Ruby Mountain is completely different from past Virtual Realms.
When sorcerers walk on Ruby Mountain, they cannot increase their spellforce by even the slightest bit.
Because the fourth virtual wings are formed from the sorcerer’s own color, unlike the first three virtual wings which can be sought from the Virtual Realm, sorcerers can only search within themselves.
Simply put, sorcerers must rely on their own knowledge to trigger virtual realm resonance, deriving self-colored spellforce. The specific method is to fight and produce on Ruby Mountain, driving spirits to unleash Miracles.
This is also why the vast majority of legendary sorcerers can only obtain Composite Color virtual wings. After all, trying to complete battles using only a single Sect’s spirit is far too difficult for a legend. Moreover, ordinary battles are not enough-if a legendary sorcerer cannot be “brave and diligent” and “gain insight” in battle, they also cannot derive self-colored spellforce.
Battles where you crush or are crushed and learn nothing are unable to increase any experience. Legendary sorcerers must constantly explore their own limits to shake the Virtual Realm and receive feedback.
But even with all this trouble, legendary sorcerers still can’t fight whenever they want.
Virtual realm creatures and sorcerer projections also exist on Ruby Mountain, but… it depends on the Angel’s mood.
Yes, the weather greatly affects the refresh of virtual realm creatures and sorcerer projections. For example, storms and gales will bring Rain Elder Dragons, Raging Slashing Dragons, Thunder Roaring Dragons, Water sorcerer projections, and other creatures. In scorching weather, Fire sorcerer projections are more likely to appear. On pitch-black nights, shadow sorcerer projections, Shadow Evil Drakes, and other dangerous beings will refresh… In short, the worse the weather, the more dangerous the enemies that appear.
Even so, legendary sorcerers can still accept it.But the problem is, many times Ruby Mountain doesn’t spawn monsters at all, and the entire mountain is populated only by legendary sorcerers.
Like this whole month of starry sky weather, Mica hasn’t encountered any monsters on Ruby Mountain. As long as the starry sky weather continues, legendary sorcerers can’t increase their spellforce for a single day, and everyone is stuck here.
In the vast ages before the Era, Ruby Mountain was just this terrible-endless accidents would become obstacles for sorcerers.
But after the Era, sorcerers solved this problem-or rather, the solution always existed: since there are no other enemies on Ruby Mountain, can’t sorcerers become each other’s enemies?
This solution has an unavoidable pain point: Ruby Mountain is infinite. No matter up, down, left, or right, the mountain will keep extending. It’s extremely difficult for legendary sorcerers to encounter each other.
Thus, at the intersection of eras, a crucial concept was born in the sorcerer world: Gospel.
Gospel is a concept rooted in the Virtual Realm, connecting all sorcerers through the Virtual Realm, and naturally connecting legends as well. Ruby Mountain has been completely changed by the Gospel concept. Legendary sorcerers only need to crush any ruby to summon the sorcerer list and view the status of all legendary sorcerers, whether or not they are in the Virtual Realm.
Of course, the sorcerer list does not display names, only color codes that metaphorically indicate a sorcerer’s strength. Using the sorcerer list is simple: as long as you inject spellforce into a color code and the target is in the Virtual Realm, it will guide you to the target. During this process, Ruby Mountain will not expand between you, ensuring you can meet and fight.
Arranging duels was the original purpose of the sorcerer list.
But after so many years of development, many new concepts have emerged, further deepening the user experience of the sorcerer list and giving rise to many “pain point” uses.
For example, the investment mechanism formed by the wonderland “shared concept.”
As long as you inject a certain amount of spellforce into any target, you can form an “investment Pact” with them. When the other party improves their knowledge and skills, a portion of pure knowledge will flow into your mind; at the same time, your pure knowledge will also be acquired by the other party.
But the investment Pact squeezes the sorcerer’s connection with the Virtual Realm. In other words, if you choose to invest in other sorcerers, the Virtual Realm will reduce its inspiration investment in you. The invested party will not have this problem.
If you invest in many sorcerers, the Virtual Realm basically blocks you.
The few legends at the top of the sorcerer list cover almost all investors. Every time they make a little progress, they can extract dozens of times the knowledge from dozens of legends. Therefore, whether to be an investor or an investee is a question every legend must consider.
In addition, there is the gambling mechanism formed by the Blood Moon “corpse-eating concept.”
