Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Synchronization Forbidden Rite

"Don't panic," Sonia said. "The reason we can't return to reality is that we aren't out in the Distant Sky Realm, but inside a 'dream.' Separated by a barrier of fleeting illusions, we can't directly return to reality." "As long as we leave the dream and return to the Distant Sky Realm, we can exit the Void Realm normally." Diya asked anxiously, "Then how do we leave?" "Find the Dream Master, or simply fly up. The vertical ceiling of a dream shouldn't be very high; flying one or two hundred meters should be enough to break out," Sonia said. "The problem, however, is that once we return to the Distant Sky Realm, we will die instantly." Yaxiu froze. "What?" "A dream is actually a mechanism that protects sorcerers. Once stripped of that protection, any sorcerer directly exposed to the Distant Sky Realm will be subjected to the 'Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Synchronization Forbidden Rite' and die a swift death," Sonia explained. "Only by deploying a Sanctuary can one counter the Sky Realm's synchronization. But sorcerers cannot maintain a Sanctuary indefinitely, so they must hide inside dreams and avoid being constantly exposed to the open sky." "Wait," Diya raised her hand and said. "Because we don't have a Sanctuary, we don't dare pass through the spatial gates; because we don't have a Sanctuary, we can't leave the dream; because we don't have a Sanctuary, we can't return to the Distant Sky Realm, nor can we exit the Void Realm normally... Unable to leave, unable to escape—isn't there only a dead end ahead of us?" "It really is a dead end," the country girl nodded solemnly. "That is the trick behind every three-winged sorcerer mastering a Sanctuary." "You either keep dying until your soul is extinguished and your name is wiped from the ranks of Sanctuary Sorcerers, or you initiate into the space faction through the agonizing deaths of 'spatial teleportation' and the 'Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Synchronization Forbidden Rite,' comprehend the method of deploying a Sanctuary, and officially become a Sanctuary Sorcerer." "Without a Sanctuary, not only can you not advance, you are not even worthy of surviving in the Distant Sky Realm." Sonia spread her hands. "The Void Realm doesn't give you a Sanctuary for free. There's no perk where leveling up automatically grants you skills. If you want to master the time faction, you go take a bath in the Flowing Gold River. If you want to enter the space faction, you die several times—or dozens of times—in the Distant Sky Realm. Though if you die a hundred times, your soul probably really will collapse completely." Diya mumbled, "So... we're going to die in a moment?" "It's said that some sorcerers with spatial talent far beyond ordinary people can comprehend the Sanctuary during their very first 'Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Synchronization Forbidden Rite' and deploy it in time," Sonia said. "However, such spatial prodigies usually emerge from the orcs; they're quite rare among humans... Watcher, what is our spatial talent like?" "Not remarkable enough for me to see it." "Which means we have to die at least once no matter what." Sonia stretched lazily and said, "Still, this kind of death shouldn't cause too much damage to the soul, and with you having potions to heal the soul, Watcher, we'll recover very quickly." "Then we won't be able to see each other for the next few days..." Diya murmured softly. "That works too." They wouldn't be seeing each other for the next few days? Yaxiu felt a little dazed. Compared to the peril-fraught plan to infiltrate the imperial palace in a few days, this news made him feel even more disheartened. As if noticing Yaxiu's gaze, Sonia looked back at him quietly as well. But she said nothing, merely staring straight at him, her eyes shifting, her lips pressed tightly together, her gaze brimming with stubbornness, as if waiting for him to speak. Fidgeting under her piercing stare, Yaxiu subconsciously looked away, shifting his attention to the surrounding storefronts and buildings. Grandia Boutique, Mirror Quality Goods, Feimeng Painting Plaza, Snow White Candy Shop, Bogin-Borke Rearing Institute... Diya sensed the atmosphere growing strange and asked tentatively, "S-Should I go scout ahead?" "Do you know why the dreams of the Distant Sky Realm are called fleeting illusions?" Sonia crossed her arms and said abruptly. "Because compared to dreams, they are much closer to phantasmal bubbles. You never know when they'll burst at the slightest—" Pop. The entire world suddenly shattered like a bubble, and everything around them vanished into thin air in an instant. Yaxiu raised his head. Only now was the true Distant Sky Realm reflected in his pupils: boundless in all directions, the entire world luminous, though the source of light was nowhere to be found, as if