Priest Chu Zhan was well aware of the consequences of his choice, yet he remained resolute. "I am the priest charged with watching over the Capital City. Resolving this is my responsibility."
With that, he reached out without hesitation, moving to grasp the half-voidified Blood Demon Vine.
Priest Hunyou caught Chu Zhan's wrist. "No. We both belong to the Imperial Dynasty Faction. You may bear responsibility for this, but I cannot walk away either. If someone must use their Cubic Heaven and Earth to contain the void, let it be me."
Chu Zhan smiled bitterly. "Priest Hunyou, this Blood Demon Vine is colossal. Your Cubic Heaven and Earth cannot contain it."
Hunyou was a 6th Tier Star Glow Priest, one Tier below Chu Zhan.
That single Tier meant his Cubic Heaven and Earth was only half the size of Chu Zhan's, making it truly too small to hold the Blood Demon Vine before them.
"If Priest Hunyou's space isn't large enough, add ours!"
Two of the other three priests stepped forward at once. Only one remained silent, teeth clenched.
Hunyou glanced back. "Then Priest Shen and I—"
Chu Zhan released the full pressure of a 7th Tier Priest, instantly suppressing the other three. "We have no time to argue! I said I will handle it, and that is final."
Turning back, he moved to draw in the black-and-white mist.
"Priest Zhan, can't we temporarily fuse it with another superior element?"
Li Ban noticed it was the last priest, Chao Lu, speaking up this time.
'If a superior element can work...' Li Ban suddenly remembered that he had superior elements himself!
In fact, he had two unfused ones.
In a crisis like this, his own Cubic Heaven and Earth was far too small to even serve as a supplement. Besides, Priest Zhu Yao had pulled him back to keep him from getting involved.
At the end of the day, this was still a matter for the Imperial Dynasty Priests. The two of them had already done the other side a tremendous favor. No matter how desperate Chu Zhan and his cohort were, they would never let two priests from the Myriad Ancient Pagoda faction sacrifice their futures.
But if it only meant parting with a superior element... Li Ban felt that trading one superior element for the gratitude of several Imperial Dynasty Priests was an exceptional bargain!
"It is not that simple," Zhu Yao murmured to him, aware that he held the Nine Heavens Thunder Meteor.
At the same time, Priest Chu Zhan was explaining to Priest Chao Lu, "Ordinary superior elements won't work. It must be a plant-based superior element to be compatible with the Blood Demon Vine. And it must be large enough in volume."
Priest Zhu Yao continued, "Doing this only delays the collapse of the Mutated Element, giving us time to safely transport it to Nihility State. Of course, it could halt the voidification altogether, but the odds of that are practically nonexistent—no more likely than a spirit practitioner suddenly becoming a Priest."
Priest Hunyou started, then smiled wryly. "Besides, the fire at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion decimated our plant-based elements. There are no unfused superior plant-based elements left anywhere in the Capital City. Even if there are some elsewhere, we wouldn't have time to retrieve them."
Priest Chao Lu, a female priest with a very young-looking face, bit her lip and looked ready to cry upon realizing her proposal had no hope of success.
Hearing how many conditions were involved, Li Ban also sighed.
Priest Chu Zhan had looked out for him considerably during this time, and he did not want to see the man permanently stranded at Dark Moon, with no further possibility of advancement.
"Too bad my Cyan Silk Algae is still so small. It only just sprouted, so the volume isn't enough..."
Li Ban's voice echoed through the dead silence of Zichen Hall.
He was still shaking his head with a sigh, but when he looked up, he was startled by several pairs of blazing eyes fixed right on him.
"You have... Cyan Silk Algae that has already sprouted?" Priest Chu Zhan's voice turned breathy, as though he were in a dream.
Realizing his Cyan Silk Algae might actually be of use, Li Ban immediately retrieved it from his Cubic Heaven and Earth.
Although its growth had been accelerated within the Cubic Heaven and Earth, two months was still too short a time compared to the Cyan Silk Algae's ten-year initial maturation period.
Right now, the Cyan Silk Algae had only pushed forth a single curled sprout, showing no signs of unfurling.
"Can something like this be used?" Li Ban asked quietly.
"It can! It works!" Priest Chu Zhan instantly flashed to appear directly in front of Li Ban.
Without a word, Li Ban handed the Cyan Silk Algae over to Chu Zhan.
With no time to explain, Chu Zhan simply gave Li Ban a deeply grateful look before flashing back to the Blood Demon Vine.
This time, Priest Hunyou and Priest Zhu Yao both moved over to stand on either side of him.
The three priests appeared to be executing a technique together.
Behind them, Li Ban and the others watched in eager anticipation.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, only a tenth of the Blood Demon Vine had not yet turned into mist.
Suddenly, the Cyan Silk Algae in Priest Chu Zhan's hands began to swell.
From behind, Li Ban watched as the Cyan Silk Algae, initially hidden by the three priests' silhouettes, rapidly came into view and grew larger by the second.
It kept growing and growing, until it occupied nearly half the space of Zichen Hall.
It was approaching a third of the size of the massive Cyan Silk Algae colony Li Ban had seen in the River of Forgetfulness.
Priest Zhu Yao and Priest Hunyou then stepped back to wait beside Li Ban.
At that moment, the colossal Cyan Silk Algae sharply contracted, tightly enveloping the mist and squeezing inward, shrinking bit by bit.
What followed was a quiet wait.
No one spoke.
Even Li Zhai, whose fingers twitched as he began to stir, was knocked unconscious by a casual, unblinking tap from Priest Hunyou's finger.
