"Of course! We will do everything we can to help the people of Yongmu Star eliminate the Mold Spirit Energy and his Mastanian army. Because the reason we came here in the first place is to find your whereabouts and ensure your safe return to the City of Spirits," Master Gu responded in a firm tone.
"That's right! Finding your whereabouts and incidentally eliminating the remnants of the Mold Spirit Energy is a win-win situation! So, Chaoyue, if you need any help, just ask!" Although Dream Jia was still somewhat unhappy after their recent friction, she could distinguish between internal and external conflicts. Therefore, she also expressed her support generously.
Yan Chaoyue nodded gently to thank Master Gu and Dream Jia for their support, then continued solemnly, "Since both of you elders are so supportive of Chaoyue's work, I won't beat around the bush with you. Uncle Dao, Sister Dream, I now need the energy from your Shadow Realm Battle Armors. Specifically, I need the energy stored within your armors."
Yan Chaoyue's request caught both Master Gu and Dream Jia off guard, as they hadn't expected him to formally ask for the energy from their armors. It wasn't that these two armors were particularly precious to them, to the extent that Master Gu and Dream Jia couldn't bear to give them to Yan Chaoyue. Rather, both armors had been modified by the Countess, which made Master Gu and Dream Jia wary of any potential dangers hidden within.
Therefore, given the unknowns about these armors, Master Gu and Dream Jia naturally did not agree with Yan Chaoyue's request to extract energy from them. Moreover, the energy within both armors was already depleted, so even if they wanted Yan Chaoyue to absorb energy from the armors, where would the energy come from?
Seeing Master Gu and Dream Jia's hesitation, Yan Chaoyue continued calmly, "You don't know this, but my armor is more like a storage device, housing many functionalities, some of which are quite powerful, such as the Heavenly Canopy Shield. However, due to the Shadow Realm Battle Armor's limitations, many of the functionalities implanted by the Countess cannot be activated directly through the armor but require my mediation as a vessel of potent divine power, and my Phoenix Sting dagger for release."
"I see, that's why you have to place a dagger in between when absorbing energy from the armor," Dream Jia interjected before Yan Chaoyue could continue explaining.
Yan Chaoyue nodded and continued, "Exactly. The Phoenix Sting is my exclusive weapon and also part of my life. Not only can I use the Phoenix Sting to inflict devastating direct damage to enemies, but I can also use it as a casting tool to unleash powerful spells. It's because of this that after the Countess repaired and modified my Phoenix Sting, it became an essential medium for me to release various powerful spells stored within the armor."
"The problem now is, if I want to re-establish contact with the dagger I left with King E'er, and simultaneously maintain the stability of the Heavenly Canopy Shield, I must generate more energy to completely counteract the energy disturbances between the two celestial bodies and the suppression from the three-layer uncontrolled formation. Only then can I better pinpoint the location of King E'er's dagger, and possibly sense the dagger obtained by Lord Hao from the Countess, thus forcibly reopening the teleportation array to rescue Lord Hao as soon as possible. Of course, I am willing to take risks and activate the teleportation array again before my strength is fully restored, not only to rescue Lord Hao but also to explore the possibility of launching a large-scale counterattack against the Mastanians," Yan Chaoyue continued.
"A counterattack against the Mastanians? Chaoyue, do you have a plan to deal with them?" Master Gu's eyes lit up at the mention.
"Not yet. I've just thought of a possibility. But I can't be too sure right now, lest speaking prematurely leads to unintended consequences. In short, if I want to establish a connection with the dagger held by King E'er again and overcome the energy disturbances between the two celestial bodies, I need more energy," Yan Chaoyue answered cautiously.
"But the energy in our armors is almost depleted, and I'm afraid we can't provide you with more energy," Dream Jia said.
"Not necessarily. It seems the Countess didn't inform you about the additional features of your upgraded armors! In fact, to ensure the hidden functionalities within the armors can be activated normally, the Countess also concealed a portion of backup energy in our armors. Although this backup energy is not much, it is considerable enough for me," Yan Chaoyue explained.
Master Gu and Dream Jia were both hearing for the first time that there was backup energy hidden inside their armors. They complained about the Countess not informing them of the functionalities their armors possessed after modification, while also admiring the Countess's thorough consideration during the armor's reconstruction.
"How do you activate the hidden backup energy in the armors then?" Dream Jia asked after several unsuccessful attempts to activate it herself.
"Because I have the Phoenix Sting. That's also a special function given to the Phoenix Sting when the Countess modified it for me—to unlock any hidden functionalities within the armors. Therefore, since your armors have also been modified by the Countess, perhaps my Phoenix Sting can also activate the hidden backup energy within your armors, or even the hidden commands you discover within the armors," Yan Chaoyue speculated.
Since helping Yan Chaoyue establish contact with the dagger on Eversun Star was crucial for the planned rescue operation of Lord Hao, and Dream Jia also wanted to see if Yan Chaoyue could unlock the hidden commands in her armor, she no longer hesitated. Instead, she swiftly took off her armor and tossed it to Yan Chaoyue, saying, "In that case, we have no choice! Taking a chance is much better than doing nothing and waiting for news of Hao's death!"
Stolen novel; please report.
"Time is of the essence. Yan Chaoyue, it's up to you to quickly establish contact with the dagger on the other side! But be careful, Yan Chaoyue. Although the energy within the battle armor isn't Mold Spirit energy or any negative energy, I still find these energies somewhat peculiar," Dao Lao agreed, handing over his own battle armor to Yan Chaoyue, while reminding her once again.
"Don't worry, Uncle Dao. I'll handle it with care," Yan Chaoyue said assuredly. With a flick of her hand, she conjured two daggers and connected them to the two sets of armor in the same manner. Then, she initiated a beam of connecting energy between the two armors, lifting them apart in mid-air.
