"Rose, head upstairs first."
Yaxiu pulled his hand back from Rose's grip and looked down at it. He could barely recognize his own hand anymore—it was so fair, tender, and smooth that he felt like Rose might take sandpaper to polish it if left to her own devices a little longer.
"We need to discuss some topics regarding role-playing games," he remarked. "It's not really suitable for normal people to be around."
Rose glanced at Weixi's snow-white, jade-like feet propped up on the coffee table and asked, "Do you need me to prepare some antiseptic mouthwash?"
"I won't be licking them, don't worry."
"I think it'd be best if you weren't so confident," Weixi said, stretching lazily as the arches of her feet pulled taut and her tender lotus-sprout toes tucked neatly together. "Though I wouldn't want you drinking mouthwash either. You ought to submit to me filled with gratitude and humiliation."
Rose considered this for a moment and asked gravely, "Miss Weixi, you wouldn't happen to be planning to assault Yaxiu, would you? And I mean in every sense of the word. After all, Yaxiu is an injured patient right now; any heavy physical exertion will hinder his recovery."
"You don't need to worry at all, Rose," Weixi said, resting her chin on her palm while propping up her other long leg, still clad in a black silk stocking. She drawled languidly, "I've always preferred playing the role of the 'conqueror.' Yaxiu only needs to shoulder the shameful duties of the 'conquered.' As for the rest of the heavy physical labor, I'll attend to it personally."
"In that case, I can go back to watching my drama in peace. Remember to drink your five-flower tea." Rose slid the mercury thermometer from under Yaxiu's armpit, inspected it under the lamp light, jotted the reading down in her notebook, and departed at an unhurried pace. Yaxiu stared blankly, having no recollection of when she had even tucked the thermometer in.
Once the door closed upstairs, Yaxiu drained the iced honey five-flower tea in a single gulp. Harvey had already moved behind Weixi at some point, turning the whiteboard around so Weixi couldn't see what was written on it. Igola also pulled out a Dutch revolver decorated with gold and silver patterns and methodically loaded bullets into its cylinder one by one.
Yaxiu had realized the moment he woke up this morning that Weixi's wings had grown strong and unruly. Igola and Harvey, however, had advised him not to be so pessimistic—what if Weixi was actually dead?
The reason was simple: Weixi hadn't returned for an entire day and night, yet Yaxiu saw through his sorcerer handbook that she was still in their party. Therefore, Weixi was definitely still in the Country of All Stars.
Surviving a massive battle without voluntarily reporting back to the team—what could that be other than hoarding spoils for herself? Anyone could deduce with half a brain that Weixi was undoubtedly hiding away to study the loot she had snatched from the angel hunt.
Her current demeanor was living proof that her gains were colossal—so colossal that she didn't care in the slightest about dropping all pretenses with Yaxiu. If this story were told from Weixi's perspective, the plot at this very moment would read: *The period of forbearance has ended; the Spectre Prophet returns; the master pales in horror, abasing himself and surrendering his body to curry favor,* and so on.
Yet the fact that she had returned at this exact time proved that Yaxiu's Ruby Chains were still taking effect.
After all, a cautious sorcerer like Weixi, who harbored countless resurrection contingencies, would never show herself before an enemy without absolute certainty. To return impatiently after being separated for a mere twelve hours—even couples head-over-heels in love weren't this eager.
The real reason lay in the rule sheet Yaxiu had set for her: she was permitted to act freely away from Yaxiu for a maximum of twelve hours only under special circumstances, and she had to rejoin the team within those twelve hours. Giving her a twelve-hour window wasn't to indulge her, but to keep her from committing suicide—if she had been ordered to return to Yaxiu's side immediately at all times as her highest priority, she would have had an excuse to charge headlong into monster hordes while in places like the Black Sea.
Both Igola and Harvey understood this well, which was why they were on high alert.
When a demon bound in chains lets out a sinister laugh, it means her eyes are reflecting the collapse of paradise.
