The God-Making Begins

"The next stage is Stage 85—there’s a high probability the second Spectre Main Legacy will appear!" Mercury checked the state of his soul, his mood growing increasingly anxious. The emergence of the Spectre Inheritance was an immense opportunity for him. To pass down their dark arts faction, the Mercury clan had integrated the bloodline of the Shadow Evil Dragon into their own, spending thousands of years of selective breeding to establish a stable bloodline inheritance. Even so, reproducing heirs normally still required consulting the Gospel Book for the most auspicious dates just to have a chance of bearing a normal child; otherwise, the rate of deformity ran as high as eighty percent. In return, aside from their innate affinity for the dark arts, the soul growth rate of the Mercury clan far outstripped ordinary mortals. An ordinary Mercury possessed a three-man soul, at Silver a ten-man soul, at Gold a twenty-five-man soul, and at Sanctuary a fifty-man soul! It was precisely because their soul foundation was so sturdy that the Mercurys' dark arts were unstoppable. Just as the body arts faction required a strong physique as its foundation, the dark arts required the soul as a casting medium. In fact, the Mercury clan possessed a soul faction inheritance of their own, but it was fragmented and incomplete. It was fine for cultivating the soul, yet fell short when applied to offense and defense, which was why it had never earned much renown. Furthermore, although the Mercurys had a high soul growth rate, they were not elves. If one was not an elf, it was exceedingly difficult to enter the soul faction. However, according to Mercury's investigations, while elves found it easier to begin cultivating the soul faction, an elf's soul was also far more sensitive and fragile, requiring them to tread with extreme caution. Perhaps it was precisely because their souls harbored such flaws that elves were able to perceive souls so keenly. Within the Spectre Inheritance, however, Mercury's formidable soul was practically a cheat code. Not only did using soul sorcery spirits grant him amplification, but he could also brute-force his way through numerous stages! Moreover, the rewards he obtained from the Spectre Inheritance patched up his deficiencies in the soul faction, allowing his progress to advance by leaps and bounds! Therefore, seeing the Spectre Inheritance under attack, Mercury was among the most anxious of all. He was certain he stood in the top tier of challengers in the Spectre Inheritance, perhaps even the seed contestant with the highest probability of seizing the Spectre Grand Legacy! If the Spectre Inheritance were torn down, in a chaotic free-for-all where Divine Lords had also entered the fray, it would be virtually impossible for him to claim the inheritance that should have been his! "My current pace is slightly tight... but there are probably only two or three days left!" Mercury steeled his resolve. "Today, I have to push to at least Stage 90 so that tomorrow I have a chance of beating everyone else to the Spectre Grand Legacy!" "The Spectre Main Legacy I obtained is decent, but it lacks the most crucial 'concept'! Maybe the concept is inside the Grand Legacy. If I can secure the Grand Legacy, becoming a demigod will be just around the corner!" "When that time comes, mere Gospel Realm, and that wet-behind-the-ears Empress..." As Mercury was lost in thought, black fog flooded the hall. Surprised by this unprecedented change, he nevertheless acted quickly to protect himself with a soul miracle, a flowing, gauze-like garment manifesting around his body. This was none other than the Spectre Side Legacy miracle he had obtained—'Sea Soul Robe'! With this miracle guarding him, virtually any external interference could be weakened! Yet as the black fog dissipated, Mercury's expression shifted drastically! Before his eyes lay over twenty "corpses" strewn across the floor! And four mysterious figures clad in black robes! Hiss! Before he could make a single move, a chaotic flurry of threads locked him down tight! The next second, a sword rested across his neck. "You can try seeing if your Spectre Secret Key works first," the figure in black said. "Do you understand your situation now?" Discovering he couldn't leave the Spectre Inheritance, Mercury quickly calmed himself. "What do you want?" "Display all the side and main legacy rewards you've obtained in the Spectre Inheritance," the black-robed figure said. "We will pick one sorcery spirit." "And then you'll let me go?" "Not just that. We will also take most of your soul to repair the Spectre Inheritance." The black-robed figure kicked one of the "corpses" on the ground and said, "Then you'll become just like them, needing a few hours to reconnect with your physical body in reality—but at least you'll live." Repair the inheritance?! Mercury's expression fluctuated. "Who on earth are you? Why repair the Spectre Inheritance?" "Isn't it obvious? Those who felt they couldn't win wanted to flip the table and smash the Spectre Inheritance to pieces so they'd have a shot at snatching the core rewards. But if there are those who can't win, there are naturally those who can," the black-robed figure said. "The trial for the Grand Legacy has already