As everyone hesitated over the plan for the next rescue operation, Judge Yan broke the silence with uncertainty in his voice, "Perhaps... I might have a way to determine Hao Yun's location. If we're lucky, we might even be able to establish contact with him."
"What method?" Dream Jia asked eagerly as soon as she heard this.
"It's the dagger that Gogolnikyeva gave to you," Judge Yan replied.
"The countess gave Hao Yun a dagger. Just as the countess said, I did leave a dagger before leaving the Fragrant Nebula. My purpose was to hope that after my colleagues entered that black hole, they would get my dagger and use it to find me. Of course, I did this because I knew very well that any priest entering that black hole had to pass through the countess first before continuing to explore within the black hole." At this point, Judge Yan couldn't help but show a somewhat helpless expression. It seemed she had also experienced the countess's eccentric hospitality.
Judge Yan continued, "Dao Uncle, you should know that after my brother and I were born, Father had specially crafted two daggers for us that not only symbolize our identity but also serve as our exclusive weapons for protection."
"Yes, of course I know. Old Yan commissioned the weapons master of the Spirit God Realm at great cost to craft two daggers for you and Superhuman based on your compatibility—Phoenix Blade and Phoenix Thorn. Phoenix Thorn is your personal dagger, while Phoenix Blade... sigh, after your brother Superhuman fell in battle, your father treasured Phoenix Blade as a memorial item." Dao Lao paused, seeming to hesitate.
Judge Yan sighed mournfully and continued, "Phoenix Crown holds up the heavens for two days, Phoenix Feather bestows blessings on the dust. Father gave us siblings these two artifacts to remind us of our duty as descendants of the judge of the Thirteenth District of the Spirit God Realm—to protect the peace of the upper and lower realms of the district at all costs, even with our lives, and to ensure that the divine power of protection spreads to every corner of the world. Alas! My brother defended his oath with his life, but what about me? I am trapped in this black hole because of a moment of recklessness, unable to fulfill the oath to Father and the entire Thirteenth District."
"Don't say that. Who says you can't fulfill your promise just because you're trapped here? Look at the contributions you've made against the Mastanians? Your efforts to protect the people of Eternal Admiration? Aren't these actions also striving to maintain peace in the Spirit God Realm?" Dream Jia comforted.
Judge Yan responded with a humble smile to Dream Jia's comfort and then continued, "My Phoenix Thorn can perform feather drop attacks. Simply put, my dagger can split into multiple daggers and attack the enemy simultaneously. During the battle with Countess Gogolnikyeva, although I injured her, this dagger also suffered severe damage."
"Afterwards, following a ceasefire agreement with Countess Gogolnikyeva, she voluntarily helped me repair Phoenix Thorn. Then, I deliberately separated a dagger from Phoenix Thorn and entrusted it to the countess, hoping she would give this dagger to any other priests who might appear in the future. Firstly, I hoped that the priest who received the dagger would have a chance to go back and tell Father that I am still alive; secondly, I hoped that the other party could use this dagger to find me and help me leave here." Judge Yan explained, handing over Phoenix Thorn to Dao Lao and Dream Jia for inspection.
"The countess was actually able to repair Phoenix Thorn for you?" Dao Lao carefully examined the dagger in his hand, asking in disbelief.
Dao Lao's astonishment stemmed from his deep understanding of the difficulty in repairing such a high-level light weapon like Phoenix Thorn and the strength required of the repairer. Moreover, the countess was a mold spirit energy, and repairing Phoenix Thorn required divine power from the Spirit God Realm. How did the countess manage to repair Phoenix Thorn so perfectly? Could it be that the countess also wielded the power of the Spirit God Realm? Considering his own battle armor, Dao Lao couldn't help but raise this question again, adding a touch of wariness to the countess's profound strength.
"How did the countess manage to repair the dagger so perfectly?" As a weapons enthusiast, Dream Jia couldn't help but marvel at the countess's ability to restore such an extraordinary item from the Spirit God Realm.
Judge Yan shook her head and then gestured towards Dao Lao and Dream Jia with a thoughtful expression, "The countess is likely far more powerful than we imagine. Otherwise, how could she use another kind of power to repair the light weapons from the Spirit God Realm so perfectly? And not just my dagger, she can even modify the ordinary battle armor from the Underworld Spirit Realm. The countess's strength is indeed awe-inspiring."
"But why would the countess help us?" Dream Jia asked again.
Judge Yan speculated, "Is it possible that the countess wants to help us in order to confront those Mastanians on Eternal Admiration?"
"Why would she want to confront the Mastanians? The Mastanians are all under the mold spirit energy now. Isn't she just dismantling the mold spirit energy's platform by doing this? You don't really believe the countess's nonsense about not wanting to get involved in the battle between the Spirit God Realm and the mold spirit energy, do you?" Dream Jia looked at Judge Yan with incomprehension.
Judge Yan shrugged, making a "of course not" gesture, and then said, "Of course not. That's just my speculation. However, why did Gogolnikyeva send me here first and then send you here? Even if you and I entered the same black hole and met the countess, it would be a coincidence. But do you really think the countess would help you find me and bring you to Eternal Admiration?"
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Dao Lao and Dream Jia shook their heads in agreement, indicating that they certainly didn't believe the countess's words. At the same time, Dao Lao stroked his long white beard and analyzed, "I remember the countess repeatedly emphasized that she would strictly abide by the mold spirit energy's prohibition against intra-clan conflict and would unconditionally help colleagues in danger. So, if the countess's seemingly helpful actions are not to eliminate us through the hands of other mold spirit energies without actively provoking the Spirit God Realm, then could there be another possibility that the countess wants to use us to deal with her colleagues?"
