Chapter 1777: The Choice He He Lingchuan Gave

"Strange. Could it be that the Tiangong gave it all their resources? The Banqiu Lighthouse has already been established. Bai Bai Ziqi wants to consolidate this achievement; no matter how tight resources and manpower are, he has to allocate garrison troops to it. In this way, the pressure on us in the lakeside battlefield will decrease again." He had dragged his feet in the mine shaft for so long without acting, so of course Bai Bai Ziqi would send reinforcements to Banqiu. But Bai Bai Ziqi was truly willing to spend; for the Banqiu Lighthouse to grow so tall and bright, he must have been grabbing Profound Crystals and devouring them greedily.

Wasn't this quite good? Everywhere was fighting boisterously, evenly matched.

However, Xiao Wencheng shook his head, his face solemn: "The situation in the lakeside battlefield is unfavorable."

This was also an important reason why he invited He He Lingchuan back.

He pointed to the Haoyuan Golden Mirror; now the mirror showed the situation in the lakeside battlefield.

He He Lingchuan saw that something was wrong at a glance: "Why aren't any Yakshas coming out of the Inverted Lake?"

The lighthouse barrier had shrunk its range on its own and no longer included the surface of the Inverted Lake. Now the lakeside was clean, and the occasional Yaksha patrolling was in a lazy posture.

"Miaozhantian tampered with the barrier, allowing it to obscure the heavenly secrets." Xiao Wencheng's words were not wrong; True Person Qianhuan was the "Heaven" of this cave dwelling. "The Tiangong team is hiding inside the lighthouse barrier, so the Yaksha army at the bottom of the lake has lost its target and no longer comes out."

He He Lingchuan heard where the problem lay: "The Yakshas don't listen to you?"

He felt some disdain in his heart. The Yakshas' massive attack on the Tiangong team had exposed the fact that these things were all being manipulated, but now the fact was even clearer: their true master was Qianhuan, and no one else could command the Yakshas.

Xiao Wencheng shook his head: "If it were just the Yakshas stopping their tide, that would be fine; we could still handle it, but—"

Afterward, he spoke of Bai Bai Ziqi's shouting tactics inside the lighthouse barrier, then said: "Since their bit of demonic talk, our sect's morale has clearly dropped, and we've been pushed back a hundred zhang by the Tiangong."

He He Lingchuan didn't ask how much of Bai Bai Ziqi's words hit the mark, only saying: "Self-justification is too difficult; one cannot argue against a hundred mouths."

Although Xiao Wencheng spoke lightly and didn't repeat the original version, He He Lingchuan was shrewd; he understood everything after hearing just a few words.

Why was the morale of the Illusion Sect disciples low? Because Bai Bai Ziqi's words could stir up the doubts in their hearts, making them think it sounded more and more like the truth.

Only the words "serves them right" floated in He He Lingchuan's mind. *As expected of Bai Bai Ziqi; he found the exact point of leverage. *

Xiao Wencheng felt deeply touched: "Yes, yes, that is the logic."

Dong Rui couldn't help but twist his mouth. Decades of earnest teaching by the sect couldn't compare to the enemy's half-hour of bewitching talk; what was the reason? These immortal elders knew it clearly in their hearts, right? "The situation in the lakeside battlefield is hard to turn around for the moment; holding the line for now is fine." He He Lingchuan turned and pointed to the sand table. "The Banqiu Lighthouse is our must-win place! Taking down this tower can temporarily rewrite the war situation!"

The Tiangong's main force was all in the lakeside battlefield; He He Lingchuan didn't think fighting to the death was a good idea.

Thus, Xiao Wencheng transferred over a hundred people from the lakeside battlefield to Banqiu. The terrain there wasn't as open as the lakeside, and the combat area was narrow, not suitable for large-scale warfare.

The transfer order had just been sent out when good news came from Banqiu:

Goddess Fenghe had been killed by Elder Liu!

"Good, good!" Xiao Wencheng couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh. "Elder Liu is fierce, as always!"

