Chapter 1767: He Lingchuan's Choice

"Strange. Could it be that the Heavenly Palace gave all its resources to it? The Twin Hills Lighthouse has been established, and Bai Ziqi needs to consolidate this achievement. Even if resources and manpower are tight, he will have to allocate defenders to it. This way, the pressure on us at the lakeside battlefield will be reduced."

He had procrastinated for so long in the mine without taking action, so Bai Ziqi would naturally send reinforcements to Twin Hills. However, Bai Ziqi was truly willing to commit resources; for the Twin Hills Lighthouse to grow so tall and bright, it must have been voraciously consuming Dark Crystals.

Isn't this excellent? Battles are fierce and evenly matched everywhere.

However, Xiao Wencheng shook his head, his expression solemn: "The situation at the lakeside battlefield is unfavorable."

This was also a key reason he had asked He Lingchuan to return.

He pointed to the Haoyuan Golden Mirror, which now displayed the situation at the lakeside battlefield. He Lingchuan immediately noticed something was wrong: "Why are there no more Yaksha emerging from Upside-Down Lake?" The lighthouse barrier had automatically shrunk its scope, no longer encompassing the lake surface. Now the lakeshore was clean, with only a few Yaksha patrolling idly.

"Miao Zhantian tampered with the barrier, allowing it to obscure heavenly secrets," Xiao Wencheng said. His words were accurate; the Illusory Master was indeed the 'heaven' of this immortal abode. "With the Heavenly Palace forces hiding inside the lighthouse barrier, the Yaksha army at the bottom of the lake lost its target and stopped emerging."

He Lingchuan understood the crux of the problem: "The Yaksha aren't obeying your commands?"

He felt a hint of disdain. The large-scale Yaksha attack on the Heavenly Palace forces had revealed that these creatures were being manipulated. However, it was now even clearer that their true master was the Illusory Master, and no one else could command the Yaksha to move.

Xiao Wencheng shook his head: "If it were merely the Yaksha ceasing their tide, we could still manage, but—"

He then recounted Bai Ziqi's taunting tactics within the lighthouse barrier, adding: "After their deceptive words, my sect's morale clearly plummeted, and we were pushed back a hundred zhang by the Heavenly Palace forces."

He Lingchuan didn't ask how much of Bai Ziqi's words were true, only stating: "Self-proving is too difficult, impossible to defend oneself against."

Although Xiao Wencheng spoke lightly and didn't repeat the original words, He Lingchuan was so astute that he understood everything from just a few words.

Why was the morale of the Illusory Sect disciples low? Because Bai Ziqi's words stirred up doubts in their hearts, making them feel increasingly validated the more they thought about it.

He Lingchuan's mind only registered the word 'serves them right.' True to Bai Ziqi's style, he had found the perfect leverage point. Xiao Wencheng felt deeply: "Yes, yes, that's exactly it."

Dong Rui couldn't help but twitch his lips. What was the reason that decades of diligent teaching from the sect couldn't stand against half an hour of the enemy's deceptive rhetoric? These immortal elders surely knew the answer deep down, didn't they?

"The situation at the lakeside battlefield is difficult to reverse at the moment; a stalemate is fine for now." He Lingchuan turned and pointed at the sand table: "The Twin Hills Lighthouse is our crucial objective! Destroying this tower can temporarily rewrite the course of the battle!"

The Heavenly Palace's main forces were all at the lakeside battlefield, and He Lingchuan didn't think fighting to the bitter end there was a good strategy.

Consequently, Xiao Wencheng redeployed over a hundred people from the lakeside battlefield to Twin Hills. The terrain there was less open than the lakeside, with a confined combat area, unsuitable for large-scale operations.

The Goddess Fenghé was killed by Elder Liu!

"Excellent, excellent!" Xiao Wencheng couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh loudly. "Elder Liu is as formidable as ever!"

