Chapter 1725: Illusion and Reality

"The Storm Wall has just opened; there might not be any activity in the lake yet," Xiao Wencheng said gravely. "We'll have to wait until after dark."Soon.

"The Inverted Lake is conveniently separated from the open sea by only a single weir," he said, pointing at the coastline. "So, let's open the weir and lure them in."

The Haoyuan Gold Mirror showed that Bai Ziqi's fleet had found another flat beach and was preparing to land.Xiao Wencheng acted swiftly, once again requesting the power of Immortal Qianhuan to elevate this flat beach into towering reefs. Consequently, the entire island experienced another great earthquake, with continuous rumbling sounds.Dozens of spellcasters in Bai Ziqi's fleet were defiant and tried to combine their strength to flatten the reefs, but no matter how much power they exerted, it was like a clay ox entering the sea. It was useless. The terrain of the Inverted Sea was dictated by the Haoyuan Gold Mirror—no, by Immortal Qianhuan. The fleet had no choice but to give up and sought another landing spot.

While the last drastic change in terrain caused a commotion, Xiao Wencheng, with his other hand, quietly pressed down on the edge of the Inverted Lake, deeply "erasing" the weir. Seawater immediately poured in. Thus, there was no longer any barrier between the Inverted Lake and the ocean, allowing the waters to connect. And from the sand table, the Inverted Lake was no longer a mere lake; it was clearly a natural harbor connected to the open sea!

"Bai Ziqi's fleet certainly won't miss this place," Xiao Wencheng said, pleased with his maneuver. "Junior Brother Jin, Junior Brother Xu, prepare to lead your people there."The two elders acknowledged and turned to leave the pavilion.The mirror showed Bai Ziqi's fleet advancing along the coastline, and sure enough, they reached the Inverted Lake two quarters of an hour later! He Lingchuan personally witnessed the fleet entering through the original opening and slowly sailing toward the inner lake shore.

"It's time. Don't let them set up their formation!" Xiao Wencheng lightly tapped the Haoyuan Gold Mirror, and the mirror vanished as if it had never been in the quiet room."Go to the plaza," he told He Lingchuan. Then he pushed open the door, flicked his sleeve, and disappeared right before He Lingchuan and the others' eyes. On their own territory, these immortals truly possessed some useful divine powers. Granny Zhu spat enviously.

The Illusory Sect launched several more attacks using the power of heaven and earth, all of which were firmly repelled by the Heavenly Palace. The cost was that their interconnected grand formation, which operated on the principle of "one move affects the whole," had reached its limit. The ship formation dissolved, forcing them to abandon the mechanism of advancing, retreating, and bearing damage together. In the blink of an eye, the fleet lost three more ships, leaving only fourteen, with three of them severely damaged and difficult to navigate.Everyone was on edge, and even Bai Ziqi's face was ashen. No matter how powerful they were, they needed to get ashore first; remaining at sea meant suffering great losses. Fortunately, after a round of explosive attacks, the Illusory Sect also ceased its activities, temporarily causing no more trouble. As for the underwater oil paste, he used Bai Shi's lamp spirit to create a hidden fire and released it into the sea, burning everything clean.

Bai Ziqi seized the opportunity and ordered the fleet to advance at full speed. The sea surface became calm once more, but everyone knew this tranquility wouldn't last. Soon, a small boat rowed over from the rear, and a White Guard quickly reported:"Your Excellency, representatives from Luodian and Longye are here to see you."Bai Ziqi nodded.

Thus, a dozen breaths later, the burly men sent by the two countries' armies stood on the deck and respectfully saluted Bai Ziqi: "Your Excellency! The general has dispatched us to await your next move!"In plain terms: The fleet has tried two locations and still can't land. What's your next plan? Please tell us first, so we don't wander around like headless flies.These two to three thousand people had been aimlessly following Bai Ziqi's flagship at sea for a long time, unsure of what they were supposed to do.Bai Ziqi said calmly, "Stay close and be ready to land."He understood that these three forces were worried about staying at sea too long, fearing another major attack from the Immortal Sect. The previous tsunamis and giant fish were too terrifying. Furthermore, the opponent could easily raise land, transforming flat beaches into high cliffs. These divine powers far exceeded human capabilities and were disheartening. Although these warriors were brave, adrift on ships, they knew such forces could not be resisted by their courage alone.

The two men exchanged glances, looking troubled. Report this to the general just like that?"Don't worry, our opponents can't defeat us," Bai Ziqi said, pressing his ring. "Otherwise, they could simply send more tsunamis. Why would they go to the trouble of raising land and preventing us from coming ashore?"The two cautiously asked, "You mean...?"Bai Ziqi explained, "Even if the Illusory Sect can move mountains and fill seas, and even if this is an illusion, using such powerful divine abilities consumes an astonishing amount of spiritual energy. How many more times can they use them? Don't forget, Immortal Qianhuan's Reversal Array, set up outside, has stopped functioning. The spiritual energy of the Inverted Sea cannot be replenished in time, and all the resources they consume are from their reserves. They cannot be as extravagant as before.""You mean we'll be able to land soon?"Talking to these fellows was like playing a lute to a cow, Bai Ziqi sighed. "Yes, we'll shift at most two or three more locations." It seemed that a clear answer was sufficient; no further explanation was needed.The two men brightened, immediately took their leave, and returned to their respective ships to report. Being able to report back was enough: His Excellency Commander Bai had clearly stated that they would be able to land after shifting at most two or three more places!

