Yan Jiu said nothing, the bones of her wrists protruding from the force of her grip.
Li Ban frowned. Before he could speak, a tremendous pressure descended, instantly paralyzing him.
The black-robed Xiao Suo had already stepped to his side. Grabbing Li Ban's arm, he snatched the Self-Seeking Mirror right out of his palm.
Only then did Yan Jiu let go and retreat to the corner of the carriage.
Xiao Suo glanced at Yan Jiu, who shrank back in apparent terror.
Xiao Suo stared at him for a moment before suddenly laughing.
“Li Fu, were you worried Yan Jiu couldn't finish the task, or did you just want to steal her credit?”
Li Fu?
Deng Jun, who had been too terrified to move, turned his head to look at the Ninth Princess deep inside the carriage.
“Yan Jiu” took a deep breath and puffed out his chest. His bones popped and cracked as he shot up in height, though his face remained unchanged.
“Lord Priest, I know the Realm Emperor only kept me alive to serve as nourishment for the next Crown Prince. I ask for nothing else—I just want a way to survive.”
Li Fu’s deep voice rang out, sounding exactly as it had when he once pleaded for his ninth sister.
Though immobilized, Li Ban could still move his eyes and speak.
His gaze swept over Li Fu, and he said weakly, “This disguise ability of yours leaves absolutely no flaws on the surface.”
Even now, Li Fu maintained a humble posture toward him. “Thank you for the praise, Priest Ban. It is merely Elemental Mimicry.”
Xiao Suo nodded in satisfaction, realizing Li Fu had acted preemptively to stop Li Ban from using the Self-Seeking Mirror to call Zhu Yao and the others for help.
He pointed at Li Ban's face. “Good. Didn't you want to escape? Disguise yourself as him. Take the Nine Heavens Thunder Meteor and Shi Ming, and keep heading for the Unreturning Place.”
Wearing Yan Jiu's beautiful face, Li Fu immediately broke into a delighted smile. “Thank you, My Lord. Thank you!”
Out at the front of the carriage, Deng Jun broke into a cold sweat.
The black-robed priest hadn't mentioned him at all.
A character with no role to play was nothing more than a dead man.
Shi Ming only felt furious. Even if he was a bit dissatisfied with Li Ban's choices, how could he just watch the black-robed priest take him away?
“I'll take you down with me!” he roared. Suppressing his terror, he lunged at Xiao Suo.
But Deng Jun suddenly moved. A rope had appeared in his hands at some point, and he swiftly seized Shi Ming's wrists, binding them behind his back.
Then he yanked out the handkerchief he had used for his earlier disguise and stuffed it roughly into Shi Ming's mouth.
He shoved it in with practiced skill; Shi Ming could only let out muffled whimpers, unable to form a single clear word.
His work done, Deng Jun hurriedly bowed to Xiao Suo with an obsequious smile. “My Lord, My Lord, it's inconvenient for you to dirty your hands, so let me do it for you. I figured it out a long time ago—as long as I hold no killing intent toward Young Master Shi, no accidental deaths will occur.”
Even Xiao Suo paused in surprise before pointing at Deng Jun and bursting into laughter. “You're certainly quick on your feet. Fine, then the three of you will go to the Unreturning Place together.”
His smile faded as he glanced at the grim-faced Li Ban. Turning back to Li Fu, he said, “Remember, your only path to survival is reaching the Unreturning Place. Before the White Robe priests catch you, jump straight into the deepest part. Relying on the brief protection of the Nine Heavens Thunder Meteor, you can find a weaker minor world. There, you can rule as kings and live until old age takes you. But the Nine Heavens Thunder Meteor can only be used once. If you ever leave that minor world again, you'll fall into the Dark Side of the World.”
Li Fu listened intently, barely containing his excitement.
He knew Priest Xiao Suo was genuinely pointing out a way to survive—one where, with a bit of luck, he could even rule a minor world.
Shi Ming started whimpering and struggling again, but Deng Jun shoved him face-first into the carriage cushions, cutting him off.
Ignoring Shi Ming and Deng Jun, Xiao Suo tossed the mirror he had just snatched to Li Fu.
“With this Self-Seeking Mirror, you'll be able to handle certain situations.”
Li Fu caught the mirror and looked down at it.
In an instant, his face began to change. His bones and skin emitted tearing and squeezing sounds.
In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Li Fu's face transformed into an exact replica of Li Ban's, right down to the expression.
It was clear he had spent the past few days closely observing Li Ban's every move.
The only flaw was that he still wore Yan Jiu's clothes.
However, there were spare men's clothes in the carriage that he could change into.
Besides, as long as he pretended Li Ban was traveling incognito, he could easily explain away the absence of a priest's white robes.
Xiao Suo watched with amusement. “From today onward, you are Li Ban.”
With that, he vanished from the carriage, taking the grim but helpless Li Ban with him.
Deng Jun quietly raised his head and looked around, finding no trace of Xiao Suo or the real Li Ban.
He cautiously asked the 'Li Ban' sitting in the carriage, “Priest Ban, shall we continue our journey?”
'Li Ban,' who was currently stripping off Yan Jiu's clothes, looked up. He wore the exact same gentle smile as the real Li Ban. “You're quite perceptive. Once this task is complete, you likely won't be able to stay in the Wizard World anyway. Follow me well, and I'll give you things you could never obtain here.”
“Yes, sir.” Deng Jun felt both pleased and nervous.
He dragged Shi Ming out of the carriage, forcing the scholar to sit outside with him so as not to disturb 'Li Ban.'
In any case, Shi Ming wasn't a Spirit Practitioner. Aside from his bizarre luck, there was nothing about him that could threaten Deng Jun.
