"It's all my fault! I was too impulsive at that time, chasing after that commander without considering the consequences, and entered the teleportation array. That's how I lost contact with Father. Ah! Fortunately, Elina is there, at least to comfort my parents and prevent them from being too distressed because of mine and Superfan's situation," Yan Chao Yue said with immense guilt.

"Uh... well..." Dao Lao scratched his head and looked at Dream Jia for help. Dream Jia, upon hearing the name "Elina," became somewhat at a loss, unsure how to respond.

Seeing Dao Lao and Dream Jia's stiff expressions upon mentioning Elina, Yan Chao Yue furrowed her brow and hurriedly asked worriedly, "Elina... could something have happened to her?"

Faced with Yan Chao Yue's question, Dao Lao was momentarily at a loss for how to answer. Especially seeing Yan Chao Yue's concerned expression regarding Elina, Dao Lao's heart became even more mixed. He really didn't want to tell Yan Chao Yue about Elina's turn to the dark side, openly choosing to merge with the Mold Spirit energy and siding against the pantheon of gods.

Knowing that the matter regarding Elina couldn't be kept hidden, Dream Jia spoke up before Dao Lao could decide whether to tell Yan Chao Yue about Elina's situation, saying, "Actually, Chao Yue, there's something you don't know. The reason we came here in the first place was to track down Elina."

"Why? What has Elina done?" Yan Chao Yue asked in surprise. But upon seeing Dream Jia's serious expression, she immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. The fact that two Mold Spirit energies were personally tracking Elina indicated that not only had Elina committed serious wrongdoing, but she might also have—

Thinking of this, Yan Chao Yue again looked at Dream Jia with eyes full of disbelief.

"You're right. Elina has acquired powerful Mold Spirit energy. She's become a very dangerous entity. We must apprehend her as soon as possible, before her power grows further," Dao Lao said, taking over the conversation after Dream Jia straightforwardly stated their mission.

Dao Lao retrieved data stored in his own system and vividly recounted to Yan Chao Yue all the crimes Elina had committed. Yan Chao Yue listened attentively, lips pursed throughout, appearing calm. However, the complex emotions revealed in her bright eyes couldn't hide the grief in her heart.

"Phew! So, are you implying that Elina might be hiding within this black hole?" Yan Chao Yue asked, exhaling deeply at the end.

"If the Countess didn't deceive us, Elina shouldn't have fled into this black hole," Dream Jia replied, shaking her head. She then detailed once more how they encountered the Countess and how they arrived at Eternal Muse from the Countess's Fragrant Nebula.

"Gogolnikyeva. I didn't expect you two to encounter her as well! You don't really believe her words, do you?" After hearing Dream Jia's account, Yan Chao Yue said with some annoyance.

"Of course not. Although from our interactions with her, given her immense power, she wouldn't need to resort to deception against us. Besides, what she said turned out to be true—we really found you here. However, we still have reasons to believe that her sending us here wasn't just to fulfill her promise of finding you. There must be something fishy going on," Dream Jia said.

"Just like the Countess told me back then, that commander fled here and brought me to Eternal Muse. The Countess seems very trustworthy, but, hmph, that person is really hard to figure out. I've always felt that since I entered the Fragrant Nebula, everything I've experienced has been under her control. I even feel like a puppet manipulated by Gogolnikyeva, falling into traps from beginning to end," Yan Chao Yue said helplessly.

"Could it be? Are we still not free from her illusions? Everything we're experiencing now is actually just a game she created?" Dream Jia boldly doubted again.

"The Countess's illusions are incredibly powerful, coupled with the chaotic energy currents inside the black hole, not only do they shield our divine powers, but they also sever the connection between our systems and the pantheon of gods. So, if your systems can communicate with the pantheon now, it means you've left the Countess's illusions. Because normally, even if our systems could be restored, they would only recover some offline functions and wouldn't be able to contact the pantheon of gods," Yan Chao Yue explained, denying Dream Jia's speculation.

