The mouth of the dry well was not large.
It was about the size of a watermelon. At most, a small child could fall in; an ordinary adult could not fit at all.
Yet white bones surrounded the dry well, all collapsed with their skulls pointing toward the opening.
It looked as if they had been advancing wave upon wave, desperate to hurl themselves into the well.
An old man sat suspended in the air above the well.
He had white hair and heavily wrinkled skin, his frame as thin and gaunt as firewood.
He looked scarcely different from the skeletons below.
The white robe he wore was incredibly old and utterly faded.
Surprisingly, he was also a String Music Priest.
I don't even know the Lord Priest's title. Priest Zhu Yao never told us, either."
Li Ban set Wan Chengming down in a small hollow to the side so he wouldn't have to stand on the white bones.
"Tower Master Wan, please wait here for a moment."
Wan Chengming was very curious about what Li Ban intended to do.
But he didn't dare ask; he could only squint and observe carefully.
Li Ban stopped in front of the elderly Priest hovering above the dry well.
"Greetings, Senior. I am Li Ban, a Priest of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda faction. May I ask how to address you?"
The old man didn't open his eyes, but fortunately, he responded.
"I am Priest Bai Gu of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda."
This name had definitely been adopted later; who would be named 'White Bone' at birth?
However, many Spirit Practitioners adopted a new title after becoming Priests.
It signified a complete break from their mortal lives.
"Priest Bai Gu, I am new here, and this is my first time seeing this dry well. I am curious about its origins and purpose. Would Senior be willing to enlighten me?"
Priest Bai Gu slowly spoke, his eyes still firmly shut.
"This well is called the Dust Well. Its name means 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust.' All things, save for raw souls, may enter this well. Once inside, everything returns to nothingness."
"Does Priest Bai Gu know where this Dust Well leads?"
"It leads to the Great Thousand World. It cannot be traced."
The elderly Priest spoke in an archaic, overly refined manner. Li Ban, who was used to conversing normally with other Priests, found it a bit jarring.
"Is the Dust Well dangerous, then? Otherwise, why would they ask you to guard this place?"
"Save for raw souls, all things depart and never return. Is that not danger itself?"
Li Ban flew closer to the mouth of the well, raised his hand, and cast a Rending Technique toward the bottom.
The dry well wasn't deep; the bottom was only three or four meters below the opening.
A layer of dust and a few loose stones lay at the bottom.
The Rending Technique Li Ban had just cast was aimed squarely at one of those stones.
The moment the Rending Technique passed the mouth of the well, it suddenly dispersed.
Neither the dust nor the stones at the bottom moved an inch.
"It seems techniques and spiritual rhinoceros are also included within 'all things.'"
He casually picked up a bone near the well's edge and tossed it down.
The bone also turned to ash the moment it crossed the plane of the well, drifting down weightlessly to rest over the dust and stones Li Ban had spotted.
Seeing that Priest Bai Gu had no intention of stopping him, Li Ban simply directed a massive pile of nearby white bones to hurl themselves into the well.
That massive heap of bones squeezed into the small opening all at once.
Here, the concepts of space and volume seemed to differ from what the naked eye perceived.
Furthermore, after that sheer volume of bones entered the well and drifted down as dust, the layer of dirt at the bottom didn't rise by a single inch.
In other words, the dust inside the well would never accumulate and eventually overflow.
After a few tests, Li Ban noticed something else.
The deepest secret of the Dust Well lay buried right beneath that unremarkable dirt and stone.
Li Ban dusted off his hands and floated back up to Priest Bai Gu's height.
"Aside from things leaving and never returning, the Dust Well doesn't seem to produce any enemies. Why must Senior guard this place?"
Priest Bai Gu remained silent for a moment.
"I am not guarding this well. I am merely waiting for someone to return from it."
"Waiting for someone? Didn't you say that all things depart and never return?"
Li Ban was incredibly curious, but unfortunately, Priest Bai Gu offered no further answers, keeping his eyes closed in silent cultivation.
