The three of them entered Li Ban's pavilion.
Though the place had lacked a master for a long time, someone had kept it clean. The room was spotless, the potted plants were lush and green, and under the eaves, the region's unique gray-backed, white-tailed swallows had even built a nest.
Priest Chu Qi helped Li Ban tidy up the pavilion inside and out. When he returned and saw Priest Qian Que standing there in silence, he realized the two had matters to discuss and tactfully took his leave.
"Priest Qian Que, Priest Ban, I'll head back first. If you need anything, come find me anytime."
Li Ban gave a slight nod.
After Priest Chu Qi left, he and Priest Qian Que stood in the main hall, silent for quite some time.
Even though Priest Qian Que did not speak, Li Ban felt no awkwardness in the prolonged silence.
He looked at the potted plants in the corner, his mind pondering his next move.
Finally, Priest Qian Que broke the silence.
Priest Yao of the Wizard World had entered the Shattered Realm right after Priest Qian Que emerged from seclusion.
First, to find the missing Li Ban, and second, to kill Du An, who had betrayed the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
Unfortunately, even now that Li Ban had returned, she had accomplished neither.
Instead, she had temporarily lost contact after heading to the edge of the Shattered Realm, and no one knew when she would be back.
The mention of Priest Yao brought Zhu Yao to Li Ban's mind, the woman who always tied her hair in a low ponytail.
"It's fine if we don't meet for now," he said softly, then added, "I'm going to the Imperial Palace."
"To hunt down Xiao Suo?"
Li Ban had already informed Priest Qian Que and Priest Li He about the possibility of Xiao Suo luring Crown Prince Li Zhai into a collaboration.
Of course, he had phrased it as a deduction.
After all, he couldn't exactly tell them he had heard about Li Zhai's future experiences in the Recycling Station.
Since Li Zhai was deemed to have zero potential to manifest Wizard Embryo Fragments, yet stood as the heir to the throne, Xiao Suo's vile nature made it highly likely that he would double back for him.
After Priest Qian Que and Priest Li He reluctantly accepted that Xiao Suo could resurrect, they agreed to let Li Ban hunt down all the other versions of Xiao Suo. He would then merge with Xiao Suo's Wizard Embryo Fragments to obliterate the heinous black-robed priest once and for all.
However, Priest Qian Que felt there was no need for Li Ban to rush so urgently just for a mere possibility.
After all, there were still several years before Li Zhai would inherit the throne.
And before that happened, it was highly unlikely that Xiao Suo would instruct Li Zhai to pull any stunts right under Priest Chu Zhan's nose.
Because of this, they still had plenty of time.
But Li Ban was in a hurry.
An inexplicable urgency gripped him.
An urgency that neither of them could talk him out of, no matter how many times they tried.
"Fine." Since he couldn't persuade him, Priest Qian Que chose to join him. "I will go too."
Li Ban gave a slight nod, offering no polite refusals.
True, he had successfully killed two Xiao Suos previously and merged with their Wizard Embryo Fragments.
But that did not mean Li Ban was actually stronger than Xiao Suo.
Rather, both times he had struck Xiao Suo down, the enemy had been in a state of absolute weakness.
If he ran into a fully recovered Xiao Suo, Li Ban would not be his match just yet.
Though Priest Qian Que did not know exactly how Li Ban had killed Xiao Suo, he was well aware of Xiao Suo's power.
He couldn't let Li Ban, who had only just advanced to the 6th Tier Star Glow, face Xiao Suo alone.
Li Ban nodded again in agreement.
As for what would happen to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda without Priest Qian Que standing guard, he didn't give it a single thought.
After his trip through the Recycling Station, he understood that anyone who had lived for hundreds of years in this world possessed their own methods of survival. They didn't need him to worry about them.
Both Priest Qian Que and Priest Li He were perfectly capable of arranging matters at the Unreturning Place.
He only needed to focus on his own goals.
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
Li Ban was giving himself only one day to rest and regroup.
Priest Qian Que let out a soft sigh and pressed the matter no further.
Once Priest Qian Que left, Li Ban returned to his bedroom and began inspecting all his merged elements.
Choosing to merge two bodies together, rather than simply inhabiting one, was actually an incredibly risky move.
But both of his bodies possessed considerably powerful elements, and extracting elements to fuse them anew carried a definite risk of failure.
Fortunately, his divine soul could perfectly control both bodies, which was what allowed the merger to succeed.
Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he was a transmigrator.
His soul had traveled to this world and could completely detach from a body to enter a digital world, so naturally, it could pilot an artificial shell.
His new body had been constructed with the help of two 8th Tier Solar Priests, Qian Que and Li He.
The only part Li Ban had personally designed was his current face.
It was his appearance from his past life, the only identity his heart truly acknowledged.
Glancing at the bronze mirror on the table, Li Ban chuckled softly, though the smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Time to work overtime."
