After storing the Azure Pouch, Li Ban decided to return regularly to collect it.
Outwardly, he made a show of observing the rift at the bottom of the pool.
He turned and left, regrouping with Priest Qian Que who was waiting above. Together, they returned to the top of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
"Priest Qian Que, I plan to enter the Shattered Realm for training. Please keep an eye out for any news regarding Xiao Suo."
Priest Qian Que nodded. "Naturally."
Black Robe Xiao Suo was the sworn enemy of the White Robes. Qian Que didn't consider this a personal favor to Li Ban.
Dealing with the Black Robes was already one of his duties.
Li Ban was just about to head back to his courtyard when he noticed the Shattered Eye tremble in midair.
The two priests guarding the Shattered Eye immediately rose and stepped forward to greet the arrival.
Li Ban halted just as he was about to take flight. His immediate reaction was to avert his gaze.
He quickly caught himself, however, and turned back to look at the Shattered Eye.
Even with the heavy suppression in his heart and a fleeting surge of tearing pain, he forced himself to watch the Shattered Eye.
The ripples across the Shattered Eye gradually stilled, and a woman stepped out. She wore white priestly robes, her beautiful face radiating a cold aloofness.
Li Ban stared at her, his eyelashes trembling slightly, as if he saw the shadow of another person overlapping with her figure.
They looked completely identical. On a certain level, they were the exact same person.
Yet the Priest Yao standing before him felt nothing like the person in his memories.
This Priest Yao was aloof and powerful, possessing top-tier strength even among Dark Moon Priests.
In contrast, the Zhu Yao in Li Ban's memories possessed a tenacious, unyielding resilience forged through endless hardships.
When he successfully took Zhu Yao away from the Recycling Station, Li Ban had imagined countless times what interesting things might happen when the two Zhu Yaos finally met.
But—
Nothing interesting happened.
There were only two tears shed by Li Ban.
One tear fell into the depths of his heart.
The other accompanied Zhu Yao, dissipating into the vast universe.
All that remained were memories he could never share, forever sealed away in his mind.
"Priest Yao." The two guardian priests cupped their hands in salute simultaneously.
Priest Zhu Yao nodded in return. Sensing an intense gaze she could not ignore, she turned her head, only to meet an unfamiliar face.
The man was standing next to Priest Qian Que. Judging by the spiritual rhinoceros radiating from his body, he was a Star Glow Priest.
Zhu Yao was certain she had never seen him before, yet she felt a profound sense of familiarity.
His gaze was impossibly deep. Even with all her rich life experience, Zhu Yao could not read what he was thinking.
Priest Li He hurried over and conducted a brief inspection of Zhu Yao.
"No issues."
"Who is the person beside Priest Qian Que? He feels so familiar," Zhu Yao asked.
Li He chuckled. "That is Li Ban."
Priest Zhu Yao's eyes widened slightly. "He's become much better looking."
The two of them flew toward the top of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda together.
Li Ban and Qian Que naturally remained where they were, waiting for them.
"Priest Ban, congratulations on returning safely." A faint smile graced Priest Zhu Yao's aloof face.
For her, this was already a massive shift in expression.
"Thank you, Priest Yao, for going through the hardship of entering the Dark Side of the World to save me."
Priest Zhu Yao shook her head slightly. "I didn't offer much help."
As she examined Li Ban's face, she finally realized why he had felt so familiar yet completely unrecognizable just moments ago.
His transformation was too drastic.
It wasn't just his appearance; even his aura was worlds apart from before.
The once humble, gentle, and spirited rookie priest was now as calm as still water. Beneath that tranquil gaze lay a deep, accumulated sorrow that could not be voiced to outsiders.
For a brief moment, Zhu Yao felt a twinge of heartache for him.
In her eyes, Li Ban resembled a child who had suffered a sudden catastrophe and been forced to grow up overnight.
Growth rarely came without pain.
This was especially true for Li Ban, who had advanced from Cloud-Hidden to Star Glow in a mere half a year.
Achieving such enviable speed meant he must have paid an equal price.
Zhu Yao looked at Li Ban and asked softly, "Can you tell me what you went through during this time?"
Li Ban, however, offered a joyless smile. "It's a long story."
It was clear he didn't want to talk about it.
Zhu Yao nodded, choosing not to press the issue. "Returning safely is a good thing in itself."
She then shifted the topic to her own experiences in the Shattered Realm.
"I've spent this time searching for Priest Ban and Du An. Unfortunately, there was absolutely no news of Priest Ban, but I did manage to catch up to Du An once."
Everyone's attention immediately zeroed in on her.
They all despised Black Robe Xiao Suo, but they were equally unable to forgive Du An's actions.
Priest Qian Que in particular was filled with remorse for failing to notice the darkness in Du An's heart earlier, having been entirely fooled by his calm facade.
He hadn't intervened in the dynamic between Priest Pei Jun and Priest Du An because all priests were required to temper their hearts. Guiding and restraining one's own emotions was an essential part of their personal cultivation.
But no matter what reasons Du An might have had, the moment he murdered one of their own, he guaranteed his name on the kill list.
However, looking at Zhu Yao's expression, Qian Que suspected that even though she had caught up to Du An, she hadn't gotten the result they wanted.
Sure enough, Priest Zhu Yao continued, "Unfortunately, Du An seems to have learned some bizarre techniques from Black Robe Xiao Suo. I don't know about his combat capabilities, but his speed when fleeing was quite fast."
Priest Yao frowned slightly, her tone full of regret.
"Now that Du An has become a black-robed priest, his advancement speed won't be slow." Having heard about Du An's potential, Priest Li He also felt a pang of regret.
If one ignored the threat black-robed priests posed to other priests and their disruption of the Wizard World's rules, Du An's personal disposition made him perfectly suited to become a Black Robe.
"Indeed. Even though he reached the Star Glow tier only half a year ago, when I ran into him, I realized he was already halfway to a breakthrough. I fear it will only take another half a year for him to become a Dark Moon Priest," Priest Yao said, deeply concerned.
Du An already possessed a ruthless disposition and formidable combat strength. Once he reached the Dark Moon tier without needing to restrain himself as traditional Dark Moon Priests did, his combat power would likely multiply several times over.
"Hmph. If he truly manages to advance to the Dark Moon tier, it won't be long before he breeds an inner demon," Priest Li He snorted coldly.
Black-robed priests and white-robed priests were different.
White-robed priests generally only developed inner demons upon reaching the 8th Tier Solar stage.
Thanks to their constant mental cultivation, their inner demons were generally weaker than those born from black-robed priests, making them comparatively easier to overcome.
This was also why white-robed priests had a much more stable path to advancing into Divine Offspring Priests.
In contrast, black-robed priests could spawn inner demons as early as the sixth or seventh tier. Furthermore, their inner demons were often so terrifyingly powerful that many Black Robes perished to them directly, saving the white-robed priests the trouble of eliminating them.
As a result, the number of black-robed priests was vastly lower than that of white-robed priests.
"Unlikely." Priest Qian Que, however, didn't hold onto the hope that Du An would destroy himself.
Li Ban nodded. "Du An possesses incredible mental fortitude. Once he sets his mind on something, he will accomplish it by any means necessary. Just like how he destroyed the small world he hailed from."