Dao Lao seemed to sense Captain Tie Zhu's embarrassment and deliberately omitted some key information before saying, "Actually, besides dealing with the Mold Energy, our mission here also involves locating a divine priest. Oh, Tie Zhu, didn't you mention that there were still some priests lingering on the Fragrant Nebula? Perhaps they could indeed offer us some help!"

Upon hearing Dao Lao's inquiry, Captain Tie Zhu's expression dimmed suddenly. "Ah... Honored sirs, you may not know this, but after the Great Explosion, many priests did survive. However, a significant number of them perished under the assault of the three layers of uncontrolled array. The remaining priests almost all fell in battles with the Mastanians that followed."

"Especially during the time when the Eternal Star was about to lose ground in the massive Mastanian offensive, many priests sacrificed themselves to resist the enemy while protecting the remaining living beings of the Fragrant Nebula. Even the surviving priests suffered heavy casualties in the subsequent battles with the Mastanians. As a result, there are very few combat-ready priests left to lead us now."

After briefly calming his sorrowful emotions, Captain Tie Zhu continued, "Of course, if you gentlemen meet the remaining priests, Tie Zhu would be more than happy to guide you. However... We are currently on a mission, and given our situation, it's challenging for us to leave the Eternal Star."

It was only then that Hao Yun and his companions remembered that Captain Tie Zhu and his team seemed to have a purpose in coming here. Thus, Hao Yun curiously asked, "Right! We've been talking for a while, and you haven't told us why you risked your lives to come to the Eternal Star. What mission are you on? Rest assured, since we're here, we'll do everything to help you complete your mission."

Whenever Captain Tie Zhu's team mentioned their mission, the atmosphere immediately turned heavy. Hao Yun saw that although the seven warriors from the Eternal Star all displayed a resolute expression, there was a hint of uncertainty in their eyes. It seemed that while they were determined to carry out the mission, they lacked confidence in its success.

After a moment of silence, Captain Tie Zhu sighed lightly with some guilt, "Ah... I won't hide it from you, honored sirs. The mission we're on is a very important rescue mission."

"A rescue mission?" Dream Jia asked.

"Yes. The reason we formed a suicide squad and broke through the Mastanian's aerial defense lines to reach the Eternal Star was to rescue our king and his ministers. However, the sudden appearance of the Rain of Destruction disrupted our original plans. As a result, the team that was supposed to sneak into the Eternal Star under our cover was killed by the rain."

"However, as luck would have it, our squad successfully landed on the Eternal Star. It doesn't matter! Even if it wasn't for the Rain of Destruction caused by you gentlemen, our operation to break into the Eternal Star might have failed anyway. Besides, since we survived, we'll take over their mission and continue to rescue the king and his entourage!" Captain Tie Zhu replied. He also expressed remorse for accidentally harming the people of the Fragrant Nebula and emphasized that their entry into the Eternal Star and the continuation of the rescue mission were still valid.

Captain Tie Zhu's explanation did have some effect, so Hao Yun and his companions expressed regret for the friendly fire incident before focusing their attention on the task at hand. They hoped to help these people from the Eternal Star complete their mission and honor the fallen heroes who sacrificed themselves because of them.

Dream Jia then asked, "What? Your king is still on the Eternal Star?"

Captain Tie Zhu replied with a somewhat frustrated tone, "Yes. Ah... It all started with the Great Explosion. When the explosion occurred, the Destroyer Black Gate and his army, who were trapped in the array, unexpectedly survived and entered the Eternal Star. So, after the effects of the explosion subsided, both sides quickly engaged in sporadic battles."

"Fortunately, the Mastanians suffered heavy losses after the explosion, and their overall strength decreased significantly. In addition, we still possess the divine power bestowed upon us by the Divine Realm, which means the Mastanian attacks have never posed much of a threat to us. So, after several defeats, the Mastanians ceased their attacks under Black Gate's leadership and disappeared for a while. It wasn't until later that the Mastanians launched a large-scale attack on us again. In this battle, their strength unexpectedly recovered to near pre-explosion levels, resulting in heavy casualties on our side."

After listening to Captain Tie Zhu's explanation, Hao Yun and his companions fell into contemplation again. However, Captain Tie Zhu and his team thought they were pondering, while in reality, Hao Yun and his companions were engaging in conversation in the system channel.

"It seems that not only did the Mastanians accumulate a considerable amount of manpower during that time, but they also found a way to restore their strength!" Hao Yun remarked.

"Don't forget that the power helping the Mastanians contend with the people of the Eternal Star mainly comes from Mold Energy. According to the Mold Energy Tracking System, the misfortune level of everything here has reached four stars." Dao Lao looked at Captain Tie Zhu's team and said. Of course, since Captain Tie Zhu and his team also possessed divine power bestowed by the Divine Realm, the misfortune level on them was still controlled within the normal range of below two stars.

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Hao Yun quickly understood what Dao Lao meant. With the Fragrant Nebula filled with four-star misfortune, the Mastanians likely changed their combat strategy to focus on restoring their strength after multiple failed frontal assaults and a decline in their own strength. Their method of regaining strength was likely related to Mold Energy.

"But I don't understand, how did the Mastanians manage to raise the misfortune level of the Fragrant Nebula to four stars? Is it because the Mastanians' presence on the Eternal Star's land caused the misfortune level to reach four stars? Or was the Fragrant Nebula already at a four-star misfortune level under the influence of Mold Energy before they took control here?" Hao Yun asked.