Sure enough, as Yan Chaoyue softly chanted an incantation, the surfaces of both armors began to ripple with a dark green energy akin to electrical currents. Soon, this energy flowed into Yan Chaoyue's body through the daggers. However, judging from Yan Chaoyue's visibly disappointed expression, it seemed she could only activate the backup energy hidden within Dao Lao's and her own armors, extracting it, but was unable to trigger the hidden commands discovered within the armors. It appeared that Yan Chaoyue's Phoenix Sting wasn't the key to those two instructions.
"Hey! Stop mumbling to yourself! Although your wife's situation is dire right now, it's not beyond hope. Instead of sitting here blaming yourself, why not quickly think about whether there's any other way you can help her?!" Haoyun shouted loudly, pushing the Erlan King, who sat paralyzed with his hands on his head, on the large chair, incessantly reproaching himself.
"Yes! Haoyun is right! Now is not the time to despair! Perhaps there's still a chance! Right, Haoyun?" The Erlan King rallied again under Haoyun's rebuke, looking hopefully at Haoyun.
After calming the Erlan King's emotions, Haoyun swiftly organized the wealth of information he had gleaned from the Erlan King. After pacing around several rows of wooden boxes containing bodies nearby, he sighed, "How many bodies are stored here in total? It seems you have indeed expended considerable effort on this matter!"
"Yes, indeed! These bodies were all secretly collected before the Mastanians occupied the Eternal Star. After the Mastanians took over, we had to temporarily halt our collection of deceased bodies. Instead, we assigned Tie Zhu to disguise himself as an employee of the Elveda Grand Hotel, hiding here to guard these bodies, to prevent the Mastanians from discovering them. After all, these bodies still contain a large amount of negative energy, including Mold Spirit energy emitted during attacks. These things are Mold Spirit energy's favorites. If they were to fall into the hands of the Destroyers, wouldn't it be like making a wedding dress for them?" The Erlan King explained.
Haoyun naturally understood the Erlan King's concerns, which led to another question. He asked, "I understand your concerns, but you should be aware that many of these bodies may still retain Mold Spirit energy. Although some of the Mold Spirit energy on these bodies is passive energy used for attacks, lacking autonomous consciousness, it won't actively leave after the target dies. However, the remaining Mold Spirit energy within the bodies may have split from a single Mold Spirit energy entity, specifically designed to invade the bodies of living beings, possessing characteristics of life. Moreover, this Mold Spirit energy will actively leave after the living host it is attached to dies. So, how are you controlling this part of the Mold Spirit energy within the bodies? Another point is that with so many bodies gathered here, it means there's a huge amount of negative energy. How are you ensuring that such a massive negative energy doesn't attract the enemy's attention?"
The Erlan King didn't rush to answer Haoyun's questions but instead gestured for Haoyun to follow him to a row of wooden boxes near the fireplace. He randomly selected a box and signaled Tie Zhu to open it. As Tie Zhu opened the box, a strong stench of fermentation mixed with rotting flesh instantly burst out from the box.
Haoyun had mentally prepared himself to face various bodies and the stench of death before Tie Zhu acted. However, what surprised Haoyun was that while he could indeed smell the odor of corpses, it wasn't as strong as he had imagined; instead, it was remarkably faint, almost filtered. Soon, Haoyun discovered the reason. Each body arranged in layers within the wooden boxes was tightly wrapped in thick oilcloth, which effectively suppressed the strong odor emanating from these bodies.
Different from Haoyun, who although desensitized to matters concerning corpses, still harbored an inexplicable dread, Tie Zhu inspected the dozen or so bodies closely within the box, explaining as he rubbed the oilcloth covering the bodies with his hands, "Early in the Divine War, even the Realm of the Spirits didn't know that the residual Mold Spirit energy within the bodies of the fallen mortal beings in the Lower Realms could still be reused. However, as the war progressed, the Realm of the Spirits quickly discovered this issue and proposed a simple yet effective solution. It involved tightly wrapping the bodies of fallen mortal beings with burial cloth soaked in divine energy, and then burying them uniformly in tombs with enchantments that imprisoned the divine energy. This way, the negative energy remaining in the bodies could be completely solidified within the physical bodies using the power of divine energy. After the Divine War ended, they could then concentrate on dealing with the negative energy remaining on these bodies, further eliminating the Mold Spirit energy."
"Due to the explosion during that battle, the Eternal Star lost the divine protection of the Realm of the Spirits, resulting in the weakening of the divine energy imprisonment on these burial cloths. It's precisely because of this reason that the Mastanians, hiding underground on the Eternal Star, exploited various negative energies leaked due to the failure of divine energy imprisonment. They discovered many tombs we had established for the deceased underground, extracting large amounts of negative energy and Mold Spirit energy from the bodies in these tombs, using them to replenish energy for the weakened Destroyers."
"Fortunately, the vast expanse of our Eternal Star and the numerous large tombs deeply constructed underground by us have not suffered excessively severe impacts after the great explosion, thus avoiding detection by the Mastanians. However, due to our previous gains, the Mastanians are still vigorously searching for the underground tombs we built, aiming to allow the Destroyers to obtain more negative energy from those bodies."
"Of course, because the Mastanians' reproductive capabilities were mysteriously weakened after the great explosion, coupled with their reluctance to divert too many troops from the frontlines to excavate underground tombs, and the continued effectiveness of the divine energy isolation in many tombs, their progress in finding bodies has been slow. Since we are very familiar with the location of each tomb, we naturally need to seize the time to recollect as many bodies as possible from the tombs for our use. Otherwise, the consequences could be truly unimaginable!" With this, Tie Zhu couldn't help but sigh heavily, feeling somewhat relieved.