"We haven't entered the Nihility State yet, so let's use this Ring World to practice first."
Li Ban tried to shape the world using his will, but his thoughts were chaotic and the details blurred. His intent either failed to form into commands, or the commands conflicted and canceled each other out.
"So, using structured thought to release spell arts and directly controlling the world with pure will are two entirely different things."
"Gu Yi was just an ordinary person back then. How did he control the Zhuangsheng Ring to create a Ring World that could accommodate so many split consciousnesses?"
"Right, the Ring World was already a copy of Gu Yi's original world. He must have borrowed its internal rules and external forms."
"Although I wasn't in the Ring World for long, I can rely on its original foundation, combined with the rules of my former world..."
With this in mind, Li Ban raised a hand toward the yellow sand in front of him.
He gently swept his hands back and forth.
The yellow sand covering most of the stairs parted to either side, forming two dunes.
Li Ban then grasped the air as if gripping the building, lifted it upward, and righted it.
The collapsed building stood tall once more, and the fallen debris returned to the structure as if time were flowing in reverse.
Ruins still surrounded him, but Li Ban only restored this single one.
Li Ban recognized this tallest building before him. It was the very same one that housed the Laboratory.
And restoring this single building was all he needed.
Li Ban flashed into the newly restored building and found a pristine environment inside.
Only, there were no corpses.
Logically speaking, when the Ring World was destroyed, Gu Yi's other mental avatars should have all died here.
Even though their consciousnesses were split off from Gu Yi, their bodies were created by the Ring World.
Yet when Li Ban entered the building, he found that all the corpses had vanished.
"The Zhuangsheng Ring didn't fall into my hands until after the Ring World was destroyed. Did something happen before Gu Yi's body fell into the Trash Realm?"
Li Ban walked through several key areas.
Whether it was the Leader who had died in the brain domain construction platform due to the Virus outbreak, or the caretakers left outside, none were anywhere to be found.
Finally, Li Ban arrived at the Laboratory.
Over a hundred Experimental Capsules still rested here.
Li Ban still clearly remembered the Experimental Capsule that Chen Dong had used.
He lay directly inside the Experimental Capsule and used the rules of the Zhuangsheng Ring to activate all the instruments.
Soon, the transparent lid closed, and Li Ban's consciousness sank.
His consciousness quickly detached from the virtual body within the Zhuangsheng Ring and entered an information channel.
"Is this the special channel for entering the Wizard World? It only allows divine consciousness to enter. I wonder how it compares to the method Black Robe and the others use to sneak in?"
"Although they can enter the Wizard World with their physical bodies, the Zhuangsheng Ring's method is much more covert. They both have their advantages."
Li Ban quickly passed through the special channel and entered the Wizard World.
He immediately felt his control over his limbs return.
"Whoosh!"
After a brief moment of acclimation, he discovered he was actually underwater.
All around him, densely packed corpses drifted downstream with the current.
Some were missing arms and legs, while others stared with unblinking dead eyes.
This was the River of Forgetfulness.
Controlling his new body, he turned nimbly and leaped straight out of the water.
"Oh? A living person?"
By sheer coincidence.
A body-salvager from the Myriad Ancient Pagoda happened to be nearby, right where Li Ban left the water.
The moment he caught sight of the moving Li Ban, he extended his pole to fish him onto the boat.
Li Ban did not stand on ceremony; he grabbed the pole and hopped straight onto the boat.
The body-salvager was overjoyed. "You actually have decent talent. Kid, follow me back to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda and behave, and you might just land yourself a good gig."
And the salvager himself would earn a reward for the recommendation.
"What is this place?"
The body-salvager said proudly, "This is Yu Province, territory of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda."
Following the direction of the man's hand, Li Ban saw the glazed spire of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
"I really am back in my old stomping grounds." Li Ban nodded. "Then let's head to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda."
The body-salvager looked at Li Ban strangely.
Why was this guy acting so differently from all the other living people he fished out?
However, since he had woken up in the River of Forgetfulness on his own, he was either someone harboring an element or blessed with solid aptitude. Being a little unusual was to be expected.
The body-salvager abandoned his work, pushed against the water with his pole, and rowed Li Ban to shore.
They returned to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda. Just as the body-salvager was about to lead Li Ban through a side gate, the Black-Winged Qiongqi suddenly landed right in front of them.
Scared out of his wits, the body-salvager instantly dropped to the ground, terrified the beast might devour him.
Although he was a first-level spirit practitioner, he was truly nothing in front of a Level 6 Black-Winged Qiongqi.
If his luck was bad and he got eaten, he just got eaten.
No one would ever seek justice for him.
Yet while the body-salvager was trembling and awaiting his fate, Li Ban stepped forward and gently stroked the Black-Winged Qiongqi.
The Black-Winged Qiongqi actually lowered its head, letting him stroke it as obediently as a house cat.
"Your intuition is actually quite sharp."
Li Ban glanced back at the body-salvager, then vaulted onto the Black-Winged Qiongqi and flew into the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
The body-salvager lay flat on the ground for a moment before suddenly standing up, looking left and right with a blank expression.
"How did I get back? I haven't finished today's quota yet, have I?"
Slapping his thigh, he scurried back toward the River of Forgetfulness, completely failing to ponder why he had suddenly returned to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda, and forgetting he had been planning to bring someone back with him.
Li Ban had only wanted to test the condition of his new vessel, never expecting the Black-Winged Qiongqi to detect his anomaly.
He needed to figure out where he had exposed a flaw, which was why he let the Black-Winged Qiongqi carry him straight into the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
Tower Master Wan Chengming of the Yu Province Myriad Ancient Pagoda was in the middle of cultivation.
Suddenly, a premonition struck him. He pushed open his door and stepped out, only to find a stranger sitting right in his main hall.
Not only was this person a stranger, but his clothes were completely ordinary.
His face triggered not the slightest impression.
Yet because this person could silently enter the Myriad Ancient Pagoda and sit inside his hall, Wan Chengming did not dare underestimate him.
He walked over to his seat of honor, slowly sat down, and asked, "May I ask who Your Excellency is?"
This body of Li Ban's possessed no identity and no spiritual rhinoceros, but he possessed the Star River; his strength was completely unrestricted.
Facing the tower master he had met once before, he had no intention of toying with him.
Thus, the robes on Li Ban's body suddenly shifted, transforming into a white brocade robe edged in gold.
Wan Chengming leaped straight up from his barely warmed seat.
He cupped his hands and bowed deeply at the waist.
"Greetings, Lord Priest."
"Tower Master Wan."
Wan Chengming straightened up, looking blankly at Li Ban. "I wonder how I should address you, my lord, and which seat you are a Priest under?"
Li Ban knew that Wan Chengming certainly had no lingering impression of a minor prison guard from back then, and he couldn't be bothered to transform back into his original vessel just to jog the man's memory.
He simply spoke in a calm tone, "I am Myriad Ancient Pagoda Priest Li Ban. We once had a single meeting. I wonder if Tower Master Wan still remembers?"
1
Wan Chengming stood blankly for a moment. Then his pupils suddenly constricted as he raised his head to stare at Li Ban in utter disbelief.
"Li Ban... Priest?!"