Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Junfu's voice carried a strange pause and hoarseness, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, as flat as stating a given fact. Yet, each syllable seemed to carry a vast weight and the traces of countless years.

The sound didn't seem to come from the throat; it was more like a footnote that suddenly emerged from the depths of historical dust, carrying a certain inevitability and destiny-like quality.

"What a charlatan! Every world needs riddle tellers!" Li Yelai thought to himself, quite impatient with this cryptic and mysterious approach.

"Friend or foe?" he asked directly, frowning.

Despite possessing the already formed 'Nightfall', which should have made him invincible in this world, Li Yelai felt for the first time that he was not confident of victory when facing this sudden 'Monarch's Talisman'.

This 'Junfu' gave him a very strange feeling. The other party clearly possessed unfathomable strength, but his actions were exceptionally restrained. Whether it was destroying wonders with a wave of his hand or appearing out of nowhere, there was not a trace of excess power leaking out. His precision was astonishing.

When Li Yelai's spiritual sense tried to perceive the other party, the feedback he received was an unprecedented sense of crisis, and he couldn't even accurately judge the other party's level! This unfathomable feeling made him feel as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

Xia Ming, standing to the side, frowned deeply, repeatedly pondering the words "the end of the world."

Does this mean that the world will eventually be destroyed by that ever-spreading crimson curse?
But 'Jun Fu' clearly had no intention of explaining. In the next moment, his body suddenly disintegrated into countless dark red geometric shapes, like shattered mirror images, instantly disappearing from the spot without leaving any energy ripples or spatial fluctuations.

"Spatial teleportation?" Li Yelai scanned his surroundings sharply, trying to find any trace of it.

One's own "inevitable formidable foe" might be able to interfere with this ability.

However, all around was deathly silent, and no strange phenomena occurred. Only those who had lost their way and were lost in confusion below were still roaring to the sky, or instinctively trying to approach the direction of the remaining traces of the living.

"Is it a fixed-point teleportation? Or is he not an enemy, so the 'inevitable encounter with a powerful foe' mechanic wasn't triggered?" Li Yelai's mind raced, temporarily suppressing his doubts.

Seeing the ever-growing number of wanderers below, like a black tide, he no longer hesitated and hurled the already extremely unstable 'Nightfall' in his hand toward the core area of ​​the Night Demon City-State!
Immediately, together with Little Mad King, they quickly retreated with Xia Ming.

Although the unexpected variable of 'Junfu' occurred, the initial strategic objective has been achieved. The core of the Night Demon civilization has been completely destroyed, and even if a few survivors escaped, they are no longer capable of bearing the burden of civilization.

As the night meteor plummeted, its destructive energy finally erupted completely!
The shattered city-state of Night Demon, along with its countless wanderers, was first swallowed and compressed by the terrifying gravity, and then exploded with a bang after reaching the critical point on that dark star!

The destructive torrent, centered on the explosion point, swept away and engulfed everything like a blooming flower of death!
At the same time, the shadows created by the deaths of countless wanderers, as if summoned by an invisible force, transformed into a surging torrent, following the direction Li Yelai had left in.

They will become new sources of manpower for the Shadow Army, further enhancing Li Yelai's strength and foundation.

High above, Xia Ming quickly analyzed the situation and said, "The Crimson Curse is spreading much faster than expected, and Wanfeng City's existing defenses are no longer sufficient to cope. We must immediately begin building a new 'Blazing Fire Wall' defense line further back, centered on Blazing Firestone."

"The Great Wall... Is it too late?" Li Yelai looked down at the crimson area below, writhing like a living thing, eroding the earth. It was a truly vicious curse; once touched, one would be instantly twisted. Similar to the power of 'Sorrow'.

“If we act immediately and appropriately narrow the coverage of our defenses, concentrating resources on building key defensive nodes, we should still have time.” Xia Ming spoke rapidly: “The ‘Great Wall’ I’m referring to doesn’t necessarily mean a continuous, giant wall. With limited resources, we can start by building earthen mounds. But the real trouble lies with those who hesitate.”

He pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the endless black and red tides below—the wanderers and the crimson curse.

"The energy field of the Radiant Stones can greatly slow down the spread of the Crimson Curse itself, but it cannot stop the Wanderers. To these irrational monsters, the Radiant Wall is nothing more than a pile of obstructive stones."

