Of course, Hao Yun had also considered what consequences would arise for the Surface System if the hidden truths of the Spirit Realm were exposed. Would the officials and saints in the Surface System react like the three of them, causing a collapse of faith in the Spirit Realm and leading to their departure? Or would they pretend nothing happened and continue living in the Spirit Realm? Perhaps it would lead to more officials and saintly resources joining the Dark Layer System? No matter what happened, the Spirit Realm would undoubtedly descend into unprecedented chaos.
But was plunging the Surface System of the Spirit Realm into chaos truly the right choice? Given the nature of the Balance Ring, could it tolerate such chaos? The answer was obviously no.
According to the information obtained from Mother Mould, the Balance Ring would absolutely not tolerate anything that disrupted the stability of the Spirit Realm. Especially when the Spirit Realm had yet to recover from the last Divine War, the Balance Ring would definitely find a way to nip such events in the bud. By then, all officials and saints who knew these truths would likely face the Balance Ring's thunderous suppression. These officials and saints would probably be purged mercilessly by the Balance Ring due to this chaos. Even the Lower World might suffer as a result, causing more creatures to endure calamities without cause.
Therefore, although exposing the truths about the Balance Ring and the Spirit Realm to the public might thoroughly disgust the Balance Ring, the cost of doing so would be immense. After all, the officials and saints in the Surface System upheld absolute justice and the highest sanctity as their life principles. They continued to live in this way and influenced more creatures in the Lower World, allowing them to continuously produce positive energy for the Spirit Realm, thereby promoting the world towards a more glorious and brilliant future.
Considering these innocent saints and creatures who harbored beautiful visions for life, Hao Yun believed the most responsible course of action was to conceal the truth from these officials and saints. Let them continue to live under the Surface System's guidance, believing that as long as they adhered to the absolute purity of justice, the entire Spirit Realm would be led by the brilliance of the Upper World, moving towards a more perfect and powerful realm. Perhaps one day, the Spirit Realm would truly grow to such heights?
Thinking this, Hao Yun couldn't help but sigh inwardly: he hoped the Spirit Realm could indeed reach such heights! He also hoped that the Balance Ring, in guiding the Spirit Realm's continuous development, would never again resort to any evil means to forcibly reset the Spirit Realm.
Master Gu noticed Hao Yun's hesitant demeanor and waved his hand broadly, saying, "Haha! I guess you three gentlemen must have experienced quite an adventure after suddenly losing contact this time, right? In my opinion, why don't you follow me back to the City of Spirits first? After the three of you have rested, we can discuss in detail about your recent experiences."
Due to Dao Lao's relationship with Master Gu, he immediately understood Master Gu's intention in saying this—to help them out of the predicament in front of the five guards of the Inspection Team. At the same time, it implied to the guards that the City of Spirits would personally oversee the matter concerning them, refusing the proposal for the Inspection Team to investigate. Therefore, Dao Lao stepped forward, grasped Master Gu's large hand, and echoed, "Haha! Master Gu is right! In that case, please lead the way, Master Gu!"
Master Gu nodded, then gestured with his hand for them to follow, while casually pointing at his temple, indicating that the five guards of the Inspection Team should receive the message. After a moment, the five officials of the Inspection Team solemnly retracted their combat aura, then split into two teams to make way for Hao Yun and the others, allowing them to approach Master Gu.
At this moment, Dream Jia, who was also astute, whispered softly, "I say, Old Gu, you must be quite aware of our situation, right? Otherwise, our appearance wouldn't have alarmed those folks from the Inspection Team! Tell me! Is your purpose in coming here to arrest us as well?"
Dream Jia naturally did not believe that Master Gu was genuinely surprised and passively driven to break off their connection with the Spirit Realm by the aggressive actions of the Sea of Gestation, which resulted in their complete separation from the Spirit Realm. As for why they had been attacked by the Sea of Gestation, it was likely that Eve and the others had already fabricated a story and informed the Spirit Realm. Hence, the Spirit Realm deemed their expulsion from the Spirit Realm a severe betrayal and dispatched soldiers from the Inspection Team to capture them.
For this reason, Dream Jia could discern Master Gu's purpose in coming here—simply to capture them in place of the Inspection Team. However, given the current situation, being taken away by Master Gu was definitely better than being captured by the Inspection Team. At least, after they arrived at the City of Spirits, they would not be in a dungeon, nor would they undergo the Inspection Team's harsh interrogation.
Scratching his greenish head, Master Gu responded in a responsible tone, "Hey! Lady Dream, you must be aware of the rules of the Spirit Realm! The three of you have truly made a big mess this time! However, considering that the three of you have rendered services to our Thirteenth Sector of the Nether Spirit Realm, especially with Judge Yan being an old friend and our Sector's envoy, Hao Yun, involved, Judge Yan managed to convince the Inspection Division to temporarily refrain from intervening and to only send a few guards to supervise our work. Anyway, regardless of the problem, let's discuss it slowly after we return to the Nether Spirit Realm!"
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Seeing Master Gu once again indicating for them to follow him, Dao Lao, though very cooperative, couldn't help but point out the chaos outside the window with a teasing tone, "Oh! Old Gu, considering how lively it is outside now, I'm quite surprised you're not concerned at all! Does this place still fall under your jurisdiction? Aren't you afraid that your cold attitude will chill the hearts of those two beautiful girls, your idols?"
Master Gu replied with a wry smile, "Alas! Everything has its own destiny! All that happens here is the result of this world's natural laws according to the Lower World. Therefore, we have no right to interfere!"
