Sorcerer’s Handbook
Chapter 646: Sleep in Overcoats

Distant Sky Domain, the shattered Dreamland, Level 34.

“Stick close to me.”

As soon as Ash spoke, Sonya, Deya, and even Vesser pressed tightly against him. The Underground Hall was devoid of any monsters, with only wisps of faint purple smoke emerging from various corners, slowly drifting towards them.

Yet, it was this purple smoke that had stalled Ash and his companions for three days!

Three days ago, they had charged through to Level 34 with unstoppable momentum, thanks to their seamless cooperation and the fact that “Aurora’s Dream Treasure House” acknowledged the Specter’s Inheritance for passing levels!

By passing five levels in the Specter’s Inheritance, they could reliably draw an auxiliary collection!

This was far simpler than exploring dream phantoms, which varied in difficulty. Completing five phantoms typically took 100 minutes, and Ash’s group could explore 13 phantoms in a night, yielding only two collections.

However, the first five levels of the Specter’s Inheritance were generally less challenging. As Ash and his team became more familiar with the Soul Sect and adept at using Primordial spirits, they breezed through the first 20 levels, securing at least four additional collections!

Collections could bypass the Inheritance’s restrictions and aid them in progressing further! Occasionally, they’d draw powerful Colorful Collections like “Night Comet” (which unleashed a comet riptide upon impact), allowing them to clear earlier levels without expending resources.

Despite the advantages of collections, some levels couldn’t be overcome with brute force alone, such as the Inheritance Trial of Level 34, “Soul’s Obsession.”

The first time they encountered this challenge, they were utterly defenseless, trapped in a prolonged dream, their souls gradually eroded. If not for Vesser’s soul reaching the silver realm and awakening just before death to use the ‘specter key’ to escape the Inheritance, they would have all perished there!

Even sanctuary sorcerers were powerless against the Angelic Heritage, dying without even realizing what had happened!

Ash and his companions were deeply shaken, and the situation was compounded by their inability to discern how to overcome this trial. Just as they were about to be permanently stuck, Vesser found a breakthrough in the Specter Handbook.

Previously mentioned, the Specter Handbook contained numerous records, most of which were irrelevant to modern sorcerers, often glanced at and forgotten. Among these were chapters documenting battles when the Specter Seer was still a sorcerer.

Vesser discovered that the Specter Seer had once used a soul miracle called “Soul’s Obsession,” whose description and effects closely resembled the Level 34 trial, revealing what had nearly killed them.

However, the “Soul’s Obsession” recorded in the Specter Handbook was merely a sanctuary miracle that induced sleep, powerful yet lacking the soul-eroding effect. Thus, the Level 34 Soul’s Obsession was likely an enhanced version, possibly strengthened further after the Specter Seer ascended to a Demigod Angel, becoming a divine intervention!

“Soul’s Obsession” was not something that could be resisted by sheer force. The solution, however, lay within the pages of the Specter Handbook. The Specter Seer had written that this Miracle could even corrode a Sanctuary, leaving most sorcerers utterly defenseless. It invaded through sight, sound, smell, and touch, and by the time a sorcerer noticed the faint purple smoke, their soul was already ensnared.

Yet, a sorcerer with a soul that was dense and solid could remain unaffected. No matter how the Soul’s Obsession tried to entangle them, their soul would stand firm!

The method to fortify one’s soul was found within the Specter’s Inheritance itself!

The Specter’s Inheritance offered two regular rewards: “Soul Experience” and “Temporary Spirit.”

Indeed, aside from the Primordial spirits Ash and his companions generated themselves, most spirits obtained from the Inheritance could not be taken away. Whether it was because the Specter Seer was stingy with rewards or simply unwilling to see the inept benefit from the Inheritance, remained unclear.

The Temporary Spirit rewards included many that directly affected the sorcerer’s soul, such as the Battle soul that grew stronger with each fight, the Sword soul that increased blade damage, the Malicious Soul that thrived on malevolence, and the Dark Soul that gained strength in dim light.

Among these was a spirit known as “Soul Refining,” which could purge impurities from the soul, compressing its essence to make it more dense and substantial. But this alone was insufficient, as they couldn’t possibly find four Soul Refining spirits. After three days of exploration and testing, Ash also chose the “Soulgarment” and “Sleepsoul” spirits.

