Chapter 1815: No Way Out

The encircled area would fall under Miaozhantian’s control.

Xiao Wencheng continued, “The celestials and demons from Heavenly Palace have withdrawn from other impact craters and are now fully defending these seven array points. Bai Ziqi’s army has also turned around and is heading towards the Upside-Down Lake. At this moment, the Immortal Venerable needs every bit of your assistance.”

Undoubtedly, a battlefield where both celestials and demons are present would be exceptionally perilous, much like the Beacon War in another world.

He Lingchuan’s gaze shifted slightly.

Seeing his hesitation, Xiao Wencheng immediately said, “At this critical time for the Illusion Sect, Island Lord He has provided invaluable aid, for which the Immortal Venerable is deeply grateful. She wishes to bestow upon you a cherished personal treasure and pledges that after this victory, our sect will escort Island Lord He safely out of the Upside-Down Sea. The Immortal Venerable will also nominate Island Lord He as a Spirit Mountain Venerable, placing you among the Green Seats!”

He Lingchuan was slightly moved.

He had also heard Fang Canran mention that the Spirit Mountain Venerable held a revered status. Excluding the top few True Immortals, their rank was second only to the Elders, and there were only twenty-four such Venerables in total throughout Spirit Mountain. A few years ago, the immortal who had caused mayhem and a massacre in Lingxu City on the night he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace was one of these Venerables.

In Xiao Wencheng’s view, Spirit Mountain had numerous industries, a vast and complex personnel structure, and controlled many influential forces, wielding immense power in the world. If He Lingchuan could become a Spirit Mountain Venerable, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous boost to his future development.

This offer of both fame and fortune was undoubtedly a powerful temptation.

Furthermore, Qianhuan also reassured him: as long as He Lingchuan helped the Illusion Sect defeat Miaozhantian and the Heavenly Palace, Qianhuan would absolutely not harm him.

He Lingchuan had brought the Vast Origin Golden Mirror back, risking capture by Qianhuan. Now, Qianhuan was using Xiao Wencheng to tell him: "Don't worry, it's fine. I absolutely, definitely won't trouble you."

Absolutely.

Frankly, He Lingchuan and his group were on Qianhuan’s territory, and they had no room to refuse. The unspoken meaning of Qianhuan's words was: "Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit."

So, he looked back at Wan Qifeng and the others, then nodded resolutely, "Alright. Madam, you take them."

Although the elite soldiers he had painstakingly trained were valuable, they would sooner or later be sent to brutal battlefields, and casualties were inevitable. Only those who could emerge from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood were the true elites he sought.

This had been his philosophy since commanding troops, whether in Panlong City or in reality.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Madam Zhu said, "Everyone, follow me!"

She was the first to leap over the Vast Origin Golden Mirror and enter the banks of the Upside-Down Lake, with the Black Armored Army following closely. Dong Rui glanced at He Lingchuan, said "Take care," and then crossed the mirror with the Ghost Ape.

On the sand table, all parties were converging and rushing towards the Upside-Down Lake.

Celestials and demons from both sides had arrived.

Meanwhile, under He Lingchuan’s command, the Illusion Sect had already abandoned the Heavenly Palace forces and proceeded alone to the impact crater north of the Upside-Down Lake. He Lingchuan intentionally had them avoid the celestial-demon battlefield to prevent heavy casualties.

Now, it was Bai Ziqi leading the Heavenly Palace forces, chasing after the Illusion Sect.

Miaozhantian desperately poured divine power into the array points of the Divine Fire Grand Array around the Upside-Down Lake. The brightness of these impact craters intensified once more, appearing blindingly bright when viewed through the Vast Origin Golden Mirror.

If this continued, Miaozhantian would seize the Upside-Down Lake before Bai Ziqi even arrived.

Qianhuan, of course, would not sit idly by.

Consequently, the surface of the Upside-Down Lake suddenly began to boil, with large bubbles rising from the bottom. Anyone with keen sight could tell that a sudden anomaly had occurred at the lakebed.

Immediately afterward, a deep chasm opened up along the lake’s edge, stretching from the east side of the Upside-Down Lake all the way to the eastern impact crater!

