Chapter 768: Achieving Victory Through a Surprise Move

"Boy, have you been waiting impatiently? Now, it's your turn." Yin Kuo first glanced at his severed arm, then turned his gloomy gaze toward Shi Chuankong and said with a smile.

With that, he lifted his foot and slowly walked toward Shi Chuankong.

Shi Chuankong frowned deeply, but the hand hidden in his sleeve released the immortal essence stone and formed a strange hand seal. A burning pain like flames seared his back, and a sealed rune appeared there.

As soon as Shi Chuankong activated it with his mind, the secret rune, which had cost an extreme price, would take effect. That would be his true and final desperate struggle.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

Yin Kuo's expression shifted drastically. A violent thunderclap suddenly sounded from his lower abdomen, and a dazzling silver light burst forth, shining brilliantly like a blazing sun.

Immediately after, countless silver electric arcs exploded from within, directly blasting a huge hole in his abdomen. Waves of scorching silver flames surged out wildly.

A sharp cry rang out as a massive silver firebird flew out from Yin Kuo's abdomen, spreading its wings. It spun in midair before diving straight toward his chest.

On the back of the silver flame bird stood a man, covered in wounds—it was none other than Han Li.

The crowd around the Evil Cleansing Pool was stunned by this sudden scene. Even Ti Hun, ignoring her injuries, struggled to jump down from the wall and stared nervously at Han Li.

Yin Chengquan's expression also changed, his face turning extremely grim. As for Patriarch Liu Qi, his gaze narrowed, and his eyes showed more surprise than joy.

With a loud bang, the silver flame bird crashed directly into Yin Kuo's chest. Rolling silver flames surged forth, instantly engulfing his entire body.

"Impossible! What is this?" Yin Kuo's terrified voice came from within the flames.

The baleful thunder on his body kept exploding, but he could not shake off the silver flames.

For some reason, the silver flames, like the lightning in the Evil Cleansing Pool, had a powerful restraining effect on him. Their efficacy was likely second only to the terrifying lightning in the golden lightning pool.

How could Yin Kuo know that the Essence Flame Bird had already devoured three Multicolored Fire Pills, and its flame power had reached the Taiyi realm level? If Han Li had not forcibly awakened it before it fully refined them, its power would have been at least at the late Taiyi stage.

Moreover, the Essence Flame Firebird inherently restrained the baleful qi, so erupting from within his body naturally achieved twice the result with half the effort.

Seeing this, Shi Chuankong and Hu San were overjoyed, while Yin Chengquan's separated soul in midair darkened his expression. Liu Qi Ancestor took a deep look at Han Li, the corner of his mouth twitching.

As the flames surged violently, Yin Kuo struggled desperately but to no avail.

At that moment, a streak of black light suddenly shot out from within the flames, revealing a black miniature figure about four or five inches tall, dense with baleful qi. A flash of lightning surrounded it, and it vanished from the void in an instant.

Han Li and the others wanted to stop it but were too late, having no choice but to let it escape.

With a loud bang,

Yin Kuo's body crashed to the ground, pitching forward and falling, completely reduced to a charred corpse.

Han Li jumped down from the Essence Flame Firebird's back and raised a hand to recall the Green Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords scattered on the ground back into his body, only to find that all nine swords were trembling slightly, as if unwilling to return.

He hesitated briefly, sensing with his spiritual connection for a moment, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. Then he waved his hand again, and the swords reluctantly flew back into his body.

Afterward, he casually waved his hand, drawing the Heavenly Fox Blood-Transforming Blade into his grasp, and approached Yin Kuo's corpse.

After examining it, he found a white bone token hanging at its side, so he casually removed it and put it away.

The Essence Flame Firebird then reverted to its silver flame miniature form, landing on Han Li's shoulder, still looking drowsy.

"Master, how are you?" Ti Hun hurried to Han Li's side and asked.

"Nothing serious, just scorched by the baleful lightning, with some internal organs shaken. What about you? How are your injuries?" Han Li shook his head and said.

"He... seems to still want to use my abilities, so he didn't strike to kill me. My injuries are not severe," Ti Hun said bitterly.

"Brother Li, this is no time to relax. The ancestor still needs our help," Hu San said urgently, stepping forward with a face full of worry.

Han Li looked over and saw that without Ti Hun's help, the previously suppressed situation had turned around, with Yin Chengquan's separated soul clearly gaining the upper hand.

"Master, I'll go help," Ti Hun said immediately.

"No rush. Patriarch Liuqi can hold out for a little while longer. Let's focus on recovering from our injuries and replenishing our immortal spiritual power. Once we cut the third chain together, Senior Liuqi's strength will greatly increase, and then without our help, he'll surely be able to repel Yin Chengquan." Han Li waved his hand and said.

"These four chains are each stronger than the last. Brother Li, are you really confident you can cut them?" Hu San asked, his eyes still full of worry.

"Rest assured. After being tempered by the silver lightning pool, I'm seventy percent sure I can cut that silver chain in one strike. But only if we all replenish as much immortal spiritual power as possible." Han Li's expression remained unchanged as he spoke.

"Let's do as Fellow Daoist Li says." Shi Chuankong also spoke up.