The former was highly practical, forming a protective armor around the soul, with its defensive strength proportional to the soul’s quality, perfectly complementing the Soul Refining spirit. The latter was a healing spirit, accelerating the recovery of soul damage through sleep.

Facing the faint purple smoke of Soul’s Obsession, Ash had already employed Soul Refining. Despite the intense pain akin to being carved by an axe and chisel, his form had become leaner, yet his face and skin radiated a healthy glow, as if his originals had entered the Virtual Realm!

Then, the combination of Soulgarment and Sleepsoul!

Miracle: Sleep in Overcoats!

A light blue trench coat materialized around Ash, enveloping the sword Princess and the others. Sonya, Deya, and Vesser immediately felt their eyelids grow heavy, quickly leaning against Ash and falling into a deep sleep.

The faint purple smoke of Soul’s Obsession circled them several times, but it had no effect on Ash and couldn’t erode the souls of the sword Princess and her companions.

This was the solution Vesser had devised: the essence of Soul’s Obsession was to draw out the target’s soul and gradually wear it down. Besides having a soul dense enough to resist the pull, if the soul was first drawn by another Miracle, it could also withstand Soul’s Obsession!

The Miracle of Sleep in Overcoats relied on Ash’s fortified soul to forcibly draw in Vesser and the others’ souls. Simply put, Ash “consumed” Vesser and the others first; as long as Soul’s Obsession couldn’t pry open Ash’s “mouth,” it couldn’t affect Vesser and the others.

After five minutes, Ash, holding them close, began to feel a bit tired. Only then did the faint purple smoke gradually dissipate, revealing three reward light orbs in the hall.

Ash immediately dispelled the Sleep in Overcoats Miracle, and Vesser was the first to awaken. She took two steps back and exhaled softly, “Finally, we made it through.”

“Didn’t expect to succeed on the first try,” Ash shared her joy.

In truth, Ash had already prepared the specter key, ready to exit the Virtual Realm if Sleep in Overcoats failed. After all, Soul’s Obsession was a legendary spell, even a divine intervention, while their Sleep in Overcoats was merely a fledgling Miracle. Failure to break through was quite normal.

However, although it seemed they had cracked it effortlessly, it required finding the Soul Refining, Soulgarment, and Sleepsoul spirits from the rewards. Moreover, the Specter’s Inheritance didn’t allow the use of spellforce; Ash had to rely solely on his soul to drive these spirits and create the Miracle.

This was no laughing matter, as the Miracle wasn’t simply a combination of two spirits. It involved integrating Sleepsoul’s effects into Soulgarment and then using Soulgarment to unleash Sleepsoul’s power. If Ash’s Soul Sect hadn’t reached the silver realm, he wouldn’t have been able to perform this Miracle at all.

That’s why they delayed for three days before tackling the 34th level. During those days, they gathered soul experience from earlier levels, and once the sword Princess and the others’ Soul Sect reached the silver realm, Ash naturally advanced to the silver realm through Experience Sharing. This way, even if they encountered unexpected challenges later, they would at least have some means of self-preservation.

As for why Ash was the one to perform Sleep in Overcoats, it was because he was the only one in the team who was still idle.

The sword Princess followed the Sword soul path, constantly enhancing her close combat abilities, and was usually the first to charge into battle during most combat levels.

Vesser took the ‘Soul Master’ route, using her expanded soul computation abilities to control multiple enemies, often shining when the enemy numbers exceeded double digits.

The Witch pursued the ‘Servant soul,’ ‘Martial soul,’ and ‘Battle soul’ paths. Although spirits couldn’t be used in the Inheritance, her Fist-Claw Sect was genuinely at the Golden level, allowing her to assist and complement when the sword Princess dealt direct damage.

This is why they still insisted on tackling levels as a team of four-no matter what rewards the levels offered, they would at least suit one operator’s path. A solo sorcerer faced with unsuitable rewards would have to choose randomly.

This situation left Ash in an awkward position. Despite mastering many Spellcasting Sects through Experience Sharing, his combat style was primarily long-range Swordsmanship. If he pursued the Sword soul path, he would not only compete for resources with the sword Princess but also exceed the necessary output.

It wasn’t until he analyzed the combination of Soul Refining and Soulgarment that Ash determined his path in the Specter’s Inheritance-Guardian.

Simply put, when enemies aimed to focus their attacks, he had to step up and take the hits.

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