Chapter 160: Deep Layer Vision Combine

Even though Xiao Putao directly surpassed in the Pupil Skill and instantly killed a pilgrim’s corpse, Yi Chen did not rush to continue climbing but returned to regroup with the squad. “Reagan, what’s your take?” His slightly chubby fingers scratched at his cheek, giving his analysis: “A corpse is still a corpse; those eyes are merely the abnormal combination that occurred under the effect of the Grey Zone when the worm eyes were ingested into the body. They are pieced together using this corpse to affect passing organisms. ... At its essence, it belongs to an abnormal variant primarily of animals, insects, and the like, having lost the attribute of being human. As long as we’re prepared in advance, they are not highly threatening. It also explains why animal eyes and insect eyes don’t have much of an effect on the pilgrims themselves… What they need may only be the “human eye.” The pilgrims who had their eyes gouged out died with a smile perhaps because they achieved some purpose, allowing someone to carry on with their eyeballs and complete this pilgrimage.” “Hmm, that’s what I thought too… Let’s get going.” Just as Yi Chen was ready to continue on the mountain path, Reagan reached out to stop him. “Let me take the lead, these incomplete eye clusters are just right for a warm-up… It’s been almost a year since I last ventured out of the city to fight against the Patients.” “Sure.” Yi Chen and Jin walked behind, with Jin feeling no urge to insist. She simply wasn’t interested in these lowly “corpse eye clusters.” Pop pop pop~ Explosive sounds were intermittently transmitted from the treacherous mountain path. Any corpse Reagan passed, before even a shred of cloth could be lifted, the internal eye clusters would all explode. The path ahead was clear, and this perilous route of pilgrimage had no detours, making the journey smooth. Following the trail of pilgrim corpses, they arrived mid-mountain, at the ‘thinnest’ part of the stem of Holy Grail Mountain, where the extension of corpses also ended. All along the way, Yi Chen had been counting in his mind—exactly 1008 bodies. One could imagine how vast the original group of pilgrims that came to Holy Grail Mountain was. Mid-mountain, there was a flat platform in the mountainside suitable for rest, and it was here that a fork in the road first appeared. One path was an extension of the previous rugged mountain path, continuing to cling to the perilous cliff sides. In some places, the path broke off, requiring climbing to connect. Another path extended towards the other side of Holy Grail Mountain, corresponding to a relatively gentle forest path. After discussing it within the team, everyone decided to continue on the perilous mountain route. Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. After a brief rest at the mountain platform, Yi Chen, as per habit, used one hand to support himself, attempting to stand up, not knowing his palm would land right on a flat pebble. What should have been a hard, cold pebble, instead had a somewhat soft and even warm feel, Crack crack~ The pebble, as if realizing it had been discovered, suddenly grew four insect legs from beneath, trying to flee from the spot. Yi Chen certainly wasn’t going to let it go, turned on his heel and stomped down… crunch! The pebble was completely crushed. Broken rocks and various bits of flesh, and even an eyeball amongst them. Though flattened, it was still distinguishable as being similar to a human eyeball, its surface still connected to numerous brain nerves, seemingly bearing the function of the Main Brain. ＲàΝộ????ƐṨ “The corpses of the previous pilgrims only contained animal or insect eyeballs, but this sick stone appearing here contains an eyeball almost resembling a human’s and even shouldering brain functions. Doesn’t that seem a bit weird~ Could it be that from mid-mountain onwards, matter is officially under the combined influence of Gathering Eye Disease and Grey Zone? Everyone be careful, the path ahead might have more eye-related abnormal entities, and the threat level will definitely be greater.” Yi Chen did not receive any response when he finished speaking. He abruptly looked up, only to find Jin and Reagan, who were supposed to be by his side, nowhere to be seen. Only Yi Chen’s own footprints were on the grassy mountain slope… the two had never been here at all. A chill surged up, and his expression turned grave. Yi Chen quickly stepped onto the treacherous mountain path and peered down. The path was still lined with the corpses of pilgrims, and fifty meters below, thick fog obscured everything, leaving no trace of his teammates. “Xiao Putao!” Upon Yi Chen’s call, Xiao Putao emerged from the collar as normal. “What’s the situation, why is it only you?” Xiao Putao was also puzzled by the scene before her. “We must have been under the effect of some Hallucination Pupil Technique for quite a while now… I only realized it when I just now crushed a stone creature, but the scene before us is not entirely