"Oh?" Diya noticed a problem. "If the Distant Sky Realm is gone, then what about the space faction...?"
"That's right. 'Sanctuary sorcerer' is probably about to become an obsolete historical term."
Yinzhi said, "Without the Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon Tuning Forbidden Rite, cultivating the space faction will become countless times harder for sorcerers. Then again, it's hard to say for sure. After all, the forbidden rite has existed in the third layer of the Void Realm for far too long, deeply imprinting itself upon this world. There's a very good chance that unique structures providing the forbidden rite will appear in the new third layer."
Thump!
Accompanied by a tremor, the white light across the sky curtain rapidly receded, leaving behind only the red crystal wall. At the same time, however, white radiance welled up across the earth, as though the light had transferred from the sky down beneath their feet.
The sky was crimson, the ground white, and dreams lay nestled in between.
"Welcome to the new era," Lehuai murmured softly.
"It's over?" Yaxiu was taken aback.
"It's over," Yinzhi said. "The current situation is roughly that Dream Heaven has become a stairway connecting the White Bull to Ruby Mountain... No, Ruby Mountain has no base, only a summit, so it's a stairway connecting the White Bull to the peak of Ruby Mountain."
"How about we call it the Dream Stairway?" Yinzhi asked, seeking their opinion.
Yaxiu and Diya blinked, then nodded hesitantly. "Sounds good."
"Lehuai, what do you think?"
"Why not Fantasy Stairway?"
"Then Dream Stairway it is," Yinzhi declared, settling the matter decisively. "Upon the Knowledge Sea swims a Golden Fish; upon the Golden Fish lies the Time Continent; across the Time Continent walks a White Bull; upon the White Bull rests the Dream Stairway; and the Dream Stairway connects to Ruby Mountain."
Although Yaxiu and Diya could hardly believe it, they faintly felt they had just helped establish the new worldview of this realm. Just as the Distant Sky Realm would live on only in the memories of countless past generations of sorcerers, the name Dream Stairway would undoubtedly become an essential test question for generations of sorcerers to come.
History had turned to a new page at this very moment.
"In that case," Yaxiu said, looking toward the gradually fading rainbow pillar of light, "if I'm not mistaken, don't we have one last Inheritance Banquet?"
"Not only the last, but probably the most important one," Yinzhi said, raising her eyebrows. "Unlike the first two layers of the Void Realm, the Prime Angel managed the Distant Sky Realm for millions of years. It left behind an immense legacy here."
"Is it really all right for you to tell me this?"
"Because I'm a pretty girl who can't keep a secret," Yinzhi said with a shrug. "Besides..."
She glanced at Yaxiu and smiled. "Even though you can participate too, only genuine demons can seize the lion's share of the legacy."
Yaxiu felt a pang of doubt. If both sorcerers and demons could participate, why was Yinzhi so confident? The Prime Angel would never favor demons, which meant that these demons had to possess an inherent advantage sorcerers couldn't hope to match—
Boom!
Right then, two figures locked in fierce combat rushed in from the edge of the rainbow pillar. Yaxiu looked closely, and his pupils shrank!
"Master!"
Covered in wounds and gripping a longspear, Vichy caught sight of Yaxiu. Delight flashed across her face, and without hesitation, she sprinted toward him. "Save me!"
"Yinzhi! Lehuai!"
The figure pursuing Vichy was none other than the other demon, Longyuan! Wielding two battleaxes like a god of slaughter, he roared, "She's the Spectre Prophet! The last owner of Dream Heaven! Kill her now, there's no time left!"
In a flash, Yinzhi and Lehuai weighed the gravity of the situation and immediately sprang into action against Vichy, forming a lethal encirclement together with Longyuan!
But someone was faster.
Hearing the howling whistle of swords behind them, Yinzhi and Lehuai had no choice but to dodge and parry. Just as they moved to counter Yaxiu, Diya's flurry of kicks and punches shattered their pincer attack!
Yaxiu dropped down in front of Vichy, his dual swords snapping like draconic shears across her neck!
Clang! Clang!
With the double ringing of Sword Flash, Yaxiu precisely caught the battleaxes Longyuan swung toward the back of Vichy's neck. Twisting with all his might, he deflected the axes away and shielded Vichy behind him. "Sorry, I'm her guardian. If you have business with her, you can talk to me."
"You probably won't believe me, but I really didn't cause trouble," Vichy gave a wry smile.
Diya sidled up to Yaxiu's back and asked, "'Master'? Seriously?"
"There's a very long story behind that. I'll explain later." Yaxiu cast a Joy Sword onto Vichy, then looked at Longyuan. "No room for negotiation?"
"You should know who the Spectre Prophet is," Yinzhi said. "I see no reason for you to stand on the same side as her."
"To avoid any misunderstanding," Lehuai said, "you can think of the Spectre Prophet as an ultra-budget version of Yinzhi."
"If you're talking about beauty—"
Thud!
Longyuan slammed the handles of both long-shafted battleaxes heavily onto the ground, glaring coldly at Yaxiu. "Seeing as you managed to block a strike of mine—move aside."
Yaxiu fell silent. He truly had no reason to protect Vichy. The person who hated her most here was probably himself; he only kept her by his side because he hadn't found a way to kill her once and for all.
Now that Vichy had offended three vicious demons, Yaxiu was already showing boundless benevolence by not cheering the demons on. How could he possibly protect her against them? These demons were Yaxiu's fallback options; if he alienated them, he wouldn't even find a door open if he ever wanted to serve under a Divine Lord.
Or rather, if he offended them now for Vichy's sake, would he ever dare seek refuge with them in the future?
Yaxiu glanced sideways at Vichy. The maid had her head bowed as she tended to her wounds, disheveled bangs concealing her expression. Her body wasn't trembling, and her hands gripped the shaft of her spear firmly; such relentless pursuit was likely nothing more than trivial routine to her.
Even if she died, wouldn't she just resurrect from her soul phylactery? Why should he, an ordinary player with only one life, stick his neck out to protect a banned top-tier player with two lives?
On top of that, the second this woman spotted him, she dashed right over screaming for help. Why didn't she possess the slightest awareness of sacrificing herself for her master? Couldn't she just obediently find an unseen corner and drop dead in peace?
Yaxiu let out a heavy sigh, shook his head in resignation, and turned to Yinzhi. "Is our alliance broken?"
"Don't worry, I'll take good care of Igola and Harvey," Yinzhi said. "Are you really serious, though?"
"Sorry." Yaxiu tightened his grip on his dual swords and took a combat stance. "Even though I know for sure I'll regret this..."
"I have never once betrayed a companion," he said. "And I'm not about to make an exception for someone like her."
"Master, that was the perfect chance to conquer my maiden heart. Talking like that is no way to do it, you know," Vichy said, slowly exhaling. "Just how did you manage to win over the two mistresses anyway?"
"Mistresses?" Diya's eyes lit up.
Yaxiu sneered. "You actually have a maiden heart?"
"Not anymore," Vichy narrowed her eyes and said coldly. "However, a demon's fighting spirit has been completely awakened."
With an explosive boom, the war between demons officially erupted!
Chapter 929