Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Chapter 39 Desire
Even in his sleep, Li Yelai felt very tired, but also very refreshed.

He had roughly calculated that, not counting the dual-wielding knights, he had personally killed at least two hundred steppe cavalrymen, with the last Zhelan King being just an extra.

This can be considered as a way to avenge the fallen comrades and heroes.

As he entered a deep sleep, his body, strengthened by the Heart of Slaughter for two hours, began to radiate boundless vitality.

So much so that the civilian staff who stitched up his wound were surprised to find that the needle could no longer easily pierce Li Yelai's skin.

They had no choice but to give up, disinfect the area, and bandage it.

After all, with this level of physical fitness and intensity, such a wound should heal completely in just a few days.

So, when Li Ye opened his eyes...

He then found himself wrapped in numerous bandages, lying in a fairly large treatment room alongside a group of wounded. Several civilian staff members were acting as medical personnel, moving back and forth.

Not far away, civilian staff were burning incense and praying.

Although the ventilation system was in operation, the air was still filled with the smells of disinfectant and incense.

The bizarre scene left Li Yelai somewhat bewildered.

"Oh, you're awake?" Cheese's voice came from the side, and Li Yelai turned his head to look.

Seeing her leaning against the wall beside Li Yelai, a smile appeared on her pale face, just like when they first met: "You're a girl now!"

"The same tricks don't work on me."

Li Ye grinned and asked, "Are you alright? Where are you hurt?"

"It's nothing, I just ate too much saccharin and felt nauseous. Plus, I ran out of psionic energy, so I came to rest." Cheese gave a disgusted look: "I never want to eat any sugar again in my life!"

Li Yelai sat up and stretched his limbs.

As he twisted his body, crisp cracking sounds came from all directions, making Li Ye feel refreshed.

Li Yelai instinctively felt that his strength and reaction speed had been greatly improved.

His abdomen showed clearly defined abdominal muscles, and the muscle lines throughout his body were more pronounced.

"It seems the enhancement of the Heart of Slaughter has worked." Li Yelai clenched his fist, casually swung it, and a whooshing sound was heard as he punched: "I feel like I could kill a bull with one punch."

"You were amplified by the Heart of Slaughter for two hours, far exceeding the safe time. Moreover, you were constantly engaged in slaughter, making it even more dangerous!" Cheese's words carried a hint of lingering fear.

Normally, colleagues who enhance their bodies with the Heart of Slaughter are basically strapped to a restraint platform. When the time comes, the Heart of Slaughter is removed.

It is truly dangerous for someone like Li Yelai to harbor a murderous intent and still dare to throw himself into the killing.

Once you're overwhelmed by the desire to kill, you're truly doomed.

"Fortunately, you pulled through. Theoretically speaking, after two hours of strengthening, your physical strength is already comparable to that of someone who has awakened the True Martial Path for the third time. As for killing a bull with one punch, that's nothing," Cheese said. "However, although it was a blessing in disguise, you wore the Heart of Slaughter for too long at once. It left some scars on your chest."

Upon hearing this, Li Yelai looked down at his upper body, which was wrapped in gauze, and indeed there were three bright red wounds spreading from his chest.

"Any gains are good enough; a few scratches are nothing," Li Yelai replied, mimicking Cheese as he leaned against the wall. He then asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

At the same time, Li Yelai looked around. Judging from the current situation, the forbidden objects should not have been completely suppressed yet.

Otherwise, the wounded would not have been placed in the containment room for suppressing taboo objects.

However, the forbidden items in this containment room are indeed the least dangerous.

Category D forbidden item: Door god stickers.

The effect is to paste two door gods on both sides of the door or entrance and offer incense to them.

The door god stickers will then come to life, popping up a psionic barrier to protect the space behind the door.

The out-of-control symptom is opening all the doors in the vicinity.

No matter what method was used to seal the door, it will be opened directly.

This is arguably the most friendly taboo item for humans.

You can receive protection simply by offering incense to it.

This is also the main reason why the wounded were chosen to be housed here.

“You’ve slept for about five hours,” Cheese replied. “After you fell unconscious, three forbidden creatures appeared there by various coincidences. They were all attacked by Bai Yang and his group and successfully suppressed. Including the Zhe Lan King’s Banner and the Heart of Slaughter, a total of seven forbidden creatures were suppressed because of you. Therefore, the Night Watchmen plan to apply for some merit points for you as a form of recognition.”

“There’s nothing to commend. So many colleagues have sacrificed their lives, what’s the point of commending them?” Li Yelai asked in a low voice, “And now, how is the situation?”

"The forbidden items in the upper level have all been suppressed, but the battle in the lower level remains fierce," Cheese replied. "Bai Yang and the others have gone to support the lower level, while we will continue to guard the upper level and await reinforcements."

