Disguised as a maid, Xiao Suo looked surprised but didn't panic.
“Who are you? How did you see through my disguise?”
“Li Ban,” Deputy Valley Master Zheng replied directly, communicating through a telepathic art.
Xiao Suo was both surprised and curious.
Of course he knew Li Ban.
Ever since the battle at the Imperial Palace, he had kept this newly emerged little White Robe in mind, even wanting to turn him into a Black Robe.
Unfortunately, after another one of his clones threw the boy into the Dark Side of the Universe, all traces of him had vanished.
To think that upon his reappearance, the boy would actually turn the tables and ambush him.
How did those White Robes dare?
Or was Li Ban no longer at the Spiritual Initiation tier, but Fog Hidden, or even a Star Glow Priest?
He had originally planned to possess Deputy Valley Master Zheng, slip close to Tan Qiyue, and snatch the Xuanji Vine right out from under the noses of the three white-robed priests.
That was the gift he had prepared for the White Robes.
Then again, making the White Robes spend their resources to cultivate elements for him was quite amusing, wasn't it?
A pity he seemed to have been exposed.
Xiao Suo smiled, neither angry nor afraid.
Li Ban pressed down on the hand he was about to pull away, so Xiao Suo simply clamped his fingers back around Li Ban's bleeding arm.
“Little guy, if I can't get the Xuanji Vine, taking you down will make this trip worthwhile,” he said.
He wasn't afraid of death. He still had Li Ban in his grasp. But the moment his words trailed off, a watery ripple suddenly materialized on the ground beneath his feet.
Immediately after, a massive suction force dragged at him from below.
Glancing down, Xiao Suo instantly recognized the traces of a Spatial Guidance Art.
It seemed the Mist Realm had joined this ambush alongside the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
It made sense. There wasn't a single one of the three great White Robe factions that didn't hate him.
Xiao Suo attempted to use Shrinking Ground to an Inch to flee with Li Ban, but the moment the Spatial Guidance Art activated, the powerful suction force of a Solar Priest struck.
Caught off guard, he found it incredibly difficult to drag Li Ban away with him.
He couldn't even move his eyes, forced to watch Li Ban from only his peripheral vision.
His right arm, gripped by Li Ban, detached on its own, snapping cleanly at the elbow.
If he abandoned Li Ban, Xiao Suo could still escape by himself.
Even if there were ambushes elsewhere, he needed to leave some last words for the other Xiao Suos before he was caught and killed.
However, the moment Xiao Suo severed his arm and prepared to flee, a beam of starlight suddenly descended around him and Li Ban.
Xiao Suo, who had been resisting the Solar Priest's pull just a second ago, stiffened the instant the starlight engulfed him. He was completely paralyzed.
He couldn't even roll his eyes; he could only stare at Li Ban through his peripheral vision.
At this moment, he finally understood how Li Ban had managed to return smoothly after falling into the Dark Side of the World.
But it seemed it was already too late.
In that split second of delay, Xiao Suo lost his final chance to escape.
The two of them, along with Deputy Valley Master Zheng's desk and chair, vanished directly from the venue.
Such a large area disappearing into thin air failed to draw the attention of anyone else present.
Even the people sitting right next to Deputy Valley Master Zheng didn't notice a thing.
It was as if no one had been sitting there to begin with.
Gripping Xiao Suo, Li Ban plunged into the trap set by two Seventh-Tier Mist Realm Priests.
He had sensed Xiao Suo entering the ceremony grounds from the clouds and immediately signaled Priest Hunyou.
Priest Hunyou then teamed up with Priest Shen Xiang to forge an illusion of Li Ban.
After pinpointing Xiao Suo's location, the real Li Ban immediately swapped identities with the person Xiao Suo was approaching.
This disguise art had been cast personally by Priest Qian Que and perfected by Mist Realm Priests who specialized in concealment. It ensured that Xiao Suo wouldn't be able to tell that Li Ban had taken on Deputy Valley Master Zheng's appearance, at least in the short term.
This was all to create the perfect opportunity for Li Ban to get close to Xiao Suo and unleash his Starlight Domain.
