Once Priest Qian Que brought Li Ban back above the clouds, Priest Hunyou dispelled Li Ban's phantom.
"How did it go?" Priest Hunyou asked with concern.
Judging by the look of them, he figured they had succeeded, but he still asked just to be sure.
Li Ban gave a calm nod. "It's done."
A second later, Priest Ai Jing and Priest Liu Yun materialized on the clouds as well.
Shen Xiang quickly took a half-step back, making room for the two Dark Moon Priests.
Priest Ai Jing looked visibly thrilled, her chest heaving with deep breaths.
"He's dead, isn't he? We actually killed Black Robe Xiao Suo, didn't we?"
Priest Qian Que rested a hand on Ai Jing's shoulder. "You already know the answer."
Li Ban turned and answered Priest Ai Jing with utmost solemnity. "Xiao Suo is dead. Therefore, Priest Jing, you need to enter seclusion immediately."
Dark Moon Priests usually kept their emotions tightly reined in, making these rare moments of total catharsis the perfect catalyst for their advancement.
Priest Ai Jing's current elation was the release of years of deep-seated hatred.
With her old inner demon vanquished and no new burdens to weigh her down, this was the absolute best time for her to enter seclusion and advance.
For priests with such formidable mental fortitude, new inner turmoil might take months to manifest, meaning there usually wasn't any rush to enter seclusion immediately.
But Li Ban knew better. As long as Xiao Suo still had a clone out there, the special rules bound to him would continue to take effect.
He wasn't sure how long it would take for those rules to correct everyone's memories, but he knew Priest Ai Jing didn't have much time left.
If she didn't ride this emotional high to advance right now, she would soon forget their successful ambush entirely, believing Xiao Suo had slipped through their fingers yet again.
For someone already plagued by inner demons like Priest Ai Jing, that would be a devastating blow.
It might even shatter her chances of ever advancing again.
Priest Liu Yun naturally had no idea what Li Ban was thinking.
"No rush, we—"
"Priest Jing, go into seclusion immediately. You must complete your advancement before tonight," Priest Qian Que said, raising a hand to cut Priest Liu Yun off with uncharacteristic bluntness.
Priest Ai Jing paused in surprise, but seeing how rarely Priest Qian Que spoke at such length, she chose to trust him without question.
"Alright, I'll go right now. I leave the cleanup to the rest of you."
Seeing this, Priest Liu Yun didn't try to stop her. "Priest Xiang, accompany Priest Jing back and stand guard for her."
"Understood." Shen Xiang had effectively just been tagging along the entire time, but they really couldn't do without someone to play a supporting role like this.
Once Ai Jing and Shen Xiang left, Priest Hunyou stroked his beard. "Let's head to my courtyard on the mountain peak. It's the perfect chance to see if this plant element Xiao Suo engineered has any hidden dangers."
The four of them returned to the mountaintop courtyard.
Cat Girl was pacing back and forth in the courtyard, nearly wearing a trench into the dirt next to the flowerbed.
Suddenly, she felt a stir in her heart. She looked up and noticed an unremarkable-looking cloud drifting through the sky.
For some inexplicable reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something special about it.
As she stared upward, her gaze unexpectedly met a pair of eyes hidden behind the cloud.
"Ah, he's back."
The cloud didn't descend into the courtyard; instead, it phased directly into the main hall at the back.
"He did that on purpose just to say hello and let me know he's back." Cat Girl pursed her lips into a smile.
The priests definitely had matters to discuss now that they were back, so he wouldn't be able to see her right away. That was why Li Ban had gone out of his way to acknowledge her.
"He isn't quite as dense as he used to be, now that he's a priest."
She tugged at her hair, her eyes narrowing. "I still need to advance to the Seventh Tier as soon as possible. Once the Cyan Silk Algae is completely stable, I'll go to the Nihility State!"
If she couldn't keep advancing, Cat Girl knew she would only ever be a burden to Li Ban.
However, if she rushed her advancement and left hidden flaws in her foundation, Li Ban would be the one forced to clean up her mess.
Cat Girl stared off into the distance, a little lost in thought.
"How did that good guy advance so incredibly fast?"
Elsewhere, right after they landed in the main hall of the mountaintop courtyard, Priest Liu Yun eagerly spoke up. "Priest Qian Que, your Myriad Ancient Pagoda faction put in the most effort during this siege against Xiao Suo. You should be the ones to offer Xiao Suo's Witch Embryo Shards to your Wizard Lord."
Beside him, Priest Hunyou nodded in agreement.
Killing Xiao Suo was one major merit, and offering up a Black Robe's Wizard Embryo Fragments was another entirely.
Naturally, this merit would be awarded to whoever was in line to advance next.
—
The priests of the Imperial Dynasty and the Mist Realm obviously weren't going to fight them for this merit.
After all, the intelligence had come from the Myriad Ancient Pagoda, and Li Ban had taken on the most dangerous task of acting as bait.
Priest Qian Que looked at Li Ban. Without even waiting for Li Ban to respond, he gave his word. "We will."
Either way, after today, they likely wouldn't have to worry about this issue anymore.
Priest Liu Yun found it a little strange that they weren't sacrificing Xiao Suo's Witch Embryo Shards right on the spot, but he didn't ask any questions. He figured the Solar Priests had their own way of handling things.
Priest Hunyou changed the subject. "Now, let's check and see if this Xuanji Vine has any hidden issues."
Because Li Ban had been disguised as Deputy Valley Master Zheng at the time, Priest Hunyou had temporarily held onto the Xuanji Vine offered by Tan Qiyue.
That element had been a gift from Tan Qiyue to Li Ban; he was merely holding it for him.
He uncurled his fingers, revealing a tiny ball of black thread resting in the center of his palm.
It was a shrunken version of the Xuanji Vine.
Priest Hunyou had temporarily placed a seal on it.
"I gave it a brief inspection on our way back. The Xuanji Vine is a little unruly, but the blood sacrifices it consumed really were completely converted into its own nutrients."
He held his hand out toward the others.
"Feel free to inspect it yourselves. If there are no issues, I'll return it to Priest Ban. I wouldn't want him thinking I was trying to pocket it for myself."
Priest Hunyou's lighthearted joke instantly dispelled the lingering tension in the air.
The others all smiled, and Li Ban joined them, though his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
After the other two priests had also examined it, Priest Hunyou handed the Xuanji Vine over to Li Ban.
"Priest Ban, this element might only be of 'Good' grade, but it's genuinely quite impressive and boasts a very rare ability. Whether you choose to assimilate it yourself or pass it on to someone else, it'll be highly useful."
Priest Hunyou advised.
Thinking of something else, he turned to Li Ban. "By the way, Priest Ban, you've advanced two whole tiers in the span of just half a year. Have you assimilated a new element?"
"Yes, I acquired an 'Excellent' grade element after coming back."
Li Ban was referring to the "Illusory Demise Spirit Mist" that Priest Chu Zhan had given him.
He had also picked up quite a few elements at the Recycling Station, though for now, he had only assimilated the "Shadow Inner Demon."
However, the element from Priest Chu Zhan had to be publicly accounted for; as for the rest, there was no need for Li Ban to mention them to anyone.
"I am planning to assimilate the Xuanji Vine as well. Its abilities are very useful to me."
Priest Liu Yun nodded with a smile. "Indeed, this element is highly useful both to individuals and to entire factions. We've decided to put our full support behind Tan Qiyue to cultivate the Xuanji Vine."
At that moment, Priest Qian Que, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly spoke up. "Why did Xiao Suo want it?"