Chapter 1801: Contesting Control

"Of course," Aunt Zhu quickly explained. "Thousand Illusions must have poured immense effort into this world. Its violent tremors, or even its collapse, would, in turn, severely harm Thousand Illusions and His laws."

While Lord Miaozhantian hadn't found Thousand Illusions' true form or manifestation, preventing direct harm, He had grasped a crucial point: Thousand Illusions' ability to act unrestrainedly in this world likely stemmed from Him re-entering a "unity with heaven and nature" state—which might be why He hadn't revealed Himself. Therefore, severely damaging this world itself was effectively harming True Lord Thousand Illusions! This was Miaozhantian's first powerful counterattack after crossing the boundary.

He Lingchuan's eyes flickered. Miaozhantian's power was formidable, not even yielding on Thousand Illusions' own territory. Excellent. He had previously worried that Miaozhantian might be insufficient, but now it seemed the power of a righteous deity still far exceeded imagination.

Golden light spread across Silver Pearl Island, forming patterns like those He Lingchuan had drawn on the wall, to construct a colossal one-eyed formation. Aunt Zhu explained, "Once this formation is complete, Miaozhantian will be able to embed and solidify His power into this land." Otherwise, Miaozhantian, caught off guard, would fall into Thousand Illusions' trap and remain entirely passive. "To shift from a passive to an active position, He would inevitably need to exert more effort. The best method is to transform His power into wedges, driving them one by one into Thousand Illusions' domain. This way, He would gain a foothold, a leverage point, and could gradually strengthen Himself again."

Dong Rui remarked, "This strategy is very similar to how the Heavenly Palace previously built lighthouses in the Illusion Realm."

"One method understood, all methods understood," Aunt Zhu said. "To find a breakthrough in enemy territory, the approaches are largely the same."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the ground suddenly trembled. This tremor was different from the previous external impact of the Divine Fire Meteor on Silver Pearl Island; it emanated from deep underground, each wave of shaking more intense than the last, causing even the Illusion Sect disciples in the area to lose their footing. Elder Liu looked back, worried, "The Immortal Venerable is enraged!"

Miaozhantian was dropping meteors and deploying formations on Thousand Illusions' territory, acting with free rein. Thousand Illusions was not in a deep slumber; how could He allow this to continue? Then, the Illusion Sect members heard a tearing rumble from deep within the earth's crust, like the low growl of a giant beast. Reflected on the sandbox, several sea entrances on Silver Pearl Island suddenly collapsed, and seawater surged in, rushing inland. Those fissures widened increasingly, heading straight for the meteor craters. The seawater followed relentlessly, churning with waves. The first deep chasm transformed into an ocean trench within a quarter of an hour!

"Splendid! The Immortal Venerable's move is extraordinary," Elder Liu clapped his hands. "Miaozhantian deserves a lesson!" He needed to be shown that this was still the Immortal Venerable's home ground, and He wouldn't be allowed to act with impunity!

Silver Pearl Island was already riddled with deep ravines and massive craters from the Divine Fire Meteor. Now, Thousand Illusions, with a slight manipulation of the terrain, immediately diverted seawater into the island's interior, almost directly into the meteor craters. The golden light along the path was extinguished. It was clear that once seawater filled all the meteor craters, the "Eye of Truth" formation, painstakingly carved out by Miaozhantian with His supreme power, would surely fail! At that point, Thousand Illusions would regain the upper hand.

Miaozhantian, of course, was unwilling to concede defeat so easily. Immediately, everyone saw on the sandbox that large plumes of white steam began to rise from the channels connecting the various meteor craters—this was the seawater rapidly evaporating. In some areas where the seawater was shallow, evaporation was so rapid that golden light erupted from the bottom of the ravines once more. Miaozhantian's formation was making a comeback.

What followed on the sandbox was a tug-of-war between the two great powers. Sometimes, seawater would flood more ravines; other times, the golden light would reclaim the craters. It was a lively back-and-forth, ebb and flow. Wan Qifeng and the others watched for a long time, growing increasingly puzzled. "Both of them possess supreme divine power, but what exactly are they fighting over?" Silver Pearl Island was just a shattered piece of land. One side would blast it, then the other would appear, tearing it further apart. What was the purpose of all this?

They were valiant warriors whose understanding of combat involved direct confrontation with a visible enemy, whether through martial skills or magical abilities. Unlike the two mighty beings before them, who hadn't even met face to face yet could wage earth-shattering battles from afar. They found it difficult to comprehend this form of combat. Indeed, it wasn't just the black-armored soldiers; few of the Illusion Sect disciples behind Elder Liu could grasp it either.

"What they're fighting for is control over this world," He Lingchuan said, pointing to a corner of the sandbox. "Look here, look closely." He pointed to a large mountainous area completely enveloped by golden light, situated precisely in the angle between the pupil and the circumference of the "Eye of Truth" formation, covering nearly a hundred *qing*. Everywhere else on the sandbox, battles raged fiercely, so the onlookers and Illusion Sect disciples hadn't paid special attention to this spot. It wasn't until He Lingchuan emphasized it that they focused their gaze and realized, "Hmm, this mountainous area seems a bit different?"

