Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

All of this happened in the blink of an eye, faster than Yan Hong could comprehend.

Yan Hong only saw that unfamiliar young compatriot sweep into the battlefield like the wind, facing the two forbidden zone overlords who were like demons in Yan Hong's eyes.

Three figures crisscrossed and collided at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow in the torrential rain!
The clash of divine energy erupted with a deafening roar, and the sparks flying from the clashing weapons resembled scattered meteors.

Every clash was accompanied by an overwhelming sense of pressure, forcing the two dominant players in the penalty area to give their all, abandoning their previous composure and arrogance.

Yan Hong saw a pair of burning golden eyes suddenly light up in the dim, rainy night, majestic like a god descending to earth. Immediately afterwards, golden light surged forth, and hundreds of divine weapons rained down like a meteor shower!
The ensuing thunder almost tore the sky apart, completely silencing the cries and wails of the powerful figures in the forbidden zone!
He saw the black zombie overlord, clad in heavy black armor, being struck solidly by that black warhammer!

The sturdy black armor shattered and dented instantly, like fragile pottery, and half of his body was almost smashed to pieces.

The black zombie let out a agonizing roar, its remaining body struggling to escape, but a hand grabbed its head, while a foot stomped its shoulder into the ground, rendering it unable to move.

The next moment, the black zombie's head, along with most of its bloodied spine, was forcibly pulled out of its torso by an extremely savage force!

The overlord's powerful vitality prevented him from dying immediately, and so his screams echoed throughout the battlefield.

Thorne, who was incomparably domineering and radiated terrifying heat like the blazing sun, was instantly pierced through the abdomen by the blood-red spear belonging to the red-eyed warrior.

The spear churned cruelly within him, the crisp sound of bones breaking clearly audible even amidst the chaos of the battlefield. Overwhelmed by fear and excruciating pain, the arrogant nobleman of the forbidden zone let out a desperate and agonizing cry.

He struggled desperately, even tearing open his own wounds, letting his intestines and some internal organs be pulled out of his body by the spear blade, just to buy a chance to escape.

But he failed. The young man raised his hand, and a tremendous pressure descended, slamming Thorne's leaping figure back to the ground. The next instant, the crimson spear tore through the continuous rain, piercing his skull precisely and pinning him to the earth.

Two overlords... just like that, they died?
Yan Hong stared blankly at the members of the hunting party below; the nobleman's personal guards had also suffered heavy losses.

A ghostly black figure moved silently through their formation, her longsword like the fingertips of death, each nimble yet deadly flick drawing forth a spray of warm blood. She seemed to appear in any unexpected corner, planting the deepest fear into the hearts of every hunter.

Or rather, they are no longer the hunters; the roles of offense and defense have reversed!

They took out the distress crystal and frantically appealed for help.

However, someone did respond to their cries for help; a melody unique to the Forbidden Zone civilization appeared on the battlefield. It came from the young man who had slaughtered two Forbidden Zone overlords.

He took out three shimmering crystals from his trench coat pocket and let out a low, pleasant chuckle.

"That's really interesting."

That laughter became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The surviving hunters of the forbidden zone were utterly desperate. Their distress signals had been sent out, but were only received by the enemy in front of them... This meant that their reinforcements had already met with misfortune.

Of course, the good news is that this despair won't last long.

Because...they will all die soon.

Yan Hong felt that everything was so dreamlike that he couldn't hear or see clearly what the young man was saying.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my face, as if I had been slapped hard across the face.

Everything before him became clear. Before him lay his beloved, Isabel's face, wet with tears of joy. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her beautiful face, as if crashing heavily into his heart.

Yan Hong instinctively hugged Isabel, only to realize that they were already in a brightly lit cave, the branches of the sacred tree emitting a pale golden light.
In the distance, the unfamiliar young man was talking to the monk in black, while handing a clean towel to a tall, equally unfamiliar girl beside him.

The girl silently took the towel and dried her wet hair, as quiet as a weightless shadow. But Yan Hong knew that this was the girl who had just moved through the torrential rain like a ghost, precisely and efficiently reaping the lives of all her pursuers. And they couldn't even catch a glimpse of her clothes.

These are techniques and tactics beyond Yan Hong's comprehension!

"Alright, I'm finally awake. It's just that I'm too exhausted and my mind is still a bit unsettled."

