Li Ban opened a cola and took a sip, easing the tightness in his chest.
Although he had deliberately shown weakness just now to test the Director's reaction, he had to admit that ever since falling into the Recycling Station, he had lived under the man's observation.
But considering the Director had been here for thousands of years, it was only normal for a prepared mind observing an unprepared one to possess this kind of capability.
Moreover, wearing the Director's legs did not mean Li Ban would be at a disadvantage within the brain domain construction platform.
Back in the Leader's brain domain construction platform, Li Ban had been in an even tougher spot. Du An had deliberately released the Virus Element in there, yet his Star River had still helped him escape the platform.
Therefore, Li Ban was not worried about being restrained and controlled within the Director's brain domain construction platform.
If he truly drew upon the power of his Star River universe, he could even turn the tables and destroy the platform.
Thinking of it this way, the Director's advance observation and probing made sense.
After all, the one truly taking a risk was the Director.
"Of course," the Director readily agreed, raising his glass of water in a mock toast.
Li Ban set down his cola and turned to serious business. "I gained quite a lot from this trip to Heaven Beyond Heaven—"
He shared his entire experience with the Director, including how he could transform into a nebula within the spinning water pillar in Heaven Beyond Heaven, and how he had heard Shi Ming's voice in the suspected intersection between Heaven Beyond Heaven and the Unreturning Place, leading to his acquisition of the Spatial Guidance Art.
He hid absolutely nothing from the Director.
Having witnessed the Director's methods, he had even more faith in the man's strength, believing he could leave the Recycling Station with his help.
"The Spatial Guidance Art..." The Director indeed knew of this technique. He frowned in deep thought, pondering why the outside world would give it to Li Ban.
Li Ban voiced his own perspective first.
"I think we can look at this in two scenarios. One: they know I'm in the Recycling Station. Two: they don't."
"In the second scenario, their motive for giving me this technique is very hard to grasp. This is an art that even Dark Moon Priests find difficult to master. If I learn it, I can connect my current space with the space of the Wizard World, returning straight to the Wizard World from somewhere in the Dark Side of the World."
Although mastering this technique was difficult, they probably thought learning it was easier than Li Ban trying to escape the Dark Side of the World by himself.
"In the first scenario, if they know I'm in the Recycling Station, the Station just so happens to be a space imprisoned by a Great Wizard. The power of a Priest is utterly incapable of connecting the two spaces. So, their intention in giving me this art is most likely for me to connect two specific spaces within the Recycling Station, thereby helping me escape. My current guess is connecting Heaven Beyond Heaven with the Sea of Monsters."
After listening to Li Ban's guess, the Director continued to ponder, not jumping to a conclusion right away.
Fortunately, within the brain domain construction platform, they had ample time to think and discuss.
A moment later, the Director spoke. "Whether they know you are in the Recycling Station or not, this technique can be utilized."
"Even if you can't learn it for now, you can have other Priests cast it. There are still a few Dark Moon Priests here."
Li Ban nodded. This technique really didn't require him to cast it personally.
That way, he wouldn't have to spend years learning it.
"Right, the person calling out to me in Heaven Beyond Heaven seemed to be Shi Ming. Do you know him?"
"Shi Ming?" The Director gently shook his head.
"He has another identity. He is the severed mortal corpse of Great Wizard Ming. You should know Shaman Ming, right?"
After all, Shaman Ming knew of the Director and seemed to regard him highly.
Sure enough, the Director nodded this time. "Shaman Ming entered the Recycling Station once."
Great Wizards all had the ability to enter and leave the Recycling Station.
"Though Great Wizards can enter, the Wizard Lord forbids them from doing so, nor does he allow them to help the people here. Therefore, even if the vast majority of people in the Recycling Station know of the Great Wizards' existence, they've never seen them."
"Shaman Ming—he ascended from being a black-robed priest. So, he actually ran into the Recycling Station back then to hide from the Wizard Lord. Not long after we spoke, he was captured and locked away by the Wizard Lord."
"Didn't they say there is no distinction between black and white once you become a Great Wizard? Why was Shaman Ming captured by the Wizard Lord?"
"Because in the past, he too wanted to break the progress cycle of the Wizard World. However, he has probably given up by now. You mentioned he was the one who sent you in here. If he were still persisting, he would have had you pass a message to me."
The lack of new communication was a deliberate avoidance.
Although Shaman Ming had backed down, the Director felt no regret.
Going by Li Ban's description, the man was highly likely sealed away by the Wizard Lord right now.
As long as he still wanted to break free, he would eventually walk the same path as them.
Thinking of how the once high-spirited Shaman Ming—who had bypassed the 9th Tier Divine Offspring Priest stage to ascend—now had to hide his edge, Li Ban couldn't help but inwardly lament the unpredictability of the world.
"I used to think black-robed priests were just a bunch of bandits. But looking at it now, even though they remain detestable, it's not like the Wizard World doesn't have its own secrets. Just like Zhu Yao said, the Wizard World cannot accept a massive number of raw souls, yet the Nine Heavens Sea is constantly invaded by them. Why exactly is this world in this state, with these rules?"