The elements he now possessed and had merged with were:
Mortal-grade elements: right eye, Silver Kingfisher, and Tiger Snapper Gills.
Good-grade elements: Flute Sound, Shadow Meld, Iron-Eating Sword, and Flesh on White Bones.
Superior-grade elements: Virus and Shadow Inner Demon.
He had actually picked up quite a few other elements in the Recycling Station, but moving forward, Li Ban only wanted to merge superior-grade elements.
Unless they served a highly specific purpose, he had no intention of fusing with elements of other grades.
After returning to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda in the Unreturning Place, he had taken out several lower-grade elements to exchange with Priest Qian Que for Spiritual Rhinoceros Fruits.
Though he already held a massive stash of White Seeds and waste elements, he needed to hoard as much spiritual rhinoceros as possible for what lay ahead.
Li Ban then dug out the Plain Rings he hadn't carried with him before.
He used to have three Plain Rings. One held Invisibility and another a spiderweb ability, but both had been exhausted.
And he didn't have a Spirit Practitioner by his side who could recharge them.
Now, he only had a single Plain Ring left, one imbued with the Banishment Art.
It could target a subject and banish them over a thousand meters away.
It was essentially casting Shrinking Ground to an Inch on someone else, except the exact landing spot couldn't be controlled.
It was normally used to deal with closing enemies, or in desperate situations, to save a friend in danger.
Li Ban didn't bring out this ring to use it, but to study it.
'I've merged nine abilities so far, and I still have a few good-grade elements that I haven't sold or merged. This far exceeds the number of elements a normal 6th Tier can integrate. Since some of my abilities can't be disguised as spells—I could try crafting them into Plain Rings to hide the fact that I can fuse multiple elements.'
Now a 6th Tier Star Glow Priest, Li Ban was more than capable of crafting Plain Rings.
While in the Recycling Station, he had also learned the Spirit Stabilization Technique from Zhu Yao, the exact spell priests used to create them.
The only thing he still needed to procure was the raw material for the rings.
Plain Rings were forged from a special type of ore.
It didn't come from beneath the earth, but was a product of fragments falling from the sky.
The Unreturning Place was located in desolate Yanzhou, where this material was truly scarce.
Most regions that possessed this ore were in Tu Province, closer to the Nine Heavens Sea.
Fortunately, as long as Li Ban only bought in small quantities, it wouldn't be an issue.
Slipping his sole functional Plain Ring onto his right pinky, Li Ban closed his eyes and began absorbing the waste elements he had brought out of the Recycling Station in massive quantities.
A night passed. When Li Ban opened his eyes again, his spiritual rhinoceros was completely maxed out at the 6th Tier.
He still held a small amount of waste elements and a massive hoard of White Seeds.
Because White Seeds took time to absorb, just like Spiritual Rhinoceros Fruits, he had chosen to consume the waste elements last night. His inner Star River could absorb them instantly, topping off his spiritual rhinoceros.
Unfortunately, even combined, the remaining waste elements and White Seeds wouldn't be enough to max out his spiritual rhinoceros again after he broke through to the 7th Tier.
But he wasn't in a rush.
Breaking from the 6th Tier into the 7th Tier was even more arduous.
7th Tier Dark Moon Priests served as the managing priests for almost every regional faction.
8th Tier Solar Priests only remained in the most dangerous locations, and 9th Tier Divine Offspring Priests were never seen anywhere outside the Nine Heavens Sea.
As for how to become a Dark Moon Priest as fast as possible, Li Ban already had a rough plan in mind.
Rising from the bed, he gently brushed his robes.
With a slight flick, the pristine white priest robes swept away the dust that had settled over the night.
Li Ban stepped out onto the pavilion's terrace and saw Deng Jun and Shi Ming, who had been waiting outside for who knew how long.
The moment they heard Li Ban had safely returned from the Shattered Realm, they had hurried over.
But Li Ban had been working nonstop since his return, and it was only now that they finally managed to see him.
"Lord Li!" The Li Ban in Deng Jun's memory was still the approachable, gentle 4th Tier priest from half a year ago.
But the moment the respectful title left his lips, he froze. Staring at the unfamiliar face, he thought he had greeted the wrong person.
"Mn." Li Ban gave a slight nod.
Shi Ming was equally surprised. However, having gone through many trials over the past six months, he understood a bit more than Deng Jun and quickly recognized that the priest before them was indeed Li Ban.
"Li Ban, is this your new body?" he asked cautiously, wondering if the body they had fought so hard to save had already lost its value.
"I am just me. It has nothing to do with appearances or bodies," Li Ban explained, offering Shi Ming a rare bit of extra context.
Recalling the voice he had heard in the upper dimension of Heaven Beyond Heaven, he asked, "Were you the one who transmitted the information on the Spatial Guidance Art to me?"
Seeing that Li Ban had no intention of catching up, Deng Jun quickly shrank his neck and hid behind Shi Ming, not daring to interject.