Similarly, by injecting a certain amount of spellforce into any target, after forming a “gambling Pact,” if you cannot log into the Virtual Realm for ten consecutive days (our side loses), all your essence knowledge will flow into the other party’s mind, equivalent to eating dozens of Experience Orbs;
Likewise, if the other party cannot log into the Virtual Realm within ten days (the enemy loses), then their essence knowledge will become yours.
Such massive knowledge flow will also affect the sorcerer’s connection with the Virtual Realm. Whether you win or lose, the Virtual Realm’s inspiration investment will drop to the minimum for a period of time. Moreover, losing a large amount of knowledge will have a serious negative impact on the sorcerer, even causing a regression in realm.
There are many ways to use the sorcerer list, but the most common are investment and gambling. It’s worth mentioning that the effects of the sorcerer list are mandatory. Whether you want to or not, whether you are on Ruby Mountain or not, as long as someone wants to invest in you or gamble with you, you must accept.
From its inception, the sorcerer list has had nothing to do with words like “peace,” “freedom,” or “compromise.” It is a tool for forced combat. If you avoid battle, then battle will come to you-how could there be any negotiation?
This is also why the vast majority of legendary sorcerers live in seclusion and ignore worldly affairs, and why Mica, a Blood Saint who has already achieved fame and success, still has to log into the Virtual Realm every day-because the intensity of competition on Ruby Mountain is even more terrifying than the previous three layers.
No matter how big a setback you encounter in the first three layers of the Virtual Realm, at worst you can just quit the Virtual Realm and lie flat, since no matter how powerful the enemies in the Virtual Realm are, they can’t affect you in reality;
But Ruby Mountain is different. If you stay in reality for too long, other legendary sorcerers will soon use gambling and other means to hollow out your knowledge, until one day you suddenly find your Sect Realm has dropped.
At first, legendary sorcerers cannot accept the mandatory pressure of the sorcerer list, but soon everyone gets used to it, and in the end, they even feel lucky to live in this most wonderful era.
Because there is no legend who doesn’t want to keep exploring the peak of sorcerers.
It’s just that the road ahead of Ruby Mountain is gone. If they want to blaze a new trail, they must hack their way through the thorns themselves. But individual power is too limited, and knowledge is infinite. If a legendary sorcerer starts from scratch to study other Spellcasting Sects, a lifetime might pass.
The significance of the sorcerer list is that it makes the efficient circulation of knowledge possible.
In the past, a top legendary sorcerer could at most master one legend-level spell and one sanctuary spell, but now a peak legend can master two legend-level spells and three sanctuary spells!
Compared to the lifeless Ruby Mountain before the era, this fiercely competitive Ruby Mountain is even more likely to let legends catch a glimpse of the Demigod realm. Of course, sorcerers have another path, which is to find the Ruby Angel and open the Trial of the Gods, but just as modern sorcerers never counted on the Golden Fish, Rainbow Tail, or faded dream, legends would rather pin their hopes on competing with each other than fantasize about one day receiving the Angel’s favor.
As an extremely cautious Blood Saint, Mica rarely acts rashly whether in gambling or investing. But this time, upon seeing these three lines of faded color, he immediately infused spellforce and launched a ‘Pact of Wager’ on one of them, instantly pursuing the target’s current location!
When such a windfall drops from the sky, if you don’t snatch it quickly, you’ll miss your chance!
Color serves as the code name in the sorcerer list and best reflects a sorcerer’s strength. Such faded colors composed only of black, white, and gray mean the opponent’s Sect Realm hasn’t even reached legend!
Who knows whether these three are newcomers or old-timers who’ve lost everything.
Every so often, the sorcerer list will show a gray-toned legend. These people are usually losers who lost everything in a wager-not only dead, but their spirits all stolen, their Sect Realm fallen from legend, forced to start over from scratch.
Some people can rise again, while others are utterly crushed and sink into oblivion.
But that’s the cruelty of Ruby Mountain: you must tread through hell to become an Angel!
If Mica initiates a wager and successfully kills the target, he can obtain double the pure knowledge!
With the boost of a Movement Miracle, Mica soon tracked down the target’s location and heard an exhilarating sound-the target was already caught in battle!
He transformed into a pool of blood flowing over the ruby ground, drawing closer to the battlefield, and found three sorcerers in chaotic combat: one man and two women.
The man in the dark red trench coat was a ranged Swordmaster, the battlefield filled with Heart Sword-woven Sword Mark traps; the red-haired woman was a traditional Swordmaster, her Vibration Sword Miracle sweeping across the field; the other woman, with a wild mix of black and white hair, shot deadly threads from her ten fingers, her attacks impossible to guard against.
