Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Time span, which is different from the passage of time in the physical world.

In the first few years after the outbreak of the calamity, there was a long time span in the fog of disaster.

The humans who were swallowed by the disaster fog first spent a considerable amount of time in the fog.

Among them, some sages rose to the highest level and fought against the Lord of Calamity and Mist.

Some lost, and the calamity fog successfully transformed into a forbidden zone, like the great snow-capped mountains of the heavenly realm. This became the final battlefield for humanity's struggle against the calamity fog.

Some won, slaying the Lord of Calamity and leading their fellow humans back to the physical world. Like the Old Mad King, many powerful humans sacrificed themselves to buy him time to develop.

Since then, the time span has gradually disappeared.

Even the wandering fog of disaster has no ability to interfere with the flow of time. Only occasionally in certain special terrains is there a time span, but this is slowly being assimilated and caught up with by the time of the physical world.

Now, this piece of animal skin paper allows Li Yelai to see the passage of time once again.

The outside world initially believed that the survivors had been trapped in the Celestial Palace for over sixty years, but in reality, they had been trapped for at least a century.

It could take even longer!
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the day-night cycle inside the celestial palace is the same as that outside.

Li Ye glanced at the night sky; the night sky inside the Immortal Palace was quite strange.

The once vast starry sky was missing much of its potential, and at the same time, a giant moon appeared in the sky.

Even from the ground, Li Yelai could see the giant craters on the enormous moon, as well as several conspicuous cracks. A faint red light emanated from the cracks.

It looked incredibly eerie, like a giant, bloodshot eyeball. It's unimaginable that it had remained in this strange place for over a century.
"The Celestial Palace has always been wandering in the Void Realm, perhaps for this reason."

"Will the time span affect them?" Zi Tong asked.

"If there are no other dangers, then it shouldn't be a problem," Li Yelai explained after some thought. "We don't currently know the time span between the Celestial Palace and the physical world. If it's several times longer, they've probably been here for over a hundred years. Everything has changed."

"Hundreds of years?" Zi Tong pondered. "Captain, wouldn't the Immortal Palace be perfect for cultivating spiritual plants?"

The cultivation of spiritual plants is very complicated, requiring suitable land and environment, and the growth cycle is very long.

Within the Blood God faction's Asian headquarters, spirit plants are cultivated, but even with the assistance of captives from the Immortal faction and the acceleration of growth through numerous chaotic rituals, their yield is shockingly low. Without these aids, it would likely take decades for a single spirit plant to bear fruit.

The giant city had also considered cultivating spirit plants, such as the Sand-Bear Fruit and the Danmu Fruit. If they were to cultivate them in large quantities, wouldn't the combat power of the processors skyrocket?
However, if there were a celestial palace with a time span, as long as the seed was planted, a few years would pass outside and more than ten years would pass inside, and perhaps a harvest could be harvested.

“Yes, theoretically, the growth cycle problem is solved. But if someone is left to look after them, the person left behind will also have to endure a long period of time,” Li Yelai reminded.

"Then what if we leave those extremely talented colleagues in the Celestial Palace, prepare potions for them, and let them grow safely? Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?" Purple eyes gleamed. "What geniuses lack is time to grow. But within the Celestial Palace, they won't be threatened by the forbidden zones! Then, by leaving a group of talented comrades in the Celestial Palace and opening it again a few years later, we can gain a group of Sixth Awakening powerhouses!"

"There are too many uncertainties. The location where the Immortal Palace opens has been constantly changing, which is why the Jing family was unable to open it immediately. If something unexpected happens, being trapped inside would be a real problem."

"That's true. If it goes on for too long, it will only waste the talents of geniuses."

"Moreover, in just a few years... You know Ma Hongyi, right? He's only twenty-six this year," Li Yelai said. "With his talent, even without entering the Immortal Palace, he could advance to the sixth level of enlightenment within a few years."

"One cannot advance to the Overlord level within the Celestial Palace. Those without talent cannot reach the Sixth Awakening, while those with talent are not short of time." Zi Tong clicked her tongue regretfully, "It's a pity about this time span. If we could utilize it, our combat power would be greatly enhanced."

“It’s alright, we can discuss that later. You have indeed done a great service.” Li Yelai pointed to the map on the parchment: “This could have prevented many casualties.”

“But only we ourselves know the truth,” Zi Tong said.

“I will do my best to pass this intelligence out,” Li Yelai replied, then picked up the parchment: “At the same time, this gives us direction for our subsequent actions.”