"I wish them a resounding victory!" Li Yelai nodded, then found a scarlet longsword, a bell, and a jet axe nearby.

Apart from the summoning bell, the longsword and axe were all badly damaged.

The intense, continuous fighting had left the crimson longsword riddled with nicks and chips.

The jet axe was also damaged in the battle.

“You’ll need to spend some merit points to repair your psionic weapon, or replace it entirely.” Cheese picked up Li Yelai’s crimson longsword, examined it for a moment, and then shook his head, saying, “It’s completely dulled; it’s unusable.”

He then picked up the jet axe and examined it for a while before saying, "I suggest that the equipment department directly customize a heat-melting axe or a heat-melting sword for you. Although it doesn't have psionic abilities, its power is outstanding."

“I guess what you want to do with the points. The captain can help you apply for a trial of an anti-psy energy helmet. If it works, I can buy it for you directly, and you can slowly pay it back with your merit points later. If it doesn't work, then don't waste your money.” Cheese advised, “Right now, you should focus on strengthening your strength.”

Li Yelai did indeed want to save up merit points to buy an anti-psychic helmet and try to suppress Li Yunyan's curse.

If it works out, everyone will be happy; if not, Li Yelai will probably have to waste those ninety merit points.

Now that Cheese's suggestion was good, Li Yelai could only nod and say, "Thank you."

Afterwards, Li Yelai, Zhishi, and the other wounded who had recovered left the shelter.

We arrived at the intersection leading to the lower level.

Together with the other handlers and guards stationed here, they waited for any possible backup.

While waiting, Li Yelai calculated his current strength.

The psionic weaponry is half-useless, the jet axe is malfunctioning, and only the summoning bell can still summon the dual-wielding knight.

The equipment losses were quite severe.

However, Li Yelai's abilities have been greatly improved.

The first thing is physical strength.

Li Yelai follows the Myriad Manifestations Path. Judging from the order of enhancement, the Myriad Manifestations physique can only be considered balanced or mediocre among awakened psionicists.

But this time, Li Yelai turned misfortune into blessing through his bloodlust.

His physical strength suddenly increased; according to Cheese, his physical body had reached the strength of the third awakening of True Martial.

This means that, based solely on physical strength, his second awakening allows him to challenge the third awakening True Martial.

This means they now have the means to fight opponents of higher levels.

Of course, many processors have strengthened their physical bodies with a bloodlust, but Li Yelai's strengthening has been quite extensive.

Then came the second face mask.

Just like the facial makeup of Xiang Yu, the facial makeup of Huo Qubing also brought Li Yelai many skills.

Huo Qubing was a master horseman, but times have changed, and that skill is probably less effective now. You can't exactly buy a horse and then ride it while doing quests, can you?

Next came the skills of mounted archery.

Huo Qubing was also highly skilled in archery and horsemanship. But as always, times had changed.

In fact, Xiang Yu's facial makeup also brought Li Yelai archery skills. He even acquired the bizarre technique of rapid-fire arrows.

However, due to the psionic barrier of psionicists, ranged weapons such as bows and guns are not very effective.

Psionicists can indeed infuse psionic energy into their bows and arrows and fire them at enemies.

However, the psionic energy in the arrows dissipates completely in mid-air.

Unless they are psionicists following the Divine Path, psionicists of other paths lose their psionic power some time after their weapons leave their bodies, making them unable to break through the enemy's psionic barrier.

Therefore, ranged weapon attacks are often exclusive to the Divine Guardian Path.

Even on the Divine Path, few people use consumables like arrows.

Is it because of cost issues? In order to more effectively inject psionic energy, bows and arrows must be psionic weapons, right?
The bow is alright; at least it won't break quickly.

But what about bows and arrows?

Are all arrows psionic weapons?

This alone is enough to make all psionicists retreat.

Therefore, most psionicists on the Divine Path use retrievable weapons like flying swords, or simply control puppets to fight.

Li Yelai's Overlord Throwing Halberd was so powerful because the weapon was large enough to allow for the infusion of sufficient spiritual energy.

And the distance wasn't too far, so it could be thrown out and used to subdue the enemy in one strike. You can't exactly use a gun as an arrow, can you?

However, it would be good to learn from teammate Yang Chen's spear throwing technique.
Therefore, Li Yelai will not need either mounted archery or bow and arrow. He can only hope to obtain a Divine Path mask when he has the opportunity to unlock the later masks.

Next comes the third technique of Huo Qubing's facial makeup: spatial awareness.

This is similar to an intuition; even in the most chaotic terrain, Huo Qubing could rely on intuition to discern the correct direction.

This is very useful, Li Yelai nodded inwardly.

Aside from these techniques, the most direct improvement comes from the champion's facial makeup.

The Shadow Army is formed by taking away the shadow of any unit killed by Li Yelai, thus becoming a new Shadow Army member.

