Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

As his injuries healed and his skull recovered, Li Yelai's vision gradually cleared.

After casually wiping away the congealed blood plasma from his face.

Li Ye looked around and realized that they were now on a small island, not too far from the volcano they had crashed into.

The massive Lao Ma No. 8 was mostly submerged in the sea, resembling a huge reef.

After all, after Li Yelai fell into a coma, neither the Little Mad King nor Immortal Lord Chang Le could fit it into Li Yelai's storage space.

On the other side of the island, there seems to be land, with dense jungle and towering trees.

Although it was unfamiliar, there was no danger approaching.

It must have been after Li Yelai fell into a deep sleep that the Little Mad King, under the guidance of Immortal Lord Chang Le, chose this location and released simulated celestial soldiers for covert defense.

"No enemies have come looking for me? It seems the area is really safe." Li Yelai sighed. What he was worried about was that while he was weakened, enemies might be drawn here by the formidable foe they were bound to encounter. That would be truly disastrous.

"There's only one adult ancient dragon around here, the one at the volcano, and it was scared off by your old horse. The others wouldn't dare come any closer. This should be ancient dragon territory, so the density of creatures that could be considered enemies isn't high." The beautiful, graceful white-robed 'fairy' spoke up: "For now, everything's fine. But your old horse is ultimately a supreme-level corpse puppet, which might attract other things. Let's put it away for now."

“Alright, Immortal Lord, why don’t you recover?” Li Yelai said.

"What, do you think I'm not good-looking? That shouldn't be the case. More than seventy immortals have certified that I'm good-looking. If Jiu Hua hadn't opened my box, I could have made a big fortune," the 'female immortal' muttered, before transforming back into her immortal lord form.

Li Yelai silently gave a thumbs-up to the Jiuhua Fairy he had never met before—what a merit! This kind of fun fairy deserves to be opened!
Li Yelai first took out a new set of clothes from his storage space and handed it to Little Mad King, indicating that she should go behind the trees to change her clothes.

Seeing her slightly nervous expression, Li Yelai softened his tone and earnestly assured her, "I'll stay right here, I'm not going anywhere, and I won't disappear. You'll see me as soon as you change your clothes."

After being reassured repeatedly, Little Mad King, carrying his clothes, walked towards a huge reef not far away, looking back every few steps.

Li Yelai had just breathed a sigh of relief when he turned around and met the strange, winking expression of the Immortal Lord.

"What kind of nonsense have you been teaching her?" Li Yelai couldn't help but rub his forehead. "Are you really willing to abandon all moral principles just to have fun? This is outrageous!"

"Hey, what are you saying? Even when I'm having fun, I have principles and standards!" The Immortal Lord chuckled proudly, a hint of mockery in his voice. "Besides, if it were anyone else, with her current intelligence and instincts, even my most eloquent words wouldn't fool her. But with you... it's a subconscious trust and dependence. I was merely going along with the crowd, offering a little 'guidance,' just doing a favor!"

"You're overthinking it. I was swallowed up by the Chaos Sea with her and forgot all my memories. The first person she saw after she woke up was me. Besides, I was her most trusted partner and teammate, so it's normal for her to rely on me."

"Your curses as psionicists vary in severity; they are the price of directly connecting to the Void Realm. I know about her curse. There are only two people around her whom she can trust: one is the Spirit-Severing Nun, and the other is you." The Immortal Lord replied, "The reason she remains close to you even after forgetting everything is because subconsciously she believes you are the only person she can trust, and also the person she trusts will not forget this feeling even if she loses her memories. This Immortal Lord cannot bear to see such a pitiful girl."

"In fact, people have many misunderstandings about me. In that once-in-a-millennium competition for outstanding immortals, I was the champion for five consecutive years."

"And then what? Just because she's forgotten everything, does that mean you should take advantage of her? Don't be ridiculous!" Li Yelai frowned. He felt that Immortal Lord Chang Le was too unreliable. A priority immortal ranking—that sounded even more absurd! Maybe he was one of the judges himself.

"Wow, they already kissed." The Immortal Lord grinned, looking utterly smug. "Where did those teeth marks on her lips come from? If it were anyone else, she would have punched them already, even if she had no memory of it."