begun. To ensure the trial proceeds smoothly, the Spectre Inheritance cannot collapse during this period." Mercury muttered, "The Spectre Inheritance... is already over?" "Almost, but we have already seized partial control over the Spectre Inheritance's authority." The black-robed figure shrugged. "So, will you cooperate? If not, we take your entire soul." Mercury gave a wry smile. "How can I trust you? Based on the dozens of remnant souls on the floor that you could crush underfoot at any moment?" "Based on the fact that we don't know which realm you hail from," the black-robed figure said. Mercury froze, immediately grasping their underlying meaning. He sighed. "Which Divine Lord stands behind you?" "Tell us which realm you're from first," the black-robed figure countered in a mocking tone. "Maybe we'll spare you." Naturally, Mercury didn't dare say. Indeed. Having seen Divine Lords send people to attack the Spectre Inheritance, he should have known all along that the inheritance had already been decided behind the scenes. How could an ordinary Sanctuary rank like him ever lay hands on the Spectre Grand Legacy? He had been feeling smug about reaching Stage 85, completely unaware that the Divine Lords' chosen contestants were already in the middle of inheriting the Grand Legacy. To ensure their own contestant could smoothly inherit the Spectre Prophet's legacy, the Divine Lord had even dispatched operatives to take over the Spectre Inheritance and extract the souls of challengers to repair it. When he thought about it carefully, only Divine Lords had the capability to seize control of a legacy left by a demigod. Thus, it was also credible that this group wasn't killing anyone. Every realm possessed plenty of Sanctuary sorcerers, and they might accidentally kill one of their own. If Mercury confessed he came from the Gospel Realm, but the Divine Lord behind this group wasn't the Omniscient Weaver, he would surely be doomed. And so, Mercury sighed and displayed the rewards he had acquired in the Spectre Inheritance. The black-robed figure took a glance, frowning. "Where is the Main Legacy? We know how many side and main legacies you've gathered; you have at least one Main Legacy on you." Mercury: "The Main Legacy I obtained isn't a sorcery spirit or a miracle, only a piece of information." "What information could be worth a Main Legacy?" "The god-making ritual for the God of Stillness." With a soft thud, Mercury fell backward, his body turning nearly translucent. A dazed Four-Wing sorcery spirit flew out from within him, looking around in utter confusion before Sonia promptly snatched it. "This miracle is already very stable," Igola said, pulling back his black hood and pondering. "There were no casting failures, nor did it steal the wrong sorcery spirit. For now, it requires no further adjustments." These black-robed figures were, naturally, Sonia, Diya, Weise, and Igola. Since they needed Igola to refine the sorcery procedure, they naturally couldn't hide the effects of 'Yearned for in Dreams.' After learning what they intended to do, Igola offered three suggestions while working to improve the procedure. First, everyone had to disguise themselves in black robes. If nothing else, what if they ran into an unfamiliar Sanctuary sorcerer they had once crossed paths with? Would they kill them or not? Second, they had to pose as subordinates of a Divine Lord, claiming they were doing this to repair the Spectre Inheritance while their companion was already inheriting the Spectre Grand Legacy. Finally, they had to rob a portion of the Spectre Inheritance rewards from the victims. "The rewards of the Spectre Inheritance are windfalls to them. Losing them doesn't damage their original sorcery spirit setups, so forfeiting a Spectre reward falls squarely within their 'Comfort Loss Zone.'" "Comfort Loss Zone?" Diya was slightly puzzled. Igola: "People don't genuinely hate losses; sometimes they actually need losses to gain a sense of security. For instance, lovers are willing to cater to each other's kinks, tolerate each other's unreasonable tantrums, and waste time fulfilling each other's pointless whims. All of these involve compromising one's own interests to obtain security in a relationship." "Or take robbery, for example. If a mugger takes only a small amount of cash, the victim often ends up feeling grateful. That's because of the contrast with the devastating loss they anticipated, and because the loss stays within an acceptable range—so much so that despite losing money, they feel 'lucky' and may even choose not to pursue the matter." "As long as you tread upon their 'Comfort Loss Zone,' people will surrender whatever you ask." Apart from Diya, both Sonia and Weise listened with thoughtful expressions. In truth, they had long since stumbled upon similar dynamics in practical life, but never systematized them. Hearing such cutting-edge trade secrets from a Swindler naturally enlightened them and proved immensely instructive. As for tricking the challengers out of their sorcery spirits, let alone Igola, all three women had voted unanimously in favor. They might hesitate over killing people, but scamming sorcery spirits came with zero psychological burden. Sorcerers in the Void Realm were competitors to begin with; if you