The earthquake that had spread across the entire realm reappeared, and He Lingchuan, hidden underground, felt the tremors intensely as well.

Qianhuan made a move, directly drawing a channel from the Upside-Down Lake to pour water into the impact crater.

Miaozhantian wanted to strengthen the array points, didn’t she? So, Qianhuan poured tens of thousands of tons of cold water on the meteorites to cool them down thoroughly.

Qianhuan’s strategy was also very shrewd:

To encircle the Upside-Down Lake, Miaozhantian had to strengthen all seven array points simultaneously to have a chance of seizing control. However, if Qianhuan could extinguish the light of just one of those impact craters, the encirclement, along with Miaozhantian’s hopes, would naturally be shattered!

Was it easier to strengthen seven points simultaneously, or to break just one? The answer was self-evident.

Thus, this location immediately became the focal point of the chaotic battle between the celestials and demons of both sides.

Elder Liu and three other elders, along with Madam Zhu, making a total of five immortals, attacked the impact crater.

The four opposing celestials and demons returned to defend, and a fierce battle ensued between the two sides.

However, the Divine Maeve had been severely wounded by Elder Xue earlier and could currently exert less than thirty percent of her strength. At this moment, Madam Zhu’s role became crucial. Her presence on the Illusion Sect’s side immediately became a significant weight tipping the scales towards victory.

While directing the Illusion Sect’s combat, He Lingchuan asked Xiao Wencheng:

“Sect Master Xiao, even if Miaozhantian takes control of the Upside-Down Lake, how could she possibly harm the Immortal Venerable?”

The logic seemed flawed.

Given He Lingchuan’s deep involvement, Xiao Wencheng felt it would be too formal to withhold information, so he answered, “Both realms originally belonged to the Immortal Venerable, but it’s not as simple as reality and illusion changing at will. There are many fundamental laws that cannot be altered arbitrarily.”

He Lingchuan nodded. The more complex and complete a world, the more its interwoven rules become the very fabric of its existence. Even for Qianhuan, its creator, tampering with these rules could set off a chain reaction, affecting everything.

Indeed, some foundational laws must never be touched, as doing so could easily lead to the collapse of the world.

Xiao Wencheng pointed to the Upside-Down Lake in the mirror. “If this area is seized by Miaozhantian, and especially if she opens a passage to the other realm, then the laws at the intersection of the two realms would inevitably become chaotic and contradictory, creating a turbulent flow of laws.”

He took a breath. “To be frank, the passage connecting the two realms is the weakest point in the entire Upside-Down Sea. Once a turbulent flow of laws appears…”

He Lingchuan understood. “Miaozhantian would then easily break free from her restraints, burst out of the Illusion Realm, and confront the Immortal Venerable’s true form directly?”

“Precisely.” *What level of cultivation does this young man possess, to be able to infer so much from so little?* Xiao Wencheng’s expression was grave. “Creating such a turbulent flow of laws requires unparalleled power. Based on Miaozhantian’s current performance, she possesses this capability, which is why the Immortal Venerable is deeply concerned.”

“I see.” So, if this passage is breached, a life-and-death battle between Miaozhantian and Qianhuan would begin?

A direct confrontation of the two supreme beings. Excellent.

He Lingchuan thought for a moment, then asked, “It seems Miaozhantian’s power has exceeded the Immortal Venerable’s expectations?”

Xiao Wencheng fell silent for a moment, evidently communicating with Qianhuan.

Then he spoke: “For the past two millennia, Miaozhantian has steadily held one of the top positions among the demon lords of Lingxu, but her cultivation progress was always slow. That is, until a strange artifact emerged over a century ago, significantly boosting the cultivation of these supreme demon leaders.”

He Lingchuan asked, feigning ignorance, “Oh, what kind of strange artifact?”

“The Dragon Punishment Pillars,” Xiao Wencheng stated, fixing his gaze on He Lingchuan. “Has Island Lord He ever heard of them?”

“Of course,” He Lingchuan replied without evasion. “I even confiscated a few in the Glimmering Gold Plains; they were being used by a minor deity’s servants to collect nightmare energy for their master. So, Miaozhantian used the Dragon Punishment Pillars to enhance her cultivation, did she?”