The carriage set off once more. Having changed his clothes, 'Li Ban' found the tightly wrapped Nine Heavens Thunder Meteor among the luggage.
He knew the object was dangerous, but since he had to take it with him, he pushed it into the farthest corner of the carriage.
Afterward, he pushed the carriage window open a crack and glanced outside. This time, along with novelty, his eyes were filled with excitement.
Elsewhere, the immobilized Li Ban was dragged into a tunnel by the black-robed Xiao Suo. Emerging from the passage, they entered a palace he had never seen before.
Yet its architectural style was unmistakably identical to the Imperial Palace.
Could there actually be a black-robed priest's lair hidden deep inside the Imperial Palace guarded by the White Robe priests? Right under their noses!
Li Ban felt himself being propped up. His legs moved against his will, obediently following Xiao Suo.
He stared at Xiao Suo's back, wondering exactly what this black-robed priest intended to do.
If Xiao Suo simply wanted to dig out his Wizard Embryo Fragment, there was absolutely no need to bring him back here to the Imperial Palace.
After walking a little farther, the space ahead suddenly brightened.
Rows of candle lamps illuminated a spacious palace hall.
There were few furnishings on display, leaving the solemn, majestic hall feeling rather empty.
It was so empty that Li Ban immediately spotted the Realm Emperor and the Sixth Prince, Li Zhai, sitting inside!
The Realm Emperor looked furious, while Li Zhai appeared terribly frail and dispirited.
Seeing Xiao Suo return with Li Ban, the anger on the Realm Emperor's face finally eased slightly.
He stood up and said to Xiao Suo, “I checked three times. Little Six really doesn't have the talent to nurture a fragment after all!”
Xiao Suo shrugged. “I told you that long ago.”
He let go and shoved Li Ban forward.
Utterly devoid of strength, Li Ban nearly collapsed. He only managed to right himself by bracing a hand against the floor.
Once steady, he rested his hands on his knees and looked up at the old man in front of him. “Realm Emperor, you can't possibly be ignorant of the consequences of cooperating with a black-robed priest.”
The Realm Emperor stepped forward to support him, his expression unchanging, looking for all the world as if he bore some massive unspoken grievance.
“Alas, there is no other way. My lifespan is nearing its end, yet I still see no possibility of becoming a priest. I could only take this risk. The worst-case scenario is just death anyway.”
The Realm Emperor explained this gently to Li Ban, only to immediately look up and ask a cruel question:
“Priest Xiao Suo, are you certain I can use his Wizard Embryo Fragment?”
“Naturally. The newer it is, the easier it is to adapt to. But since Li Zhai has no talent, can you find a newer priest than Li Ban right now?”
The Realm Emperor sighed helplessly. “Originally, I thought I had Li Ban as a fallback. But after Little Six failed, I started worrying again. What if I can't tame Li Ban's fragment? After all, I am not a priest.”
Xiao Suo said indifferently, “The end result of both giving up and failing is death anyway, isn't it?”
Li Ban said, “Waiting for a natural death and actively marching toward it are two entirely different things.”
Xiao Suo interrupted him. “Just enjoy your final moments. You only have about an incense stick's time left before your natural death.”
With a casual shove, he pushed Li Ban down beside Li Zhai.
“Realm Emperor, don't forget, you're the one who wanted to become a priest in the first place.” Xiao Suo's smile was somewhat chilling. “I've run myself ragged working for you. Now that we're at the final step, are you going to give up?”
As Xiao Suo's tone grew serious, the Realm Emperor immediately backpedaled in fear. “No, I have no intention of giving up.”
“Then hurry up and get ready. The Crown Prince might be confined here for forty-nine days, but if you don't show your face outside soon, people will start getting suspicious.”
The Realm Emperor hastily sat back down on his cushion.
Li Ban looked at Li Zhai beside him.
The latter looked utterly dispirited, like a man whose execution was rapidly approaching.
He asked softly, “What in the world is going on?”
Li Zhai slowly opened his eyes and gave an irrelevant answer. “It looks like we're both going to die.”
“You're dying too?”
The Realm Emperor was preparing to fuse with the Wizard Embryo Fragment.
The black-robed Xiao Suo was likely just bored while waiting, so he answered Li Ban's question for Li Zhai.
“He probably isn't in the mood to answer you. I can tell you.”
“Then I suppose I should thank you.”
“Hah.” Xiao Suo smiled again. “If having the Realm Emperor become a priest weren't more useful to me, I really would've thought you were suited to becoming a Black Robe.”
He gestured with his hands. “Once the Realm Emperor is ready, I'll dig out your Wizard Embryo Fragment first. You won't die immediately; your body's lifeforce will just slowly dissipate. During that time, you'll be able to watch our next steps.”
“Next, I will plant your fragment into Li Zhai's consciousness. Once the Blood Demon Vine matures inside Li Zhai's body, it will allow the cultivator of the seed—meaning the Realm Emperor—to be reborn through the Crown Prince's body.”
“How about it? This is a method I researched and developed myself to let someone without priestly talent become a priest. Impressive, isn't it?”
Blood Demon Vine... Rebirth through possession... It seems the old Pavilion Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion was also one of Xiao Suo's test subjects.
“Not very,” Li Ban said, looking entirely unfazed despite his impending doom, utterly past the point of caring. “Your method just kills one priest to let another take his place. It's not a way to actually add a new priest.”
Xiao Suo spread his hands and nodded in admission. “True, but that isn't my fault either. Who asked the ultimate Wizard Lord to set the rules this way? If I ever manage to meet him one day, I'll definitely make him change the rules so that everyone can become a priest.”