Zhu Yao froze, her face instantly turning deathly pale.
In truth, she had felt something strange about this place earlier. It was slightly different from the spatial rifts she had seen and traveled through before.
But considering this was the Recycling Station and the outside was likely as dangerous as the Dark Side of the World, she had ignored the faint discrepancy.
Reminded by Li Ban, she suddenly realized what that tiny difference meant.
"This isn't a spatial passage formed by a tear in space," she said weakly.
Li Ban nodded. "Right. You and I have both cast the Spatial Guidance Art. If we look closely, it's obvious that this spatial passage was constructed through 'spatial guidance'."
Priest Qiao Guan still didn't quite understand. "The Recycling Station is a special world created by a Great Wizard, and its exit connects to other worlds. Isn't it perfectly normal to use a Spatial Guidance Art to forge this connection?"
Zhu Yao shook her head. "But when the Great Wizard created this world, they never intended to give us an exit to let us out."
Zhan Yan nodded. "I understand. This means the outside might be incredibly dangerous. But we can't turn back now."
Anyone who would make that choice wouldn't have participated to begin with.
But Li Ban said, "I've heard the Southern Continent also has a spatial rift."
His gaze swept over the group. "What if the exit of this rift leads to the Southern Continent?"
Everyone fell instantly quiet.
A dead silence followed.
After a moment, Priest Zhan Yan asked with difficulty, "Are you saying the two spatial rifts are actually spatial guidance connecting the Northern and Southern Continents?"
"How certain are you?" Priest Qiao Guan pressed, hoping this was all just Li Ban's baseless speculation.
"I'm not very confident in my guess. However, I believe that since the Great Wizard didn't want us to leave, they wouldn't have specifically constructed a spatial passage leading to the outside world."
"If this were a naturally formed spatial rift, it might lead outside. But this is the Spatial Guidance Art!"
"Besides, do you remember why the Flying Shuttle claiming to be a 'Divine Offspring' wanted to find all the priests who knew the Spatial Guidance Art and then tried to kill us?"
If Li Ban hadn't been able to enter Heaven Beyond Heaven and drag the Flying Shuttle into the water, the other priests wouldn't have been able to stop the shuttle from slaughtering Zhu Yao and the rest.
"Furthermore, it deliberately let Priest Li He and the others enter the rift. It wasn't rushed or panicked at all, which doesn't match the behavioral style of the monsters in the Sea of Monsters." Zhu Yao had figured it out as well and weakly helped Li Ban explain. "This only proves they knew all along that what lay on the other side of the rift wasn't freedom."
Though she understood it now, despair clouded her mind, leaving her at a loss for what to do next.
Priest Qiao Guan lowered his head, then raised it again. "Even if the outside might be the Southern Continent, we still have to cross over!" he said through gritted teeth.
Priest Zhan Yan spread his hands, agreeing with his friend. "He's right. Could we possibly go back? Could we just stay here?"
Completely at a loss, Zhu Yao looked at Li Ban.
Tail kept her head down, her fists tightly clenched, not saying a word.
However, Li Ban still stood at the rift's exit, showing no intention of stepping aside.
"Don't rush, wait a moment." He stopped Zhan Yan, who was about to charge through the exit. "You just reminded me. Perhaps staying here is the right choice."
"What?" Zhan Yan was stunned.
Qiao Guan grabbed Zhan Yan's arm. "Listen to Priest Ban's suggestion. We've already made it this far; don't rush into a decision."
Li Ban looked up at their surroundings. "Can you sense it? The spatial world here isn't exactly the same as the Northern Continent."
Following Li Ban's words, Zhu Yao immediately tried to sense the difference between the two worlds.
As the only 7th Tier Priest present, she quickly noticed something.
Fwoosh!
Zhu Yao raised her palm, and a tiny spark of fire appeared in her hand, though it was quickly extinguished.
But this fleeting spark still made everyone's eyes light up.
"There's fire here!" Priest Qiao Guan exclaimed.
Li Ban rested a hand on his chin. "There's fire here. That means the existence of the Spatial Guidance Art has, to some extent, disrupted the world rules of the Recycling Station."
"So this is the weakest point of the Recycling Station!" Zhu Yao said, pleasantly surprised.
Zhan Yan immediately raised his hand. "Should we attack the spatial barrier here?"
"I'm afraid only a Divine Offspring Priest could possibly break the spatial barrier." Qiao Guan shook his head, pressing Zhan Yan's hand down once more.
"Let me try first. If it doesn't work, we'll figure out another way." Li Ban flew upward, approaching the edge of the spatial passage.
Starlight gathered in his eyes once again.
He was already able to control the starlight better before; now that he was applying it, it naturally wouldn't spiral out of control.
Faint starlight shone over from the distance, yet right in front of the group stood the impenetrable barrier of the spatial passage.
