After carefully listening to the Guardian Spirit's instructions, Haoyun and his companions followed its directions and stood less than a meter away from the swirling vortex. The Guardian Spirit began reciting an ethereal chant, initially soft but gradually intensifying. The colorful tornado before them seemed to come alive, twisting violently and emitting a fierce roar, voraciously sucking in air from all directions. To prevent being drawn in, Haoyun and his companions had to lower their centers of gravity.
"Whew! The dark energy storm from the Dark Chain Plane is indeed extraordinary! Given its suppressive force, the gateway to the Realm of Balance will surely close shortly after opening. So, gentlemen, you must seize this one opportunity!" the Guardian Spirit reiterated.
From the Guardian Spirit's somewhat breathless tone, it was evident that breaking through Elina's isolation array created using the dark energy storm to forcibly open a gate to the Realm of Balance was an immensely difficult task. Thus, Haoyun and his companions were fully focused, awaiting the Guardian Spirit's next command.
Facing the distorted face formed by the colorful tornado, and contemplating the formidable enemies they would soon confront upon entering the Realm of Balance, Haoyun's already tense heart began to race again. Perhaps due to his heightened nervousness, he subconsciously reached out and grasped Dream Jia's left hand.
Upon touching Dream Jia's hand, Haoyun's heartbeat accelerated once more. However, this time, it wasn't from the tension of facing powerful adversaries; rather, it was because he quickly sensed a response from Dream Jia. Instead of pulling away aggressively, Dream Jia willingly interlocked fingers with Haoyun.
Feeling Dream Jia's response, a warm current surged through Haoyun's heart. He turned to see Dream Jia smiling sweetly and encouragingly. Haoyun exhaled deeply, dispelling all his concerns and fears. In that moment, he felt courageous and strong again, ready to face any hardships ahead.
Just as Haoyun cleared his mind and prepared to confront their formidable foes, the Guardian Spirit suddenly commanded in a loud voice, "Now! Go in quickly!"
At the Guardian Spirit's command, the grotesque face formed within the colorful tornado dramatically opened its jaws, filled with jagged teeth, intensifying its suction of surrounding air. Despite the terrifying sight, Haoyun and his companions had no time to dwell on it. They gritted their teeth, crouched low, and with precise timing, lunged into the swirling vortex.
As the colorful energy dispersed and the Guardian Spirit gradually regained its composure, peace returned to Judge Yan's hall. Concerned, Judge Yan hurried to the Guardian Spirit and asked, "My lord, can Haoyun and the others really do it? Shouldn't we consider finding ways to support them?"
Shaking her head wearily, the Guardian Spirit replied, "Huh! Our situation in the Divine Realm has been grim ever since that divine battle. Otherwise, we wouldn't have to go to such lengths just to deal with Elina!"
"That damn moldy spirit energy! They've made our Divine Realm so unstable! I truly hope that once our divine aura is restored, we can march into the dark void and punish those irredeemable spirits! They must pay the price for the calamities they've brought upon us!" Master Gu exclaimed indignantly.
Observing the Judge Yan and Master Gu criticize the moldy spirit energy for its atrocities against the Divine Realm, the Guardian Spirit's face briefly revealed a subtle, imperceptible flash of light. After the two calmed down, she said, "Gentlemen, rest assured, the day will come when we venture into the dark void. But for now, we must focus on resolving the current troubles."
After receiving the Guardian Spirit's assurance, Judge Yan and Master Gu felt somewhat relieved. They redirected their thoughts to the present situation and cautiously asked the Guardian Spirit if she would truly honor her promise to Haoyun.
Nonchalantly, the Guardian Spirit replied, "If they manage to solve the trouble with Elina, I will naturally keep my promise."
Encouraged, Master Gu hesitated before boldly asking, "Um... my lord, if Haoyun and the others do succeed in dealing with Elina, how will you handle them then?"
Instead of immediately responding, the Guardian Spirit turned and walked slowly toward the judgment hall's exit. Along the way, she said, "I understand your intentions, but let's discuss this after they complete their mission. However, remember not to forget the bottom line of the Divine Realm. Anything that crosses that line must be sternly opposed and the responsible parties severely dealt with. Perhaps performing a heroic deed and dying in battle might be the best way for them to atone!"
The Guardian Spirit finished speaking and fell silent. As it was about to leave the Hall of Judgment, it disappeared without a trace. Judge Yan and Master Gu, after receiving the Guardian Spirit's response, looked in the direction where it had disappeared with complex emotions. For a moment, they didn't know what to do.
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Meanwhile, on the other side, Haoyun and his companions were immediately swept upward like they were riding a high-speed elevator after entering the colorful tornado. As the tornado carried them to a certain altitude, the violent winds that lifted them abruptly ceased. However, they didn't feel like they were falling; instead, they found themselves suspended in a pitch-black starry sky. Haoyun initially thought they had safely entered the Realm of Balance. However, the intense clouds of mist that emerged from the spatial gaps around them quickly made him realize they had fallen into a dangerous trap.