"Yanhong, we all survived!"

"As expected of you, you really managed to hold off the overlord!"

His companions gathered around him, suppressing their cheers of relief, their eyes filled with admiration and gratitude.

Amidst their lively discussion, Yan Hong learned that it was that young man who had brought him to them.

In the very first moment, the very first moment of their encounter, everyone was almost in despair, and some were even prepared to fight to the death.

After all, it's not uncommon for hunters in restricted areas to disguise themselves as humans and approach the investigation team.

But soon, as a wisp of blue flame ignited, they confirmed the young man's identity; he was indeed one of their own!
He's even Chuhe's good buddy, the ninth champion!
"The champion?" This made Yan Hong doubtful: "Are you really sure?"

Although Li Yelai saved him, the safety of his people remained paramount. The human champion should be active in Asia; how could he possibly cross the dangerous deep sea to reach this lost land? It wasn't that he was ungrateful, but the heavy responsibility of ensuring the survival of his people compelled him to proceed with caution.

"Yes, he summoned the Chosen One of Azure Flames."

"Oh, that's okay."

On the other side, Li Yelai was talking with the monks named Duan Zhu and Hong Ye in front of him.

After Li Yelai summoned Dawn, the two clergy immediately confirmed Li Yelai's identity and were extremely enthusiastic.

Although their beliefs and doctrines differ, the Lord of Azure Flames and the Lord of Dawn are the same being.

Upon seeing the Azure Flame Chosen, they naturally no longer harbored any doubts. In fact, they were extremely excited; after all, it was the Azure Flame Chosen, the powerful being who walked among mortals, spreading the flame of hope.

“I eliminated the hunting party and also cracked their communication methods. With the cover of the Heaven-Deceiving Array, no fireworks will be set off in the Void Realm, and the Forbidden Zone won't even realize they're dead. No new hunting parties should approach for a while.” Li Yelai asked, “But will doing this attract the attention of the Forbidden Zone?”

“Now that you’ve cracked their parchment communication code, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Many hunting teams don’t even make contact. At most, they communicate and share intelligence using parchment. We just need to play the role of the teams you eliminated, communicating with other teams or their own families,” Duan Zhu said.

Hong Ye remained silent for a while, but then belatedly realized: "How many teams did you eliminate in total?"

“Five, five overlords. We’ve obtained five overlord weapons. Let Chu He choose a few as backups when we get back,” Li Yelai replied.

Five...five overlords?
Duan Zhu and Hong Ye fell into a long silence. Why do you make it sound like taking out the trash is such an easy task for the five overlords?
Five overlords, along with their elite hunting teams... were wiped out... just like that, without a sound?
Moreover, the entire process was carried out in stealth! Even the violent fluctuations that would inevitably occur in the virtual realm when a hegemon falls were completely shielded!

In reality, this is the most dangerous situation. Being trapped in a lost territory, killing one overlord will attract more overlords, and even supreme beings!
This is, after all, the restricted area's territory, but now, on the restricted area's home field, five teams have simply vanished, and the restricted area won't notice for a while. 'Is this the championship? Holy crap!' Duan Zhu thought to himself, 'I thought Boss Chu He was just bragging.'

Pure-blooded humans, completely cut off from the outside world, indeed cannot comprehend the existence of a champion.

In a battle against opponents of the same level, he killed five overlords in a row?

Is this reasonable?

However, since they're one of our own, they're really reliable!
"I must see Chuhe as soon as possible," Li Yelai said earnestly. "Of course, you can stay for a while if you need to rest."

“I understand, this is indeed the highest priority right now.” Duan Zhu responded immediately: “Now that the threat from the hunting team has been eliminated, we can use aerial stepping to travel directly, and it won’t be long. In two hours, after everyone has recovered a bit, we will set off.”

"Will this affect your original investigation mission?" Li Yelai asked with concern.

"The investigation at this stage is basically complete. We just need to take the intelligence back," Duan Zhu affirmed.

"Okay, then I'll trouble you." Li Yelai nodded.

He then took out a large amount of food from the giant city from his storage space.

The well-sealed high-energy rations, the enticingly fragrant jerky, and some canned meat and fruit were distributed to the investigation team.

The team members were clearly filled with surprise and longing for these foods from outside, and couldn't help but devour them. This made Li Yelai sigh with emotion.

