"To think there are Fluffy Dandelions here as well. Are they a product of the Mist Zone rather than the Nihility State?"
Li Ban sincerely hoped the Fluffy Dandelions were a specialty of the Nihility State—a byproduct of a Mutated Element—rather than something originating from the Mist Zone.
The periphery of the Recycling Station was also surrounded by a ring of mist. The world-corroding white fluff found within it bore an uncanny resemblance to the Fluffy Dandelion, yet he hadn't discovered anything abnormal about the dandelion itself.
This conclusion left him uneasy.
Li Ban stepped forward and plucked a Fluffy Dandelion, but he still couldn't detect any energy or excessive activity from it.
Just then, a breeze drifted past.
The dandelion seeds in his hand fluttered into the air, making them look even more like the white fluff from the Recycling Station.
Li Ban tossed the Fluffy Dandelion aside and ventured deeper. He hadn't gone far before he discovered several patches of oddly shaped mud on the ground.
Slicing into the mud with his sword, he revealed a red liquid that looked suspiciously like fresh blood.
"Just as I thought. It isn't the Nihility State invading the Mist Zone, but the Mist Zone invading the Nihility State."
"If that's the case, are the depths of the Nihility State already indistinguishable from the Mist Zone?"
"Can Xiao Suo's clone really survive in there for long?"
"But if the depths of the Nihility State are already at risk of being swallowed by the mist, why hasn't he left?"
Li Ban couldn't figure it out just yet, but he knew the reason wouldn't be simple.
He pressed forward a bit further, finding nothing else out of the ordinary for the time being.
Soon, however, a sense of physical discomfort washed over him.
Lowering his head, Li Ban abruptly raised his sword and sliced open his own arm.
Blood welled up and trickled from the wound.
Yet, tangled within the bright crimson fluid were obvious impurities.
Upon closer inspection, they were the finest threads of fluff from the Fluffy Dandelions.
"Even as tiny as this fluff is, it shouldn't be able to enter my bloodstream just from breathing."
With a few flickering steps, Li Ban darted deeper into the Mist Zone.
Soon, nothing remained above or around him but dense fog.
Even the ground beneath his feet felt soft and spongy—less like soil and more like compressed cotton.
"There's no spiritual rhinoceros here at all. To cast any spells, I'd have to rely purely on my own reserves of spiritual rhinoceros."
Casting caution aside, Li Ban took deep breaths. After roughly a quarter of an hour, he abruptly drew the Iron-Eating Sword and plunged it violently into his own chest.
With a flick of the blade, he tore open a massive gash across his chest.
Blood immediately sprayed from the wound.
However, the fluid was incredibly thick and heavy. It barely traced a short arc through the air before splattering onto the ground.
Li Ban could clearly see large clumps of Fluffy Dandelion seeds in the blood.
This body was finished.
Sitting down slowly, Li Ban reached up and snatched at the empty air.
Bringing his hand closer to look, he realized the so-called mist had, at some point, entirely transformed into Fluffy Dandelion seeds.
If it weren't for their lack of corrosive or parasitic behavior, they would be absolutely identical to the white fluff from the Recycling Station.
"They aren't active enough. They seep into everything, sure, but they can be purged from the body just by leaving the Mist Zone. They aren't nearly as troublesome as the real white fluff. Hmm... these dandelions are almost like the corpses of the white fluff."
Li Ban put the Iron-Eating Sword away, closed his eyes, and slumped to the ground.
Before long, this random physical vessel was completely swallowed by the mist.
Had Li Ban returned to that spot at this moment, he would have found absolutely nothing on the ground except a blanket of white.
As his soul returned to the Zhuangsheng Ring, Li Ban temporarily shut down the Experimental Capsule.
When he opened his eyes again, he had detached from the Zhuangsheng Ring and returned to his own body.
"The 'Mind Splitting' element that Gu Yi possessed is a perfect match for this Zhuangsheng Ring. I alone am millions. It's just a pity that his strength was too low when he performed the splits. After splitting millions of times, he could no longer maintain his core personality, which ultimately led to his erasure."
"If he had managed to become a Dark Moon Priest before splitting, he wouldn't have faded away completely. But where exactly is the Superior Element 'Mind Splitting' now? The Director of the Recycling Station doesn't have it. Could it be in Du An's hands?"
After all, out of all the spiritual entities within the Ring World, only Du An had undergone a secondary split.
"Forget it. I'm different from Gu Yi anyway. What I need to do doesn't require many people."
Back then, Gu Yi had sought a path into the priesthood but failed, whereas Li Ban intended to advance to Great Wizard as swiftly as possible.
Two months later, both Li Ban and Cat Girl had stabilized their conditions and were ready to depart for the Nihility State.
Just before the group set off in secret, however, two figures arrived at the Unreturning Place, specifically requesting an audience with Li Ban.
Li Ban went to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda and met the visitors in a secret chamber at the top of the tower.
"Priest Hao Ze, Priest Hao Yang?"
Under Li Ban's deliberate guidance, the two brothers had finally reunited before entering the Recycling Station.
He smiled and said, "It seems the two of you have reunited. That is a good thing. But what brings you to me?"
Priest Hao Yang remained as composed as ever, though a single glance at his eyes revealed that this steadiness was completely different from his previous stagnant silence.
Priest Hao Ze was a bit more animated. "Priest Ban, thank you so much. If not for you, my brother and I wouldn't have known how long we'd have to wait to find each other."
Li Ban had merely done it in passing to earn some goodwill; he wasn't looking for a reward.
"I only discovered it by chance. Even without me, since you two brothers are both priests, you would have run into each other eventually."
Hao Ze waved his hand. "Ah, my brother never leaves his house, never speaks, and never talks about his past. Meanwhile, I'm in the Nine Heavens Sea and never go to the Mist Zone. If you hadn't spoken up, Priest Ban, who knows how many years it would have taken for us to meet?"
In truth, Priest Hao Ze was actually a little curious about when Li Ban had seen him.
However, asking directly might make it seem like he was questioning the other party's motives. Feeling it would be inappropriate, he simply glossed over the matter.
After all, ever since Li Ban helped them reunite, he had never appeared again, nor had he made any requests.
Furthermore, Hao Ze didn't believe that fellow white-robed priests would play tricks in such a matter.
Seeing that his younger brother was failing to get to the point, Priest Hao Yang took the initiative to speak up. "Priest Ban, I heard from Priest Ai Jing that you are doing a dangerous mission. Is there any way the two of us can assist you?"
Priest Hao Ze nodded vigorously. "Just say the word! We are duty-bound to help!"
Priest Hao Ze was still at Star Glow, but Priest Hao Yang had already advanced to Dark Moon.
The latter had definitely managed to advance successfully because finding his brother had undone the knot in his heart.
Li Ban could also guess why it had taken them nearly three months to come find him.
During this time, Priest Hao Yang had been stabilizing his realm.
And the moment he stabilized, they had immediately come to find Li Ban. Just for a casual word of guidance, they wanted to help him.
Li Ban felt as though he were seeing that pair of brothers from the Recycling Station all over again.
People at different stages of progression were definitely not the exact same individuals, yet much of the time, they would make the exact same choices.
Li Ban was also willing to believe in this pair of brothers who would give up the chance to leave the Recycling Station for each other.
"You two have arrived at a perfect time. I am indeed short on manpower for a certain mission. However—this mission is extremely dangerous."
Priest Hao Ze immediately said, "I am in the Nine Heavens Sea, and my brother is in the Mist Zone, and we've experienced battles of nine deaths and one life. Since we decided to come, we aren't afraid of danger."