"In Black Gate's mind, our homeland in the Abyssal Space, our leader Mother Mold, and our system have all become obstacles to his self-realization. So he is very eager to leave us and establish himself as a completely independent and powerful entity. What's even more terrifying is that Black Gate has grasped the ability to reabsorb the Mold Energy he split off from himself. And through this ability, he learned how to extract energy from within me. As a result, Black Gate has gradually realized a new possibility. That is, he can capture other Mold Energies, devour them, and thereby gain even greater strength," Amu Zinen explained.
Amu Zinen took a sharp breath and continued, "So now, Black Gate has an extreme idea in mind. He is trying to drain all the energy on Everlasting Star to ensure he has the power to escape from there. Then, he will start wandering in that black hole, seeking any surviving creatures or Mold Energies, and devouring them all. Until he gains the ability to leave that black hole."
"Once Black Gate gains the ability to freely traverse the black hole, he will use it as bait to attract more Mold Energies hiding in your Spirit Realm. He will devour all the Mold Energies who willingly enter the trap, to strengthen himself. When Black Gate becomes powerful enough, he will attempt to create a world of his own. If Black Gate succeeds, he will turn his sights on our Abyssal Space and attempt to devour more Mold Energy from there, until he has the strength to confront Mother Mold, or even replace her."
"Hmph! Although Black Gate's plan is extremely crazy and unrealistic, no matter how much he grows, he will never have the power to replace Mother Mold. But even so, this idea of Black Gate's has already offended Mother Mold. His malicious intentions have made Black Gate a traitor to the Abyssal Space, and he needs to face severe punishment for his wicked thoughts! That's why I must stop him; anyone who harbors ill intentions towards Mother Mold and the Abyssal Space is an enemy!"
Haoyun hadn't expected that persuading Amu Zinen to see the Destroyer as an enemy was because the Destroyer harbored ambitions to overthrow Mother Mold. But regardless, since Amu Zinen had decided to confront the Destroyer head-on, it meant that he wouldn't easily let the Destroyer access his power as before. Consequently, the Destroyer's rate of power growth would inevitably slow down, which also meant that Haoyun could hold out longer under the protection of his battle armor.
While glad that his previous words had influenced Amu Zinen, Haoyun also found the Destroyer's blind arrogance perplexing. He couldn't believe that the Destroyer, who had only recently gained some power, was already eager to target their leader. Ambition is a good thing, and Haoyun wouldn't mind if the Destroyer stirred up the Abyssal Space into chaos in the future. But Haoyun also had to admit that the Destroyer's ideas were far too impractical.
"Do you even know your current level of strength, Destroyer? You haven't even dealt with the people of Everlasting Star yet, so where do you get the courage to think about overthrowing the homeland's regime? This guy, the Destroyer, is too self-aggrandizing, isn't he?" Thinking this, Haoyun could only say that the Destroyer might have been an untrustworthy person from the beginning, had it not been for the lack of opportunity before. Otherwise, the Destroyer would have started betraying his teammates long ago!
"So what are you going to do now? I don't think you can handle the Destroyer with your current strength," Haoyun asked with some concern. At the same time, Haoyun also understood why Amu Zinen had established an encrypted channel of communication between the two of them, because he had to ensure that no one else could hear this conversation and inform the Destroyer prematurely.
"I'm well aware of my current situation. So I must find another way to deal with Black Gate. However, we must act quickly. Once there is interaction between our Mold Energies, we gain the ability to peer into each other's thoughts. Although we can shield our thoughts and prevent our colleagues from casually accessing them, when there is a significant disparity in strength between us, especially when one party is in a weakened state, our thought shielding is difficult to maintain against the other for a long time. Just now, I exploited Black Gate's contempt for my weakness to read his innermost thoughts," Amu Zinen replied.
Listening to Amu Zinen's explanation, Haoyun suddenly thought of the Mold Energies sealed within him, and it seemed that he understood why he had been able to precisely perceive Elina's escape into the black hole VOID-5173. According to Amu Zinen's recent explanation, Haoyun believed that it was because Elina was severely injured at the time, and she was unaware that there were fragments of Mold Energy belonging to her still sealed within Haoyun. Also, she needed to accept the guidance of the Countess through consciousness, which meant Elina hadn't shielded her thoughts at the time. This allowed Haoyun to resonate with the Mold Energy sealed within him and locate her whereabouts.
After quickly thinking through the reasons why the Mold Energy sealed within him resonated with Elina, Haoyun asked again, "So now that you are weakened like this, isn't the Destroyer able to read your thoughts at will?"
"Black Gate thinks so, but unfortunately, he can't do that yet. After all, I originally had strength comparable to his. Moreover, because I mainly carried out deep operations behind enemy lines during the war, I developed a more powerful method of consciousness shielding to prevent the enemy from easily extracting intelligence stored in my mind in the unfortunate event of my capture. Therefore, it's not easy for Black Gate to delve into my thoughts. Of course, as my body continues to weaken, Black Gate will sooner or later break through my mental defenses. So, we must act quickly! Cough cough cough!" Amu Zinen finished speaking and then coughed violently several times.
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"We? Do you mean you want me to help deal with the Destroyer?" Haoyun only just realized that Amu Zinen had been using "we" throughout their conversation instead of "I."