Dao Lao nodded but added with some helplessness, "Hmm, I agree with your explanation. Unfortunately, while our system's communication functions have partially recovered despite the interference of the black hole's turbulence, there's still significant instability. This means when we try to communicate with the outside of the black hole, there are huge delays, and it's entirely by luck whether we can receive information from outside."

"Well! It's already good that your systems can be used despite the black hole's turbulence! Unlike mine, which malfunctioned as soon as I entered the black hole. Especially after being heavily disrupted by the Countess, my system was almost completely damaged. So now, aside from being able to perform some very simple standalone tasks, my system is basically just for show. But I haven't given up. I've been trying to send distress signals to the outside world. Who knows, maybe one day my system will be able to reconnect with the pantheon of gods again?" Yan Chao Yue said enviously.

Dao Lao and Dream Jia both expressed understanding of Judge Yan's words. Because the operating system that the pantheon provided to Judge Yan and similar priests was originally not as powerful as the latest version of the system Dao Lao and their group now used. Therefore, Judge Yan's system faced greater restrictions in the black hole, and malfunctions were indeed normal occurrences. Moreover, the system used by Dao Lao and the others was even more powerful, now almost like decorations, let alone Judge Yan's older version of the operating system from a more distant era.

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However, that Countess's strength is truly unfathomable. She could effortlessly disable the entire working system of the pantheon, which was truly shocking. Dao Lao believed that even without the shielding effect provided by the chaotic energy flows of the black hole, she could probably single-handedly cause significant disruption to the pantheon's system.

"So, Gogolnikyeva's strength is really beyond measure. Moreover, if she hadn't been in the wise person mode after participating in the divine battle, I might still be trapped there now. If that were the case, perhaps we not only would have met long ago, but also might have undertaken some challenging tasks together!" Judge Yan injected a somewhat self-deprecating tone into the conversation, trying to lighten the mood.

However, faced with Judge Yan's deliberately cheerful words, Dao Lao and Dream Jia's expressions turned extremely grim. Because upon hearing the phrase "undertake challenging tasks together," both of them inevitably recalled the scenes of their painful failure in the Fragrant Nebula and the various acts against their own beliefs and morals they were forced to commit in order to complete their mission.

"Oh right, Uncle Dao. I heard you came with a total of three people, and another companion fell into the enemy's hands to cover everyone's retreat, right?" Judge Yan noticed that Dao Lao and Dream Jia's expressions were off after mentioning the Fragrant Nebula, so she quickly changed the subject and inquired.

"Yes. That priest's name is Hao Yun; he's my newly recruited rookie assistant. The kid isn't particularly strong, but he's got quite a few tricks up his sleeve, and he's quite courageous. I've sent him several messages, but perhaps due to the strong interference between the Star of Eternal Longing and the Star of Admiration's energy flow, these messages are still in the process of being sent. Ah! I don't know how he's doing now..." Dao Lao sighed heavily.

Although Judge Yan successfully diverted the conversation, Dao Lao's mood did not improve because of this. The pain on his face even seemed to intensify.

"Oh right, I forgot to introduce my little assistant; she's this priest's lover, named Dream Jia. You can call her Auntie Dream," Dao Lao pointed to Dream Jia, who was equally worried, and said.

"Who the hell is whose lover?! Who the hell is Auntie to me?! You'd better make it clear to me! Otherwise, I'll blow up your damn mouth right away!" Dream Jia retorted angrily, immediately pointing the long spear on Dao Lao's face, and demanded.

Seeing Dao Lao back down, Dream Jia satisfactorily lifted the long spear from Dao Lao's face back onto her shoulder, and also didn't forget to raise her chin towards the astonished Judge Yan, while using her thumb to gesture towards herself, saying, "Sister Yan, don't listen to this old fool's nonsense! I'm innocent with Hao Yun! Also, just call me Sister Dream!"

