Netherworld Retrograde

Capítulo 798: Chapter 372: Blink of an Eye, Ten Years_2

Li Yelai’s body suddenly plunged into the icy seawater. Struggling vigorously, he attempted Aerial Stepping, trying to stabilize his tottering form amidst the tumultuous, surging waves.

However, his Spiritual Energy scattered the moment it came in contact with the seawater. The raging waters incessantly battered his body, each wave nearly pushing him into even more perilous circumstances, as though he were in the cradle of a giant. Had Li Yelai not possessed the blessing of Underwater Breathing, he would surely have drowned by now.

But even with Underwater Breathing, no matter how Li Yelai struggled, he could not rise in elevation.

As a Spiritual Ability User, although he could no longer use Spiritual Energy,

his physical strength was still high. Even clad in Heavy Armor, he could manage a triathlon.

But at that moment, the swift currents of the sea thrust Li Yelai harshly against the mountain, uncertain if it was Calamity triggering or the tsunami’s impact too great.

The mountainside crumbled instantly, and boulders followed the currents, crashing toward Li Yelai.

Li Yelai let out a roar, dodging the falling rocks as best as he could, not knowing how many struck him.

Fortunately, his Black Ink Armor was sturdy enough to protect him in the impact.

Eventually, Li Yelai grabbed a massive boulder to stabilize himself but was completely drained of strength.

In that moment, he thought he saw a pair of vast serpent eyes.

He didn’t know how long had passed before Li Yelai felt that the ceaseless battering finally stopped.

Simultaneously, the pervasive seawater around him also gradually vanished.

Li Yelai opened his weary eyes, only to find not an expanse of ocean, but a decaying swamp.

An indescribable stench of rot flooded his nostrils.

“Where have these currents washed me to?” Li Yelai was utterly dumbfounded, looking around, but seeing nothing. The night had turned into day.

There was no Time Tree linking heaven and earth, no Human Army ready for battle, not even palaces of the Immortal Palace to be seen.

All around, there were no living beings, just an endless landscape of ruins.

“What happened? How long have I been unconscious?” Li Yelai pushed off the debris and climbed up from the swamp.

Spiritual Energy had only partially recovered; he shouldn’t have been out for long.

“Mr. Shadow, how long was I out?” Li Yelai inquired.

However, he received no response.

Mr. Shadow seemed to have left him, and in the mysterious space, both the chains and the fog had vanished.

This made Li Yelai wary, an unprecedented occurrence.

He used Aerial Stepping to reach a high place, only then realizing that this was indeed still within the Immortal Palace. But it lay in ruins…

What happened… had the war ended while he was unconscious?

Did humanity win?

Li Yelai immediately sped up, identifying the direction and heading toward the site of the original base.

But the base had turned to ruins, and the Divine Treasure Vault had collapsed; a supreme being had shattered the barrier and taken everything inside.

The giant stele of the Divine Treasure Vault was covered in dust.

On the stele, the girl’s name was inscribed next to his, with a little heart in between.

But it seemed time had eroded the stele, rendering their names nearly illegible.

Li Yelai went silent, then the space in his hands flickered, and he drew out the Scarlet Reins, followed by a massive and fierce Ancient Dragon.

The Ancient Sky Comet Dragon!

When the Overlord Level Ancient Sky Comet Dragon appeared, the sky remained unresponsive, and it seemed the defensive mechanisms of the Immortal Palace had been destroyed too.

Li Yelai mounted the Ancient Sky Comet Dragon, its steely wings unfurled, and crimson Flames surged.

At maximum speed, the dragon took Li Yelai to the location of the Carefree Treasure Tower.

Along the way, Li Yelai saw countless Corpses, both Human and Alien Race alike, with heaps of bones accumulating into chilling spectacles.

Li Yelai saw the formally organized Iron Guard Army, but the warriors within the Armor had turned to skeletal remains.

Inside the Immortal Palace, there seemed to be no life at all, not an Extraordinary Creature nor even common animals. Nothing but desolation…

Li Yelai’s expression tensed, realizing a bloody and brutal battle had erupted while he was unconscious.

And he had no knowledge of it? Impossible!

That was until he saw something that caused a crack to form on his tense visage.

