Chapter 1810: Disappearing Half Incense Stick

The monster, wounded by Xiao Wencheng's fly whisk, bled lava that splattered and quickly solidified in the secret chamber. Even the black hole formed by the twin pythons' self-detonation on the Thousand Illusions Staff couldn't completely clear it away.

He Lingchuan casually drew his Fleeting Life Blade, used its edge to pick up the substance, and brought it closer for a careful look.

Although its outer shell was black, a faint, dark red glow emanated from within, clearly indicating its astonishing internal temperature.

He Lingchuan noticed faint golden flecks on the surface of the cooled stony shell. They were still inconspicuous, only glinting slightly when brought close to a light source.

His Soul-Capturing Mirror, held close, had already identified it: "It's metal!"

"Master Xiao just mentioned that the astonishing power of the Divine Fire Meteorites comes primarily from their refinement from the core of extraterrestrial stars, correct?" Water droplets, presumably groundwater, trickled from above, sizzling and instantly vaporizing upon contact with the obsidian chunk. "This piece should contain the material from a star's core. What's more, the meteorite first pierced through the Eye of Truth, then through Thousand Illusions' mist, before finally landing on the ground."

In other words, this unassuming lump contained a fusion of four major elements: the core of a star, Cang Xi's magical power, Miao Zhan Tian's divine power, and Thousand Illusions' demonic power!

Such a fusion was bound to excite the Divine Bone Necklace.

The Grand Flask particularly favored such 'fusion cuisine.'

As expected, the moment the blade drew near, the Divine Bone Necklace became searing hot, even warmer than the air in the secret chamber.

He Lingchuan, of course, understood its unspoken command: *Give it to me, now! Don't dilly-dally!*

The next second, the Fleeting Life Blade was entirely clean, not a single speck of residue remaining.

The Divine Bone Necklace had excellent eating habits; it never left anything behind.

Only then did He Lingchuan sheathe his blade and step back onto the Vast Origin Golden Mirror.

In the mining tunnel, Grandma Zhu and Dong Rui observed He Lingchuan's every action within the secret chamber.

Dong Rui watched and asked, "What's so special about that black chunk of rock?"

"That probably fell from the Fiery Horned Viper," Grandma Zhu replied. "It contains meteorite fragments, and perhaps Cang Xi's aura hasn't dissipated yet. What he wants with it, however, I'm not entirely sure."

They then watched He Lingchuan step into the Vast Origin Golden Mirror.

But then, nothing happened.

He Lingchuan did not immediately appear in the mining tunnel.

"Huh? Where is he?"

The Black Armored Army usually remained silent while observing the mirror, but Wanqie Feng couldn't help but interject, "Could he have gone somewhere else?"

The Vast Origin Golden Mirror was now their lord's possession; he could instantly transport himself anywhere within this realm.

Dong Rui searched all the battlefields but couldn't find any sign of He Lingchuan.

He patted the mirror frame. "Could this mirror be malfunctioning?"

The mirror didn't respond to him; he patted it several times, but it remained inert.

A perfectly healthy person, just vanished into thin air?

Dong Rui turned. "Grandma, what do you think we should do?"

"Wait," Grandma Zhu said calmly. "It's his mirror. If he can't figure it out, what makes you think you can?"

Grandma Zhu added, "Remember that time we used the mirror to teleport from Stone Dragon Peak to Companion Hill? He experienced a glitch then, too."

"Ah, yes," Dong Rui said, recalling it. "We all arrived smoothly, but he was inexplicably transported to Kidney Lake."

"Back then, Xiao Wencheng casually mentioned it was 'occasionally prone to glitches'," Grandma Zhu scoffed. "Both times, it was Young He who had the accident. 'Occasionally prone to glitches,' my foot!"

Dong Rui grew even more curious: "What exactly is the deal between him and this mirror?"

No sooner had he spoken than a voice replied, "Who's unclear about what?"

Everyone looked closely: He Lingchuan had returned.

The Black Armored Army immediately let out a collective sigh of relief.

Without their leader, they were at a loss.

Dong Rui asked curiously, "Where did you go?"

"I took a brief detour elsewhere," He Lingchuan said dismissively this time. "How long was I gone?"

Dong Rui and Grandma Zhu exchanged glances. "About half an incense stick's time."

Half an incense stick? He Lingchuan hummed thoughtfully.

He felt as if he'd been gone for a good half hour, yet only half an incense stick's time had passed here?

"You took so long to respond, those scoundrels from the Illusion Sect were practically in tears," Dong Rui said, pointing to the battle at Undefeated Ridge shown in the bottom-left corner of the mirror. "With you gone, their front line was pushed back again—a bunch of cowards!"

Where had He Lingchuan just been? They could tell he didn't want to elaborate, so they dropped the subject.

He Lingchuan smiled and resumed directing the battle at Undefeated Ridge.

Previously, under his command, the Illusion Sect's offensive had been tentative because He Lingchuan harbored doubts about Miao Zhan Tian's countermeasures. Now, True Lord Cang Xi's avatar, the Fiery Horned Viper, had ambushed Hidden Temple and was locked in fierce combat with Thousand Illusions' Dharma form.

Since Thousand Illusions' Dharma form had been forced to emerge and engage Miao Zhan Tian's avatar, He Lingchuan naturally altered his strategy, ordering the Illusion Sect forces to launch a full-scale attack!

Currently, all four immortal-demon battlefields were in full swing; a breakthrough in any one could influence the other three. The Illusion Sect's objective was to directly assault Miao Zhan Tian's true body. If they achieved victory in this dimension, Thousand Illusions would truly be ecstatic.

The pressure was now on the Heavenly Palace army.

In terms of individual cultivation, the Illusion Sect disciples surpassed Bai Ziqi's motley army. The Heavenly Palace forces could only rely on the exceptional performance of certain powerful demons, their inherent elemental energy, and their commander's strategic direction.

However, He Lingchuan's command was flexible and varied, and as the attacking force, he fully exploited his initiative. The Illusion Sect troops, though not as obedient or decisive as the Black Armored Army, still managed to chip away at the Heavenly Palace army, eliminating nearly a hundred soldiers.

Thus, Bai Ziqi's army was left with just over eight hundred soldiers.

He also clearly perceived that despite constructing fortifications and arranging reasonable rotations, the army was exhausted, and their morale was somewhat low.

He therefore consulted with the Gray Parrot about relocating to the area controlled by the Divine Fire Grand Formation.

Undefeated Ridge was, after all, Thousand Illusions' home ground, imposing too many restrictions on their side. The area dominated by the Divine Fire Grand Formation already belonged to Miao Zhan Tian, who could exert immense power there.

But only after a few moments did the Gray Parrot nod in agreement. "Alright," it said.

Bai Ziqi hesitated. "Relocating from here would cover more than seven *li*, requiring the protection of the High Gods along the way, and that..."

All of the Heavenly Palace's immortals and demons had been dispatched to prevent the Illusion Sect elders from undermining the Divine Fire Grand Formation.

The Gray Parrot immediately responded, "No matter. Just call one back."

Bai Ziqi immediately ordered the entire army to advance towards the Divine Fire region.

With the enemy in close pursuit, the advance had to be extremely careful; otherwise, it could easily turn into a rout, much like the Illusion Sect's retreat at Kidney Lake.

From each of the three tribal teams, Bai Ziqi assigned one hundred warriors to form a rearguard.

The Gray Parrot was uncharacteristically silent.

Two lamp bearers carefully assisted True Lord Cang Xi, who was meditating with closed eyes, onto a floating boat.