"Not only was he killed by the dark spirit energy, but Frank, just like you, used the power of the dark spirit energy without authorization to repel a strong enemy. Similarly, his holy body suffered damage, and a bad Dao invaded due to the dark spirit energy. Alas! Because we didn't find a way to expel or seal the dark spirit energy inside him at the time, Frank could only subjectively sever the connection with the dark spirit energy in his body to avoid excessive contact." Master Gu corrected.
Haoyun suddenly realized, "I see. No wonder Dao Lao didn't want to mention his former assistant, no wonder he reacted so strongly when he learned about the damage to my soul caused by the dark spirit energy."
Master Gu nodded and continued, "Dao Lao's former assistant was named Frank Kastelin, he was Dao Lao's master's only son. In that divine war, Dao Lao's team encountered an enemy led by extremely powerful dark spirit energy in a battle. The casualties were heavy, and Dao Lao's senior died heroically in battle. After witnessing his father's sacrifice, Frank, like a madman, recklessly used the dark spirit energy he had arrested to attack the enemy."
"As a result, Frank successfully repelled the enemy in anger, but his holy body was damaged, and the dark spirit energy infiltrated his Dao. Of course, although the enemy was repelled, the dark spirit energy that killed his father escaped. Therefore, Frank embarked on the path of hunting down his father's murderer."
"Driven by the desire for revenge, Frank, although outwardly telling Dao Lao that he had severed the connection with the dark spirit energy attached to the bad Dao in his body, was secretly trying to use those dark spirit energies to find his enemy's whereabouts. Over time, Frank's holy body, corrupted by the dark spirit energy, began to transform hatred and the flames of revenge into large amounts of negative energy. He relied on this negative energy to help him defeat his reason, eventually becoming an anti-heroic figure hunting down darkened dark spirit energies."
"After that, Frank became more radical. He began to shuttle between various divine war battlefields, vigorously searching for clues to his father's murderer. During this time, in order to collect intelligence and eliminate dark spirit energies encountered, Frank, with the mindset of rather killing a thousand by mistake than letting one go, killed many creatures who had actively or passively come into contact with dark spirit energy, or even those suspected of being invaded by dark spirit energy. Frank's behavior further intensified his inner corruption."
"What about Dao Lao? Wasn't he Dao Lao's assistant? Didn't Dao Lao stop Frank's actions?" Haoyun asked.
Master Gu sighed helplessly, "Dao Lao had long noticed the changes in Frank after his father's sacrifice, but because he believed Frank's lie that he had severed the connection with the dark spirit energy in his body, and Frank had always pretended to be very normal by Dao Lao's side, plus the intense battle situation at the time. Therefore, Dao Lao slowly relaxed his supervision of Frank amid his busy schedule, eventually allowing Frank to seize the opportunity to secretly leave Dao Lao's team during the chaos of war."
"Alas! Perhaps it was fate, or perhaps it was the whimsical nature of fate. In the end, Frank, relying on the resonance between the dark spirit energy in his body and the dark spirit energy that killed his father, traced the whereabouts of his father's murderer and took advantage of his own dark spirit energy to carry out justice against the dark spirit energy that killed his father."
"According to Dao Lao's later recollection, when he chased Frank's trail and arrived at the place where he fought with the dark spirit energy, he found that after defeating the dark spirit energy, Frank did not directly destroy it. Instead, under the influence of his darkened mind, he swallowed the defeated dark spirit energy into his body. Then, Frank was engulfed by the black aura gushing from his body, and began to hysterically roar while engaging in self-inflicted violence. At this point, Frank finally realized that the dark spirit energy had been deliberately tempting him, causing him to continue darkening on the path of hunting down dark spirit energy and accumulating negative energy in his body, preparing for the dark spirit energy to take over his body. Therefore, realizing that he had been deceived, Frank began to struggle desperately to resist, trying to break free from the control of the dark spirit energy."
"Wow, that dark spirit energy dared to use itself as bait, recklessly trying to cultivate a divine officer as its vessel. That guy is really a desperado!" Haoyun couldn't help but sigh.
"Yeah, Frank was also a desperado." Master Gu also sighed with emotion.
Then, Master Gu continued, "Because the negative energy in Frank's body was extremely strong, the dark spirit energy soon gained the upper hand and began to take control of Frank's holy body. Frank finally realized that his mental defenses were about to be completely breached, and he would henceforth become a puppet of the dark spirit energy."
"At this point, Frank was filled with regret and anger, feeling deeply sorry for deceiving Dao Lao and deliberately hiding his true situation. However, with everything as it was, all regrets were meaningless. Therefore, unwilling to be defeated by the dark spirit energy, Frank, using his last bit of strength, exposed his weaknesses to Dao Lao and asked Dao Lao to kill him."
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"Equally tormented by his failure to fulfill his master's wishes and protect Frank, whom he sought to console, Dao Lao naturally suffered greatly. However, faced with Frank, who was on the brink of being overtaken by the dark spirit energy and forcibly transformed into a fusion of dark spirit energy, Dao Lao also understood that he must make an immediate decision. Therefore, with no other choice, Dao Lao reluctantly launched an attack on Frank, seizing upon the vulnerabilities deliberately exposed by Frank and thrusting his Demonslaying Staff directly into Frank's chest."
Master Gu illustrated with a motion mimicking the throwing of a javelin. Haoyun only then realized that Dao Lao's magical staff was called the "Demonslaying Staff."
