Sorcerer's Handbook-Chapter 670: Hidden Motives

Half an hour later, a once-in-a-millennium spectacle unfolded in the Distant Sky Domain.

Sanctuary sorcerers, who were supposed to be exploring within countless Phantoms, had all gathered in one place.

Two thousand sorcerers unfurled their Sanctuaries, drifting in the air, and as time passed, more arrived, their three wings fluttering swiftly.

A single stone stirred a thousand ripples.

The news of the Blood Moon sorcerer breaching the Dreaming Celestium spread like a Plague, rapidly reaching the Six Nations.

Whether you were a mayoral official in the Kingdom of Gospel, a cult leader in the Kingdom of Senlo, a noble professor in the Stars Kingdom, or a reclusive hermit, unless you were severely injured or out of the loop, you were inevitably drawn to this unprecedented gathering of chaos.

Every sorcerer who arrived, gazing at the thousands of Sanctuaries surrounding the golden Phantoms, found it nearly impossible to contain their excitement.

Even though they hadn’t seized anything yet, the sheer spectacle was enough to etch itself into their memories forever-this was likely the only time in their lives they would witness so many Sanctuaries together.

In that moment, they finally understood the weight of the phrase, “The Virtual Realm is the homecoming for all sorcerers.”

Blood Moon, Stars, Senlo, Wonderland, Abyssal Depths, Gospel!

The tremendous commotion caused by the Blood Moon Sanctuary in the Virtual Realm drew sorcerers from around the world within half an hour!

Sorcerers from the Six Nations converged!

Even for sanctuary sorcerers, leaving their own nation was a rare feat. To them, sorcerers from other nations were like distant fairy tales, stories from novels, virtual characters behind screens-known but unreachable.

In the Sea of Knowledge, shrouded in white mist, a One-Winged Sorcerer could travel thousands of miles without encountering another sorcerer, which was entirely normal.

On the Time Continent, under the cover of golden rain and fraught with danger, even if two-wings sorcerers did meet, unless they were acquainted, they would typically keep their distance for safety.

In the Distant Sky Domain, the chances of meeting were even slimmer, as sorcerers were isolated in individual Phantoms, numbering in the thousands.

However, starting from the Sanctuary level, if sorcerers did meet, they were more inclined towards communication rather than conflict-because fighting wouldn’t result in death.

Sanctuary represents security, and security is the foundation for equal exchange.

If multiple two-wings sorcerers met on the Time Continent, they would immediately prepare Defensive Miracles, or hide if they had none. Avoiding conflict was the best outcome; communication was unlikely.

Some might wonder, why are sorcerers so wary of each other? Can’t both parties be decent people? Indeed, most sorcerers are law-abiding individuals in reality, but once they enter the Virtual Realm, it’s a different story.

The Virtual Realm has two key features: you can log in and out at will, and it’s difficult to trace actions in the Virtual Realm back to reality.

Simply put, if you attack someone in the Virtual Realm, even if you don’t kill them, there’s little they can do about it, as you might only encounter each other once in a lifetime.

An anonymous, rule-less space with no real-world repercussions is, without a doubt, a breeding ground for trolls.

And throughout history, the Virtual Realm has always been like this.

Even if in reality you’ve never even slaughtered a Lala Fatty and mourn the death of strangers, when you encounter other sorcerers in the Virtual Realm, it’s not unusual to suddenly feel the urge to try and kill them-after all, no one will hold you accountable.

Moreover, even if you don’t harbor such thoughts, how can you be sure the other party doesn’t?

Not to mention the various influencing factors, such as being a Gospel Elf sorcerer and the other party being a Blood Moon Goblin sorcerer persecuted by society. You’ve never discriminated against Goblins, yet due to the Blood Moon’s societal structure, you find yourself hunted by them.

Additionally, there are benefits to killing sorcerers-normally, even if a sorcerer is killed, they merely lose their spirit, not their life entirely. The spirit they lose is likely to contain a spell spirit, which becomes the spoils of victory.

The first and second layers of the Virtual Realm are akin to a dark forest where everyone can hunt each other without any repercussions.

But upon reaching the third layer, the emergence of Sanctuaries changes everything. The impenetrable barrier fosters trust and dissipates malice.

Scattered warriors gather courageously to discuss forming teams, even subtly opposing the sorcerer troops representing the Divine Sovereign, all thanks to the courage provided by the Sanctuary.

No matter what happens, they believe the Sanctuary can withstand the first couple of blows, giving them a chance to escape and counterattack!

A retreat is the most substantial asset in an adventure!

Thus, a grand scene of two thousand sanctuary sorcerers eyeing each other emerges.

Currently, the Distant Sky Domain can be divided into four clusters: Blood Moon Sanctuary, wonderland Sanctuary, Abyssal Depths Sanctuary, and all other Sanctuaries.

