Chapter 418: Guarding the Cave Waiting for Fish

Naturally, Li Ban wasn't driven away immediately.

Riding the good news of Black Robe Xiao Suo's definitive death, everyone spent the day happily sharing tea and pastries, talking of anything and everything.

Li Ban only took his leave after Priest Hunyou successfully extracted the Chaotic Green Silk Algae from Cat Girl and handed it over to him.

He knew it would be a long time before he and Little Cat saw each other again.

But there was no helping it.

He now knew the identity of the final Wizard Lord, and he knew the opportunity to restart the cycle of reincarnation was long gone. All he could do now was become a Great Wizard as quickly as possible. Only then would he have a chance to uncover Gu Yi's current status.

Upon returning to the Unreturning Place, Li Ban immediately went to find Priest Qian Que.

However, it was Priest Li He who came out to meet him.

Right away, he congratulated Li Ban for permanently eliminating Black Robe Xiao Suo.

"I have already reported this matter to the Wizard Lord," Priest Li He said. "Your contributions are immense. You could take charge of the Unreturning Place's Myriad Ancient Pagoda right this instant, and there would be no issue."

Naturally, Li Ban couldn't take charge of the Unreturning Place. He simply didn't have the time.

After Li Ban politely declined, Priest Li He saw that he was truly not interested and finally stopped pressing the issue.

"Priest Qian Que is already waiting for you at the Shattered Eye. Once you return successfully, it will be time for me to head back to the Nine Heavens Sea."

Taking his leave from Priest Li He, Li Ban made his way to the platform above the Shattered Eye.

Sure enough, Priest Qian Que was seated inside.

Sensing Li Ban's spiritual rhinoceros, Priest Qian Que opened his eyes.

"Priest Qian Que, I am here to help you overcome your inner demon."

Priest Qian Que rose and offered a faint smile. "I am ready."

A streak of iridescent light leapt from the platform, traced a graceful arc through the air, and plunged into the Shattered Eye below.

Upon entering the Shattered Eye, Priest Qian Que led Li Ban to a minor world he had scouted out in advance.

It was a minor world entirely devoid of intelligent life.

As long as a world wasn't completely barren of spiritual rhinoceros, places like this easily spawned all sorts of animal, plant, and mineral elements.

These also served as the raw materials for creation-type elements.

Had Li Ban actually possessed the free time for refinement, he likely would have frequented minor worlds like this one.

Since Priest Qian Que was preparing to face his inner demon, he naturally had to choose a safe, unpopulated place.

"This place is quite close to the Myriad Ancient Pagoda, so we don't have to worry about black-robed priests showing up," Priest Qian Que said, his tone relaxed, perhaps to avoid pressuring Li Ban. "I'll find a cave to hole up inside, and who knows how many years it'll be before I step out again."

Inner demons were the nemeses of Solar Priests.

They were profoundly difficult to overcome.

That was especially true for Priest Qian Que's situation.

Even if Li Ban's current strength made it difficult to produce a powerful inner demon, it would still be just as much of a trial for Priest Qian Que.

But a trial was still always better than waiting without hope.

The two ventured to the end of a majestic mountain range, where Priest Qian Que simply used a Transporting Art to artificially carve out a cave.

Foregoing any other preparations, Priest Qian Que simply sat on the ground with his back to Li Ban.

"We can begin."

He closed his eyes, centering himself just as he did during ordinary cultivation.

Li Ban raised a hand, extended his index finger, and pressed it against the back of Priest Qian Que's head.

Two wisps of black vapor materialized at Li Ban's wrist, spiraling down his finger and contorting into hideous phantom visages before sinking directly into the back of Priest Qian Que's head.

Li Ban backed out of the cave.

To prevent roaming beasts from inadvertently wandering inside, he utilized an Earth Manipulation Art to fashion a door for the cave, leaving only a few tiny holes for ventilation.

That done, Li Ban immediately departed from the minor world, showing zero interest in its various elements or treasures.

