Divine Miracle: Second Sleepwalking Soul-Refining Forbidden Rite

The Spectre Will's voice was gentle and calm, carrying clearly into the ears of all 2,216 Sanctuary sorcerers. Without the slightest concealment of murderous intent or malice, nor any divisive rhetoric to sow discord among the crowd, his words were so blunt that they left no room for misunderstanding: Everyone here had to die. No one doubted the weight of his words, even though 2,216 Sanctuary sorcerers stood before him, even though every single person here was a pillar of society in the six great nations, a prodigy of sorcery, or even a protagonist of their own life blessed with one fortunate encounter after another. They were the present of sorcery, the future of sorcery, and destined to become a past that could never be overlooked. Yet none of that held any meaning before the Spectre Will. A demigod! The gap between Sanctuary and demigod was two wings. Just how vast was that divide? A simple comparison sufficed: between a Silver Sorcerer and a Sanctuary sorcerer lay that exact same two-wing gulf. A Sanctuary sorcerer could butcher Silver Sorcerers effortlessly, and a demigod was bound to be even more terrifying! Crack! The Spectre Will was suddenly tainted by an emerald-green hue, solidifying into a translucent block of jade in the blink of an eye! From the moment the Spectre Will appeared, Ezhao had been secretly preparing a divine miracle. He did not look nearly as calm and aloof as before, because although this divine miracle did not require uniting the power of other sorcerers, it consumed the thing most precious to him—his void wings! Not sorcery power, but his void wings! The first casting just now had exhausted Ezhao's Silver Wings! Unless he found a way to return to the Sea of Knowledge, he would permanently lose his Silver Wings and never again be able to condense silver sorcery power! Practically speaking, losing his Silver Wings might not have seemed like a fatal loss, since Sanctuary sorcerers primarily used seven-colored sorcery power anyway. But a moment's reflection revealed the truth: much like how losing a finger or two did not cripple hands entirely, a disability was still a disability, forever broken and incomplete! Though Ezhao had always maintained an air of nonchalance and distraction, when sacrifice was required, he did not hesitate in the slightest. To unleash a second divine miracle, he resolutely sacrificed his Rainbow Wings. Some might wonder why he had not expended his Golden Wings this time. The reason was simple: in the future, he would still traverse the Distant Sky Realm, meaning even if he used up his Rainbow Wings, he could reconceive them. Furthermore, the higher the rank of the void wings he sacrificed, the more powerful the divine miracle would become! In return, Ezhao's divine miracle was not only instantaneous, but caught the Spectre Will completely off guard, assimilating him into emerald jade in a flash! Then, Ezhao clenched his fist tight! Snap! The Sanctuary sorcerers held their breath, watching the emerald jade shatter with a resounding boom. Then, a dazed sigh that sounded like release echoed ceaselessly throughout the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams. "What next?" A barrier of resentful spirits covered the Spectre Will's body. Ezhao's miracle had merely pulverized a dozen or so of his resentful spirits. "Boundless jade for imprisonment, distinct crimson for corrosion. In the past, the Emerald-Red Angel ran rampant for decades with this divine miracle. Because it blended over a dozen sorcery factions, there was never any clean counter to it... Had it been the complete Emerald-Red Divine Punishment, it might indeed have caused me considerable trouble. But with only half the technique, it is somewhat disappointing." Swish! The Spectre Will raised his hand slightly, and a black sphere shot out at high speed. Just as the Sanctuary sorcerers dodged out of the way, they realized the sphere was aimed squarely at the sole gap connecting the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams to the outside world! A dozen Sanctuary sorcerers were flying toward the gap at that very moment. Seasoned in battle and cautious by nature, the appearance of the Spectre Will had pushed their internal alarms into total overload, prompting them to slip away quietly to escape this sudden catastrophe. Yet with a smack, the black sphere plugged the breach completely! Although all the rewards inside the black sphere burst out instantly, no one cared about them anymore. Their eyes were glued to the opening through which they had entered—it was now sealed by the wreckage of the black sphere! At that moment, a dazzling beam of sunlight illuminated the gloomy Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams! It was Zhuozhou and the giant orange bow she had conjured! Without a shred of hesitation, the Curse Elf leader unleashed her divine miracle once more: Radiant Arrow of Glory, blasting toward the breach in the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams! Boom! The blazing arrow tore through space and struck the boundary of the kingdom, shaking the entire Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams. To everyone's exhilaration, the newly blocked breach was blasted open once more—and even wider than before, allowing light from the outside to spill into the heavenly kingdom! Swish! Swish! Swish! Yet before the Sanctuary sorcerers could seize the chance to flee, another three black spheres flew over, sealing the torn breach like clay! "Continue," the Spectre Will said leisurely. "The Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams teeters on the verge of collapse. If you can maintain this offensive of divine miracles, next time I will