Haoyun found it strange that despite the malevolent aura of Mold Spirit energy, he didn't harbor any feelings of resistance. Instead, he felt a strange sense of belonging. This feeling of belonging calmed his heart and gradually made him accept his current state, to the point where he started getting used to the malevolent aura.
Soon after, Haoyun once again saw a faint crimson light. This single-eyed crimson light resembled the eye of a predator fixated on its prey, quietly hovering in front of Haoyun, studying him intently. Although the single eye exuded a powerful sense of oppression, Haoyun met its gaze without any concern. Through this eye, Haoyun saw an endless sea of stars, stirring an impulse in him to dive into the crimson glow and swim freely within it.
After several tens of seconds of staring between Haoyun and the single eye, it slowly disappeared into darkness, and Haoyun's vision blurred again due to the overwhelming fatigue washing over him. Startled, Haoyun struggled to keep his eyes open, desperate not to slip back into sleep, as he had many questions for the single eye. However, despite his efforts, fatigue overcame him, forcing him to watch helplessly as the eye departed and he reluctantly fell back into slumber.
"Ar Yun? Ar Yun!"
Haoyun couldn't tell how long he had slept before he heard a call from the darkness once more. He shook off his weary thoughts and asked in his mind, "Ar Yun? Who's Ar Yun? Oh, right, it's me! Someone is calling me!"
With this realization, Haoyun suddenly felt his consciousness clear again. He swiftly opened his eyes, sat up abruptly, and asked in panic, "Where am I?"
"Haoyun! Calm down! Were you having a nightmare just now?" Eva quickly held Haoyun down with both hands.
"Huh! Look at this guy! Said he wouldn't sleep, but ended up sleeping through sunset!" Dream Jia, squatting on the other side of Haoyun, grumbled unhappily.
"Hoo—! I'm fine. I just had a nightmare." Haoyun sighed with relief upon confirming his return to reality. As he spoke, he skillfully moved his shoulder away from Eva's delicate hands to avoid setting off Dream Jia, who was giving him and Eva a murderous look.
Eva just smiled faintly, withdrew her arms without concern, and said, "Ah! You've just arrived in this world after all. It's normal to feel very tired due to the adjustment to the rhythm of life here, which might lead to nightmares. These are all very normal physiological reactions, so don't worry too much. Just take your time to get used to it."
After confirming that Haoyun was okay, Eva picked up a heavy rifle again and ordered, "Alright, since Haoyun is fine, let's get to work quickly! According to our calculations, the West Bo people leaving from Terleh will arrive here in about an hour and a half. So, we must set up our defenses before they arrive. Hey! Tonight is destined to be another sleepless night!"
With that, Eva hurriedly left with two soldiers.
After Eva left, Karl lightly patted Haoyun's chest and joked, "Hey! Haoyun! How come you sleep like you're dead? No matter how we called you just now, we couldn't wake you up. I thought something was wrong with you! Okay! I think from now on, we absolutely cannot sleep at the same time! Otherwise, if there's an emergency or something, the two of us sleeping like dead pigs, we'll just have to wait to die on the spot! Jia Sister and Dao Lao, if that happens, you must save us!"
"Don't worry. If such a situation really occurs, we won't leave you alone. At least, we'll place you two in a more conspicuous place to buy us more time to escape!" Dream Jia immediately responded with disdain upon hearing Karl's words.
Karl smiled wryly at Haoyun and said, "So you see, we absolutely can't sleep at the same time. That way, if we encounter danger, the awake one can carry the other and run!"
Haoyun's mind was still not completely settled, so he only smiled faintly at Dream Jia and Karl's conversation, without making much response. Seeing this, Dream Jia eased her displeasure, gave a glance to Dao Lao, and said, "Alright! Stop joking around here! Karl, let's quickly move these equipment boxes over! Otherwise, Eva that mother tiger will find an excuse to go berserk on us again!"
"Yes, Sister Jia! These equipment boxes are a bit heavy. Please be careful not to hurt your waist!" Following Dream Jia's command, Karl quickly put away his playful demeanor and turned into a humble follower, carrying a large equipment box with Dream Jia into the service building.
"Haoyun, are you okay? What happened just now?" After Dream Jia led Karl away, Dao Lao quickly asked in a low voice, taking advantage of the moment when no one else noticed and swiftly handed a bottle of HaHa Le Pure Water to Haoyun.
Haoyun drank the water in one gulp and said, "Phew! I'm fine. I just had a nightmare, a very strange one that left me with an inexplicable sense of oppression. How should I put it? This feeling is very similar to when I first resonated with Mold Spirit energy lingering in my body, or with Elina."
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Dao Lao frowned and asked, "Are you sure the Mold Spirit energy sealed in your body resonated with Elina just now? Then, can you sense her location?"
Haoyun shook his head and replied, "I'm not sure."