It's worth noting that currently, there were five immortals within the Twin Hills Lighthouse barrier (including Mother Zhu), a lineup more extravagant than at the lakeside battlefield, and their firepower was exceptionally fierce.

The Goddess Fenghé had assumed the guise of Reverend Diyun and had previously been wounded, causing her power to decline. The Illusory Sect elders' fury and attacks were thus primarily directed at her.

Targeted by the combined fire of five great immortals, Goddess Fenghé couldn't hold on for long. She didn't even have time to retreat before Elder Liu blasted her into a shower of fireworks in mid-air.

Even with the reinforcements Bai Ziqi later dispatched, the Twin Hills barrier now only had three masters, while the Illusory Sect still had five.

Furthermore, although Goddess Fenghé's power had been slightly inferior earlier, her divine arts could coordinate with other Heavenly Demons to achieve excellent results. Her demise reduced the Twin Hills Lighthouse's defensive capabilities by more than just a little.

At the Twin Hills battlefield, the situation was looking very favorable.

Just then, ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of the Haoyuan Golden Mirror, and an Illusory Sect cultivator rushed back in haste.

He Lingchuan remembered this was Elder Xu's disciple, who hadn't appeared so panicked earlier in the plaza.

"Master, Elder Jin has gloriously fallen!"

Xiao Wencheng's expression changed dramatically: "What! What happened..."

He Lingchuan spoke almost simultaneously with him: "What about the other two elders?"

With Elder Jin's death, the pressure on the lakeside front line would intensify, requiring immediate deployment. The disciple looked at He Lingchuan, then at Master Xiao, opening his mouth but unsure which question to answer first.

Logically, he should have answered the Master first, but it seemed... Xiao Wencheng composed himself slightly and asked again: "What's the situation on the front line?"

"They've already broken through the encirclement; Elder Xu is injured, and Elder Su is unharmed." He Lingchuan breathed a sigh of relief: "What about the enemy?"

"There's... also one powerful expert gravely wounded."

It turned out that as morale waxed and waned on both sides, the Illusory Sect forces were being pushed back step by step, facing a critical situation. Just then, two powerful Heavenly Palace experts fighting on the front line suddenly transformed into streaks of rainbow light and flew north, apparently dispatched to rescue the Twin Hills Lighthouse, which seemed to be in trouble.

A great opportunity! Elder Jin and the others knew that military opportunities were fleeting, so they immediately organized a swift assault, intending to destroy the lighthouse in one fell swoop.

Because the Illusory Sect forces had low attacking morale, this time, the elders had to lead by example.

If they won, everything would be fine, morale would rise, and Bai Ziqi's deceptive words would mean nothing.

To their surprise, when they charged to the base of the tower, they found that the Heavenly Palace still had three powerful experts—no more, no less!

Moreover, Bai Ziqi simultaneously unleashed four massive Gui Beasts and three Golden Armored Divine Generals, launching a sudden attack!

It was a complete trap.

The Illusory Sect elders had no time to retreat; the Heavenly Palace forces had encircled their escape route.

After several failed assaults on the tower, Elder Xu had to abandon the attack and instead focus on breaking through the encirclement. During this process, Elder Jin unfortunately fell in battle.

Of course, before his death, he also gravely wounded an enemy.

Because the lighthouse barrier obscured vision, the Haoyuan Golden Mirror couldn't show the thrilling intensity of these battles; they could only hear the disciple's straightforward narration. However, He Lingchuan believed that Bai Ziqi's strategic deployment must have played a key role.

He couldn't help but press his forehead.

Regarding the lakeside front, he had repeatedly instructed the elders to hold their ground, to avoid seeking glory or advancing rashly, as the main battlefield had already shifted to Twin Hills. Yet, when faced with the Heavenly Palace's alluring tactics, these Illusory Sect immortals couldn't resist the impulse to launch a major attack, ultimately hitting a steel plate.

Perhaps Bai Ziqi's feints were too convincing? Alas, who truly resembled a disciple of the Mirage Demon Sect now?