got scammed, you ought to do some serious self-reflection! What's more, they had racked their brains to keep these people alive. What was wrong with taking a single sorcery spirit as ransom? Still, even they hadn't expected it to go so smoothly. The Spectre Main Legacy Igola commanded, 'Soul-Tethering Dream,' happened to synergize perfectly with the front half of the 'Yearned for in Dreams' sorcery procedure. While increasing the extraction rate on the soul, it simultaneously reduced soul damage, taking very little effort to produce a safe version of Yearned for in Dreams. The first five attempts either ended in casting failures or failed to yield the targeted sorcery spirits, but things quickly got on track. Through several rounds of iterative improvements, the new Yearned for in Dreams had become a miracle of sustainable chive-harvesting. So much so that Sonia and the others began itching to take advantage—should they seize the opportunity to steal a Four-Wing sorcery spirit for themselves? A chance like this to loot Void Realm houses might only come once, and the Dream Demon had given them fifty quotas anyway! "Come over here," Weise suddenly called them over, saying, "The god-making ritual for this God of Stillness is actually this simple." Igola stood to the side, not joining them. Diya glanced at him, then read aloud: "'Integrate the concept of 'Quiet' into the body, then carry the Four-Wing Time Lock, Four-Wing Flow Sever, and Four-Wing Ash Erosion sorcery spirits in the soul. Enter the Domain of Stillness and endure for one White Ox cycle to create the God of Stillness.'" "Simple as it sounds," Sonia said, "setting aside the concept of Quiet, who could possibly endure a White Ox cycle in the Domain of Stillness? Or did there used to be a miracle that allowed one to move in the Domain of Stillness?" "The final step of the Soul Godhood Path is withstanding a curse of the Void Realm." Weise shook her head. "Even if such a miracle existed, it likely couldn't be used. The curse of the Domain of Stillness is an indispensable condition for the birth of the God of Stillness." "No wonder the Soul Godhood Path declined," Sonia shrugged. "If the final step always involves a Void Realm curse that sorcerers can't survive, it'd be a miracle if it survived to this day." Yet Weise looked at Sonia thoughtfully, prompting the latter to blink. "What is it?" "Is there any sorcery spirit you want?" Weise suddenly asked. "Opportunities like this are rare; it'd be a waste not to make good use of it. Let's steal a few sorcery spirits we need." Igola slowly opened his eyes. Outside in Black Robe Town, dawn had yet to break; he remained under the influence of the Kaleidoscope. Within his soul, not only was he not missing any sorcery spirits, but he had even gained several soul sorcery spirits. The sorcery spirits stolen using Yearned for in Dreams had naturally gone into the hands of the three women. But defrauding the Sanctuary sorcerers of their spirits had been Igola's plan, and he had helped refine the miracle's procedure, so they had allowed Igola to pick a few from the scammed spirits as payment. Igola left his room and jiggled the handle of Yaxiu's door. Finding it locked, he pulled out a spare key and let himself in. On the bed, the red-haired maiden lay quietly, her expression placid, her lips slightly pursed, looking as though she were attending a wonderful dream. Igola walked to the bedside, stared at him for a long moment, and murmured, "They really are identical..." "Do you like what you see?" Black Crow's distorted voice drifted in from the doorway. He seemed to have materialized there out of thin air, always so silent and undetectable that any villain laying eyes on him would break into cold sweats with a spine chilled to the bone. However, Igola was not among them. "Why does that sound like you're showing him off?" Igola remarked. "Or have you stared at him plenty of times yourself?" "He is worth showing off." Igola got a headache dealing with this stubborn fool. Shaking his head, he turned to leave the room. As he passed Black Crow, he said, "Since you like watching him so much, keep a close eye on him over the next two days. Don't leave his side." Black Crow fell silent for a moment, then asked solemnly, "Where does the danger come from?" Igola glanced sideways at him. "The danger comes from himself. It comes from the Void Realm, where you cannot reach." After Igola departed, Black Crow walked over to Yaxiu's bedside, sat down, and quietly stared at the floor. Like a dejected crow. In the golden palace, Yaxiu, who had been resting with eyes closed, stood up, greeting his returning teammates with his gaze. "All the sorcery spirits on the list have been gathered," Sonia said loudly to the Dream Demon. "The off-list sorcery spirits we obtained due to 'casting errors' count as our own, right?" "So long as you do not take the sorcery spirits belonging to the Nightmare Inheritance, I do not care," the Dream Demon said. It raised a hand, and the sorcery spirits flew toward the crystal walls on either side of the golden palace. A burst of light flickered within the crystal walls, seemingly some sort of detection miracle. A few seconds later, the Dream Demon declared: "All materials are prepared." "The god-making begins."