After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Haoyun continued, "In my dream, I seemed to sense some kind of summons, but the force or voice summoning me didn't seem like Elina's. The summoning force or voice suddenly filled all the space around me, making it impossible for me to identify its exact direction. Additionally, I felt like there was more than one person watching me in the dream. They made me feel a powerful oppression that led me to feel small and forced to accept the reality helplessly."
Hao Yun described his encounters in the dream seriously, but as he continued, his descriptions became increasingly chaotic, to the point where he found himself in a dilemma of how to proceed. Moreover, he felt that something crucial was missing from his descriptions, as if he had completely forgotten some important parts. Despite his efforts to recall the dream, he always felt a profound sense of loss.
Hao Yun continued to rack his brain trying to remember his dream, then suddenly, as if recalling something, he raised his voice on the system channel, "Right! I think I dreamed of that strange incantation again."
"Incantation?" Dao Lao and Dream Jia looked at him blankly. They had never heard Hao Yun mention any incantation before.
"Um... The incantation is probably... 'Namo something. Samyak... um... something something Zhunti. Sahā?' I've only heard it twice, both times in whispers, and it's very complex. So, I only remember these parts," Hao Yun hesitated for a while, unable to clearly recount what he had heard. The incantation continued to echo in his mind, yet he couldn't grasp its exact content no matter how hard he tried.
"What exactly did he say in that incantation?" Dream Jia, bewildered, turned to Dao Lao and asked. Dao Lao shook his head, equally clueless about what Hao Yun was talking about.
Dream Jia speculated, "Could this incantation be some kind of mysterious code implanted in your mind, causing a mental block that prevents you from remembering it once activated?"
"That's very possible," Hao Yun nodded in response.
"So, do your encounters in the dream have anything to do with Elina? Could it be true that Elina is really on Earth NX? Is everything happening here related to her?" Dream Jia pondered to herself when Hao Yun struggled to provide a clearer answer due to his blurred memory.
"I'm not sure, but I can't rule out that possibility. After all, my feelings this time in the dream are very similar to when the remnants of mold spirit energy resonated with Elina for the first time inside me. But because this time I encountered a stronger shielding force in the dream, I couldn't remember more details, so I can't give a definitive answer now," Hao Yun sighed, tapping his forehead in frustration.
Then, Hao Yun took a deep breath and said with a chill, "Ah! Also, I feel in the dream that this world here is likely not as simple as we see it. I vividly feel that outside this world in my dream, there exists an incredibly terrifying and unfathomable abyss. In that abyss, lurks a kind of power that is extremely terrifying and powerful, far more so than the divine power of the spirit realm and the mold spirit energy. Moreover, this power is extremely horrifying and poses an extreme threat. How should I put it? I feel that in front of that power, whether it's the divine power of the spirit realm, or even destroyers as powerful as those nearing the Half-Step Tianwu level, or even more mysterious figures like the Countess, they would become utterly insignificant."
After Hao Yun finished his narration, the three fell into a brief silence. Then, Dream Jia tentatively speculated, "If that power is truly as terrifying as you say, could it be that the purpose of those two mysterious individuals coming here is to deal with that potentially greater threat? Don't forget, they are also officials of the spirit realm. It's possible that the spirit realm established a secret department specifically because, besides mold spirit energy, they discovered another more powerful threat, to better deal with it. Otherwise, these two threats could form an alliance, causing even greater destructive crises within the spirit realm. Of course, my speculation assumes that those two mysterious individuals did not lie to us."
"Ah...! Perhaps, that possibility exists!" Hao Yun sighed.
If those two mysterious individuals were indeed sent to this extremely dangerous world on a mission, then what do we make of their actions in depriving him of his parents' right to life? Was it to safeguard the peace of the spirit realm, forced to make sacrifices by using his parents? If so, are they guilty? Or innocent?
In the face of such righteousness, if Hao Yun's parents voluntarily sacrificed themselves, offering their bodies to the two officials so they could better defend the spirit realm, then their sacrifice would be commendable. However, if Hao Yun's parents were forcibly conscripted by the two mysterious individuals without their consent, sacrificing their precious lives for this cause, would the actions of the mysterious individuals still be commendable? Would Hao Yun still understand?
With this, Hao Yun couldn't help but question the actions of the two mysterious individuals again. At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder, if what those two mysterious individuals said was true, and as Dream Jia speculated, they were forced to use his parents' bodies to protect the spirit realm, what would the spirit realm think about it? Would the spirit realm question the extreme actions of these individuals and impose corresponding punishments? Or would they tacitly approve of their actions? If the spirit realm were to silently approve of the actions of the mysterious individuals, how would he face the moral standards of the spirit realm? Could he still identify with the values of the spirit realm and continue to serve it faithfully? If he made the wrong choice, where would he go from here?
Seeing Hao Yun 's face turned pale because the conversation back to the mysterious individuals and his parents, Dao Lao hastily placed his hand on Hao Yun's shoulder, showing his support, and said, "Alright, alright! We have limited information at the moment, so let's not speculate randomly to avoid affecting our own state of mind. Hao Yun, you should take some time to adjust your emotions. There's still a lot of work ahead of us!"