"Elsie, what's going on, Lady Elsie?!" Eva, who had been bewildered all along, finally gathered the courage to ask.
In Eva's eyes, the familiar Lady Elsie had completely vanished. The Elsie standing before her now not only appeared very unfamiliar, but also exuded a powerful aura that made Eva feel a strong sense of distance and oppression. Thus, when she spoke, Eva involuntarily lowered her voice.
"Oh! My dear Eva, don't be nervous! You've done very well! So, after everything is done, you will certainly receive the rewards that belong to you." Elsie replied. Elsie's smile was still warm, but in that warmth, there was less kindness and more dignity.
Led by the two priests in black robes, Elsie walked out of the circular hall first. Haoyun and the others followed closely behind Elsie under the careful guard of other Redeemers and the Xibo people. After leaving the circular hall, they entered a spacious arched corridor. They walked up the corridor for a while and soon arrived at a larger circular hall.
This circular hall was twice as high as the previous one and had a roof that seemed to be constructed from a single untreated giant rock. In the center of this huge roof, similar mysterious runes were carved just like in the previous hall. Another similarity with the previous hall was that this more spacious hall was also supported solely by towering arched walls. Other than that, there was not a single column for support, making this hall, built completely disregarding architectural mechanics, appear even more mysteriously grand.
Of course, the most eye-catching feature in this huge hall was the semi-circular balcony on one side, designed with an entirely open and borderless style. Through this balcony, which seemed to have cut through the wall directly, everyone could see the scenery outside this huge structure. It was a mysterious space composed of dense mist in three colors: purple, red, and black. The frequent appearance of green lightning in the mist, along with the muffled thunder rolling from the layers of mist, seemed to warn people to stay away from this dangerous cloud. Otherwise, any daring intruders would be dissolved into a puddle of blood, as if thrown into a sulfuric acid pool, from flesh to soul.
"The system cannot detect the composition inside that dense fog, nor can it determine what lies outside. Moreover, the system did not detect any traces of Mold Spirits' energy in the fog outside. It seems that the Mold Spirits' energy hidden here has already surpassed the detection range of the Mold Spirit Energy Tracking System. What could this be?" Dream Jia said through the system channel.
"Yeah. Just now, I compared the data we obtained from the Fragrant Nebula with the data from the dense fog when the Destroyer initiated the Sky Phase on Eternal Yearning Star. I found that the energy concealed here is completely different from them. In fact, from the system's analysis, it seems we might not be inside a black hole right now. Apparently, the energy concealed in these mists has exceeded the cognition range of the Mold Spirit Energy Tracking System. What's going on?" Dao Lao also said in a serious tone.
"Could it be that everything happening here is artificially caused? Since the system can monitor a Mold Luck Index as high as six and a half stars here, it indicates that the Mold Spirits' energy hiding here is exceptionally powerful. So, could everything we see here be created by the Mold Spirits' energy fusion body? Could it be that everything here is an illusion created by the Countess, just like in the Fragrant Nebula?" Thinking to this point, Haoyun naturally thought of the powerful Countess.
"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Dao Lao cautiously replied. After all, even though the matter regarding the Fragrant Nebula had long been concluded, the three of them still had a lingering connection with the help the Countess had given them before. Perhaps it was because of this connection that the ever-persistent Countess had another opportunity to target them.
Dao Lao continued, "In addition, Elsie and the others are not in a hurry to attack us, which is likely because there is another hidden situation. However, now that we have come here and Elsie has revealed her true face, it means we should be getting closer to the truth. So from now on, everyone must be extra careful in their actions and try their best to find opportunities to escape while dealing with them. Regardless of how things develop, we must ensure that at least one of us can escape from here and quickly return to the Realm of All Spirits to report this matter and request support!"
Because Haoyun and the others not only discovered high-level Mold Spirits' energy here, but also found so many priests complicit with the Mold Spirits' energy, they were very clear that if they clashed head-on with these guys, they would have no chance of winning at all. Therefore, in order to ensure that they could quickly inform the Realm of All Spirits about what happened here, the three of them could only do their best to find a way to tear open an opening here to ensure that at least one of them among them could escape from here. Alternatively, even if they couldn't escape from here, they must find a way to send back information about the situation here to the Realm of All Spirits as soon as possible so that the Realm of All Spirits could dispatch troops to capture these traitors.
Thinking of this, Haoyun once again checked his communication records. So far, dozens of messages he sent to Master Gu had not been successful. Haoyun couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Perhaps this time, a miracle really needed to happen!
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"Elsa, you're finally back!" At this moment, a very pleasant female voice suddenly entered everyone's ears and redirected Haoyun and the others' attention back to the hall.
Then everyone noticed that due to their attention being drawn to the strange scenery outside, they had not noticed that the invisible barrier set in the center of this huge circular hall had been removed, revealing a circle of high-tech devices placed in the center of the hall. Moreover, in the middle of this circle of devices stood five mysterious figures, also dressed in black robes.
"Wow! How did you bring so many people back? It seems like you've gained a lot on this trip!" The mysterious person who greeted Elsie first joked pretending to be surprised.