"When Shaman Ming sent me in, he said I had a chance to get out. The Director also believed I was the one most likely to leave the Recycling Station after seeing my Star River. So, to leave this place, I definitely need to rely on the power of the Star River."
"But my current application of the Star River is limited to strengthening the Starlight Domain spell. None of my other spells can harness the Star River's power. And unfortunately, the Starlight Domain cannot be used to attack."
How could a passage constructed by a Great Wizard be broken by a few 6th and 7th Tier Priests?
"Maybe it doesn't need to be broken."
Li Ban tried releasing his Starlight Domain against the spatial barrier.
This time, he didn't manipulate the Starlight Domain to protect himself or suppress an enemy; he simply released it outward.
The starlight was blocked by the passage barrier.
Normally, the spells Li Ban released couldn't possibly reach the world beyond the barrier.
But the power of the Star River existed within his starlight.
Gradually, the starlight he emitted began seeping through to the outside of the spatial passage, bit by bit.
Even though it was only a trace of free-flowing power, it still gave them hope of escaping.
Everyone looked up at Li Ban, including Tail, who had been completely silent.
Tail's eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of her mouth before quickly vanishing.
Suddenly!
A dim pillar of light appeared right where Li Ban had released his Starlight Domain.
Although it wasn't dazzling, no one could ignore its presence.
This dim pillar of light first enveloped Li Ban, then shone down to cover the rest of them.
A deep voice echoed in everyone's ears.
"Li Ban, it seems you received my reminder."
The tense muscles across Li Ban's body finally relaxed a fraction.
"Shaman Ming."
He responded to the voice in the pillar of light.
"Reminder? So it really was you who told me about the Spatial Guidance Art through Heaven Beyond Heaven? But why didn't you just say it directly?"
"Because matters regarding that place are forbidden to be mentioned in the outside world."
But the Spatial Guidance Art was merely the name of a spell, so he was allowed to say it.
As for whether Li Ban could understand it, that truly tested how diligent and observant he was.
If he had simply handed the Spatial Guidance Art over for others to use without learning it himself, he would have had to wait for someone else to discover the passage's secret upon entering the rift.
However, apart from Li Ban, everyone else had been stuck in the Recycling Station for many, many years. When passing through a spatial rift, they might not have had the presence of mind to stop and observe.
Being observant was simply a test of whether Li Ban himself could spot the passage's secret.
Fortunately, Li Ban had managed to do both.
Otherwise, Shaman Ming couldn't be sure if he would be able to walk out of the Fallen God's Lair on the Recycling Station's Southern Continent alive.
"We don't have much time. I will take you out," Shaman Ming's voice rang out again.
Everyone drew closer to Li Ban. Hearing that a Great Wizard was going to take Li Ban away, hopeful expressions appeared on their faces.
Seeing that none of them seemed to recognize Shaman Ming, Li Ban felt it was a little strange.
In the outside world, the priests of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda and the Imperial Dynasty faction all knew about Shaman Ming and Shi Ming. Yet Zhu Yao looked as if she had never even heard of Shaman Ming before.
Could it be that Shaman Ming only became a Great Wizard at this point in the timeline?
But now wasn't the time to obsess over these details. Getting out was the priority.
"Can you take all of us away together?" Li Ban hurriedly asked.
Unexpectedly, Shaman Ming fell silent for a moment before giving them an answer no one wanted to hear.
"I can't take this many people away."
Whoosh.
A sudden chill swept through everyone's hearts.
Qiao Guan and Zhan Yan exchanged a glance, smiling bitterly to themselves.
Their relationship with Li Ban was the shallowest; they had only just exchanged names moments ago.
If someone had to be left behind, it would definitely be the two of them.
Li Ban didn't waste time arguing, because since Shaman Ming said he couldn't take everyone, he meant it.
Simply saying "think of another way" wouldn't make things any easier.
The most critical point was that since Great Wizards weren't even allowed to mention the Recycling Station in the outside world, the amount of time Shaman Ming had to contact him was definitely limited.
They had to make a decision as quickly as possible.
"How many people can you take with you?" Li Ban asked.
"One of you needs to stay behind."
Only one person needs to stay?
Li Ban turned around and looked at the group.
Before he could even speak, Qiao Guan stepped forward. "I'll stay."
Zhan Yan stepped up and grabbed Qiao Guan's sleeve.
Qiao Guan swatted his hand away and said quickly, "Since you were a step too slow, the spot is mine. Don't waste time."
Being a step too slow meant he had hesitated.
If he were truly left behind, he would likely harbor resentment in the future.
Right then, Tail suddenly raised her head and shouted, "I don't want to be left behind. I am Tail!"
She reached out with one hand to grab Zhu Yao, who was standing in front of her, while staring dead at Li Ban and shouting it once more.