The first three consist of around a hundred members each, while the ‘others’ number two thousand!

However, these ‘other two thousand Sanctuaries’ lack unified leadership, not even forming teams of more than ten. Many are in groups of three to five, and more are lone wolves. Forget about fighting; if they encounter valuable treasures, they might start fighting among themselves, merely appearing formidable when gathered.

They’re like a flock of vultures waiting for the lions to leave scraps, but if the lions get injured, they wouldn’t mind embarrassing the Divine Sovereign.

Therefore, Abyssalith paid no heed to The Crowd; he focused on the Cursed Elf and Parasitic Sorcerer in the distance, scratching his bird’s nest-like hair, gripping a red lightning bolt in his right hand: “The Sovereign never mentioned a confrontation phase…”

At this moment, a female sorcerer stepped out from the Cursed Elf group. Like regular Elves, Cursed Elves have long, pointed ears, but besides having paler skin, their most distinctive feature is their serpent-haired appearance.

This elegantly dressed female Cursed Elf had nine bronze serpent hairs that seemed to possess independent will, slightly flicking their tongues as they, along with her originals, gazed at Abyssalith.

“Mirehex,” she spoke softly, yet everyone within a kilometer radius could clearly hear her gentle, slow voice.

From the Parasitic Sorcerer’s side, a masked young man emerged, shrouded entirely in clothing: “Malgraith.”

“Sanguil,” Abyssalith casually assigned himself a codename: “The Sovereign’s orders are to seize the Specter’s Inheritance and Dreaming Celestium. I wonder if you two could make some concessions? If possible, I’d like to work less overtime…”

Mirehex slowly replied, “We, the same.”

“Isn’t it a bit premature to start fighting when we haven’t even seen the prize yet? We should at least unwrap the Dreaming Celestium into something adorable first,” Malgraith remarked, casting a glance at The Crowd lurking in the distance. “And with so many waiting in line, if we start a fight, they might seize the opportunity to attack us, the representatives of the Divine Sovereign-trust me, no one can resist the temptation of desecrating the sacred and trampling on the noble.”

Abyssalith was equally reluctant to stir up trouble. “Let’s enter the Celestium first, and then rely on our own skills.”

“Clear the field?” Mirehex inquired.

“Wow, such a fierce Elf, I like it,” Malgraith teased, indicating the Parasitic Sorcerers’ agreement.

However, Abyssalith firmly refused. “Blood Moon does not engage in indiscriminate slaughter.”

This wasn’t a situation where the minority obeyed the majority. To clear the field, all three factions had to act simultaneously; otherwise, if two factions fought the sorcerers on the periphery while Blood Moon Sanctuary suddenly attacked them from behind, they could be completely out of the specter competition.

Since Blood Moon had vetoed the idea, Malgraith and Mirehex didn’t insist further.

Abyssalith put away the Crimson Lightning, quietly observing them-if they wanted to partake in this grand feast, they first had to prove their qualifications; a mere hundred sanctuary sorcerers wouldn’t meet the threshold.

Moreover, if Malgraith and Mirehex didn’t have divine interventions at their disposal, Abyssalith saw no reason to share with them. After all, the Crimson Lightning he wielded could still be used once more, posing an unbearable threat to any party.

Mirehex raised her hand, and a blazing orange giant bow materialized in her grasp-in an era dominated by Gunmanship, bows and arrows were quite unfamiliar to most sorcerers.

Simultaneously, the serpent-haired Cursed Elves hissed, their serpentine eyes glowing with a bright orange light, fixating on Mirehex at the forefront. Similar to the Blood Moon Alliance, the Cursed Elves unified their sanctuary power through blood resonance!

Within seconds, the orange giant bow expanded to a hundred meters in length, and the giant arrow in Mirehex’s hand grew to rival Abyssalith’s Crimson Lightning. The intense, dazzling light was so blinding that merely gazing at it could scorch the retina, forcing the sanctuary sorcerers to avert their eyes!

Divine Intervention: Glory Arrow!

The sound of the giant arrow tearing through the air reverberated, creating ripples across the sanctuaries of the sorcerers!

Boom!

The giant arrow hit the tiny finger-sized hole in the golden Phantom precisely, enlarging it to the size of a torso!

“Now it’s my turn to perform an expansion surgery on the adorable Dreaming Celestium,” Malgraith casually gestured, and the hole in the golden Phantom was suddenly filled with emerald jade. The verdant hue spread until it burst open, creating an entrance large enough for two people!

Divine Intervention: Infinity Green!

Abyssalith and Mirehex narrowed their eyes slightly-there were no incantation steps, no flight distance, and it was unclear whether other sanctuaries’ powers were unified; Malgraith had practically instantaneously cast this divine intervention.

