Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

The Celestial Walkers. The most mysterious and secretive organization in this world.

They walk outside the sight of the masses, secretly propelling the so-called destiny forward.

With a flick of their fingertips, they weave the threads of what they call destiny.

Holding the Book of Destiny, a mere flick of a speck of dust is enough to overturn the course of countless lives.

A pebble kicked away at some point, tumbling in an 'unexpected' torrent, will eventually trip a child, slow a warrior's steps, and leave him to be swallowed by the surging fog of disaster.

The discarded papers fluttered in the wind, landing on the window of a scavenger's car. They were taken to a gathering place, sparking a new round of riots and eventually leading to a bloody fight.

A seemingly unintentional nail punctured a car tire, triggering a violent chain-reaction car accident that completely blocked the escape route, turning it into a tomb of despair.

They have unwittingly usurped the fates of countless people, driving the torrent of destiny precisely towards the river they have predetermined.

The travelers among them are all prodigies deduced by the Book of Destiny, enjoying the gifts and opportunities bestowed by fate.

Already exceptionally talented, they thrived under the influence of the Book of Destiny. Rare potion recipes, lost secret techniques, and unnoticed opportunities—all of these unsurprisingly became stepping stones for their ascent.

They should have continued to lurk in the shadows, silently altering the course of the world.

However, the emergence of unforeseen circumstances shattered their peace.

For the first time, they also chose to intervene militarily!

This woman, known as Wei Yang, was one of the best among the travelers.

She was given the nickname 'Sheep' when she was still an infant.

At the same time, she was favored by the Book of Destiny, receiving a constant stream of opportunities and resources. Coupled with her own powerful talent, she entered the Supreme level without being noticed by any organization.

This also made her the most steadfast supporter of the Book of Destiny.

Behold, this is the gift of the Book of Destiny!
Under the influence of the Book of Destiny, strong individuals like her, who are selected by fate and carry 'hope', are born one after another.

Paying a negligible price allows more powerful individuals to thrive. Isn't this for the sake of humanity?
Isn't this the most sublime and rational form of redemption?
Without the intervention of the Book of Destiny, this world would probably be even more hopeless!
Whether the old mad king can become a monarch remains to be seen.

Why? Why would the witnesses betray them? Why did unexpected changes occur?
These traitors to humanity, a cancer on the world!
They must be completely purified and erased.
Enemy of mankind!

"Have you ever heard of the original fate of the ninth-generation champion?" Wei Yang's voice was clear and crisp, and she appeared to be only in her early twenties, youthful and beautiful. But the glint in her eyes was intimidating.

The traveler knew that she was not as young as she looked. Prodigies of this level, having advanced to the next level at an extremely early age, would not age.

"The ninth champion, Li Yelai, was originally going to follow in his father's footsteps, join the Wanderers, and eventually become the Chosen of the Azure Flame, becoming our enemy. However, calculations show that his temperament is not suitable for becoming a Wanderer."

Thus, due to intervention, he lost his opportunity to join the Rangers, resulting in a long period of inactivity. Ultimately, he joined the Border City. He was supposed to die within the 71st Calamity Fog. But for some reason, he possessed bizarre masking abilities and extremely high curse resistance. This is the main reason why the Queen of Fear did not recover in time.

The traveler replied, "Moreover, with Ye Han's death, he has already mastered the Divine Demon Tablet."

"It's a pity about the Divine Demon Stele; the other holders and inheritors are too far away. And the holders of the book won't allow us to activate them. Otherwise, we could have more helpers," Mo Yang pondered.

"With the four Star Walkers and you joining forces, do we still need other hosts for the Divine Demon Monument?" The Walker asked, somewhat surprised. Four overlords and one supreme being—such a combination would kill even a champion who ambushes a sixth-level awakening cultivator.

"The terror of the calamity fog probably thinks the same way you do, and then what?" Wei Yang sneered.

“A being who can become a variable is naturally not an easy opponent. The ninth champion survived the 71st Calamity Fog, the Asgardian Battlefield, the 49th Calamity Fog, and the Descent of the Styx, which is the best proof of that. His record is too dazzling. He survived four calamities,” Wei Yang said. “He has indeed become a variable for the human champion. To deal with him, we must be careful.”

"Yes."

"In a way, it's also the responsibility of the book holder. After learning that he was the variable, they should have eliminated him at all costs," said Wei Yang. "But the book holder thought of using calamity to eliminate the variable. As a result, it led to even greater losses and changes."

