Chapter 1814: Two-Pronged Preparation

"According to the rules of the lower realm, we living beings, without silver pearl fruit, cannot return to the upper realm from Kidney Lake. So, that passage through Kidney Lake probably cannot be opened in reverse," Bai Ziqin temporarily ruled out one option. "That leaves only Inverted Lake."

"Based on current clues, the ghost inhabitants of the lower realm also transform into yakshas and go to the upper realm. They are originally dead souls; wearing human skin makes them appear human, and donning a yaksha shell turns them into a yaksha," he mused. "But what conditions must be met for this to happen?"

In other words, which ghost inhabitants can continue to live in the lower realm, and which will be driven across the lake to become yakshas?

"Speaking of that, my Eye of Truth just now scanned Inverted Lake and observed some anomalies."

No sooner had Miaozhantian finished speaking than the gigantic Eye of Truth at the zenith retracted into a beam of light. It then abruptly shifted direction, shining directly down from high above onto Inverted Lake.

Bai Ziqin immediately lowered his head to look at the sandbox.

Illuminated by the blue light, the deep bottom of Inverted Lake gradually became transparent. Although the sandbox's size made a perfectly detailed replica impossible, everyone could still get a general idea.

He now understood that Qianhuan's divine power aimed to achieve "verisimilitude" by all means, while Miaozhantian was trying every possible way to simulate Qianhuan, simulate the rules of this world, and simulate Qianhuan's divine power.

Whether in the upper or lower realm, since Qianhuan was the creator, Miaozhantian could gain a clearer understanding by simulating Qianhuan's perspective and divine powers for analysis.

The struggle between these rivals was truly full of unpredictable changes at every moment.

The White Guards all let out a collective gasp of surprise, because the blue light revealed something invisible to the human eye—

At the bottom of Inverted Lake, countless flickering shadows had gathered!

They were small in size but vast in number, occupying three-tenths of the extensive lake bottom, constantly moving and darting about.

They resembled headless flies, or dense swarms of tadpoles in a summer pond, constantly trying to wriggle into any opening they found.

Bai Shiqi exclaimed, "Are these... are these dead souls?"

"They are a portion of the ghost inhabitants who 'died' in the Divine Fire Meteor Shower, perhaps the strongest among them, capable of controlling the yaksha's water shell. So, the lower realm collected them and gathered them at the bottom of the lake," Miaozhantian told Bai Ziqin. "It seems your earlier deduction was correct. There are at least two conditions for going to the upper realm from Inverted Lake: first, being a soul entity, and second, having shed the outer water shell."

During passage, Inverted Lake would generate water shells to envelop them. This way, as soon as they emerged from Inverted Lake in the upper realm, they would assume the form of yakshas.

Bai Shiqi timidly asked, "Venerable Divine One, why can't they pass through and are all gathered at the bottom of the lake?"

"The passage hasn't opened," Bai Ziqin answered on his behalf. "Even if the conditions for passage are met, the dead souls must wait for the passage to open before they can cross. According to past intelligence, Qianhuan controls how wide the passage opens and how many yakshas are allowed through."

If there were too many living people in the upper realm, Inverted Lake would produce many yakshas; if the number of living people in the upper realm was moderate or low, Inverted Lake would produce fewer or no yakshas.

"Therefore, the control over opening and closing this passage is in Qianhuan's hands," Miaozhantian stated. "What we need to do is seize that control!"

He declared with certainty, "As long as the passage is open, I will have the opportunity to directly attack Qianhuan's true form or divine consciousness!"

Bai Ziqin inquired, "Are you planning to...?"

Miaozhantian replied, "It's simple: use the Grand Divine Fire Array to prioritize seizing control of the Inverted Lake area from Qianhuan!"

At last. After more than ten hours inside, he was finally about to find Qianhuan's true form!

Everyone exchanged glances, then bowed in unison, "We respectfully heed the Divine One's sacred decree!"

Bai Ziqin pondered for a moment, then said, "Venerable Divine One, the situation ahead is becoming increasingly perilous and unpredictable. We should prepare for both eventualities."

"Oh?" Miaozhantian readily accepted the advice. "What are your thoughts?"

This subordinate of the Venerable Lingxu truly had a good mind.

Bai Ziqin turned and looked at the lotus lamp in True Monarch Zangxi's hand:

"The Venerable One lent this precious body to you, and within the lotus lamp is a divine spell left by Jinna, sealed by Goddess Shimei using the Bay Leaf Technique."

Goddess Shimei could seal other deities' divine spells into a single bay leaf, which, when placed in this lotus lamp, would transform into a lotus seed.

"Ah, it's a remnant from an experiment Venerable Lingxu had Jinna conduct long ago," Miaozhantian said. The divine spell was already in the lotus lamp when he borrowed True Monarch Zangxi's body, but he hadn't paid it much mind because "it's just a minor spell, ineffective on people or magical artifacts. What are your thoughts?"

Bai Ziqin took a small box from his bosom, opened a tiny slit, and showed it to the grey parrot on his shoulder.

The grey parrot stretched its neck, glanced inside, and then burst into laughter:

"Good, good! This plan is ingenious!"

It understood.

What was that old human saying, about putting all your eggs in different baskets?

The Eye of Truth suddenly shifted, shining from the zenith towards Inverted Lake. Inside the mine cave, He Lingchuan also immediately ordered the Haoyuan Golden Mirror to magnify the details of Inverted Lake.

Seeing countless ghostly figures flickering at the bottom of the lake through the blue light, everyone drew a sharp breath.

Wanqiliang exclaimed in surprise, "What are these things?"

No sooner had he spoken than a dozen or so shadows floated closer to the surface. This image was immediately captured by the Haoyuan Golden Mirror and then magnified.

He Lingchuan crooked his finger, and the image paused.

Some of these shadows had discernible heads, faces, and limbs, while others were very blurry, like crudely made clay figures whose features were almost indistinguishable.

"They're ghosts," Madam Zhu affirmed with a glance. "Some are recently deceased, and some are about to dissipate."

Everyone easily recalled the Divine Fire Meteor Shower that Miaozhantian had unleashed earlier.

Dong Rui wondered, "Aren't they departed souls from another world? Even if they were 'killed' again by the divine fire, why are they crammed at the bottom of Inverted Lake?"

At that moment, Xiao Wencheng's voice suddenly came through the mirror.

He Lingchuan took two steps back, and only then did Xiao Wencheng step through the mirror and appear before them, his expression grave: "We're in big trouble."

With the battle having reached this point, what new major trouble could possibly emerge?

Xiao Wencheng turned around and pointed at Inverted Lake in the Haoyuan Golden Mirror: "Miaozhantian's focus on Inverted Lake means he's discovered the Venerable Immortal's method. The Venerable Immortal judged that his next move would be against this place, so he ordered us to launch a full-speed attack!"

Before He Lingchuan could speak, Dong Rui was the first to ask, "What method?"

As this matter could no longer be kept secret, Xiao Wencheng became more forthright: "Inverted Lake is a passage connecting the two realms. Miaozhantian is now using his Eye of Truth to act from this point, aiming to disrupt the laws of the Inverted Sea and harm the Venerable Immortal!"

"A passage connecting two realms?" Dong Rui questioned, surprised. "Why not Kidney Lake?"

Xiao Wencheng looked somewhat embarrassed but still explained, "Kidney Lake is a one-way path; they can't leave that way."