Fearing the black-robed priest would track him, Li Ban deliberately chose a different direction when leaving the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. He hid until dawn before returning to meet up with Cat Girl and the others.
Fortunately, he hadn't been discovered this time.
Cat Girl was already awake when he returned to the camp.
"Did you give the item to Lady Kui?"
Yesterday, Li Ban had told Cat Girl everything that had happened to him at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.
Cat Girl had been so furious she wanted to go back and set the place on fire.
However, she still agreed with Li Ban giving the Bud Embryo to Lady Kui.
At first, Lady Kui had been nothing more than an insignificant passerby to them.
But after her dedicated medical treatments and her willingness to speak up for them, their relationship had changed.
Then, he lowered his voice and told Cat Girl about the black-robed priest taking Yan Jiu away.
Cat Girl wasn't worried about Yan Jiu.
Or rather, as an assassin, she was already used to the reality of people dying around her all the time.
She leaned back against a tree trunk, resting her hands behind her head. "When are we leaving for Yanzhou? The Assassin Hall forces in Hundred Flowers City have been exposed, and their plan to take over the Hundred Flowers Pavilion has completely failed. They won't have the energy to hunt us down again anytime soon."
After encountering the black-robed priest, Li Ban wasn't too worried about being pursued by the Assassin Hall either.
Was there any situation more dangerous than almost having his Wizard Embryo Fragment stolen?
"We'll leave after we eat, and we'll switch to a larger carriage," Li Ban told her. "I might need to rest for a long time."
Cat Girl looked at him. "Were you injured that time after all?"
She was referring to when the black-robed priest had jammed a finger into his forehead.
Li Ban raised a hand and touched the smooth space between his brows. "I wasn't injured, but I was definitely affected. I didn't expect to run into a Priest so soon. I need to speed up a few things."
Du An had clearly stated before that with his identity, he wouldn't be able to meet a Priest or a Wizard Lord, but he had ended up running into two right out of the gate.
And the latter one seemed extremely dangerous.
Not only had the black-robed priest discovered his identity, but he also possessed the ability to snatch away Wizard Embryo Fragments.
Li Ban had no idea if all Priests had this ability.
If Priests constantly fought to steal each other's Wizard Embryo Fragments, their living environment would be even harsher than that of Spirit Practitioners!
Previously, to escort Shi Ming to the Unreturning Place as quickly as possible and then take up his post at the Myriad Ancient Pagoda, he hadn't been in a rush to visit the Shadow World and consult Zhong Ye about the nature of Priests.
But now, he had to ask.
Only in the Shadow World did he have Zhong Ye—someone who had shown him goodwill and needed his help.
Li Ban and the others hit the road once more.
To avoid potential killers from the Assassin Hall, the elusive black-robed assassin with unknown motives, and the possibility of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion chasing them down, they avoided the main roads.
Instead, they traveled along rural dirt paths as much as possible.
At the same time, to facilitate his exploration of the Shadow World, Li Ban had Deng Jun buy a slightly more spacious carriage, one where he could lie down and sleep.
Once their route was set, apart from necessary bathroom breaks and treating Cat Girl's injuries, Li Ban stayed holed up in the carriage, sleeping.
Cat Girl told the other two that Li Ban needed to rest often to recover his spirit due to his previous injuries.
Shi Ming had always been carefree and didn't mind anything.
Deng Jun, having changed back into men's clothes, had completely given up any thoughts of escaping. He was already looking for a chance to pledge his loyalty to Li Ban.
Since Shi Ming adamantly refused to take him in as a lackey, Deng Jun took on all the chores, terrified of losing his usefulness.
Thus, Li Ban finally had the chance to thoroughly explore the Shadow World.
When he woke up in the Shadow World again, he could already hold basic everyday conversations with the people there.
Li Ban greeted Ah She, who was standing guard nearby, then headed out again to find food for the Iron-Eating Sword.
With the Iron-Eating Sword in hand, clearing a path was as effortless as driving a steamroller.
Therefore, the first thing Li Ban did every time he arrived in the Shadow World was replenish the sword's metal elements.
Moreover, as massive amounts of metal trash vanished, valuable buried items were revealed.
Li Ban picked up a few good items he recognized and brought them back for the people of the Ash Alliance, pleasantly surprising everyone.
This time when he woke up, the Alliance's troops were on the move.
Li Ban lay on a lounge chair fitted with wheels, pushed by Ah She, moving right behind Priest Zhong Ye.
This was the very center of the formation.
Many people saw his back as he left.
Two rifle-toting soldiers at the rear of the team whispered to each other.
"Why do you think Priest Ban leaves for a while every time he wakes up?"
"To relieve himself?"
"How come I've never seen Priest Zhong Ye do that?"
"Maybe Priest Zhong Ye is stronger, so he doesn't need to?"
"Must be nice! It's a pity the Lord Priest said it's impossible for us to ever become Priests."
"Rather than envying the two Lord Priests, you might as well envy Captain Luca. That mechanical body of his must be the absolute peak of combat power us ordinary people can reach, right?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? Captain Luca is one of our own. If it weren't to fend off Trash City's pursuers, why would he sacrifice himself for those modifications?"
The other man quickly apologized. "My mistake. Sigh, we rebel against Trash City, yet we have no choice but to use their technology to fight them."
"It's different," the first man said. "When the Ash Alliance wins, we will become the masters of the machines, not their slaves. Machines can be tools, but they cannot dictate our minds."