they had fallen into the open sky itself; the entire world was almost completely empty, yet in every distant reach they could see, rainbow-hued "bubbles" floated softly—though compared to the vast expanse, those bubbles were infinitesimally small. They seemed to float in a vacuum, off-balance yet without falling. The cult leader subconsciously unfurled his gold and silver wings in an attempt to fly, but he saw the country girl shake her head, indicating that it was futile. Sonia stretched her arm toward him with all her might, and Yaxiu reached out as well, trying to touch her fingertips in these final moments— Whoosh. An imperceptible whisper of wind pierced through his soul. He watched his fingertips and the Sword Princess's disintegrate into nothingness, watched the terrified Witch crash into him, and saw both of them crumble into annihilation. The wind tore their souls to shreds with effortless ease, carving out new voids within every particle of their soul bodies. Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Synchronization Forbidden Rite: Wind's Formation. A few seconds later, their scattered soul bodies began to assemble into sheets and petals, converging once more to piece together their forms. It was as gorgeously sublime as flower petals reconstructing their figures, while the voids within their soul bodies fully coalesced, forming a brand-new, independent space of identical size to their physical selves. Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Synchronization Forbidden Rite: Flower's Abode. After another few seconds, the crudely formed spaces within them began to collapse from within, fracturing from a single intact piece back into flakes and grains. This collapse was irreversible. Externally, their bodies deteriorated and fell apart as swiftly as an avalanche, the three watching helplessly as one another dissipated in midair. Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Synchronization Forbidden Rite: Snow's Ruin. In the end, nothing of them remained. Their consciousnesses drifted solitary through the realm. Yet drawn by their awareness and the pull of gravity, the stray soul energy converged once more, gathering into spherical forms to create new soul bodies, like tiny bubbles. Though these new soul bodies were minuscule and faint, through the repeated torment of the first three steps, a stable space had finally formed within each new soul body, able even to linger briefly within the Sky Realm. This is the embryonic form of a Sanctuary, they thought. Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Synchronization Forbidden Rite: Moon's Void. With an unheard farewell, the bubble popped, and consciousness returned. ...... ... The Starry Country. Sonia walked out of the meditation building, gazing at the starry night sky outside, momentarily lost in thought. Instead of heading back to the dormitory, she walked all the way to the school gate. Just as she was about to spread her wings and take flight, she saw a familiar, luxurious silver car driving toward her. "You can still pass through the gates this late?" "Within reasonable bounds, I still have a few privileges," Felix said. "Where to?" Sonia pointed toward the distant Sky-Piercing White Tower. Though the second young master of the Vosloda family found it a bit odd, she didn't pry. She had originally intended to chat with the president of the Paw-Stretching Club about Dimi, but acutely sensing that the red-haired Sword Princess's mind was somewhere very far away, she suppressed the urge to talk. Several minutes later, Sonia watched the silver car drive away, then turned to look at the Sky-Piercing White Tower before her. At the base of the white tower lay a grove of woods; whether it had existed before the tower was built or had been stimulated into growth afterward through miracles was unknown. There were no guards in the woods, only a stone-paved path leading toward the white tower. Yet no one could set foot on the tower's steps, where an air wall stood in the way. In the past, Sonia had been utterly unable to spot any trace of the air wall, but now she seemed faintly able to perceive its shape. A clear blue light shimmered atop the white tower. Sonia knew that was the Star Prayerers maintaining the stability of the starry sky. Hesitating for a moment, Sonia checked once more to ensure no one else was around. She stepped forward, knelt on the flagstones before the white tower facing it directly, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and prayed in silence. The church of the Starry Law Master was not open to the public, and only nobles could become devotees. As such, the only building Sonia could find that came closest to the Starry Law Master was this newly erected White Tower of the Stars. After a short while, Sonia opened her eyes and looked up, awaiting the response of the stars above. I secretly prayed to the stars for you. No one knows—only the Starry Law Master knows.