Chapter 693: A Sudden Turn of Events

"Have you finished reminiscing? So, Fire Scion... will you continue to be our enemy, or turn from foe to friend?" At this moment, Su Liu raised an eyebrow and asked.

"These old matters are meaningless now. Back then, Master sent you away from the sect ahead of time out of consideration for the bond between master and disciple. Now that everything has settled, you should return with me to see him." Chi Rong's expression turned stern as he spoke.

As he spoke, dense swarms of Fire-Year Fireflies circled and danced around him, flickering like several burning fireballs, now bright, now dim.

The Heat Fire Immortal Venerable looked up at Chi Rong, then turned back to glance at Han Li and Hu San, his eyes filled with pain.

Bi She the Immortal's gaze flickered slightly as she subtly distanced herself from him.

A smile curled at the corner of Su Liu's mouth as he shrugged his shoulders, his armor clanking loudly.

Han Li's gaze swept over the Heat Fire Immortal Venerable, his eyes narrowing slightly as he tightened his grip on the longsword in his hand.

Within the great hall, the atmosphere once again became tense and confrontational.

But just then, a sudden commotion came from outside the hall.

Han Li clearly sensed a strong spatial fluctuation. Frowning slightly, he looked toward the entrance of the hall.

A purple figure stumbled in from outside the hall, suddenly darting inside. In his arms, he held another woman's form horizontally.

These two were naturally none other than Shi Chuankong and Feng Lin, who had been fleeing all the way here.

"Brother Shi?" Hu San's face lit up with joy upon seeing him, and he quickly called out.

Han Li's gaze narrowed as he looked Shi Chuankong up and down, noticing that his aura was disordered, as if he had just been through a fierce battle.

Su Liu's gaze also fixed on Shi Chuankong. He was momentarily stunned, a contemplative look flashing in his eyes.

By now, Feng Lin had regained consciousness. After steadying himself, Shi Chuankong set her down.

"Thank you, Young Master." Feng Lin's face was as pale as paper as she whispered to Shi Chuankong.

Shi Chuankong nodded slightly, his gaze first sweeping over the crowd in the hall, then falling on the three treasures in the center. His eyes visibly flickered, but he did not linger long before looking away.

"Everyone, they are coming..." After a moment's breath, he glanced outside the hall and spoke.

Upon hearing this, Han Li naturally understood immediately what "they" referred to, and his expression changed slightly.

The Reclusive Heat Immortal also snapped out of his previous mood upon hearing this, his face turning somewhat grim.

"Are you talking about the Gray Immortals?" Su Liu asked, his gaze sharpening.

Shi Chuankong did not reply, silently nodding.

"Could what those two said earlier be true? Have those filthy things from the other realm truly crossed over? If so, this must be reported immediately," Chi Rong said, his brow furrowing deeply, his face finally showing more gravity.

"How many have come?" Su Liu asked.

Shi Chuankong hesitated for a moment, then finally answered truthfully: "I encountered four Gray Immortals, all at the Taiyi stage or above, accompanied by an unknown number of Gray Realm creatures and alien beasts. The force is considerable."

"Hasn't your Reincarnation Hall always been close to the Gray Realm? I think you colluded with them to bring them here," Chi Rong suddenly snorted coldly, looking at Han Li and Hu San.

Hu San's face showed a hint of awkwardness, but he did not argue, appearing noncommittal.

Bishe Xianzi frowned deeply, also remaining silent.

Han Li, completely unaware of the matter, naturally could not offer any explanation.

Thus, the three of them seemed to confirm Chi Rong's suspicions, causing subtle changes in the expressions of everyone in the hall.

"Brother Huo Chizi, no matter what happened in the past, the Truth Sect has always resolutely opposed the Gray Realm's invasion. Are you still going to stand with these ambitious villains? Remember, those not of our kind are bound to have different hearts, and those of the same kind with different hearts deserve death!" Chi Rong said, turning to the Reclusive Heat Immortal.

The Reclusive Heat Immortal looked troubled and turned to Han Li.

"Believe it or not, we truly have no idea why the Gray Realm people are here this time," Hu San suddenly sighed, looking at everyone.

"You can save those lies for after you're dead..." Chi Rong clearly did not believe Hu San's words, sneering.

As he spoke, he raised his giant palm, and flames surged from its center, conjuring a massive crimson wheel of fire out of thin air.

The wheel spun with crimson flames, its red tongues of fire swaying slowly, emitting a series of howling sounds. The fire-year fireflies before him also buzzed loudly, poised to swarm toward Hu San.

"Here they come..." Han Li suddenly said, his gaze sharpening as he shouted.