"There's no one else here now," Yaxiu said. "Show me what gives you such confidence."
Weixi didn't hesitate and unfurled her imaginary wings. Just like Yaxiu and the others, Weixi possessed only complete silver, golden, and rainbow imaginary wings, which she had acquired after seizing the soul of a Sanctuary sorcerer. As for her fourth imaginary wing, it was merely a single feather, putting her progress roughly on par with Yaxiu's trio.
Yet the gazes of Yaxiu and his companions instantly locked onto four wisps of eerie blue feathers resting by her waist dimples.
It was worth noting that despite differences in height, race, and gender, an imaginary wing's position on a sorcerer's body was generally uniform. The silver and golden imaginary wings grew at the necks of the shoulder blades on both sides; the rainbow and colorless imaginary wings grew on either side of the mid-back; and the fifth and sixth imaginary wings could be deduced to rest along the lower back.
Right now, the eerie blue feathers at Weixi's waist dimples occupied the theoretical location of the Seventh Imaginary Wing!
"I know you're shocked, but you aren't nearly shocked enough." Weixi relished their stares. "In the end, you're merely mortals. You don't understand at all what imaginary wings come to signify once a sorcerer steps into the realm of the gods. Explaining it to you is a rather tedious affair—like describing colors to the blind, or explaining sound to the deaf."
After mocking them, Weixi continued, "If mortal-stage sorcerers rely on imaginary wings to command sorcery spirits, then upon stepping into the realm of the gods, sorcerers empower gods through imaginary wings."
*Command? Empower?*
Seeing Yaxiu and the others lost in thought, a flash of appreciation appeared in Weixi's eyes. "You've probably sensed it vaguely by now, haven't you? At the Silver, Gold, and Sanctuary stages, regardless of the height or refinement of your sorcery attainments, injecting the same amount of sorcery power into the same sorcery spirit will yield identical effects.
"It isn't until the Legendary stage that every legend possesses heterochromatic sorcery mana in different proportions. Heterochromatic sorcery mana exerts either positive or negative amplification effects on sorcery spirits. Driving the same sorcery spirit with monochromatic sorcery mana versus mixed-color sorcery mana can create a tenfold gap in amplification!
"So how massive can that amplification gap become once you enter the realm of the gods?" Weixi held up three fingers. "At my peak, I could amplify soul sorcery spirits by three thousand times!"
Even though they knew Weixi was partly trying to intimidate them, Yaxiu and the others felt their hearts sink.
What did three thousand times mean?
The general combat strength of a Legendary sorcerer today was destroying a city within a single day. Yet for an evil demigod like Weixi descending upon the world, her slaughter speed would be at least a hundred times faster than a Legendary sorcerer's! Snuffing out lives would be easier than breathing; incinerating cities and eradicating nations would be simpler than putting on clothes!
Not to mention that aside from Weixi, who was practically designated as destitute by the Void Realm, other demigod sorcerers almost certainly possessed actual gods!
How could a god's might be mere hundredfolds of a sorcery spirit's?
"Once you reach the God Lord stage, that amplification scales up exponentially," Weixi said. "I haven't witnessed God Lords making moves many times, not to mention that on the fifth floor of the Void Realm, even a God Lord's actions are drastically suppressed. Still, Yaxiu, you inherited the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven, so there must be insoluble celestial curses lingering within it, right?"
Yaxiu thought for a moment. "There's the 'Boiling Blood Flies' curse."
The greatest obstacle in the Thousand Wishes legacy was Boiling Blood Flies—anyone could guess as much. Weixi shot him a glance. "Though I've never seen the Blood Moon Overlord's original Boiling Blood Flies, it is generally believed that curses replicated by the Void Realm possess at most a tenth of their original potency."
The curse that had thrown a third of the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven into utter chaos, one that gods had exhausted their lifespans without ever resolving, was actually just a tenth of the original's power?!