"Under the constant interference of the Wanderers, even if we manage to build a defensive line, it will be gradually destroyed by them. Many strong city-states of foreign dynasties in history were eventually worn down in this way."

"So, we must first eliminate, or at least massively eliminate, the wanderers in order to ensure the establishment and survival of the defense line?" Upon hearing this, Li Yelai's mood became heavier, and his gaze swept down at the seemingly endless black waves below.

He has unleashed two massive Nightfall attacks in succession, each annihilating tens of thousands of Wanderers, a truly glorious achievement.

But faced with that terrifyingly large number of casualties, this amount of casualties seems to be just a drop in the ocean.

Has this world developed a large-scale cleanup weapon similar to a nuclear bomb? Otherwise, the sheer number of such weapons would be enough to cripple human civilization.
"There are such a huge number?" A cold voice came from behind Li Yelai.

Little Mad King lay on Li Yelai's back as if weightless, one arm loosely wrapped around his neck, the other hand on Li Yelai's shoulder.

They weren't afraid of strangling Li Yelai. Xia Ming doubted whether the champion would have time to react if he were betrayed.

She seemed completely oblivious to the inappropriateness of the posture, and continued her calm analysis: "These are all things accumulated after the fall of dynasties from different ethnic civilizations throughout history?"

“Yes.” Xia Ming’s gaze swept quickly over the Little Mad King’s demeanor.

If Fei Hui had emphasized the special relationship and absolute credibility of this mysterious assassin with the champion in the intelligence report beforehand, he would probably find it hard to believe that such a powerful assassin could exist.

Moreover, he always felt an instinctive distrust when he saw this assassin. But he quickly suppressed this distrust.

A curse? The psionicists outside weren't locked into the void, but they paid the price.
Xia Ming quickly collected his thoughts and continued, "You could say that. The Crimson Curse is like a periodic tide, ravaging this world for countless years, and every once-glorious civilization has been severely damaged by it. It is the most terrifying natural disaster in this world. Of course, in certain specific circumstances, it may also be the result of human-caused disasters."

He pointed to the various, yet equally distorted, wanderers below: "Therefore, you can find the figures of almost every alien race that has appeared in history among them, and may even include some remnants of lost civilizations that have never been recorded in the ancient books of our White Stone City."

“But the Night Demon has been eliminated and has lost its commander, so the Wanderers won’t be as terrifying. Of course, their numbers are still a problem,” Xia Ming said. “Let us handle the battlefield for now; you all go and rest.”

Li Yelai nodded. He was quite exhausted after his continuous battles and the release of Nightfall twice.

But it also brought substantial results, as the Night Demon was completely destroyed.

"At the same time, we should also share our intelligence." Xia Ming pushed up his glasses.

"really."

Soon, Li Yelai and his two companions returned to Wanfeng City and received a great deal of hospitality.

If it were said that they were dissatisfied with Wanfeng City giving up the wonder before, they would still be dissatisfied.

Now they're planning to bestow the imperial robe upon Li Yelai.
The culture of Wanfeng City can be considered a weakened, normal version of the Blood God faction's faith.

Therefore, Li Yelai was also very much to their liking.

So, upon Li Yelai's arrival, they brought out a sumptuous feast; if it weren't for the wartime situation, they would probably have also brought out fine wine. Ah, the wine! Li Yelai recalled that wild night with the doll.

We had some wine then, monkey wine. And then...
Now, I miss them a little.

I wonder if Captain Yang Chen and his team have managed to confront the Heavenly Evolution Walkers.

Judging by the time, it should be about time.

However, due to the time span, time passes faster here, and perhaps the fight is just beginning over there.

Will the rangers' blessed arrows be able to thwart the Heavenly Evolution Walker's scheme as planned?

Li Yelai quickly composed himself and, while picking up the pork chop, began discussing it with Xia Ming.

Xia Ming prides himself on being a scholar, but he's not particular about his meals. It's likely that he hasn't had a proper meal much because he's busy with his research.

"I just reviewed all the records and documents, and there is indeed no mention of Tianque City. There is a Tianque Sword that has appeared, but that is from the history of an ancient alien civilization. It is said that a great supernatural being was killed by this sword, thus leaving behind his name. But whether it is true or not is unknown. It is too far back." Xia Ming remembered Li Ye's question, and after returning, he contacted Baishi City, checked the records again, and gave his answer.