"Under the precise assault of the Demonslaying Staff, not only did Frank and the dark spirit energy invading his body suffer heavy blows, but Frank also briefly regained his sanity as a result. Frank, now awakened, deeply understood that his mistakes were unforgivable and how terrifying the dark spirit energy within him truly was."
"So, in order to prevent that powerful dark spirit energy from harming others again, Frank took the opportunity when the dark spirit energy inside him was weakened due to injury and willingly fused with it. Then, using the chance while he could still temporarily control this fusion, he unleashed all his energy and pushed his body to its absolute limit, causing it to detonate completely. Thus, Frank, along with the powerful dark spirit energy within him, perished before Dao Lao, vanishing completely," Master Gu concluded, shaking his head in regret once more at Frank's demise.
Haoyun expressed his sympathy for Frank's plight, noting how his quest for revenge against the dark spirit energy had backfired, leading him into the enemy's trap and almost turning him into a fusion of dark spirit energy. Frank's story was not just tragic; it was downright pitiful!
Continuing, Master Gu gestured towards Haoyun and said, "Failing to uphold his master's trust and take care of Frank caused a significant blow to Dao Lao. Furthermore, the loss of Yan Chaofan and Yan Chaoyue, two juniors whom Dao Lao cherished deeply, either in battle or to unknown fates, left Dao Lao in a state of desolation for a long time. It was until he met you."
"Me? I thought I was just a last-minute addition he picked up!" Haoyun joked.
"Ah! To be honest, Judge Yan and I thought the same initially. However, Dao Lao believed that despite being an ordinary mortal from the mortal realm, you possessed a unique talent that made you highly malleable. That's why he thought you were brought to him by fate, the perfect candidate to inherit Frank's position and become his next assistant."
"Of course, during the mission to capture Elina, you indeed performed remarkably well, even playing a crucial role at a critical moment. This further earned Dao Lao's admiration for you and solidified his belief that his choice was the right one. So you should understand how much regret and pain Dao Lao felt when he discovered that, like Frank, you also retained traces of dark spirit energy in your body after unauthorized use. And worse, that you could resonate with other dark spirit energy," Master Gu sighed, feeling as though Haoyun was beyond saving.
"Hey! Master Gu, can you be less pessimistic? You're making it sound like I'm terminally ill! I'm fine, aren't I? Besides, aren't you all helping me seal those dark spirit energies inside me? So as long as I officially ascend to become a saint, we can find a way to remove them from my body, right? Since there are already many ways to deal with such situations in the Divine Realm, I certainly won't end up as tragically as Frank did!" Haoyun reaffirmed, both to alleviate Master Gu's concerns and to boost his own morale.
"Hahaha! Haoyun, you're right. There are indeed many solutions in the Divine Realm for the accidental retention of dark spirit energy by priests due to injuries. But considering that among the many priests who have been accidentally invaded by dark spirit energy, only you and Frank have shown the ability to resonate with it and resonate with other dark spirit energies. Moreover, you are the only priest to exhibit this phenomenon after the development of various sealing spells in the Divine Realm. Therefore, Haoyun, you still can't afford to be complacent. Because the effectiveness of the seals in suppressing the dark spirit energy inside you and how long they can suppress it are still unknown," Master Gu stated truthfully.
"And..." Master Gu hesitated, unsure how to phrase the next part.
"And what?" Haoyun urged impatiently.
Master Gu scratched his head, then cautiously continued, "And, while we're working hard to seal those dark spirit energies inside you, we actually hope you can use this ability again so that we can more effectively track down Elina's whereabouts. We know it's risky, but to quickly capture Elina and uncover whether the dark spirit energy fused with her is a fragment of the Dark Spirit Mother, as well as her true intentions, we can only plead for your assistance, Haoyun. It's truly effective."
Haoyun couldn't believe his ears. "Wh-what? Did I hear you correctly? Master Gu means you want to use the dark spirit energy inside me to find Elina? Th-this is too dangerous, isn't it?"
"Hahaha! Well, yes, more or less, that's the idea, isn't it? So, we agreed to let you accompany Dao Lao and Dream Jia into the black hole VOID-5173. Because if Elina is truly hiding there, perhaps the dark spirit energy inside you will resonate with her again. In that case, we can determine Elina's location, mobilize more powerful forces, and trap her in the black hole VOID-5173. Then, we'll organize a stronger team to figure out how to capture her from there," Master Gu explained earnestly, feeling conflicted but sincere about their plan.
"But, isn't that how Frank ended up like this? You're just asking me to jump into the fire! No! I won't do it! It's too dangerous! Forget it, forget it! I'm resigning! I'm not doing it anymore!" Haoyun's anger flared up instantly, and he struggled to break free from the system's light column binding him.
"Oh my! Haoyun, calm down! Let me finish what I have to say! We just want to see if the dark spirit energy inside you will resonate with Elina again. We didn't say we want you to actively manipulate those dark spirit energies to resonate with Elina!" Seeing Haoyun's reaction, Master Gu quickly adopted a humble posture, nodding and bowing as he tried to placate him.
"Oh? Is that so? But even so, it's still dangerous, isn't it? You haven't experienced the pain of the dark spirit energy suddenly erupting. If I have to endure it again, I might really go crazy!" Haoyun's anger diminished slightly, but he still firmly refused.