"What an accident! Don't talk about it anymore," Li Yelai sighed.

I had no memory of it at the time and was even affected by the bliss; it was truly an accident.

Seeing that Little Mad King had changed into clean clothes and emerged from behind the rocks, he was still silent, but looked much more refreshed.

Li Yelai immediately stopped talking, and Immortal Lord Chang Le also became serious, looking like they were 'fucked buddies'.

Afterwards, Li Yelai went to the beach and carefully checked the condition of Old Ma No. 8.

The injuries were indeed severe, with a shocking penetrating wound in the chest, but its original form was, after all, one of the two kings of the Doomsday Forest, the Annihilator King, the World Destroyer Annihilator Dragon.

It has devoured a large amount of the sap of the ancient golden tree, and possesses an almost abnormal vitality and regenerative ability.

In just the time it took to soak in seawater, the horrific wound had already healed to a great extent, and the shattered bones and muscles were being rebuilt at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"As expected of a supreme-level mount, it's incredibly durable." Li Yelai thought to himself. Old Horse No. 8 doesn't need to be replaced for now; supreme-level mounts are truly resilient!

Immediately, with a thought, he retrieved the well-recovered Old Horse No. 8 back into his storage space.

After doing all this, he noticed that the Ark Ticket inside the Well of Souls was continuously emitting subtle but rapid vibrations.

Clearly, Jing Lin and Yun Yue have tried to contact him many times, and the outside world must be extremely anxious to find him.

But before contacting them, we should at least find out where we are, right?

Li Yelai asked Immortal Lord Chang Le, "Does Immortal Lord know where this place is? I feel a little out of place."

"Yes, it's a forbidden zone just as you thought. Not the Throat of Return to Nothingness, but some other forbidden zone." Immortal Lord Chang Le also put away his smile and looked at the distant land: "But it's also very powerful, and it occupies a considerable area. The internal cave heaven, that is, the folded space, is naturally very large. I don't know how many kings of forbidden zones there are, but there's definitely more than one."

This made Li Yelai's heart sink; the area was very large.
The restricted area is far more than the physical boundaries observed from the outside; it often contains a vast and unimaginable world within.

Just like the Heavenly Realm he had visited, its internal area exceeded seven million square kilometers, and its core region likely contained even deeper layers of folded space. The size of these folded spaces is usually proportional to the area they occupy in the physical world.

The reason why ocean-bound areas are generally considered to be more powerful is precisely because, without the restraint of human mega-cities, they can expand their territory at will in the ocean. The larger the physical world they occupy, the more terrifying their internal space and resources will be.

Now, we have inexplicably stumbled into such a strange and powerful restricted area.
It shouldn't be dangerous yet; this place looks like the edge of a restricted area.

As long as his divinity is restored, Li Yelai's strength means he is still relatively safe as long as he is not discovered by the Supreme Being of that forbidden zone.

His primary goal now is to return to the giant city, not to conquer the forbidden zone; he doesn't need to fight a direct confrontation.

The question is, once you leave the restricted area, where do you go?

"Are there any restricted areas connected to the ocean? And with such a huge area, I can't possibly have just arrived in the Americas, can I? The Decaying Plains? The Cave of Destiny?" Li Yelai frowned. He really didn't know much about the restricted areas of other continents.

If they were indeed thrown into the Americas, the difficulty of returning to the giant city in Asia would increase dramatically.

He might need to attempt a long-distance, ultra-high-altitude flight, traversing the entire Pacific Ocean, during which he'd not only have to be wary of interceptions from deep-sea restricted areas like the Throat of the Ruins, but also of being shot down by floating islands. Those forbidden zones are notorious for intercepting creatures that traverse vast distances.

Damn it, there are still too many restricted areas. They're everywhere. Sooner or later, we'll let them have their own natural disasters!
Or perhaps, they made contact with the giant cities or the Chaos faction in the Americas.

In the latter case, Li Yelai, as the Eternal Chosen One, could still gain sufficient support.

Suppressing his chaotic thoughts, Li Yelai did not hesitate for long.