No sooner had they disembarked than a grey parrot suddenly flew down from a grey sail. With a flap of its wings, it landed on the wooden doorframe next to Bai Ziqi and spoke in human language:"That's a good analysis."A female voice.Bai Ziqi immediately bowed to it: "Goddess."This grey parrot was, surprisingly, the Voice Bird of Miaozhantian."I've fought against Qianhuan before. Its illusions are intricate, its divine powers profound, and its fighting style is completely different from what we just saw. It wouldn't launch such a strenuous and unrewarding attack," the grey parrot said. "The information gathered by the insect demon might be true: Qianhuan's true form is abnormal, which is great news for us."Bai Ziqi looked toward Stone Dragon Peak. "Forgive my bluntness, but although Qianhuan has not appeared, it has already caused us unexpected losses." From the moment he led his team to pursue Qianhuan, he knew this expedition would be extremely dangerous. However, losing four ships and hundreds of elite troops before even setting foot on Silver Pearl Island was more intense than he had anticipated.

"Other than the Black Dragon, I've never seen any immortal capable of 'uniting with heaven and earth,' not even in their own cave dwelling," the grey parrot said, pacing two steps outwards. "Here, even Qianhuan's subordinates can do it; it's peculiar! Most likely, they are borrowing his power. It seems Qianhuan hasn't been idle these past two thousand years and has gained some new insights. But an illusion is an illusion; the more they act freely, the more 'distorted' it becomes, and 'distortion' inevitably cannot last." Even an illusion has rules to abide by. If those rules aren't maintained, the illusion will collapse on its own. Whether gods or immortals, for thousands of years they have diligently cultivated, comprehending rules and understanding laws.Bai Ziqi seized the opportunity to ask, "Where are the boundaries of Immortal Qianhuan's illusion? I see that the civilians on the island are living people, and the insects, forests, fish, and birds are all real.""It's not strange at all. Qianhuan's illusion is designed to make it impossible for you to distinguish between true and false. What you think is fake turns out to be real; what you think is real turns out to be fake. You know it's Qianhuan's illusion, yet you have no way to guard against it," the grey parrot said slowly. "This is what's called: when the false is taken for the true, the true becomes false. Trying to deduce its boundaries is meaningless."Bai Ziqi pondered. Indeed, ever since the Heavenly Palace team entered the Inverted Sea, the damage caused by tsunamis and giant fish was real, and the land forcibly elevated was also real. In this light, what difference was there between illusion and reality?After some thought, he added, "The Illusory Sect has stopped its attacks. It seems that even on their own territory, great divine powers and immense might are not inexhaustible.""The Illusory Sect recklessly unleashed their great divine powers, thinking they were commanding everything, but they were actually overdrawing the very foundation of the entire illusion," the grey parrot chuckled. "The fleet was somewhat discomfited. I had hoped they would attack again, but they ceased their activities instead. It seems this is their limit." Once their limit was tested, things would be easier. Seeing the Heavenly Palace team suffer heavy losses yet being unable to attack further, the Illusory Sect must be quite frustrated, mustn't it?

Bai Ziqi quickly asked, "I've heard that Qianhuan once suffered defeat at your hands? Goddess, please enlighten me, what exactly is its true form?"Mirage Demons are merely a general term; it's said there are many types of them, but outsiders find them difficult to approach.The grey parrot was silent for a moment, then shook its head: "You'd have to ask Mitian about that, but I suspect even Mitian might not know the answer.""Mitian?" Bai Ziqi was somewhat surprised; he hadn't heard of this great deity in a long time."In ancient times, Qianhuan ambushed me in the Endless Sea, using an external avatar then as well. Mitian later arrived to help. Mitian was truly a God of War at that time. Qianhuan couldn't stand its ground and fled, pursued by Mitian across half the world before finally escaping. Qianhuan's whereabouts are elusive, and that was its only recorded defeat," the grey parrot said. "After that battle, Qianhuan was severely wounded and did not show itself until the end of the ancient great war. The enmity between it and Mitian was thus forged, until later..."It chuckled softly, then stopped and added, "Even in ancient times, Qianhuan never revealed its true form; instead, it used various avatars. This was likely to compensate for the deficiencies of its true form.""So, Qianhuan's true form isn't actually that powerful?" Bai Ziqi immediately said, "Since Qianhuan is in seclusion, our strategy will also slightly change. After landing, we'll first establish strongholds, gain a firm footing, build lighthouses, and plunder spiritual energy. During this process, the Illusory Sect's immortals will certainly try to stop us."The grey parrot immediately responded, "When water comes, use earth to block it. You just need to focus on completing your tasks at hand; as for matters concerning immortals, you needn't worry."Although spoken lightly, Bai Ziqi understood that Miaozhantian's personal promise would certainly be fulfilled! This was completely different from the Yao Kingdom coup. Miaozhantian could ignore Bai Tan's requests, but Bai Ziqi's intrusion into Qianhuan's cave dwelling meant he was working for Miaozhantian. This team represented Miaozhantian's elite force in the Blazing Gold Plains, and Miaozhantian herself needed to adopt a serious attitude and go all out.With this reassurance, Bai Ziqi felt even more confident: "After repelling the Illusory Sect, we'll seize the opportunity to head north and attack Stone Dragon Peak."