"Because the Wizard World itself is a patched-together new world. It lacks a wizard embryo as the foundation of its creation. Shaman Ming told me this," the Director said softly. "In other places, there is absolutely no distinction between white and black robes. Priests frequently slaughter each other over ascension. But that Wizard Lord of the Wizard World cordoned off many minor worlds to form the current Wizard World, and decreed that Priests are forbidden from killing one another."
The Director gave a light chuckle. "Actually, at that time, many Priests and Great Wizards were grateful to that Wizard Lord. After all, he established a peaceful kingdom where everyone engaged in healthy competition under the rules. Because of that, the number of Priests and Great Wizards rapidly multiplied. Whenever outside attacks occurred, everyone protected the Wizard World together. If nothing unexpected had happened, the Wizard World would have eventually become a powerful, stable realm."
"Except, this thriving world was suddenly brought to a halt one day. Through his power alone, that Wizard Lord rewound the world's timeline back to a certain day in history. As for the future that had already been generated, he deleted it and threw it into a separate space he carved out in the Dark Side of the World—which is the Recycling Station."
"That Wizard Lord is the 'Ultimate Wizard Lord' Xiao Suo mentioned, right? Why on earth did he do that?"
"I have a guess, but because it's completely baseless, I can't tell you for now, lest it influence your future judgment. Only after you leave the Recycling Station and become a Wizard Lord yourself will it be the right time to discuss this topic."
Li Ban frowned. He disliked it when people left their words half-spoken.
But he firmly believed the Director had his reasons.
Some things simply couldn't be known when one's strength was insufficient.
Especially since Li Ban wanted to continue his ascension and had to work hard on cultivating his state of mind.
He nodded with some difficulty. "I hope you won't forget this when the time comes."
"As long as I still exist."
With no way to continue discussing the Ultimate Wizard Lord, the Director brought up Shaman Ming again.
"You said the Spatial Guidance Art was given to you by Shaman Ming's mortal corpse. I have a thought—perhaps this was also Shaman Ming's intention."
"He can still contact his mortal corpse?"
"Of course. He should be the only Great Wizard in the Wizard World whose mortal corpse hasn't been destroyed. A mortal corpse is the shed skin of a Great Wizard, and also their weakness; therefore, the connection between them is extremely tight. It's just that Shaman Ming is currently sealed, so he doesn't contact his mortal corpse under normal circumstances."
Li Ban pondered. "If this technique is what Shaman Ming wanted to pass on to me, he knows the situation in the Recycling Station. He definitely wouldn't give me this information for no reason."
Yet, Li Ban was still a bit puzzled.
The man was the one who had sent him into the Recycling Station. If he had information to share, why couldn't he have told him before he entered the Recycling Station?
Unless the seal on Shaman Ming didn't just restrict his physical freedom, but also his speech.
Which meant Shaman Ming could only impart crucial information to him through hints?
"Regardless, we definitely have to utilize the Spatial Guidance Art. But Li Ban, beyond that, no matter what other uses we come up with, I hope you keep this hint in mind at all times. Especially when encountering space-related matters."
Li Ban nodded in understanding.
Because this hint was very vague, they could only make deductions based on their own circumstances and knowledge.
However, due to the information gap, their deductions could very well be wrong.
He had to remain vigilant at all times, constantly analyzing the true meaning behind the Spatial Guidance Art based on whatever happened in the future.
"Alright, then the first thing we need to do now is enter the Experimental Capsule and verify your theory regarding the Spatial Guidance Art."
Li Ban stood up and walked toward Experimental Capsule 444.
With the Director's information assistance and the simulation verification of the brain domain construction platform, they could easily determine the feasibility of their ideas.
After spending another "few decades" in the Experimental Capsule, Li Ban successfully pushed his approach distance to the continental rift down to twenty meters.
But those final twenty meters were like an uncrossable chasm.
—
Because two monsters with the strength of Solar Priests had unexpectedly appeared there.
And to make matters worse, one of them happened to be Priest Qian Que, whom Li Ban recognized.
Li Ban walked out of the sixth basement level's laboratory looking somewhat exhausted.
"The closer I get to the rift, the more powerful the monsters drawn to it. Going by our previous plans, we rarely bumped into Priest Qian Que. Yet after using the Spatial Guidance Art and the Spatial Teleportation Portal simultaneously, Priest Qian Que and another unknown Solar Priest actually show up in front of the rift every single time. The eighty meters of distance I pushed forward were completely meaningless in front of those two."
He walked back up to the third floor and saw Zhu Yao, who had been waiting for a long time, in the lobby.
"How did it go?" Zhu Yao was still a bit nervous.
"Let's go to my room to talk."
"Okay."
The two of them entered Li Ban's bedroom.
A moment later, the doors to the other two bedrooms opened a crack one after the other, only to quickly shut again.