He quickly took out a portable camera from his storage space and snapped a few close-up shots of the still-smoking volcano in the distance, as well as the distinctive landforms and vegetation around it.

The most urgent task is to determine our precise location.

He decided to enter the ark first to inform his companions that he was safe.
The fastest method currently is to have the city's officials and knowledgeable wilderness explorers verify the information based on these video materials.

At the same time, he was also very worried about his companions who were supposed to be waiting for him on the outskirts of the place of opportunity, wondering if they had escaped safely. Ugh, that damned Blood Sea Supreme, why did you drag me into the net realm in the first place?

I killed a few of your nobles, then sacrificed a supreme being to hold me back, and then I smeared you with natural disasters. What are you after?

He then took out a suit and a copper mask from his storage space and put them on.

After asking Little Mad King and Immortal Lord to protect him, he accepted Ark's invitation.

As the long-lost feeling of weightlessness returned, a white light flashed in front of Li Yelai.

The next second, he found himself inside the magnificent Ark Hall. The resplendent hall, bathed in warm light, replaced the desolate island scene. The tranquil and peaceful atmosphere made him momentarily disoriented; he had truly been in the simulated universe for far too long.

Almost instantly, Jing Lin, Yun Yue, and Chu He appeared inside the ark.

At the same time, the surrounding scenery became blurry, clearly indicating that they had entered the Ark's private space.

"Holy crap!" Chu He slammed his hand on the table as soon as he entered and exclaimed, "Brother, you're amazing! The two of you killed over twenty overlords, plus a Supreme! Who would believe it if this got out? The person who holds this book would probably die of rage. I declare you the strongest below the Supreme!"

"You finally responded." Jing Lin breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Li Ye. He then quickly disappeared, returning to the Ark a few seconds later: "I've already notified them, at least to reassure them."

"I'm sorry to have worried you all," Li Yelai said apologetically. "I got dragged into the net tunnel, but thankfully I managed to escape. I also delivered over a dozen disaster relief packages to their hometown. Are you all alright? Did all the comrades get back safely?"

"I knew it! The attack from the Throat of the Ruins suddenly faltered; it turns out you stabbed our home base!" Jing Lin replied, "We're all fine, with minimal casualties. This operation was well-prepared; you could even say we set a trap for them. Rather than saying they ambushed us, it's more accurate to say we lured them into a trap. Apart from your unexpected capture and Captain Yang Chen being affected by the 'body-soul separation' trick, we've basically achieved all the strategic objectives."

"Separation of body and soul?"

"Yes, that's the method of the Traveler. Captain Yang Chen simply abandoned reason and physical control, directly letting his body go berserk and going on a killing spree. But because he lost his reason, he almost chased into the restricted area." Jing Lin said, "Fortunately, Qingxu Supreme stopped him and dragged him back. Although he went berserk, he could still distinguish friend from foe."

"And after you were taken away, the doll went berserk. It not only slaughtered all the travelers and their forces, but also cooperated with Qingxu Supreme to almost tear off the head of the Forbidden Zone Supreme. However, since the Supreme wanted to escape and wasn't trapped to death, they still couldn't stop him," Jing Lin replied.

"Is she alright?" Li Yelai felt a pang of pain in his heart.

As he was dragged away, he clearly heard the doll's heart-wrenching screams. Given her extremely stubborn personality, she was prone to doing irrational things.

“She did want to recklessly chase after him into the restricted area, but Cheese stopped her. She said that if she wanted to rescue you, she had to plan calmly, otherwise if you came back and she died, Cheese would go to her grave and mock her. She even said something about Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.” Jing Lin spread his hands with a strange expression: “My sister-in-law’s mouth is a bit sharp, but it’s very effective. Now, they should know about you, so there’s no need to worry for the time being.”

Li Yelai nodded slightly, "That's good. Dolls are prone to extremes, while Cheese is relatively more rational."

"However, you'd better come back as soon as possible. Captain Yang Chen's body and soul are separated, and we don't know how to break the spell yet. You've also lost contact. At least from the outside, it looks like one of the two champions has gone mad and the other has disappeared. This has a significant impact on morale. Come back soon to stabilize the team."