He had likely touched upon a private matter.
Li Ban rubbed his nose, finally remembering Wan Chengming waiting for him outside.
"I have one more matter to ask of Senior. The highest identity level of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda in this Mass Grave is Level 6. Does Senior know of any way to raise this level cap?"
"One only needs to wait for the right moment." Though Priest Bai Gu didn't open his eyes, he let out a soft sigh. "It is truly not a fortunate thing."
There was quite a bit of information packed into Priest Bai Gu's words.
He meant that the Myriad Ancient Pagoda within the Mass Grave would sooner or later advance to level seven due to certain events, but this would likely be accompanied by tremendous danger.
Knowing this was enough for Li Ban.
He didn't understand the Myriad Ancient Pagoda's promotion rules and had wanted to ask the Priest guarding this area.
Although Priest Bai Gu wasn't technically a guard, thankfully, he still knew a few things.
This answer alone was enough to repay Tower Master Wan for those Beast Taming Insights.
"Thank you, Senior. This junior will take his leave."
Li Ban cupped his hands in a formal bow, flew back to Wan Chengming's side, and carried him away from the depths of the Mass Grave.
After Li Ban left, Priest Bai Gu slowly opened his eyes.
This withered old man's appearance and clothing were entirely unexceptional, yet his eyes shone with a brilliant Star Glow, as if a dazzling Star River was hidden within them.
He looked in the direction Li Ban had departed and shook his head.
"It is not him. Still not him."
Unaware of what had transpired behind him, Li Ban brought Wan Chengming back to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda.
He relayed the information he had gleaned from Priest Bai Gu to Wan Chengming.
"Tower Master Wan, I think you can hear it as well. An increase in the identity level cap comes with both risks and opportunities. If you are willing to wait for that moment, then instead of tirelessly seeking a chance for promotion, it would be better to prepare for the risks that will follow."
Hearing this, Wan Chengming didn't know whether to be happy or sad that the opportunity he had plotted toward for years merely required him to wait.
But fortunately, he finally had a chance to advance.
As for the risks Li Ban mentioned, he wasn't afraid of them.
The Myriad Ancient Pagoda was backed by the Priests. If a risk truly exceeded his capacity to handle it, the Priests would certainly step in; they wouldn't just let the Mass Grave fall into the hands of enemies or monsters.
However, not being afraid was one thing; preparation still needed to be taken seriously.
He had previously obtained a rather good element and had been debating whether to replace his original element with it or sell it off.
Now, with Li Ban's advice, he decided to switch to this more suitable element.
After all, no amount of spiritual rhinoceros or wealth was as reliable as one's own strength.
Bidding farewell to a profusely thankful Wan Chengming, Li Ban arrived above the River of Forgetfulness.
The opposite bank of the River of Forgetfulness was shrouded in fog; it was the Mist Zone guarded by the Mist Realm Priests.
However, being so close to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda, the Mist Realm Priests' main camp definitely wouldn't be anywhere nearby.
Based on Li Ban's understanding of the Mist Realm, their camp should be located in the middle section of the River of Forgetfulness.
Looking at the distant opposite bank, Li Ban thought to himself, 'The depths of the Nihility State, where Xiao Suo's final clone is located, should have rules somewhat similar to the Mist Zone. I might as well explore this area first and familiarize myself with the rules here.'
Li Ban immediately put this thought into action.
He flew directly across the River of Forgetfulness to the opposite shore.
None of the many corpse carriers on the river noticed his presence.
After crossing the River of Forgetfulness, the mist grew increasingly dense.
Visibility quickly dropped below fifty meters.
Even with Li Ban's eyesight, he couldn't see very far. Only by reinforcing his vision with the Spirit Eye Technique could he barely see about a hundred meters away.
Li Ban was in no rush to delve deeper, opting to observe his surroundings first.
Suddenly, his gaze focused. Seventy or eighty meters from the shore, he spotted a Fluffy Dandelion.