He guided the Ancient Sky Comet Dragon to land and hurried toward a collapsed mountainside, from which he picked up a yellowing billboard.

It was an advertisement for Dolls!

The billboard was damaged, nearly split in half, having weathered a long period, turning thoroughly yellow with a black smear across it – the blood that had stained it…

And on the billboard, the last words left by the girl were condensed.

[Xiao Ye, it hurts so much… Where are you? I can’t find you (☍﹏⁰)]

This almost shattered Li Yelai’s composure. What in the world was he doing? At the moment when she needed him the most…

No, how could it be possible for him to have been unconscious for such a long time? Did that tsunami also have the effect of time disarray?

It’s fake, all of it is fake!

Li Yelai clenched his teeth and stored the billboard into his reserve space.

Immediately after, he activated the ark ticket.

In the next second, Li Yelai’s figure appeared within the Ark Hall. He made no attempts to disguise himself, wearing tattered armor, not concealing his face, he just appeared within the ark.

Inside the ark, it remained resplendent and brightly lit.

The moment Li Yelai appeared, the Captain’s voice came through, “It’s been ten years since we’ve seen you, Copper Face… quite the surprise indeed.”

“Ten years? I was unconscious for ten years?” Li Ye looked toward the wall.

Still, only five scroll paintings displayed images, the other eight remained blank.

“Please contact Shan Cha for me,” Li Yelai spoke calmly.

“He died ten years ago, at the Time Tree,” the Captain’s sigh came from the depths of the ark, “You’re too late. He tried to reach you through the ark many times before he died. Unfortunately, you couldn’t respond at all.”

“They needed you… and you missed everything. Lava Mine City fell, the Old Mad King died in battle, Border City was breached… where in the world were you then?”

With the sound of the Captain’s voice, Li Yelai seemed to hear the cries of his companions.

‘Xiao Ye, where are you?’

‘Teammate, come back quickly.’

‘Why have you disappeared? I’m waiting for you to return…’

‘Captain!’ ‘Night General.’ ‘Old Li.’ ‘Bro…’

They were waiting for Li Yelai, yet he was unable to respond to them. Now, everything had already changed beyond recognition…

But Li Yelai just laughed, “Very convincing act!”

“What?” the Captain’s voice carried a note of confusion.

Li Yelai then brushed his hand across his cheek, the Eternal Face!

However, while the blessing’s power still existed, the gaze of the Chaotic God did not come upon him.

Then, Li Yelai patted the ark’s wall, “I’ve revealed the Face and you’re still so calm? Well, after all, I’ve never revealed the Face inside the ark, nor have I seen what happens to the ark when assailed by a vehicle assassin… I also don’t know the content of the other scrolls. So, you can’t fabricate that anymore.”

“I don’t understand what you mean, Copper Face,” the Captain’s voice carried a tinge of impatience.

“If it were real, you’d be begging for mercy by now,” Li Yelai sneered, “You really had me fooled…”

Then, gold plating emerged in Li Yelai’s eyes.

Mimicry, Divine Storage Dragon Soul!

Spiritual Defense sharply increased!

The few dozen remaining Divine Hidden Weapons Li Yelai had appeared and shot towards various parts of the ark.

In an instant, the ark shattered.

No, the entire fabricated world shattered!

The world before his eyes, like a broken mirror, was torn apart by the Divine Hidden Weapons.

Revealing what lay behind it.

Fake, it was all fake! It was all just an illusion!

As the false images shattered, Li Yelai realized he was in a cavity of extremely high temperature, with flesh and bone on both sides squeezing his physical body, seemingly intent on crushing him.

And the acid being secreted was corroding the Black Ink Armor on Li Yelai’s body, emitting plumes of white smoke.

Was he… swallowed by something, inside the body of some Extraordinary Creature?

If it weren’t for his Spiritual Defense, perhaps he would have succumbed to the illusions, gradually being consumed?

Quite a clever method!

Li Yelai recalled the last image he saw.

Those were immense snake pupils, that was… the Ba Snake! Had he been instantly defeated and swallowed by the Ba Snake?

“Very well, then you can play the part of Old Number Six!” Li Yelai laughed in anger and activated the Face!

Vehicle assassin activated!