Chapter 1743: Support and Counter-Support

These wind blades, when they struck the soldiers of the Heavenly Palace, also had an armor-piercing effect—one hit could wound deep enough to see bone, and two unlucky ones were sliced through the throat, dying cleanly and swiftly. Other unconventional weapons were also primarily spell-based; the flying rainbow light and shadow they produced looked quite splendid in the darkness.

"All flash and no substance!" The Soul-Capturing Mirror, having followed He Lingchuan for a long time, had earned the right to comment: "They consume too much energy; in prolonged combat, they are far less effective than swords and spears."

He Lingchuan knew these weapons were most suitable for the Overturned Sea. In the previous 150 years, the Overturned Sea had abundant spiritual energy, and disciples of the Illusion Sect could choose from a wide variety of magical artifacts, combining beauty with practicality; in contrast, the Heavenly Palace army mostly used sharp blades and lethal weapons—a practice born of long-term adaptation to worldly conditions, efficient and labor-saving.

Zhu Xiuer, watching the battle before the mirror, bluntly pointed out: "Spiritual energy in the Overturned Sea has suddenly diminished; these esoteric weapons consume too much energy, making them unsuitable for prolonged combat. It would be better to switch back to swords."

Which sect's introductory martial arts aren't sword-based? These fellows clearly know how to use them, yet they wield fans and jade rulers to fight the Heavenly Palace—truly, they're borrowing trouble to make things harder for themselves.

As soon as it finished speaking, an immortal elder not far away let out a heavy snort, his expression displeased.

A nameless little monster dares to spout grandiose words on the Illusion Sect's turf! They don't bother to argue, but they won't give a pleasant face.

He Lingchuan recalled that this person seemed to bear the surname Liu.

Xiao Wenchen's face was as still as water, equally furious. The disciples who took the field were all young, except for over a dozen leaders he had brought from overseas; the rest were from Silver Pearl Island, having never experienced real war.

They didn't know how to fight, nor did they know the cruelty of battle.

He secretly blamed Elder Jin for his negligence in leading the team—failing to have them switch to suitable weapons in advance, and now it was too late to issue such an order.

He Lingchuan, as a commander of troops, knew best that the outcome of a campaign depended not only on strategy, timing, and strength comparison, but also on various sudden developments and details. The Illusion Sect's lack of combat experience destined their fighting style to be crude, far less systematic than that of the Heavenly Palace troops.

Don't joke—the one holding the fort opposite is Bai Ziqi.

However, by the lakeside of the Overturned Sea, they could still fight back and forth, fiercely engaged. He Lingchuan observed that the Illusion Sect's troops wielded magical abilities that were extraordinarily powerful.

The Heavenly Palace troops had divine support—just mentioning the Wind Blade Technique: it was already good if it could pierce their armor; how could it possibly blast open a skylight on someone else?

Elder Jin's magical abilities were even more extraordinary—He Lingchuan personally saw him press his palm to the ground, whereupon a large fan-shaped area of earth before him began to roll, as if someone were shaking a blanket nonstop; within the range, both friend and foe had unsteady footing and fell to the ground.

Immediately afterward, stone spikes burst from the ground below, each tapering from tip to base, the longest reaching four feet! These ground spikes avoided their own people and specifically impaled Heavenly Palace soldiers—wounding legs and arms were minor injuries, but seven or eight were pierced through the throat. The worst was two people who happened to fall flat on their backsides, and then…

On this lakeside, the Illusion Sect disciples had magical abilities at their fingertips. Elder Xu used illusion twice to alter the terrain, causing enemies to fall face-first into the mud; then the yakshas swarmed forward and stabbed them into minced meat.

Flexibly using magic is indeed the great advantage of these veteran immortals. And He Lingchuan believed their strength far exceeded this, but they hadn't unleashed their full power in the previous battle, nor created several earth-shattering effects—clearly intending to proceed slowly and steadily.

Many truths can only be verified repeatedly on the battlefield.

"Sect Master Xiao, within the Overturned Sea, is your sect's art exceptionally strong?"

Oh, this kid saw it through—Xiao Wenchen clenched his jaw: "Not bad; this heaven and earth is controlled by the Immortal Venerable. With heaven and man working together, naturally it is stronger."

He spoke very clearly: the Overturned Sea grants support to the Illusion Sect's disciples!

That is, the Illusion Sect's disciples have stronger magic and firmer defenses.

Dong Rui pointed at his own nose: "Then what about us? Can we also be strengthened?"

He merely asked casually, but Xiao Wenchen's answer made him overjoyed: "Anyone who gains the Immortal Venerable's approval can."

"Good!" Dong Rui had just shown a smile when Xiao Wenchen continued: "However, the support is limited; wanting to directly multiply one's strength by one or two times is impossible."

Dong Rui chuckled while clenching his fists: "Having enhancement is enough; I don't dare hope for more."

Following the local strongman still brings rewards.

Zhu Xiuer probed deeply: "Why can't the support be greater?"

"Incompatible constitution. Moreover, the Master's power is not something ordinary cultivators can bear." Xiao Wenchen spoke solemnly: "Excess is as bad as deficiency."

Dong Rui: "Then what should we do?"

"Later, you will also pass through the mirror, and the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror will assess you."

That is, whether one can receive the Immortal Venerable's support is decided by the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror.

…

Facing the yaksha tide and the Illusion Sect's joint assault, Bai Ziqi deployed two additional Golden Armor Divine Generals on the board, barely stabilizing the situation.

