Yan Chaozhan furrowed his brows tightly and continued, "If King Er has already become a puppet of the Mastanians, he shouldn't possess the ability to activate that dagger anymore. So, how exactly was the dagger activated?"
"When we rushed into the Royal Hall to rescue people, King Er seemed very unstable emotionally. He kept urging us to leave quickly and said he couldn't leave himself. This indicates that although King Er has been transformed into a puppet form, his consciousness still seems intact. So, could it be that King Er's appearance has only been transformed externally into a puppet form, while his mind and consciousness remain untouched by the Mastanian toxin?" Dao Lao recalled the scene when he first saw King Er. He chose to reveal this information to Yan Chaozhan only now because he hoped Yan Chaozhan would be mentally prepared to face this news.
"So— is there a possibility that, although King Er's appearance has been transformed to resemble a Mastanian puppet, his intellect remains intact? Therefore, while King Er's consciousness has not yet faded, he can still activate that dagger?" After hesitating for a moment, Dream Jia cautiously asked her question.
Yan Chaozhan tilted his head in thought, his brow furrowing deeply. "Theoretically, this should never happen. But from another theoretical perspective, it seems there could be a possibility. This is exactly the issue I wanted to discuss with both of you. The recent slowdown in the wilting trend of the Shaba flower, symbolizing King Er, somewhat corresponds to the information you provided about King Er. Could it be that King Er has not completely become a Mastanian puppet?"
Thinking to this point, Yan Chaozhan gestured "follow me" and led Dao Lao and Dream Jia out of the council hall through another archway to a semi-open terrace on the other side of the hall. There, Dao Lao and Dream Jia saw a strange ancient tree growing in the center of a spacious elliptical plaza below the terrace. The tree's roots and stems were intertwined, lacking bark and entirely flesh-colored. The ancient tree had few branches, all radiating in a radial pattern along two exceptionally thick "Y"-shaped main trunks, towering over the plaza of the Mu Xing Palace, attempting to guard the peace of the entire Mu Xing City and even the entire civilization of the Eternal Star.
"This is the central square of the Mu Xing Palace— Shaba Square. The strange ancient tree growing in the center is called the Shaba Domed Tree. The two fresh flowers growing on the branches are the Shaba flowers. I think Tie Zhu must have already introduced you to the situation of the Shaba Domed Tree. So, I won't elaborate further," Yan Chaozhan pointed to the two pink and white flowers on the ancient tree.
The Shaba flower looked like a highly plastic flower. Not only that, each Shaba flower also had eight petals of varying shapes. Some petals were as sharp as thorns, while others were round and chubby, looking cute and awkward at the same time, giving the Shaba flower a strange and uncoordinated appearance. While appreciating these two bizarre petals, Hao Yun and Dream Jia also noticed that the larger Shaba flower's five petals had large black spots growing all over them, showing signs of wilting. The smaller Shaba flower's petals, although not covered in black spots, also showed slight signs of withering on the edges.
Dao Lao and Dream Jia naturally understood that the larger Shaba flower represented King Er, while the smaller Shaba flower represented Yan Chaozhan. The current state of these two flowers corresponded to the current physical condition of the two individuals. However, because both of them were aware of King Er's current condition, they did not have many additional thoughts when they saw the larger Shaba flower representing King Er starting to decline. Instead, when they saw signs of wilting in the smaller Shaba flower representing Yan Chaozhan, they looked at Yan Chaozhan with concern.
Seeing this, Yan Chaozhan just shrugged slightly, not wanting to explain too much at this point. Instead, he continued to focus on the Shaba flower representing King Er, and said with a concerned tone, "Before you returned, we thought King Er's condition was worsening due to the increased consumption of his strength to support the protective shield against the Mastanian attacks. But now, it seems that King Er's actual condition is far worse than we expected!"
"But I still don't understand. Since King Er has been transformed into a puppet form, doesn't it mean he's already dead? But why does the situation reflected in the Shaba flower not indicate that? Moreover, how can King Er retain his original consciousness after his body has been completely taken over by the Mastanians? Could it be that he resisted the Mastanian toxin? Or did the Mastanians make a mistake during his transformation?" Hilf, who had been quietly standing by, couldn't help but ask.
"Perhaps— this has something to do with me!" Yan Chaozhan spoke softly after a moment of silence.
"Has something to do with you?" Dream Jia asked puzzledly.
"Uh— yes. Because we are married!" Yan Chaozhan's voice was noticeably quieter than the previous sentence, and his face blushed slightly unnaturally.
"Ohhh—!" Dream Jia and Dao Lao immediately understood what he meant, and responded immediately with a tone full of ups and downs. Even Hilf, who had always maintained a restrained quiet, couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh softly when she understood the complex information hidden behind Yan Chaozhan's simple reply.
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"Ahem... cough cough!" Yan Chaoyue lowered her head embarrassedly, signaling everyone not to gossip too much.
Then she continued, "After we married and enjoyed a hundred years of harmony, a portion of my divine power transferred to King El of Er, granting him certain divine abilities. These powers not only significantly optimized his physical structure but also endowed him with some innate divinity and the basic ability to use the Phoenix Spine. As a result, my own strength has been considerably weakened. This is probably the punishment imposed when a high spirit from the upper realms marries a creature from the lower realms."