With He Lingchuan’s half-truth, Xiao Wencheng couldn’t immediately gauge how much he knew. He simply continued, “The Immortal Venerable made this deduction. The Dragon Punishment Pillars greatly benefited these supreme demons, sparking a bloody conflict in the demonic realm over a century ago and causing frequent Imperial Nectar showers in the human world. However, Miaozhantian’s increased cultivation has made today’s battle exceedingly difficult.”

He Lingchuan listened, but his mind was on something else:

Supreme demons lose a significant amount of divine power during their descent. Miaozhantian should be no exception; upon descending into the body of True Lord Zangxi, she would only retain about sixty to seventy percent of her peak power.

Even so, she could fight Qianhuan to a standstill?

No wonder Qianhuan was both surprised and alarmed, because if one were to reverse-engineer this, wouldn’t Miaozhantian’s true strength actually surpass her own?

It was important to remember that for the past two millennia, not only had supreme demons diligently cultivated, but True Immortals like Qianhuan had also been actively progressing.

He Lingchuan had originally thought that immortals in their cave dwellings could only barely survive, and that it was good enough if their cultivation didn’t regress, as exemplified by Madam Zhu.

To survive, she had even shed her original cultivation, condensing it onto her shell, and gradually degenerated from a demon immortal to a demon, thereby preserving her life.

But Qianhuan had redefined his understanding. In an era of spiritual energy depletion, powerful True Immortals still lived a hundred times better than rogue immortals.

This was like noble families enduring famine years; it was far easier for them than for the poor.

This great immortal had drawn on half of the Glimmering Gold Plains’ spiritual energy for her own use, maintaining a sect of over a thousand people within her Upside-Down Sea cave dwelling, and even encircling tens of thousands of mortals to serve her. One could say her spiritual energy environment was exceptionally abundant. Before the cessation of the Positive and Negative Heavenly Net Grand Array’s operation, Illusion Sect disciples in the Upside-Down Sea would choose to fly by sword when traveling up and down mountains, using some spiritual energy and profound crystals, and wasting some without a second thought.

If even low-ranking disciples could afford such extravagance, how could Qianhuan possibly stint herself? Moreover, she had acquired the Great Deduction Heavenly Orb sixty years ago, so her cultivation should have advanced rapidly.

Despite her own immense progress, she was still fighting Miaozhantian to a draw. This psychological disparity must have made her particularly displeased.

He Lingchuan voiced a question that had puzzled him since the start of the battle: “There’s still one thing I don’t understand: are Miaozhantian and her subordinate supreme demons present in their true forms?”

As he spoke, he continuously monitored the movements of his companions on the battlefield.

Apart from himself, all of his forces had been deployed to the lakeside battlefield. Currently, Madam Zhu and the immortals were confronting the Heavenly Palace’s celestials and demons, while Dong Rui was integrated with the Black Armored Army, specifically targeting the key troublemakers within the Heavenly Palace’s troops.

One of the fundamental tactics He Lingchuan had taught them was to "pull out the nails." Even small enemy squads of only seven or eight members would have core figures. The role of Dong Rui and others was to identify and eliminate these core figures, which would cause the enemy team’s combat effectiveness to plummet.

It wasn’t that He Lingchuan didn’t want the Illusion Sect forces to do the same, but the cultivators genuinely lacked the ability to instantly recognize enemy leaders. It was like how lions and tigers could immediately spot the old and weak in a stampeding herd of cattle or deer, whereas to human eyes, every animal looked identical.

Such discernment must be honed through extensive experience on the battlefield.

On the battlefield, countless inconspicuous small techniques could help one’s side gain more room for survival.

Currently, the Heavenly Palace’s celestials and demons were firmly engaged by the Illusion Sect elders and Madam Zhu, leaving them no spare capacity to rush to the impact crater north of the lake. Dong Rui, of course, had no intention of getting close to the celestial-demon battlefield and becoming collateral damage.

“Of course!” Xiao Wencheng frowned. “You don’t seriously think that supreme demons can fight us to a draw by merely sending down a few clones, do you?”

That’s simply impossible.