Chapter 1739: You just brag

Dong Rui scratched the back of his head uneasily. "The sand table doesn't show it," he said. "Does that mean the Sky Demon's barrier can deceive the Immortal Venerable's divine sight?"

"Exactly!" Xiao Wencheng's face darkened. "If the Immortal Venerable were awake, such a petty trick couldn't fool him. But he currently... within his vast perception, nothing is happening inside these two barriers. He might not even detect their existence!"

"These barriers can be called 'anomalies' – abnormal locations."

His explanation was a bit convoluted, but He Lingchuan understood it to mean that Miaozhantian was deliberately creating several loopholes, or "bugs," within the world built by Qianhuan. These not only isolated the rules Qianhuan had established in the Upside-Down Sea but also blocked Qianhuan's perception of the area.

In other words, Miaozhantian's barriers were "invisible" within Qianhuan's illusion.

It was a truly bizarre scene:

Qianhuan's illusion was striving for realism, while Miaozhantian's Eye of Truth was actively creating falsehoods within that very illusion.

He Lingchuan murmured, "When the false becomes true, the true also becomes false."

What kind of situation was this?

Mother Zhu explained, "Miaozhantian's lighthouses are being built one after another, forming a continuous zone. These 'anomalies' capable of deceiving the Immortal Venerable are growing in number. As the lighthouses' illuminated area expands, Miaozhantian's power will gradually expel your Immortal Venerable's influence, eventually establishing its own Sky Demon barriers across the island!"

At that point, the Heavenly Palace forces would withdraw from the lake shore to the central-northern part of Silver Pearl Island, and the Yakshas wouldn't pursue them that far. This would free them up to focus entirely on the Illusion Sect. Moreover, within the lighthouse barriers, Miaozhantian's power was slowly growing. Once lighthouses were planted across the entire island, the Upside-Down Sea would no longer be Qianhuan's domain.

This was a terrifying prospect. No, it wasn't a distant one.

Mother Zhu added, "These so-called 'lighthouses' were meticulously refined beforehand; they couldn't have been made in a hurry. When the prepared confront the unprepared, you will suffer a great loss."

Furthermore, Bai Ziqi's meticulous strategy, sometimes involving massive consumption and sometimes gradual attrition, was always aimed at the immortals' weaknesses, designed to catch the opponent off guard from the moment they arrived.

Dong Rui murmured, "If Silver Pearl Island is covered in lighthouses, then..."

The thought alone sent shivers down his spine.

He cleared his throat. "Sect Master Xiao, do we have any backup plans? This current situation doesn't look good."

Besides Qianhuan remaining in seclusion, one of the Illusion Sect's nine great immortals had just perished.

He felt that this round was not going well. The Illusion Sect was no ordinary immortal sect; if they had a contingency plan, shouldn't it be deployed now?

Xiao Wencheng knew he was reiterating an old point, hoping to summon Immortal Venerable Qianhuan to decimate their foes.

He Lingchuan shook his head. "It hasn't come to that point yet."

He could tell that Xiao Wencheng was composed, a sign that he had a backup plan.

"The Heavenly Palace is thinking too simply!" Xiao Wencheng said, staring at the mirror without turning his head. "Miaozhantian wants to use these lighthouses to counter the Immortal Venerable's rules within the Upside-Down Sea. The energy consumption is astonishing! How many more can it build?"

Beyond a comparison of strength, warfare ultimately comes down to consumption and resources.

Resisting Qianhuan's power on the Illusion Immortal's territory, even just breaking a small part of it, would consume astronomical amounts of spiritual energy.

Furthermore, six or seven lighthouses wouldn't be enough. Judging by their coverage, at least twelve or thirteen would be needed.

The lighthouses themselves were still growing; the larger the area covered by the barrier, the higher the energy consumption.

He Lingchuan, however, had a different perspective. "Sect Master Xiao," he said, "if these lighthouse barriers all connect into a single expanse, they can collectively resist the Immortal Venerable's power of laws, which would actually be much easier."

Unity is strength; this saying applies not only to living beings. When the lighthouses reinforce each other, they effectively expand the "sky window" of the Upside-Down Sea's illusionary realm's laws.

This is what it means to "gain momentum."

The balance of power between the two sides was constantly shifting.

He Lingchuan had originally been disinclined to speak. Since they weren't asking for his advice, he would simply watch as the Illusion Sect's situation gradually deteriorated.

However, the safety of his group was ultimately tied to the Illusion Sect's victory or defeat, so he couldn't truly remain indifferent.

Xiao Wencheng's face was grim.

He Lingchuan's words made sense. The most frightening thing was that Miaozhantian likely had more than just this one trick.

"I'm afraid the lighthouse barriers have another hidden drawback," He Lingchuan said, looking around. Seeing that the other immortals were not present, he pointed at the sand table to Xiao Wencheng. "They temporarily conceal the damage caused by divine abilities and spells to this land! It will likely be even harder to rouse the Immortal Venerable."

The battle between the immortals and the Heavenly Palace had been a fierce clash, and before the barriers obscured it, he had watched with great interest. When an immortal cast a spell, the ground looked as if it had been plowed multiple times, with the bedrock beneath being unearthed.

Objectively speaking, the confrontation between these two major forces caused some damage to the small grotto-heaven. According to Mother Zhu's inference, if the Upside-Down Sea were to intensely vibrate beyond a certain threshold, Qianhuan might be shaken awake from his state of "heaven-man unity"!

But the appearance of the lighthouse barriers was like pieces of white cloth, covering the grotto-heaven's bloody wounds, making it impossible for Qianhuan to detect them.

This would delay Qianhuan's emergence from seclusion.

