Chapter 1821: One-sided

Everyone's attention had been drawn to the endless display of supernatural combat. Then, someone had a realization: "Oh, right!" The large meteorite in the crater was still glowing and radiating heat, working without a moment's pause. Wasn't this neglecting what was close for what was far away?

Wanqifang couldn't help but say, "But the formation anchors around the Inverted Lake have been extinguished. Myozanten has no chance to claim the Inverted Lake now."

He Lingchuan countered, "Then what should Myozanten do?"

If she couldn't take the Inverted Lake, she couldn't break the illusion realm, and she wouldn't be able to strike Qianhuan's true form! At the same time, Myozanten couldn't leave the Inverted Sea either.

It seemed there was only a dead end before her.

Time was on Qianhuan's side.

But the Great Heavenly Demon certainly wouldn't give up without a fight. What other moves did she have?

Madam Zhu pondered, "Then the only option is a last stand: defeat Qianhuan, then leave!"

Honestly, Myozanten's combat power was far beyond its expectations. Since entering the Inverted Sea, she had unleashed one powerful divine ability after another—the Eye of Reality, the Lighthouse Barrier, the Space-Time Rift, the Divine Fire Meteorite Array, and now the battle with the Hidden Dawn True Form. Myozanten had showcased the full might of a Spirit Void Great Heavenly Demon.

But Madam Zhu was not optimistic about her defeating Qianhuan.

Compared to Myozanten's aggressive approach, Qianhuan, who planned carefully before acting, must have conserved her strength to deal with her.

He Lingchuan, however, remained silent.

As an excellent commander, in addition to observing the battle between immortals and demons, he also had to consider the overall strategic situation of the war.

Myozanten's plan to seize the Inverted Lake had failed. Two of the seven anchors of the Divine Fire Array were lost, making it impossible to encircle the Inverted Lake.

Why didn't she shut down the entire array? Why were the other anchors still active?

The whip marks on True Lord Hidden Dawn hadn't healed for a long time. This indicated that Myozanten's divine power was stretched thin and no longer abundant—the inevitable consequence of her earlier excessive expenditure.

The wisest course of action, then, would be to halt the Divine Fire Array and conserve her divine power for fighting the enemy.

Why did she insist on painstakingly maintaining this array?

As he fell into thought, Myozanten showed signs of weakening and began to retreat while fighting. The giant cymbals that had trapped the Wind-Thunder Beast were also used by her against the enemy.

Madam Zhu muttered, "Looking at the situation, Qianhuan has the upper hand."

Since entering the Inverted Sea, Myozanten had frequently unleashed powerful techniques, consuming a tremendous amount of energy. Now, facing an opponent of equal caliber, she was beginning to struggle.

She couldn't seize the Inverted Sea; her strategy had failed.

True Person Qianhuan's chances of victory were visibly increasing.

Dong Rui snorted, "How could she be willing to show herself until the very last moment?"

Qianhuan was even more reclusive than a turtle retracting its head; she was a clam!

Wang Fubao discreetly gestured to Wanqiliang from behind: "You're going to lose."

They had made another private bet.

Wanqiliang rolled his eyes at him: "What's the hurry? It's not over yet."

He Lingchuan ignored the subtle actions behind him and focused on the battle. Both the Heavenly Palace and Illusion Sect forces could only see swirling rainbow light with their naked eyes.

Wang Fubao whispered, "I thought their fight would tear the heavens and shatter the earth."

A True Immortal and a Great Heavenly Demon—it was hard enough to see one ordinarily. Now that they were fighting each other, shouldn't it be a clash of thunder and fire? But it wasn't.

The scene he imagined, where a powerful being could shatter mountains and rivers and tear apart the void with a mere wave of a hand or stomp of a foot, simply didn't materialize.

"That would be too exhausting," Madam Zhu said, giving him a look that suggested he was simple-minded, letting him figure it out for himself. "Whether True Immortals or Great Heavenly Demons, their control over power should be incredibly precise, beyond what ordinary immortals can achieve. The kind of uncontrolled spectacle you're talking about shouldn't easily occur."

"If you miss your opponent but tear open the earth, what is that if not wasted effort? How is that not a loss of control?"

"To retract is far harder than to unleash," Madam Zhu said wistfully. "When you achieve the power of an immortal, you'll understand what I mean."

"But, but Myozanten earlier..."

Hadn't Myozanten unleashed plenty of powerful moves earlier?

"She unleashed several great divine abilities, each with a specific purpose, and all were out of necessity," Madam Zhu said, without turning her head, as if she had eyes in the back of her head that could see into a mirror. "This is also the main reason her reserves are dwindling. Do you think Qianhuan, as the instigator of all this, would make the same mistake?"

"Uh."

"They won't exert themselves unnecessarily unless it's absolutely crucial."

But even so, the battle between the True Immortal and the Great Heavenly Demon was incredibly explosive. Onlookers couldn't keep up even with their full attention, quickly becoming dazzled after a few glances.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan had the help of the Haoyuan Golden Mirror, allowing him to observe the overall situation. In his view, Myozanten was indeed on the defensive, retreating while fighting, but her retreat was organized and not aimless.

Where was she planning to retreat to?

Madam Zhu also said, "It seems Myozanten still has some reserves."

He Lingchuan connected Myozanten's retreat path into a line and found that although the line had twists and turns, it generally pointed northwest.

She was retreating from the Inverted Lake towards the northwest. What was there?

Dong Rui suddenly pointed at the mirror and exclaimed, "Look at the battlefield east of the lake!"