"The ability to amplify sorcery spirits to such a degree—is that because of the imaginary wings?" Igola asked. "Could it be like the Fourth Imaginary Wing, where different ratios of sorcery power produce different amplifications for sorcery spirits?"
"First of all, starting from the fifth wing, imaginary wings generate 'source power,' not sorcery power. Source power drives gods, while sorcery power drives sorcery spirits. Driving sorcery spirits with source power is something not even a God Lord would squander.
"Second, what amplifies sorcery spirits is the imaginary wing itself."
Weixi pointed upward. "Have you ever considered that when a sorcerer uses a torrential rain sorcery spirit, it covers an area of a hundred meters at most, yet the sky can casually summon waves of rain spanning ten thousand li? A Legendary sorcerer shaking a single city with an earthquake sorcery spirit is already considered legendary, yet the earth itself can tear continents apart, shatter mountains, and shake entire nations.
"The mightiest sorcerer has never been a God Lord, nor will it be any future supreme entity. From beginning to end, it has always been the world itself.
"How do you make a sorcery spirit unleash greater power? It's simple: instead of us driving the sorcery spirit, we let the world drive it.
"And to achieve that..." Weixi lightly traced her delicate lips with her fingertip. "We sorcerers must first devour the world to condense our Fifth Imaginary Wing."
"Devour the world?" Igola repeated instinctively, as if saying the words aloud might lessen their sheer absurdity.
"For instance, sorcery spirits are spirits of laws derived from the world." Weixi summoned her Knowing and Guarding Fire sorcery spirit, nuzzling it affectionately against her cheek while uttering ruthless words: "Devouring sorcery spirits is our most direct path to condensing the Fifth Imaginary Wing."
Yaxiu felt the sorcery spirits inside his soul shudder.
"Naturally, that's an extravagant act. There are far more economical methods on the fifth floor of the Void Realm, but the essence remains the same," Weixi said. "Entities of law like sorcery spirits will always return to the Void Realm whether we exhaust them to death or they are naturally liberated after we die. To the Void Realm, they are merely part of an internal cycle.
"However, if we devour a sorcery spirit, it belongs to the sorcerer forever. That is tantamount to plundering the Void Realm's property, swallowing fragments of the world. Unless we surrender our Fifth Imaginary Wing, the Void Realm will curse us endlessly until our souls perish and our bodies die.
"That is why the Fifth Imaginary Wing is also known as the Wings of the Thief."
Weixi seemed to recall her prime, murmuring, "The more laws a sorcerer plunders from the Void Realm, the stronger their command over sorcery spirits becomes. The reason I could battle demigods without possessing a god myself was precisely because I stole immense amounts of Void Realm laws to condense my Fifth Imaginary Wing."
"So the Void Realm curses you endured were especially violent?" Yaxiu asked.
Weixi snorted and dodged the question. "The Fifth Imaginary Wing is called the Wings of the Thief, so guess what the Sixth Imaginary Wing is called?"
A God Lord's degree of amplification was far higher than a demigod's; evidently, God Lords had to steal things from the Void Realm as well. Harvey ventured a guess, "Wings of the Master Thief?"
"Wrong. It's the Wings of the King," Weixi said languidly. "Perhaps you've already noticed this phenomenon: whoever possesses six wings invariably possesses a kingdom of heaven."
"A kingdom of heaven is an essential component to becoming a six-winged God Lord," Yaxiu said slowly. "In the Nightmare Angel's legacy, his original concept was to create a Nightmare God and elevate a Dream Heaven to attain the six-winged rank."
"Him?" Disdain flashed across Weixi's face. "His concept only met the basic threshold of a God Lord. He was still missing the final step."
"What step?"
"Plundering a world secret realm." Yearning surfaced in Weixi's eyes. "The greatest difference between six wings and five wings is that a God Lord can plunder a world secret realm, whereas a demigod can only devour world fragments.