Humans on other continents at least have the protection of giant cities and a relatively stable order. There are towering city walls, powerful legions, academies for passing on knowledge, and even various entertainment facilities…

Here, the only priority is to survive.

Without any safeguards, it's like walking a tightrope on a precipice.

Geniuses often die before they can fully mature, precious knowledge is constantly lost in the midst of displacement, food and medicine shortages are the norm, and every injury and illness can be fatal.

If Chuhe hadn't obtained the Ark ticket, they might not have made it this far.

Li Yelai, with the little mad king who had been quietly staying to the side, sat down to rest against the cave wall, chatting casually with Duan Zhu, who was gnawing on a chicken leg.

From Duan Zhu's narration, Li Yelai gained a general understanding of the current situation of the human races in the lost land.

Today, the number of pure-blooded humans remaining is extremely small, less than three thousand.

Sixty years ago, tens of thousands of humans lived on this land. Although the strong humans of that time failed to build a stable megacity, they still left behind a rich legacy, protecting the remaining embers of life.

However, over the years, one human settlement after another has been discovered by the hunting teams of the restricted area, and subsequently subjected to a bloody purge, being uprooted completely.

In order to preserve the last hope of their race, the surviving settlements established the cruelest ironclad rules.

Mutual assistance and distress calls are prohibited.

This is a lesson learned with countless lives lost!
Therefore, even knowing that their compatriots are being hunted down, wailing, and dying in despair, they must grit their teeth and force themselves to ignore it.

Because any act of helping could expose their whereabouts, allowing the hunters to follow the trail and bring about the destruction of their settlement.

Today, the entire group is divided into three main settlements, each hidden in the most inconspicuous corners on the edge of the restricted land.

They don't put all their eggs in one basket, so even if other settlements are exposed, they can preserve the fire as much as possible.

"The Heavenly Demons reign supreme, and this land has long lost the environment for the normal rise of human powerhouses. It is truly remarkable that they have been able to persist until today." The voice of Immortal Lord Chang Le appeared in Li Yelai's mind.

Li Yelai silently nodded in agreement. Even the major cities had once believed that human civilization had completely disappeared from the lost lands.

The good news is that the desperate circumstances forged an iron will.

At the same time, psionicists make up a large proportion of the human population, with about a quarter of the population being psionicists.

If this ratio were placed in a megacity with a population of tens of millions, it would be two or three million psionicists.

This number of psychics is somewhat frightening. Just thinking about how to eliminate the risks of chaotic beliefs and uncontrolled mutations among them makes Li Yelai gasp.

The reality is far more brutal. Because psionicists possess a certain resistance to the corruption of the forbidden zone's order, their offspring have a higher chance of survival—it's survival of the fittest.
After several hours of rapid travel, the investigation team brought Li Ye to a range of mountains shrouded in gray-green miasma.

Thick, corrosive gases churned among the mountains like living things, not only obscuring visibility but also constantly eroding and eroding the intruders' psionic barriers.

"It's amazing that you guys could find such a godforsaken place." Li Yelai was surprised.

“This used to be the territory of the Ancient Dragon, the Vaal Hazak,” Duan Zhu explained in a low voice. “Later, it was hunted down by Boss Chuhe and has now become a natural barrier for our ‘Rock’ settlement.”

To enter safely, one must cross a long-dried-up underground river tributary.

The group filed into the deep, winding underground passage, traversing the labyrinthine caves.

After an unknown amount of time, a glimmer of light finally appeared ahead.

As the light gradually expanded, the gathering place in the valley came into view. The moment Li Yelai stepped out of the passage, he saw Chu He, who had been waiting for a long time.

He was extremely tall, over two meters, his bulging muscles containing explosive power, yet exuding a composure honed by countless trials of blood and fire. It was his spine that supported the last remaining hope of humanity.

Upon seeing Li Yelai, Chu He smiled with a mixture of joy and emotion.

The allies within the Ark have finally overcome countless obstacles and are now truly standing before us.

"Welcome." Chu He's voice was deep and powerful: "My reinforcements, my brothers!"

Li Ye grinned and replied, "I'm here, bro!"

(Why is using other people's perspectives to drive the plot considered padding? Shouldn't I have sped things up? Wouldn't skipping the battle scenes make for a better viewing experience?) (End of Chapter)