“I understand. Immortal Lord Chang Le, who resides within the core of the Machine God, can now be communicated with. He is knowledgeable and may know the solution. If necessary, I can even trade the core of the Machine God back directly,” Li Yelai said.

"Don't rush things. First, make sure you're safe and stay calm." Yun Yue, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up. This time, she didn't pretend much, and her figure still looked like a woman: "At least for now, it seems that the eighth champion is not in any danger, but his condition is special."

Li Yelai nodded in thanks: "Thank you for your help. The Azure Flame Arrow has been a great help to me."

Chu He shrugged: "I only provided one arrow. You should go and thank Li Ming."

“No need, we are allies.” Yun Yue said, “If we hadn’t worked together, we wouldn’t have had the chance to kill a Branch Walker, especially the most insidious Rat. After you return, we will challenge for the third ring of the Ark.”

Li Yelai nodded, naturally not forgetting this agreement.

"By the way, you two, I came into contact with Tindaros Hound by chance, and Dawn said that you can also sign a contract."

“That is indeed a good thing. It’s a Chaos Contract that our Lord specially left for us. Our Lord’s selection is sure to be of the highest quality!” Chu He laughed. “But unfortunately, the Ark does not allow foreign creatures like hounds to be inside. We’ll make the contract for me when we have the chance to meet.”

“Me too. I’ll help you with the contract when you get back. I’ll tell the other chosen ones not to leave the giant city yet,” Yun Yue said. When she heard the word “dawn,” her eyes, hidden beneath her disguise, held a hint of complexity.

Subsequently, Li Yelai handed over all the valuable intelligence and technology he had obtained in the simulated universe to Jing Lin.

Jun Fu's perseverance through countless reincarnations filled the three of them with awe.

"Rebooting the simulated universe? I really hope they can return soon."

We will meet eventually, though our paths may differ.

"Countless cycles of reincarnation, countless civilizations rising and falling. What a grand scale!"

The architectural marvels described within further amazed Chu He and Jing Lin, who discussed their feasibility and strategic value. However, the wandering knights of the wilderness had no fixed abode and had no need for such permanent wonders.
Chuhe was definitely going to be there, but he was busy building ships, and the environment didn't allow it at all.

Only a giant city would have enough population and resources to build a wonder.

Finally, Li Yelai took out the environmental photos and asked, "I can't determine my exact location right now, I only know that I'm on the edge of a vast restricted area near the ocean. Take a look, do you see any familiar terrain features?"

Chu He took the photo of the volcanic island, examined it carefully, and suddenly sat up straight: "This volcanic island, where an ancient dragon dwells... just erupted not long ago?" His tone was filled with a hint of disbelief and confirmation.

“Yes, it erupted about ten hours ago, and my old horse rammed into it and blew it apart,” Li Yelai replied.

"When you mention Old Ma, my first thought is that you mean Ma Hongyi from the Ma family," Jing Lin remarked instinctively.

Chu He's expression, however, became extremely serious and excited.

He stared intently at the photo: "Is that the volcanic island that's about a hundred kilometers from the mainland coastline? The eruption happened just ten hours ago?"

“I was unconscious for about a dozen hours, which matches the timeline.” Li Yelai suddenly realized something.

A restricted area adjacent to the ocean and covering a vast area—isn't that also a lost territory?
The original Australian continent was completely swallowed up by the forbidden zone, the Dead Sleep Palace.

Humans were unable to even establish a decent megacity there; the entire continent was absorbed and assimilated by the forbidden zone order.

The pure human population there is almost extinct, and the surrounding waters are also occupied by restricted areas, so the survivors don't even have the chance to escape across the sea.

Ultimately, it became an absolute dead zone, completely isolated from the world.

The restricted area expanded unchecked and became known as the lost territory.

The only examples of this situation where an entire continent is occupied are Australia and Antarctica.

Before making contact with the Ark, humans on other continents were not even sure if there were any living people left inside.

"So that's how it is. It's in a lost territory." Li Yelai smiled and said to Chu He, "Good brother, your reinforcements have arrived!"

"This is truly fantastic news!" Chu He laughed loudly, "The most powerful reinforcements!" (End of Chapter)