Chapter 797: The First Fragment

The beetle-man A Jia stood at the cave entrance, looking as if every cell in his body was on high alert. His eyes were wide open, scanning the two hundred and seventy degrees in front of him, and the single horn on his head stood erect like an antenna, scouting for enemy activity at every moment.

Although he appeared to be in a tense state of work, his mood was actually relatively relaxed. After all, standing guard here was mostly just a formality. They had long since figured out the situation in the vicinity; the nearest enemies were a group of earth savages down the mountain, whose threat was almost laughable. If the YoungMaster really intended to stay here for a while, he could easily clear them out. The rest were just some beast-servants in the forest, small fry that were not worth a single blow, having only mutated after being stained by a bit of spiritual energy. They didn't even have brains, and naturally dared not approach this cave upon feeling the suppression of spiritual energy.

As for potential threats, the only one he could think of was the giant worm that had just left. However, he actually knew that the giant worm had already been handled by Fu Shao Ye, and in the future, it would be no different from himself, working like a horse or ox for the YoungMaster... no, serving with loyalty and devotion, so the chance of it coming back to stab them in the back was also very low. On one hand, he kept his vigilance fixed on the direction the giant worm had left in, while on the other, he was simply putting on a show so that when the YoungMaster came out of the cave, he could see his loyalty at a single glance.

Time passed second by second. Seeing no movement in the cave, A Jia was not surprised. He recalled the giant worm saying it needed thirty years to shed its entire body, which showed that this water pool did not take effect in a moment. So, it wouldn't be strange for Fu Shao Ye to stay inside for a day or half, three days or two, ten days or half... would it?

Therefore, he was not in a hurry. Although staying vigilant all the time was tiring, he was also a person with cultivation. For the sake of his future, what was a little hardship?

Bang!

A strange sound came from the cave.

It was the sound of something collapsing.

Because it was inside the cave, the movement was actually very slight, and an ordinary person might not have been able to catch it, but to his ears, it sounded like a thunderclap, and all the hair on his body stood up!

Something happened!

If it had been an explosive roar, he would not have been so anxious; it was precisely this light sound that confirmed something had gone wrong. A terrifying enemy had arrived, and it was very likely that there was an ambush inside, and the YoungMaster had been plotted against!

Damn it! Was it that giant worm?

Actually, thinking about it, it couldn't be. He couldn't have missed such a large worm, but he hoped it was the giant worm, so he wouldn't have to face an unknown enemy.

Although burning with anxiety, A Jia remained calm in the face of danger. He reached out and drew his weapon—the Strange Gate Fork Stick that was tucked into his waist, shaped just like the single horn on his head—and then flashed into the cave sideways.

His posture for entering the cave was extremely peculiar; he went in almost pressed against the cave wall, just like a beetle crawling on a tree trunk, half-climbing and half-jumping. It was both hidden and fast. This route was one that an ordinary person would never think of, and even if one were setting a trap, it would be impossible to cover this line. Coupled with his gray-black body, which almost blended into the rock wall, and his extremely fast speed, he was confident he would never be discovered and could instead take advantage of the enemy's lack of preparation to counterattack calmly...

A flash of golden light!

Before A Jia's eyes, it was as if a sun had risen. He only saw a sheet of snow-white, and immediately after, his body plummeted downward...

Thump!

Because he had been climbing high, the sound of him falling was much louder than his YoungMaster's, but there were no longer any ears outside as vigilant as his.

"The second one."

Tang Zhao walked out from the back of the cave. He was actually still some distance from the entrance; the cliff cave was quite deep, and the natural light from outside could not reach the very back. He didn't need to hide specifically to avoid being seen at first glance, but the distance from the back of the cave to the entrance was equivalent to nothing for light.

In truth, there was still a gap in strength. This Fu Shao Ye and his lackey were only Sword Hero-level powerhouses at most, with perhaps slightly stronger bodies, but they were definitely within Tang Zhao's range. It stood to reason that at such a critical moment, the Sword Immortal powerhouses on the side of the Heavenly Demons could not be running around everywhere. Of course, although he could win in a head-on fight, it was naturally better to succeed in a sneak attack if possible.

This sneak attack was very simple. Tang Zhao didn't even use strategic weapons like the Vanishing Sword or the Suspicion Sword; he simply distorted the light to make himself optically invisible and walked into the cave openly, one step ahead of that six-armed man. As a playboy, the six-armed man was naturally lacking in vigilance, and his loyal bodyguard was busy staring at the giant worm's retreat, completely unaware that someone had entered the cave while his attention was diverted.

He piled the master and servant together on the side, not harming their lives for now, as he still had questions to ask later. There was still a giant worm outside that definitely needed to be dealt with, but it would have to wait; Tang Zhao had more important things to do now.

Arriving at the edge of the water pool, Tang Zhao squatted down and gazed at the pool.

With his naked eye, he actually couldn't see anything. He didn't even see any sparkling Fragments in the pool. He had to know that he could see the Glasses, but since he didn't see the thing he was looking for, he took off the Glasses and let the broken Glasses sink into the water pool on their own, letting them do their work.

The lens entered the water, and the surface rippled slightly. Tang Zhao stared, but didn't see any Fragments appear. Suddenly, a faint vibration sound came to his ears, and he jerked his head up.

