"Come on, come on! After participating in such an exciting game, you should sit down and have a drink to rest for a while. It's not too late to leave after your strength has fully recovered!" the Countess said, taking a seat on a single sofa that appeared out of thin air. Then, she leisurely lit a cigar and occasionally puckered her scarlet lips, skillfully blowing one smoke ring after another. It was evident that the Countess's smoke ring technique was exquisite. She effortlessly blew out circular shapes, heart shapes, what looked like a lump of hot poop, and even bizarre smoke rings with changing clown faces.
Haoyun's trio were pleasantly surprised to hear the Countess's words because it meant that she had lifted the various concealments on them within the Fragrant Nebula. So, they quickly immersed their consciousness into the Mold Spirit Energy Tracking System, carefully checking their current physical condition and the recovery status of the system's functions. However, they soon discovered an issue: although their divine power and spiritual power were rapidly recovering, their system's functions had not significantly improved.
But upon further thought, Haoyun's trio immediately understood the reason. Don't forget that they were currently inside a black hole, where the chaotic energy currents, even without the suppression from the Fragrant Nebula, would severely affect the connection between the Mold Spirit Energy Tracking System and the Divine Realm, causing the system's functions to fail or operate ineffectively. Furthermore, after being captured by the Countess in the Fragrant Nebula, the Underworld Armor that could have assisted them in resisting the chaotic energy currents in the black hole was confiscated by her. Therefore, under these circumstances, their consciousness system naturally couldn't effectively receive signals from the Divine Realm and ensure all functions were running smoothly.
Thinking of this, Haoyun's trio gradually calmed down. Perhaps the Countess was right; after all, their strength had just been restored, and they indeed needed more rest to ensure they could continue their work in better condition.
However, even though Elina had escaped the black hole with the Countess's help while Haoyun's trio were trapped in the Fragrant Nebula, they couldn't continue to stay in the black hole without the protection of the Underworld Armor. Therefore, even if their strength had fully recovered, what could they do? In fact, considering the current situation, Haoyun's trio's exploration of the VOID-5173 black hole had ended. Now, all they could do was to leave the black hole as soon as possible, inform Judge Yan and the others of what had happened here, and then make other plans.
Just as Haoyun's trio were planning their next move, Daddy Cat suddenly interrupted their thoughts. "Oh, my lords, these are the armors you wore when you came here. I've tidied them up for you. Please put them back on quickly. The weather is starting to get colder, so you must remember to keep warm and not catch a cold! Hehehe!" Daddy Cat said, flipping his paws and presenting three sets of black armor emitting a faint, eerie green light to Haoyun's trio.
Haoyun's trio awkwardly took the armor and put them back on, feeling a mix of emotions. Under Judge Yan and Master Gu's trust, they had entered the black hole VOID-5173 fully armed to track down Elina. However, to their surprise, they were captured by the Countess as soon as they entered the black hole, becoming her prisoners.
"What's this?" Haoyun suddenly exclaimed, his eyes brightening. Because after putting on the Underworld Armor again, he immediately noticed that the green light flowing on the surface of the armor was significantly faster and brighter than before.
"Oh, that's right. These Underworld Armors are much better than I expected. But unfortunately, it seems that your Divine Realm has not fully developed the power of this set of armor, especially to enhance its resistance to the chaotic energy storms in the black hole. The reason is that your Divine Realm lacks sufficient understanding of the true situation inside the black hole, leading to your armor only providing temporary resistance to the energy turbulence in the black hole." The Countess pointed out the problem with the Underworld Armor without beating around the bush, making Haoyun's trio feel embarrassed.
Ignoring their somewhat embarrassed and awkward expressions, the Countess continued, "Ah! In the vast universe, since we've met, it must be fate. So, I just made some small modifications to your three armors for the purpose of studying the equipment of the Divine Realm. This way, at least these armors can ensure that you won't be directly disabled by unknown chaotic energy storms while shuttling through the black hole. Ahem, ahem, ahem!"
"Why—are you helping us?" Haoyun asked, full of doubts, and also had the idea of taking off the armor. Because, who knows what the Countess did to their armor, and whether these modifications would cause greater harm to them in the future.
"Don't talk nonsense! I'm not helping you. I just had an itch to study the equipment of the Divine Realm and happened to make some small modifications to your armor! It's just a small favor, no need to thank me. Ahem, ahem, ahem!" the Countess waved her hand dismissively.
Then, she said to Haoyun's trio, who looked somewhat uneasy, "Rest assured! There's no need for me to intentionally hide anything in your armor. If I wanted to take your lives, it would only take a moment. I wouldn't need to go through so much trouble. Moreover, I'm sure the Divine Realm army waiting outside has already been informed of the accident you encountered in the black hole. So, they will immediately come to your rescue and conduct a comprehensive examination of your bodies. I know their style very well. In this situation, even if I had hidden something unfavorable to me in your armor, it would inevitably be detected on the spot. Besides, I modified the armor to help you, not to harm the Divine Realm. So, why would I hide anything harmful to me in your armor? Ahem, ahem, ahem!"
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"Since you don't want to be our enemy, shouldn't you now, according to the agreement, tell us Elina's whereabouts?" Dream Jia nodded in agreement with the Countess's words and then asked.
