While the others were still unsure of Li Ban's condition, a sudden glow flared around him.
It was soft and tranquil.
Not glaring in the slightest.
Priest Qian Que's expression immediately shifted from worry to delight.
"Li Ban, you... have you advanced to Dark Moon?"
Li Ban withdrew his gaze and nodded at the three priests. "I suppose... I passed the test."
Overjoyed, Priest Qian Que patted Li Ban repeatedly on the shoulder.
Priest Ai Jing clearly breathed a sigh of relief as well. "Thank goodness. Even though this wasn't my first time meeting you, I've still been worried. But it looks like you're truly fine now."
Priest Li He was equally generous with his praise. "To hold onto your true self while being plotted against like that—I'm certain you will complete the Self-Restraint stage and advance to Solar."
Before advancing to the Solar realm, she definitely wouldn't have spoken like this.
But now that she had reached Solar, she could follow her heart's desire without overstepping the boundaries. That freedom allowed her to honestly express her true feelings.
Priests Qian Que and Li He offered no modest deflections. They merely smiled with genuine pride.
"I survived the mental trap Xiao Suo laid for me," Li Ban told them, "and I even discovered clues about his remaining clones."
"Where?" Priest Ai Jing asked quickly.
"One was in the Shattered Realm—" Li Ban suddenly paused. "Actually, the one in the Shattered Realm is gone."
None of the Solar priests doubted him.
"Gone?" Priest Ai Jing frowned in confusion. "Could his clone hiding in the Shattered Realm have been killed by someone else?"
Priest Li He lifted his chin. "The Shattered Realm is incredibly dangerous to begin with. Even Xiao Suo could perish there."
Priest Qian Que was somewhat worried. "If he disappeared completely, I'm afraid someone else has already fused with his Wizard Embryo Fragment. That means there's another powerful Black Robe in the Shattered Realm, and we still don't know who they are."
For some reason, Du An's figure suddenly flashed through Li Ban's mind.
But could Du An, who had just fled in such a miserable state, truly have killed his guide, Xiao Suo?
"As long as they're Black Robes, we just have to slaughter them all," Priest Ai Jing declared with a wave of her hand, murderous intent swirling in her eyes.
"What about Xiao Suo's other clones?" Priest Li He was more concerned with the enemies who were still alive.
"The last one," Li Ban said, "is in the deepest part of the Nihility State."
The expressions on the Solar priests' faces grew grim.
Although they were currently in the Nihility State, they were only at its very edge. For priests, this was still considered a safe area.
The deeper one went into the Nihility State, the more distorted and chaotic the world's rules became. Even high-level priests were reluctant to venture deep inside.
But if Xiao Suo's last clone was truly there...
Even if it meant risking their lives, they had to go in and eliminate it.
At this moment, Priest Qian Que suggested, "Since we don't have an exact location, this operation must be handled with the utmost caution. Now that Li Ban has advanced to Dark Moon and Cat Girl has become a Spirit Awakening Priest, they both need a safe environment to stabilize their conditions."
"That works. We'll send them over to Priest Hunyou. Once they've stabilized, we can return to the Unreturning Place to discuss our long-term plan," Priest Li He quickly agreed.
Everyone agreed.
Before leaving, they destroyed two patches of swamp vines.
Although these vines were merely a smokescreen Xiao Suo used to conceal his true objective, they harbored their own unstable elements. Destroying them offered better peace of mind.
That night, Priest Li He prepared to return to the Unreturning Place first.
Priest Qian Que saw him off in the sky.
"I wonder who destroyed Xiao Suo's clone in the Shattered Realm," Priest Qian Que remarked with a sigh.
"As long as it isn't another Black Robe with cloning abilities, it's fine." Priest Li He abruptly changed the subject. "Did you come out here to see me off because you have something to ask?"
"When you were pursuing Du An underwater in the River of Helplessness today, why did you suddenly let him go?"
Priest Li He remained perfectly composed, showing not the slightest hint of guilt.
He looked down and chuckled. "You really did see it. Then did you see the divine soul that materialized over Du An?"
Priest Qian Que shook his head.
"You just advanced to Solar. Even if you saw it, you wouldn't know what it was."
"So what was it, exactly?"
Priest Li He looked earnestly at Priest Qian Que. "I cannot say it out loud. Do you understand what that means?"
Priest Qian Que furrowed his brows. "You cannot say it?"
He suddenly started in shock. "The Power of Rules again?"
The emergence of yet another priest among the Black Robes who possessed the Power of Rules normally would have caused immense anxiety.
However, as Priest Qian Que looked at the composed Priest Li He, the doubts in his heart only multiplied.
"Could Du An also have a close relationship with a certain Great Wizard?" Priest Qian Que could only guess to himself.
Ten shichen earlier.
Right when Li Ban was sensing Xiao Suo's remaining clones.
The Shattered Realm.
"You finally made it out safely." Hiding at the border of the Shattered Realm, Xiao Suo immediately sealed the spatial passage in front of him the moment Du An and another Black Robe emerged.
The other end of this passage connected to a certain location in the Nihility State. If it hadn't been to receive Du An and this other Black Robe, he never would have let anyone else know it existed.
Because once the White Robes discovered it, they would spare no effort to destroy it.
If that happened, Xiao Suo would lose a vital method of sneaking in and out of the Nihility State.
He had managed to evade the pursuit of the three major White Robe factions for years—only getting caught on rare occasions—primarily by relying on this secret passage.
After dropping Du An on the ground, the other Black Robe left immediately without saying a single word to either of them.
Du An watched the man's retreating back, his eyes filled with confusion. "Just who is that 8th Tier Black Robe?"
Du An had originally thought the mysterious Black Robe agreed to Xiao Suo's plan to seize the opportunity to snatch a Solar Priest's Wizard Embryo Fragment.
Yet the man hadn't struck to kill from beginning to end.
When fighting Priest Qian Que, his main focus had been stalling for time.
He hadn't spared a single glance for anyone else.
He had only forcibly intervened at the very last moment to rescue Du An and escape.
Why on earth would such a powerful Black Robe cooperate with them?
"I cannot tell you his identity. But rest assured, this person has no conflict of interest with us."
Du An did not ask any further.
He and Xiao Suo were strictly in a cooperative relationship. If Xiao Suo wanted to hide something, Du An would never be able to pry it out of him.
At that moment, Xiao Suo frowned. "There hasn't been a signal for so long. It seems my plan to incite a defection has failed."
"You wanted to turn Li Ban into a Black Robe?" Du An asked.
"That was my original thought. But after I discovered that he could fuse with the fragments of my clones without turning into a Black Robe, I realized just how interesting it would be to have a black-robed priest wearing a White Robe!"
"It's a pity that the Power of the Star River within him was too strong, allowing him to survive yet again."
"I originally thought that having visited that place once, he would feel my words on a profound level. Looking at it now, the man is cowardly and ruthless, only looking out for himself."
"But it doesn't matter. I still have one more chance. Since he isn't willing to risk fighting for this, I will do it myself. Once I become Li Ban, I'll give the White Robes of this Wizard World a massive surprise."
Du An lowered his eyes. "How can you be so sure he will become you?"
"Because identical goals will always lead people to make similar choices. And only by destroying the Wizard World can the infinite reboots be stopped."