Chapter 751: Open and Covert Struggles

At that moment, the ground at the foot of the Yin Ruins shook violently, followed by a tremor like an earthquake, and the earth directly shattered.

Streams of black karmic fire burst forth from the cracks, rock fragments fell in succession, and the surrounding palaces collapsed in large sections.

Before long, an even larger underground pit emerged, with only a single massive stone pillar standing in the center. Bai Lianyan's severed corpse also fell into the underground along with the collapsing earth.

Amid the towering flames, Han Li and the others shot out like arrows, flying swiftly toward the edge of the underground space without any pause.

On the other side, Yin Xu and Gui Mu exchanged a glance—one with a grim expression, the other with despair—then halted and rapidly retreated backward.

Immediately after, a furious roar came from underground, rumbling like thunder, booming incessantly.

Accompanying it was a terrifyingly ancient aura, like a primordial beast or an ancient deity, filled with cold killing intent and strong hatred and anger.

"Boom!"

The black giant hand that had earlier broken through the roof grabbed upward again, piercing the dome of the underground space like a knife cutting through tofu. It seemed to pull upward with force, causing the black flames in the huge pit to churn violently, and a massive blurry figure began to slowly rise.

As the flames gradually receded, the blurry figure finally became clear.

It was a colossal head nearly two thousand zhang in size, pitch-black like carved iron and black rock, covered with sharp edges and jagged protrusions. It vaguely had human facial features, shrouded in a layer of black flames.

In its eyes gathered two strange black flames, flickering like the fire of the Nine Netherworld, while on its head grew two huge curved horns like those of an ox, spanning hundreds of zhang horizontally, with the upward-curving parts resembling two solitary peaks.

When it exhaled through its nostrils, two streams of black flames burst forth, emitting a terrifying yin-sha aura that Han Li and the others had never felt before, making each of them feel a sense of insignificance to varying degrees.

"What exactly have we released..." At a corner of the underground space, Shi Chuankong glanced back at the hideous and terrifying giant head and murmured to himself.

"Kun Hou... we've finally released it, but Fellow Daoist Bai is probably in grave danger." Han Li quickly scanned the surroundings, his expression changing first, then releasing his spiritual sense to probe, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.

"Look... this thing seems, seems not fully free yet; only one head and one arm can move freely." Hu San suddenly said.

Han Li and Shi Chuankong followed the sound and saw that beneath the neck connected to the enormous head, thick chains crisscrossed and bound it, extending deep into the pit, making it impossible to see clearly.

"That should keep the Nine Serenity Clan busy for a while. Luckily, it wasn't fully released, or we might not have escaped," Han Li said, glancing at Yin Xu and Gui Mu, whose faces were extremely grim.

"It seems Daoist Chi Rong didn't make it out?" Hu San suddenly noticed someone missing and said.

"No need to look. When the earth split earlier, he seemed to have found something in the sea of fire below. Instead of retreating, he flew straight down and soon lost his aura," Shi Chuankong shook his head and said.

"Forget about him. You find a way out, and I'll go rescue Ti Hun," Han Li composed himself and said.

"Roar..."

At that moment, Kun Hou in the underground pit suddenly raised its head to the sky and let out a furious roar. A torrent of black karmic fire spewed from its mouth, like a giant pillar of flame, directly striking the dome above.

The rock of the dome, hundreds of feet thick, melted in an instant, revealing a huge hole through which a faint, dim skylight leaked down.

...

At the venue of the Falling Lake Region.

The towering stone platform shone with white light, emitting beams of white radiance in all directions, appearing even more majestic and imposing.

Behind the round table on the high platform, the domain lords of the Grey Realm sat in a circle, their expressions varied—some smiling, some grim, and others expressionless.

The atmosphere at the venue was tense. Though few were speaking, an undercurrent of hostility pervaded the air.

The Three Domain Alliance was led by the three major domains: Nine Serenity, Reincarnation, and Black Rope. The seats of Yin Chengquan, Huangfu Yu, and Xiao Buye were naturally arranged at the three corners of the white round table, forming a tripartite balance.

The entire agenda lasted twenty days. The first seven days were the preliminary discussion phase, during which the three domains would outline the main themes of the alliance and their current positions, with small-scale discussions allowed.

The following three days were for the actual resolution, with voting conducted jointly by the over a hundred participating domains.

The final ten days were for discussing potential issues based on the resolution results, considering subsequent matters, and allocating tasks.

This alliance meeting was ostensibly held to discuss the attitude toward the True Immortal Realm. It seemed simple, requiring only a statement of position. However, many domains were already dependent on the three major domains, and the entanglements among the domains were deep—territorial conflicts, trade issues, and personal grudges were all mixed in, making the situation extremely complex.