need seven Ghostly Dreams to seal it, thirteen the time after that, then nineteen... You only need seven more divine miracles, and the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams will collapse entirely, leaving me unable to detain you." The Spectre Will's frankness brought no relief to the Sanctuary sorcerers; instead, it pressed down on their hearts like a suffocating shadow! Almost everyone here had read the Spectre Manual and knew that the Spectre Prophet was a reincarnator who had used a 'Second Cycle' god. He had slaughtered nearly every prodigy in his memory to secure his dominance. He was ruthless and cruel in his methods, yet he valued his own life above all else, always formulating meticulous plans before acting. If kidnapping, murder, coercion, and intimidation could increase his margin of safety, he would employ them without the slightest moral burden. The Spectre Manual alone recorded twenty-three instances of exterminating entire clans or massacring cities, half of which were driven by the caution of: 'He intended to commit a crime, anticipated this family might retaliate against him, and therefore exterminated them beforehand.' For him to brazenly disclose the weakness of the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams meant one thing: before he slaughtered everyone present, the kingdom would never fall! "What is today's exact date?" The Spectre Will suddenly asked a bizarre question. After a brief silence, Baiyu, being the closest, answered, "September 4, 1668, by the Common Calendar of the Six Nations." "1668... That is not a calendar I recognize. Nor do I know these six nations... By the most conservative estimate, I have been dead for nearly two thousand years." The Spectre Will rose into the air, surrounded by a cloud of myriad wronged souls that lifted him aloft. "Such an opportunity is rare, so I shall grant you a chance to resist. But in return, please display your supreme arts and miracles to your hearts' content. "As the new generation of Sanctuary, can you offer this ancient relic a pleasant surprise?" As he spoke, the Spectre Will lunged toward the crowd, accompanied by ten million wronged souls that swept over the Sanctuary sorcerers like a raging torrent! He brazenly took on two thousand Sanctuary sorcerers all by himself! Swish! Bang! The first to respond were naturally the Curse Elf archers and hundreds of firearm Sanctuary sorcerers! Countless arrows and bullets with tracking precision converged like a tempest to butcher the Spectre Will! "The elven archery modified by the Sage of Twilight... Seeing an old friend's craft is nostalgic, but why has it shown no progress, even regressing slightly?" "Hmm, this rapid-fire mechanical crossbow has some novelty—efficient lethality and easy to pick up. It must be a mainstream sorcery these days, no? But it lacks depth; to take it further, one would likely have to transition to the mechanical faction..." "As expected, no matter how many years pass, the physical arts faction is still the same old tricks." The Spectre Prophet waved his hand gently, and the mist of wronged souls crowding around him split off into wisps that quickly coalesced into human shapes, clashing fiercely with the charging Sanctuary sorcerers—these wailing souls actually possessed Sanctuary combat strength! "Surprise, my friends. Can you translate for me what a surprise even means?" The Spectre Will bypassed countless Sanctuary sorcerers; not a single person could halt him for a single step or second. The wronged souls he left behind were enough to keep the sorcerers harried and overwhelmed. "I don't mean to sound harsh, but your sorceries bore me. I would rather go back to reading my books. Several millennia have passed—am I truly still not obsolete? Have you sorcerers done nothing over thousands of years but mate and breed, without the slightest desire to advance sorcery?... Oh?" The Spectre Will suddenly tilted his head. The barrier of wronged souls around his neck rippled, and a soul let out a long sigh of relief before slowly dissipating. Though this attack left neither trace nor track, the Spectre Will glanced across the distance toward a female sorcerer, his tone brimming with admiration: "Not bad. Quite similar to the divine miracle conceived by the Thousand-Ten Angel, with a touch of the Night Moon Walker. With this miracle alone, even Legendary sorcerers would meet their end at your hands! Interesting, very interesting!" A chill ran down Trozan's spine. Her Blade of the Hidden Hand had been redeemed from the Star Pole Hall. Only after she mastered it and unlocked access to higher-level intelligence did she learn that the Blade of the Hidden Hand had indeed originated from the legacy of the Thousand-Ten Angel. And her own fortuitous encounter in the Void Realm had yielded the angelic inheritance of the Night Moon Walker! Her Blade of the Hidden Hand incorporated the essence of the Night Moon Walker, which was why it was so impossible to guard against! Having the blade blocked was not frightening, but deducing her lineage from a single strike... One had to remember, this was merely the Spectre Prophet's will, not the Spectre Prophet in the flesh! "Don't be fooled by him!" Baiyu's voice resonated across the heavenly kingdom. "He is nothing more than a will that constantly expends itself! Even if he can exert a fraction of his former strength, he is rootless duckweed with no way to replenish himself! Once his will runs dry, he will destroy himself! "He isn't a demigod at all, nor is he even a sorcerer—just a phantom wielding a demigod's legacy!" The Sanctuary sorcerers were invigorated. Quite a few sorcerers here had dabbled in the mind faction and naturally understood the distinctions among thoughts, wills, and