"Of course, I will tell you Elina's movements! After all, I have fulfilled the help I promised her, and now we are even. Besides, this is also my sincerity to the three lords to show that I have no intention of opposing the Divine Realm! Cough, cough, cough!" The Countess replied bluntly, then made a gesture of pouring wine out of thin air. Three glasses of red wine, gradually filled, appeared in front of the Countess and Haoyun's trio.
The Countess picked up a glass of wine, elegantly took a sip, then carefully wiped the corner of her mouth and said, "Not only can I tell you Elina's whereabouts, but I can also help you directly teleport to the black hole where she is. However—"
"However, what?" Hearing the Countess's words, the three immediately became alert. Sure enough, there was no such thing as a free lunch, and it seemed that the Countess almost wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to sign some sinister agreement with them again.
"Don't be nervous, you three! There's nothing of value to me on you. Besides, as I said just now, I still have a more exciting script to write, and where do I have time to appreciate the other performances you are doing? Cough, cough, cough!" The Countess waved her hand, indicating Haoyun and the others not to be nervous.
However, while the Countess was speaking, her triangular eyes, mostly covered with smudged smoky makeup, kept peeking at Haoyun sneakily. This made Haoyun, feeling somewhat at a loss, could only defensively cross his legs and at the same time cover one hand over his chest.
Seeing this, the Countess showed a look of regret, then said, "However, I promised an old friend a long time ago that if I ever encountered Divine Realm priests again, I would let them decide whether to provide assistance to her. Of course, if she can survive until the reinforcements arrive. Cough, cough, cough!"
"Oh? So who is this 'she' you're talking about? Is 'she' also a Divine Realm priest?" Dao Lao raised his eyebrows curiously and asked.
The Countess did not rush to answer Dao Lao's question but continued, "Don't you want to know who this mysterious female warrior is? That female warrior is the 'she' I mentioned. However, I can't be sure whether 'she' is still alive or still living in the black hole. However, if you are interested in providing assistance to 'her,' I might tell you where 'she' is. But the price of doing so is that I will no longer tell you where Elina has escaped to. You will have to continue to investigate her whereabouts on your own in the future! Cough, cough, cough!"
Sure enough, the Countess would not easily reveal Elina's movements to Haoyun's trio. However, unlike what Haoyun and the others had expected, they did not expect the Countess to let them choose between knowing the whereabouts of another Divine Realm priest and knowing Elina's whereabouts first. Pursuing Elina was the top priority for Haoyun's trio. However, in the face of the plight of another priest, they still couldn't let her fall into danger without trying to save her. This was something that a priest could not do because there was a clear rule in the Divine Realm that when a priest was in danger, they must first ensure the safety of their colleagues no matter what.
As the saying goes, as long as there are enough living forces in the Divine Realm, no matter how powerful or dangerous the enemy is, they will always find a way to eliminate them. From a certain perspective, the lives of priests were more important than any enemy. Moreover, adhering to the high moral principles, Haoyun's trio could not allow themselves to stand by and watch someone die. Therefore, although they felt reluctant to let Elina go like this, at this moment, Haoyun's trio, especially Dao Lao and Dream Jia, had already made a choice between saving people and pursuing others.
"Why should we believe you? What if the so-called female warrior doesn't exist, or what if you've trapped her in another illusion? What if you just want to trick us into another trap and continue to buy time for Elina to escape?" Dream Jia asked with a tone full of doubt.
Upon hearing Dream Jia's successive doubts, the Countess immediately put her hands on her waist and protested vigorously, "Hey hey hey! How can your little head be so stubborn? How many times do I have to say it! I'm not interested in the feud between the Mold Spirit Energy and the Divine Realm! The only reason I do all this is simply to fulfill my promise. I don't want to get involved in your disputes! Besides, if I wanted to buy Elina more time to escape, why didn't I just increase the challenges and difficulties from the beginning? I had no need to resort to tricks to buy time for Elina, right? I'm a person who believes in using straightforward methods. Your constant doubts are simply an insult to my character! Cough, cough, cough!"
Actually, the Countess had a point. Based on what Haoyun's trio had seen and experienced firsthand, they had no reason to doubt the Countess's formidable strength. So, for the Countess, who possessed a certain degree of creator-level power, was it really necessary for her to play some shady tricks against Haoyun's trio, who were nothing more than ants to her? Although the Countess's way of doing things was indeed a bit eccentric, from the contact between Haoyun's trio and the Countess during this period, they didn't really think that the Countess was a cunning and deceitful person.
The powerful Countess didn't need to resort to schemes against these ants who she could easily crush with a flick of her finger. The Countess only needed to show a little bit of her power to completely overwhelm Haoyun's trio. That's why, whenever facing Haoyun's trio, the Countess always openly disclosed all her plans against them. Because for opponents of Haoyun's trio's level, the Countess didn't really need to do so. This was the confidence that came from being an absolute powerhouse.
"Besides, at that time, I really couldn't handle that female warrior like I could handle you guys, so I had no choice but to let her go. It's not shameful to be unable to defeat a strong opponent in battle. Therefore, I won't deliberately conceal the circumstances of my encounter with the female warrior, but will face the outcome directly. Because only in this way can I continue to progress and become even stronger."