Although it was just a stance, too many things were implicated in it.

Over the past few days, the domains had been engaged in open strife and covert struggle. The Netherworld Domain, the Reincarnation Domain, and the Black Rope Domain were making every effort to win over other small and medium-sized domains, and they had set up many small sub-meetings, further complicating the situation.

Now the preliminary discussion phase had ended, and today was the first day of the final decision.

Although the decision had not yet begun, the situation had already become clear.

Before the alliance meeting, the Reincarnation Domain had spared no expense in sending out large numbers of people to win over the domain lords who had originally remained neutral, investing enormous resources and benefits. The Netherworld Domain, though it already had the most adherents, was not very enthusiastic about courting other neutral domains. As for the Black Rope Domain, it had always adopted a laissez-faire attitude and naturally made no major moves.

Moreover, most domains in the Gray Realm held a hostile attitude toward the True Immortal Realm, yet they coveted its abundant cultivation resources and things that the Gray Realm could not match.

Thus, guided by the Reincarnation Domain, more than half of the neutral domain lords, and even some domain lords who had been attached to the Black Rope Domain, were won over.

Although a few domain lords had not yet expressed their stance, the situation was already clear.

At this moment, with only half an hour left before the assembly began, Yin Chengquan sat silently, his expression calm, as if he was not anxious at all.

"Domain Lord Yin, the situation is very unfavorable for us. More and more people are being won over by the Reincarnation Domain." An old man with crane-white hair beside Yin Chengquan leaned slightly and whispered anxiously.

This man was named Tianku, the domain lord of Guchi Domain, who had always been on good terms with the Netherworld Domain and was one of the most active supporters of the Netherworld Domain.

"This is still just the preliminary discussion phase of the assembly. Domain Lord Tianku need not worry." Yin Chengquan smiled faintly, as if everything was already under control.

Seeing Yin Chengquan so composed, Domain Lord Tianku muttered inwardly but said nothing more.

Yin Chengquan sat upright, leaned back in his chair, and picked up the teacup in front of him.

"Give the order. Proceed according to the original plan." As he touched the tea to his lips, he sent a sound transmission without a trace.

Behind Yin Chengquan stood two people. One was a young man with regular features, thick eyebrows and big eyes, with a somewhat heroic air between his brows. On his forehead grew a curved gray horn, quite peculiar.

The other was a burly man in a gray robe. He had an ordinary appearance, but his eyebrows were thick and black like swords, his face cold as ice, and his whole body exuded a chilling murderous aura.

Both of them possessed immense auras, being at the Great Luo stage.

A slight ripple passed through the lowered eyelids of the young man, and a barely perceptible gray light flickered in his sleeve behind his back.

Among the crowd below the high platform of the venue, a tall, thin figure in a black robe narrowed his eyes, immediately turned, and walked away, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

Yin Chengquan glanced at the platform from the corner of his eye and set down his teacup.

"Domain Lord Yin, to remain so calm and composed under the current circumstances, I, Xiao, truly admire you." A voice came from Xiao Buye of the Black Rope Domain, who looked over with a smile.

"We are in the same boat. Deputy Domain Lord Xiao is equally unconcerned, is he not?" Yin Chengquan said indifferently.

"Hehe, Domain Lord Yin is mistaken. Our Black Rope Domain only seeks unity among all domains and an end to large-scale internal strife. That would be enough. I came this time merely to ensure that the alliance meeting ends peacefully." When Xiao Buye said the word "peacefully," he subtly emphasized it, as if issuing a warning.

"I see. Deputy Domain Lord Xiao has the welfare of the Gray Realm's people at heart. Truly a blessing for all. I, Yin, am deeply impressed." Yin Chengquan smiled noncommittally.

Hearing the exchange between Yin Chengquan and Xiao Buye, Huangfu Yu glanced at them and then looked away, a hint of a mocking smile flickering at the corner of his mouth.

At the same time.

Inside a hollow passage within the tall city wall at the edge of the Fallen Lake District, a low chanting suddenly arose.

In the dark passage, at intervals, stood gray stone pillars over ten zhang high, covered with complex patterns that extended beyond the pillars and into the surrounding walls.

Atop each gray stone pillar sat a member of the Netherworld tribe in a cross-legged position, murmuring incantations and rapidly forming hand seals that merged into the pillars.

The patterns on the gray stone pillars lit up one after another, flickering with gray light interspersed with traces of silver light, quite conspicuous in the pitch-black passage.

The gray light grew brighter and brighter, rapidly connecting with each other.

The city wall here was clearly built of special materials, as the light flickered inside but did not leak out at all.

Gradually, the restrictions around the Fallen Lake District trembled slightly and slowly underwent some changes, with specks of silver light emerging within them.