Hu San heard this and finally fell silent. The group all sat down cross-legged and began to quickly regulate their breathing.

…

On the other side, at the Duohu District meeting hall.

Yin Chengquan, who had left midway, had returned to the hall. Since sitting down, although he appeared calm, his eyes were constantly shifting, looking troubled.

The atmosphere in the hall remained stagnant, somewhat awkward.

"Domain Lord Yin, the discussion has reached this point. Stalemate serves no purpose. Why not hold a vote now?" Huangfu Yu frowned and spoke.

Yin Chengquan seemed not to hear at all, only gently twisting the gray ring on his left little finger, lost in thought.

"Domain Lord Yin, what Palace Lord Huangfu says makes sense. At this point, all topics of debate have been discussed. Let's begin the vote." Xiao Buye raised his voice a bit and also spoke.

Thus reminded, Yin Chengquan seemed to snap back to reality, forcing a smile on his face as he said, "Both of you, please calm down. According to the conference agenda, it's not yet time for a vote. Let's wait a little longer."

As soon as he finished speaking, his right hand, which had been twisting the gray ring, jerked back as if shocked, hiding it in his sleeve.

A flash of disbelief passed through his eyes. He looked down at the ring on his left hand in his sleeve and saw that the silver horizontal mark on it trembled violently.

Yin Chengquan concealed this series of actions extremely well, but it still did not escape Huangfu Yu's notice.

The latter was also filled with shock and doubt. He had been highly vigilant about this alliance, always on guard against the Netherworld Tribe springing some underhanded trick. But the meeting had progressed until now, and aside from the earlier anomaly, no other incident had occurred. Instead, Yin Chengquan seemed distracted, as if the Netherworld Tribe itself was in considerable trouble.

Yin Chengquan rubbed his hand hidden in his sleeve and was about to stand up when his expression changed again.

This time, the shock was far greater than before, to the point that he even forgot to mask his expression.

"What's wrong, Domain Lord Yin? Has there been another change in the Soul-Washing District? If your people can't handle it, why not invite the domain lords present to go with you and help resolve your troubles? That would also unite the tribes from all domains." Huangfu Yu's heart stirred, and he said with a smile.

"If something happened in my Netherworld Tribe's Asura City that we couldn't handle ourselves, wouldn't that be a joke to everyone? I was just pondering Fellow Daoist Huangfu's earlier proposal..." Yin Chengquan's expression returned to normal as he spoke.

Huangfu Yu's eyebrow twitched imperceptibly, a strange look flashing in his eyes. He suddenly sent a voice transmission and asked:

"Jiao San, has the wedge you planted in Asura City uncovered any news?"

"It's about the same as the earlier reports. It only says that a major upheaval has occurred in the Soul-Washing District, and the nearby Taming District, Baizang District, and Kuhe District have all activated their city defense restrictions. The Great Luo cultivator Yin Lin, stationed in the Kuhe District, has also rushed to the Soul-Washing District, and the commotion there seems to be growing." Jiao San's expression unchanged, replied via voice transmission.

"No wonder Yin Chengquan's tune has changed. He's really anxious." Huangfu Yu transmitted with a smile.

"What, is Domain Lord Yin considering adopting Domain Lord Huangfu's suggestion and voting now?" Xiao Buye raised an eyebrow and asked.

"The conference process is not yet complete, and opinions from all sides are not unified. I don't think now is the best time to vote. Why don't we set aside the disputes for now and choose another auspicious day to discuss further? After all, this matter concerns the future direction of our Gray Realm and should not be rushed." Yin Chengquan said with a smile.

As soon as he said this, before Huangfu Yu could speak, Xiao Buye immediately cried out that it was inappropriate.

"Domain Lord Yin, your Asura City is hardly a scenic spot. Coming here is not exactly a short journey, and it's truly not easy. Gathering so many domain lords and clan leaders together has cost no small amount. If we have to do it again, I'm afraid the prestige of our three major domains will take a serious hit." He waved his hand repeatedly and said.

"Domain Lord Xiao, you worry too much. If we discuss again next time, how could it still be led by our Netherworld Domain? Naturally, we would bring our people to your Black Rope Domain for the meeting." Yin Chengquan sidestepped the issue and said.

"Domain Lord Yin, that would be too much trouble. We're not in that much of a hurry. We can extend the conference schedule. As long as we can reach a resolution that most people accept, waiting a few more days is fine." Huangfu Yu suddenly changed his previous stance and said.

Yin Chengquan heard this, his eyebrow twitching imperceptibly, a flash of displeasure passing by. He turned his gaze to Xiao Buye.

"Domain Lord Xiao, what do you think?" he asked.

Xiao Buye noticed that the two had swapped attitudes, both doing a complete one-eighty, and understood the current situation.

"Well, both of you have valid points. However... our Gray Realm has been divided among three parties for a long time, and there is still no conclusion on the matter of the Immortal Realm, causing unrest among the domains. That is ultimately not a good thing. I fear that continuing to delay will only widen the rift, making it difficult to mend later. So it's better to decide as soon as possible and not choose another day." Xiao Buye pretended to ponder deeply, and after a moment of deliberation, he delivered this premeditated speech.