Since they couldn't travel through the sky, Li Ban, who knew Shrinking Ground to an Inch, took over navigating.
Just like the Trash Realm, there were almost no rifts on the ground here.
However, the spatial rifts in the sky were far too dense. They had been invisible in the dark earlier, but now, with the area illuminated, it was clear that rifts of varying sizes hung in the air every ten meters or so.
Some rifts even intersected, forming twisted cross shapes.
Once these rifts grew dense enough to completely merge, this small world would meet its final apocalypse.
Li Ban grabbed Huangzhi and flashed past several streets, finally arriving at the industrial zone they had spotted from high above.
After heading inside, the two searched the area and eventually found the energy storage facility.
However, the energy sources here were low-efficiency, similar to coal.
Huangzhi managed to track down a few barrels of oil by following their scent, but they couldn't even compare to the high-efficiency compound oil of the Trash Realm.
"The civilization in this world is too primitive. It looks like our harvest won't be very big this time."
Although Priest Huangzhi had determined the low level of civilization shortly after entering, he still sighed as he looked at these outdated energy sources.
"It's fine. This is just the beginning," Li Ban said, looking down as he stored away some mechanical parts and a barrel of oil.
His Cubic Heaven and Earth was only one cubic meter in size. He couldn't fit much, so he had to prioritize the most valuable items.
Priest Huangzhi's Cubic Space was twice as large as Li Ban's, but that still wasn't saying much.
Moreover, his space was already stuffed with self-defense items, leaving little room for supplies.
The two picked and chose through the loot, frowning as they moved on to another factory building.
Along the way, they encountered many gray-skinned monsters.
But these monsters couldn't even withstand a single blow from Li Ban and were easily dispatched.
Priest Huangzhi couldn't even be bothered to use spells. Just like Li Ban, he drew an energy laser sword and sliced through the monsters as easily as chopping vegetables.
They searched three more factories, but the items they scavenged were largely the same. Checking the time, they saw that nearly an hour had passed, so they quickly rushed back.
By the time they returned to the starting courtyard, the spatial rift in the sky was no longer in its original position.
Priest Huangzhi took out the Realm-Breaking Stone, which had split into two halves, and examined it carefully.
"It's that one. It actually shifted thirty meters away."
Thank goodness for the Realm-Breaking Stone.
There were seven or eight rifts hovering just above this courtyard, and the worlds visible through them were incredibly distorted. It was impossible to check them one by one to find the Trash Realm.
"Let's go." Huangzhi summoned his cloud layer again and carried Li Ban toward the high-altitude rift.
"Woli, woli!"
At this moment, a voice rang out in the darkness.
Li Ban stood on the cloud layer and looked down. He realized it was the man who had greeted them earlier in the tube-shaped apartment building.
He seemed to have mistaken Li Ban and Huangzhi for saviors. He had run out wearing a windbreaker and carrying a massive backpack.
Because the light from Li Ban and Huangzhi had attracted many monsters earlier—all of which they had subsequently killed—the man hadn't encountered any danger along the way.
He quickly ran beneath Li Ban and Huangzhi, babbling loudly in a language they couldn't understand. He jumped up and down, clearly wanting them to take him away.
Li Ban originally thought Huangzhi would ignore the person below, but to his surprise, the priest actually descended and brought the man onto the cloud.
Stepping onto the soft yet solid cloud, the man first bowed deeply to Li Ban and Huangzhi, presumably speaking words of gratitude.
Then, seeing that neither of them paid him any mind, he began to look around, though he didn't dare make any sudden movements.
Li Ban had a rough guess as to what Huangzhi wanted to do and didn't stop him.
As they rushed toward the rift, the man behind them swiftly transitioned from curiosity to sheer terror.
If they weren't already at a height of thirty meters, he likely would have jumped off without hesitation.
But now, all he could do was watch helplessly as he was dragged into a rift over ten meters long high in the sky.
He let out a scream of pure horror.
The moment they plunged into the rift, his voice vanished.
The man's expression shifted once more, this time from terror to wonder.
He looked at the dark surroundings, the distorted space, and the two composed figures in front of him. A smile gradually spread across his face.
He probably thought he was transcending worlds to achieve ascension.
After five minutes of flying, Priest Huangzhi kept adjusting their direction using the Realm-Breaking Stone.
Li Ban was secretly checking his own Realm-Breaking Stone as well.
Neither of them paid any attention to the man behind them.
Finally, the rift leading to the Trash Realm appeared abruptly in front of them.
If not for the guidance of the Realm-Breaking Stone, they couldn't be sure they would have ever found this rift in the pitch-black expanse.
"Swish!"
Without any hesitation, Huangzhi and Li Ban charged through the rift.
However, the man behind them surprisingly failed to follow them into the Trash Realm.
When Li Ban turned his head, there was nothing but empty air behind him.
But what was even more horrifying was that the man's clothes, shoes, and backpack had actually crossed over with them.
"It seems he wasn't one of the lucky ones," Priest Huangzhi said flatly as he took in the sight.
"So, it isn't as simple as being led by someone and finding the exit to enter other small worlds?" Li Ban asked.