"Oh! Okay! Sister Dream!" Judge Yan quickly nodded in response, thinking to herself, no wonder Uncle Dao and the others dared to break into the black hole with only three people. It turns out they had such a formidable sister in their team!

"By the way, Sister Dream, you just mentioned that dagger was with that Lord Hao?" To prevent Dao Lao and Dream Jia from continuing to argue, Judge Yan quickly asked.

"Yeah. The Countess said that because that dagger was left by you, we could find you through it. However, because we've lost contact with Hao Yun now, we can't take out the dagger to prove the truth of what we're saying." Dream Jia replied impatiently.

"You don't have to worry too much about Hao Yun. Isn't he still wearing the battle armor? Moreover, that kid secretly brought two divine grace modules on him that can recharge the battle armor. So, even facing the Mastanians' barrage, he should be able to hold on for a while longer." Dao Lao comforted, rubbing his sore cheek where the long spear had been pointed.

"Ten days! According to the analysis made by the system based on the information shared with us by Hao Yun at the last moment, even if his battle armor gets replenished with energy, the protective shield it generates can probably only last up to ten days at most. But this is only theoretical speculation. If Hao Yun encounters any accidents midway, the duration of the armor's protection will further shorten." Dream Jia corrected with concern.

Dao Lao and Dream Jia were clear that if they couldn't rescue Hao Yun within ten days, when the armor's protection shield failed, Hao Yun would definitely be in great danger. By then, if Hao Yun wanted to survive, the only way might be to forcibly use the teleportation function to escape the predicament. However, under the constraints of the chaotic energy flows of the black hole, even if Hao Yun's system could successfully activate the teleportation function, it would probably only be able to forcibly teleport him to some place within the black hole. In that case, Hao Yun would be like exiling himself into the unknown space of the black hole. Moreover, who knows if before Dao Lao and the others found Hao Yun, he would have already been torn apart by the chaotic energy flows of the black hole. Thinking of this, Dream Jia couldn't help but clench her fists and say, "Ten days may seem ample, but in reality, it's extremely urgent. We must find a way to rescue him as soon as possible!"

Dao Lao and Dream Jia were aware that if they couldn't rescue Hao Yun within ten days, when the protective shield provided by his battle armor failed, Hao Yun's chances of survival would be slim. By then, if Hao Yun wanted to stay alive, his only option might be to forcibly use the pinpoint teleportation function to extricate himself. However, constrained by the chaotic energy flows of the black hole, even if Hao Yun's system managed to activate the pinpoint teleportation function successfully, he would likely only be able to transport himself forcefully to some location within the black hole. In doing so, Hao Yun would effectively exile himself into the unknown void of the black hole. Moreover, who knew if before Dao Lao and the others found him, Hao Yun would have already been torn to shreds by the chaotic energy flows of the black hole.

Thinking this through, Dream Jia couldn't help but clench her fists and declare, "Ten days may seem ample, but in reality, it's extremely urgent. We must find a way to rescue him as soon as possible!"

The problem was, after the recent raid, the Mastanians were bound to bolster their defenses around the teleportation array located in the royal palace. Returning to the Palace of Eternal Stars via the array at this time would be walking right into a trap. Furthermore, due to the massive interference from the energy fluctuations inside the black hole, Dream Jia couldn't recover her mental strength quickly after unleashing her hunting bullets. This meant she couldn't participate in large-scale combat again or even launch another round of hunting bullets in the near term. In such circumstances, relying solely on Dao Lao's strength was utterly insufficient to forcibly rescue Hao Yun from the Palace of Eternal Stars.

This realization led them to conclude, after a lengthy discussion, that organizing another assault on the Palace of Eternal Stars within ten days seemed highly improbable. Moreover, if they were to mount such an operation again, they would need to bring back both Hao Yun and King Earl to the Palace of Admiration. However, since Dao Lao and the others had no way of knowing where King Earl currently resided or where the Mastanians might have imprisoned Hao Yun, the next rescue mission was set to become even more daunting than before.