Priest Liu Yun gave his arm a gentle shake, and the white pill flew automatically toward Cat Girl's mouth.
Cat Girl didn't hesitate. She opened her mouth, letting the white pill slide down her throat.
As soon as it reached her stomach, the pill of mist dispersed, sinking into her stomach lining and spreading throughout her entire body.
A refreshing coolness instantly washed over her, as if she were bathing in a gentle early-spring drizzle.
With Li Ban standing right beside her and keeping a close eye on her, she felt completely at ease.
A moment later, the black hair coiled atop Cat Girl's head suddenly surged in growth.
Moving quickly, she unfastened her crown, letting her dark tresses cascade down.
Her hair, normally soft, glossy, and waist-length, abruptly lengthened past her calves—and showed no signs of stopping.
Its original luster faded, and the individual strands grew noticeably thicker.
Seeing her hair behave so strangely left Cat Girl feeling a bit unsettled.
After fusing with the Chaotic Green Silk Algae element, she had used her hair to launch sneak attacks on enemies before.
But it had never undergone an abnormal mutation like this.
After all, if an enemy noticed her hair looking so completely unnatural, they would definitely be on guard.
She wanted to reach up and touch her hair, but ultimately held back.
She just couldn't help but worry—after whatever this Mist Realm priest was doing, would all her hair end up falling out?
Fortunately, her fears didn't come to pass.
A few wisps of white smoke seeped out from the very tips of her hair. They converged back into a cloud of white mist and drifted over to Priest Liu Yun's hand.
Once the white mist departed, Cat Girl's hair automatically reverted to its normal state.
Priest Liu Yun caught the mist. His eyes lost focus for a moment—he was likely reading the information the mist had brought back.
Watching the entire process, Li Ban felt this clump of mist acted a lot like nanobots, entering Cat Girl's body to scan for any signs that the element was negatively affecting her.
So now, Priest Liu Yun was simply reading the results.
Li Ban held his breath, waiting.
A moment later, Priest Liu Yun twitched a finger, and the mist dispersed from his palm.
He smiled at Li Ban. "There's a minor issue, but it isn't serious."
He then turned to Cat Girl. "The Cyan Silk Algae you fused with essentially underwent a special sublimation. The reason it occasionally slips out of control isn't because its state is unstable, but because you haven't completely subdued its autonomous consciousness yet. If you aren't careful, you might be counter-devoured by the strengthened Cyan Silk Algae and end up as a puppet to your own hair."
Cat Girl's eyes went round as saucers.
She was about to be reduced to a puppet for her hair, and that wasn't serious?
Seeing her shock, Liu Yun continued speaking at a steady, unhurried pace.
"If you were relying entirely on yourself, the risk would naturally be quite high. But since Priest Ban is your friend and went out of his way to bring you here for a checkup, he won't just stand by and do nothing."
He told Li Ban, "The element Cat Girl fused with is highly active, making it very difficult to suppress. Since Priest Ban is a Star Glow Priest, you can use your Starlight Domain to temporarily boost Cat Girl's spiritual strength and suppress the Cyan Silk Algae's activity. If you keep this up for half a year to a year, there's a very good chance she will subdue the element completely."
"So the Starlight Domain can be used this way. Thank you for your guidance," Li Ban said, cupping his hands in thanks.
As expected of a priest who had lived for over a century, his experience and insight were truly vast.
When Li Ban had examined Cat Girl earlier, he noticed the elemental fusion inside her was unstable and could run rampant at any moment.
But while he had spotted the problem, he hadn't known how to fix it. That was why he brought her to see the Mist Realm priests stationed in Nihility State.
Fortunately, they actually had a solution.
As long as Cat Girl could smoothly fuse with this special Cyan Silk Algae element, her own strength and potential would rise to another level.
It might even turn out exactly as she had once envisioned.
Using the Art of Awakening Life to fuse with a plant-type element and overcome the physical limits imposed by her beast blood.
If Cat Girl succeeded, her case would give other beast-blood spirit practitioners hope of breaking through their own innate talent ceilings.
Of course, that hope remained slim.
After all, most of them wouldn't encounter a plant-type element active enough, nor would they have a Priest to help them tame an unruly element.
Li Ban asked one more question. "So what you're saying is, this Cyan Silk Algae won't succumb to chaos again?"
"I can't say with absolute certainty, but for a normal element to succumb to chaos, it requires a very specific catalyst and a massive amount of energy. As long as it is kept stable before she completely subdues it, it won't fall to chaos."
Li Ban nodded. He decided to discuss this with Cat Girl once they got back; after resolving their matters here, he would have her follow him back to the Unreturning Place.
As for Cat Girl's official post as an inspecting censor—he would just have to figure out a way to get the "Imperial Father" in the Capital City to reassign her.
It was getting late. Not wanting to delay the Mist Realm priests' work any further, Li Ban and Priest Hunyou said their goodbyes and departed.
As they were leaving, Priest Shen Xiang had initially intended to see them out, but Priest Hao Yang unexpectedly stepped forward, taking over Priest Shen Xiang's task.
Priest Shen Xiang paused for a moment and pulled back his extended foot.
"This way, please." Priest Hao Yang's face was as expressionless as ever.
He didn't come across as cold or aloof, just deeply calm.
A 6th Tier Priest would usually be more emotional, yet he was as restrained as a 7th Tier Dark Moon.
The moment Li Ban saw him step up, he knew Priest Hao Yang had something to say. Without calling him out, Li Ban followed Priest Hao Yang's lead, passing through the invisible spatial bridge until they neared a corner of Nihility State along the River of Helplessness.
"Cat Girl, until you completely tame the Cyan Silk Algae, you shouldn't go near the Mist Zone again. I'll take you out of here first."
Cat Girl glanced back at Li Ban, nodded, and followed Priest Hunyou, riding a cloud of mist to depart ahead of him.
Everyone present was smart. Seeing Priest Hao Yang's actions, they knew he wanted a private word with Li Ban. No one pointed it out; they simply cooperated, giving the two of them space to talk.
Once the others had gone far enough away, Li Ban turned to look at Priest Hao Yang.
"Did you need me for something, Priest Hao Yang?"
Hao Yang pondered for a moment before finally speaking. "Priest Ban, you mentioned earlier that I looked familiar. Have you met someone who resembles me?"
"Didn't you say you didn't have any brothers, Priest Hao Yang? Asking me this so suddenly... is there something you want to know, or are you trying to test me?"
Priest Hao Yang paused for a few seconds, then explained, "I have no intention of making things difficult for you, Priest Ban. It's just that my situation is a bit unique."
"I wasn't born in the Wizard World. I come from a minor world that was already destroyed. I was lucky enough to obtain a small Wizard Embryo Fragment, which allowed a passing Priest to save me."
"But perhaps because my world was destroyed and my fusion with the Wizard Embryo Fragment didn't go smoothly, I don't retain much of my past memories."
Amnesia?
What a classic cliché.
Then again, considering his entire world had been destroyed, getting amnesia wasn't too far-fetched.