One had to know that there were now five immortals (including Zhu Zhu Xiuer) inside the Banqiu Lighthouse barrier; this lineup was even more extravagant than the lakeside battlefield, and the firepower was exceptionally fierce.

Goddess Fenghe had used the skin of Ascendant Di Yun and had been injured before, so her strength had declined. The Illusion Sect elders' anger and attacks had prioritized her.

Being focused-fired by five great immortals, Goddess Fenghe couldn't hold on for long; she didn't even have time to retreat before being blown into a handful of fireworks in mid-air by Elder Liu.

Counting the reinforcements Bai Bai Ziqi had sent later, there were only three experts left in the Banqiu barrier, while the Illusion Sect had five.

Moreover, although Goddess Fenghe's strength was slightly inferior before, her divine arts could coordinate with other Heavenly Demons to produce excellent results. Her demise caused the Banqiu Lighthouse's defensive capabilities to drop by more than a notch.

In the Banqiu battlefield, the situation was looking good.

Just then, ripples appeared on the surface of the Haoyuan Golden Mirror, and an Illusion Sect cultivator hurried back.

He He Lingchuan remembered that this was Elder Xu's disciple; when he was in the square earlier, his expression hadn't been this panicked.

"Sect Master, Elder Jin has heroically sacrificed himself!"

Xiao Wencheng's expression changed drastically: "What! How did this happen..."

He He Lingchuan spoke almost at the same time as him: "What about the other two elders?"

With Elder Jin dead, the pressure on the lakeside front line was even greater; they had to coordinate quickly.

This disciple looked at him and then at Sect Master Xiao, opening his mouth, not knowing which question to answer first.

Logically, he should answer the Sect Master first, but it seemed...

Xiao Wencheng steadied himself and asked again: "The war situation on the front line?"

"We have already broken out of the encirclement; Elder Xu is injured, and Elder Su is unharmed."

He He Lingchuan breathed a sigh of relief: "What about the other side?"

"There, there is also a great power who is severely injured."

It turned out that the morale of both sides had shifted. The Illusion Sect team had been beaten back step by step and was in a critical situation. Just then, the two great powers of the Tiangong fighting on the front line suddenly turned into rainbow lights and flew toward the north. It looked like something had happened at the Banqiu Lighthouse, and they had been sent to provide rescue.

*A good opportunity! * Elder Jin and the others knew that the opportunity for battle was fleeting, so they immediately organized a raid, intending to extinguish the lighthouse in one go.

Because the Illusion Sect team's willingness to attack wasn't high, this time, the elders had to take the lead themselves.

As long as they won, everything would be easy to talk about; morale would rise, and Bai Bai Ziqi's demonic talk would be worth nothing.

Who would have thought that when they rushed to the bottom of the tower, they would discover that the Tiangong's great powers were not few, but still three!

And Bai Bai Ziqi had released four huge *Ji* beasts and three Golden-Armored Divine Generals in one breath, launching a sudden attack! This was a trap from beginning to end.

The Illusion Sect elders couldn't retreat even if they wanted to; the Tiangong team had cut off their retreat.

After several failed attempts to charge the tower, Elder Xu had to give up the intention of continuing the attack and turned to break out. In the process, Elder Jin unfortunately died in battle.

Of course, before he died, he also severely injured an enemy.

Because the lighthouse barrier obscured vision, the Haoyuan Golden Mirror couldn't see the thrill of these battles and could only listen to this disciple's plain narration. But He He Lingchuan believed that Bai Bai Ziqi's coordination must have played a role.

He couldn't help but press his forehead.

Regarding the lakeside front line, he had repeatedly instructed the several elders to just hold on, not to be greedy for merit, and not to be reckless, because the main battlefield had shifted to Banqiu. As a result, these Illusion Sect immortals couldn't resist the impulse to launch a big attack when faced with the Tiangong's posturing, only to hit an iron plate.