The situation on the battlefield east of the lake had changed long ago. Previously, Heavenly Palace demons had come to hinder the Illusion Sect elders from digging up the meteorite. But ever since Myozanten and Qianhuan began their intense battle, the Heavenly Palace demons wanted to rush back to aid Myozanten. As a result, they were firmly held back by the Illusion Sect's immortals.

The Heavenly Demons were inferior to their opponents in both strength and numbers, especially since Deity Shimei was also injured. But with their firm resolve to escape, it was difficult for the Illusion Sect immortals to stop them.

As Dong Rui exclaimed, the mirror precisely showed that two Heavenly Demons had already broken through. The other was teamed up with the Great Demon Cave Infant to deal with Elder Xue.

The two sides were locked in fierce combat. Cave Infant dodged a staff strike from Elder Xue and, seizing the moment, flipped behind the Heavenly Demon.

This movement was utterly natural. So much so that when it flapped its wings again and extended its claws to rush forward, the Heavenly Demon thought Cave Infant was going to attack Elder Xue again.

Unexpectedly, it shifted its body, extended a steel claw, and directly clutched the Heavenly Demon's nape!

For an immortal's body, this strike only caused injury. But with its movements controlled, Elder Xue seized the opportunity and slammed his staff onto its forehead, splitting its skull open and splattering brains.

Fearing it might not be dead, he then drew a long sword and circled its neck with it as well.

The Heavenly Palace lost another major figure.

Seeing this, Dong Rui said to Madam Zhu, "That raptor was a spy! Look, isn't Myozanten about to lose?"

Now, Myozanten had only two Heavenly Demons and one Demon Immortal under her command, and Deity Shimei was severely injured. In addition, there were the over four hundred members of the Heavenly Palace team led by Bai Ziqi.

In contrast, Qianhuan still had five immortals, the raptor that suddenly betrayed them (its nature unknown), and Madam Zhu, who was observing from the sidelines.

From this level of strength comparison, the Heavenly Palace was at a disadvantage.

Not to mention the duel between Qianhuan and Myozanten; looking at it over time, Qianhuan's probability of victory was greater.

Seeing this, Madam Zhu also drew a conclusion: "Barring any unforeseen circumstances, True Person Qianhuan should be the ultimate winner."

She added, "Unless Myozanten unleashes some self-destructive ultimate move."

As soon as she said this, Dong Rui felt a chill down his spine. "Perhaps we should go back to watching the battle from inside the mine?"

If Myozanten couldn't defeat Qianhuan and decided to self-destruct, the power would definitely be even greater than the Divine Fire Meteorite!

With only a few hundred zhang separating them, he still felt unsafe.

Even the battling Wind God taunted Myozanten: "This scene seems like a replay of old times. You also traveled thousands of miles to your death, only this time, there's no Mitian to save you!"

Three thousand years ago, Qianhuan's ambush of Myozanten nearly succeeded, but Mitian arrived and ruined her plans.

Three thousand years later, Myozanten harbored different intentions toward her, and consequently, fell into the same predicament as back then.

The outcome, delayed for three thousand years, had finally arrived.

Myozanten, however, remained silent.

Perhaps the battle was too intense for her to be distracted, or perhaps there was nothing left to say at this point.

She merely retreated another hundred-plus zhang in silence. The Wind God followed like a shadow.

He Lingchuan, however, felt increasingly uneasy. After some thought, he directed the Haoyuan Golden Mirror to focus on Bai Ziqi.

This person had also retreated a great distance and chosen a high vantage point to survey the battlefield. The Heavenly Palace forces appeared worried; even the most loyal White Guards were now frowning with concern.

Bai Ziqi, however, had summoned a sand table and was frequently observing it.

Dong Rui wondered, "Why is he like you, not watching Qianhuan and Myozanten, but always looking at a sand table or a mirror?"

"That means he has other calculations."

Which means Myozanten has other plans!

Interesting. Given the current situation, does Myozanten still have a chance to turn the tables?

Just then, a subtle change appeared in the Haoyuan Golden Mirror. Or rather, a variable that no one was currently paying attention to. But the mirror flickered twice, as if reminding He Lingchuan to pay attention: The topography of a certain area had vanished from the Haoyuan Golden Mirror!

This was Kidney Lake.

Compared to the Inverted Lake, Kidney Lake's surface area was very small. The Divine Fire Array only needed three anchors to encircle it.

One of these anchors was in the meteorite crater that True Lord Hidden Dawn had desperately protected earlier.

From beginning to end, these three anchors had never been extinguished.

Over time, this area was finally brought under Myozanten's control.

But what was the use of this? Kidney Lake was a one-way passage; even if Myozanten gained control of it, she couldn't use it to attack Qianhuan's true form.

This was different from the strategic significance of the Inverted Lake.

He Lingchuan took a deep breath.

Really? Was Kidney Lake truly useless?

While Myozanten's past tactics were explosive, they were too obvious in their intent. He Lingchuan, Qianhuan, and even Xiao Wencheng could see at a glance what she intended to do.

But in reality, knowing how to conceal one's objectives is also an essential skill for an excellent commander.

If Myozanten still intended to turn the tide, she would have to catch the enemy by surprise. She would have to deliver a fatal gift to Qianhuan just when Qianhuan believed all threats were gone and victory was assured!

He Lingchuan noticed again that Myozanten had retreated to Kidney Lake.

That is, the area she had just seized control of.

Of course, Qianhuan's three avatars also followed.

At this point, the Illusion Sect elders also followed the Heavenly Demons. As soon as they arrived, Qianhuan's side would gain five more powerful combatants, potentially completely turning the tide of the battle. Just as Madam Zhu had said, if Myozanten had no contingencies or ultimate moves left, her defeat would truly be sealed.