Chapter 1697: Thousand Illusions and the Inverted Sea

Speaking of going out to eat, He Lingchuan’s stomach rumbled. He had been busy fighting, having not eaten or drunk for more than a dozen hours. Now that he had relaxed, he felt hungry.

He walked out and gave a few instructions. In less than fifteen minutes, his personal guards brought out wine and dishes. With business concluded, it was time for drinks and conversation.

As the two men chatted casually and laughed heartily, He Lingchuan suddenly asked, “So, Mr. Xin, what exactly are you good at?”

“Me?” Xin Yi pondered. “I suppose I know more people and more things, and others are willing to associate with me.”

He Lingchuan knew Xin Yi’s abilities went beyond that. But since Xin Yi mentioned his extensive experience, He Lingchuan immediately followed up with a question:

“Then I’ll have to ask Mr. Xin for a little secret – I’m very curious, what kind of Celestial Master is the current rotating leader of Spirit Mountain, True Master Qianhuan?”

A few months earlier, He Lingchuan had asked the same question, but Xin Yi had evaded it. Months later, he brought it up again, asking even more directly than before. However, Xin Yi was now very familiar with him and constantly sought He Lingchuan’s advice and answers to his own questions. So, what was wrong with answering one or two of He Lingchuan’s in return?

“Brother He is still interested in this?”

“Why wouldn’t I be interested? I haven’t even seen a Great Immortal yet.” He Lingchuan shrugged. “Commander Zhong said that Spirit Mountain has True Immortals who usually remain in seclusion but emerge to take turns governing Spirit Mountain to prevent worldly turmoil.” The rotational system for Spirit Mountain Immortals was something Wang Xingyi had told He Lingchuan. But it didn't matter; Zhong Shengguang certainly didn't mind He Lingchuan using his name. By saying this, he was implying to Xin Yi that he was not entirely ignorant about Spirit Mountain.

Xin Yi already had a certain understanding of He Lingchuan's status and character. Considering that this was no great secret within Spirit Mountain, he said, “Spirit Mountain is indeed governed in rotation by ancient True Immortals. Currently, there are two at the helm: one is Xiao Hanzi, and the other is True Master Qianhuan.”

He Lingchuan’s breathing hitched. True Master Qianhuan! So, as expected, True Master Qianhuan controls Spirit Mountain in this era. When the State of Mou first gave him the mission to awaken True Master Qianhuan, the provided information indicated that True Master Qianhuan had been in seclusion for over 150 years. He must have entered seclusion after his rotation, meaning he was on duty during the era of Panlong City! It could be said that during this period, Spirit Mountain should be under the control of True Master Qianhuan and Xiao Hanzi. Indeed, this test had yielded results!

“Approximately how long do these Celestial Masters serve before rotating duties?” With the spiritual energy of the world being scarce, these Celestial Masters, upon emerging from seclusion, are like beached whales. They can survive for a short period, but their condition isn't optimal. They frequently need to be “watered” — no, drenched in spiritual energy — just to endure. After a period, these Celestial Masters must hand over their duties and return to seclusion to recuperate and restore their vital energy.

“The duration isn’t fixed, to prevent people from discovering patterns and exploiting weaknesses,” Xin Yi replied. “But the shortest is thirty years. I recall Celestial Master Xuanlu served the longest, for a total of seventy-two years. However, that tenure caused such a great depletion that he needed over a hundred years to recuperate before he could emerge again.”

He Lingchuan murmured, “Oh. When did these two Great Immortals emerge from seclusion?”

“Xiao Hanzi emerged nine years ago. True Master Qianhuan is more recent, having emerged less than three years ago.”

Only three years! He Lingchuan’s eyes flickered, careful not to let Xin Yi notice his surprise. As Xin Yi had mentioned, a rotating Celestial Master serves no less than thirty years. True Master Qianhuan had only been out for just over two years. Logically, he should have at least another thirty or forty years of service before transferring authority to the next ancient Immortal and going into seclusion. However, historical reality was that True Master Qianhuan only served for a brief period of just over ten years, setting a record for the shortest tenure. What could have happened to make him end his rotation early and return to seclusion? With Qianhuan’s early retirement, the other ancient Immortals taking over Spirit Mountain would certainly be displeased. Emerging from seclusion meant depleting their own spiritual energy reserves, and managing Spirit Mountain affairs was taxing. How could it compare to the leisure of cultivating in their caves? So, what kind of problem did Qianhuan himself encounter? Any trouble that could make him enter seclusion early must have been a major issue.

“So, as an ancient Great Immortal, what great divine abilities does this True Master Qianhuan possess?”

“That’s quite complex; I only know a little about it,” Xin Yi chuckled. “He can make you trapped without realizing it, and even swap everyone around you, yet you’d remain unaware. True Master Qianhuan’s abilities are not as simple as surface-level techniques, cultivation, or combat. If he wants to deal with you, you’d have no way to defend yourself. Even if you opened your eyes wide and heightened your vigilance, it would still be impossible to distinguish truth from falsehood. No, wait – with him, truth is falsehood, and falsehood is truth.”

“I don’t understand.” He Lingchuan feigned a sigh. “But I truly wish to witness the demeanor of an Immortal.”

“General He is still young; opportunities abound,” Xin Yi remarked casually. “Besides, you’re not bad either. In my opinion, even if you sold someone, they’d still be smiling and counting the money for you.”

The two men exchanged glances and burst into laughter.

Xin Yi continued, “Actually, Spirit Mountain has long been divided into two factions: one advocates active engagement with the world, while the other still dislikes worldly affairs and wishes to avoid mortal entanglements.”

