Chapter 1781

Xiao Wencheng himself had to sit in the Wenhui Pavilion to coordinate the overall situation, so the actual immortals he could dispatch were only six. Dispatching four immortals to Banqiu in one breath was already doing his best.

The elders responded in unison "Yes" and jumped into the mirror to leave.

……

Another cloud of mist came rolling in, moistening the immortal flowers and jade grasses, and wetting the high walls and magnificent eaves.

Standing in this high mountain fairyland, looking up at the stars and down at the sea of clouds, one only missed the fireworks of the human world.

Dong Rui subconsciously rubbed his arms: "Staying here, I always feel a bit of chill."

In fact, he had long been immune to cold and heat.

He asked He Lingchuan: "Guess, which plan will Sect Master Xiao ultimately choose?"

"The second one." He Lingchuan didn't hesitate. "Sect Master Xiao might personally lean toward the first plan, but the Illusion Sect is not a one-man show; if other elders disagree, it is very difficult for him to override the majority. Therefore, it will be the second one."

The Illusion Sect is neither a country nor an army; it has no tradition of swift and decisive action, and most matters require discussion; although Xiao Wencheng is the Sect Master, he only manages the sect's affairs on behalf of others. The true number one of the Illusion Sect has always been Thousand Illusions True Person! Other elders know this very well, so how could they view Xiao Wencheng as supreme authority? Mother Zhu transmitted sound to the two of them through the eyeball spiders: "You deliberately provoked Elder Xu just now, why?"

She had been with He Lingchuan for a long time and knew that this person could be exceptionally smooth in dealing with the world, making outsiders feel like a spring breeze. That sentence clearly had several ways of being said, none of which would offend anyone; why did He Lingchuan suddenly provoke Elder Xu at this juncture?

He Lingchuan smiled and gestured:

"Right. The more I provoke him and advise them to abandon the second plan, the more rebellious he becomes."

Mother Zhu and Dong Rui looked at each other; this guy meant he wanted to push the Illusion Sect to choose the second plan, which was to concentrate on attacking the Banqiu Lighthouse?

"... Didn't you say before that the Illusion Sect's battle should be fought steadily and surely? Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

"Before was before; soldiers have no constant situation, water has no constant shape; the war situation changes rapidly, so shouldn't tactics be adjusted accordingly?" After saying this, He Lingchuan switched to sign language. "Before, no one had a way to wake up Thousand Illusions True Person, so the tactic could only be the dragging tactic; but now..."

Dong Rui was shocked and blurted out, his tone raised by three degrees: "You can?!"

Wasn't it said that no one had a way? How did this guy suddenly have a trick?

"At least seventy percent certainty." He Lingchuan reached out and pressed his chest.

He certainly couldn't do this himself and could only rely on the Divine Bone Necklace.

He was transmitted to the wrong place the first time he crossed the Haoyuan Gold Mirror. Although Xiao Wencheng spoke lightly, He Lingchuan still heard from his words that the Haoyuan Gold Mirror had never made such a mistake.

Perhaps it wasn't the precious mirror that made a mistake, but the Divine Bone Necklace, or rather, the Great Fang Hu had quietly made a little attempt? Now He Lingchuan already knew that the Haoyuan Gold Mirror was an important hub for the various laws of the Inverted Sea and was itself a part of the laws. And the Great Fang Hu could make He Lingchuan transmit to the wrong place; did that mean it could intervene, change, or obscure the laws behind the Haoyuan Gold Mirror?

After all, this was just a cave dwelling, just a small cave heaven, while the Great Fang Hu created space and created laws itself; its rank was much higher.

If the Great Fang Hu was willing to take action—He Lingchuan had already received its reply—the success rate of awakening Thousand Illusions would be quite high.

Mother Zhu felt it was incredible, but He Lingchuan often had astonishing moves; if he said seventy percent, then it definitely had seventy percent. Mother Zhu believed him very much.

But she didn't understand: "Why, since you have the certainty to awaken Thousand Illusions True Person, do you want to induce the Illusion Sect to concentrate on attacking the Banqiu Lighthouse?"

Conversely: "Why don't you wake up Thousand Illusions True Person now?"

"Have you forgotten why we came to the Inverted Sea?" He Lingchuan's smile also became evil because of his sign language. "Did we really come with good intentions? Did we really come to send warmth to the Illusion Sect?"

Don't forget, the Illusion Sect's disaster today can be traced back to him for bringing Bai Ziqi over! Otherwise, they would still be living in peace and tranquility now.

Previously, Thousand Illusions lost contact, and He Lingchuan himself couldn't get out of the Inverted Sea, so he had to temporarily tie himself to the same warship as the Illusion Sect;

Now that he had found a way, he was going to turn around and push the progress of this war!

Dong Rui couldn't help but praise: "Ruthless and heartless, you are truly cruel."

Up to now, those calculated by this guy, whether people or countries, had no good endings.

He Lingchuan's mouth twitched, gesturing: "In terms of cruelty, how can I compare to these immortals?"

Why is the spiritual energy of the Flash Gold Plains weaker? Why are there Yakshas in the Inverted Sea? He didn't have a shred of good feeling for Thousand Illusions, for these Illusion Sect immortals.

Mother Zhu was full of interest and couldn't help but pace back and forth: "Aren't you afraid that Thousand Illusions won't be able to beat Miaozhantian and will drag us down?"

He Lingchuan continued to gesture: "As long as Thousand Illusions is awakened, the blockade of the Inverted Sea can be lifted. If Thousand Illusions is bound to lose, we will run away."