This item is the pinnacle of craftsmanship from the ancient human state, specifically designed to counter the Immortal Sect's divine powers. For this expedition, Bai Ziqi, with the aid of Miao Zhantian, mobilized all resources to obtain these few, and indeed they proved highly useful.

He still had cards in hand, but the current cards must be played one by one—neither rushed nor hurried.

After a quarter of an hour, Bai Seventeen approached to report: "Commander Shi, the Great Array of the Immortal Capital has been repaired!"

Earlier, Illusion Sect disciples came in disguise; at first sight, they unleashed a barrage of divine powers, shattering the array's eye, causing the Spirit-Gathering Array to halt. This array is extremely important, relating to Bai Ziqi's next move, so the Heavenly Palace troops endured the enemy's assault, paid a considerable price, and stubbornly sent personnel to repair this great array.

With the array restored, green spiritual mist again came from all directions, and the spiritual energy of the small world was once again drawn out.

The Illusion Sect naturally could not stand idly by; Elder Xu issued an order, and the attack intensity increased again.

At this moment, the illusory image of the Eye of Truth also vanished from midair. Deprived of its "Discern Truth" ability, the Illusion Sect disciples' disguises returned, their forms reverting to blue faces and fangs, blending into the yaksha heap like a drop of water in the sea—indistinguishable once more.

The illusion art of the Thousand Illusions True Person is truly stubborn, but Miao Zhantian cannot continuously expend divine power to blast the Heavenly Palace troops with light.

At this moment, Bai Ziqi unhesitatingly sought aid from the heavens.

Miao Zhantian fights for himself; when the time comes to act, he cannot be stingy.

Thus, someone quickly handed him several red candles: "These are the 'Lighthouse' specially refined by the Miao Zhantian deity for this expedition; the Immortal Capital Array has already absorbed considerable spiritual energy and can be used to fuel the lighthouse's construction."

Then instructions were given on its use.

Bai Ziqi respectfully received it with both hands.

He knew that the person before him was none other than the Goddess Fenghe!

The Goddess Fenghe had already exerted herself during the political upheaval in Yao State, descending upon the so-called "Bei Jia Envoy," and her avatar also perished in battle against the Yin Hui. For the Goddess Fenghe, this was certainly a major loss, but in this expedition led by Miao Zhantian, as a deity who had severed ties, she still had to take the field wounded.

This shows how highly Miao Zhantian values the campaign to the Overturned Sea—nearly giving his all.

At first glance, these red candles seem no different from the incense candles used by common folk, except that the candle bodies are engraved with two golden glyphs, written in the Demon Tongue.

Bai Ziqi ordered someone to dig a pit in the ground, then personally plucked a petal from the eye of the Immortal Capital Array; this item transformed in his palm into a small lotus pedestal.

He then took out a red candle, inserted it into the lotus pedestal, and gently placed it into the pit.

"Go."

Upon Bai Ziqi's command, his fire spirit split into bean-sized flames, which with a "whoosh" ignited the red candle.

"All retreat, retreat further."

As the words fell, the red candle's form swelled! Both horizontally and vertically.

The onlookers' necks rose higher and higher; their observation angle shifted rapidly from overhead to upward, and the angle kept increasing.

In just a quarter of an hour, it grew from a candle as thick as a finger into a towering pillar nearly ten zhang high (thirty-three meters)!

Its diameter was large enough for everyone to walk around in a circle.

And after the pillar reached ten zhang in height, it did not completely stop growing, only the rate of growth slowed.

Only then could it be seen that the pillar's body was hexagonal, very smooth, with the top like a stele point, featuring a circular hollow corridor; the small flames previously placed inside had now become the Xiong Xiongdahuo.

When it burned to a crimson gold, the golden fire rekindled at the pillar's peak, once again condensing into a massive single eye!

After it appeared, it continued to roll its eye, but its gaze no longer swept around; instead, it formed a pale gold light halo barrier within a radius of five li of the lighthouse, and anyone entering it had their body surface gilded with a thin layer of pale gold, which was quite beautiful.

The first "lighthouse" was successfully lit!

The moment its light illuminated the lakeside, all disguises of the Phantom Sect disciples fell away once more, revealing their true forms.

Moreover, the yakshas were even made semi-transparent by the light.

Now, the Heavenly Palace troops could at a glance see the dead souls hidden within their bodies, flickering with dim blue soulfire.

Aiming at these dead souls to attack, if the weapon struck the right position, it was a direct hit to the vital point, striking true.

With focused effort, the combat efficiency of the Heavenly Palace troops suddenly greatly increased, and everyone's spirits were greatly lifted.

But Elder Xu, hidden among the yakshas, sensed something was wrong:

He casually cast the Earth-Imprisoning Technique again, with the same force and the same incantation, but the effect produced was merely a slight depression in the ground, not the previous huge pit.

What's going on?

Not only him, but the divine abilities and techniques of the Phantom Sect disciples also saw their power drastically reduced, their former fivefold brilliance now dimmed.

Elder Jin on the other side also cast a few techniques, then roared angrily: "It's that lighthouse barrier playing tricks, blocking the Immortal Venerable's grace!"

Each time they cast a technique, it took great effort! His and Elder Xu's words, which could originally be transmitted in real time to Stone Dragon Peak via the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror for real-time communication up and down, now only allowed Xiao Wen City and He Lingchuan to see his mouth opening and closing, but they could not hear what he was saying.

The communication was cut off by the barrier!

After a few more breaths, He Lingchuan saw the scenery inside the lighthouse barrier gradually blur, like behind a layer of frosted glass, or like frost flowers forming on a winter window.