"Hmph! Such a mysterious fate, everything has its own will! This fate indeed arranges things invisibly," Dao Lao continued teasingly.
Hao Yun, with a puzzled expression, pursued, "Master Gu, is there really no way to save this Earth world?" Although Hao Yun knew Master Gu was not wrong, this Earth world's path to destruction was entirely due to the generations living here perpetuating atrocities. It was precisely for this reason that the Holy Mission's ruthless purification came upon them. Yet, Hao Yun still believed that the 13th Realm of the Shadow Spirit Realm, unaware of the truth behind all this, should not simply watch Earth's destruction unfold like this. After all, the existence of this Earth world provided considerable operational energy for the entire spirit realm. Therefore, upon hearing Master Gu's remarks, he immediately felt Master Gu's attitude was too cold-blooded and ungrateful.
Master Gu seemed to sense Hao Yun's thoughts and said with deep meaning, "Ah, there's nothing we can do. Everything here is coming to an end! We truly are powerless in this matter!"
Then, without waiting for Hao Yun to speak again, Master Gu preemptively suggested, "My friends, whatever happens, let's discuss it after we return! Regarding the disasters happening in this Earth world, I can only act impartially. I ask for your understanding, my friends. After all, even though we control this land in the Shadow Spirit Realm, there are still many things beyond our control."
Upon hearing Master Gu's words, Dao Lao raised his eyebrows. As longtime friends with Master Gu, he naturally understood the hidden meaning behind Master Gu's words at once. At the same time, from Master Gu's frequent glances behind him, he knew Master Gu wanted to quickly bring everyone back to the City of Spirits due to the crowded and mixed group here.
So, Dao Lao raised both hands to stop Hao Yun and Dream Jia from asking further questions, then deliberately spoke in a tone of helplessness and annoyance, "Ah, alright! Stop talking official talk with me here! You officials always know how to wield power when there's nothing wrong, but once a problem arises, you start thinking about clearing your names! You guys have never thought about using your authority to solve problems! Hmph! Anyway, let me make it clear first: we don't really want to leave the Spirit Realm! This whole thing was entirely accidental! Otherwise, why would we dare to openly return to the Spirit Realm like this?"
Master Gu raised his hand to signal Dao Lao not to get worked up, then said, "Haha! Dao Lao, no need to say more! We have been close friends for many years, and I've seen all of Dao Lao's character. However, whether it's an accident or a misunderstanding, everything needs detailed explanation after we return to the Shadow Spirit Realm. So now, I earnestly request the cooperation of you three adults to quickly return to the City of Spirits with me! You know, Judge Yan is waiting in the hall to welcome you three!"
As Master Gu spoke these words, he also glanced at the five soldiers of the Inspection Department. Master Gu's intention was clearly to show them that Hao Yun and the others' relationship with the 13th Realm of the Shadow Spirit Realm was extraordinary, and to assure them personally that Hao Yun and the others would not cause any trouble upon returning to the City of Spirits. He requested the soldiers of the Inspection Department not to arrest them for now, but to let him take Hao Yun and the others back to the Shadow Spirit Realm. At the same time, Master Gu also reiterated that Judge Yan would definitely give the Inspection Department a very satisfactory answer after personally interrogating Hao Yun and the others.
The main city, Spirit City, of the 13th Realm of the Shadow Spirit Realm still looked magnificent, unchanged from its old appearance. Although in the world of the Shadow Spirit Realm, most of the colors had faded away, Spirit City, a city constructed perfectly blending the ancient style of Huaxia, the magic of the immortal gods, and cutting-edge technology, still made this place appear lively like a blooming flower in a faded old photograph.
Hao Yun and the others sat solemnly in front of the long table in the Judgment Hall. Because they were very anxious at the moment, they could not even muster an appetite when faced with a table full of fine wines and dishes. Their unease naturally stemmed not from the Special Operations Team of the Inspection Department waiting outside the hall to arrest them, but because they knew that as soon as the teleportation gate back to the Spirit Realm opened, both Earth worlds would officially enter the destruction process.
More importantly, from the moment the teleportation gate opened, the Spirit Realm could be attacked by Elina at any time. Although they learned from Uryll that Elina had canceled her plan to attack Spirit City, Hao Yun and the others did not know where Elina would choose to strike next. This made Hao Yun and the others, who were now in a position of passive defense, even more uneasy.
It was unknown how much time had passed when Judge Yan returned to the hall accompanied by Master Gu. Once the two elders entered, they gestured for the guards and servants in the hall to withdraw and tightly closed the doors in all directions, not allowing anyone to enter freely. Then, the two elders sat down tiredly at one end of the long table and began to gulp down delicious wines.
After drinking several cups of fine wine in succession, Judge Yan wiped off the wine that had spilled from the corners of his mouth and said satisfiedly, "Ah! The brains of the Inspection Department are indeed stubborn! I really spent a lot of effort to finally persuade them to temporarily give up their pursuit of you and allow me to take care of you. Heh! Dao Lao, my friend, you really owe me a big favor this time!"
Dao Lao just snorted casually and then responded, "Hmph! I even acted as a bullet for you in the God War back then! We're more or less even now! By the way, Old Yan, have you found Elina's whereabouts?"
Judge Yan replied with a complicated expression, shaking his head, "Not yet. But I have already issued orders to put the entire region on high alert. At the same time, I have informed other regions of Elina's potential attack on the Spirit Realm, and they have started to strengthen surveillance of their own regions. If anyone detects any unusual circumstances, they will promptly report to each other and either arrest or directly kill her at the first opportunity."