"Wait." Dong Rui asked him, "Xiao Sect Master said that Kidney Lake is where Thousand Illusions is in closed-door cultivation, and it is also the 'only path to leave the Inverted Sea'; what does this mean?"

"This is Xiao Sect Master's hint; we have always been in an illusion." He Lingchuan pointed toward Kidney Lake. "Under the premise that Thousand Illusions True Person does not come out of seclusion, no matter who wants to leave the Inverted Sea, they must first return to the real world. Several elders of the Illusion Sect, together with personnel sent by the Spirit Mountain to investigate, have entered Kidney Lake to probe, precisely to find a way out."

"It shouldn't be that easy to get out, right?" Dong Rui scratched his head. "They haven't come out of the storm circle so far, have they?"

"Xiao Sect Master only said it was the only path, not that this path was easy to walk." He Lingchuan smiled. "I said long ago that luring the Tiangong army into Kidney Lake is a plan to kill two birds with one stone; it can both invite Thousand Illusions True Person out and deal with Miaozhantian. Previously, the Illusion Sect refused, fearing that the enemy would hurt the Ancestor and eventually harm themselves; after several major battles, Miaozhantian and the Tiangong team's strength have been heavily consumed, and at this time, luring them into Kidney Lake to seek help from the old ancestor is justifiable."

Most importantly, the Illusion Sect itself was also severely damaged and had to give up its illusions and seek a practical solution.

This won't work, that won't work—it's all affectation; they'll be fine after a beating.

"And for the Tiangong, the biggest problem of this trip to the Inverted Sea is that the main force brought in is consumed too quickly and too much."

Dong Rui chuckled: "Thanks to you, several demon immortals and Heavenly Demons have died. Bai Ziqi has suffered a big loss in your hands this time."

"He suffered a loss because he was pinned to the lakeside lighthouse and had to coordinate the overall situation, unable to defend against me alone," He Lingchuan analyzed objectively. "The Heavenly Gods will also limit his performance, unlike me, who is free to come and go without any scruples."

Dong Rui touched his nose. That being said, who could influence the overall situation while being a lone soldier? Except for He Lingchuan.

"Back to the situation. The Tiangong right now, even its most basic elite forces, has suffered heavy casualties under the power of moving mountains and pulling up the earth, as well as the attacks of the Yaksha tide—these are soldiers brought with Yuan power! Placed in the outside world, each one is very precious." The Tiangong brought in more than three thousand people, and now only a little over a thousand are left. By the time Bai Ziqi decides to retreat, I don't know how many will be left. "The remaining manpower is not enough to guard three lighthouses. Then the Tiangong's original plan has gone bankrupt."

"What will he do?"

"He will watch how the Illusion Sect makes its move. If the Illusion Sect adopts my first plan, that is, continue to fight steadily and surely, then—" He Lingchuan raised three fingers, "Bai Ziqi's countermeasure, either, concentrate all power on Banqiu and guard the lighthouse to the death; or, enter Kidney Lake and retreat from the Inverted Sea. If Bai Ziqi chooses to retreat as soon as possible, he can still retain a little more manpower to deal with Thousand Illusions True Person. Anyway, regardless of whether they finally win against the Illusion Sect, they must enter Kidney Lake to leave the Inverted Sea."

Dong Rui wondered: "Eh, wait a minute, there is still a second lighthouse, why do you and Xiao Sect Master not mention it at all?"

The Illusion Sect even only sent a little manpower to attack the second lighthouse, just for show. In the vast battlefield, it seemed to be invisible. But no matter how inconspicuous the second lighthouse was, it was the only way for the Tiangong to move north.

He Lingchuan exhaled lightly: "This is the third point I haven't finished saying: the second lighthouse is the buffer zone of this war. If it is blown up, Bai Ziqi only has a third path to take."

"Ah?" Dong Rui didn't understand, and the Ghost Ape on his shoulder also scratched its ears; was this human language?

"In the lakeside battlefield, the Tiangong can win; in the Banqiu battlefield, the Illusion Sect can win. This is like two sides playing chess, with wins and losses, and the game can continue. As long as the second lighthouse is still there, the Tiangong team still has a foothold and can still exert force; but if this last lighthouse is also blown up, or is about to be blown up, the Tiangong team has no foothold on Silver Pearl Island. Guess what Bai Ziqi will do?"

He then asked: "A game of chess can't be played anymore, and you don't want to admit defeat; what will you do?"

Dong Rui didn't even think: "Flip the table."

He had poor chess sportsmanship.

"Do you think they have the ability to flip the table?"

"Yes." Dong Rui didn't hesitate. "If they didn't have something to rely on, how would they dare to enter the Inverted Sea?"

Bai Ziqi and the others' trump card must be the power of the Orthodox Gods! At this point, Dong Rui was a bit bewildered: "Then why doesn't Bai Ziqi flip the table now?"

"He is not sure about Thousand Illusions' state and doesn't dare to act rashly. After all, this is Thousand Illusions True Person; any intelligence Bai Ziqi has obtained about Thousand Illusions could be a trap," He Lingchuan said solemnly. "If Bai Ziqi reveals his trump card too early, causing the power of the Orthodox Gods to be depleted, when Thousand Illusions himself appears, does the Tiangong still have an advantage?"

"Xiao Sect Master also knows this very well, so he has never wanted to force the Tiangong team to use their big move, at least not until now." Regardless of how lively the immortal-demon sides are fighting now, with several falling on each side, they haven't actually reached the point of a real life-and-death struggle.

The commanders of both sides are still controlling the intensity of the war.