Wizard World.
The border of Yingzhou and Lan Province.
Having just left Capital City, Xiao Suo rode a donkey along a muddy mountain path in Yingzhou.
Lan Province and Yingzhou were heavily mountainous, their roads rugged and treacherous.
The narrow trail Xiao Suo took was mostly deserted. Only occasionally could he spot an old farmer gathering herbs on the roadside or high on the slopes.
Those who ventured out alone were highly vigilant and would not easily approach a stranger.
Xiao Suo traveled deep into the mountains, arriving near Mist Valley.
He did not head directly for the main road into the valley, however. Instead, he took a fork and headed up the mountain.
The terrain was difficult to traverse, and soon, even the dirt path vanished.
Wild grass and vines tore at his clothes, yet he used no spells to protect himself. He climbed like an ordinary mortal, and in no time at all, he looked just as bedraggled as the local herb gatherers.
Continuing upward, he reached the summit.
Pushing aside the thick vines and foliage, Xiao Suo peered down into the massive valley on the other side.
Mist Valley was shrouded in dense fog year-round; it was no easy feat for an ordinary person to find their way inside.
But that was only true for ordinary people. For Black Robe Xiao Suo, this little barrier was child's play.
He was being cautious because Number 18's disappearance had put him on high alert.
White Robe was acting with increasing efficiency. They had targeted one of his important clones, yet the operation had completely bypassed all of Xiao Suo's informants.
From now on, he needed to be more careful to avoid meaningless casualties.
It was not that he was afraid of death. He was just afraid of dying before he could transmit the information he gathered.
That would make a death far too worthless.
Besides, splitting off a new clone was rather painful.
Xiao Suo sat on that mountain peak for three whole days.
During that time, he did not spot White Robe hiding in the shadows, nor did he notice anything unusual about the people traveling in and out of Mist Valley.
On the fourth day, Xiao Suo took out his mirror again. He shared his thoughts, ideas, and recent experiences into it, then stood up and vanished from the spot.
Soon, an uninvited guest appeared in Mist Valley.
Neither the bloodsucking bats in the mountains nor the Spirit Practitioners guarding the entrance at the foot of the valley detected his presence.
Xiao Suo casually changed into a physician's robes. Clasping his hands behind his back, he strolled at a leisurely pace, looking for all the world like a doctor inspecting the growth of herbs in the fields.
Before long, he arrived at Medicine King Hall in the center of Mist Valley.
He did not approach the hall directly. After stopping to observe it from a distance for a moment, he turned and walked into a nearby residential manor.
His figure drifted through the manors. Without needing to open any doors, he slipped right into the bedrooms to listen to the most private, whispered conversations of ordinary people.
Finally, after enduring several households' crude jokes and shady, hidden schemes, he found a clue.
Xiao Suo did not linger. He flashed out of Mist Valley and returned to the mountain peak where he had originally hidden.
"The Xuanji Vine matured, yet it was offered to a Priest. Number 12 and all the backup plans he laid out have vanished. And just like before, he didn't leave a single message before disappearing."
"Interesting. Interesting, truly interesting."
The disappearance of his first clone had annoyed Xiao Suo, but the loss of the second one actually excited him.
"Someone is targeting me! Did they discover the secret of my clones? Hmm, not only did they discover it, they even set a trap and killed the clone cleanly, leaving absolutely no margin for error. Impressive methods! Now, the tables have turned and I know nothing about them. Who could pull this off?"
Xiao Suo really wanted to find that person.
Kill them, or—
"Make him a Black Robe? If someone like that became a Black Robe, it would definitely give White Robe a massive headache. I wonder what terms could move him? Or perhaps I should give him the cloning ability?"
Unreturning Place.
Deng Jun yawned as he dragged himself out of bed. Looking back at the two pale, naked women sprawled on the sheets, he could not help but shake his head and sigh at how depraved he had truly become.