The sandbox Elder Liu had produced was connected to the laws of this realm, a perfectly scaled down topographical map of the Upside-Down Sea. Everything that existed on this island, no matter how big or small, would be reflected on the sandbox. But this particular mountainous area was peculiar. How to describe it? Blurry. At first glance, this area also had undulating mountains and some surviving vegetation. But upon closer inspection, everyone realized the sandbox's precision was lacking; several mountain peaks were depicted as mere hills, their lines indistinct, like a very perfunctory model. As for the vegetation, it was just a smudge of green on the mountains. Even when Dong Rui used his Soul-Catching Mirror, transformed into a magnifying glass, he couldn't discern specific trees. But he observed, "This area on the sandbox seems to be getting rougher."

"The scenery on the sandbox is being reduced to sand," Elder Liu said with a grave expression. "If the Immortal Venerable doesn't reclaim it soon, it will disappear from the sandbox." This meant that Thousand Illusions had lost control of that particular area. "The more and larger the areas occupied by Miaozhantian's formation, the weaker Immortal Venerable Thousand Illusions' control over this realm becomes."

He Lingchuan turned to Elder Liu. "After crossing Kidney Lake, this world we're in is entirely controlled by Immortal Venerable Thousand Illusions, correct?" He asked subtly, and Elder Liu nodded.

"Immortal Venerable Thousand Illusions hasn't shown Himself, only deploying the inherent powers of this realm to attack Miaozhantian and the Heavenly Palace forces." The overt power is the ghost army, while the hidden power is the various restrictions this realm imposes on Miaozhantian. "Can we assume that the current battle between Miaozhantian and Immortal Venerable Thousand Illusions is also a fight for this realm, or more accurately, for control over its 'rules'?"

Elder Liu's expression was grave, but his gaze towards He Lingchuan revealed surprise. "Go on," he prompted. This young man wasn't even an immortal, yet unconsciously, Elder Liu had come to highly value his insights and strategies.

"Immortal Venerable Thousand Illusions' control here is too powerful. If Miaozhantian wishes to shake His rule, He disregards everything, not bothering to distinguish between what's real and what's illusory, and simply proceeds with wanton destruction. Only by shattering this world's original stable laws can Miaozhantian have an opportunity. This is called 'no breaking, no establishing'—first break, then establish." That was why Miaozhantian dared to unleash the "Divine Fire Meteor," which was equally energy-intensive and devastating. He believed one thing: these ancient celestial demons and high immortals wouldn't casually squander their power unless the target was sufficiently important. The ghost army, which plagued the Heavenly Palace, was by no means the primary target for His use of the Divine Fire Meteor.

"Once it tears this world apart, and many laws established by the Immortal Venerable are broken, Miaozhantian then begins the second phase of His plan: establishing His own rules to contend with the Immortal Venerable," He Lingchuan said, pointing to the colossal meteor craters on the sandbox. "The specific method is to fully construct this formation, and while the world is fragmented, swiftly embed Miaozhantian's fundamental law, which is 'reality'!"

Aunt Zhu immediately added, "I heard that True Lord Cangxi's 'Divine Fire' is also called 'Divine Radiance,' meaning it's a hundred times more potent than true solar fire."

Dong Rui had a sudden realization. "No wonder Miaozhantian uses True Lord Cangxi's skin and divine abilities! It seems they are naturally antagonistic to Immortal Venerable Thousand Illusions!" It is said that clear skies and bright daylight specifically break through illusions. These seventeen "Divine Radiances," buried beneath Silver Pearl Island, glow and emit heat like seventeen suns. They are, in themselves, a continuous torment to True Lord Thousand Illusions' various illusion formations and spells. How much effort must Thousand Illusions expend to keep the entire Illusion Realm functioning? Correspondingly, Miaozhantian must also continuously pour divine power into the grand divine fire formation to resist Thousand Illusions. Without further ado, the two great powers entered a phase of struggle.

"Therefore, what Miaozhantian is doing in this realm, just as in the Illusion Realm, is injecting 'reality' into Silver Pearl Island to counter and expel 'illusion'," He Lingchuan said, pulling a flask from his pocket and taking a sip of water to clear his throat. "If He succeeds, Silver Pearl Island will likely be seized by Him, and we won't be able to hide; He will surely find and kill us." In short, the battle between Miaozhantian and Thousand Illusions revolves around the concept of "rules": first, to wholeheartedly destroy the opponent's rules, and second, to strive to establish one's own rules.

Before Elder Liu could reply, a voice spoke up first, "Well said, but Miaozhantian won't succeed so easily!"

It sounded very familiar. He Lingchuan immediately recognized it as Sect Master Xiao. Everyone turned around and indeed saw Xiao Wencheng emerging from the depths of the stone chamber, followed by four others, all adorned in brocade robes and elaborate headwear, dressed as Illusion Sect members. The Illusion Sect disciples were overjoyed at their sight: "Elder Xue!" "Elder Bai!" "And Elder Pi and Elder Ning have returned too!" With the return of their sect's mighty figures, the morale of the Illusion Sect disciples soared.

Given the unusual circumstances, Xiao Wencheng briefly introduced them to He Lingchuan. Indeed, these four were the Illusion Sect's four great immortals who had previously entered Kidney Lake and become trapped in this realm. At that time, Kidney Lake was a one-way passage, but because they carried the Illusion Sect's aura, the ghost inhabitants of this realm regarded them as kin, not yakshas. Thus, they remained in Sunwheel City for decades. With Thousand Illusions' awakening, these individuals were naturally released.