He Lingchuan shook his head, “With Beijia and the Sky Gods present, how can worldly entanglements be avoided just by wishing to?”

Xin Yi clapped his hands, “Exactly, precisely so!”

He then sighed, “A truth that General He understands in his early twenties, some people fail to grasp even after living for hundreds or thousands of years. They’ve wasted so many years eating rice — no, spiritual elixirs.”

He Lingchuan couldn’t help but chuckle. It seemed Mr. Xin belonged to the faction that advocated worldly engagement, which was evident from his usual speech and demeanor.

“I also heard about a strange place in the world called the Upside-Down Sea?” He Lingchuan mentioned casually, as if by accident. “Mr. Xin, having traveled far and wide, have you ever been there?” He Lingchuan knew from Spirit Mountain's records that True Master Qianhuan had entered meditation in the Upside-Down Sea over 150 years ago, and he also heard that ancient Immortals usually changed their seclusion locations. This implied that at the current time, the Upside-Down Sea had no connection to True Master Qianhuan yet. When he asked about the Upside-Down Sea, Xin Yi simply assumed he was curious about the outside world. Although the young general of Panlong City was a genius at warfare, he had spent years in the Panlong Wasteland, and his worldly experience was somewhat lacking.

“The Upside-Down Sea? It certainly lives up to the word ‘strange.’” Xin Yi’s expression remained unchanged, as he casually asked in return, “Where did you hear that name?”

“Mr. Lu Xun,” He Lingchuan was talking nonsense again. “Once, while we were drinking, he mentioned that Razor’s Edge Port, at the southern tip of Bailie, faces an archipelago. Those islands are shrouded in malevolent energy year-round, forbidding living creatures from approaching, yet they are home to a strange sea monster. This monster is called a Yin-Hui, which rests on land and hunts in the water. Ships that accidentally venture deep into the archipelago find it very difficult to sail out, largely because the Yin-Hui eat people. And this group of Yin-Hui comes from a peculiar place, the Upside-Down Sea.” He Lingchuan knew that the more valid information he provided, the more his story would sound true. “Mr. Lu also said he met a person from the Upside-Down Sea who told him it was a utopia, free from war, strife, and the influence of the Sky Gods. I wondered, could such a good place truly exist in this world?”

Panlong City had been mired in war for years, so Xin Yi could understand He Lingchuan’s longing for such a peaceful and tranquil place.

“I haven’t been there myself, but I heard that the Upside-Down Sea was originally called the Illusory Sea. It’s perpetually shrouded in dense fog and malevolent energy, making the sea surface dreamlike and elusive, with few ships able to navigate it. The Upside-Down Sea was once part of the Northern Sea, also known as the Endless Sea.”

He Lingchuan nodded, waiting for him to say “later.”

“Later, when the War between Immortals and Demons broke out, the human realm was left devastated. The rules of many places changed, and the Illusory Sea was no exception.”

“It is said that the earth-shattering battle between Reverend Lingxu and the Dragon God took place in the Endless Sea. Its power was so immense that it even broke localized laws of heaven and earth, causing a powerful resonant force to erupt between this realm and the void. The Illusory Sea was drawn into it, and from then on, it was renamed the ‘Upside-Down Sea.’ Outsiders can only enter under specific circumstances.”

“So it’s not in this realm; no wonder it’s unaffected by the Sky Gods.” He Lingchuan marveled, still asking in a longing tone, “How can one find it?”

“The entrance to the Upside-Down Sea is in the vast Northern Sea, an endless expanse. If you search for it aimlessly like a headless fly, you’ll never find it. Moreover, even if someone understands the patterns and locates it, they still can’t enter if the timing isn’t right.”

“Timing?”

“Don’t ask me, I’m not clear on that either.”

He Lingchuan rubbed his nose. “With such difficulty, has anyone truly been inside? Could it be a made-up story?”

“Of course, there have been,” Xin Yi chuckled. “There are residents in the Upside-Down Sea.”

He Lingchuan was surprised. “Humans?”

“Yes. That’s why the phrase ‘serendipitous coincidence’ can be annoying. Some search for it their entire lives without success, while others, who don’t wish to go, are swept into the Upside-Down Sea by storms. Since they couldn’t leave anyway, they simply settled down and multiplied over generations, which could be considered a blessing in disguise. The person Lu Xun met might be a descendant of these early inhabitants,” Xin Yi added. “Besides humans, the Upside-Down Sea also has fish-beasts and monsters, much like any ordinary ocean and islands.”

“If there’s a chance, I’d like to experience it myself.”

Xin Yi picked up a peanut. “General He, at your young age, shouldn’t have such reclusive thoughts.”

He Lingchuan said lazily, “Avoiding disaster is human nature. If the Upside-Down Sea is big enough, I’ll persuade Commander Zhong to move Panlong City’s military and civilians there, and then we’ll completely ignore this filthy world!”

“…” That’s wishful thinking. Xin Yi knew he was joking. “Tell me about tomorrow’s battle plan.”

“All right.”

At the Jintao front, forged by war, the Ximo Legion and Yuheng Army he brought had seamlessly integrated and cooperated flawlessly. After months of holding their ground and engaging in battles, they faced the Beijia army with increasing confidence, no longer feeling nervous as they had at the beginning.

However, He Lingchuan knew that the Jintao front would ultimately be difficult to hold.

He was only halfway through when a peregrine falcon landed on the wooden post outside the window, nodding in salute to him:

“General, it’s time to return to the city.”

According to the plan, He Lingchuan was to set off to Panlong City today.

Xin Yi was perceptive; he rubbed his belly and stood up. “I’ve had too much to drink. I’ll head back now.”