Elsie helplessly shrugged and replied, "Do you think I wanted this?! Sigh! Don't even mention it! This mission has been nothing but trouble! Especially running into those three, why am I so unlucky to encounter them?"
"Hey! How can you be disrespectful to the three esteemed gods? They are elite arresting gods who have been on the front lines, safeguarding the peace between the upper and lower realms of the Divine Spirit Realm!" The woman in black robes immediately corrected.
Although the Bureau of Divine Spirit Realm Pursuit Office was a crucial department with many high-ranking officials, frontline agents like Dao Lao and Dream Jia were only among the higher-ranking minor gods, not to mention Haoke, whose status was still that of an intern. While their titles were impressive and respected by other gods, their tireless frontline work hardly qualified them as "elite," despite the woman in black robes seemingly praising them. However, the trio felt she was intentionally mocking them through her words.
Knowing that the woman in black robes was insincerely posturing, Dao Lao, adept at handling such situations, stepped forward with a slight bow, saying, "Haha! You flatter us, dear lady! We are merely ordinary pursuit gods. What deeds or abilities make us worthy of being called 'elite' by you?"
"I am Dao Dami, a humble pursuit god specializing in moldy spirit energy from the grassroots of the Divine Spirit Realm Pursuit Office. May I know how to address you, madam?" Dao Lao asked loudly, with neither the black-robed man nor the Xibo soldiers hindering his approach.
"Oh, so you're Lord Dao! Pleased to meet you! I am known as Glett Elsie, commonly referred to as Elder Sister Elsie. We are all priests from the Purification Department of the Divine Spirit Realm," the woman in black robes replied, stepping out from the central circle of equipment in the hall and stopping next to Elsie. She then slowly removed the large hat covering her entire face.
Dao Lao was initially surprised upon hearing the woman in black robes introduce herself, but his expression quickly turned to astonishment upon seeing her face. He had realized that the face of the woman in black robes was identical to that of Elsie standing beside her. Upon seeing the woman's appearance, Haoke, Eva, and the others couldn't help but exclaim. With her slender and tall figure, greenish face, and extremely ordinary appearance, they looked as though they were carved from the same mold. They hadn't expected that these two Elsies were actually twins!
"How do we look? Quite alike, right? You see, our clan had never given birth to twins before Elsie and I were born!" Elder Sister Elsie boasted proudly.
Then, with a bitter tone, Elder Sister Elsie added, "Of course, it was precisely because of this reason that our clan viewed us as anomalies and almost condemned us to death. Fortunately, when we were on the brink of life and death, we encountered the purification messengers from the Divine Spirit Realm, or else the consequences would have been unimaginable! Hmph! Those damn fools, it's a pity they aren't dead yet! Sigh! I just hope those parts of our clan who have always helped us are safe! Mother, sister— sigh! I hope you're doing well!"
As she spoke, Elder Sister Elsie fell into deep sorrow. Whether it was due to a sudden emotional fluctuation or her natural chattiness being triggered by the appearance of Haoke and his team, she started talking endlessly as soon as she met them. However, besides confirming her status as a priest, Haoke and his team were completely uninterested in her discussion of their own origins. After all, every creature from the lower realms promoted to a priest had their own extraordinary experiences. Some were touching, others were bizarre.
In short, because everyone had seen too many diverse pasts of the priests, they were already fatigued with such matters. Not to mention that Elder Sister Elsie was now standing against them as enemies. This made Haoke and his team not only more disinterested in her origins but also regretful in their hearts, cursing, "Heaven is blind! Why weren't you two killed by the clan back then!"
"Sister, why are you telling them all this?" Seeing that Elder Sister Elsie couldn't stop talking once she started, Elsie immediately complained. It seemed she was very displeased with Elder Sister Elsie mentioning their origins in front of others.
Elder Sister Elsie shrugged indifferently and said, "Oh well! Elina, you know Sister is a chatterbox who loves reminiscing! Besides, those guys have already heard it all a thousand times, so I shouldn't keep repeating our origins to them! Therefore, since visitors have come with difficulty, Sister naturally wants to seize the opportunity to chat!"
"Purification Department? Um... I apologize for my limited knowledge and experience. Dare I ask, madam, which department this Purification Department belongs to under?" Dao Lao interrupted before the two Elsies could argue.
Seeing that Dao Lao was more concerned about her identity rather than her origins, Elder Sister Elsie frowned slightly, a bit disappointed, then replied, "Because we are officially called the Purification Messengers, I refer to our department as the Purification Department! In fact, our department is formally known as the Sacred Mission Expansion Department."
"The Sacred Mission Expansion Department?" Dao Lao and Dream Jia repeated this name silently, both frowning slightly.
Despite the widespread malfunction of the Moldy Spirit Energy Pursuit System, which prevented the provision of relevant information on the Sacred Mission Expansion Department, Dao Lao and Dream Jia had exceptional memories. Even if they couldn't recall all the names of the Divine Spirit Realm departments, they could at least form a rough impression when someone mentioned a department's name.