Chapter 1783: Leaving a Pit for the Heavenly Palace

Even immortals under Qianhuan had fallen to its power.

He Lingchuan was also curious, "How was it finally caught?"

"First, we suspended the pursuit and let it roam free for thirty years, leading it to believe we had given up. Then, the Immortal Venerable personally created an illusion realm, trapping it inside and capturing it in one fell swoop!" Xiao Wencheng explained. "Back then, the Immortal Venerable's illusion realm was far less indistinguishable from reality than it is today."

He Lingchuan asked casually, "By the way, where is the Immortal Venerable?"

Qianhuan had appeared as a Dharma idol or illusion just moments ago, disappearing after giving instructions. He couldn't have gone back into seclusion, could he?

Dong Rui wanted to know even more: where was Qianhuan's true body?

"Master is between reality and illusion," Xiao Wencheng said solemnly. "Miaozhantian and the Heavenly Palace are about to face misfortune."

The three-eyed crow remained perched on the rooftop, coldly observing the surviving mortals in the city whose hearts were breaking and whose cries shook the heavens. It appeared utterly motionless.

Dong Rui asked, "What is it waiting for?"

The blood demon's actions were indeed entirely different from those of the Illusion Sect's immortals.

"Prey," Xiao Wencheng replied. "Let it be. It has its own methods."

With the collective fall of the Illusion Sect's great masters, True Lord Qianhuan had released this blood demon to replenish his forces and employ its unusual tactics against their enemies.

Having watched this far, Dong Rui couldn't help but interject, "Hey, the Heavenly Palace is heading this way. What exactly are you going to do about it?"

True Lord Qianhuan had indeed appeared, but he hadn't specified how to confront the Heavenly Palace or Miaozhantian. Was he the only one feeling anxious at the moment?

"The Immortal Venerable said it would be a pity not to use our previous arrangements," Xiao Wencheng stated. "Bai Ziqi has already discovered the connection between the Silver Pearl Fruits and Waist Lake, so he must have some ideas. Therefore, we still need to lure Miaozhantian and the Heavenly Palace army to Waist Lake." *When did the Immortal Venerable say that?*

He Lingchuan's heart stirred slightly. It seemed there was a secret communication method between Xiao Wencheng and True Lord Qianhuan, unknown to outsiders. This was normal; even Madam Zhu, He Lingchuan, and Dong Rui had a secret communication channel.

If Qianhuan intended to lure Miaozhantian to Waist Lake, he naturally had some preparations in place.

As Xiao Wencheng recalled the Immortal Venerable's tone when mentioning "previous arrangements," a slight sweat broke out on his back. The Immortal Venerable knew—he knew that Xiao Wencheng had originally intended to lure the Heavenly Palace forces into Waist Lake! Was the Immortal Venerable displeased with his scheme?

*Sigh*, he had already reached the immortal realm, yet he could never shed this ingrained trepidation and deference. He smiled bitterly to himself, then cast aside these distractions and turned to Elder Liu, saying, "Elder Liu, lead the disciples back. And Junior Brother Xutuo, have the Silver Pearl Fruits ready."

The Heavenly Palace army continued to advance on Stone Dragon Mountain, targeting these very immortals. If they were forced to jump into Waist Lake, Miaozhantian would likely pursue them, wouldn't they?

Just then, several streaks of golden light shone through the window, illuminating the entire Wenhua Pavilion. The white marble pillar behind He Lingchuan even reflected tiny, scattered golden specks.

The morning sun had just risen. This dreadful and heavy night had passed, but the decisive battle between immortals and demons was far from over.

He Lingchuan's expression shifted. "Madam Zhu is back," he said.

After receiving a report from the Eyeball Spider, he personally opened the doors of Wenhua Pavilion. Sure enough, the Queen of the Cave Spiders was at the entrance, covered in dust from her journey. It had two wounds, but they weren't serious, and having traveled so far, minor injuries were already slowly healing.

