"Who's going to stay behind?"

Ash pulled his teammates aside, asking as casually as if he were asking who would stay behind to watch the luggage while others went to the restroom.

Diya had tried to speak several times just now, but Sonia and Weiser cut her off.

Everyone knew what she wanted to say because everyone had the same thought—escape!

The vision offered by the Nightmare was indeed beautiful, a double harvest in the Divine Kingdom and Heavenly Kingdom, as if it could allow their Holy Sanctuary Mages to ascend to heaven in one step. But when they calmed down a bit, they all realized a problem—could they hold onto this opportunity?

The Nightmare Angel had once tried to create the Nightmare God Spirits, to take charge of Dream Heaven, to become the new generation Divine Lord, but ended up being thoroughly crushed.

Not only was his cherished Dream Heaven ruined, but it also changed hands through thirteen Masters. And he even had to hide his inheritance in the mouse holes of Dream Heaven, afraid the new master of the dream kingdom would find it.

If they did obtain the complete Dream Heaven, with just the four of them as Holy Sanctuary Mages, could they really resist the covetousness of Divine Lords, the jealousy of demigods, the siege of countless mages of their level?

And that's assuming everything goes smoothly, but in reality, it's more likely to end in failure.

After all, the Ghost Inheritance could be broken open at any time, and perhaps before the Virtual Godhood is fully created, Dream Heaven will be completely destroyed, exposing them to the mages' eyes, only to be drowned in countless spells the next second.

In fact, failure might be the better outcome; if they actually succeeded, they might end up being hunted by Divine Lords both online and offline.

The risks are too high, the benefits too elusive, no matter how you think about it, not getting involved is the wise choice.

But, do they have the right to refuse?

Not to mention the "Dreams Come True" curse hanging over them, just looking at the Nightmare's behavior logic, if Ash and the others said 'I don't want to do it anymore,' would the Nightmare just politely see them off, perhaps even with a small gift to express apologies?

Impossible!

Ash and the others even suspected that if they accidentally showed any hint of 'resistance', 'disgust', or 'giving up' in their words, they would fall from the status of 'Inheritor' to 'disposable consumables' in an instant.

Whether it's the Nightmare Angel while alive, or the devilish Nightmare after death, they never cared about other people's lives.

Among the four of them, except for Weiser, the others are replaceable. Or rather, the reason the other three were also transported here is to act as hostages, binding Weiser to the inheritance.

Forget about quitting, they are even careful about how they discuss it now, afraid the Nightmare might sense their unwillingness.

So when they heard Ash's question, all three showed peculiar expressions on their faces.

Ash said 'you', clearly excluding himself—he did not want to stay behind as a hostage.

But no one thought he was being cowardly or afraid of death.

"Witch, you stay." Sonia said.

"No way! If you two are going, I must follow!" Diya shook her head: "Weiser, you stay!"

"That's fair." Ash also said: "In that case, Weiser, you stay. I'm not excluding you, but you know our relationships are unique, and we're likely to comfort each other under stress by being a bit intimate. Your presence would make it awkward, possibly even inducing more stress for you."

"Besides, you've only been part of this team for two months, causing no trouble and always accommodating and quietly doing your job. I have always been grateful. Here's a rare chance, so let us three seniors handle this troublesome matter, and you enjoy the newcomer benefits."

"'Causing no trouble,' what does that mean?" Sonia widened her eyes: "Have I caused you trouble before?"

"Yeah!" Diya chimed in: "Have I caused you trouble?"

Ash and Sonia looked at Diya, hesitating but saying nothing.

This was the first time Ash admitted in front of Weiser that there was an improper relationship between him and the Sword Witch, but neither Sonia, Diya, nor Weiser was shocked or bothered by it.

"I disagree with your opinions."

Weiser said calmly: "I think the Observer should stay."

Sonia was slightly taken aback and then also changed her stance: "I think so too, the Observer should stay!"

Although Diya leaned towards acting with Ash, on one side was Ash, and on the other were the Sword Maiden and Weiser, she quickly switched sides: "I, I also agree the Observer should stay."

Ash's mouth twitched: "You guys..."

"All decided?" The Nightmare appeared silently beside them: "Then let's begin."

Six Technique Spirits and three Source Crystals flew towards the Female Mages. The Nightmare said, "I will teleport you into the Ghost Inheritance, remove your magic power and Technique Spirit limitations, and adjust other mages' path routes to let them actively encounter you. Of course, the others will still have their magic power and Technique Spirit sealed."

"I have a question." Ash seized the opportunity to ask: "Even if we can't reach the fifth level of the Void Realm, creating the Divine Beings should let us reach Ruby Mountain through the Gate of Truth, right?"

Surprisingly, the Nightmare was silent on this question.

"I don't know," it said. "I've never heard of a Holy Sanctuary Mage creating a Divine Being, so I don't know what will happen. Also, whether a Divine Being has access to the Gate of Truth, I'm also unsure."

