Compared to the naive Silver Sorcerers and the developing Gold Sorcerers, the Sanctuary Sorcerers in the Distant Sky Realm undoubtedly possessed a much broader horizon.
Neither the tremor that had shaken the Void Realm just now nor the colossal golden bubble before their eyes was an effect a Legendary Sorcerer could produce. In other words, they were witnessing a magnificent divine miracle that was altering the landscape of the Void Realm!
By this time, new bubbles had begun to appear one after another, but every Sanctuary Sorcerer focused solely on the golden bubble. Yaxiu and his companions were no exception. When they attempted to fly toward the golden bubble, despite the vast distance separating them, they arrived inside it in a single instant.
Yet contrary to the bubble's colossal exterior, Yaxiu and the others found themselves in an enclosed hall of ordinary size. The interior decor was extraordinarily crude; the walls looked like bare concrete slabs, making even a cavern appear refined by comparison.
Experienced in exploring bubbles as they were, the group immediately realized something was wrong—none of their sorcery spirits could be used, sorcery power was barred, and their Sanctuaries could not be raised!
Attempting to log out of the Void Realm proved equally futile!
Yaxiu and Weise were relatively unperturbed—especially Yaxiu, who was practically accustomed to having his powers sealed. For Sonia and Diya, however, this was their first time facing such a situation. The panic and powerlessness of losing their strength gripped their hearts so tightly they could barely breathe, and they instinctively grabbed Yaxiu's hands, one on each side.
"Don't panic, we're together," Yaxiu said, his calm voice soothing the anxiety in their hearts. "Besides, if this really is a death trap, there are probably hundreds or thousands of Sanctuary Sorcerers dying with us. That would count as a spectacular way to go."
"At least we'll die together."
Sonia exhaled deeply. "I don't want to die with you!"
Diya was so anxious her hair color was turning murky. "Can't we just not die?"
Weise glanced at them, stepped back to maintain a socially polite distance from the three of them, and suddenly said, "Look at your souls."
Yaxiu and the others examined their souls, only to find that a new sorcery spirit was actually forming within them. The sorcery spirit had only one wing, looked remarkably like a sorcerer, but was pitch-black as ink, resembling an unshaped clump of clay.
Information about this sorcery spirit flooded into their minds: the 'Initial Soul' sorcery spirit!
A sorcery spirit of the soul faction!
Yaxiu and his companions were utterly stunned—while the soul faction was not one of the three esoteric sorcery factions (Prophecy, Truth, and Fate), sorcerers capable of cultivating it were exceedingly rare, because it was simply not a sorcery human beings could learn!
As mentioned before, each race possessed its unique sorcery advantages: ogres had the Gluttony and Truth factions, orcs had the Space faction, Veela had the Mind faction, and while goblins found it extraordinarily difficult to become sorcerers, once they did, their talents surged explosively... The Soul faction was the exclusive sorcery talent of elves!
Furthermore, that didn't mean all elves could learn the soul faction; rather, only elves had a chance of awakening it!
Across the three countries Yaxiu had traversed, the only sorcerer cultivating the soul faction was Qinna Sennheiser, a Sanctuary Sorcerer of the Gospel Country!
Some might wonder: aren't the mind faction and the soul faction the same thing? But the mind faction studied thoughts, will, and emotions, whereas the soul faction studied the soul itself. To draw an analogy, the mind faction studied combat martial arts, while the soul faction studied bodily anatomy.
Now that an Initial Soul sorcery spirit had suddenly formed in their souls, what did that mean? Had their soul faction suddenly reached the Silver realm?
Just then, however, the Initial Soul sorcery spirit dispersed a black mist, dyeing their souls completely black! At the same time, a message flowed into their minds:
"Welcome to the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams. I am its thirteenth owner, the Spectre Prophet. Though the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams has shattered, it can still serve as a legacy ground."
"By entering the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams, you are deemed to have entered the Spectre Trial. All sorcery spirits and sorcery power are forbidden within the Kingdom of Heaven, except for the Initial Soul sorcery spirit I have created using your souls."
"Whoever passes all trials shall inherit all my secret caches."
"Good luck."
Just as Yaxiu and the others finished processing the information, smoke roiled through the hall, and over a dozen ferocious-looking soul hounds stepped forward. Evidently, the first stage of the Spectre Trial was to slay all of these hounds!
Sonia felt a sudden inspiration. Though this was her first time encountering the soul faction, she swiftly grasped how to use the Initial Soul sorcery spirit. Slashing from afar at a hound, she unleashed an azure soul blade!
