Netherworld Retrograde

After changing into dry and lightweight clothes, the Little Mad King stepped out from behind her barely-there tree.

She wrung her soaking wet hair without a second thought, causing crystalline droplets to drip from the tips, soaking into the shoulders of her freshly changed fabric and leaving dark marks.

The water droplets slid down her fair skin, silently disappearing into the slightly open collar, leaving a winding, wet and shiny trail.

Her actions were candid and direct, carrying a focus akin to handling a tool. As if she was wringing out not her own hair, but a cloth that needed to be dried.

As always, Li Ye could only sigh fatherly about this.

Meanwhile, the Little Mad King responded doubtfully, "Mechanical construct? I didn't see anything, just darkness. Did you trigger some kind of inspiration?"

"As the Overlord, you didn't see anything?" Li Ye pondered, pulling out a dry towel to hand to her, "I saw a massive structure, as enormous as a star. Like a giant metal planet..."

Li Ye described everything he had seen in detail.

"This kind of gigantic structure... even with this technology, it seems like it would drain the resources of an entire world, wouldn't it?" the Little Mad King said as she took the towel to dry her hair, "Logically, my inspiration should be stronger and more sensitive than yours. Could it be due to that metal card the Book Holder gave you?"

"That's the only possibility, the so-called Core Opportunity, that allowed me to see that..." Li Ye nodded, then walked to a tree nearby, leaving behind wet footprints.

The Little Mad King instinctively followed.

Li Ye had no choice but to say, "Partner, I'm just changing clothes..."

"Hmm, go ahead. I'm here, no one will ambush you while you're changing," the Little Mad King replied seriously.

Li Ye remained silent for a few seconds, then said in a deep voice, "I mean, give me some space at this time."

The Little Mad King paused, nodded expressionlessly, and stayed where she was.

Once Li Ye changed into his clothes, he donned a cloak and a conical hat. A Willow Leaf Blade (originally the Sky Jumping Scimitar) hung at his waist, making him look like an ancient-style hero.

With the effect of two Secret Treasures triggered, Li Ye's appearance changed in the eyes of others, while his Spiritual Energy Fluctuation was also disguised.

As a result, even if the enemy discovered Li Ye, they wouldn't suspect the Ninth Generation Champion.

After getting ready, the two checked the surrounding environment.

They saw unfamiliar plant variants, signs of intelligent creatures, and even traces of combat. But it seemed to have happened a long time ago.

"It doesn't match the mechanical construct you mentioned at all. The technology gap is too big." The Little Mad King looked at the giant snake-man statue in the distance, "Could it be a technological gap?"

In this era, technological gaps are not uncommon; humans and some Forbidden Zones have experienced technological gaps.

Some Forbidden Zones once traversed the Star Sea, but now they've become the barbarians they once mocked.

Humans have also lost a lot of technology. Otherwise, they wouldn't have lost the last fleet.

"But then, the gap is ridiculously huge. Capable of creating such a massive construct, yet not a single mechanical creation can be seen now... is everything below the eyebrows amputated?" Li Ye thought and said, "There's no more intel for now. Let's pause the investigation and contact our comrades before going after those guys."

The Heavenly Destiny Walkers may now rejoice that their plan succeeded, gathering Chaos Chosen, Forbidden Zone Nobles, and Ark Strongmen to encircle the 'Variable'.

But Li Ye, wasn't he also delighted?

They... finally fell for it!

It appears the enemy may have already entered the Land of Opportunity.

What Li Ye needed to do was to kill one after finding one, kill another upon finding another!

Don't give them the chance to assemble a team and besiege himself!

In fact, the slaughter had already begun.

Those Chaos believers and Demon Generals scattered across the Land of Opportunity would also attack upon seeing non-allied units directly!

Just imagining consuming these human enemies within the Land of Opportunity was enough to excite Li Ye.

In truth, Li Ye didn't like rushing into combat with comrades and allies.

He preferred a dog-eat-dog situation, with one side being the Chaos believers, and the other side being the Forbidden Zone and Heavenly Destiny Walkers, along with the Ark Strongmen who didn't know anything, feeling no regret regardless of who died.

'Oh, my loyal subordinates, for your Chosen, kill to your heart's content!'

Li Ye thought, then said, "I need to try to contact Jing Lin and Yun Yue."

The Little Mad King nodded, immediately using the Ghostly Shadow Clone.

Numerous clones spread out, alert to movements within several kilometers.

Meanwhile, Li Ye took out the ark ticket, intending to enter the ark.

However, as Spiritual Energy was injected, the usual white light did not appear. Instead, the sense of weightlessness was forcibly pulled back the moment it appeared.

The ticket in his hand slightly heated, then quickly cooled and went silent as if it was spent iron.

Similar to the sense of isolation in Disaster Fog, it cut off all non-physical connections inside and outside, including the ark.

But this time, it was as if a force anchored the consciousness that was to travel to the ark.

Is this... the mechanical construct's ability?

However, he and his teammates were prepared for this.

It was just a bit unfortunate; otherwise, they could've synchronized intelligence and cooperated to close the trap on the dog.

"Was it blocked?" the Little Mad King asked upon seeing Li Ye open his eyes.

"Hmm, but on the bright side, they can't contact the outside world via the ark either." Li Ye responded, "It's a mixed blessing."

At the same time, the Little Mad King retrieved her clones.

Just as the two were about to move and explore this unknown domain,

Li Ye stepped out and felt a slight depreciation underfoot.

'Crack.'

The ground slightly sank and trembled violently soon after.

Without hesitation, Li Ye and the Little Mad King simultaneously performed Aerial Stepping to get away from the ground.

Almost simultaneously, a massive stone snakehead suddenly popped up where Li Ye had stepped.

The snake's mouth capable of swallowing an off-road vehicle snapped shut, while light purple poisonous mist spread, even corroding the ground.

"Did I just... step into a trap?" Li Ye was incredulous, he hadn't even activated Face yet!

Could his luck really be this bad? It shouldn't be!

Then, Li Ye saw the dissipating poisonous mist topple trees not far away, crashing just right onto a snake-man statue.

The statue quivered slightly, crimson light shooting from its eyes.

And as the trees rolled, touching the ground or ruins.

'Crack.'

'Crack.'

'Crack.'

Unsettling sounds echoed successively, making it seem like the entire ruin was coming alive.

Li Ye and the Little Mad King were silent for a moment, then immediately distanced themselves.

"How many traps were triggered?"

The next moment, Li Ye also sensed the air's vibration, as if numerous war chariots were charging.

The trees not far away quivered and then fell in swathes.

Subsequently, an enormous metal battering ram burst out of the forest.

The front of the ram featured sharp rotating blades, stirring spiritual energy. Behind it was an enormous maw, seemingly ready to shred its prey before swallowing it.

"Alright! I should be asking how many traps haven't been triggered!"

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!