Soon, Haoyun felt the strong corrosive nature of the mist that appeared out of nowhere. Waves of acrid heat, filled with acidic fumes, uncontrollably invaded his body, causing him to feel completely soaked in poisonous gas from head to toe in an instant. Under the torment of the poison, Haoyun's body quickly went numb, and he could only helplessly endure as the toxic fog continued to corrode him, accompanied by relentless electric shocks coursing through him. The indescribable pain made Haoyun feel like his body was on the verge of exploding into a mist of blood at any moment.
It was then that Haoyun realized the mist attacking him was none other than the dark energy storm brought into the Realm of Balance by Elina. He also realized that they hadn't prepared for how to deal with such an assault before entering the Realm of Balance. Haoyun deeply regretted his oversight of such a crucial detail, but what good did regret do him now? Falling into these dark energy storms was akin to plunging into a sea ripe with danger, so Haoyun was keenly aware of the fate he was about to face.
However, just as Haoyun was succumbing to despair, he suddenly heard a familiar synthesized electronic voice in his mind: "Attention! System undergoing reconstruction! Attention! System reboot in progress! Attention! System successfully rebooted! Attention! Detecting connectable external modules! Attention! Connecting external modules! Attention! External module connection successful! Warning! Warning! Hostile target detected ahead! Activate protective shield immediately!"
As the electronic voice in his consciousness finished its string of commands, Haoyun immediately saw the energy surrounding his Dark Yin Spirit Armor enveloped in a silvery-gray energy with a hint of blue light. This energy quickly expanded upon appearing and soon formed a protective shield over Haoyun's body. The moment this shield separated Haoyun from the toxic fog around him, he immediately felt a warm flow injecting into his heart, rapidly expanding from deep within. During this time, the toxic gas and electric currents ravaging Haoyun's body were swiftly repelled by this powerful warm flow.
With the disappearance of the pain, Haoyun's consciousness quickly cleared. He felt his body temperature rising rapidly again, but unlike the burning sensation he felt when assaulted by the dark energy storm, the quickly rising temperature now brought him not pain but a sense of relief, accompanied by a long-lost power. No, the power Haoyun now felt was far greater than any he had ever possessed before. He was certain that the power surging from within him at this moment was not related to the divine power he had obtained under the protection of the many divine spirits.
With the dual assistance of this unprecedented power and the protective shield of the Dark Yin Spirit Armor, Haoyun completely freed himself from the dark energy storm's onslaught and regained his freedom of movement. It was at this moment that Haoyun finally felt like he was standing on solid ground.
Phew! Finally made it in! Haoyun thought with relief in his heart. But just as Haoyun began to relax, he heard another warning from the synthesized electronic voice in his mind: "Warning! Warning! Hostile target detected ahead! Target identified as Elina! Detected strength at near-subversion level!"
As the electronic voice issued its warning, Haoyun immediately saw Elina's location and relevant status information in his consciousness. It was then that Haoyun realized the electronic voice in his mind came from his Mould Spirit Energy Tracking System. However, Haoyun had no time to ponder why his system had suddenly returned to normal or why his power had rapidly increased along with its recovery. Because upon discovering Elina, Haoyun realized the dark energy storms around him were gathering immense power once more and were launching a renewed assault against him.
Not daring to linger any longer, Haoyun immediately took a bow stance, then lunged forward with a big step. Just before the dark energy storm could surround him again, Haoyun quickly broke free from the storm's final constraints on him and escaped from the area under its control. It was only then that Haoyun finally saw that he was in a vast black space.
While this place was filled with dense star maps from top to bottom and all directions, Haoyun didn't believe he was in one of the many universes within the Realm of Many Spirits, but rather felt like he was standing at the very source of the entire Realm of Many Spirits. This gave him a strange feeling, as if he could spend some time carefully observing the changes in the star maps within this space, he might have the opportunity to understand the entire structure and mystery of the Realm of Many Spirits.
Initially, based on the literal meaning of the Realm of Balance, Haoyun thought it would be a paradise-like place filled with the sounds of birds and the fragrance of flowers everywhere. This expectation led Haoyun to feel a slight sense of disappointment upon seeing the actual scene of the Realm of Balance. However, after quickly surveying the situation around him, Haoyun suppressed the urge to complain. This was because, judging from the layer of thunderclouds and mist shrouding the edge of the Realm of Balance, not only was the Realm of Balance completely sealed by the dark energy storm, but it was also constantly suffering from the intense impact of energy lightning formed by the dark energy storm. Some of these energy lightning strikes were aimed at the vast nebulae in the Realm of Balance, while others were all targeted at the massive elliptical halo located at the core of the Realm of Balance, shimmering with a mint green light. This shimmering circular halo was the creator of the Realm of Many Spirits—the Balance Ring.