"It's quite a distance from the Inverted Lake shore to here," Madam Zhu said, stretching her eight long legs. "The Haoyuan Golden Mirror was swallowed by the divine bone necklace, so the Illusion Sect and its guests lost the convenience of instant travel and had to go on foot. It's over. The Heavenly Palace has abandoned the lakeside battlefield and headed north."

The Illusion Sect's forces had scattered and didn't pursue. Its mission complete, it quickly returned to Stone Dragon Peak.

After speaking, it saw He Lingchuan staring intently at it and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," He Lingchuan replied. In truth, in his eyes, there was a faint, almost imperceptible thin golden line on Madam Zhu's body, extending all the way into the sky. He recognized this at once: a Divine Gaze! Just then, Elder Liu also walked out of Wenhua Pavilion past him. The moment Elder Liu stepped into the sunlight, He Lingchuan saw an identical golden line on his body.

That's right. Both of these immortals had been active on the battlefield; Elder Liu had even slain Zhaoyou God. It was unclear when the Heavenly Demon had cast a Divine Gaze upon them for tracking purposes.

This would make things easier. He Lingchuan's eyes flickered—wasn't this a ready-made fishing line? He then looked at Xiao Wencheng and saw that he wasn't marked by this line. Xiao Wencheng had remained at Stone Dragon Peak and hadn't personally entered the battlefield, so the Heavenly Demon couldn't see him. Madam Zhu and Elder Liu were unaware; only He Lingchuan, with the help of the Divine Pot's power and coincidentally encountering the sunrise, was able to detect it.

He suddenly recalled a crucial question: "By the way, after sunrise, will Waist Lake still be passable?" Otherwise, all these arrangements would be in vain.

"Yes, it can," Xiao Wencheng replied. "Actually, the moon hasn't disappeared yet; the daylight is just too bright for us to see it. Waist Lake will remain passable until the light of the Silver Pearl Fruits on the shore of Inverted Lake fades, which means within two *shichen* (four hours) after sunrise."

Dong Rui let out a long whistle. "Amazing, there's a time limit! Now, the Heavenly Palace will have no choice but to enter Waist Lake."

He Lingchuan was also slightly moved. *The older, the wiser,* indeed; True Lord Qianhuan had silently set a huge trap for Miaozhantian and the Heavenly Palace. If He Lingchuan hadn't asked, Xiao Wencheng and the others wouldn't have explicitly revealed it.

According to the rules of the Inverted Sea, the Silver Pearl Fruits only glow on the night of the fifteenth of each month. Only then do they possess the power to grant passage through Waist Lake. Conversely, the time remaining for both warring parties to pass was now limited to just two more *shichen* (four hours). No wonder Xiao Wencheng's original plan was to keep fighting his opponents; he had already decided to jump into Waist Lake when the time limit was almost up. Although this move would leave their own side's future uncertain and their fate unknown, once the final time limit for the Silver Pearl Fruits to glow passed, the Heavenly Palace forces would also have no way to leave the Inverted Sea. At that time, Qianhuan had not yet emerged from seclusion, and the Illusion Sect immortals only knew that jumping into Waist Lake meant no return. Thus, this was considered a last resort, a choice made at the very last moment.

Immediately, Xiao Wencheng summoned all disciples on the mountain, preparing for evacuation. Madam Zhu asked He Lingchuan, "What should we do?"

He Lingchuan looked at the golden line on her body and said, "Of course, we'll go with Sect Master Xiao."

The Illusion Sect disciples' evacuation method was also very convenient: by directly jumping into the sand table in Wenhua Pavilion, they could land at the location previously designated by Xiao Wencheng—the shore of Waist Lake—where they would receive Silver Pearl Fruits before entering the lake. However, the Illusion Sect members at the foot of the mountain could no longer summon the Haoyuan Golden Mirror for instant travel and had to rely on their own legs to reach the lake. Even if the Grand Square Pot were generous enough to return the Haoyuan Golden Mirror, it was no longer connected to the laws of the Inverted Sea and could not open portals freely as before.

