Chapter 1834: Not Right

It's better to get rid of this hot potato sooner rather than later.

The grey mist began drifting forward again. He Lingchuan followed and saw a pond ahead. The grey mist hovered above the water, slowly dissipating. He looked down and saw the pond water was very clear, but it was light red. It was the color of the Red Sea in the Great Square Pot, and also like the water in the Fortune Pool within the Solitary City of Qianhuan's Sea of Consciousness. As he watched, a figure swayed leisurely in the pond. Hundun!

This instruction was undeniable. He Lingchuan took a deep breath. "It's up to you," he said. Then, he threw the grey-skinned egg into the pond. With a splash, the grey egg sank. He Lingchuan watched as it transformed into a wisp of grey smoke upon entering the water, vanishing in an instant. Like letting a tiger return to the mountains or a dragon enter the sea.

Subsequently, the giant red shadow slowly swam over from somewhere unknown. Only when it reached the surface did it suddenly lash its tail, causing hundreds of chains to spread out, crisscrossing and completely locking down the entire pond surface.

In the empty mountain forest, He Lingchuan muttered to himself, "It's time." The most brutal battle of the Inverted Sea was finally about to begin.

Qianhuan's Sea of Consciousness.

Miaozhantian was in the midst of a fierce battle with the enemy when it saw Jiaotu turn and slip away, heading towards the Fortune Pool. Was it trying to escape? Before it could pursue, a sudden pang of dread struck it: The wisp of divine sense left on the grey parrot sent back a message: The Divine Fire Barrier had been breached! Miaozhantian's heart sank instantly. This was bad.

Earlier, Bai Ziqi had tried to persuade He Xiao to cooperate, but to his surprise, He Xiao refused outright. Not only that, but He Xiao also sent the Spider Immortal and his subordinates to attack the Divine Fire formation's base, demonstrating sheer short-sightedness and recklessness to the extreme. Even Bai Ziqi couldn't understand why he was so stubborn. However, He Xiao's stubbornness directly accelerated the destruction of the Divine Fire Barrier.

Immediately afterwards, three streaks of rainbow light burst out of the Fortune Pool, made a half-turn, and headed toward their true form. Even though Miaozhantian had fought countless battles and survived death numerous times, seeing this scene still filled it with a sense of powerlessness in the face of imminent disaster. Qianhuan and the Shadow Dragon were already a challenge for Miaozhantian alone. Now, with Qianhuan's three wisps of soul avatars returning, its main body's soul power surged, and the balance of power between them would immediately tilt dramatically. In the blink of an eye, Qianhuan's form grew noticeably larger. In the Sea of Consciousness, stronger soul power typically manifested as a larger, more solid form. Purely based on size, its build was now larger than Miaozhantian's.

This was a life-or-death battle, and pleading for mercy was meaningless. Miaozhantian had long intended to leave and had been considering how to escape Qianhuan's Sea of Consciousness. It had already tried the Fortune Pool at the temple entrance; like Kidney Lake, it was a point of no return. Qianhuan's illusion formations had this characteristic, and its Sea of Consciousness was likely no exception. Perhaps this Fortune Pool had some hidden activation methods, but Miaozhantian had no time or opportunity to try again. So, there was only one way: To provoke Qianhuan into enraging the grey dragon.

It had been trying from the very beginning, but Qianhuan, that old demon of many years, was truly cautious, preferring to reduce its attacks rather than even graze the grey dragon. Qianhuan had been locked in a deadly struggle with this dragon for decades and understood its characteristics very well. Miaozhantian, unable to use its divine abilities, found it difficult to effectively lure it.

Jiaotu, having regained its soul avatars and surging in strength, quickly overwhelmed Miaozhantian. Seizing another opening, it fiercely bit off Miaoyuntian's remaining hand! Miaoyuntian couldn't withdraw her hand in time and let out a painful shriek, having now lost both arms. As Miaozhantian's soul power was strained, it hadn't been able to heal her, and her lost limbs had not grown back.

Seeing Jiaotu and the grey dragon charging again, Miaozhantian narrowly dodged them twice. Suddenly, it reached behind, grabbed its sister, and threw her into its mouth! Miaoyuntian had already lost her combat ability, and clinging to Miaozhantian was just a burden. It might as well put her to good use. For many years, Miaozhantian had dedicated soul power and incense offerings to cultivate this sister, allowing Miaoyuntian's power to even surpass that of many celestial beings. Effort demanded a return. At such a critical moment, surely its sister could be of some use? Miaoyuntian didn't even have time to shriek before Miaozhantian swallowed her. It even crunched a few times.

With the replenishment of Miaoyuntian's soul power, the effect was immediate. Miaozhantian's wounds across its body rapidly healed, and even its limbs felt light and nimble again. No matter how severely Miaoyuntian was injured, she was, after all, at the soul power level of a Great Demon God and born from the same source as Miaozhantian, making her a powerful tonic for her sister. Yet, Miaozhantian felt no relief whatsoever. If it couldn't leave this Sea of Consciousness quickly, it would sooner or later be ground down and killed by Qianhuan.

It tried several more times, but Qianhuan was extremely cunning, utterly refusing to approach the city wall. Although this gave Miaozhantian a chance to catch its breath, Qianhuan would then certainly avoid accidentally harming the grey dragon. Miaozhantian even managed to lure Qianhuan near a partial guiding wall, which could barely be considered a subtle extension of the south city wall. Yet Qianhuan saw through the ploy and retreated a wide distance, making Miaozhantian seethe with frustration.

Just as it was at its wits' end, the grey dragon's fluid movements suddenly paused. It turned its head and plunged into the city wall. A few unexpected claps of thunder flashed across the sky above the Sea of Consciousness, causing the waters outside the Solitary City to surge violently.

Qianhuan frowned. This was its territory; it could sense something was wrong. It felt as if something had intruded, yet it was so indistinct that even it couldn't pinpoint its location!

Having suffered losses several times before, Miaozhantian became even more vigilant the moment it saw the grey dragon disappear, focusing completely. Indeed, after a dozen breaths, the ground beneath its feet loosened, and a gaping maw shot up from underground. Miaozhantian leaped five zhang away in a single bound. However, the grey dragon followed like a shadow, its physical agility having improved even further than before. This heaven-defying creature, could it actually improve even further? Miaozhantian couldn't help but curse out loud. It dodged the dragon's head but not its tail, getting swept away by a powerful tail swing and crashing into the civilian houses below the city wall.

Jiaotu seized the opportunity and charged down. If Miaozhantian could be torn to shreds, this long battle of the Inverted Sea could finally conclude!

After repeated fierce battles, Qianhuan itself was also somewhat fatigued. Moreover, it knew clearly that killing Miaozhantian wasn't the end of everything; there was still He Xiao to deal with afterwards, and the power of the Great Square Pot to handle! It suspected that the mysterious power that had just infiltrated its Sea of Consciousness was the Great Square Pot. To be able to move freely within its small grotto-heaven was much more difficult to deal with than Miaozhantian. As the master of this grand mansion, the Inverted Sea, it had to either bind or drive out every single intruder.

The Shadow Dragon also turned and charged over, its large mouth slightly open, sharp teeth exposed, looking as if it was about to take another bite out of Miaozhantian. Jiaotu shifted sideways, making room for it. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Shadow Dragon wouldn't even bother to glance at Jiaotu and would charge straight past it.

Then, the unexpected happened. As the Shadow Dragon charged past, its large head suddenly turned without warning and struck at Jiaotu's waist!