Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah took out the white oval and studied it with the help of the Divine Deduction technique. The item acted like a center of power that could contain "Breath" and send it toward specific channels.

The oval didn't send energy anymore now that it lacked a body to fuel. Noah could study how it interacted with his mental waves and tissues without wasting the precious "Breath" it contained.

'Light element,' Noah concluded after a quick inspection.

The elements in the Immortal Lands had the same rarity as the lower planes, but the cultivators there didn't meet similar difficulties. The experts with a rare aptitude had an easier time in that world since they couldn't be born as commoners.

They were still rare, but they had access to far more techniques. Moreover, their starting level would be in the heroic ranks, which put them past the need for random spells.

Noah placed a hand on the oval and used his mental waves to control its energy. The "Breath" flowed inside his body and crumbled to create primary energy that his tissues could absorb.

The oval had contained enough energy to fuel a puppet in the middle tier. It had lost part of its power during the battle, but it still counted as the flesh of a magical beast on the same level.

Noah felt an intense surge of power filling his tissues as his body absorbed that energy. His flesh, muscles, bones, and organs greedily devoured the primary energy and pushed his level past the halfway mark of the lower tier.

As Noah had predicted even before ascending, his body quickly surpassed the level of his other centers of power now that he was in the Immortal Lands. The number of nutrients available in the lower plane couldn't compare to that rich environment, so it was only normal for its growth to be exponential.

Once all the energy contained in the oval ended in his body, Noah performed a second analysis of the item. He quickly realized that he couldn't understand which materials made it. He could only grasp its general functioning since he had created similar tools in the past.

The oval was a more polished version of a center of power. It couldn't grow nor absorb energy on its own, but it could send it far faster than a real dantian. Even his black hole paled in that field against that item.

Noah raised the item above his head and continued to study it as the room's faint light illuminated it. The oval had become a transparent metallic object after he absorbed its energy, but it maintained a peculiar halo due to the materials that made it.

'I can study it to improve my future replica of centers of power,' Noah concluded after a while. 'I think I can't put anything else in my body, but Night and Snore might need this technology one day. Also, I will surely create more Blood Companions in the future. It would be a waste not to learn from it.'

Noah would directly use the oval if its power were slightly higher. He would soon be able to create items in the middle tier, so he didn't need that object since it had a poor match with his element.

He couldn't even sell it since he needed to study its internal composition. Noah would destroy it to analyze its fabric once his mental waves could recognize the materials in its fabric.

Noah eventually put back the oval inside his separate space and moved his focus on the black metal. That material was sturdy and flexible, but he still couldn't use it in his forgings since his level was too low.

Except for the energy absorbed during the inspection, Noah couldn't use those items at his current level. He had to grow until he could affect their fabric, so he could only store them for now.

'What do I even do now?' Noah wondered once he completed all his tasks.

A second passage had opened in the secret room after he defeated the puppet. That undiscovered path wasn't over and continued toward areas that Noah felt wary of exploring.

The puppet had almost pushed his centers of power to their limits. Noah couldn't express more strength. He would die if he were to encounter a harsher trial.

However, retreating seemed even worse. The Pyramid didn't have a stream of cultivators anymore, so the Balrow family had no reason to use it as a source of income. That force would soon close it to focus on retrieving its resources.

Leaving now would probably make him lose every chance to explore the Pyramid again. The Balrow family would also notice the new secret area and explore it until its end with experts in the eighth rank.

Greed could often lead cultivators to their death. Noah wasn't an exception, but his innate superiority gave him a few advantages. Also, he had the disposable puppet in the middle tier on his side, so his chances to survive weren't low.

Noah couldn't find the right answer to his question, so he decided to follow his instincts. The new path didn't make him fear for his life, so he would press on with his exploration.

The new path was dark and continued in a straight line as far as Noah could see. That went against the actual structure of the Pyramid. That corridor would lead outside of the building if he considered only its apparent size.

'Where does this even lead to?' Noah wondered as he stepped inside the opening.

The passage behind him didn't close even after he walked for a few meters, so Noah pressed forward without worrying about the possibility of remaining stuck in that place.

His senses became unable to keep track of his movements as he kept walking. Noah felt slightly dizzy, as if he was teleporting. Yet, the scenery in his eyes didn't change. Even his consciousness confirmed that he was still inside the Pyramid.

Noah didn't wholly trust his senses in that area. His superior awareness had always placed him above other cultivators in that field, but the Pyramid could make even rank 8 experts struggle.

He wouldn't be able to sense everything in an environment mostly made of rank 8 materials. He even had to take into consideration the power of the creator. If the Pyramid didn't want him to notice something, he would remain clueless about any event.

No turns appeared on his path. The corridor didn't go up or down. It continued to stretch in a straight line that didn't seem to have an end. Even his mental waves couldn't find the exit.

Noah never stopped walking, but he didn't accelerate either. He continued to move at a slow pace to ensure that he could retreat as soon as something he couldn't handle appeared on his path.

The scenery eventually began to change, but his senses couldn't completely understand what was happening. Noah felt as if he was still inside that secret path, but a large room slowly unfolded in front of him.

Noah stopped and crouched at that point. His robe had recovered, so it could activate its concealing effects. He didn't know how useful that ability would be in that situation, but it was better than nothing.

His mental waves seeped inside the room and gave him a dim view of its insides. Noah could make a luxurious bed out of the messy images that returned to his mind. Then, he saw a body laid on it.