"You mean the divine treasure vault of Immortal Lord Chang Le?" Zi Tong asked.

“Not bad, this is much safer than other dangerous palaces.” Li Yelai’s gaze swept across the palaces on the map, which were marked as dangerous on the map.

Some palaces, in particular, were known as dead zones.

Survivors who have lived here for generations all call it that, which shows how dangerous it is.

These are all beyond the capabilities of Li Yelai and his group to overcome at present.

The Divine Treasure Vault is different; according to the hints, you just need to go up there and deal damage.

Regardless of their status, everyone receives a corresponding reward, which truly aligns with the carefree mentality of Immortal Lord Chang Le.

If he were alive, he'd probably watch those psionicists rack their brains trying to figure out how to maximize their damage output and get the best reward they could. And he'd secretly chuckle to himself. It's somewhat similar to the Demonic Path, though he doesn't seem to have the same level of malice.

“Since there’s no danger, let’s reunite with our companions and grab some benefits along the way.” Li Yelai gestured on the animal hide map. “At our current speed, it will probably take some time. Let’s try to increase our speed tomorrow. The Mountain Lord’s clone and Yayu should be able to carry quite a few people.”

Afterwards, Li Ye returned to his room and took out some paper to make a copy of the animal hide map.

After having the mountain king's clone stand guard outside, Li Yelai took out the ark ticket.

As psionic energy flowed into the ticket, a long-lost feeling of weightlessness returned.

This stirred something within Li Yelai; it seemed the connection between the Celestial Palace and the outside world hadn't been severed. At least the Ark could still be accessed.

The next instant, Li Yelai arrived at the Ark Hall.

The brightly lit hall was empty, which Li Yelai found unsurprising. He said loudly, "Captain, please help me contact Lord Camellia."

“Alright.” The captain’s voice was tinged with amusement. “Copperface, the place you’re in is quite peculiar.”

“Indeed.” Li Yelai nodded, then walked to the wall and examined the mysterious murals.

The fourth mural didn't change much, but in the fifth mural, the magical object known as the Tree of Time grew even stronger, and the terrifying figure from the future became more and more real.

However, no specific information has been found.

The next gathering is not far off, and I wonder if the person holding the book will be less secretive.

Thinking of this, Li Yelai asked, "Captain, could you help me contact witnesses?"

“Of course you can contact him, but he won’t respond. He hasn’t returned to the Ark in all these decades,” the captain replied.

It's a pity, otherwise we might have been able to obtain some information about the Book of Destiny from the witnesses.

It seems we still need to find an opportunity.

A few minutes later, a white light flashed in the hall, and Jing Lin, wearing armor that emitted a ghostly blue light, entered the hall.

"I've kept you waiting, Brother Copperface."

Jing Lin sat in his seat, the scars on his armor indicating that he had just gone through a tough battle.

"How are things going with you?" Li Yelai asked, sitting next to him.

“It was somewhat dangerous, but fortunately I had companions nearby,” Jing Lin replied. “Otherwise, I think I would have been crippled.”

“As long as you can bring back the severed limb, I have medicine that can treat it,” Li Yelai said.

“I know, but using that kind of medicine just to repair a severed limb would be a waste. Keep it for yourself,” Jing Lin said. “However, I’ve come across traces of the ‘natives’.” The natives? Survivors of the Celestial Palace?

“Me too, and I obtained part of the map, so I came to find you,” Li Yelai asked.

“Then we’re on the same wavelength.” Jing Lin chuckled. “I’ve also found part of the map.”

The two took out replica maps and exchanged them.

Clearly, Jing Lin also encountered abandoned ruins and found some map records. Although not as complete as Li Yelai's map, it still recorded about ten palaces.

The two of them used the palace they had jointly documented to identify and complete their own map.

“Alright, the deal is done. I’m leaving now,” Jing Lin said, pointing to his map and implying to Li Ye that it contained some information that was best left unsaid.

Li Yelai nodded slightly, and Jing Lin transformed into a beam of white light and disappeared into the Ark Hall.

Li Yelai continued, "Captain, please help me contact Lord Chuhe."

"Well, you're certainly busy," the captain's voice came from deep within the ark.

Chu He arrived as quickly as ever, entering the Ark Hall in almost a minute.

“Copperface, it gets dark earlier here than it did that day. If you need to contact me, remember to do so early,” Chu He said. His location in the lost territory was in a different time zone than Li Yelai's area; it was already past midnight there.