A calculated strike against the unwary.
He knew far too much about Xiao Suo, whereas Xiao Suo only knew the version of him from before he entered the Recycling Station.
As long as Li Ban could get close to him, the battle was practically won.
The space they had just fallen into was completely sealed.
Xiao Suo had zero chance of escape.
Even a single strand of hair would be firmly controlled by the Mist Realm Priests.
Upon falling into the trap, Xiao Suo broke free from Li Ban's restraints.
Without hesitation, knowing he couldn't run, he immediately raised a hand and attacked Li Ban.
Li Ban met the strike calmly.
However, Xiao Suo suddenly abandoned his spells in favor of close-quarters combat. Even though Li Ban had some martial arts training, he had little ability to parry an opponent who had lived as long as Xiao Suo.
The one-armed Xiao Suo reached for Li Ban's forehead. Li Ban tried to dodge, but found that no matter which direction he moved, the other man's fingers seemed destined to touch his forehead in the very next second.
At the critical moment, he unleashed his Starlight Domain again.
Xiao Suo's body froze once more.
Yet Li Ban didn't use this window to retreat. Instead, he tilted his head to dodge Xiao Suo's arm and lunged forward.
In just a brief fraction of a second, Xiao Suo could move again.
His arm bent at an unnatural angle, as if broken, and reached for the back of Li Ban's head again.
Now, the two of them were actually competing to see who could grab the other's Wizard Embryo Fragment faster.
Although Xiao Suo was shocked that Li Ban actually dared to vie for his fragment, there was no time to ponder the reason.
Based on Li Ban's abilities alone, Xiao Suo was definitely faster.
But this place was filled with Li Ban's helpers.
While Li Ban and Xiao Suo clashed, Priest Qian Que, who had just dragged the two of them in, finally freed up his hands.
He transformed into a shooting star, crashing toward Xiao Suo like a cannonball.
Just as Xiao Suo was about to touch the back of Li Ban's head, his back suffered a violent impact. Light immediately radiated from beneath his skin, which began cracking inch by inch as if he were going to explode in the next second.
At the same time, thick fog materialized out of thin air within the trapped space, instantly swallowing Xiao Suo and Li Ban.
Xiao Suo clearly felt that he had touched the back of Li Ban's head, but when he exerted force, his fingers closed around thin air.
And even though he couldn't grab Li Ban, Li Ban's outstretched hand plunged right into Xiao Suo's forehead.
Xiao Suo's expression finally turned grim.
He realized he wouldn't be able to transmit today's encounter to the others.
“Bang!”
Xiao Suo's already bulging body violently exploded.
Chunks of splattered limbs shot out in all directions like bullets.
Still, they failed to touch Li Ban, passing right through his body as if piercing through clouds.
Li Ban pulled his hand back, a Wizard Embryo Fragment now resting at his fingertips.
Following the explosion of Xiao Suo's body, Priest Qian Que, who had merged into it, reappeared.
Seeing that Li Ban had secured Xiao Suo's Witch Embryo Shard, his entire body suddenly radiated an intense light.
The blinding glare incapacitated anyone else watching, making it impossible for them to clearly see him and Li Ban.
Li Ban seized the opportunity to fuse with Xiao Suo's Witch Embryo Shard.
Once the light faded, Priest Qian Que immediately grabbed Li Ban and left the ambush space, returning to the air above the ceremony.
The ceremony was still ongoing below. Acting as if nothing had happened, Tan Qiyue sent the newly matured Xuanji Vine into the cloud layer hovering just above her head.
The cloud hovered in place, remaining motionless for the time being.
Tan Qiyue also waited where she stood.
She appeared perfectly calm on the surface, but in reality, she was so nervous her palms were sweating.
The surrounding guests had no idea who Tan Qiyue was offering this Xuanji Vine to, but just looking at that mysterious cloud, they assumed it had to be a remarkably powerful entity.
Several breaths of time later, the cloud suddenly began to move.
It shot upward, plunging into the massive expanse of clouds overhead and vanishing from sight.
Only then did Tan Qiyue let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.
It was done.