Chapter 1806: Shimei Shen

Ordinarily, he might have immediately seized He Lingchuan for repeated study. After all, the pursuit of greater power is the lifelong desire of any True Immortal, something no one can resist.

But the most pressing conflict at hand was his battle against Miaozhantian. Every bit of borrowed strength would increase his chances of victory. Even if presented with a cup of poison, Thousand Illusions would accept it without hesitation, dealing with it only after defeating Miaozhantian.

He Lingchuan also smiled without speaking.

Did he not understand the danger of possessing such a treasure? Did he not know that even if True Immortal Thousand Illusions won this battle, he would not be spared?

However, the moment the Great Flask indicated it would release the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror—the moment he knew he could wield it—a bold idea flashed through his mind.

Allowing the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror to reconnect to the Inverted Sea's rule network was an extremely audacious concept.

But if successful, it could even be a crucial turning point for him to change his situation, shifting from a passive to an active position!

At that instant, He Lingchuan overturned his original plan and decided to make a bold attempt.

The secret chamber was silent; no one knew how many internal struggles he had endured.

And with Miaozhantian's fortuitous intervention, Thousand Illusions finally reluctantly agreed to let the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror return to its place in the Inverted Sea.

Once this step was completed, He Lingchuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that their safety was now greatly secured.

The scene in the mirror showed that, in the blink of an eye, the four immortal devils from the Celestial Palace had already arrived at the White Head Mountain meteorite crater. This crater was very close to the Inverted Lake.

Ostensibly, there were only two members of the Illusion Sect working here, but the excavation progress was quite fast, and the meteorite's rotation had almost stopped.

Both sides met with intense hostility, too lazy to exchange pleasantries, and immediately rolled up their sleeves to fight.

With the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror broadcasting live from deep underground, those in front of the mirror watched a high-definition battle, finally understanding where the Illusion Sect immortals were at a disadvantage.

Deity Shimei, a Celestial Demon sent by Miaozhantian, was not a major attendant deity but an affiliated one. Her combat ability was ordinary, and she possessed no instant-kill divine skills.

However, she possessed a divine art extremely useful for the current battle: Group Strength Aggregation.

She could concentrate the power of up to five Celestial Gods and channel it into a single Celestial God!

Although the effect lasted only fifteen breaths, if used effectively, it could create a miraculous move, catching the enemy off guard.

She could even record a Celestial God's divine art into "palm leaves," and although its power and effects would be diminished, it could be given to others for single-use, similar to talismans used by immortals.

Her own cultivation was not outstanding, and this divine art had ordinary effectiveness for herself, but when used among a group of gods, it could create many varied combinations.

Deity Shimei had only become a deity a thousand years ago. She was not well-known in the mortal realm, nor did she have a statue or tablet in the Celestial Palace's Pantheon. The Illusion Sect elders knew nothing about her. Therefore, Miaozhantian had forbidden her from freely using the Group Strength Aggregation divine art, and in previous battles at the Illusion Realm's lighthouses, Deity Shimei had merely gone through the motions, participating casually.

Because she had always stayed in the back, she had remained safe until now, finally finding her opportune moment to act.

At the Weiqiu meteorite crater, the Celestial Devils likely used the "Group Strength Aggregation" divine art flexibly, which allowed them to unexpectedly eliminate Elders Pi and Bai.

But after receiving news of their fellow disciples' deaths, the other Illusion Sect elders became extremely vigilant and prepared secret arts for self-defense and survival. Deity Shimei's divine art, combined with other Celestial Devils, unleashed a storm of attacks from the very first encounter, with all attacks directed solely at Elder Xue. The strategy was to first concentrate power to eliminate one immortal, making the remaining one easy to handle.

But Elder Xue unleashed all his defensive divine abilities, even using the oil lamp bestowed by Thousand Illusions against the enemy. Although he was suppressed to the point of almost suffocating, he at least endured it, not collapsing on the spot.

When the time limit for Deity Shimei's Group Strength Aggregation expired, the pressure on Elder Xue greatly diminished. At this moment, Elder Xutuo suddenly rushed out from an unknown corner, crashing violently into Deity Shimei!

The force far exceeded a mortal siege ram. Deity Shimei stumbled from the impact, and the divine art she was casting was forcibly interrupted.

With the numbers now three versus four, the pressure on the Illusion Sect's side was greatly reduced.

Moreover, the Illusion Sect elders, in turn, focused their attacks on Deity Shimei. Her weakness due to her lesser strength was fully revealed, and she was nearly decapitated by Elder Xue.

"Strange," Xiao Wencheng murmured, watching the battle scene in the mirror. "Given their attack intensity, it seems unlikely they could have killed two of our elders in just a dozen breaths at Weiqiu."

He quickly reminded all the elders, "Everyone, be vigilant; the Celestial Palace team must have another trump card!"

However, the battle continued for a long time, and this so-called trump card never appeared.

During this time, the southern and southwestern regions of Silver Pearl Island, which were the areas where the golden light of the Divine Fire Array shone brightest, disappeared from the sand table.

The lamp attendant, who cleaned the shrine, discovered it: "Sect Master, at this rate, Banqiu and Yucun will soon disappear from the sand table as well!"

He used the place names from the Illusion Realm, and everyone knew where he was referring to.

In fact, as the Divine Fire Array shone brighter and brighter, these areas surrounded by golden lines became increasingly blurred and darkened on the sand table, until only the outlines of mountains remained before they vanished.

Everyone knew these places hadn't vanished into thin air; they simply weren't being manifested on the sand table anymore.

Xiao Wencheng pressed his forehead. "Miaozhantian has seized control of these areas."

The Divine Fire Array had seventeen formation nodes in total, which the Illusion Sect immortals had to eliminate one by one, while also contending with interference from Celestial Devils, making the total time unknown. Therefore, losing control of certain areas was inevitable, and Xiao Wencheng was mentally prepared for it.

If the Divine Fire Array continued to expand, more areas in this realm would be lost.

Once too many areas fell, the host-guest relationship between Thousand Illusions and Miaozhantian might be reversed.

He Lingchuan also pointed at the sand table and said, "At least two meteorite craters in the southeastern part of Silver Pearl Island have been excavated by us. This is a significant victory."

The territory lost by the Illusion Sect could be reclaimed later if they had the resources, but once the Celestial Palace lost a divine fire meteorite, they would likely have to abandon it, as they couldn't directly bury another one.

"As long as the elders remain steadfast and work diligently over time, excavating a few more meteorite craters will be no problem," He Lingchuan said. When he spoke like this, even Dong Rui found it hard to tell if he was praising or being sarcastic. Fortunately, he continued, "From this perspective, the advantage is still with us."

Madam Zhu suddenly transmitted a message to He Lingchuan: "Why do I feel that among all the battles in this realm, only the Undefeated Ridge battle is proceeding at a leisurely pace?"

The Undefeated Ridge battle, where He Lingchuan and Bai Ziqi were opponents, was a conflict between mortal armies.

Just by looking at the images in the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror, the fighting was back-and-forth, with advances and retreats. The Illusion Sect forces charged uphill several times but were pushed back by Bai Ziqi each time.