The only drawback was likely the limited damage range, unlike the Crimson Lightning and orange giant arrow, which could transform into a group attack mode, but a group attack variation couldn’t be ruled out.

At this point, Abyssalith sent a Moonshadow Sanctuary to probe the entrance. The Moonshadow Sanctuary tested the area near the entrance and gestured a V sign towards Abyssalith, happily reporting, “One-Winged Spirit has no restrictions, Two-Winged Spirit increases spellforce consumption by 50%, Three-Winged Spirit increases spellforce consumption by 100%, and at most, three spirits can be commanded simultaneously!”

“The Dreaming Celestium has ultimately shattered. Even if the Specter Seer patched it up with numerous seals, once broken, it can no longer suppress the spirits…” Abyssalith mused over the information given by the Sovereign while leading the Blood Moon Sanctuary into the Specter’s Inheritance.

The Cursed Elves and Parasitic Sorcerers followed closely behind.

As soon as they entered, the restless onlookers outside began to chatter:

“The Dreaming Celestium is so vast, there’s no way they can scour it clean. The leftovers should be enough for us, right?”

“If the Specter Seer has set other traps, they’ll surely clear the way for us.”

“They are sorcerers favored by the Divine Sovereign. Even without the Specter’s Inheritance, they know how to reach Ruby Mountain and beyond. But if we miss the Specter’s Inheritance, we’ll never hope to ascend above Ruby Mountain!”

“The Divine Sovereigns have already reached the pinnacle of realms. Why are they competing with us for the Specter’s Inheritance? The Demigod Inheritance should be shared by all; how can they hoard it?”

“Break the monopoly on the Inheritance!”

As the first person rushed into the opening, the sanctuary sorcerers erupted into a frenzy, pouring into the Dreaming Celestium!

“Mr. Bukin is truly impressive!” Chikara exclaimed as Igor returned, marveling, “You actually managed to stir up the sanctuary sorcerers! Haha, with them as cannon fodder, we can just sit back and watch who picks up the good stuff and then rob them!”

“Impossible,” Igor replied calmly. “Though Mental Miracles using sound as a medium can penetrate Sanctuaries more easily than other miracles, they can’t affect over a thousand Sanctuaries… If I’m not mistaken, there were at least dozens of Mental Sanctuaries casting miracles just now, which is why it was so easy to incite greed and anger among the others.”

“There are quite a few who share our thoughts…”

Reflecting on the synchronized casting with other Mental Sanctuaries, Igor couldn’t help but feel a thrill-born to crave grand stages and spectacles, this gathering of Six Nations Sanctuaries in the Distant Sky Domain was as enticing to him as an ancient battlefield was to Harvey!

But Igor quickly steadied his mind, for the real challenge was just beginning.

Harvey glanced around, pondering aloud, “It’s been over ten hours since Ash logged into the Virtual Realm…”

“Let’s go,” Igor said, not addressing Harvey’s comment directly.

The necromancer gave the con artist a nod.

Igor, Harvey, and Chikara entered the Dreaming Celestium through the opening, where the light shifted from bright to dim.

Inside the Dreaming Celestium was a vast, completely dark world. Yet, intriguingly, the sorcerers’ vision remained clear, with the edges of all objects outlined in white, making the world resemble a black-and-white sketch.

In the darkness, countless massive Black Orbs moved at high speed in chaotic patterns!

Boom!

Igor saw a sanctuary sorcerer collide with a Black Orb, sending him flying a hundred meters away!

Now, the sanctuary sorcerers were trying to stick close to the edges to avoid the Black Orbs’ high-speed charges!

However, the Blood Moon Sanctuary, Cursed Elf, and Parasitic Sorcerer were all focused on attacking the same Black Orb. Whatever Miracle they used managed to slow down the fast-moving Black Orb, and after continuous Miracle bombardments, they finally shattered it!

As the Black Orb disintegrated, dozens of spirits and experience light orbs eagerly escaped from within. Upon closer inspection, they realized that inside the Black Orb was the very familiar Trial Underground Hall!

Although the Divine Sovereign sorcerers quickly secured these rewards, some of the spirit light orbs still managed to slip out and were snatched by the onlookers.

“The Black Orb hides the Specter’s Inheritance!”

“Break the Black Orb, and all the rewards inside will burst out!”

The sanctuary sorcerers were all thrilled. Normally, they had to pass a Trial to earn a reward, which might only be a Temporary Spirit. But now, by smashing the Black Orb, they could directly seize the rewards, and there were hundreds of Black Orbs here, each containing hundreds of rewards!

Moreover, inside, there might be the Specter’s Appendix, Canon, or even the Codex!

In contrast to the excited onlookers, Abyssalith, Mirehex, and Malgraith’s expressions were extremely grim. Observing the other Black Orbs, they finally discovered the trap left by the Specter Seer.