He spoke somewhat subtly, but Xiao Wencheng was quick-witted and understood immediately, his expression changing.

Island Master He was right again!

One of Miaozhantian's objectives in erecting these barriers might be to conceal the damage caused by the immortal-demon war to the grotto-heaven, thereby temporarily appeasing Immortal Venerable Qianhuan.

This was a delaying tactic.

Once the Illusion Sect was completely annihilated, dealing with Qianhuan would be much simpler.

"This is a very complete scheme," He Lingchuan observed. "From Immortal Venerable Qianhuan to every member of the Illusion Sect, the Heavenly Palace has calculated everything about you." In his view, Miaozhantian and Bai Ziqi's invasion was methodical and had contingency plans, proceeding in an orderly fashion. While the Illusion Sect was hastily responding and passively defending, more and more of their problems were being exposed.

This, however, was good for He Lingchuan. If the Illusion Sect had been fighting smoothly, would there have been any room for him to intervene? Seeing that the time was ripe, he changed his tone and became less diplomatic. "The Immortal Venerable clearly left you a strong hand," he stated, "it truly shouldn't have turned out this way."

Though he was a junior from outside the sect, seemingly speaking out of turn, Xiao Wencheng frowned and found himself speechless.

If Elder Xu had been there, he would likely have slammed the table and glared furiously at He Lingchuan. But Xiao Wencheng knew He Lingchuan was speaking the truth; this was indeed his own mistake.

Elder Liu walked over, having just overheard these remarks. "Island Master He seems to know Bai Ziqi exceptionally well," he suddenly said. "Does he have some history with him?"

He Lingchuan had been there for a long time, and this was the first time these immortals had shown any personal interest in him.

This was because he rarely offered suggestions, but when he did, they were consistently accurate and correct.

This had happened several times now.

Now that the immortals found themselves in adversity, they were finally willing to listen to other perspectives.

It wasn't He Lingchuan who replied, but Dong Rui. "Of course he does," Dong Rui said. "They are mortal enemies. Since Bai Ziqi has come to the Upside-Down Sea, he will certainly not let him go."

He pointed at He Lingchuan, then gestured toward the lighthouse barrier within the Haoyuan Golden Mirror. "Only one of them—him or Bai Ziqi—can survive!"

The two immortals exchanged glances. How deep could this hatred and animosity be?

"How did you offend the Heavenly Palace's Cloud Emissary?"

For ordinary people to earn the enmity of a Cloud Emissary, they simply wouldn't be significant enough.

"Oh, nothing much," Dong Rui said, blowing on his fingernails. "Just breaking the Heavenly Palace's Xushan Grand Formation, burning down the Star-Picking Tower, and casually demolishing almost half of Lingxu City!"

Both immortals exclaimed in unison, "What?"

They exchanged glances, each seeing disbelief in the other's eyes.

What was Xushan? The Sky Demon's earthly abode!

For the past five or six centuries, it had remained entirely peaceful. Even when Immortal Venerable Qianhuan was on duty at Ling Mountain, he had never caused such severe damage in Lingxu City or to the Heavenly Palace!

Precisely because they understood the capabilities of the Heavenly Palace and the Sky Demon so well, they knew how incredibly difficult and far-reaching such an act would be.

How could these two humans and one monster possibly be capable of such feats?

Dong Rui smiled. "Truly, every word I say is truer than a genuine pearl. If not for such achievements, why would Ling Mountain invite us to the Upside-Down Sea to investigate the truth? Immortal Venerable Qianhuan's seclusion in the Upside-Down Sea is a top secret; how many in this world are even qualified to know about it?"

To be tasked by Ling Mountain to come to the Upside-Down Sea, one must possess accomplishments, standing, and capability.

The very fact that they were here spoke volumes.

"He also toppled Beijia's Imperial Advisor Qingyang in Lingxu City; that old woman was later demoted to regent in Yao State."

As soon as he finished speaking, He Lingchuan gave him a displeased look. There was no need to mention that; it only undermined their credibility.

Xiao Wencheng and Elder Liu didn't even bother to feign surprise this time; they simply remained silent.

That was too much, too exaggerated. It didn't sound real.

Qingyang had lived for almost two hundred years; they had certainly heard of her. The head of Beijia's Four Grand Imperial Advisors, a deeply entrenched and premier power in Lingxu City—could she truly be brought down by this young man in his early twenties?

The immortals had only been in seclusion for a long time; their minds hadn't deteriorated, so they remained unconvinced.

"In Lingxu City, Bai Ziqi and I collaborated," He Lingchuan said, his expression serious. "We used a case involving a divine secret medicine to bring down the culprit, Imperial Advisor Qingyang. Bai Ziqi, for his significant contribution, stood out and subtly became the successor to the Chief Cloud Emissary, which is how he was appointed by Miaozhantian to enter the Upside-Down Sea. I have both cooperated with Bai Ziqi and fought against him. When we meet, our eyes naturally turn red with hostility. I've also commanded troops in war for several years, so I understand his tactics very well."

He tried to add further details to boost his credibility. But judging by the expressions on Xiao Wencheng and Elder Liu's faces, they still thought, *Just keep bragging.*

Mother Zhu sent a telepathic message to Dong Rui, "When did he ever lead troops in war? He's just bragging."

Dong Rui was speechless.

"The Heavenly Palace forces are so formidable," He Lingchuan said, pointing at the Haoyuan Golden Mirror with a serious expression, "and while the Sky Demon's presence is a factor, much of it is due to Bai Ziqi's strategic command. In this current era, if Sky Demons want to wreak havoc in the human world and harm immortals, they still need to leverage human power!"