Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah's guess had been on point. Luke had withheld crucial information and only revealed one of the valuable locations that could interest Noah.

Yet, the higher plane was vast and had seen many powerful existences throughout the eras. All the experts who had managed to approach the ninth rank had left something important behind, and the secret organization had kept track of most of them.

The main issue behind those locations was that the entirety of the secret organization knew about them. That made every force in the human domain aware of those resources since the many cells would have different agendas.

Alexander was giving Noah the chance to inspect the location connected to Radiant Eyes, but the human domain wouldn't normally remain on the sidelines in front of those resources. Many organizations had even taken control of some of them during the past years.

Noah let go of that topic to focus on something far more important. Luke and the other two rank 8 cultivators from the secret organization knew a lot about Heaven and Earth, and Noah wanted to learn everything.

It turned out that almost every large organization had experts connected to Heaven and Earth. An existence would gain a chance to join them after approaching the solid stage. Luke's force had specific cells meant to recruit assets for that task.

Of course, joining that part of the secret organization wasn't mandatory, but Heaven and Earth's offer was quite appealing. The lack of constant punishment was tempting, but that wasn't everything.

Heaven and Earth had complete control over their system. They could help certain existences as long as they surrendered their laws. Luke didn't know the specifics behind that process, but he had gained a general idea of what it caused in cultivators.

Noah could vaguely understand that point and why certain existences couldn't ignore that offer. However, he knew that most cultivators wouldn't give up on the laws that they had built over millennia so easily.

The main issue was that cultivators had no way to escape Heaven and Earth while in the Immortal Lands, which made the whole journey harder. Even incredible existences like Supreme Thief and Great Builder had ended up dying because of that.

Luke didn't know too much on that topic. He could only repeat Supreme Thief's words and tell Noah that Heaven and Earth had powerful underlings throughout the higher plane. The expert had a personal theory about their identity, but it was only a vague hypothesis.

As for the methods to contact Heaven and Earth, Luke couldn't explain much. The secret organization had a place capable of reaching those existences, but its actual location was one of the greatest secrets of his force. Only the most powerful experts would learn about it.

The conversation left Noah with many doubts. Luke had revealed that every existence would eventually have to face Heaven and Earth's suppression at some point. The records even showed that only a few of them managed to remain alive after that.

"You can't develop proper countermeasures to that issue," Luke explained. "You are against worlds-builder beings. Techniques can hide your existence for a while, but you will always deplete your energy before Heaven and Earth."

"And you get the lackeys if you end up creating something that can last for a long time," Noah sighed.

"Exactly!" Luke exclaimed. "It's honestly hopeless."

"Why did you have a change of heart then?" Noah asked. "You could have lived a peaceful life."

"I'm still a cultivator," Luke snorted. "I will walk on every path before giving up. There have to be flaws in the system. It's all a matter of finding them in time."

Noah didn't know how honest Luke was, but he respected the idea behind his words. The expert's determination wasn't something that he could hide. Luke sounded driven and serious about his whole plan.

The wind intensified as the group flew through the Outer Lands. It wouldn't take them much to reach their destination, and Noah even began to sense the arrival of the dangerous regions.

A strange structure eventually appeared in his vision. A scarlet mountain that featured countless cavities stood at the center of a barren region filled by intense gales that seemed to ignore the ground.

Barren regions were a rare sight in the Immortal Lands and often featured unique environments, but the mountain seemed to be the cause for that phenomenon in that case. The structure attracted the chaotic laws and made them flow inside its cavities.

The mountain seemed alive. It wasn't an inscribed item like Supreme Thief's palace and the pyramid. It appeared as a proper living being that had taken an immense shape.

Noah could finally understand what Luke had meant before. The mountain didn't have the aspect of an inheritance, but it contained a lot of power.

"Are you sure that this isn't a mine?" Noah asked while inspecting the mountain.

"We found some Soul Stones around the edges of the cavities," Luke explained. "Yet, they stop appearing deeper in the tunnels. Something else absorbs that energy."

"Didn't you explore it any further?" Noah questioned the expert.

"We found this place only a few centuries ago," Luke revealed. "The secret organization has kept it hidden while it studied the political environment. We wanted to show this place to some powerful forces before resuming its exploration."

Noah nodded before nearing the mountain and covering it with his mental waves. His consciousness couldn't seep inside the cavities, but he could understand that the structure hid some danger.

"How did you even connect it to a cultivator?" Noah asked once Luke approached him. "What can you tell me about Radiant Eyes."

"Her interest in the hybrids had always been famous," Luke explained. "Legends say that she has eventually managed to obtain a body similar to a magical beast. She liked bees, and this has the aspect of a beehive."

Noah knew how hard it was for cultivators to alter their existence after reaching the divine ranks. He didn't believe that Radiant Eyes had managed to overcome that issue, but it was hard to predict what powerful experts were capable of.

Night appeared in the open and shot inside one of the cavities. Noah kept track of its movements through the mental connection, but the insides of the tunnels disrupted it.

"We tried something similar with a few inscribed items," Luke explained. "This whole structure isolates and absorbs energy, so you can't send and receive much."

"I guess we can't only enter it and explore its insides," Noah replied while recalling Night.

"You are free to enter whenever you want," Luke continued. "The secret organization has sent some powerful assets inside the mountain. Still, those who have reached its depths have yet to come out."

"Don't worry," Noah said. "We will have a powerful guide and a few meat shields this time around."

"Do you trust me so little?" Luke sighed when he understood the meaning behind Noah's words.

"Even less than you think," Noah promptly replied. "Now go before I start a mess. The same goes for your two companions. I will follow behind you."

Luke could only sigh again before calling the other rank 8 existences on the scene. The two cultivators joined him in the frontlines and continued to follow him even after their sense of danger told them to go back.

Noah followed closely behind them and threatened to remove his cover whenever one of them trembled. The cultivators felt danger both in front and behind their backs, but that didn't affect their overall performance.