"Stop, stop. I can recite the Alliance's handbook too."
By the time their conversation wound down, Li Ban had returned.
Seeing his silhouette, everyone, including Priest Zhong Ye, breathed a secret sigh of relief.
They had genuinely feared Li Ban would leave and never return.
Upon returning, Li Ban went straight to Priest Zhong Ye.
"Priest Zhong Ye, there are some things I would like to ask you about."
Priest Zhong Ye nodded, then raised a hand to summon Luca.
"Luca, have the troops rest for a bit. I need to chat with Priest Ban."
Captain Luca, who stood over two meters tall, looked incredibly fierce, yet he only lowered his head in the presence of the two Priests.
"Yes," he replied, turning around and speaking in a measured voice. "Rest on the spot! First Squad, set up cover! Second Squad, take guard duty once they're done! No fires!"
He walked away as he spoke, leaving Li Ban and Priest Zhong Ye with private space to talk.
"Priest Ban, what is it you wish to ask?"
"Priest Zhong Ye, it hasn't been long since I became a Priest, so I don't truly understand our power. My thoughts are a mess right now, so I'd like to learn more about the nature of Priests from you."
Priest Zhong Ye wasn't surprised. After all, in his mind, Li Ban was just a lowest-tier Spirit Awakening Priest.
"Of course."
He agreed readily.
"Priests are powerful beings who serve the Great Wizard. Almost every world has Priests, though the vast majority of people are unaware of their existence. I don't know if you've ever heard of... the Wizard World?"
Li Ban nodded slowly. "I know of the Wizard World's reputation."
"The Wizard World possesses a considerable number of Priests. That's because the people there have an upward path to becoming a Priest. That path is their unique identity system."
"Naturally, I've never been to the Wizard World. I've only heard that those who reach the highest identity have a certain probability of giving birth to a Wizard Embryo Fragment within their consciousness. They can use these fragments to absorb the Wizard World's origin energy, spiritual rhinoceros. With spiritual rhinoceros, they can cast spells and wield various powerful elements."
Mentioning the Wizard World, Priest Zhong Ye's eyes filled with envy.
Li Ban just didn't know if Priest Zhong Ye realized that the Wizard World's technological level couldn't compare to this place at all.
Thinking about the existence of Priests and the Great Wizard, Li Ban suspected they were deliberately suppressing the technological and cultural development of the Wizard World to keep people focused on cultivation.
Of course, Li Ban didn't care about the specific reasons right now. He listened intently to Priest Zhong Ye's explanation.
"Unfortunately, our world no longer has pure spiritual rhinoceros. Priests are practically unable to cultivate. To protect ourselves, to resist the Main Brain of Trash City, we can only use other methods to obtain the power to cast spells."
Priest Zhong Ye operated a few controls on his wheelchair, and a small block with a metal plate popped up from the armrest.
"This is a High-Power Battery. We cast spells by converting electrical energy, thermal energy, and the like into spiritual rhinoceros."
"However, the conversion efficiency is extremely low, and it damages the Priest's body. Because of this, the Priests here can't enjoy the long lifespans of true Priests."
"But here, it can't be helped."
Priest Zhong Ye raised his hand and offered the High-Power Battery to him.
"You can try it."
Li Ban took the battery and held it.
So this was what it meant to use alternative energy sources in place of spiritual rhinoceros.
He wasn't a generator—
Still, Li Ban circulated his spiritual rhinoceros, attempting to absorb the energy within.
He wasn't circulating the spiritual rhinoceros inside the element, but rather his fragment.
Zhong Ye guided him from the side.
Two streams of spiritual rhinoceros first extended from within the Wizard Embryo Fragment, connecting to the battery like positive and negative poles.
Subsequently, Li Ban felt a numb, tingling sensation spread from his palm through his entire body, finally rushing into his brain.
"Eating" electricity for the first time, Li Ban gave a small shudder.
Unsurprised by Li Ban's reaction, Zhong Ye smiled, but the smile quickly vanished, returning to a somber calmness.
It was as if he could already see this healthy, strong young Priest slowly turning into a half-paralyzed cripple like himself under the torture of time.
It was cruel, yet inescapable.
"Although the High-Power Battery's conversion efficiency is low, in comparison, it is already one of the more prominent alternative energy sources, and the one that causes the least physical harm."
"A single Alliance team can only support one Priest. If there are more of us, we become easy targets for Trash City's targeted strikes—fortunately, the Alliance factions look out for each other. Our war against the Main Brain isn't completely hopeless."
Li Ban silently returned the battery to Zhong Ye, but the other man waved it off, insisting Li Ban keep it.
Not completely hopeless.
Those words didn't sound very hopeful at all.
In contrast, the people cultivating in the Wizard World were truly blessed.
Absorbing spiritual rhinoceros there was as natural as breathing, as comfortable as sleeping.
Perhaps because the topic of this world was too heavy, Priest Zhong Ye steered the conversation back to how Priests cultivated.
"To become a Priest, one must possess a Wizard Embryo Fragment. There are two ways to obtain a fragment. One is to form it yourself. This is extremely rare."
"The other is to acquire one by chance. In collapsed worlds, there is a high probability of finding shattered Wizard Embryo Fragments. If you can obtain a powerful Wizard Embryo Fragment, your cultivation progress will increase drastically."
"I hear that in the Wizard World, there are usually guides responsible for teaching new Priests. Here, we mostly grope in the dark, studying the theories left behind by our predecessors. However, we do have some basic information."