Secrets of the Gods

Condense a godhead and create a god!? The pupils of Yaxiu and his three companions contracted sharply. They realized that they were about to unravel one of the greatest mysteries of the sorcerer world: how gods were born! Logically speaking, sorcery spirits were special life-forms nurtured within knowledge by sorcerers through Void Realm resonance, so gods ought to be the same. Yet whether it was Diya querying the Gospel or Sonia investigating in Bright Star, both arrived at only one conclusion: mortals simply could not give birth to a god. On this matter Sonia had plenty of authority to speak: she had looked up every Legendary Sorcerer who had emerged in the Bright Star Kingdom over the past 1,668 years. Aside from three whose whereabouts were unknown, every other Legendary Sorcerer had halted at Ruby Mountain; not a single one had ever summoned a god and stepped into the demigod realm. Even when Sonia asked Trozan via Contract, the professor shook her head and said she didn't know. Trozan shared the belief that gods and sorcery spirits were practically two distinct kinds of life, and that it was impossible for a sorcerer to nurture a god through Void Realm resonance. After all, unlike Sonia, who had only just entered Sanctuary circles, Trozan had mingled in that world for years. Despite her sharp, foul tongue, she had heard plenty of legendary secrets—among Bright Star's past Legends, there were bound to be those whose sorcery faction attainments broke through to the demigod level, yet they simply couldn't summon a god. In the end, they could only stand atop Ruby Mountain, gazing at the sky, spending the rest of their days in desolation. If summoning a god could be accomplished through Void Realm resonance, no matter how immense the difficulty, in a nation like Bright Star teeming with obsessive test-grinders, there would always be one or two Legends who could brute-force their way through the god puzzle. Yet there was no such record. Everyone had to admit that Legendary was the end of the road for sorcerers. Ordinary sorcerers couldn't even begin to imagine how unyielding the chasm separating gods and mortals was. Only the small handful standing at the very pinnacle, the Legendary Sorcerers, knew the sheer depth of the despair confronting them. This was also why the Alchemy King had suffered grievous wounds in the god's legacy. Could the esteemed Bright Star Legend, the Alchemy King who had fought his way through the Abyss multiple times, truly be a reckless fool who knew nothing of caution? Of course not. The Void Realm's weeding-out mechanism was thoroughly sound; sorcerers with critical flaws in their survivability were eliminated in the lower levels long ago. Any sorcerer capable of reaching the Legendary rank would have been schooled by fate into being circumspect, no matter how reckless they had once been. But the Alchemy King understood even better that this was perhaps his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Unable to find any road forward, if he missed this chance, he would be forever barred from the divine realm in this life. In the presence of competitors, he could only be reckless, could only gamble—only then would he have any hope of victory! He had simply had bad luck. The answer Diya received from the Gospel was even more intriguing—only sorcerers who stepped into the divine realm could discern the truth about gods. This was bizarre. As everyone knew, for a sorcerer wishing to open the Gate of Truth to a higher layer, the most orthodox method was to independently summon a higher-tier sorcery spirit. Someone like Yaxiu couldn't open the Gate of Truth even now, because he didn't have a single independently summoned sorcery spirit. If creating a god required becoming a demigod first, but without a god to open the higher-level Gate of Truth, how could a sorcerer become a demigod? When the Witch brought this piece of information up to everyone, Yaxiu's first reaction was "LFM Karazhan fresh, must be Karazhan-geared"—to create a god, you had to become a demigod sorcerer first, but to become a demigod sorcerer, you had to create a god first. Wasn't that a catch-22? It wasn't just Yaxiu and his companions who found it bizarre; every Legendary Sorcerer knew something was terribly wrong with this. The sole thread of hope they could cling to was the "Angel of Ruby Mountain"—as long as one found the Angel of Ruby Mountain after condensing Colorless Wings, it would unlock a trial to enter the divine realm. But just like the Golden Fish, the Seven-Colored Tail, and the Colorless Dream, the Angel of Ruby Mountain was also an unreachable, distant legend. Yaxiu and the others had assumed they wouldn't have a chance to unravel the mystery of a god's birth until they reached Ruby Mountain. Never had they imagined that here in the Distant Sky Realm, the secret would seek them out of its own accord. "To create a god, one must first condense a godhead, and there are two schools of thought when it comes to condensing a godhead." The Dream Demon generously divulged the very knowledge Legendary Sorcerers hungered for: "The Virtual Godhead School and the Soul Godhead School. "The Soul Godhead School is the most ancient method of god-creation. A sorcerer uses their own soul as the godhead's foundation, fusing a concept into it. This further branches into two paths. The first is for the sorcerer to practice deeds associated with the concept, infusing it with ideology, faith, and willpower until the concept breaks from its cocoon and hatches into a god. "However, this path cannot be completed in just one or two generations. It might take dozens of generations, spanning centuries or millennia, to hatch a god. The advantage, though, is that even ordinary sorcerers can take part in this god-creation project; there are no requirements on a sorcerer's personal strength." Yaxiu and Weise's hearts stirred, both instantly thinking of Senluo's past four divine eras. "The second path requires a sorcerer to master a complete god-creation ritual. So long as the corresponding materials are prepared and the ritual is executed step by step, the corresponding god can be created. This path likewise has no requirements on a sorcerer's personal strength." The Dream Demon said, "However, for both paths of the Soul Godhead School—whether the incubation method of breaking from the cocoon into godhood or the ritual method of creating gods through ceremony—the final step will invite a Void Realm curse. One could even say that the Void Realm curse is the final