Amidst the uncertainty among everyone about the plan for the next rescue operation, Judge Yan broke the silence with an uncertain tone, "Perhaps... I might have a way to determine Haoyun's location. If luck is on our side, we might even be able to establish contact with him."
"What method?" Dream Jia immediately asked eagerly.
"It's the dagger that Gogolnikyeva gave to you," Judge Yan replied.
"The dagger Countess gave to Haoyun. Just as Countess said, before I left the Fragrant Nebula, I indeed left a dagger behind. My purpose was to hope that after my colleagues entered the black hole, they would find my dagger and use it to locate me. Of course, the reason I did this is because I'm well aware that any priest entering that black hole must first pass through Countess's test before continuing their exploration inside the black hole." At this point, Judge Yan also wore a somewhat helpless expression. It seemed she had experienced Countess's eccentric hospitality.
Judge Yan continued, "Dao Lao, you should know that after my brother and I were born, Father had specially crafted a pair of light weapons for us, symbols of our identity and guardians of our lives."
"Yes, of course I know. Based on your and Haoyun's compatibility, Old Yan spent a lot of money to hire the weaponsmiths of the spiritual realms to craft two daggers—Phoenix Edge and Phoenix Thorn. Phoenix Thorn is your protective dagger, while Phoenix Edge..." Dao Lao paused, a hint of hesitation creeping into his voice, "After your brother Haoyun died in battle, Phoenix Edge became a memorial, cherished by your father. Ah!" Dao Lao stopped himself.
Judge Yan also sighed mournfully, "With Phoenix's two days, Phoenix feathers descend to bless the dust. The reason why Father gave us these two divine artifacts is to remind us of our mission as descendants of the Thirteenth District Chief Judge of the spiritual realms—to protect the peace of the upper and lower realms of the district at all costs, even at the cost of our lives, and to ensure that the protective divine power of the spiritual realms spreads to every corner of the world. Ah! My brother defended his oath with his life, but what about me? Because of a moment of impulse, I'm trapped in this black hole, unable to fulfill the oath to Father and the entire Thirteenth District."
"Don't say that. Who said being trapped here means you can't fulfill your promise? Look at the contributions you've made against the Mastanians? The efforts you've made to protect the people of the Eternal Love Star? Aren't these things also efforts to maintain the peace of the spiritual realms?" Dream Jia comforted.
Judge Yan responded to Dream Jia's comfort with a humble smile, then continued, "My Phoenix Thorn can do feather attacks. Simply put, my dagger can split into multiple daggers and attack the enemy simultaneously. In the battle with Countess Gogolnikyeva, although I injured her, this dagger also suffered severe damage."
"Later, after I reached a truce agreement with Countess Gogolnikyeva, she voluntarily helped me repair Phoenix Thorn. Then, I deliberately separated a dagger from Phoenix Thorn and entrusted it to Countess, hoping she would give this dagger to other priests who might appear in the future. One reason is that I hope the priest who gets the dagger has a chance to go back and tell Father that I am still alive; secondly, I hope the other party can use this dagger to find me and help me leave here." Judge Yan handed Phoenix Thorn to Dao Lao and Dream Jia for inspection.
"Countess actually helped you repair Phoenix Thorn?" Dao Lao carefully observed the dagger in his hand and asked in disbelief.
Dao Lao's astonishment stemmed from his understanding of the difficulty in repairing weapons like Phoenix Thorn and the strength required of the repairer. Not to mention that Countess was also a mold spirit energy, and repairing Phoenix Thorn required the divine power of the spiritual realms. How did Countess restore Phoenix Thorn so perfectly? Could it be that Countess also mastered the power of the spiritual realms? Considering his own battle armor, Dao Lao couldn't help but raise this question again, adding a hint of fear to Countess's mysterious power.
"How did Countess restore the dagger so perfectly?" As a weapon enthusiast, Dream Jia couldn't help but admire Countess's ability to restore such extraordinary items from the spiritual realms.
Judge Yan shook her head and then pointed at Dao Lao and Dream Jia with a somewhat helpless expression, "Countess is probably much stronger than we imagine. Otherwise, how else could she use another power to repair the divine artifacts of the spiritual realms so well? Not only my dagger, but she can even transform the ordinary battle armor of the Underworld Spirit Realm. Countess's strength is indeed awe-inspiring."
"But why would Countess want to help us?" Dream Jia asked again.
Judge Yan speculated, "Is it possible that Countess wants to help us so that we can come to the Eternal Love Star to deal with those Mastanians?"
"Why does she want to deal with the Mastanians? The Mastanians are now under the control of the mold spirit energy. Isn't she dismantling the stage for mold spirit energy by doing so? You don't really believe Countess's nonsense about not wanting to get involved in the meaningless battle between the spiritual realms and mold spirit energy, do you?" Dream Jia looked at Judge Yan with incomprehension.
Judge Yan shrugged, making a "of course not" gesture, then said, "Of course not. This is just my speculation. However, why did Countess send me here first, then send you here? Even if you and I entered the same black hole and met Countess by chance, do you really think Countess would want to send you here to help you find me out of goodwill?"
Dao Lao and Dream Jia both shook their heads, indicating that they certainly didn't believe Countess's words. At the same time, Dao Lao also stroked his long white beard and analyzed, "I remember Countess repeatedly emphasized that she would strictly abide by the rule that mold spirit energy prohibits inter-tribal infighting and would unconditionally help colleagues in danger. So, if Countess's seemingly helpful behavior is not to use other mold spirit energies to deal with us without actively provoking the spiritual realms, could there be another possibility that Countess wants to use us to deal with her colleagues?"