Before Li Ye arrived, he had killed more than two hundred Zhelan cavalrymen and thus had nearly twenty Shadow Soldiers.

With the support of just twenty Shadow Soldiers, Li Yelai unleashed extremely fast speed and formidable defense.

This ability filled a gap in Li Yelai's skills.

From now on, we won't have to worry about not being able to catch up with the enemy. Nor will we have to worry about being seriously injured by powerful attacks.

The Shadow Army's improvement is multifaceted. Although its power is not as great as Xiang Yu's Weakness Detection, its support function is extremely strong.

Afterwards, if surrounded by enemies, you can use Xiang Yu's mask to fight, efficiently kill enemies, and absorb more shadow troops.

If the number of Shadow Army soldiers increases again in the future, the buff will likely be even stronger.

Thinking of this, Li Yelai suddenly frowned.

"I'm not a serial killer. Why would I even think about this? Am I really being influenced by a bloodlust?"

Li Yelai shook his head, dismissing the thoughts in his mind.

Although they had experienced countless bloody battles in the illusions of Xiang Yu and Huo Qubing, they were no longer afraid of bloodshed.

But Li Yelai did not want to cause any bloodshed.

Currently, the only human who has died at Li Yelai's hands is that old guy Wang De.

At this moment, Bai Yang, who had finished bandaging his severed arm, noticed Li Yelai's actions and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, how are you? Why don't you go and rest for a bit?" Li Ye looked at Bai Yang's severed arm. He had broken his arm while fighting the illusory creature from the Scarlet Wanted List.

"It's alright, my arm has been found and preserved. After this is all over, the head of the medical team will reattach it for me," Bai Yang said with a smile. "You can tell me if you have any questions."

"Well, actually I've been thinking about how to gain more benefits from the Shadow Army ability without killing anyone," Li Yelai said honestly, since the other party had already seen the second mask. Li Yelai didn't hide anything.

Upon hearing this, Bai Yang gave Li Yelai a deep look: "In the second border city, someone also obtained the Shadow Army. However, it was obtained during the fifth awakening."

"And then?" Li Yelai asked.

“Even a killer can’t always encounter the people or monsters they’re meant to kill. So, his Shadow Army was small. Then he was consumed by greed, and to gain more Shadow Army, he slaughtered several villages in the wilderness. He became a wanted criminal.” Bai Yang said softly, “You mustn’t become that kind of person.”

Li Yelai said seriously, "I won't. I don't like killing."

Bai Yang thought to himself, 'If I hadn't seen you chasing after a group of cavalry, I almost would have believed you!'

However, considering that it was all for the sake of avenging his teammates, Bai Yang nodded slightly: "Don't get too caught up in it. There are supreme beings in the Void Realm who specialize in tempting those who are addicted to killing. However, some people still deserve to die, like the bastard who caused all this trouble. If I catch him, I'll show him what a hellish sight looks like!"

Li Yelai nodded in agreement.

He also knew that it wasn't just the Black Prison of the East City branch that was fighting at this moment. Other teams and other branches were also engaged in the battle.

If Li Yunyan hadn't been in the family apartment, her safety wouldn't have been guaranteed.

Li Yelai couldn't even imagine how terrified he would be.

In this battle, who knows how many teammates will sacrifice themselves?
Those beasts who did such things have become mortal enemies.

We must show them no mercy!
Meanwhile, on the other side, in the lower half of the Black Prison.

A fierce war has just ended, and the Ice Witch, Tiger, and Demon Host have all been suppressed one after another.

But the price paid was devastating.

Several senior night watchmen died in battle.

The man lying in front of Yang Chen at this moment had voluntarily put on the Black Dragon Armor in order to suppress the forbidden object.

As the battle ended, he decisively plunged a blade into his heart through a gap in his armor, ending his own life to avoid becoming a monster controlled by the armor.

Yang Chen stared silently at his dying comrade, his face grim and terrifying.

"Captain, after I die, retrieve the mysterious materials from my Well of Souls. This black dragon has quite a few things." The man was clad in jet-black armor, his skin covered in scales, and his hands transformed into sharp claws. He was now a half-human, half-dragon.

The dragonman leaned against the wall and chuckled, "Whether it's making potions for Night General or providing him with psionic weapons, it's a token of my appreciation as a senior."

Yang Chen said in a low voice, "You figured it out?"

“Of course, you can't keep secrets. You want to nurture Ye Jiang into the next champion. I'll do my best to help you.” The dragon man chuckled, “Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You've done very well, very well.”

Then, he stopped breathing.

Yang Chen looked at his corpse, and then at the corpses of his comrades.

He clutched his head in agony and let out a terrifying scream.

Once again, he helplessly watched his teammate die before his eyes.

again.
(Just reporting the results: initial subscriptions reached 2600. But because of the bonuses given out, the actual number should be less than 2000.)
(End of this chapter)