"Many small worlds naturally repel each other. Currently, only priests can relatively safely travel between them. Aside from a small minority who, for unknown reasons, can pass through the isolation walls of different worlds, everyone else ends up stranded in the spatial gaps."
If stranded in the spatial gaps, they would probably die of thirst.
As they spoke, Priest Huangzhi brought Li Ban down to the ground.
Unlike the world on the other side, the rifts in the Trash Realm hadn't changed their positions or shapes.
Just as they had said, it was relatively stable.
"Perhaps what's stable isn't the rifts, but the small world itself."
A group of people crowded around them, asking questions with concern.
"Our harvest this time was average. I only brought back some scrap plastic mechanical parts that are rare here, along with a barrel of oil. See if you can use them."
Li Ban handed the items he had found to Luca and Ah She.
Nana glanced at the two as they carried the goods away, then continued to trail after Li Ban. "Priest Ban, is it dangerous over there? What kind of world is it? Do they have Mechanical Dogs too? Could you understand what they were saying?"
The young girl asked question after question, brimming with curiosity.
Li Ban answered her casually before turning to Priest Zhong Ye. "If another small rift appears, just have someone call my name three times."
"As long as my condition at the time allows me to wake up, I will come out."
"Alright." After hearing Li Ban's description of the other small world, Priest Zhong Ye nodded. "Fortunately, the world you encountered this time wasn't too dangerous. But you still need to be careful in the future."
"It wasn't too dangerous, but our harvest wasn't much either. The greatest gain from this trip might just be witnessing the existence of the isolation wall with my own eyes."
In the following days, the Li Ban in the Wizard World left the Capital City region and entered the equally prosperous Weizhou.
They traveled along the official roads the entire way. There were even people helping to prepare their food and accommodation; life was much better than before.
As a result, Li Ban focused most of his energy on the Shadow World.
After that, he and Priest Huangzhi visited the rift worlds two more times.
However, their luck was poor. The second trip took them to a world on the verge of collapse. Before they could even find any resource-rich areas, the two were nearly torn apart by the spatial rifts that littered the entire world.
With the experience of their second trip, they were far more cautious when entering the third small world. Yet, to their surprise, they found themselves unable to enter the third world at all.
Although it was riddled with spatial rifts, some unknown force seemed to have sealed it, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.
Thus, the two returned empty-handed once again.
"So, these rifts really aren't as useful as the normal coordinates of the Shattered Realm," Li Ban said exhaustedly as he returned to his room, ready to sleep.
Although both attempts had ended in failure, the fatigue was very real.
On their way back from the second trip, they had even encountered an unknown force field.
He and Priest Huangzhi had struggled forward as if wading through wet cement. Their surroundings only returned to normal once they approached the rift to the Trash Realm.
"Lord Priest, you've worked hard." Nana followed Li Ban into his resting room, holding a hot towel.
Li Ban wiped his face and casually asked, "How's the bullet business been lately?"
Nana's eyes lit up. "Excellent! If we didn't have to sell them discreetly, our assets would have doubled by now."
Li Ban shook his head slightly. "Assets aren't important; everyone's safety comes first."
Du An was no longer flying on his cloud layer.
Instead, he had changed into local attire, concealed his face, and was walking through streets that resembled a refugee camp.
He was currently infiltrating Trash City.
There were many neutral adventurers like him who belonged neither to the Ash Alliance nor to the Trash City mercenaries.
Although Trash City was ruled entirely by the Main Brain—where humans and other mechanical lifeforms simply worked according to their assigned tasks—it wasn't entirely closed off to non-residents.
There were quite a few humans who neither harbored the Ash Alliance's delusions of overthrowing the city's rule, nor wanted to plug a chip into the backs of their heads.
The Main Brain of Trash City didn't force every arriving human to join immediately, though it would send envoys to recruit and persuade the stronger ones.
Du An had come today to buy a secondhand vehicle so he could head to the western region.
He had confirmed that Chen Dong's divine soul was in this small world, but ever since sensing the fluctuations of Chen Dong's divine soul that first time, he hadn't managed to find a single trace.
After searching extensively until the spiritual rhinoceros in his body was completely depleted, he had no choice but to return to the Wizard World to replenish his spiritual rhinoceros first.
Now that he had returned, he was fully prepared for a war of attrition.
Chen Dong had a way to conceal his soul fluctuations, meaning he was likely aware of Du An's arrival as well.
Thus, Du An needed to use a much more covert method to hunt him down.
He had to track a special divine soul that had only recently appeared in this small world.
While browsing the dubious vehicles lining the street, Du An overheard a discussion.
"You're heading to the West District? It's not safe over there right now," a burly man leaning against a truck warned.
"That's exactly why we're going," replied two adventurers who were also looking to buy a vehicle.
The burly man pondered for a moment. "Then help me deliver something. I'll give you a twenty percent discount."
"Trojan Bullets?"
"You know about them too?" the burly man asked in surprise.
The adventurer lowered his voice. "Word has already spread among adventurers. Someone in the West District is secretly selling Trojan Bullets. They aren't very powerful, but they specifically target mechanical constructs. Rumor has it that a single shot can scrap a Mechanical Dog, and against armored soldiers, whichever part it hits breaks down. The tide of battle in the West District has already completely reversed."