Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

[That ghostly fleet that suddenly appeared in the northern seas, with its unclear intentions—is it about to open a fourth front?]
[Could they be Chaos cultists? Are they trying to stab us in the back while we're preoccupied with both the Calamities and the orcs?]
[Within our Holy Palace, there must be lurking Chaos's lackeys! Those damned traitors!]
[The infiltration of the Chaos faith is not surprising, but this doesn't seem like Chaos' usual tactic. They are more adept at infiltration, corruption, and operating in the shadows; they rarely blatantly assemble a fleet to provoke us on the very edge of our waters. Moreover, the four forbidden zones are currently united due to the calamity's offspring; attacking any one of them would be tantamount to declaring war on the other three simultaneously. Chaos isn't that reckless.]
[No time for argument! The 12th Regiment of the Quett Family, the 3rd Regiment of the Kruger Family, and the 7th Regiment of the Masked Army, proceed at full speed to the northern coastline! Construct land-based fortifications on the spot, just in case!]
[Ghost ship. Whether it comes from a forbidden zone or a secret realm, we must be highly vigilant!]
[Immediately reinforce all defenses along the northern and eastern coastlines! Expand the search area and locate it! If it's an enemy, sink it! If it's an unknown entity, find a way to drive it away or blockade it!]
Internal messages were rapidly transmitted through the parchment network.

When this latest intelligence was presented to everyone in the core stone chamber of the tide gathering place, their faces turned extremely grim. Several even felt dizzy and clung tightly to the stone table to avoid collapsing.

A cruel joke played by fate!

As the countdown to the return-home plan began, the restricted area suddenly launched a thorough search of their location and the escape route.

"Martial law has begun." A powerful human's voice was hoarse, tinged with disbelief and bitterness. "And of all times, it had to be at this time."

This was a golden opportunity! The lost territory was firmly tied down by three battlefields, which had tied down the vast majority of its troops, attention, and high-end combat capabilities.

The long coastline and border defenses have been weakened to an unprecedented degree. This was the perfect window for humanity to slip silently out of its cage!
But just at this critical juncture, a mysterious ghost fleet appeared in the restricted area's field of vision, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up ripples of vigilance and forcing the restricted area's leadership to divide their forces and tighten their monitoring network over the sea area.

Today, it seems that only two paths remain for humanity.

Alternatively, they could attempt a forced breakout as planned. However, with the restricted area having just raised its alert level, increased patrol density, and begun to reinforce its defenses, the risk factor would increase exponentially. If discovered prematurely, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Alternatively, they could halt their efforts, suspend the plan, wait for the sudden wave of alert to pass, and then seek new opportunities.

However, the disappearance of several overlords, including Rimbaud, will inevitably be discovered sooner or later. Once the Forbidden Zone turns its suspicions to pure-blooded humans, the targeted search will only become more thorough and meticulous. The possibility of the Tide Gathering Site being discovered will increase dramatically over time. This is tantamount to sitting and waiting for death!
"Continue with the homecoming plan!" Chu He suddenly looked up and made a decisive decision: "The martial law order for the restricted area has only just been issued. Their troop movements and reinforcement of the defenses will take time! What we need to seize is this time difference! Before they complete their 'encirclement' of the sea area, we must forcibly break away from the lost territory!"

He looked intently at Li Yelai: "Old Li, this time, I'm afraid we really have to risk our lives to fight our way out."

"Of course." Li Yelai stood up immediately without any hesitation: "I'm going to the Ark!"

If that so-called 'ghost fleet' is related to Chaos, then there's no reason why Li Yelai, the Eternal Chosen One, wouldn't have received the news!
He needed to immediately confirm whether the mysterious force that was causing tension in the forbidden zone originated from the Chaos faction.

According to the Chaos faction's intelligence, the pure-blooded humans in the Lost Lands are suspected of collectively worshipping the Lord of Azure Flames, making them an opposing force.

Therefore, Li Yelai never revealed to Chaos that he was currently in a lost territory and cooperating with these Qingyan believers.

His original plan was to successfully lead the human fleet to escape, and then explain to the Chaos faction that he had "encountered the human fleeing fleet by chance, joined them as the champion, and successfully returned to the Great City to continue his undercover work."

If that fleet is confirmed to belong to Chaos, then Li Yelai, in his capacity as Emperor's Fall, will need to order them to either immediately withdraw to avoid alerting the enemy, or, if necessary, cooperate, even act as cover, to assist the human fleet in breaking through the blockade.

Although the cooperation between the Four Chosen Ones and the followers of the Lord of Azure Flame sounds extremely absurd, given Li Yelai's current status within the Chaos faction, even if the other Chaos Chosen Ones have some doubts, they can't really point out too many problems.

After all, in their view, it was reasonable for Emperor Fall to do anything consistent with his identity as a 'human champion' to maintain his disguise.

But Li Yelai must also be wary of another possibility.

The Chaos forces might seize the opportunity to order their fleet to destroy these Azure Flame followers. As Emperor Fallen, he had no reasonable grounds to refuse such an order. That's why he had been concealing his exact location.

With his thoughts racing, Li Yelai quickly found a quiet stone chamber.

He quickly changed into a suit and put on the bronze mask, while Little Mad King remained silently by his side. Even though she usually seemed clingy, she always behaved very well in these situations.

She gripped the spiral rapier she'd seized from the Skywalker in her left hand, while her right hand held the heavy hunting greatsword, as if ready to deflect any murderous intent lurking in the shadows.

Sometimes, Li Yelai felt that she had regained her strength and become the strongest assassin she once was, allowing Li Yelai to go all out to deal with powerful enemies.

But her eyes still held a sense of bewilderment.

Li Yelai suppressed the complex emotions in his heart, having no time to delve into the matter. He quickly took out the Ark ticket, concentrated his mind, and activated it with all his might.

The next second, the familiar feeling of weightlessness suddenly came over me, and my vision was completely engulfed by pure and intense white light.

As the white light faded, Li Yelai arrived at the magnificent Ark Hall.

"Captain, please contact Dark Meat for me! Open the hidden space for me!" Li Yelai said quickly, "And while you're at it, get me a glass of juice and some fried rice."

"The message has been delivered. As for anything else, the Ark doesn't offer that kind of service." The captain's voice carried a hint of surprise: "Copperface, you really have bad luck. How many calamities have you encountered now? This is truly the first time I've seen someone chasing after a calamity."

As the captain of the Ark, he could even say that he naturally knew what the Lost Lands were like.

In His perception, this was the fifth clearly foreshadowed calamity that Li Yelai had personally been involved in. This truly astonished Him. He had never seen anyone so eager to die yet still escaping it.

"Just pure bad luck." Li Yelai sat in his seat, unconsciously tapping his fingers on the table.

The tapping sound echoed in the empty seating area. When Li Yelai tapped for the 137th time, a beam of light suddenly lit up not far away, then quickly disappeared.

The figure of the Chaos Demon General Dark Flesh appeared from the pillar of light.

He had clearly received the highest priority summons, arriving extremely quickly, without even having time to prepare his disguise before entering the Ark. He was still wearing bulky bio-armor.

He spotted Li Yelai sitting upright in his seat at a glance. Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly stepped forward, knelt on one knee, lowered his head, and adopted an extremely respectful posture.

"Greetings, Lord Emperor Yun!"

"Our fleet." Li Yelai cut straight to the point without wasting words: "Where are they located?" "Our fleet?" Upon hearing this, Anrou quickly thought for a moment and immediately reported truthfully: "Reporting to you, sir, they are basically searching unclaimed waters."

Meanwhile, we have activated our network of followers stationed within the two forbidden zones of 'Throat of the Ruins' and 'Sea of ​​No Light', and are assisting in the search for any clues that may be related to your whereabouts.

"My lord, have you perhaps detected our fleet in the sea? Or have you determined your approximate location?" Dark Flesh asked cautiously. Bringing Emperor Fall back would undoubtedly be a great achievement.

“No,” Li Yelai replied, “I did not directly witness the fleet. However, while passing through a thick sea fog, I vaguely sensed a trace of chaotic energy, but it was very blurry, difficult to locate, and I could not determine its origin. By the way, I also found a lot of ship wreckage.”

“Sea fog. The wreckage of a ship with chaotic aura,” Dark Flesh replied after a moment’s thought. “My lord, that might be the Mist Sea Nether Ship.”

"The Ghost Ship of the Misty Sea?" Li Yelai's heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, it was a strange phenomenon that appeared in the Pacific Ocean more than a month ago. It manifested as a thick sea fog that could not be dispelled. Occasionally, some scattered shipwrecks could be observed, and there was a chaotic aura inside, which was also the power of our immortal faction. But we did not detect any life units in it."

Dark Flesh continued, "Their origins are mysterious. We suspect they are strange creatures that emerged from some forbidden zone or secret realm, and their whereabouts are unpredictable. Our fleet once pursued the Misty Sea Ghost Ships, but they disappeared as the mist dissipated."

"Fog... Are you sure it's not disaster fog?" Li Yelai asked, frowning. After experiencing two disaster fogs, Li Yelai was really worried about 'fog'.

If a calamity fog were to strike at this moment, even the King of the Forbidden Zone would probably laugh in exasperation.

Admittedly, most of the disaster fog in this era is seen as an opportunity by those in forbidden zones or giant cities. Many psionic families have formed expedition teams to deal with the disaster fog, thereby obtaining a lot of resources, but also suffering a lot of casualties.

If the calamity fog were to appear at this moment, it would undoubtedly distract the power of the forbidden zone and attract the attention of other forces.

The human escape plan will likely have to be forcibly changed.

“No, the sea beasts we control have entered the sea fog before. Although their senses were blocked and they found no clues, they still managed to get out successfully. This doesn’t fit the characteristics of the disaster fog. You can consider it a strange phenomenon,” Dark Flesh said. “At least for now, we haven’t discovered any danger in the Fog Sea Nether Ship.”

Hearing this, Li Yelai felt conflicted. The restricted area had been placed under martial law due to a series of strange phenomena, which increased the risk of humanity's escape plan. What bad luck!

However, the good news is that once the Fog Sea Ship appears, it will surely draw away the fleet forces of the restricted area.

After learning about the origins of the Misty Sea Ship, Li Ye understood: "Alright, I understand. Continue to gather intelligence. I will also try to cross the ocean. If I encounter your fleet, or a human fleet, that will be fine."

“My lord, if you can ascertain your boundaries, there are our followers in every restricted area. They are ready to assist you at any time,” Dark Flesh reminded him.

"I know." Li Yelai waved his hand, dismissed the Dark Flesh, and returned to the physical world.

After informing Chu He of the news about the Misty Sea Ship, Chu He frowned deeply: "This is too unlucky. It really came out at the worst possible time. But if we continue to delay, it will only become more dangerous. Let's set off!"

"Are you sure?" Li Yelai asked.

"Of course, hesitation will only cause us to miss the last opportunity, Lao Li. If we really discover something, I will cover the rear with Returning Home Number Four and Number Five. Help me bring the others back to Giant City." Chu He said calmly, "Even if there is only one ship full of people, even if you only take away a hundred or so people with that flying boat in the end, I will thank you."

"Stop planting your flag, Lao Chu." Li Yelai replied seriously, "I've said it before, I don't like tragedies. I'm much better at sending the guys who create tragedies to hell."

"Hey, you're definitely suited to be a wilderness adventurer." Chu He smiled. "I'll leave the rest to you."

During Li Yelai's journey to the Ark, everyone in the settlement began boarding the ship, and countless traps were set up inside the settlement, which would give the restricted area teams that searched this place a surprise!
Humans either succeed or die trying; there will never be another chance to return here.

Either we break through and reach the continent where human civilization resides, or we all perish on this journey home!

Since things have come to this, we have no choice but to move forward!
Soon, the silent boarding operation drew to a close under the cover of night.

After confirming the correct number of people, Li Yelai, Chu He, and the others boarded the warship.

There were no cheers, no vows of victory, only the low rumble of steel meshing and the resounding beat of hearts. Five warships, having just completed their final deployment, set sail under the cover of night.

Personnel, supplies, and the last remaining hope were all compressed into these sturdy ship cabins.

There was hardly anyone on the deck; everyone remained silent and lay hidden inside the cabin.

The formation left behind by Immortal Lord Chang Le was activated, and all five battle armors were blocked from the divination radar in the restricted area.

At the same time, the Heaven-Deceiving Array was activated, completely shielding all spiritual energy reactions within the array.

Even so, the psionicists suppressed their psionic fluctuations, and all the mimicry celestial soldiers returned to their original golden bean shapes.

The array could negate radar detection and block external psionic perception. However, its physical form remained unchanged, so the fleet had no sirens or lights. Only the faint roar of engines could be heard from the waves as the fleet slowly glided into deeper waters.

Li Yelai stood on the bridge of the Returning Home No. 1 ship, his senses spreading outwards from him to the surrounding sea.

He could 'hear' the movement of fish swimming beneath the seawater, and could also vaguely sense the suppressed breathing and heartbeats of thousands of people in the fleet.

Li Yelai whispered, but it was a vow he had made.

"Gentlemen, I will lead you home. I swear!" (End of Chapter)