"You fool! The Fragrant Nebula only obtained a four-star misfortune level after the Great Explosion. Because before the explosion, this place was a key protected area by the Divine Realm. Under the protection of the divine power from the Divine Realm, the Mold Energy couldn't possibly cause the misfortune level to exceed the limit here. As for why the Fragrant Nebula was covered with a four-star misfortune level after the explosion, I think it might be related to that explosion. Just like the three layers of uncontrollable arrays above, it must have been some kind of energy released during the explosion that broke the Divine Realm's protective power over the Fragrant Nebula and turned it into a world covered with a four-star misfortune level." Dream Jia replied.

Dream Jia continued to ponder, "As for where the Mold Energy came from to affect the Fragrant Nebula, I guess it's because this black hole shielded almost all the divine power from the Divine Realm after its formation. Meanwhile, the chaotic energy here is very suitable for the survival of Mold Energy, a negative energy. This led to a miracle where, despite the destruction of all the main Mold Energy life forms in the Horolo Galaxy during the Great Explosion, some of the negative energy released by Mold Energy around the Fragrant Nebula was miraculously preserved. Then, this portion of Mold Energy, devoid of life signs, was attracted to the Eternal Star without the protection of divine power, forcibly raising the misfortune level here to four stars."

Although Dream Jia's speculation still had many doubts and logical issues, Hao Yun and Dao Lao found it hard not to agree with her viewpoint. After all, the situation on the Eternal Star was indeed too complex. The three layers of arrays covering the Eternal Star had completely lost control due to some external force, and the fact that the Eternal Star could survive intact within this black hole was a miracle that shouldn't have happened. However, since such miracles had occurred, any other strange occurrences on the Eternal Star should also be extremely reasonable in their irrationality.

After understanding this, Hao Yun no longer dwelled on the issue of the misfortune level but continued with this line of thought, "So, after being unable to defeat the people of the Eternal Star, the Mastanians all hid. Then, they relied on absorbing the Mold Energy existing here to gradually regain strength and prepare for the next battle."

Dream Jia nodded, agreeing with Hao Yun's speculation. However, she quickly raised another question, "But from what I know, whether it's the original Mold Energy or the fused form, if you want to obtain negative energy like misfortune level or reintegrate those Mold Energy abilities released as powers, you must first catalyze these energies with a special process. Otherwise, the efficiency and effectiveness of absorbing these energies will be greatly reduced. So, in order to catalyze these energies more effectively and make them more suitable for absorption, Mold Energy needs living beings or divine beings as carriers to obtain these energies. Therefore—"

"So, if the Mastanians wanted to better obtain the unclaimed Mold Energy at that time, they must first find a way to inject these energies into living beings or divine beings. Then, they could absorb these energies by invading the bodies of these living beings or divine beings to gain power." Hao Yun interrupted before Dream Jia finished speaking, understanding her point and continuing.

Dream Jia didn't get angry at Hao Yun for interrupting her but instead pointed at him with her finger across the space, saying, "That's right, that's what I meant. However, even after the Great Explosion, the people of the Eternal Star still possess the divine power bestowed upon them by the Divine Realm. Under the protection of this divine power, unless the people of the Eternal Star voluntarily accept the negative energy under the guidance of Mold Energy, including those Mold Energy, all negative energies cannot actively enter their bodies to become carriers for the Mastanians to absorb."

"So, how did the Mastanians manage to do it? Could it be that the Great Explosion enabled them to acquire other methods of gaining power?" Thinking of this, Dream Jia fell into contemplation again.

To prevent Captain Tie Zhu from waiting too long on the side, Dao Lao engaged in a conversation with Captain Tie Zhu while Dream Jia and Hao Yun were pondering the issue, "So what happened later? How did the Mastanians manage to hold your king hostage?"

"Because our Eternal Star is composed of the Eternal Body and the Mo Body, our king and queen often have to live separately to manage the affairs of the two bodies separately. Therefore, when the Mastanians seized the opportunity to launch a large-scale raid on the Mo Body while King Erl was once again going to the Eternal Body, their main target was the Mo Palace where Her Majesty the Queen resided. However, fortunately, with Her Majesty the Queen personally present at the Mo Palace, and with protective shields around the Mo Palace, the Mastanians couldn't gain any advantage during the raid."

"However, since the Mastanians reappeared after hiding for a long time, their army was strong and sizable. This led to the troops stationed at the Mo Palace facing considerable trouble under the Mastanians' fierce attacks. Therefore, to quickly resolve the crisis at the Mo Palace, His Majesty the King immediately ordered the troops stationed at various locations on the Eternal Body to rush to the Mo Palace for support. At the same time, desperate to rescue his wife, His Majesty the King also ordered the troops stationed on the Eternal Body to cross the rainbow tunnel connecting the Eternal Body and the Mo Body, the only rainbow tunnel that was not destroyed, to reinforce the Mo Palace. He attempted to annihilate the sudden appearance of the Mastanian army that emerged from underground with a tactical pincer attack."

Captain Tie Zhu paused for a moment, then continued with a solemn expression, "What we didn't expect, however, was that as soon as the troops from the Eternal Body joined the battle at the Mo Body, another exceptionally powerful Mastanian army launched a lightning-fast assault on the rainbow tunnel on the Eternal Body side and quickly seized control of this side of the rainbow tunnel. At the same time, the Destroyer, Black Gate, who had never shown himself, finally appeared on the battlefield again. However, his appearance was not on the Mo Body but on the Eternal Body."