The Sheep (未羊) scoffed at the actions of the person holding the book.

The traveler could only bow his head and explain, "We only learned that the Ninth Champion was a variable after the events at the Celestial Palace. The Bookkeeper was already doing his best to salvage the situation. But the Ninth Champion was too strange. We still don't know how he neutralized the Heartless Fruit. In the calculations, the Heartless Fruit was supposed to destroy a team. The final outcome should have been that only the Eighth Champion survived."

To this, Wei Yang shook his head: "Since he knew the ninth champion was evil, he should have taken him down sooner. He should have sent the Traveler into the Calamity Mist to restore its original outcome at all costs. The one who holds the book is largely to blame for things developing to this point!"

"However, the variable's curse resistance is quite special. Can it even ignore the curse of the Queen of Fear?" Wei Yang pondered. "I wonder if the death curse of Ashes can be suppressed by the variable? I really want to test it. If I could capture the Ninth Champion, perhaps the Book of Destiny could deduce a better future. Maybe, a genius who carries the death curse but has extremely high curse resistance could be born."

"Ash is a crucial member of the first tier, and the Bookholder cannot allow him to come into contact with the variables," the Traveler cautioned. "Furthermore, capturing the Ninth Champion alive..."

"Alright, of course I know," Wei Yang said. "I won't take the risk. No matter how special he is, he's still a variable. A dead variable is the safest bet."

"The Celestial Walkers, the Forbidden Zone Nobles, and the Chaos Faction led by Emperor Fall. That's enough."

"Currently, the only uncertainty is whether the champion will set foot there." Wei Yang paused, feeling a bit unaccustomed to not having the predictions of the Book of Destiny.

Normally, she could easily foresee the other person's fate, which would have been simple.

"Should we let humans know this information in advance?" the traveler asked. "If they know in advance, will the champion also go earlier? Maybe he can make it in time."

"No rush, the person holding the book will handle it. Hopefully, the ninth champion will fall for it."

"Li Yelai, as the ninth generation human champion, I hope you can dedicate yourself to humanity."

"To die peacefully!"

Meanwhile, guided by clues and prophecies, two teams from different forbidden zones meet in the wilderness.

The moment they were about to meet, the powerful figures from the forbidden zone, who had been disguised as human caravans, revealed their hostility and vigilance.

The powerful figures in the restricted area vigilantly protected the distinguished members of their respective teams.

Now that they were close to the giant city, they didn't want this area to be exposed. While the humans in the forbidden zone, with their human blood, could still manage to conceal themselves, the discovery of pure-blooded beings from the forbidden zone would only bring trouble.

But the nobles were well aware of this and seemed unsurprised by the emergence of competitors.

"Is this the Mirror Realm?" the gaunt figure draped in black robes asked. "It's unexpected that people from the Sands of Time could come from such a far place." Echoes came from the other side of the carriage.

"Let's work together. The rewards this time are more than enough to satisfy both of us. There's no need to start a conflict here."

"Alright. But there's a rumor that the champion team will be heading to Border City Number One. Aren't we worried about running into the champions?"

"I'm more worried about the forbidden zone beneath the sea than the human champions and the giant city. That's their territory. I'm more worried about them than humans."

"Furthermore, the fact that you were able to follow the clues here means that you also have the means to open it. Even if the champion comes, so what? He can only watch us leave."

The two teams in the restricted area each had their own ulterior motives, yet they cooperated with each other.

Among humans, there are many forces that have allied themselves with the forbidden zones. With their protection, they can safely pass through the human-controlled territories.

As long as you don't enter the giant city, you're safe. And right now, it's indeed not the right time to start a conflict.

After resting for a day in Border City No. 3, Li Yelai and Yang Chen arrived at the headquarters together.

The champion team's invitation to Border City No. 1 was merely a pretense.

Their real purpose was to obtain the 'opportunity' from the book's owner.

The animal skin paper that the beast gave us only contained complex magical patterns and the starting method; apart from the fact that it would appear on the sea, there was no other information.

This means we need to plan this operation carefully.

Meanwhile, Li Yelai received good news.

The sap from the ancient tree they brought back restored the old Mad King's lifespan by five hundred years!
This greatly surprised and delighted the powerful humans who learned of it.

Li Yelai had witnessed the power of the imitation teardrop.

Rakshasa King, leader of the orcs, perfect offspring, and even the world-destroying dragon!