Upon hearing this, Dao Lao and Dream Jia immediately turned around. They expressed that if this was the case, it would explain why King El of Er hadn't been completely transformed into a puppet by the Mastanians. More importantly, due to the formidable divine power Yan Chaoyue transferred to him, the Mastanians couldn't easily turn King El into their puppet, even with the bolstering of Mould Spirit energy, unlike how they could control ordinary beings from the lower realms.
"After all, with the help of Mould Spirit energy, the Mastanians can kill upper realm priests. However, due to the natural barrier between the physical structures of the upper and lower realms, the toxins of the Mastanians, even if they enter the body of an upper realm priest, even a normal upper realm saint, would be utterly ineffective. Moreover, they would quickly evaporate under the righteous burning power of the saint's divine strength."
"So, is this why King El of Er still maintains his sanity? But how long can he endure?" Dream Jia looked at Shaba with concern.
Yan Chaoyue shook her head in response, "Either way, it must be because King El of Er activated the dagger again. But I don't know if the reason for activating the dagger is related to Lord Hao."
"In that case, Chaoyue, can you still confirm the exact location of that dagger?" Dao Lao asked.
"I can, but it will take some time. My powers haven't fully recovered, and with the chaotic flow of black hole energy, I need some rest to accurately pinpoint the location of that dagger," Yan Chaoyue replied.
"I never expected Queen Antanilis to be the Grand Princess of the Underworld!" King El of Er sighed after hearing about Yan Chaoyue's disappearance and Hao's speculation based on two identical daggers. From King El of Er's tone, it seemed he had already accepted the fact that Queen Antanilis was Yan Chaoyue.
"When I first saw those two daggers, I only had my doubts about this speculation. But who could have thought that when I took out this dagger, they would resonate automatically. Alas! Now I don't know if Yan Chaoyue can sense the energy emanating from these two daggers!" Hao looked at the dagger placed by Tie Zhu on the candlestick, which had now completely illuminated, and his own dagger, which attempted but ultimately failed to illuminate, with great anticipation.
At this moment, King El of Er's thoughts were obviously not on the two daggers. While mechanically nodding in agreement with Hao's views, his expression was tinged with bitterness as he said, "Ai...! I am truly incompetent! The Princess has undergone so many twists and turns to come to our kingdom, yet I have not only failed to ensure her happiness but also made her suffer, toiling day and night for the rise and fall of Everlasting Love Star! Alas! I am truly ashamed! I have truly wronged the Princess!"
Seeing this, Hao hurriedly comforted him, "Hey! You mustn't think like that! Since Yan Chaoyue is willing to marry you and stand by your side to defend Everlasting Love Star, it shows that she doesn't blame you. On the contrary, it shows that she deeply loves you, willing to accompany you through hardships. After all, true feelings are revealed in adversity!"
"You don't need to feel inferior because of her identity, nor do you need to blame yourself for not taking better care of her. Dealing with the remnants of the Mould Spirit energy is our priests' duty, which Yan Chaoyue has been leading troops to execute. So, Yan Chaoyue wouldn't be angry about living with you in the midst of war; on the contrary, she should be very willing to lead you to defeat those Mastanians. Besides, no matter what, now she's your wife. You are definitely a winner in life! You know how many people envy you but can't even get started, so why so much drama? It's fake! Really, it's too fake!" Ending with a teasing tone, Hao couldn't help but jest.
"Exactly. Even if Antanilis is Yan Chaoyue, so what? Regardless of her true identity, she is my wife, the lady I love the most!" King El of Er vigorously nodded in agreement with Hao's perspective, and his face couldn't help but reveal a happy smile when he mentioned "my wife."
Hao immediately gave King El of Er a disdainful glance, indicating he didn't want to continue this topic. What time is it now? I'm still alone, trapped in the enemy's camp, uncertain of life or death! How did I end up eating dog food again? This is truly outrageous!
"Let's talk about the current situation. I guess you didn't just bring me here to have a meal, right?" Hao reorganized his thoughts and then asked straightforwardly.
"Yes," King El of Er replied frankly.
"Due to my current circumstances, many things are inconvenient to discuss openly. Therefore, if my previous actions have offended you, Lord Hao, I must ask for your understanding," King Earl said, turning to walk towards the wall and carefully admiring a large mural that covered the entire height of the wall.
Hao Yun waved his hand in response. "Don't worry, I'm not that petty. Please, tell me, what is it that you want to discuss with me? You have a history with Everlasting Star, so it's natural that the Mastanians would monitor your actions. How can you ensure our safety here?"
"Please rest assured, Lord Hao. The guards outside are the King's personal attendants. Their cold and hostile demeanor towards you is all an act to deceive others," Iron Pillar replied.
"Oh? But back at the Palace of Eternal Stars, your soldiers were ready to attack us. Are you saying that was also an act?" Hao Yun asked.
King Earl sighed bitterly. "Alas! What else could they do? The palace guards had to demonstrate their loyalty to the Mastanians and the Destroyer, Black Gate. They had no choice but to act against you, bearing the burden of being misunderstood and risking being attacked by friendly forces at any time. They did this to ensure my safety and defend our homeland, even if it meant compromising their beliefs and moral standards. If they didn't perform in such a way, they wouldn't gain the Mastanians' trust, and I wouldn't have enough reason to persuade the Destroyer not to turn them into puppets!"