real.” Yi Chen quickly disputed Grape’s conclusion, “Impossible! Even if you’re affected, I won’t be… I am a graveyard creature with the Eye as my main attribute, to make me fall into a trap, unless…” At this point, even Grape paused for a moment. “Unless what?” “Unless on the level of eyes, it transcends me, the Patient also with the Eye as its core attribute, infinitely close to Open Source, and might have even reached the level of Open Source. Now we’re done for. The truly terrifying thing about spiritual Patients is right here… As long as they surpass us in level, we won’t even know how we died. If we don’t know how we got trapped, the same might happen afterward. Perhaps while walking along the mountain path, you would suddenly fall from a several-hundred-meter-high mountain and only realize you’re going to die the moment your body is smashed to pieces. Or maybe you think you found your teammates and you’re gathering with them, but then the next thing you know, they’re eating off your head and devouring your body.” Yi Chen took a deep breath and wasn’t influenced by Grape’s negative talk. “Hey! Grape~ If you want to survive, bring out your best skills. Starting now, turn your visual enhancement to the max, and don’t let up for a moment.” “Easy for you to say, maintaining high concentration for a long time will make my eyes bloodshot and damage them.” “Didn’t you just get the essence of Cold Lake Cemetery? Wash your eyes with Cold Lake water from time to time. You should be able to hold up for a while, right? Let me know if you really can’t.” Grape gritted his teeth, “Alright~” “Wait…” Yi Chen suddenly stopped Grape in his tracks and posed a question, “Where did we first meet? Which gravesite number was it?” Grape didn’t answer verbally but instead stretched out all six fingers, indicating the largest number. “Do you suspect I’m fake?” “Just eliminating any possible risks. Come on… Full Vision, activate!” Although Grape was somewhat annoyed, considering the current dangerous situation, he performed a standard diving motion and submerged into Yi Chen’s body. The soft black sphere rapidly moved through the blood vessels to the inside of the skull, where the black hair adhered to the brain and slowly fused with it. “First off, it’s my first time ‘combining’ with you like this. Your vision might change drastically, and the burden on your brain’s nerves will also increase several times. If you can’t handle it, disengage on your own. Be careful not to push too hard, or you might risk brain explosion. Once your brain shatters, even if your body is taken back to the cemetery, it’s pretty much useless.” “Bring it on.” As Grape’s body completely merged with the brain, Whirr! A moist and lustrous eyeball slowly opened in the center of the brain. At that moment, Yi Chen was also stunned. Strands of black thread emerged on the surface of his two facial eyeballs, sewing a ring of hair-like pupils on the surface of the eyeballs, like threading a needle. Hiss~ Even a whiff of corpse energy leaked from the eyeballs, and black blood streaks filled the whites of the eyes. In an instant, a more colorful, intricate, and complex world unfolded before him, every hidden Stone Eye Worm in the shadows was pinpointedly captured, and he also noticed an abnormally reflective surface on a mountainside. Yi Chen stepped towards the spot on the mountainside wall that was no more than half a meter wide and reached out to touch it. His hand felt nothing, and after a display of dazzling colors, the wall astonishingly vanished, revealing a hidden passageway into the heart of the mountain. Yi Chen did not enter it immediately but returned to the pilgrimage path he had been on before, to revisit the perilous mountain route with his current visual condition… The sight captured by his Field of View left him utterly shocked. The previously solitary pilgrim’s mountain path had now turned into a labyrinthine maze with a myriad of forks every few steps. And there weren’t as many pilgrims’ corpses as there seemed initially. The corpses were mostly concentrated around the forks, their outstretched hands pointing in different directions, creating a misleading effect. Among the mountains were also strewn various small stone Sick Objects that functioned like natural Watchers, or rather carriers of Illusions, influencing and altering the visual scenery for passersby as they cooperated with each other. Which is to say, since the earliest encounter with the corpse of the Pilgrim, we had begun to be affected, and had already been completely scattered along the complicated paths. Even with the Combination of Vision with Grape, the moment I’m the slightest bit distracted, the mountain path would revert to the ‘false image’ with only one path.” “With so many forks, it’s basically impossible to find Jin and Reagan’s location… not to mention Grape can’t hold up that long. Reagan and Jin are no weaker than I am, so I’ll have to trust them.” Yi Chen took a deep breath and walked towards the recently discovered hidden wall.