They were all killed by the imitation teardrop!

This guy is unbeatable among his peers, it was so much fun to fight him!
One of the protections of the Nine Li Demon Body is a significant reduction in damage from attacks using any 'weapon' concept. This is ultimately derived from the blessing of 'Chi You, the Lord of Weapons'.

And the clone was so powerful the moment the Old Mad King's true form went into battle.

It will be a true rebirth of the myth, with the Lord of the Nine Li returning to the world!
This is truly a blessing from our ancestors!
Of course, they were also aware that once war broke out, the Old Mad King's lifespan would rapidly deplete. They still needed to prevent him from participating in the war. But at least, they had more confidence!
Then came the choice of Old Ma No. 8.

Humanity's gains this time were enormous. The corpses of the Demon Lord and the Underworld Lord were divided up, so extravagantly that they could even prepare a supreme-level corpse for Li Ye.

After weighing the options and making an analysis, the official decision was that Nergigante would be a suitable mount for Li Yelai.

Although it doesn't have the same ability as the Thunder Dragon King to enhance Li Yelai's lightning output.

Even as corpses, Nergigante possesses remarkable regenerative abilities. Simply put, it's incredibly resilient!

The cute star is flying and crashing, but it probably won't break. Go ahead and crash into it!

Moreover, even if it is damaged, its materials can be extracted and forged into a supreme weapon.

However, since it was a Supreme-level corpse, Li Yelai couldn't use it before advancing to the Overlord level, as he would be easily affected by the residual power within the corpse. The difference in their levels was undeniable.

Li Yelai was already quite satisfied with this.

“We in Jucheng cannot act deliberately in light of this so-called opportunity. We cannot act as if we knew about it in advance,” a middle-aged councilor said. “We can only make passing merchant ships in shallow waters pay attention to the sea.”

“This is a problem for the Great City, because we cannot expose Night General’s identity. But in the Book Holder’s eyes, Night General, you are the Chosen One of Chaos, and he personally gave you this information. Therefore, by having the Chaos forces investigate the sea area first, you will not expose yourself,” said City Lord Jiang Botian.

“I understand. I’ll contact the Chaos faction and have them keep watch on the sea. We can use the excuse of a prophecy obtained from the Calamity Fog,” Li Yelai replied. “Maybe I can even get a few of the Chaos Chosen to come over for a team-building event, and then we can wipe them all out in one fell swoop!”

"No, no, no, in the eyes of the Chosen Ones of Chaos, you've already experienced the Immortal Palace Battlefield, the Lake of Ten Thousand Dragons, the Calamity Mist, and the River Styx. You're already considered a jinx. If you invite them, they definitely won't come." The middle-aged man complained, "If it were me, I wouldn't come either."

"It seems they have many misunderstandings about me." Li Yelai frowned.

He thought to himself, "I was chosen by the four gods, yet they don't even give me face?"

The members of the Supreme Council looked on with a mixture of emotions, 'The key point is, this isn't a misunderstanding.'

"In short, we will forge a prophecy for you to deceive them," Jiang Botian said. "Secondly, there are the enemies we might encounter this time. With you in charge of the Chaos forces, we don't need to worry about them. The troublesome ones are the people from the Forbidden Zone and the so-called Heavenly Evolution Walkers."

"The former will definitely come to compete for the opportunity. If we can discover them in advance, we can eliminate them directly."

"The latter is troublesome. They are too mysterious. If they are not sure that you will compete for the opportunity, they probably won't make a move. Instead, they will continue to hide and wait for the next gathering."

"Therefore, once the so-called opportunity arises, we will spread the word that you will go to investigate, and Border City No. 1 will help."

"Yang Chen will pretend to be staying in Border City No. 1. Otherwise, if both champions go, they will probably back down."

Jiang Botian continued, "Moreover, given their objectives, the possibility of assassination cannot be ruled out. Therefore, Jiang Ling will inevitably have to participate in this operation!"

Li Yelai nodded, "That's true. No matter how strong you are, there will be times when you let your guard down or get distracted."

Especially in the heat of battle, such assassinations become even more dangerous and deadly.

With Little Mad King around, Li Yelai no longer needed to worry about this aspect.

Seeing Li Yelai nod, Jiang Botian smiled and said, "Fortunately, your curse resistance is high, so you won't be affected by Jiang Ling's doubt curse. You can cooperate perfectly with her."

"Now, let's hope they fall for it." (End of Chapter)