inside it.

This was the reason Tang Zhao had said it was "troublesome" earlier.

He didn't believe in such a coincidence, that the Fragment had just fallen randomly. Why didn't it fall anywhere else, but instead fell into the most dangerous place within a hundred miles? This was likely collected by the opponent, either intentionally or unintentionally. Tang Zhao hoped it was "unintentionally" collected—meaning "it" didn't know what the object was, but had a vague reaction knowing it was a good thing, so it collected it, just like the Wangliang from before.

But if it was intentional—meaning the opponent truly realized the importance of the Glasses Fragment and even knew what it was, so they specifically collected it... that would be truly troublesome. Then Tang Zhao's unique cognitive authority over the glasses would no longer be secure. Not only would this time be troublesome, but it would also affect the journey to collect future fragments, as he would encounter more and trickier opponents.

In his heart, he naturally hoped it was unintentional, but if he really encountered such a terrible situation, Tang Zhao had no way to avoid it. Could he just stop collecting them?

From afar, the Yin Qi grew heavier, and the nauseating, fishy stench emanating from the Fierce Beasts actually faded. Tang Zhao knew he was very close. What he had to face now were not those ignorant monsters that lacked even the reason of ordinary beasts, but intelligent beings that were truly no different from humans. Although Tang Zhao had faced many Tianmo, most were encountered in the Human World. In the Human World, he was on home turf, and the Tianmo were on away turf. No matter how strong the Tianmo were, they were suppressed in every aspect by the World Will, not only being burned by World Fire but also having their minds disrupted, making the Tianmo sometimes look more chaotic than Fierce Beasts, allowing them to be easily deceived or outwitted. But in the Taiyin Domain, the world was no longer completely on his side. Shattered to this extent, it could at most be called a neutral ground.

So, he was about to fire the first shot on this land where he would confront the Tianmo head-on.

Tang Zhao thought, his gaze shifting upward, meeting the eyes of a figure on a treetop, and smiled slightly, saying silently, "Hello there!"

That figure swayed for a moment, and the next instant, it was pierced through by a ray of light that was as scorching as the midday sun, yet colorless and formless.

"A Phantom, huh." Tang Zhao shook his head.

Reaching this point, the small fry like the Fierce Beasts had retreated; below was the territory of the Phantoms. Phantoms were spiritual bodies that had come from the Tianmo Jie. Compared to Tianmo that descended in flesh and blood, they were certainly far inferior, but compared to the Fierce Beasts formed by Yin Qi infection, they were much more "core." Although their raw strength might not necessarily be stronger than the Fierce Beasts, they walked crooked paths and were very difficult opponents.

But to Tang Zhao, there was no difference.

He walked inward with caution and responsibility for the sake of safety; it wasn't that the Phantoms were worth him taking action. In fact, the threat of Phantoms to a Sword Guest was even less than that of Fierce Beasts. Because the Spirit that Phantoms targeted was exactly the area a Sword Guest guarded most strictly. The sword naturally protected the Sword Guest's Spirit and will, constantly guarding against external forces and the erosion of other swords. As long as the Sword Heart had no problems, it was basically impossible for a Sword Guest to have their defenses broken by a Phantom.

However, since he had arrived here, for the sake of caution, Tang Zhao still got off the Six Dragon Carriage, put away the conspicuous carriage, and traveled through the mountain forest with only one person and one sword, destroying any Phantoms he encountered along the way. His Spirit could basically cover a radius of a hundred paces; to ensure absolute precision, he compressed it to within ten paces in a combat state, making it basically impossible to make a mistake. Any Phantom within this distance was annihilated in an instant.

Advancing with such caution and decisiveness, at least until he reached the nest, no Phantom had been able to issue a warning.

Finally, Tang Zhao saw the Tianmo lair on the cliff ahead. At the same time, the lens finally lit up completely, and a familiar call seemed to reach his ears.

The moment he saw the lair, Tang Zhao couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

As expected... it was an insect nest!