“As expected of the Specter Seer…” Abyssalith chuckled weakly, “We’re in big trouble now.”

The Specter Seer had undoubtedly anticipated that someone would forcibly attack the Dreaming Celestium to seize the Inheritance, so Abyssalith and his companions had been very cautious. But they hadn’t expected the Specter Seer to be so inventive-

When a Black Orb is destroyed, its energy merges into other Black Orbs, increasing their size and speed!

Once enough Black Orbs are broken, the remaining ones will speed up to an exaggerated velocity, and even with their Sanctuary, they would be knocked senseless, unable to withstand the impact!

The Black Orbs are likely fragments of the Dreaming Celestium, allowing them to automatically operate and reorganize. This means they are not only contending with the Specter Seer but also with the power of the Virtual Realm!

And this is just the first layer of traps; the Specter Seer has a second and third layer waiting for them!

But they have no way to solve it, nor can they avoid it!

Because the Specter’s Inheritance is inside the Black Orbs, unless they can directly locate the Codex, they have to tackle each Black Orb one by one!

Even if they have prophecy Miracles to slowly search, there are still two thousand greedy sanctuaries nearby!

These people are now only thinking of grabbing what they can and running; if they can’t get the Codex, so be it. How could they possibly stop and let Abyssalith and his team smoothly seize the Codex without competing?

This perfectly crafted Black Orb trap, exploiting greed and shortsightedness, demonstrates the Specter Seer’s deep understanding of human nature.

But there is good news; Abyssalith and his team found that the additional spellforce consumption for two-wings and three-wings spirits has decreased. The Black Orbs are fragments of the Dreaming Celestium, and breaking them further damages the Dreaming Celestium, reducing the suppression they face as they progress.

Abyssalith, Mirehex, and Malgraith exchanged glances and nodded: “Let’s do it.”

The three factions of Sanctuary sorcerers once again slowed down a Black Orb for a fierce assault!

Chikara and Harvey glanced at Igor, who was observing the outer Sanctuaries forming groups of four hundred to intercept and forcefully attack three or four Black Orbs. Though there were still many Black Orbs left, the Sanctuaries were exerting considerable power, not to mention the Divine Sovereigns wielding potent divine interventions. The fall of the Dreaming Celestium seemed inevitable.

The Con Artist knew that Ash and the others were inside the Black Orbs, so his task was to prevent the Sanctuaries from attacking them.

But this was a foolish act against the tide; everyone was busy scrambling for the Specter’s Inheritance, who would willingly stop?

Thus, he needed to create another wave of momentum…

With that thought, Igor signaled Harvey and Chikara to follow him, and they positioned themselves not far from the Divine Sovereigns. As soon as the Divine Sovereigns shattered a Black Orb, they rushed in to grab whatever they could, then quickly retreated to avoid being pursued.

If it were The Crowd, someone would surely chase after Igor and his companions, but the Divine Sovereigns were led by Abyssalith, Mirehex, and Malgraith, who naturally wouldn’t want to complicate matters over a few opportunistic pests.

Soon enough, they realized the consequence of not swiftly swatting away these pests was attracting a swarm of them.

Noticing Igor’s actions, more Sanctuaries outside began to gather, waiting to swoop in for leftovers.

They watched the Divine Sovereigns attack the Black Orbs like diners waiting for the chef to serve, or students waiting for the teacher to hand out assignments. As soon as a Black Orb shattered, they rushed in to grab whatever they could for free, then quickly retreated to wait for the next opportunity.

This was too brazen for Abyssalith and his team to tolerate, so they decided to spread out and encircle the Black Orbs, aiming to claim all the rewards for themselves, leaving nothing for the outer sorcerers.

But spreading out meant reducing the density of sorcerers, making them more susceptible to interference from the Black Orbs!

As a Cursed Elf prepared to dodge a Black Orb, a sudden piercing explosion rang in his ears, causing intense mental pain that left him stunned, only to be sent flying a hundred meters away by the Black Orb!

“Who!” he shrieked, the serpent-haired tendrils on his head hissing as he glared at the outer sorcerers. “Who just attacked me with a mental miracle!?”

Naturally, none of the outer sorcerers responded, while Abyssalith, Mirehex, and Malgraith exchanged glances and silently regrouped their team.

However, this meant that when they shattered a Black Orb, the rewards inevitably spilled out.

Though it seemed like nothing had changed, with the Divine Sovereigns attacking the Black Orbs and the outer sorcerers waiting to scavenge, a tense atmosphere of impending storm gradually spread throughout the Dreaming Celestium.

Chikara and Harvey looked at Igor, who slowly shook his head.

The mental miracle that attacked the Cursed Elf had nothing to do with him.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel