Uryll vigorously shook his body and said, "Rest assured! You have the ability to help the Earth worlds recover. Even if you cannot prevent their destruction, there is no need to be too saddened. After all, these two Earth worlds are just too insignificant, and you have many more choices in the future. Therefore, you should not focus on such a trivial matter. You should learn to abandon and sacrifice appropriately, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The outside world is vast—don't you have the courage to explore it?"

"Do you mean that you don't need us to give anything in return or make any exchanges to let us leave?" Haoin cautiously asked.

"Of course not. After all, you don't belong here. Moreover, the space here is too cramped. If you all stay here, it would greatly reduce my quality of life! Besides, do you know who I am? Your things are simply not worth my attention!" Uryll said somewhat disdainfully.

Then Uryll continued, "By the way, aren't you curious about the real reason why I helped you?"

"What is the reason?" Haoin asked.

"In fact, the reason Uryll was able to save us is because our bodies underwent significant changes after entering the Sea of Gestation," Heinrich answered before Uryll could speak.

"What kind of significant changes?" Haoin asked in shock, while the three began to check their bodies again.

This time, Uryll intervened before Heinrich could speak again and explained, "From the moment you fell into the Sea of Gestation, everything attached to your bodies, whether tangible or intangible attributes, was immediately destroyed and quickly broken down into energy that the Sea of Gestation could consume. As the sole designated guardian of the Dark Link plane, I had the right and ability to rescue you before you were completely swallowed by the Sea of Gestation, and while you were recovering, I reconfigured you."

Pointing his pinky at Heinrich, Uryll continued, "Through my reconfiguration, Heinrich has become the steward of this Guardian's Hall, specifically responsible for chatting with me here and guarding this hall when I am away."

Uryll sighed helplessly as he looked up and down Heinrich, whose upper half was propped up with his hands while his lower half was a heap of dry bones. "Ah, although he seems useless except for chatting, having him is better than not having anyone!"

Then he pointed his index finger at the three of them and said, "As for the reconfiguration of you three—I cannot tell you yet, as it may involve interference with the future world. What I can say is that you are now free. I mean, although you still retain the power bestowed by the World of Spirits, you have completely freed yourselves from the control of the World of Spirits."

"What? Are you saying that we are no longer priests of the World of Spirits?!" Upon hearing this news, Haoin and the others exclaimed in disbelief.

Although Haoin and the others had lost their faith in the World of Spirits upon learning its true nature, and had entertained thoughts of leaving the World of Spirits, they were still surprised to hear that they had indeed severed ties with the World of Spirits. After all, while they knew they could no longer live normally in the World of Spirits due to their loss of faith, they were now unsure about their future and thus felt lost. Unlike Summer and the others, who were determined to escape the control of the World of Spirits by all means, they now found themselves even more confused by Uryll's actions, which seemed to have thrust them into greater confusion.

Ignoring Haoin and the others, who were still shouting, Uryll continued, "Well! It's not like I wanted to do this. Due to the Sea of Gestation's unimaginable devouring power, as soon as you fell into it, all the tangible and intangible attributes attached to you were immediately destroyed and quickly decomposed into energy that it could consume. Therefore, to save your lives, I had to remove most of your attributes and use them as compensation to let you leave the Sea of Gestation."

"Then, in order to reshape your lives, I had to perform a small-scale formatting on your bodies. But don't worry too much, because I won't arbitrarily adjust your bodies based on personal preferences. Everything is done according to the rules of the Dark Link plane to ensure that you can grow independently in the future."

After listening to Uryll's explanation, Haoin and the others didn't know what to say for a while. They were feeling very complicated at the moment. On the one hand, they knew that losing their faith in the World of Spirits and breaking away from its actions had actually made them traitors in the eyes of the World of Spirits. This inevitably made them, who had once been proud of their priesthood and loyal to the World of Spirits, now feel quite despondent and helpless. From now on, the World of Spirits would become a forbidden zone for them, and all their connections with the World of Spirits would be forcibly severed. Because if they dared to trespass into the World of Spirits on their own, they would undoubtedly be ruthlessly killed by the mold energy, just like any other person.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Seeing Haoin and the others looking lost, Uryll smiled and said, "Hey! Be a little happier! Now that you are free, it means you can choose to live freely and decide for yourselves what to do!"

Furthermore, Uryll explained, "You know, the three of you now have a very high degree of freedom in your choices, because you can even choose to stay in the Dark Link plane."