Everyone tensed and quickly looked toward the hall entrance, but saw nothing—it was completely empty.

Under the strange suppression of this space, their divine sense could not probe far and was of little use.

After waiting a moment, the area remained calm. Chi Rong roared in fury, "Playing tricks!"

With that, he waved his hand abruptly, and the crimson fire wheel spun rapidly, shooting toward Han Li.

Han Li's body glowed with golden light, and the True Word Wheel within him reversed at high speed. His figure flickered, easily dodging the fire wheel, and he couldn't help but mutter, "Fool."

The moment his words fell, everyone heard a rumbling sound. In the distance, it was like a sandstorm approaching, with a vast gray mist blotting out the sky, carrying vague shadows within. It quickly reached the hall entrance.

Seeing this, Chi Rong held back from attacking further and turned his gaze toward the hall entrance.

Su Liu glanced at Han Li with a hint of surprise, seemingly amazed at the strength of his divine sense—that with his Golden Immortal cultivation, he had detected the arrival of the Gray Realm people earlier than the other Taiyi cultivators.

Four figures drifted out of the gray mist and stepped into the hall. They were the ones who had been pursuing Shi Chuankong and Feng Lin earlier.

Among them, the leader, Mr. Bone, swept his gaze across the hall, bypassing Han Li and the others, and fixed his eyes on the three treasures within the formation.

Especially when his eyes fell on the silver pipa, the pale flames in his eye sockets couldn't help but flicker.

"That's... the Luoza Pipa! With this, our reverse-realm formation can be perfected. Then we can open a stable passage to bring our army into the Immortal Realm endlessly. Quick... quickly retrieve that silver pipa!" The gray-white skeleton exclaimed excitedly, shouting.

"Yes," the other three replied, and with a flash of gray light, they shot toward the treasures.

"These are immortal treasures of our Immortal Realm; don't you dare lay a finger on them!" Su Liu shouted, but instead of stopping them, he turned and joined the scramble.

The others were not foolish either; none truly tried to stop the gray immortals, fearing that while they blocked them, someone else would seize the treasures. So they all rushed toward the three treasures.

Han Li's gaze flickered. He did not join in but quietly released his time domain, suppressing it to the extreme, covering only a tiny area around himself.

Seeing others trying to snatch the treasures, the gray immortals flew into a rage.

The young man in gray armor thrust his purple cross-spear forward. Gray light surged at the spear tip, and a gray tornado as thick as a water vat shot out, heading straight for Su Liu at the front.

The beautiful young woman flicked her long whip, producing sharp cracks in the air. Countless gray whip shadows materialized, forming a gray net in midair that blocked the path of Shi Chuankong and the others.

As for the ugly old man in gray robes, he suddenly spread his arms, revealing two thin, translucent gray-white wings under his armpits. His figure accelerated abruptly, darting past Hu San and the others, and was about to catch up to Su Liu.

Su Liu let out a fierce shout. Lightning seemed to flash in his eyes. He opened his right hand wide, revealing a black rune in his palm. Lightning flickered within it, then burst into brilliant light.

"Crack!"

A thunderclap exploded. A burst of five-colored lightning erupted from between his fingers, spreading into a dazzling five-colored lightning curtain that instantly shattered the pursuing gray tornado.

At the same time, his figure, wrapped in five-colored lightning, shot forward rapidly, pulling away from the others.

Not far behind him, a series of rumbling explosions sounded continuously.

Before Chi Rong, a crimson sun seemed to hang, from which crimson flames shot out like a storm of fire and rain, crashing into the gray net and tearing it apart.

Seeing this, the gray skeleton in the rear raised his white bone staff high and chanted incantations. Dense gray flames shot out from it, hurtling toward the immortals, including Han Li, who had not joined the scramble.

Han Li did not dodge. His Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword let out a clear ring, and strands of evil-repelling divine lightning gathered at the sword tip. With a loud crack, it shot out and collided with a cluster of gray flames.

With a bang.

No sparks flew, nor did lightning bolts scatter. The two opposing forces, after the initial collision, began to cancel each other out and soon dissipated.

Ahead, Hu San and the others also employed their techniques to resist the gray flames, inevitably slowing down.

Among them, Su Liu faced the densest attacks. The five-colored lightning around him was rapidly consumed, and his speed eventually slowed. The ugly old man, coming from behind, took the lead and rushed to the front.

Just as he was about to enter the formation and seize the Luoza Pipa, Shi Chuankong, who had been at the rear, suddenly vanished from the void without warning.

At almost the same moment, a black slit appeared in the void beside the formation. Shi Chuankong, pale-faced with blood trickling from the corner of his eye, flashed out from it and reached out his hand first, grabbing toward the silver pipa.