Netherworld Retrograde

All signs indicated that those survivors were still living safely inside the Immortal Palace, having solved the problem of food and warmth.

But there was no sign of those survivors, not one to be seen...

With Zi Tong’s ability, she could discern the age of those traces; some were more than thirty years old, while others were less than five.

There had been survivor activity five years ago, so why couldn’t anyone be seen now? Could it be that there were other dangers within the Immortal Palace?

The good news was that Li Yelai had also found other human teams that had gathered.

They lit a huge bonfire in the village to summon their companions and kept a vigilant watch around.

When they saw Li Yelai and his party, the human team was extremely tense.

After all, Ya Yu’s appearance and aura were too dangerous.

But when they clearly saw Li Yelai on Ya Yu’s back, their hearts finally settled.

Dressed in black and gold Ming Guang Armor and holding a black gold Sky Halberd, that was the dress of a Champion Agent!

A reliable comrade!

They welcomed Li Yelai and his party with joy.

This increased Li Yelai’s companions from five to twenty-eight.

Among them, there were only eight Spiritual Ability Users, and the only official captain was Li Yelai himself.

The Immortal Palace was simply too vast, you see, the four Giant Cities along with various families, there were over a hundred Captain Level powerhouses participating in entering the Immortal Palace.

Being randomly teleported here was like splashing not even a ripple.

Of course, it was also possible that Li Yelai and the others were just unlucky, landing in a very remote area.

And being the only captain in the team, Li Yelai was greeted with high expectations. They all waited for the captain’s command.

It was undoubtedly a kind of pressure. Li Yelai was very aware that if he made any command mistakes, a tragedy could occur.

He had always been the one taking orders or acting alone.

Although it wasn’t his first time leading a team, back then, he had commanded the Church members with the intent of sending them to their deaths.

This was actually his first time seriously commanding a team.

That was the responsibility of a captain: to ensure combat strength while leading many comrades.

’I must bring them all out safely...’ thought Li Yelai and then arranged for Night Watchers and continued to light the bonfire, trying to make it visible to more companions.

Then, Li Yelai approached Zhang Zhong and said, ”Old Zhang, you Rangers can communicate with each other, right? If more Rangers could come, the team would be safer.”

Now more than ever, the team needed more powerhouses. While the range of communication between Rangers wasn’t great, it was at least a means of communication.

At the very least, compared to Chaos believers, Rangers wouldn’t harm the team.

”Of course, I know, it’s rare to have an official captain like you who’s easy to talk to,” nodded Zhang Zhong, not caring about the way Li Yelai addressed him, grinning: ”I’ve also been trying to contact other Rangers along the way, but unfortunately, I haven’t received a response. Perhaps someone did but didn’t heed me.”

That was something Li Yelai could confirm because the Ranger Coin he kept inside his clothes had been trembling constantly.

”I’ll go out and have a look tonight, trying to contact some companions,” said Zhang Zhong: ”But keep your expectations low. In this space of tens of thousands of square kilometers, it’s all about luck whether we can reach someone.”

”I understand, thank you for your effort,” Li Yelai nodded and then asked: ”Old Zhang, I heard you fired three terrifying arrows in Border City Number Two.”

Zhang Zhong paused, laughing: ”You seem to know quite a lot.”

”How can I not? First, you killed a wanted criminal with Sixth Sense, then you killed a Divine Chosen who claimed to be unbeatable with Sixth Sense, and then an Overlord. It’s been an endless stream of Cross-level Battles.”

”Can you still shoot that kind of output?” asked Li Yelai. If Zhang Zhong could still unleash that output, then in an Immortal Palace without Overlords, he could almost walk sideways.

”The arrows...” Zhang Zhong hesitated for a moment: ”This should not be spoken of to outsiders, but since you as the Night General are a Champion Agent. I trust you, and there’s no need to play games with you.”

”That was a Divine blessing, a gift from the great Master of Green Flames, given to Rangers who have accomplished great deeds.

It could only unleash earth-shattering and terrifying might at the right time, against the right target. Even an Overlord might be slain by one arrow! But it can’t be used normally, some enemies are not enough to awaken it. I inherited it from an aged Ranger. I thought I wouldn’t need it in this lifetime, but unexpectedly, I encountered three at once. I consider myself lucky.” Zhang Zhong shook his head: ”Now that I’ve used up all three chances.”

