Chapter 1787

Xiao Wen Cheng looked at his confident expression and recalled how He Lingchuan had shown various abnormalities each time he approached the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror. Just moments ago, the mirror had even seemed a little afraid of him.

Maybe? Well, at this point, what harm is there in letting him try? It's just a matter of touching it.

How bad could things possibly get? These thoughts flashed through his mind, and he sized up He Lingchuan from head to toe, saying: "Sect Master He, if you can pry it loose, you will have saved the Huan Sect from great peril. Our entire sect will be eternally grateful, and the mirror can rightfully belong to you."

If you can dig it out, you may take it.

But he still didn't believe it, and didn't ask He Lingchuan how he planned to do it.

He Lingchuan smiled: "Good."

But he remained completely still.

Xiao Wen Cheng was also a shrewd man, knowing he feared the Huan Sect's empty promises, and inwardly found it somewhat amusing, yet under these circumstances he could not bring himself to laugh.

He simply went to the offering table, wrote another note, circled the incense burner three times, and when he handed it to He Lingchuan, every character on the note flashed with red light.

He Lingchuan glanced at it — this was a promise given in the name of the Huan Sect, not Xiao Wen Cheng personally.

"Rest assured, even if the master emerges from seclusion, this promise remains valid."

Although the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror is a supreme treasure, compared to the peril facing the Huan Sect and the great enemy confronting Qian Huan, what is it really? Besides waging war, this sect leader usually handles affairs with clarity — no wonder Qian Huan felt at ease entrusting the sect to him while he went into seclusion.

"Good." He Lingchuan put away the note, then said: "Please, both of you, step back."

He had a premonition that activating the Divine Bone Necklace this time would not go smoothly.

Dong Rui shot out a great distance in a flash, fearful of being caught in the commotion he might cause, while Xiao Wen Cheng merely stepped back one pace, his eyes sharp and fixed on him.

What ability does this outsider possess to dare boast so openly? He was genuinely curious.

He Lingchuan made a solemn hand seal with his left hand, then slapped his palm onto the frame of the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror!

This action looked ill-intentioned no matter how you viewed it.

The mirror shuddered violently.

If it had legs, it would surely leap away.

Even Xiao Wen Cheng felt its struggle, as if it were desperately trying to escape He Lingchuan's grasp.

Logically, it should be able to vanish from its spot and reappear anywhere in the Inverted Sea.

Yet it did not.

He Lingchuan's palm seemed to exert an overwhelming, unmatched suction force, firmly gripping the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror and preventing it from hiding.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror trembled with fury: "Let you not know good from bad! Master, give it your all, Ghost City, give it your all! Give this big fool a taste of his own medicine!"

In terms of ability, it admits it cannot match the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror, so it takes great pleasure in seeing others suffer humiliation.

Xiao Wen Cheng also sensed something amiss, his face filled with utter astonishment:

The Hao Yuan Golden Mirror is fused with the small world as one; though it appears to have form, it is actually without substance, making it impossible to forcibly pull by human strength. But He Huo's action seems direct, yet is actually more crude, for he is in fact forcibly severing the connection between the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror and the Inverted Sea! The mirror cannot escape because He Lingchuan has inserted a wedge into this originally smooth connection, directly trapping the mirror and forcing it to stay in place.

He Lingchuan stood before the round mirror; at this moment, the mirror no longer displayed the Ban Qiu battlefield, but only reflected He Lingchuan himself.

Xiao Wen Cheng's pupils suddenly contracted, for within the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror he saw a scene he had never witnessed before: the background inside the mirror was not the Wen Hui Pavilion, but an endless black curtain.

Within the black curtain, countless golden threads crisscrossed and intertwined, sparkling and radiant, appearing a hundred times more complex than Zhu Xiuer's spiderweb, yet equally filled with harmonious, orderly beauty.

Xiao Wen Cheng murmured: "Laws..."

With his cultivation level, he could easily discern that these golden threads represent the laws governing the mutual connection between the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror and the Inverted Sea — originally distinct and separate, interwoven vertically and horizontally, together forming all the rules and regulations of the Inverted Sea's minor cave heaven.

Yet behind He Lingchuan, countless dark red chains suddenly extended, dense and writhing, swiftly and precisely seizing these laws one by one. The golden threads touched by the chains quickly lost their light, gradually dimming until they snapped in the darkness.

It is easy to imagine that once all the golden threads are severed, the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror will also be severed from "order."

Within the mirror surface, the sound of chains clinking could be heard, sending a chill down Xiao Wen Cheng's spine.

Yet looking again at He Lingchuan himself outside the mirror, he simply stood there calmly, motionless as a mountain, one hand resting on the mirror.

Who could sense, behind him, the countless collisions and struggles of these laws?

Yes, Xiao Wen Cheng clearly understood that only a stronger law could resist and defeat the laws of the Inverted Sea.

The power behind He Lingchuan has already transcended the realm of "human strength," and can even stand in opposition to Qian Huan himself.

He looked at He Lingchuan with a gaze once again filled with scrutiny and vigilance: "Who exactly are you!"

Previously, he and the other elders had regarded He Huo and his companions as mere messengers from Lingshan, at best possessing decent cultivation and skill in strategy and judgment. But they had misjudged him — this man clearly hides a formidable power behind him.

The demon invasion has come, the Huan Sect is in troubled times, and He Huo and the power behind him are lurking nearby, watching — what do they intend?

His right hand, hidden in his sleeve, silently grasped a Demon-Suppressing Seal, ready to strike back at any moment.