He Lingchuan also understood that this was not his own army, after all. If they were unwilling to follow orders, the effectiveness of their command execution would inevitably be greatly reduced. As the saying goes, 'orders from above are carried out below,' but if the commands aren't smooth, winning battles wouldn't be easy.

"Then we still have two elders and a thousand disciples at the lakeside," He Lingchuan said, looking at the messenger disciple, about to speak but then hesitating.

Xiao Wencheng immediately sent the disciple out of the Wenhua Pavilion to await orders. "Please speak, Island Master He."

"With Elder Jin's sacrifice, the lakeside battle situation has changed, and there are now two strategies," He Lingchuan said quickly, as time was short. "First, abandon the lakeside battlefield, concentrate all our forces on Twin Hills, and fully commit to destroying the lighthouse. Because the Heavenly Palace's target is here—"

He stamped his foot on the ground: "It initially built the lighthouse by the lake, first, to establish a foothold, and second, to wear down your forces. Afterward, it would gradually move towards Stone Dragon Peak. Once the time is right, it will abandon the lakeside battlefield."

The Heavenly Palace forces had originally intended to seize Stone Dragon Peak step by step under the cover of the lighthouse.

"Destroying the Twin Hills Lighthouse means cutting off their path northward. Their strength is significantly diminished currently, so establishing another lighthouse won't be easy."

He raised a second finger: "Second, maintain the current situation. As long as we sustain a great victory at the Twin Hills battlefield and a stable situation at the lakeside battlefield, we can continue to hold a stalemate against the Heavenly Palace."

Xiao Wencheng nodded. He Lingchuan's options were very clear: first, to fully commit to destroying the Twin Hills Lighthouse; second, to maintain the current situation unchanged.

He Lingchuan continued, "But I suggest, Master Xiao, if your sect has any contingency plans, now is the time to prepare them."

"But!" He Lingchuan was about to state a 'but.' "The Heavenly Palace is an invader with no local roots. Once they find the situation is not as expected, they will immediately adjust their strategy."

Who wages war without aiming to win? If victory seems impossible, they'll have to find another way.

Xiao Wencheng's eyes flickered: "Are you saying..."

He Lingchuan was direct: "The Illusory Immortal Venerable's seclusion retreat, its entrance is at Kidney Lake, isn't it?"

The last time this topic came up, He Lingchuan had expressed only a desire to leave Upside-Down Sea, so Xiao Wencheng hadn't said more.

However, as soon as He Lingchuan approached the glowing Kidney Lake, his divine bone necklace became incredibly agitated. Therefore, he had some idea of what was going on.

Xiao Wencheng's brows twitched slightly: "You know? That's where the Immortal Venerable is in seclusion, and it's also the only path to leave Upside-Down Sea."

"On the mining mountain, I saw the Heavenly Palace's demonic birds carrying Silver Pearl Fruits from Upside-Down Lake and dropping them into Kidney Lake," He Lingchuan said. "The Heavenly Palace has discovered this secret and is also experimenting with it. Once they realize the lighthouse strategy's chances of success are slim, they might change their approach." Xiao Wencheng didn't respond.

The Haoyuan Golden Mirror had shown him the unusual activities of the Heavenly Palace's bird-demons. He simply hadn't told He Lingchuan and the others.

He Lingchuan paused: "The two strategies I gave you both lead to the same outcome; the only difference is the speed. Master Xiao, the proposal I made to your sect an hour ago is still valid."

He brought up the old topic again, but without explicitly stating it. Xiao Wencheng understood, his eyes flickering slightly.

Previously, all the elders had disagreed, so it hadn't been implemented. Now, circumstances had changed; after the Illusory Sect suffered significant losses, that suggestion might be the only viable solution.

When one is under someone else's roof, one must bow one's head; the same applies to immortals. Now, opposition to him should be minimal.

Just then, the Haoyuan Golden Mirror flashed, and the Spider Queen appeared.