"I am Tail!"
Li Ban looked at Tail's hand, which was about to touch the back of Zhu Yao's neck, and then looked into her eyes. Suddenly, he understood.
He instantly flashed between Zhu Yao and Tail, shoving aside the completely oblivious Zhu Yao as starlight abruptly erupted from his body.
Tail's hand, on the verge of grabbing the back of Zhu Yao's neck, was suddenly caught by the wrist by Li Ban.
But it wasn't over yet.
A phantom figure shot out from the palm of Tail's hand and flew toward Zhu Yao's head.
At that moment, bright starlight burst from Li Ban, enveloping all three of them.
The phantom flying toward Zhu Yao's head was instantly blasted away, materializing in mid-air into a translucent figure.
The phantom had a human shape, though its exact appearance was blurry. The only thing clearly visible was a tiny fragment resting right in the center of its body.
"Strange." A pleasant, almost melodious male voice rang out. "Did you guys use a secret signal?"
Li Ban didn't answer. He raised his hand and grabbed at the phantom figure in front of him.
"Xiao Suo!"
He thrust his palm out. Under the shroud of starlight, his hand pierced through the illusory figure without meeting any resistance.
Although Xiao Suo was powerful, he was currently nothing more than a soul barely clinging to life through the fragment. He didn't even have a physical body.
Meanwhile, Li Ban was empowered by the starlight of the Star River. Killing him was as easy as taking something out of his own pocket.
The phantom Xiao Suo also knew the gap in their strength. He didn't even try to dodge, allowing Li Ban's hand to pierce his body and seize his Wizard Embryo Fragment.
It was only a portion of his Wizard Embryo Fragment, anyway.
Li Ban had never snatched anyone else's Wizard Embryo Fragment before, but the moment he reached into Xiao Suo's soul and grasped the fragment, he instantly knew what to do.
Next, as long as he pulled the fragment out and absorbed it, his strength would instantly jump from the early Star Glow realm to peak Star Glow.
"What a pity." Looking at the fragment that had been dug out by Li Ban, Xiao Suo shook his head. "I almost managed to sneak out."
As soon as his words fell, his soul dissipated and vanished like smoke from an incense stick.
But right then, Shaman Ming reminded Li Ban.
"If you don't devour Xiao Suo's Witch Embryo Shards, you have no way to completely kill this portion of him."
Zhu Yao was startled and grabbed Li Ban's hand. "If you devour someone else's Wizard Embryo Fragment and get used to taking shortcuts, you will never be able to cultivate your mind again. You'll be forced to become a black-robed priest."
The ideals of the Black Robes and the White Robes were completely opposite. Zhu Yao didn't want Li Ban to fall and become a Black Robe just for the sake of killing Xiao Suo.
"If Xiao Suo must be destroyed, then let me absorb his Wizard Embryo Fragment."
As Zhu Yao spoke, she reached for the fragment in Li Ban's hand, but Li Ban held her back.
"Don't worry. I won't become a Black Robe." Li Ban temporarily put Xiao Suo's fragment away. "We'll figure out a way to deal with it once we're out of here."
If even handing it over to a Great Wizard couldn't destroy Xiao Suo, they would simply find a Black Robe to absorb his Wizard Embryo Fragment.
Li Ban looked over at Tail, who was still standing motionless in the starlight.
Deep cracks had already begun to appear across the latter's body.
"I'm sorry," Li Ban said with difficulty.
Tail gently shook her head.
With her movement, even more cracks appeared on her face and neck.
"It's not your fault. The enemy was just too cunning." She hadn't realized that something was wrong with Ming Kai until the very moment she was possessed.
Since that was the case, what right did she have to blame the others for not noticing her own abnormalities?
Tail smiled. "I'm still very grateful that you understood my words at the last moment."
Xiao Suo had been wondering how Li Ban discovered that Tail was no longer Tail.
Actually, it wasn't until the moment Tail shouted, "I am Tail," that Li Ban finally connected all the prior anomalies together.
When Ming Kai had suddenly changed his hesitant attitude and announced his intent to join the operation, he had already been possessed by Xiao Suo.
At the time, Li Ban, Zhu Yao, and the others were all busy with their own experiments. They hadn't had the time to interact with Ming Kai, so naturally, they hadn't noticed anything off about him.
As for Tail, she must have been possessed by Xiao Suo during their battle in the Sea of Monsters.
Judging by the way Tail's body was now starting to shatter, Ming Kai wouldn't have lived much longer after Xiao Suo left his body, meaning his anomaly would have soon been discovered anyway.
Therefore, Xiao Suo controlled Tail to throw Ming Kai forward to block the monsters for Li Ban. This allowed Ming Kai's body to shatter in front of everyone in a more natural way, without raising any suspicion.