Dong Rui also discovered avian demons circling above Waist Lake on the sand table; all of them were Heavenly Palace scouts. Given Bai Ziqi's temperament, he would certainly be closely monitoring the activity around Waist Lake. Therefore, the large number of Illusion Sect disciples rushing to the lake and entering the water with the fruits would surely not escape his notice; there was no need for the Illusion Sect elders to pretend or deliberately lure them.

Xiao Wencheng suddenly pointed at the sand table. "The Blood Demon," he said.

The three-eyed crow, formed by the blood demon, had already flown to the shore of Waist Lake and finally took action. A massive cloud drifted over Waist Lake. Dong Rui looked into his mirror and saw a pair of huge, flapping wings emerging from the cloud. "Bald?" he murmured.

It was a vulture with black-brown feathers, but its neck was bare. What distinguished it from an ordinary vulture was its absurdly massive size. He Lingchuan roughly estimated its wingspan to be five *zhang* (approximately 16.5 meters). It was almost as large as a small airplane He Lingchuan had seen in another world. Such a colossal creature flying at low altitude was particularly imposing. The Illusion Sect disciples by the lake showed expressions of alarm and silently quickened their pace towards the lake.

The crow perched on the tree branch also retracted the third eye on its forehead and simultaneously withdrew the red light from its eyes. So many people had died in nearby villages and towns that numerous crows were already circling and landing, making the blood demon crow completely inconspicuous among them. *All crows are black*, after all.

He Lingchuan pointed at the circling vulture. "That's a great demon from the northeast of Blinking Gold Plains, the renowned Cave Infant King. Many say it already possesses the strength of a demon immortal. This fellow hasn't appeared for several hundred years, and as soon as it showed up, it pledged allegiance to Beijia."

He had designs on the Blinking Gold Plains, so he had naturally been collecting all sorts of intelligence about the area. Besides the distribution of various factions, the eastern and northeastern parts of Blinking Gold were the territories of numerous great demons and demon tribes. Even though He Lingchuan had never seen them, he knew their information by heart. It was a good thing that those troublesome great demons from Blinking Gold had appeared here. He would rely on the Illusion Sect to help him eliminate them, clearing the path for his future great endeavors.

Perhaps the blood demon heard his thoughts. As the Cave Infant King flew away, the blood demon crow, which had been perched on the tree branch, also flapped its wings and followed. But it didn't ascend into the sky; instead, it flew close to the ground, trailing behind with ill intent.

After the large vulture scouted the nearby ground, it spotted a running *langcui* (wolf-pig creature) south of Waist Lake. It then descended into the forest ahead of it, preparing for a sneak attack. This *langcui* had a tuft of golden fur on its head, giving it a unique appearance. The large vulture recognized at a glance that this monster had killed several Heavenly Palace soldiers on the lakeside battlefield earlier. It was actually a disciple under Elder Xu, capable of climbing trees and skilled at swimming, earning it the moniker "Flying Bear." It was proficient in wood-based escape techniques and could even bestow them upon nearby companions, allowing them to appear and disappear mysteriously with it. In the mountains and forests, when such a character wanted to escape, the enemies' encirclement and pursuit failed to trap it; they only managed to catch a few Illusion Sect disciples. When the large vulture spotted it, it naturally didn't want to let it go.

Now, this *langcui* had grown larger and was frantically running towards Waist Lake, carrying several Silver Pearl Fruit branches in its mouth. The branches were laden with fruit, and the fruits were still glowing. The Cave Infant King ambushed it on its inevitable path. Seeing this boar-sized *cui* rushing towards it, it leaned forward and retracted its neck, preparing to strike.

However, as the mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it, before it could even dive, a dark, indistinct object crashed into it from behind, its speed far surpassing an arrow shot from a bow.

(To be continued)