step of the Soul Godhead School. "In the past, many sorcerers who attempted to create gods failed at the final hurdle because they could not withstand that last Void Realm curse, resulting in shattered concepts and even their own death and soul destruction. Moreover, the first step of the Soul Godhead School is fusing a concept into the soul, and that alone takes a sorcerer several years." Hearing this, Yaxiu and the others understood that the Dream Demon had no intention of having them pursue the Soul Godhead School. After all, the Spectre legacy was on the verge of collapsing; forget several months, they had a few days at most. "Thus, sorcerers devised the safer, cleverer, but far more intricate Virtual Godhead School," said the Dream Demon. "So long as the appropriate materials are prepared and a virtual godhead is constructed according to a sorcery procedure, one can fill in the concept at the end. The concept will fuse with the materials and undergo a metamorphosis into a new god!" Yaxiu pondered for a moment. "Whether it's the Virtual Godhead School or the Soul Godhead School, both require a concept... What is a concept?" Not to mention Sonia and Diya, even Weise had heard about their adventures on the Time Continent and naturally knew Yaxiu had once acquired the Secret concept. All three couldn't help thinking that this man was quite the practiced liar. The Dream Demon wasn't in the least surprised by Yaxiu's question. It replied gravely, "A concept is a concept. You must not know too much, or you will be infected with secret poison. You only need to know that concepts are the primary material for gods, and all gods are born from concepts." So that was it! Yaxiu and his companions exchanged looks, thinking: this was the secret of the gods! No wonder Legendary Sorcerers couldn't create gods; no wonder the Heroic Spirit Legion cared so intensely about concepts! Sorcery spirits were born of knowledge, whereas gods were born of concepts! Sorcerers could obtain the former in reality, but the latter could only be acquired in the Void Realm! But the problem was that, currently, all concepts in the Void Realm seemed to be concentrated on the Time Continent, and the concepts on the Time Continent were entirely in the hands of the Heroic Spirit Legion! Even if a sorcerer reached Ruby Mountain and, through trials and tribulations, finally learned the relationship between gods and concepts, they couldn't possibly return to the Time Continent to seize concepts! Furthermore, the gods seemed to have altered the concepts, embedding them into Soul Summoning sorcery spirits. Even if Yaxiu hadn't given the Soul Summoning sorcery spirit to Lisi, he likely wouldn't have known how to separate the Secret concept from the Soul Summoning sorcery spirit. One could tell from the Dream Demon's words that in the past, concepts, while not abundant, could at least be obtained by sorcerers. That was why sorcerers had developed the Virtual Godhead School and the Soul Godhead School to nurture gods. Nowadays, sorcerers couldn't get their hands on concepts at all, and the methods of condensing a godhead were on the verge of being lost in the Void Realm. As for why this had happened, a single word practically leaped unbidden into their minds—gods! Honestly speaking, Yaxiu wasn't a conspiracy theorist, but with the Void Realm reduced to this state of "waiting to be rebuilt from ruin," "bare four walls," and "a vast white sheet, clean and barren," even if it wasn't the gods' doing, it was at least what the gods desired! Yaxiu even felt that Senluo was hardly a wasteland compared to this—the Void Realm was the true wasteland! Senluo at least had relics from the divine eras left to discover, whereas in the Void Realm, even the relics had been dug up clean by the gods! Now that an angel's legacy had appeared, the gods couldn't wait to send agents into the fray to meddle and plunder! "Then what god do you want us to create?" Weise asked, though she already had a guess in mind. The Dream Demon raised a hand, and the hall's floor suddenly lifted, revealing a crystal wall hidden beneath. Within the crystal wall, a small pink fox was curled up into a ball, utterly adorable. "This is the concept my original body held for centuries, and also the foundation of the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams: the Dream Entry concept," the Dream Demon said. "I want you to use the Dream Entry concept as material to create a god—Nightmare! "The greatest difference between a concept and a god is that a concept can merely influence related matters, whereas a god can govern related laws. That was why, even though my original body possessed the Dream Entry concept, she could not take command of the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams. She was besieged, her soul obliterated, and she could leave behind only the Nightmare legacy. "However, if you can create the Nightmare god, aside from obtaining the god itself, you will be able to reorganize the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams and even take command of the kingdom of heaven." "What good does taking command of the kingdom of heaven do for us?" Yaxiu realized that this seemed to be the greatest temptation the Dream Demon was offering, yet country bumpkins like them had no idea what it was truly worth. The Dream Demon said, "The reason my original body was besieged was that word leaked when she was creating the Nightmare god. Several demigods forcibly invaded the Distant Sky Realm to attack the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams, and multiple gods even stepped into the fray. "They could grudgingly tolerate her controlling a portion of the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams, but creating the Nightmare god was equivalent to taking the kingdom of heaven entirely for herself. That was something no angel or god could ever accept." "Why?" Weise asked. "Nominally, the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams already belonged to her. Is there really such a vast difference between that and practically taking it for herself?" The Dream Demon replied, "The greatest distinction between a demigod and a god lies in whether they have raised up a kingdom of heaven." Diya's eyes widened. "Then after we reorganize the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams, wouldn't we—" The Dream Demon nodded. "Exactly. As long as you create the Nightmare god and reorganize the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams, you will already be candidate gods."