Early the next morning, Li Ban brought Little Cat and headed to Mist Valley alongside Priest Hunyou.
Before the sun even rose, the fog within Mist Valley grew increasingly dense.
Inside the valley, however, numerous bonfires had already been lit, dispersing what little morning mist naturally existed.
The physicians of Mist Valley were holding a ceremony for the maturation of the Xuanji Vine.
If this were merely the maturation of a standard fine-grade element, there would naturally be no need for such a grand affair.
But a cultivated fine-grade element was entirely different.
If they could cultivate one mature element, they could cultivate a second and a third in the future—
In the Wizard World, where inferior-grade and mortal-grade elements were everywhere, a fine-grade element that could be stably cultivated remained a rare commodity.
Moreover, its usage was highly unique.
In the future, it might even replace messenger birds and relay stations, becoming the primary method of long-distance communication.
In Li Ban's eyes, this was essentially a wired telephone—an alternative form of technological advancement.
However, its need to consume flesh and blood was somewhat troublesome. He would have to see if they could improve upon it after dealing with Xiao Suo.
Of course, no matter how they improved it, it could never compare to the priests' Self-Seeking Mirrors.
A wired telephone and a satellite video phone were simply not on the same level.
Furthermore, the Great Wizards of the Wizard World might not be pleased to see technology develop too quickly.
Because Tan Qiyue had to host the ceremony, Deputy Valley Master Zheng led them to the ritual grounds this time.
The ceremony would officially begin before sunrise.
By the time Li Ban and the others arrived, nearly everyone qualified to attend had already gathered in the valley.
Aside from the people of Mist Valley, there were also representatives of the Imperial Court from Yingzhou and Lan Province, as well as the heads of various factions nearby.
These people were seated on the surrounding viewing platforms in an order dictated by their status and strength.
Seated in the very center of the viewing platform was, naturally, Valley Master Tan Qiyue, along with the two highest-ranking officials.
The two officials were only at the 4th Tier, but due to the special nature of their faction, even 5th Tier Spirit Cultivators had to sit below them to keep them company.
The two official representatives calmly accepted the flattery and fawning of the people around them.
Little did they know that while they thought they were sitting in the seats of honor and enjoying the highest courtesy, three people were situated directly above their heads.
These three were, naturally, the Priest representing the Myriad Ancient Pagoda, Li Ban.
The Priest representing the Imperial Dynasty, Hunyou.
And the Priest representing the Mist Realm, Shen Xiang.
Among the crowd below, only Valley Master Tan Qiyue and Deputy Valley Master Zheng, who was responsible for receiving them, knew of the three Priests' existence.
In the past, Deputy Valley Master Zheng had deeply envied the officials of the Imperial Court.
Because they had the opportunity to climb to the highest ranks and become 9th Tier Ministers.
But now, as he stole glances at the three peculiar clouds floating overhead, his ambitions felt rather hollow.
He picked up the watered-down fruit wine in front of him and took a sip, only to find it entirely tasteless. He clicked his tongue.
A little maid carrying wine stepped up beside him and quietly swapped out his jug.
"Master Zheng, to prevent the guests from losing their composure, the fruit wine at the banquet has been watered down. Drink from this one; Madam specifically asked me to bring you this pine nut wine."
The two wine jugs were identical. Without getting close and sniffing carefully, no one would notice the trick.
He opened the lid, looked inside, and took a sniff. His other hand, however, grabbed the little maid who had come to deliver the wine.
"Baizhi, how could Madam bear to let you come over today?"
Although he was the Deputy Valley Master of Mist Valley, his wife's surname was Tan.
The few maids by his wife's side were all clever and sweet-tempered girls; he had wanted to ask for one for a long time.
But his wife had refused, and later she had even blocked him from seeing the prettiest maids altogether.
He never expected that for today's ceremony, his wife would actually send the prettiest one, Baizhi, to deliver his wine.
Deputy Valley Master Zheng instantly forgot the bleak mood brought on by his dim future and focused solely on pondering: was this a sign that his wife was finally relenting?