"Stay in the Dark Chain Plane? How does that work?" Hearing Uryll's words, Haoran became slightly more interested.

"As the head of the Dark Chain Plane, I naturally have the ability to make you part of it! The benefit of this choice is that you not only become special observers roaming the Dark Chain Plane in my place but also receive my guidance anytime without any restrictions. This ensures you can grow here forever. As for the Divine Spirit Realm, you needn't worry. Even if they discover you hiding in the Dark Chain Plane, with their limited abilities, they won't find you, let alone capture you. Moreover, if they dare to come here to trouble you, they would violate the taboo of the Dark Chain Plane. By then, the Fragrant Nebula will take care of them."

"Then, Guardian, what if we choose to leave instead of staying?" Dao Lao asked, stroking his white beard.

"If you choose to leave, if you feel you must, I will certainly send you away. But you must think it through. Once you leave, you forfeit the chance to join the Dark Chain Plane. You will lose the right to live freely here and be marked as an outsider again. If you cannot find a way to enter the Dark Chain Plane like other outsiders, you will forever lose that possibility. Even if you manage to return here, you won't be able to stay in the Fragrant Nebula without taking protective measures as you do now. So, I sincerely hope you make your choice carefully." Uryll replied seriously.

After listening to Uryll's explanation, Haoran and his companions fell into brief contemplation. Haoran found the first option quite tempting. It was akin to ascending to immortality on the spot and leading a pure life removed from worldly troubles. The other choice meant returning to the chaotic secular world, experiencing its ups and downs once again.

Frankly speaking, Haoran preferred to stay in the Dark Chain Plane. After all, it was an opportunity coveted by many creatures, even sacred spirits like Eve, who were willing to take risks for it. However, faced with such a tempting choice, Haoran hesitated. His regional world was heading towards destruction, as was Elina's Earth world. Haoran couldn't help but ask himself: If he had the power to save both worlds and their innocent lives, would he really be willing to turn a blind eye to this disaster and live in pure bliss?

There was also Elina's situation to consider. Even though Haoran's identity as an assistant probationer chasing after priestesses had been erased by the Divine Spirit Realm, various enhancements and adventures during this time had reshaped his moral and value systems to unprecedented heights. In this situation, could Haoran, who leaned towards absolute justice, really turn a blind eye and allow Elina to carry out her evil plan, wreaking havoc in the Divine Spirit Realm and persecuting more innocent lives?

The answer was no. Even though Haoran despised the Divine Spirit Realm's practice of using its glorious façade to conceal various unjust actions, he had indeed reached his current position thanks to the blessings of the Divine Spirit Realm. So, despite his hatred, Haoran felt he should still be grateful and reciprocate. After all, many kind-hearted beings and sacred spirits lived in the Divine Spirit Realm. Haoran cursed the Divine Spirit Realm for deserving punishment, but he never wanted to see those kind souls become victims of the Divine Spirit Realm's misdeeds.

Thinking of this, Haoran hesitated and looked at Dao Lao and Dream Jia. He realized that, at some point, Dao Lao and Dream Jia had focused their gaze on him. It seemed they had entrusted the choice to Haoran, and whatever choice he made, they would give him their strongest support. This pressure made Haoran feel overwhelmed. Unable to dodge his conscience's questioning, Haoran could only smile apologetically at them. Dao Lao and Dream Jia clearly knew Haoran's decision long ago, so they didn't say much. Instead, they both stared at Haoran encouragingly, indicating they believed his choice was the best one.

With the silent support from Dao Lao and Dream Jia, Haoran took a deep breath and said, "Guardian Uryll, if we choose to leave, could you directly send us back to the base of Purification Squad P1557? Regardless, we must do our best to prevent the unnecessary destruction of both Earth worlds and stop Elina's attack on the Divine Spirit Realm. We must do everything to prevent them from harming those innocent lives."

"Ha! Go back to the base? Are you three out of your minds? With your current strength, whether it's Eve or Elina, who can you possibly defeat?" Heinrich couldn't help but sneer.

Suppressing her anger to prevent herself from spitting on this vile guy's face, Dream Jia said, "Hmph! Even if we can't win, we have to try! Didn't Uryll just say? Whether we can stop the destruction of the Earth worlds depends on our choice. So, Haoran has already made our choice on our behalf. We just need to follow our choice and we will surely find a way to stop them!"

"To be clear, can I understand this now? By making a choice, we have actually lost the protection of the Dark Chain Plane and can leave from here?" Suddenly, Dao Lao asked.