Mica observed for a moment, feeling a bit puzzled-though their attack methods were somewhat simple, their power was much higher than he’d expected.
He’d thought these three were the last three on the sorcerer list, but aside from his chosen wager target, the other two women’s Miracle power could already squeeze into the middle ranks of Ruby Mountain, meaning their spellforce driving their spirits was close to Pure Color.
‘Could they also be here to pick up a bargain?’ Mica couldn’t help but wonder.
He watched carefully and indeed noticed more clues: first, the man in black was indeed the weakest, barely holding on in the melee. Whether it was the red-haired woman or the black-and-white-haired woman, whenever they had the chance, they’d unleash a barrage of Miracles on the man in black, but when they saw the other attacking him, they’d immediately turn their attacks on each other.
Clearly, both women wanted to monopolize all the man’s benefits and didn’t want the other to succeed. Because of this, the man in black managed to survive the alternating assaults, forming a subtle balance among the three.
Triangles really are stable structures.
But the situation was quite favorable for Mica: he saw the two women already fighting in earnest, their attention fully on their rivals. Now the man in black could barely catch his breath, but it was also Mica’s golden opportunity!
This prime experience bundle is destined for me!
After a brief buildup, Mica suddenly reverted from blood to his true form, pulling out an ancient Flintlock and aiming at the man in black’s head!
The moment the Flintlock appeared, it was as if a mighty army descended, a majestic force suppressing the opponent on the spot, the sound of the bullet firing like divine judgment! Though they were all bloodless soul bodies, the man in black bled from all seven orifices, his veins bursting all over!
Miracle: Blood Judgment!
All targets aimed at are souls with hearts, so they can be intimidated; all targets aimed at are beasts with blood, so their blood can be set boiling!
The bullet fired-Sanctuary cannot block it, all soul beasts must be pierced!
As long as Mica got close enough, not to mention sanctuary sorcerers, even legendary sorcerers-he was confident of a one-shot kill!
The bullet will find its destined mark!
Just as the bullet left the barrel, the black-and-white-haired woman and the red-haired woman both looked over.
Then-
Miracle: One Three-Thousand-Six-Hundredth of a Second!
Golden Flow Water was consumed rapidly, the time spirit’s power unleashed to the extreme, stretching a second into three thousand six hundred times, giving Deya enough time to clearly see the bullet’s trajectory!
Miracle: Empress’s Gaze!
Using her gaze as a medium, Deya wrapped ten threads around the speeding bullet, forcibly stretching the 0.01 seconds of the shot into 0.5 seconds!
But that was enough.
Sonya stood in front of Ashe, holding her long sword level, countless threads enveloping her body. The instant the bullet touched her, she moved like a startled venomous spider, dancing at an incredible speed, The Invisible Hand’s Secret Blade tracing the bullet’s trajectory-
Miracle: Meteor Trial!
Mica only felt a sharp blade pierce his chest, Sanctuary offering no resistance! He grunted, unfurled his virtual wings, and quickly retreated. Most of his spellforce had been used to establish the Pact of Wager, leaving him no strength for sustained combat!
This is the price of initiating a wager-the initiator must fight the opponent in a weakened state!
It’s fine if you win, but if you lose, you reap what you sow, seeking your own doom!
But is it up to Mica to leave now?
Witness spirit, Riptide spirit, Spiral spirit, Timequake spirit…
Deya crossed her hands and grabbed, ten threads extending from her fingertips, thickening to finger-width, transforming into countless riptide-entwined whips that lashed fiercely at Mica’s Sanctuary, not only dispersing many of his Defensive Miracles but stunning him for a full three breaths!
Miracle: Empress’s Lash!
A Substitute identical to Ashe was thrown over, crashing into Mica’s Sanctuary and splattering ink marks everywhere! Those ink marks not only damaged the Sanctuary but also greatly slowed Mica’s speed!
Miracle: Substitute Splashing Ink!
Mica turned his head and saw Sonya holding a crimson sword light as grand as Ruby Mountain itself, piercing the heavens and splitting the world! As she swung the sword light down, it poured like lake water, the Blood Moon overturning!
Miracle: Blood Moon Shattered Lake!
“Trap!” Just before his Sanctuary shattered, Mica roared, “You’re too despicable-“
The blood light fell, completely engulfing this Blood Moon legend.