Li Ban returned to his small courtyard to find Cat Girl sitting cross-legged on the roof, cultivating in the final rays of the setting sun.
He didn't disturb her, slipping silently into his room.
Once inside, Li Ban took out the materials for crafting Plain Rings and inspected them carefully.
I should be able to make four Plain Rings. This material is scarce, so getting four portions is already a stroke of luck. Then again, it's my first time forging them. I don't know if my success rate will even hit fifty percent.
The materials for Plain Rings varied in quality; the most common types could only handle Mortal Grade and Good Grade element abilities.
To contain spells or Superior Grade element abilities, one had to use higher-tier materials.
Naturally, such materials were exceedingly rare.
Fortunately, he still had the Dark Spirit Bead String. Even if he only managed to forge one successful Plain Ring, it would be enough.
He was doing all of this to lay the groundwork for the future, ensuring he could unleash a variety of element abilities at a moment's notice.
After a busy night, Li Ban finally managed to craft two Plain Rings.
A fifty percent success rate left him quite satisfied.
He used these two Plain Rings to contain the Virus Element and the shadow inner demon element.
Neither of these elements had ever been openly registered in the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
They were rare and powerful, and at a critical moment, they could even be handed over for someone else to use.
As for the Dark Spirit Bead String, aside from keeping two beads in reserve, he used the rest to store Mortal Grade and Good Grade element abilities.
This way, even if Li Ban unleashed previously unknown abilities, he would have a reasonable explanation and wouldn't expose his secrets to the Great Wizard.
Stepping out of his room, Li Ban saw Cat Girl waiting outside; he had no idea how long she had been there.
"How does it feel?" Li Ban asked with a smile.
"Incredible." Cat Girl beamed. She wanted nothing more than to stand with her hands on her hips and howl at the sky every day.
Who could have ever imagined that a beast blood slave from the slave sheds would one day become a lofty Priest?
Although she had never stopped fighting her way upward, she had never truly expected to reach this height in her lifetime.
In her past understanding, a Priest was like a deity in the heavens; just being able to follow Li Ban and catch a glimpse of one would have been good enough.
Laughing, she suddenly threw herself into Li Ban's arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're really carrying me to the top right now."
Li Ban lifted Little Cat up with both hands. "I just opened the door for you. The path of a White Robe Priest isn't easy to walk. Aside from adventuring in the Shattered Realm to obtain more Wizard Embryo Fragments, cultivating your mind is of the utmost importance."
"Don't worry, you can count on me. I won't let hardship beat me."
He let her rejoice for a moment before setting her back on her feet.
"But before you officially begin your cultivation, we need to make a trip deep into the Nihility State."
Cat Girl's expression grew serious, her playful demeanor vanishing. "I know. You want to wipe that guy out for good."
"Exactly. That's why I need your help. You bear the Chaotic Green Silk Algae element, which makes you similarly sensitive to the vines Xiao Suo creates. Xiao Suo already knows our methods, so he definitely won't just sit back and let us approach his final true body. Your ability is one of the breakthroughs we need."
"You don't have to worry about that. I won't back down," Cat Girl said, patting her chest.
"Once we enter the Nihility State, I won't be traveling with the rest of you. I've asked Priest Yao to look after you on the way. She's a highly experienced and powerful Priest; if you run into any issues, you can turn to her for guidance."
"I know. You studied under her back in the day. Doesn't that make us fellow disciples now?"
Cat Girl had barely laughed out the words before she caught the most important part of his sentence.
"You're not coming with us?"
Li Ban nodded. "By now, Xiao Suo certainly knows that I'm the main threat in this operation. All his plans will be aimed at me, so I can't show up out in the open. It's the only way to keep him guessing and unsure of who to target."
"But you'll have to show yourself eventually."
"That's right. But the later, more hidden, and more sudden my appearance is, the higher our chances of success."
There was one more thing Li Ban didn't tell Cat Girl.
Since Xiao Suo had dared to use a clone as a trap to try and recruit him, there was no guarantee he wouldn't use similar tactics against Li Ban again.
"I understand. Be careful, then," Cat Girl nodded.
Cat Girl didn't ask for the specific details of his plan.
Even though she would never willingly reveal Li Ban's secrets, Priests possessed powerful methods. As someone who had just stepped onto this path, she might not be able to protect them.
It was better to know nothing at all.
"There's one more thing. If this trip goes smoothly... afterward, I will extract the Chaotic Green Silk Algae from your body."
The Cyan Silk Algae was inherently a Superior Grade element; after undergoing fusion with the Mutated Element, it was no longer suitable for Cat Girl.
He would find a more fitting element to replace it, making her future cultivation path much smoother.
Although the Chaotic Green Silk Algae's overall condition had stabilized, there was no guarantee it wouldn't become a ticking time bomb in the future.
It was too dangerous. Cat Girl couldn't control it, and he wouldn't feel at ease handing it over to anyone else.
He had to keep it in his own hands.
Li Ban's confidence in operating alone stemmed from a powerful item in his possession that he had never used.
The Mobius Ring.
Ever since the destruction of the Ring World, this necklace had remained in a dormant state of self-repair. It was only when Li Ban was promoted to Dark Moon that it finally awakened.
He took out the long-stored necklace and weighed it gently in his hand.
"This necklace has never had a formal name in my hands. From today onward, let's call it the Zhuangsheng Ring. It will serve as a constant reminder that no matter how real the Ring World appears to be, it is still an illusion."
Cradling the Zhuangsheng Ring, Li Ban sank his consciousness into it.
He could feel his divine soul being sucked into the Zhuangsheng Ring while his physical body remained standing in place.
When he opened his eyes again, Li Ban stood in a field of ruins.
Behind him stretched a boundless wasteland, and in front of him stood a toppled building.
Yellow sand filled the sky, having already buried half of the building underground.
Upon entering the Ring World, Li Ban felt that with a mere thought, he could reshape it however he pleased.
Just like how the Director constructed the brain-domain platform, his modifications to the Ring World had to follow basic rules. Otherwise, the world would devolve into complete chaos under arbitrary alterations, to the point where even his divine soul wouldn't be able to survive within it.
After my advancement to Dark Moon, the Wizard Embryo Fragment is close to becoming a complete wizard embryo. I have a faint feeling that once the wizard embryo is fully completed, I will also possess a small world of my own. Having this Zhuangsheng Ring will allow me to familiarize myself with constructing a small world ahead of time.
Disregarding the cultivation of the mind, a Dark Moon Priest's goal was simply to bring the wizard embryo to its complete form.
A Solar Priest's goal, on the other hand, was to activate the wizard embryo, turning it into the foundation of a living world.
Only by stabilizing the wizard embryo's condition could one advance to a Divine Offspring Priest and truly possess a small world.
However, the small worlds of Divine Offspring Priests were incredibly fragile, making it difficult for them to form a self-sustaining cycle.
If not constantly tended to, they could be destroyed at any moment.
This was also one of the reasons why Divine Offspring Priests almost never showed their faces in the outside world.