Diya's hair color shifted chaotically—evidently the Witch sisters had taken the field together. They, too, understood how to use the Initial Soul sorcery spirit; their body was suddenly cloaked in a pale-purple gossamer veil, their speed abruptly surged, and they charged straight into the pack of hounds, pummeling wildly!
Weise did not charge forward. A streak of green light flew from her fingertip, striking a hound that was about to rush before her. In the very next second, the beast spun around and began attacking the other hounds!
The exact same sorcery spirit yielded three completely different effects in three different hands! The Sword Princess's effect was a sword qi wave, the Witch's effect was physical acceleration, and Weise's effect was creature domination!
Such was the wonder of the Initial Soul sorcery spirit—its effect depended entirely on the sorcerer's heart's will. Whatever effect the sorcerer desired, the Initial Soul sorcery spirit would manifest. It was practically omnipotent!
Yet this was by no means cost-free. When they had slain half the hounds, Yaxiu called them back to halt. The bodies of the Sword Princess and the Witch had grown translucent, and Weise's condition was the most severe—so translucent that one could see right through her!
The Initial Soul sorcery spirit consumed no sorcery power; it consumed the sorcerer's soul!
If sorcerers became intoxicated by the Initial Soul's almighty power, they could easily squander their entire soul. When that happened, a casual bite from a hound would result in permanent death—not even a wisp of their soul would escape back to their physical bodies!
Sonia and the others also noticed the gravity of the situation, their expressions turning solemn. "But we can't use any other sorcery spirits right now. We can only try our best to improve our lethality and precision—"
"Actually, there's no need to be nervous. You moved too fast just now, and I forgot to tell you..."
Three collection items appeared in Yaxiu's hand: the "Silver Collection: Swordwing Badge," which increased attack speed and consecutive attack power; the "Gold Collection: Stun Hammer," which caused enemies to be briefly stunned with every effective blow; and the "Prismatic Collection: Gaze of the Monarch of Wind, Rain, and Snow," which slowed all enemies within sight.
"It seems Collections work here too."
***
On Ruby Mountain, all the sorcerers were gazing toward the distant peak.
Just as Silver Sorcerers knew the Golden Fish was a shortcut to smuggle oneself onto the Time Continent, Gold Sorcerers knew the Seven-Colored Tail could smuggle them into the Distant Sky Realm, and Sanctuary Sorcerers needed only look up to see the Distant Land, Ruby Mountain—Legendary Sorcerers naturally knew the shortcut to the layer above: the angel atop the summit of Ruby Mountain!
Legend had it that an angel resided at the peak of Ruby Mountain. Find it, and it would guide a sorcerer to the fifth layer of the Void Realm, allowing them to shed their mortal coil and become an immortal demigod!
Yet something known to all was something virtually no one could achieve. A legend was ultimately just a legend; no one had ever reached the summit.
For Ruby Mountain was infinitely vast. No matter how high a Legendary Sorcerer climbed, they could never reach the top; in fact, the higher they climbed, the farther away the summit seemed.
In the past, Legendary Sorcerers had used various miracles to restore their soul energy and climbed continuously on Ruby Mountain for an entire year. In the end, they still failed to reach the summit, dropping dead from exhaustion the moment the miracle's duration expired.
Yet regarding whether an angel existed at the peak, the Legendary Sorcerers were in near-unanimous agreement: the angel was real. More than one sorcerer had seen a figure appear at the summit of Ruby Mountain.
And now, nearly every Legendary Sorcerer logged into the Void Realm could see that six-winged phantom atop Ruby Mountain.
It was definitely not an angel—demigod angels had at most five wings.
And six wings belonged to one, and only one, kind of existence—
"I see. The Blank Concept has been destroyed, so you dug up our hidden legacies to gather the collective will of the sorcerers. The sorcerers who seize the legacy on each layer will be able to imprint their desires onto the Blank Concept, ultimately synthesizing all those desires to form new laws..."
A melodious yet clear voice seemed to resonate from every corner of Ruby Mountain. The Legendary Sorcerers listened intently, scarcely daring to breathe, wondering to whom the six-winged phantom was speaking.
Yet the phantom swiftly concluded its conversation. It lowered its head slightly, and everyone felt as though its gaze were fixed upon them. The terrifying pressure nearly bent the spines of the Legendary Sorcerers.
"I am the remnant will of the Illusion Lord of Thousand Wishes. Today, I temporarily borrow Ruby Mountain as my legacy ground. Sorcerers who wish to claim the legacy, scale the summit and grasp 'wishes'!"
"However, my true self died in haste back then, leaving no time to lay down a complete legacy. Thus, within this legacy there is no treasury of sorcery spirits, no sorcery knowledge, and certainly no gods."
"The only thing you can inherit is—"
"My Kingdom of Heaven."
Chapter 640