After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the Cyan Silk Algae shrank further, compressing into a tight sphere.
During this time, not a single wisp of black-and-white mist escaped.
The mass of Cyan Silk Algae pulsed like a heart, throbbing intermittently before falling quiet again.
"It's done!" Overjoyed, Priest Chu Zhan stepped forward and stored the Cyan Silk Algae.
He turned and strode over to Li Ban, gripping him by the arms. "Priest Ban! Little brother! I will definitely compensate you with an even better superior element in the future!"
Priest Hunyou also let out a hearty laugh. "Ah, no need for you to do that. When I return to Yingzhou, I'll find a plant-based superior element for Brother Ban myself."
Hearing Priest Hunyou mention "returning" to Yingzhou piqued Li Ban's interest, though it was not convenient to bring it up here.
The other priests stepped up to thank Li Ban as well.
Normally, a superior element was just that. Though the priests might want it, it would amount to a trade at most, rather than such a massive personal favor.
But this situation was unique. A single sprout of Cyan Silk Algae had saved a 7th Tier Priest or two 6th Tier Priests, hence everyone's immense gratitude.
"We'll both give him one!" Chu Zhan waved his hand broadly.
With the greatest crisis resolved, Li Ban finally had the time to check on Li Zhai's condition.
The two of them could be said to have weathered adversity together. What was rare was that even when Li Zhai did not know Li Ban had a trump card left, he had still been willing to buy Li Ban a fighting chance.
Although Priest You had extracted the lethal Blood Demon Vine element from him, Li Zhai's earlier actions had left him covered in wounds from head to toe.
Priest You had preserved his life, but had lacked the time to treat his injuries.
Li Ban directly used Flesh on White Bones to mend all of Li Zhai's external wounds.
With his wounds healed and the pain lessening, Li Zhai faintly came around once more.
"Li Ban... am I dead?" the newly awakened Li Zhai asked, evidently still in a haze.
Li Ban smiled. "Not dead. Several priests hurried over and saved us."
Li Ban's actions finally reminded the others of Li Zhai and the unconscious Realm Emperor.
They asked Li Ban about what had happened earlier and conferred among themselves.
"This Li Zhai understands priorities and knows the rules," Priest Hunyou remarked. "I believe he can be the next Realm Emperor."
While saving Li Zhai, he had realized the young man had unleashed the Blood Demon Vine regardless of the consequences, under the conviction that he was doomed, in order to buy Li Ban time.
And since Li Ban had just done them a monumental favor, Priest Hunyou's impression of Li Zhai was now very favorable as well.
"The trouble is that having him become the Realm Emperor will likely take more than a decade." Priest Chu Zhan also had his concerns. "He hasn't even fused an eighth element yet."
Given the Realm Emperor's current state, he was unlikely to last more than a few years. How were they to manage the blank period in between?
Although today's disturbance had been substantial, for the stability of the court and the Nine Provinces, the Realm Emperor's suicidal collusion with a black-robed priest could never be exposed.
Priest Zhu Yao suddenly spoke up, putting forth a suggestion none of them had expected.
"Priest Chu Zhan, you cannot escape blame for the Realm Emperor's incident. Why don't you serve as the Realm Emperor, and pass it to Li Zhai once he can inherit the 9th Tier identity?"
Her words left the priests stunned.
Only Li Ban stroked his chin, finding Priest Zhu Yao's proposal rather interesting.
He didn't condone the Realm Emperor's choice, but he could understand his feelings.
Even as the lord of the Nine Provinces, he was still constrained at every turn by the Six Ministries.
On top of that, several grand figures loomed above him. The Realm Emperor could clearly see the power of higher Tiers, yet could never break through that boundary. Such suppressed desires were bound to explode one day.
If this issue went unresolved, future Realm Emperors would face the exact same problem, and it was hard to guarantee how many could keep their sanity from crumbling.
If Priest Chu Zhan temporarily took on the guise of the Realm Emperor, he might come to understand the Realm Emperor's feelings.
Even if he only grasped a fraction of it, it would make Li Zhai's future days far easier.
The Imperial Dynasty Priests deliberated for a moment and actually agreed to Priest Zhu Yao's proposal.
Thus, solutions were found for both the Blood Demon Vine and the Realm Emperor's issue.
At long last, they finally emerged from Zichen Hall.
Once outside, Li Ban glanced left and right, and quickly located what he sought by following his sense.
"Are you going to track down your carriage?" Zhu Yao asked from beside him.
"I need to pick someone up first," Li Ban said, keeping his eyes locked on the direction of his sense.
Zhu Yao followed his gaze and let out an understanding "Oh." "I'll go retrieve your carriage for you. You go on."
"Thank you, Priest Yao," Li Ban said with a smile.
The next second, his figure vanished from the spot.
Cat Girl was hiding in a large tree within the Imperial Palace, her eyes narrowed as she watched the distant rows of palaces. The little silver bird in her hand was practically being squeezed flat.
Suddenly, her ears twitched, and she looked up in alarm.
Directly above her head, Li Ban was in free fall, dropping straight down.
Seeing the falling figure, the corners of Cat Girl's mouth first curled up, but she then hurriedly thrust out her hands to catch him in a panic.
Instead, Li Ban's figure flashed, and the next moment he appeared by her side.
Cat Girl's reflexes were extremely sharp. Twisting her waist to spin around, her still-outstretched hands ended up wrapping straight around Li Ban.
Cat Girl froze, but just as she was about to let go, Li Ban suddenly hugged her back.
Her face instantly turned bright red.
The hands she had modestly been about to withdraw instantly clamped down even tighter.