"Where did you learn about the name Tianque City?" Xia Ming asked, pushing up his glasses.

"That figure just now... As for the source, I can't guarantee its authenticity, but it can be used as a reference." Li Ye thought for a moment, but still didn't mention the 'system'.

After all, this is definitely something sinister.

Some chosen ones in the unorthodox faction like to use this to deceive people, making the target believe that they are bound to the system and are the chosen ones. Then, they let the target receive benefits and gradually believe in the 'system'.

Finally, say to the target, 'See that guy in the red cape? Go slap him/her!'

Champions have been harassed by this before, and even Li Yelai himself has been harassed. Then, this led to the discovery of the 'Machine God Core'.
Speaking of which, the core of the Machine God is actually inside Li Yelai's storage space. It seems that the will of Immortal Lord Chang Le is also inside.

Would you consider this my cheat code?

Li Yelai was lost in thought, while Xia Ming pondered for a moment before replying, "Then the information you obtained is either false or too true, something our human civilization can't possibly access. Could your mysterious channels possibly identify that figure from just now?"

"Yes, if that's correct, that person's real name should be Jun Fu," Li Ye said, revealing the being's name.

At that very moment, Li Yelai, Little Mad King, Xia Ming, and Haofeng...

The four divine beings' expressions changed slightly at this moment.

Because, the moment that name was uttered, the world seemed to subtly shift. A gaze swept across the banquet hall, causing Li Yelai's body to tense instantly.

The surrounding environment seemed to freeze, and Li Yelai could clearly see the smoke and dust stop.

What is that? Jun Fu himself? Holy crap, he can sense me just by hearing his name?
Are you a king or an emperor?
But that feeling vanished instantly, as if nothing had happened.

Xia Ming's expression was grim: "Fine, I believe you, but please don't reveal that person's name."

"Just saying the name brings this feeling... Is it a god?" Haofeng's expression was solemn.

"It might not be the gaze of that person themselves; it could be someone else who has a grudge against them," Little Mad King analyzed.

"Maybe, let's consider other options first." Li Yelai nodded.

Sensing that the topic to be discussed would be important, Haofeng led the three to a more secluded room.

"What other information did you obtain about that person?" Xia Ming asked. The existence of 'Jun Fu' was too transcendent, and he couldn't help but care. Not to mention, 'Jun Fu' had also spoken of the end of the world.

If this is true, is the destruction of the world inevitable? What about human civilization?
This was also what Li Yelai was concerned about; he didn't know whether 'Jun Fu' was friend or foe. Moreover, according to Tianyan Xingzhe...

Li Yelai will stay in this world for more than a month. Could it be that the world will be completely destroyed within this time?
"I only saw some of his identity and title," Li Yelai told him, sharing the information he had gleaned.

This made Xia Ming fall into deep thought: God's Chosen, Hero, Savior, Destroyer, Tyrant, King of All Races.
The names of these conflicts made it difficult for Xia Ming to deduce their origins.

"The origins of these names cannot be found in history. Even if human heroes were corrupted by Chaos, they never received such a 'supreme' title."

Is this really the history of this world?

"Or is he also an outsider?"

Xia Ming frowned, as if he had grasped some clue, but it vanished in an instant.

"Alright, let me tell you what I've discovered." Xia Ming organized his thoughts: "You outsiders, no, or rather, you, Lord Li Yelai, seem to be targeted by the Wanderers."

"Targeting me?" Li Yelai raised an eyebrow; he had some suspicions as well.

But why would a irrational monster target me? Is it because of the pressure my champion status puts on non-human species?

“Indeed, I noticed. After you appeared, those Wanderers who originally obeyed the Night Demon's command even abandoned their attack on us and launched an attack directly on you.”

"The Wanderers come from the Crimson Curse. Some speculate that the Crimson Curse is the malice of this world, and the Wanderers may be an extension of the will of this world."

"And you, on the other hand, are being targeted by the will of the world. Or rather, the world is treating you with malice."

(This chapter is designed to first establish the world's lore, then gradually reveal clues, culminating in the climax. Thinking about it, it's indeed a bit slow; I'll speed it up as soon as possible.) (End of Chapter)