“Sorry, I’ve noted it down.” Li Yelai nodded, then asked, “Can you contact the Wilderness Rangers? I have some intelligence I plan to give to them.”

Chu He clearly hadn't expected Li Yelai to ask this, and after several seconds of silence, he replied, "A wandering knight? What do you want to do?"

If Chuhe could communicate with the wandering knights, these maps could circulate among the various human groups in the Celestial Palace. This would greatly reduce the chances of casualties for the official teams.

They are also followers of that Chaos God, and may have a means of communication.

This is also why Li Ye came to contact Chu He.

However, Chu He was actually wary of Li Yelai.

He knew that Li Yelai was the chosen one of that chaotic god, and Li Yelai also knew that he was a follower of the Lord of Azure Flames.

The two sides should have been at loggerheads. Thanks to previous cooperation, they were able to communicate calmly.

Unless Li Yelai completely abandons his status as the Chosen One and turns to the Lord of Azure Flames, he will not lower his guard against Li Yelai.

"Please give this to them; they will make their own judgment." Li Yelai placed the newly replicated map on Chu He's table.

Afterwards, Li Yelai left the Ark directly.

A few minutes later, Chu He spoke up: "Captain, please help me contact Dawn."

After returning to the physical world, Li Yelai reviewed the information Jing Lin had left him.

According to the intelligence, Jing Lin found and rescued a member of the Jing family through the Jing family's secret treasure. He learned that the Jing family had made contact with the indigenous people and a fierce conflict had broken out.

Both sides suffered heavy losses, but the specific reasons are unknown.

Are the indigenous people hostile to the Jing family?
That's understandable. If the Jing family hadn't misjudged the duration of the Immortal Palace, they wouldn't have been sealed here for so many years.

But there should be a deeper meaning.
Then, as dawn broke, Li Yelai received good news.

Last night's campfire attracted groups of humans to the area.

Among them were two acquaintances.

It's the champion team, Gu Yue and Qing Hou from the White Robe Group.

They led about thirty men through the mountains and forests. Although there weren't many psionicists in the group, they had a squad of Iron Guards, a dozen or so field soldiers, and two armored vehicles. They didn't suffer too many casualties. They saw the smoke from a campfire and successfully arrived at dawn.

Meanwhile, Zhang Zhong, who had gone out overnight, also returned from Shanglin.

He also brought back a human team. He was quite lucky, covering over eighty kilometers in one night, triggering coins along the way, and actually managed to find a ranger named Guo Kang. That ranger happened to be in a team as well, so he brought his men to join him.

With the arrival of the two groups, the number of people in the group reached around one hundred.

Unfortunately, Li Yelai is still the only captain-level member.

After resting for a while, the team immediately headed to the Divine Treasury.

A day later, a group of humans had gathered at the sacred treasure vault located in the valley. It was relatively safe here and had a stable water source.

At that moment, they stared in shock at the figures outside the palace.

The next second, a deafening roar resounded.

Immediately, a red orb shot out from the treasure vault and landed precisely in Ye Han's hand.

"Not bad," Ye Han said with a smile. "Although it's not the Myriad Tribulations Immortal Wine I wanted, it's still very good."

At the same time, he saw the huge stone tablet in front of the palace, engraved with many names.

The area at the very top shimmered with golden light.

"The highest point? Doesn't that mean I'm stronger than all the previous challengers?" Ye Han smiled, used his aerial stepping technique to approach the stone tablet, and left his name on it.

"Your output ability is astonishing; I'm no match for you anymore." Snow Mountain Blind Swordsman shook his head with a wry smile. His name was ranked in the upper-middle range, indeed not as high as Ye Han's.

"If it were a real fight with you, senior, I wouldn't be your match," Ye Han said modestly.

Immediately, Ye Han saw the group approaching from a distance.

The team had quite a few people, more than twenty, including two sixth-level experts.

The leader was a long-haired girl with delicate features; her eyes were as clear and mysterious as an ancient well.

'The Mo River of the Mo Clan? It's truly beautiful,' Ye Han thought to himself. Having displayed such formidable combat power, is the Mo Clan now trying to win him over?

Mohe stopped in his tracks, not even glancing at the name on the stone tablet. Instead, he looked at his companion beside him.

The companion's eyes flashed, and then he pointed at Ye Han.

Or rather, it points to the red-haired girl next to Ye Han.

"There's no mistake, it's her."

"I see. Ye Han and his group?" Mo He nodded slightly, his voice icy cold.

"Kill them all!" (End of Chapter)