"The one who helps you resist Miao Zhantian." He Lingchuan spoke calmly, not even turning to glance at him again: "Once I let go, I will be unable to awaken Qian Huan the Immortal Sovereign, and the mirror cannot be restored to its original state. Sect Master Xiao, what do you say?"

In just this moment, the connection between the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror and the small world has already been corroded by half; even if Qian Huan emerges from seclusion, it will be difficult to repair in a short time.

The mirror's miraculous nature has already been diminished by half, yet Qian Huan the Immortal Sovereign has not even shown a shadow.

To break off now would render all prior effort wasted.

Dozens of thoughts flashed through Xiao Wen Cheng's mind like a revolving lantern — vigilance, killing intent, hesitation — but in the end he had to return to reality: it seems He Huo truly has the ability to pry loose the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror and resolve the Huan Sect's greatest current crisis.

Other conflicts — why not wait until the Immortal Sovereign emerges? Whatever power stands behind He Huo, let the Immortal Sovereign decide.

Having thought this through, Xiao Wen Cheng's tense expression immediately relaxed, and he exhaled: "Thank you for your trouble, Sect Master He."

He Lingchuan smiled at him, not yet speaking, when the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror suddenly erupted with immense suction!

The mirror exerted all its strength to resist, found it could not break free from He Lingchuan, nor stop the corrosion of the golden threads by the tendrils, and thus decided to suck He Lingchuan inside.

Dong Rui had nearly retreated to the doorway, unaffected, but Xiao Wen Cheng was caught off guard, nearly toppled by the powerful wind, and quickly used a stabilizing character seal.

He then looked again at the mirror's interior — to his surprise, countless golden threads also extended from within the mirror, reaching toward He Lingchuan, attempting to bind him inside the mirror! Following the same pattern, the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror also tried to forcibly sever the connection between He Lingchuan and the Divine Bone Necklace.

It instinctively sought self-preservation, caring nothing for whether He Lingchuan was a friend of the Huan Sect — now it only wanted to kill him! Thus, this boy was indeed not mistaken earlier: his attempt to pry loose the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror inherently carries great risk, and a moment's carelessness could result in being counter-killed by the mirror.

"You fool, this will only make you lose faster!" The Soul-Capturing Mirror sensed this, its voice full of contempt: "Hurry and surrender to the master — this will do you no harm, otherwise it will crack, crack, crack!"

It has already disabused the overconfident Hao Yuan Golden Mirror of its illusions.

No matter how strong the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror is, wanting to wrestle with Ghost City? Even four or five more wouldn't be enough. The Soul-Capturing Mirror will forever remember the pressure it felt the first time it directly faced Ghost City.

And there's no need to say — the current Ghost City is certainly stronger than before! Submit obediently, or you'll be beaten even worse later.

Between magical artifacts there is a way to communicate, but the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror paid no heed to its clamor, merely extending more golden threads and yanking He Lingchuan hard! Even though He Lingchuan channeled Qi into his Upper Dantian and exerted himself fully, he was still pulled into a stagger, nearly toppling into the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror.

"……" The Soul-Capturing Mirror gasped in shock, "No, no way? Master, are you okay?"

How could this be different from what it imagined? From the view of the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror, the golden threads had already merged into a sheet of Jin Guang, attempting to contend with the red chains behind He Lingchuan. For a moment the red side overwhelmed the Jin Guang, then the Jin Guang overwhelmed the red—each time this happened, He Lingchuan was dragged a step closer to the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror by the Jin Guang.

If he lost his footing and toppled headfirst into the mirror, this contest might well be lost.

In just these short dozens of breaths, his true Qi surged violently in his Upper Dantian, all expended in the Thousand-Pound Weight footwork.

He must not be dragged in! He Lingchuan had never imagined that standing firm could be so difficult.

"Losing face?" he mumbled ambiguously, "You're actually being bested by a mirror?"

This "you" naturally referred to the great square pot behind the Divine Bone Necklace.

The pot was greedy and overconfident, which is why he provoked the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror. Who would have thought the pot could not subdue its prey, but instead placed him in an awkward predicament.

As if hearing He Lingchuan's complaint, the red chains extending from behind him suddenly doubled in number. Those watching the mirror's image saw it as countless blood-red giant pythons rolling and entwining, nearly covering He Lingchuan himself.

Apparently having figured out the principle behind the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror, this wave of the red chain formation advanced without being pushed back, instead severing and cutting the Jin Guang piece by piece, annihilating it one fragment at a time.

In the end, even He Lingchuan's reflection vanished from view, the mirror showing only a expanse of blood red! With a "pah-jiak" sound, cracks appeared on the surface of the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror, spreading from fine to coarse, from small to large.

It began with a single crack, then spread uncontrollably in all directions.

The Hao Yuan Golden Mirror, shattered.

"Heh-heh-heh!" the Soul-Capturing Mirror gloated, "I told you earlier what I said? If you don't surrender, you'll suffer; if you don't surrender, you'll incur great guilt!"

When the mirror surface first showed cracks, the frame trembled twice, the ground beneath everyone's feet suddenly shook, then came a few "guh-long" sounds, deep and ominous, as if the earth below were being torn apart.

Not only Shilong Peak, but the entire Inverted Sea was trembling.

Though the shaking lasted only a few moments, all beings felt it.

The next instant, the Hao Yuan Golden Mirror's surface burst open with its largest crack yet, nearly splitting the mirror face in two. Dong Rui and Xiao Wen Cheng could both see the mirror's interior already a vivid, blood-bright crimson.