Once outside, he flew away from the Shattered Eye, heading deep toward the borders of the Shattered Realm.

Meanwhile, after being played by Xiao Suo, Du An had arrived in the Nine Heavens Sea, only to be hunted down by Priest Ling Feng.

Fortunately, he had already advanced to the Dark Moon realm, allowing him to take advantage of a raw soul riot to escape.

Yet even after his escape, the White Robes of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda were hunting him everywhere.

The priests of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda and the Imperial Dynasty had erected early-warning spell formations all along the coastline. The moment Du An approached the Nine Provinces, they would immediately detect him.

Left with no other choice, Du An scraped by for a full month in the Nine Heavens Sea—where the spiritual rhinoceros was violently chaotic—without finding a way out.

The spiritual rhinoceros deep within the Nine Heavens Sea was entirely different from anywhere else.

In the Mist Zone, the spiritual rhinoceros was sluggish, dense as solid rock.

In the Nine Heavens Sea, it was volatile and explosive, like raw gunpowder.

Even attempting to cast spells in this environment required extreme caution; a single mistake would trigger a backlash that would injure the caster.

Under such conditions, Du An didn't dare attempt Shrinking Ground to an Inch, and could only rely on the Flight Technique.

Every time he flew for a stretch, he had to find a place to rest and calm his distracting thoughts. Otherwise, the agonizing headache would cause his Flight Technique to fail entirely, dropping him straight into the sea.

There were islands deep within the Nine Heavens Sea, but no living person could inhabit them, and not even Priests could cultivate there.

Du An only managed to stay there for a single day before turning back, looking for an opportunity to return to the Nine Provinces.

Lingering in the Nine Heavens Sea meant he didn't just have to be careful of the White Robes; he also had to worry about sneak attacks from raw souls.

The raw souls here were entirely different from those in the River of Forgetfulness or the River of Helplessness.

They were like beasts entirely devoid of reason—frantic and chaotic.

Narrowly evading another gathering of raw souls, Du An peered at the coastline from behind a reef.

Despite his extremely wretched situation, his mental fortitude remained largely unshaken.

To him, this was all just a necessary path toward becoming a Great Wizard.

He had even forsaken his original world; what hardship could he not endure?

After observing the shore for half a day, Du An noticed a segment of the coastal defense that seemed rather lax.

"A gap meant to lure the snake out of its cave?" he murmured.

Du An was confident that the priests of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda would absolutely prefer to catch him rather than let him die in the Nine Heavens Sea.

"You want to use this gap to catch me, but I also plan to use it to enter the Nine Provinces. We'll just have to see who is faster."

He had already formed a plan.

A dark shadow detached from Du An's body, gradually morphing into his exact likeness.

Meanwhile, Du An's true body gradually transformed into a fish swimming in the sea.

But could he really outpace the priests of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda? Were his movements truly more concealed than theirs?

Just as Du An was about to control his shadow to rush out and draw the white-robed priests' attention, another dark figure suddenly materialized directly behind him.

"Du An. Found you."

A hand as white as jade plunged into the sea, grabbing the little fish with absolute precision just as it turned to flee.

This arrival from behind was none other than Priest Ling Feng, who had been tracking Du An for a long time.

They had realized that Du An would approach the coast to look for a chance to enter the Nine Provinces, knowing he wouldn't give up on sneaking across.

Thus, they intentionally left a gap in the defensive line, waiting for someone to take the bait.

However, they hadn't intended to use this deliberately created oversight to catch a Du An who was forcing his way through the gap. They intended to catch the Du An who was hiding nearby to observe.

Regardless of whether Du An intended to force his way into the Nine Provinces through this gap, upon seeing the situation here, he was bound to linger nearby and observe for a while.

And Priest Ling Feng had been hiding in the sky directly above the gap.

Only he was capable of concealing his aura for extended periods in the Nine Heavens Sea.

And only he possessed the audacity to utilize Shrinking Ground to an Inch in the Nine Heavens Sea, where the spiritual rhinoceros was so volatile.