"The reason all God Lords possess a kingdom of heaven is simply because a kingdom of heaven is a prerequisite for plundering a world secret realm. Without one, even if you move a world secret realm from the fourth floor of the Void Realm into reality, it still belongs to the Void Realm, not to you. Only by moving a world secret realm into your kingdom of heaven can you steal it away from the Void Realm and make it your own.
"The Sixth Imaginary Wing is fundamentally the Wings of Heaven, the Wings of the Secret Realm! The world secret realm itself is the true body of the Sixth Imaginary Wing!"
*So that's how it is.* The lingering doubts Yaxiu held about the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven instantly cleared up. When he had acquired the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven, he had pondered a question: since the Void Realm's curse was so troublesome, why hadn't the Illusion Lord of Thousand Wishes simply returned the Wishing Pool to the Void Realm?
Though sorcerers were inherently greedy, the Illusion Lord of Thousand Wishes wasn't Weixi. He commanded numerous gods and could execute divine miracles even without a world secret realm, so why incur the wrath of the Void Realm?
In fact, it wasn't just the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven. Ever since the Time Continent, Yaxiu had encountered many rumors about 'God Lords plundering the Void Realm'—the Time Continent had been picked so clean that only the Flowing Gold River remained, and the Divine Lord of Stars had even stolen the Canopy of Hell. It had given the impression that this band of God Lords would steal a bucket from a passing manure cart.
Now Yaxiu finally understood: it wasn't that God Lords merely liked plundering the Void Realm, but that without plundering the Void Realm, one could never become a God Lord!
The God Lords of the Six Nations were none other than six grand thieves!
Steal a little, and you became a demigod pursued relentlessly by the curses of the Void Realm. Steal enough, and you became a God Lord ruling over reality!
Yaxiu gathered his thoughts and looked at Weixi, who was smiling as she stroked her eerie blue feathers. He also understood her intention—the better they grasped the Fifth and Sixth Imaginary Wings, the more they would realize the sheer value of her Seventh Imaginary Wing!
Indeed, Igola's expression had turned exceedingly grim. "The Fifth Imaginary Wing requires devouring world fragments, and the Sixth Imaginary Wing requires plundering world secret realms. So what did your Seventh Imaginary Wing plunder?"
"Good question, Igola. As expected of the mind sorcerer I admire," Weixi chuckled softly. "However, my feet are reserved for my master to lick clean, so there's no spot for you... How about this: I'll reward Yaxiu to you instead, all right?"
"If your answer is terrifying enough, I wouldn't mind accepting that punishment," the deceiver sneered.
"Then you can collect your reward right now." Weixi narrowed her eyes, crossing her feet over one another. "Because what my Seventh Imaginary Wing plunders is knowledge.
"Perhaps you're unaware of a divine miracle known as the 'Golden Apple.' A God Lord can seal away knowledge within a Golden Apple, monopolizing that knowledge forever after. Even if other sorcerers understand the underlying principles, they will be unable to summon the sorcery spirits tied to that knowledge, let alone trigger resonance with the Void Realm."
Yaxiu asked, "Does the Seventh Imaginary Wing plunder knowledge in the same manner? Once you steal it, no one else can trigger resonance with the Void Realm?"
"No."
Weixi cast him a flirtatious, melting glance, her tone barely able to suppress her excitement. "After I steal it, it won't affect the world in any way.
"However, from that moment on, every piece of knowledge I steal belongs entirely to me."
At first glance, the statement sounded bizarre. Your knowledge naturally belongs to you, so what else could it mean? Yet when connected to the Golden Apple she had just described, Yaxiu and the others realized a terrifying possibility.
"Every sorcery spirit derived from that knowledge must heed my command.
"Every sorcerer who studies that knowledge must submit to my restraint.
"Every environment steeped in that knowledge becomes my domain.
"When I have stolen all knowledge..." Weixi clenched her fist tightly. "I shall be the sole supreme being of sorcery!"
Chapter 846