Baizhi covered her lips and giggled softly. "Master must be joking. I am merely following Madam's orders to deliver the wine."
Seeing the maid's delicate, beautiful smile, Deputy Valley Master Zheng felt certain his guess was correct.
However, the ceremony was about to begin. No matter how anxious he was at this moment, he had to wait.
Under the watchful eyes of the public, he could only caress his wine cup, imagining it was Baizhi's little hand.
"Alright, head back first. After I ask Madam tonight, I'll come find you."
He still had the wicked desire but lacked the guts to act on it; he had to clarify things with his wife before doing anything.
In the past, he hadn't respected his wife to this extent; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to openly ask for her maids.
But recently, after learning of the Priests' existence and the true background of Mist Valley, he placed much more importance on the Tan family. Consequently, he had also grown increasingly—in awe of his wife.
Who knew that Baizhi would pick up the jug and pour the Deputy Valley Master a cup of wine instead. "Madam told me to serve Master here."
Just as Deputy Valley Master Zheng was about to say something else, the ground suddenly trembled.
The stone house had been moved over.
This meant the ceremony was about to begin.
He immediately put on a solemn expression and waved his hand. "Step back for now."
Although he fancied the maid, the proper business before him was more important.
Losing his mood for flirtation, Deputy Valley Master Zheng stood up from his seat alongside Valley Master Tan.
Baizhi hastily retreated behind Deputy Valley Master Zheng, standing obediently with her head bowed.
A massive profound turtle, carrying a square, gray stone house on its back, slowly walked over from the distance.
Along the way, people had laid down plates of refined iron to pave a path for the profound turtle, preventing the rocky ground from scratching its limbs—after all, those were precious medicinal ingredients.
Looking at the profound turtle on the ground, Li Ban suddenly remembered that he still had a dragon egg inside his Cubic Space.
After leaving the Recycling Station, the dragon egg hadn't turned to ash.
It was likely because it hadn't absorbed much black rye while it was inside the mother dragon's belly.
However, it hadn't shown any signs of hatching either. Since Li Ban didn't know how to incubate it, he could only place it in the area of his Cubic Space with the densest spiritual rhinoceros and leave it be.
At this moment, Li Ban's brow twitched. He turned to Priest Shen Xiang and Priest Hunyou beside him and said, "It's here. The ceremony can finally begin."
Priest Shen Xiang merely gave a calm nod.
Meanwhile, Priest Hunyou stroked his beard and smiled. "It seems Priest Ban can hardly wait."
Below, Valley Master Tan led the crowd to greet it.
Deputy Valley Master Zheng naturally followed closely behind Tan Qiyue.
The rest of the guests also looked curiously at the stone house on the profound turtle's back.
A 3rd Tier Spirit Cultivator from a nearby faction asked, "Tower Master, they say Mist Valley's profound turtle has the strength to move mountains. Why is it struggling so much just to carry a small house?"
The Tower Master shot him a glance. "Take a look at the main doors on that small house."
"Hiss—could that be Sun-Obscuring Spirit Iron?"
"If there is Sun-Obscuring Spirit Iron on the doors, there must be some lining the walls as well. Because it suppresses spiritual rhinoceros, the profound turtle can only rely on its physical strength to bear the weight. Naturally, it struggles."
"But aren't we supposed to be looking at some sort of vine today? Why did they bring a house over?"
"How would I know?" The Tower Master glared at his subordinate. "Quiet down and watch the ceremony!"
He was starting to regret bringing this chatterbox along.
By this time, Tan Qiyue had led the upper echelon of Mist Valley to the front of the profound turtle.
The profound turtle lowered its body, pressing its belly flat against the ground.
Tan Qiyue leaped to the very top of the stone house and spoke loudly to the crowd.
"Thank you all for attending the elementalization ceremony for the Xuanji Vine. Next, I will unseal the stone house and reveal the vine. Please do not step any closer, lest you be accidentally injured."