Perhaps Bai Bai Ziqi's feint was too realistic? *Sigh, who exactly is the one under the Mirage Demon's tutelage? * He He Lingchuan also understood that, after all, this wasn't his own army; if people didn't obey orders, the intensity of executing instructions would inevitably be greatly reduced. The so-called "orders from above are carried out below"—if the instructions weren't smooth, winning a battle wouldn't be easy.

"Then we still have two elders and a thousand disciples at the lakeside." He He Lingchuan looked at this messenger disciple, wanting to say something but stopping.

Xiao Wencheng let the disciple exit the Wenhui Pavilion to wait for orders. "Island Master He, please speak."

"Elder Jin sacrificed himself, the lakeside war situation has changed, and there are two countermeasures for what comes next." Time was pressing, and He He Lingchuan spoke quickly. "First, abandon the lakeside battlefield and concentrate all power on Banqiu to take down the lighthouse with all our might. Because the Tiangong's goal is here—"

He stomped on the ground: "It built the lighthouse at the lakeside initially, firstly to gain a foothold, and secondly to consume your power, after which it would move toward Shilong Peak step by step. When the time is right, it will abandon the lakeside battlefield."

The Tiangong team had originally intended to take Shilong Mountain step by step under the cover of the lighthouse.

"Taking down the Banqiu Lighthouse is cutting off their path northward. Their current strength is greatly reduced, and it won't be easy for them to build another lighthouse."

He raised a second finger: "Second, maintain the current situation. As long as we maintain a great victory in the Banqiu battlefield and a stable situation in the lakeside battlefield, we can continue to hold a stalemate with the Tiangong."

Xiao Wencheng nodded; the options He He Lingchuan gave were very clear: one was to take down the Banqiu Lighthouse with all their might, and the second was to maintain the current situation unchanged.

He He Lingchuan continued, "But I suggest to Sect Master Xiao, if your sect still has backup plans, now is the time to prepare."

"However!" He He Lingchuan was about to say 'however', "The Tiangong is an invader with no foundation here. Once they discover that things aren't going as expected, they will immediately adjust their strategy."

Who didn't fight a war aiming to win? If they couldn't win, they would have to find another way.

Xiao Wencheng's eyes flickered: "You mean..."

He He Lingchuan was straightforward: "The entrance to True Person Qianhuan's secluded cultivation place is at Kidney Lake, right?"

When this question was discussed last time, He He Lingchuan had expressed that he only wanted to leave the Inverted Sea, so Xiao Wencheng hadn't said much.

But every time He He Lingchuan approached the glowing Kidney Lake, the Divine Bone Necklace became incredibly excited. So, he had a bit of an idea in his heart.

Xiao Wencheng's brows moved slightly: "You know? That is where the True Person is in secluded cultivation, and it is also the only path to leave the Inverted Sea."

"On the mine mountain, I saw the Tiangong's demon birds bring Silver Pearl Fruit from the Inverted Lake and throw them into Kidney Lake." He He Lingchuan said, "The Tiangong has already discovered this secret and is experimenting. Once they discover that the lighthouse tactic has little chance of winning, they are very likely to change their method of fighting."

Xiao Wencheng didn't take the bait.

The Haoyuan Golden Mirror had shown him the unusual movements of the Tiangong's avian demons. He just hadn't told He He Lingchuan and the others.

He He Lingchuan paused: "The two countermeasures I gave you both lead to the same consequence, differing only in speed and slowness. Sect Master Xiao, the proposal I gave your sect an hour ago is still valid."

He brought up the old topic again, but didn't state it clearly.

Xiao Wencheng understood, his eyes flickering.

The elders had all disagreed before, so it hadn't been executed; now that time had passed and the Illusion Sect had suffered major losses, that suggestion might be the only plan left to follow.

People under the eaves have to bow their heads; immortals are the same.

Now, the voices opposing him should be very small.

Just then, the Haoyuan Golden Mirror flashed, and the Spider Queen jumped out. ===== CHAPTER 1778 =====