Unlike Shi Ming, he lacked such sharp perceptive abilities and couldn't recognize the man before him at all.
Shi Ming actually felt something was off as well, but there were very few people left in the world he cared about, so he still tried to interact with Li Ban exactly as he always had.
"Yeah. But honestly, I was just a messenger. You know how I've been having dreams ever since I came to the Unreturning Place? I used to dream about becoming incredibly strong, scenes where everyone was terrified of me. Then one day, I suddenly dreamt that I swam to the bottom of the pool at the Unreturning Place and just kept screaming your name at the rift where you disappeared."
"And then, my brain was suddenly stuffed with information about a spell called the Spatial Guidance Art. I told Priest Qian Que, who had just come out of seclusion, and he immediately took me down into the Unreturning Place and made me call out to you, exactly like in the dream."
"I shouted for ages until I finally got a response. Priest Qian Que instantly helped me throw the spell's information into the rift. After that, I completely forgot the spell's actual contents. I only remember its name is the Spatial Guidance Art."
Having recounted his experience, Shi Ming looked at Li Ban with expectant eyes.
"Did I help?"
Li Ban nodded again. "You saved my life."
Hearing Shi Ming's explanation, Li Ban figured it out. The sealed Shaman Ming must have leveraged the connection between himself and Shi Ming to pass the crucial information to Li Ban through the link between the Unreturning Place and Heaven Beyond Heaven.
Due to the Recycling Station's restrictive rules, Shaman Ming hadn't been able to explain the details.
Fortunately, when Shi Ming received the message regarding Li Ban, he hadn't brushed it off. Instead, he immediately informed Priest Qian Que, who cared about Li Ban's safety, which ultimately allowed the critical information to reach him.
Having learned the Spatial Guidance Art as a result, Li Ban was able to spot the anomalies after entering the Northern Continent Rift. Instead of leaving through the exit, he used his own Star River to directly contact Shaman Ming waiting outside.
In that entire chain of events, if even a single step had been missing, Li Ban might have met a completely different end.
So, saying Shi Ming saved Li Ban's life was no exaggeration.
Shi Ming took two deep breaths, his chest heaving, his face flushing red.
"That's amazing!"
He was an abandoned corpse, an existence no one valued.
To actually be of help to his friend made him incredibly happy!
Right at that moment, a ray of rosy light descended beside them, coalescing into the figure of Priest Qian Que.
He gave a brief nod to Shi Ming and Deng Jun before looking at Li Ban. "Leaving?"
"Let's go."
Immediately, Li Ban's figure was also enveloped in the rosy light, and the two vanished from the pavilion's terrace together.
"Ah, gone just like that?" Shi Ming chased the light to the edge of the terrace. Gripping the railing, he gazed at the streaks of color blending into the morning glow. "I thought we'd get to hang out longer and grab some barbecue."
Deng Jun, who had been quiet the whole time, finally stepped forward. "Ah, the priests have a lot of important matters to deal with. Let's just get back to our own business."
Li Zhai had been extremely busy lately.
Though he was nominally only the Crown Prince of the Nine Provinces Imperial Dynasty, he had to handle every duty expected of a reigning emperor.
Because the current emperor in name—actually the Dark Moon Priest, Chu Zhan—had dumped all responsibilities onto Li Zhai the moment the prince proved capable of handling state affairs independently. Chu Zhan had then scurried back to the Floating Pavilion to enjoy his carefree life as a priest.
Aside from major ceremonial events, he practically never showed his face.
At first, Li Zhai held heavy authority and thought it was a good thing.
It meant Priest Chu Zhan had zero interest in mortal governance, ensuring a smooth transition of imperial power in the future.
But quickly, Li Zhai discovered his own crushing powerlessness in another aspect.
The only reason he had never given up—even after being poisoned with Gu and thrown into the Death Prison, always waiting for a chance to bounce back—was the burning ambition hidden in his heart.
He possessed immense ambition for both personal strength and authority.
Now in power, Li Zhai naturally refused to be a mediocre emperor.
But he soon realized that some things simply couldn't be done just because he willed them.
He gradually came to understand the difficulties and resentment his royal father had harbored.
As the sovereign of the Nine Provinces, his power was heavily restricted.
First of all, the Ministers of the Six Ministries stood equal in rank to the Realm Emperor himself, let alone Li Zhai, who was currently just the 8th Tier Crown Prince.
Even if he became the Realm Emperor in the future, he wouldn't be able to fully suppress the Six Ministries.
Furthermore, the Floating Pavilion would forever hover above his head.
Without the backing of the priests, executing even the smallest reform was incredibly difficult.
Sitting in the grand hall, Li Zhai absentmindedly stroked the jade pendant at his waist from time to time.
Yet inadvertently, his fingertips would always brush past a small, brown bead resting just above the pendant.