"Yes, that's right. I have no other choice. Cough, cough! For you, Black Gate is the enemy. And now, for me, Black Gate is also the enemy. So, in a sense, Black Gate has become a common enemy in our eyes. The enemy of our enemy is our friend. Therefore, I think it's fair to say that we are now mutually useful friends, right?" Amu Zinen asked.
"Got it! This guy is finally convinced!" Haoyun cheered inwardly upon hearing Amu Zinen say he would help him against the Destroyer.
However, Haoyun remained calm and said, "If you want to join forces with me against the Destroyer, I welcome it. But how should we proceed? Amu Zinen, do you have any ideas?"
Amu Zinen did not answer Haoyun's question directly. Instead, he mused to himself, "I heard your Molded Energy Pursuer can capture us? I guess that must be quite unpleasant, right?!"
"Capturing you is our job. As for whether it's painful or not, I'm not sure. But judging from the state of those Molded Energies we've captured, they have indeed suffered quite a bit during the process," Haoyun replied.
Hearing Haoyun's response, Amu Zinen hesitated and muttered to himself, "Hmm, I see! So that's how it is! I'm okay with everything else, except I'm afraid of pain! Oh no! What should I do about this? Hmph! Anyway, whether I live or die, the only difference is between pain and more pain, so why worry about dying so much? Ah! I used to think only those lowly inferior races would pray for a quick death before they die. Who would have thought that one day I would have the same thoughts towards the executioner! Hmph! This is really ironic!"
"Why are you asking this, Amu Zinen? Are you trying to get me to capture you?" Haoyun interrupted Amu Zinen's endless monologue.
"Hmph! Yes! After thinking it over, I realized this might be the best way to punish Black Gate," Amu Zinen replied helplessly.
Amu Zinen's idea was quite unexpected for Haoyun. A Molded Energy voluntarily allowing itself to be captured by the Molded Energy Pursuer of the Pantheon? If this were spoken out, neither the Pantheon's Pursuers nor the Molded Energies from the Dark Space would believe such a thing could happen, right?
"Do you really want to do this? Are you sure?" Haoyun asked uncertainly, raising his vigilance again to guard against any potential deception.
"What's wrong? Are you afraid I'll play tricks on you?" Amu Zinen asked straightforwardly upon hearing Haoyun's hesitation and vigilance.
"Of course not! I just want to make sure. Because I can't directly capture your Molded Energy. If I could, we would have taken care of the Destroyer the first time we encountered him!" Haoyun quickly explained.
"Hmph! I know that! Only if our invaded flesh actively rejects us, or directly kills our fusion body, forcing us to leave the invading body and reappear as energy, can you useless guys seize the opportunity to capture us," Amu Zinen said disdainfully. In his view, even under such restrictive conditions, Molded Energies that can still be captured are simply no different from waste.
Haoyun nodded and said, "That's right, it seems you understand our workflow quite well!"
"Hmph! Of course! Otherwise, how could we dare to risk killing our way into the realm of the Earth Shadow Spirit and try to rescue our colleagues imprisoned there?" Amu Zinen responded coldly.
"So, do you know how to release the seal that imprisons them?" Haoyun asked in surprise, but at the same time, became more cautious of Amu Zinen.
"Hmph! If we had that ability, why would we have gone to great lengths to take away the containers along with them? If it weren't for the fact that we took away those containers together, why would we have delayed for so long? Why would my team have become passive due to inconvenience during the retreat and been completely wiped out? You know, even if my actions were exposed at that time, what could have happened? How could I have ended up in this situation today? Hmph!" Amu Zinen said with annoyance.
Haoyun thought Amu Zinen's words seemed somewhat reasonable, but he was hesitant to fully believe Amu Zinen's words and did not immediately respond. After all, Haoyun currently had sealed some Molded Energies within him. According to Master Gu's teachings, although these Molded Energies couldn't harm him now, having Molded Energies stored within oneself was never a good thing. Therefore, Haoyun was very worried that after he collected the Molded Energy storage device from Amu Zinen, not only could he use some force to forcibly escape, but he could also take advantage of the Molded Energy sealed within himself to launch an attack.
"Hey! I can't hold on much longer! Black Gate will soon realize that he can break through my consciousness barrier and read my thoughts. By then, our plan will be completely exposed, and we won't be able to counterattack against him in secret anymore! So, does my plan work or not? Hurry up and give me a clear answer! If it doesn't work, I'll have to think of another way quickly. Anyway, from now on, I absolutely cannot let Black Gate get my power!" Seeing that Haoyun had not responded for a long time, Amu Zinen urged him impatiently.
Although Haoyun had many concerns, he understood that in the current situation, it was impossible for him to find a way to deal with the Destroyer. Therefore, if he wanted to try to confront the Destroyer, Haoyun had no choice but to grit his teeth and accept Amu Zinen's proposal. So, Haoyun simply bit the bullet and said, "Alright! Let's do it your way! But let me make it clear upfront, if you dare to play any tricks, I'll gladly make sure you regret it!"
"No problem!" Amu Zinen replied readily.
Then Haoyun heard Amu Zinen taking deep breaths. Even though Haoyun and Amu Zinen were in different prison cells, Haoyun could feel with each inhale from Amu Zinen, the air around him was being drawn out of his cell by a powerful suction force. Not only that, even the thorn cage that had merged with Haoyun's cell showed signs of loosening under this immense suction force.