emotions. Thoughts were the most fragile, while emotions were the sturdiest, but in any case, all of them were consumables requiring replenishment from a true body to endure. Yet the Spectre Will's true body had been dead for millennia. Where could he possibly find replenishment? The more he fought and thought, the faster his will would burn away! "Quite right. I am indeed continuously depleting myself. But if you keep relying on these boring arts whose secrets I can unravel at a glance, I fear you won't make me spend many more thoughts..." Suddenly, the Spectre Will flicked his hand, and three clusters of wronged souls latched onto a female gunner, incessantly gnawing at her Sanctuary barrier! "The soul faction is inherently destructive and has no need for mechanical rapid-fire crossbows as crutches," the Spectre Will said coldly. "Not to mention how clumsily you combined them." "Pardon me." Qinna flew at breakneck speed to evade, yet the dual guns in her hands did not cease firing for a second as countless soul bullets traced glowing paths toward the Spectre Will. "The soul faction is obsolete in my country, and I am quite satisfied with my soul gunnery. I don't need a dead man to lecture me!" "Hmph." The Spectre Will snorted coldly, sweeping out a wave of wronged souls that flushed out all the Blood Saint sorcerers lying in wait for an ambush. Just then, several figures broke through his defensive line of souls, their overpowering claws and fists detonating soundwaves! "Not bad." Several soul warriors manifested before the Spectre Will. Even when their forms were instantly blasted apart by the assailants, they reconstituted the next second to entangle them relentlessly! From beginning to end, the Spectre Will had only employed his wronged souls, yet he had already shattered the two thousand Sanctuary sorcerers on contact. These souls could be used for flight, omnidirectional defense, long-range attacks, and even independent combatants, granting the Sanctuary sorcerers a glimpse of a demigod's prowess—no need for countless flashy miracles, for mastering one to perfection was enough to cover every situation! "Strange. These monstrous forms of yours do not resemble the Transmutation faction; they feel completely organic," the Spectre Will remarked thoughtfully as he looked at the half-dragon, half-human Ezhao. "Even your souls have changed, yet you haven't cultivated the soul faction... Which country do you hail from, and which Divine Lord stands behind you?" "The Heavenly Lord who commands the hundred thousand abysses sends his regards." Ezhao attempted several times to breach the soul warriors' defensive line, but every time he charged through, fresh soul warriors repelled him. "The Abyss? I shall remember that. If an opportunity arises, I might visit." The Spectre Will leisurely and effortlessly continued to crush the Sanctuary sorcerers. When some tried to evade and flee, he dispatched wronged souls to hunt them down relentlessly. Before long, nearly all the Sanctuary sorcerers were entangled by souls, and the entire heavenly kingdom resounded with wailing and screeching, as if Hell itself had descended. Baiyu was still looking for an opening. The Spectre Will would never brawl with everyone merely out of curiosity about the development of sorcery—he was just a will, and his sole purpose was resurrection; he would never waste effort on superfluous matters. In other words, the Spectre Will's current actions were definitely preparations for his resurrection. Though Baiyu had deduced this, he was powerless to stop it—the disparity in power was simply too vast, and with the heavenly kingdom sealed off, they had no way to halt the Spectre Will! Right then, Baiyu suddenly noticed that a black sphere hurtling toward him abruptly veered off. Not just him—Zhuozhou, Ezhao, Trozan, and many other Sanctuary sorcerers noticed the same phenomenon. As the Spectre Will drew near the end of his circuit and no Sanctuary sorcerers dared approach him any longer, the things closest to him became the floating black spheres. Suddenly, twenty black spheres around him shifted direction in unison. Ten intercepted and drove back the cloud of wronged souls around the Spectre Will, while the other ten slammed straight into him! At the same time, Baiyu and the other Sanctuary sorcerers erupted with power to break free from the souls' entanglement, focusing their combined firepower on the Spectre Will! Everyone realized that the sorcerers who had just been manipulating the Spectre Inheritance to hinder them were now helping them surround and slay the Spectre Will! If they did not seize this opportunity to thoroughly crush him, everyone would die! Yet faced with the impact of the black spheres and the storm of miracles, the barrier of wronged souls stood as firm as a fortress; the Spectre Will remained entirely unharmed! "What a pity. I had intended to keep a few servants to help me familiarize myself with the mortal realm." The Spectre Will looked toward two black spheres in the distance. "Still, I am used to it. Those who have lived only once never learn to truly cherish their lives. "Let us begin, then." Thirty-two source crystals materialized around the Spectre Will and shattered simultaneously! Then, the wronged souls pursuing and entangling the Sanctuary sorcerers suddenly phased through their sanctuaries, drilled into the sorcerers' souls, and seized control of their consciousness! At the same time, the few sorcerers still lingering in the Spectre Inheritance, along with the Sword Princess and the Witch, suddenly discovered that the underground hall had plunged into darkness, and a vast, boundless desolation engulfed their consciousness. Divine Miracle: Second Sleepwalking Soul-Refining Forbidden Rite!