Ever since he followed Priest Ban to Myriad Ancient Pagoda in the Unreturning Place, he had joined their ranks as a corpse collector.
Not long ago, he had successfully been promoted, becoming a 3rd Tier Spirit Cultivator Corpse General.
Because he had Li Ban's backing, the other Spirit Practitioners in Myriad Ancient Pagoda treated him very well.
They never made things difficult for him.
Some had even privately promised him that as long as he gathered enough spiritual rhinoceros, it was highly likely he would smoothly advance to the 4th Tier as a Spirit Practitioner in the future and become a Vice Floor Master.
—
When that time came, he would not have to get his hands dirty processing corpses anymore; he could become a manager.
However, this rise in identity and strength did not bring Deng Jun much of a sense of accomplishment.
Especially after learning about the true power and standing of a Priest, his recent promotion had only kept him happy for a few days.
Once the excitement faded, it all felt rather dull and meaningless.
He knew his own situation perfectly well. His talent was not anything outstanding, and breaking through the bottleneck from the 4th Tier to the 5th Tier would likely be impossible.
That meant he would be nothing more than a 4th Tier Spirit Practitioner for the rest of his life.
And a 4th Tier Spirit Practitioner was, at best, middle management in Myriad Ancient Pagoda of the Unreturning Place.
Deng Jun had dreamed on several occasions that he, like Li Ban, had been lucky enough to obtain a Wizard Embryo Fragment and become a Priest.
From then on, he would leap above the masses. Even if he could not cultivate to the pinnacle of power, he would still possess near-endless longevity and formidable spells.
Even the Emperor would have to bow before him.
Ordinary mortals would not even have the right to know he existed.
Deng Jun had actually woken up laughing from the sheer joy of it.
Unfortunately, after waking up, he realized it was all just a delusional fantasy.
Compared to that dream, his comfortable, carefree life in Myriad Ancient Pagoda suddenly seemed completely dull.
Therefore, just a few days after his promotion, his passion rapidly receded. Whether it was work or cultivation, he just could not muster the energy.
As Li Ban's strength had increased several times over, Deng Jun no longer dared to seek him out casually.
He could only chat with Shi Ming about his thoughts. After all, Shi Ming would never mock him.
Sadly, Shi Ming was always traveling across Yanzhou helping Myriad Ancient Pagoda catch escaped bugs, often leaving the Unreturning Place for long periods of time.
With a heart full of troubles and no one to share them with, Deng Jun felt increasingly stifled.
But he understood Shi Ming's choice.
Shi Ming had a special identity and was disliked by the vast majority of the Priests in Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
Rather than staying in the Unreturning Place to suffer their cold glares, it was better to go outside.
Helping Myriad Ancient Pagoda track down bugs allowed him to save people and earn merits in exchange. For Shi Ming, this was already the best way to live.
According to him, the thrill of saving lives allowed him to rediscover himself.
He no longer spent all day fantasizing, 'If only I were a Great Wizard instead of a mortal corpse.'
Deng Jun found himself in a state of lucid envy toward Shi Ming's resilient determination, even as he allowed his own will to wallow in self-indulgence.
Leaving the two women behind, he got dressed and walked out into the courtyard.
Although he spent his nights indulging in debauchery and sensual pleasures, he still put in an honest day's work.
A Spirit Practitioner's body and mind were extremely robust; just sleeping for one or two shichen was enough to restore his stamina.
Today, however, just as Deng Jun stepped out of his manor, ready to head to Myriad Ancient Pagoda, he saw a horse carriage parked at his door.
The carriage was not luxurious by any means. Compared to the one he had bought for himself, it could even be called shabby.
But the driver was no simple figure.
Dressed in coarse cloth garments and wearing a bamboo hat, Shi Ming was smiling right at Deng Jun.
His large white teeth gleamed exceptionally bright in the sunlight.
"Deng Jun, come catch bugs with me!"