The sound came from overhead!

This cave could also be considered a lava cave, though it was not active. There were stalactites on the ceiling, and one thick stalactite hung exactly above the water pool; every drop of water in the pool had fallen from the ceiling. He didn't know how many thousands or tens of thousands of years it had taken to accumulate such a pool of water.

Now, it was that most conspicuous stalactite that was vibrating, as if something was shaking it from above.

"Crack—"

With a crisp sound, the stalactite, which had taken who knew how many years to accumulate, broke off and fell into the water with a splash. Then, Tang Zhao saw the sparkling Fragment.

The next moment, the Fragment had turned into an invisible stream of light and merged into the spectacle lens. Tang Zhao only felt the hand holding the lens grow hot, and he sensed the slight trembling of the Glasses; that should have been a kind of joy.

Tang Zhao couldn't wait to lift the Glasses out of the water. Without needing to shake them, there wasn't a single drop of water on the lens.

And...

"Why is it still a one-eyed dragon?"

After Tang Zhao had obtained the previous Fragment, one lens was restored, but the other was still a mess. Although outsiders couldn't see it, Tang Zhao felt awkward himself, as if he were blind in one eye. He had thought he could restore it to a balance this time, and that the other lens would at least recover in appearance, but he hadn't expected there to still be only one good lens.

"Is there any difference between this and before?"

Tang Zhao put on the Glasses and immediately discovered the difference, letting out a soft "Wow."

So clear!

That feeling was like his nearsightedness having deepened without him realizing it, but because he was used to wearing his old glasses, he hadn't noticed anything wrong. But the moment he put on a new pair of glasses, he felt the world had become clear.

So the world was like this.

This... this feeling...

Tang Zhao couldn't help but recall the scene when he had simulated holding the Gaoyuan Marquis's "Clear Vision Sword," where he could see everything in heaven and earth, far and near, inside and out. The feeling at that time had been excellent, as if everything were within his grasp, and he still missed it to this day.

Now, wearing the Glasses, he had that same feeling. His field of vision was so clear that he could see whatever he wanted to see.

"Magnify..."

He began to issue commands unconsciously. The Glasses magnified with ease, and he could immediately see the fine structure in the cracks of the stones, and he could also Look into the distance, making distant scenery appear as if it were right before his eyes.

"Can it see through things?"

Responding to his request, the Glasses made an attempt.

It was barely possible; it could penetrate some obstacles, but the thickness was limited. Ordinary walls were no problem, but seeing the scenery behind the mountain through the entire mountain body was still not possible.

"But once the Fragments are all collected, it should be possible, right?"

Tang Zhao was a bit excited. This feeling of being able to see whatever he wanted was too great, as if he were omnipotent. But immediately after, he realized that even if he could see through the world, it wouldn't help with the crisis at hand, and his excitement dampened quite a bit. However, he still cheered himself up; this was only the first Fragment, and the Glasses had already added a new function. Who knew what kind of miracles would happen once all the Fragments were collected?

In any case, progress plus one.

Tang Zhao had achieved his first goal, and there were still some loose ends to tie up. The first was that giant worm outside; it was time to deal with it. Tang Zhao felt quite regretful that he hadn't brought Wei Se out; otherwise, he could have disguised himself as that six-armed man and launched another sneak attack.

But thinking about it, Wei Se only did disguises, not mutations. A bald head was easy to fake, but how could he fake six arms? He would have to find a way himself.

Besides, once the strength was there, there was no need to rely on sneak attacks.

He immediately put the two Heavenly Demons into the Time Jar, and used light and shadow to slightly change his appearance—at least from a distance, he looked like the six-armed man—and walked out swaggeringly.

Arriving in the forest, he saw from afar that the giant worm was taking a walk in the forest.

Although it was strange to use this word, it was walking on its six feet in the forest at a leisurely pace, so it could only be a walk.

It was unexpectedly relaxed. Well, it had been stifled in the cave for who knew how many years without moving, so it should take the opportunity to move around.

Tang Zhao transformed into the appearance of a six-armed person, walked over swaggeringly, and raised his hand.

That big insect's wings rubbed together rapidly, and it said: "Why have you come out? Shouldn't you be seizing the time to improve yourself at a moment like this? Do you have a lot of time?"

Tang Zhao wanted to say something, but suddenly discovered he could not speak the language of the Heavenly Demons, so he had no choice but to make a head-shaking expression and walk over, his face full of confusion. Anyway, once he reached it, he would naturally Touch...

Seeing that he had reached close range, Tang Zhao still looked bewildered, pointing at the big insect with one finger, just about to say something, when suddenly, the big insect swept over diagonally, half of its golden wing like a blade, cutting toward Tang Zhao's neck!

Tang Zhao felt slightly surprised, but his reaction was extremely fast; a ray of light flew out from his sleeve and rubbed against the big insect's wing—

Ssh—

It turned out that Tang Zhao's light was defeated! He instead used this force to fly backward, landed to one side, and stared at the golden wing with great solemnity:

The material polished over so many years using the Glasses Fragment is truly extraordinary!

But on the surface, he still said relaxedly: "Eh? It was actually seen through, how strange."