It really was a pity. If Zhang Zhong could just shoot an arrow at Ye Han’s face, all problems would be solved. Ye Han, that beast, should be able to provoke such a reaction, right?

Then Zhang Zhong laughed: ”I can’t believe I am discussing Divine blessings with an official captain. Quite unusual.”

”Don’t hold onto stereotypes; we officials can be very reasonable too,” Li Yelai smiled: ”As long as it’s harmless to humans, we can accept it. Consider the price carefully.”

”I know, it’s tough for us all,” Zhang Zhong nodded and then left the room, saying: ”I’m off, wait for good news.”

”Stay safe,” Li Yelai said before starting to patrol the village.

The Mountain King Avatar had become one of the Night Watchers—it had feasted on many extraordinary creatures, which served as a bit of digestion for it.

With a Sixth Sense avatar standing guard, it should be considered safe.

Of course, considering that the Mountain King Avatar had been defeated in a second while guarding for the Jing Family, Li Yelai couldn’t afford to be careless either.

It was a pity that Ya Yu couldn’t move autonomously, or there would be no risk at all.

Li Yelai sat on the rooftop of the house, silently watching the night.

Then, he suddenly heard a voice.

”Night General Captain, over here, over here!” a woman’s voice called out.

Surprised, Li Yelai looked down and saw Zi Tong not far away, waving at him.

Li Yelai employed Aerial Stepping and with just one step, he leaped in front of Zi Tong.

”What’s up? Is there a situation?” Li Yelai asked alertly. Neither he nor the Mountain King had noticed anything.

”It’s not that, but I’ve made a new discovery; please come to my room,” Zi Tong said.

Li Yelai nodded and followed Zi Tong into the room.

Teammates wanted to gossip, but considering it was Champion Team One, they thought better of it and dropped the idea.

Once inside, Zi Tong said to Li Yelai with a peculiar look, ”Captain, when a girl invites you into her room in the middle of the night, do you know what that means?”

”Repair... the plumbing? Does this village even have plumbing?” Li Yelai was shocked. Last time, Cheese had called him over late at night to fix the plumbing, ending up soaking them both. Cheese had criticized his poor skills, suggesting he should practice more.

”Damn!”

Zi Tong was also shocked. After giving Li Yelai a careful look and realizing he wasn’t joking, she felt a newfound sense of respect.

She then said earnestly, ”I have found an important piece of information in my room.”

With that, she took out a piece of beast skin paper from a simple wooden cabinet in the room.

The beast skin paper was obviously from some high-level extraordinary creature, very durable.

On the beast skin paper was a map etched.

Is this... a map of the Immortal Palace?

Li Yelai widened his eyes, but the map only had marks for twenty-odd palaces; it must be only a partial map. Nevertheless, it was still incredibly valuable!

At least they wouldn’t be completely in the dark.

”You’ve made a great contribution!” Li Yelai praised.

But Zi Tong said, ”There might be more. Look at the back.”

Li Yelai flipped over the beast skin paper and found writing on the back.

”Changle Immortal Monarch’s Divine Treasure Vault, teeming with treasures and almost risk-free. All it takes is an attack on the barrier to receive a gift based on your power.

Unfortunately, everyone has only one chance.

For eighty years, generations of the mighty have rushed here yet failed to obtain an artifact to open the Immortal Palace.

Can we... still go home?”

Li Yelai was astonished. Changle Immortal Monarch? That playful, no, joyful Immortal?

Just attacking the barrier would grant a reward? That sounded very playful indeed.

Surely the Immortals from the Heavenly Palace Civilization must have been teased a lot by him?

Then, Li Yelai saw a number.

Why eighty years?

It had been only a bit over sixty years since the last time the Immortal Palace had appeared.

”Zi Tong, can you tell how old this writing is?” Li Yelai asked.

”I can,” Zi Tong said. ”It’s at least over twenty years old!”

Twenty years, eighty years...

Had that group of survivors lived for over a hundred years inside the Immortal Palace?

”Does this Immortal Palace also have a disparity in time?”