"Technique Spirits and Divine Beings differ greatly. All the knowledge of a Technique Spirit can come from a Mage, but the concept of a Divine Being must come from the outside world. Therefore, although a Mage can create a Divine Being, whether the Divine Being 'fully belongs' to the Mage, and whether the Gate of Truth opens for the Mage, I do not understand."

Sonia was a bit surprised, "Hasn't the Nightmare Angel ever created other Divine Beings?"

"In life, I did not nurture any Divine Beings," the Nightmare gave an unexpected answer, "In fact, due to the uniqueness of Divine Beings, not only are they rare, but no Divine Lord would mind having an extra Divine Being join the Heavenly Kingdom. Therefore, a Demigod wanting to seize a natural god not only has to compete with other Demigods but must also snatch it from the Divine Lord's mouth."

"Many Demigods can go their entire lives without possessing a single Divine Being. Often when you step into the Divine Domain, you'll find all the Divine Beings already have masters."

Ash nodded thoughtfully.

He recalled the Dead Spirit Angel from the Gospel Kingdom, the ancestor of the Belladett family. Back then, he merely thought of him as an ancient grave remnant crushed by Harvey. But looking back, he realized that he was also a great figure, not only capable of setting up a Resurrection Ritual but also possessing a Divine Being at a young age!

This also shows how bold the Nightmare Angel was.

He didn't even have a single Divine Being, yet dared to meddle with the Dream Heaven, directly aiming for the Divine Lord rank. No wonder he got his head blown off.

But this means, even if they successfully create a Divine Being, they likely won't be able to sneak into Ruby Mountain...

"Since you don't have a Divine Being, how did you perform a Wonder?" Ash pursued further, "Even if they were all Four-winged Technique Spirits, it could only be called a Miracle, right? Like the Dreams Come True used six Four-winged Technique Spirits, why could that also be called a Wonder?"

At this moment, the Nightmare gently waved its arm, and the Sword Maiden, the Witch, and Weiser disappeared from the golden hall.

Then it answered Ash, "The difference between a Wonder and a Miracle lies in whether the World Law is invoked. Divine Beings are manifestations of the Law, so magic with Divine Beings is naturally a Wonder. But even without a Divine Being, if you can stir the World Law by other means, a Miracle can also become a Wonder."

"In any other place, those six Technique Spirits could at most form a Miracle. Only in Dream Heaven, only within the Distant Realm, can their Miracle trigger the residual laws of Heaven and take effect using the operational mechanisms of the Distant Realm."

"At this moment, the power of the Miracle not only includes Technique Spirits but also the support of the Distant Realm and related laws. Meaning, if the target wants to resist, they must possess the power to withstand the laws of the Distant Realm, or they'll be crushed by them."

"A Miracle is like painting the world's reality with your own will."

"A Wonder is turning your will into the world's will."

"This is the difference in their manifestations."

Ash looked at the place where the Sword Maiden and others disappeared, his gaze flickering.

He wasn't sure if the Nightmare had seen through his intent to use questions to stall time, but the Nightmare's actions had already proved that it knows the primary from the secondary. Those small tricks of deceiving artificial intelligence likely couldn't thwart the plan of the Nightmare God Spirits.

Now, he could only rely on the three of them.

Ash asked, "If I said to switch places with them, would it be possible?"

"Transporting you and controlling the Ghost inheritance both consume Source Crystals," the Nightmare refused, "The reserve of Source Crystals is tight, and creating the Divine Being later will consume many Source Crystals, so they can't be wasted here."

"Moreover, you give me a very unsettling feeling; no matter how you arrange it, I'll keep you as a hostage."

Ash was taken aback, "How do I make you uneasy?"

"I don't know," the Nightmare said, "But I don't need to know; keeping an unstable element by my side is enough."

Damn!

It was Ash's first time encountering such blatant, groundless discrimination based on appearance!

He no longer discussed with the Nightmare, choosing instead to sit down and rest, preparing by communicating affectionately with the Technique Spirits. The Nightmare watched his back, also pondering the source of its unease.

Having a feeling but unable to remember indicates it's not something recorded in the Mage's Handbook but a faint memory of the devilish Nightmare.

After a long while, the Nightmare finally remembered.

It was the Ghost Prophet.

It once peered at the Ghost Prophet in Dream Heaven.

At that time, the Ghost Prophet had slain the twelfth holder Qinqing Night Warrior and seized Dream Heaven.

The Ghost Prophet's hundred-million-soul, which even the Nightmare Angel hadn't achieved in life, was acquired through arduous practice, pure and clean. In contrast, the Ghost Prophet's hundred-million-soul was muddy and foul-smelling, indicating it was gathered through cultivating murder. During the Ghost Prophet's residency in Dream Heaven, the wails of wrongful souls permeated every corner, leaving a strong impression on the Nightmare.

The man in a black-silver chain coat in front gave the Nightmare the feeling that he was like the Inheritor of the Ghost Prophet.

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