Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

The relationship between the four factions of the Church of the Ashes is extremely hostile.

Because they worship different gods, they often fight amongst themselves, vying for resources or their core followers.

Even within the same faction, conflicts can arise due to differing understandings of the faith.

They are all believers who walk the path of killing, and each of them thinks he is the true orthodox one.

Therefore, infighting ensues, with everyone fighting amongst themselves. The gods don't care; even if it's one's own people fighting each other, it pleases the gods. As long as it's fighting, that's enough; He doesn't care.

Therefore, the faction has a small number of members, partly due to its somewhat erratic behavior.

Of all the other factions, the Blood God faction despises the Elysium faction the most.

The Ecstasy faction's pursuit of sensory stimulation and extreme hedonism was utterly disgusting to the Blood God faction.

They crave pleasure and stimulation, constantly raising their threshold. After experiencing pleasure once, they feel nothing when doing the same thing again, much like drug addiction, where each use requires a stronger dose. Rapid withdrawal symptoms overwhelm believers, forcing them, both physically and mentally, to try even more extreme forms of pleasure.

Like the pleasures between men and women, their followers, in order to break through to greater stimulation and enjoyment, turn into indulgence, and then into self-harm or torture, all in pursuit of physical stimulation, ultimately twisting into some kind of bizarre creature.

They are highly corrupting; lust, appetite, and power can all become vulnerabilities that break down their psychological defenses.

After all, it is difficult for humans to avoid pursuing their desires, which is why their followers rank second among the four major sects.

Desire, who can be without desire? Li Yelai has desire too, but he can't follow the choices of desire.

The Blood God faction's enjoyment of battle and slaughter, and its thirst for glory, are likely to be usurped by the Ecstasy faction.

Therefore, the Bliss faction was regarded as a major enemy by the Blood God faction.

Of course, the other two factions weren't much better off.

The treacherous faction is considered cunning and treacherous, and they are involved in 80% of all conspiracies in the world. Therefore, the first thing to do when you encounter them is to crush them and not listen to their nonsense.

They are adept at plotting grand schemes and take pride in it.

They can acquire mysterious knowledge and spare no effort to study forbidden secrets.

It is most likely to attract those who seek knowledge, and psychics involved in mysticism are even more easily corrupted by it. Therefore, the proportion of psychics is very high, but fortunately the overall number is not large, comparable to the Blood God faction.

The immortal faction, on the other hand, was seen as a filthy source of plague, a loathsome creature infested with worms and tumors.
Because this faction has almost no entry requirements, it has the largest number of members among the four major factions.

Many plagues in the wilderness originated from them.

Its followers are mostly people who are tormented by illness or who yearn for immortality. Those followers will live on indefinitely while enduring illness and suffering.

It is said that those who believe in Him can attain immortality, but how that immortality will be achieved is hard to say.

In short, the Blood God faction sees all other factions as enemies.

So, when the followers who went to track down the champion team unexpectedly discovered the stronghold of an immortal faction hidden in the mountains.

As the chosen one, Red Wrath immediately gave the order to prepare for an attack on the stronghold.

He had always intended to conquer the immortality faction, but recently the faction's expansion had been too rapid, causing great dissatisfaction and hostility among the various factions.

Now that he had discovered the stronghold, he decided to make no attempt to take it over.

Even if there are chosen ones among them—no, I should say it would be better if there were chosen ones!
If one could kill a chosen one, the Blood God might be so pleased that he would bestow some favor upon him.

So the followers actively prepared to wage a fierce and exhilarating war for the Blood God.

Li Yelai was pondering the immortal faction he had unexpectedly discovered while chasing the champion team.
Was this something the champion team did on purpose?

If the champion team were so easy to catch up with, they would have been surrounded long ago.

Li Yelai suspected that this was a group of comrades planning to use one enemy to defeat another, deliberately leaving traces so that the followers of the Ember Church would follow.

'This might be a trap set by Cheese and his group for the Blood God Church,' Li Yelai thought to himself.

Perhaps some in the Church of the Embers had guessed this, but to them, what did it matter if it was a trap? They could simply slaughter each other to their heart's content.

This is a good thing, because if the Blood God faction were to massacre villages or caravans, Li Yelai's situation would be very precarious. He doesn't want to kill innocent people indiscriminately.

But if it's the immortal faction, then it's fine.

Li Yelai could kill them without any pressure!

Seeing that the chosen ones were full of fighting spirit, the followers became even more excited, anticipating battle and glory.

Therefore, the entire assembly point actively prepared for the upcoming war.

The ordinary followers were armed with firearms and molten metal, while the psionicists were uniformly prepared for close combat.

This was done to please the Blood God.

After all, only by killing enemies in close combat and bathing in their or one's own blood can one gain the attention of the gods. Therefore, the followers all intend to engage in close combat whenever circumstances permit.

Because of the heavy losses suffered by this settlement, Red Fury and Blood Drinker specially transferred manpower from their branch headquarters and strongholds.

As soon as these teams arrive, they will immediately launch a fierce attack on the target.

The two chosen ones have even begun to discuss whether they can kill one of the other's chosen ones.

Li Yelai did not participate. Although he was chosen by the gods, he was only at the fourth level of enlightenment and had no right to compete for it.

He didn't care. He couldn't defeat the chosen ones, but he could easily kill those with the fourth or fifth senses.

At that time, their souls will return to Mr. Shadow, and their heads to the Blood River. I'll get paid from both ends, and maybe I can even quickly reach the Fifth Sense. I'm so lucky!

While the two chosen ones were making plans, Li Yelai left the meeting room and strolled around the settlement.

Surrounded by several followers, they arrived at the material storage facility that had been attacked earlier.

"Is this the place where the champion team attacked?" Li Yelai asked casually.

“Yes, Lord Emperor’s Fall.” A young male follower quickly replied, “But rest assured, it only destroyed thirty percent of our material reserves.”

"Very good, well done." Li Yelai nodded, pointed to the collapsed house, and continued to ask, "What was originally here?"

“This warehouse contains raw materials and impurities, sir,” the follower replied. “Precisely because it is impurities that have been destroyed, our losses are not significant.”

"We actually have a warehouse full of raw material impurities?" Li Yelai expressed some curiosity.

Immediately, a member of the church explained: "Sir, these are collected from various sources. We need to use them in certain rituals."

Li Yelai nodded slightly: "I see, but I'm a little curious, how did you manage to collect such a quantity?"

The follower couldn't answer, but another quickly chimed in: "Lord Emperor Yun, our lower-ranking followers are scattered across the land, holding various social identities, and they are all quietly supporting our stronghold. As for this batch of materials and impurities, I remember it comes from the abandoned city of Lu. It's far from the major cities and is a trading place for some psionic organizations, where they sell materials and impurities in bulk. At least 30% of our branch's materials and impurities come from there."

Lucheng, an abandoned city.

Since it originated from there, the Black Umbrella organization is very likely located in that region.

After Li Yelai learned what he wanted, he asked, "Is it far from us?"

“Fortunately, it’s not hard to find them, even though it’s over a hundred kilometers away. But the organization there is very careful and has never exposed its headquarters. So, we’ll leave them alone.” The follower responded, “That organization also has dealings with the Immortal Faction. Perhaps after this operation, we can follow the trail and uncover information about that organization.”

"We'll find it eventually, don't rush." ​​Li Yelai smiled. Black Umbrella, you damn bastard, weren't you planning to double-cross us? Well, I'll give you a chance! I wonder if you can handle it!
Li Yelai thought to himself, then asked, "When will all the people arrive?"

"By noon at the latest."

While waiting, Li Ye returned to his room, dismissed those around him, and hummed a little tune.

Soon, the figure of Little Mad King emerged from the shadow cast by Li Yelai on the wall.

"How was your rest?" Li Yelai asked.

Although they were theoretically sleeping in the same room, Li Yelai couldn't see her.

Now, Li Yelai has become somewhat accustomed to this kind of covert protection.

At each mealtime, the congregation would be asked to prepare extra food.

Hidden in the shadows, the Little Mad King devours food undetected by others. This is the ultimate form of food theft: stealing food right in front of everyone!

When sleeping, Li Yelai would avoid being naked and would wear some clothes.

Little Mad King had already changed back into his stealth-friendly bodysuit, and nodded upon hearing this, saying, "Not bad, the sofa is more comfortable than the sleeping bag."

"Sofa." Li Yelai was taken aback, then said, "Then let's follow the old rules. You take the night watch first, and I'll take over later."

"Alright. I guess you'll have to work hard warming my bed." Little Mad King joked casually.

Li Yelai chuckled dryly. He couldn't very well expect the Little Mad King to warm his bed, could he?

Others may not care, but Li Yelai cannot afford to be indifferent.

Afterwards, the two exchanged information. Li Ye determined the Black Umbrella Organization's activity range, while Little Mad King also explored the wilderness and confirmed that these were traces and clues left by the Champion Team.

"It really is a case of using one tiger to devour another." Li Yelai pondered, "Do you think they might take advantage of the two factions fighting tooth and nail, and then launch a surprise attack to reap the benefits?"

"It's possible, but there are risks. The struggle between the two factions will indeed be fierce, but once a third party appears, they will inevitably unite against a common enemy," said Little Mad King. "They will only make their move after exhausting the enemy to their limit. If they do make their move, you will become the one in danger."

Li Yelai nodded; this was also something that Li Yelai was struggling with.

He is now God's Chosen, and in the eyes of the team, he is a clear-cut traitor to humanity. Once discovered, he will inevitably be attacked by the entire group.

“I will stay hidden by your side, but if we are surrounded and attacked by the champion team, even I am not confident that I can lead you to break through. You need to find a chance to tell them your identity,” Little Mad King said.

If his undercover identity is exposed and people don't believe him, Li Yelai will still be surrounded and attacked.

If they believe it, then they must ensure that no one is left alive on the church side and that Li Yelai's undercover identity is still concealed.

"We can only wait for an opportunity." Li Yelai nodded, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

The most painful time for an undercover agent is dealing with their comrades. I hope I'll never encounter that situation.

At this moment, Little Mad King made a 'shush' gesture and disappeared into the shadows of the room.

Li Yelai's expression shifted slightly, but he remained silent.

He then sat down on the sofa in the room.

A few seconds later, footsteps were heard outside the door.

"Lord Emperor's Fall, it is I, Gongsun Xing." A voice came from outside the door. It was the psionic craftsman from this church's gathering point: "Your equipment has been modified and delivered to you."

"That was quick," Li Yelai said with a smile. "Come in."

The door opened, and Gongsun Xing and several followers entered the room carrying a long, narrow wooden box and a metal case.

Then, they bowed to Li Yelai.

"It's only been a day, and it's already finished? I hope there won't be any quality issues?" Li Yelai asked with a smile as he looked at the items they had brought.

"Rest assured, sir. There will be absolutely no problems with the quality. We are aware that war is imminent, and in order to complete the modification as quickly as possible, we have sacrificed many of our followers," Master Gongsun said humbly. "Please inspect it."

Sacrifice, huh? Does that mean I've actually helped him? Li Yelai smiled inwardly. The death of a few followers would be a good thing for him.

He would love for all these guys to sacrifice themselves.

At this moment, two followers stepped forward carrying a long wooden box and opened it.

It revealed the psionic weaponry within.

That was a halberd!
The original black and gold dragon-patterned spear was transformed into a halberd.

A golden five-clawed dragon is engraved on the jet-black halberd, appearing as if it were alive and writhing on the halberd.

The two crescent-shaped halberd handles gleamed with a bloody, cold light. Perhaps due to the sacrifice, Li Ye could faintly smell a bloody odor.

Compared to the previous Black Gold Dragon Pattern Spear, this Black Gold Dragon Pattern Halberd is even more domineering!
"A double-eared halberd?" Li Yelai murmured. He was actually more used to the single-eared Azure Dragon Halberd, but that wasn't a problem.

He picked up the halberd with one hand and found that it was about 20% heavier, but that was still within acceptable limits.

This kind of weapon is only truly effective when used properly.

Li Yelai casually swung his halberd, the blade slicing through the air, and the sound of a dragon's roar echoed in the room.

This made the faces of several followers turn pale, as they feared that Li Ye would use them as practice targets.

Li Yelai, however, hoisted the halberd onto his shoulder, and with a sudden burst of strength, pulled and bent it. He then released it, and the halberd sprang back, tracing an extreme circle that left a straight line between the ceiling and the floor.

"Very good, the toughness and sharpness are quite good." Li Yelai said to the craftsman, "You have done a good job. Take your people and follow me from now on. You will be my direct subordinates."

"Yes, yes!" The craftsman was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly.

Several members also beamed with joy; following God's chosen ones meant there would be plenty to eat! A meteoric rise!
They clearly didn't know the saying that 'following the monster spawner is a sin.'

Then, the followers opened the metal box, which contained the Bright Armor that Li Yelai needed.

They carefully draped Li Yelai in his armor.

A few minutes later, when they stepped back a few paces.

Then I saw
The Chosen Emperor, clad in black and gold gleaming armor and wielding a black and gold dragon-patterned halberd, was defeated!
"As expected of Lord Emperor Yan!"

"Absolutely domineering!"

"Invincible!"

The followers lauded him, but the craftsman's expression changed.

The bright armor and the halberd reminded him of a certain terrifying being.

But he quickly realized what he had done and couldn't help but laugh at himself.

'He's really getting senile! This is clearly our lord, the Chosen Emperor Fallen!'

'How could he possibly be the champion?' (End of Chapter)