Birth of the Demonic Sword

King Elbas couldn't help but consider Noah's idea. His curiosity enhanced his mental faculties as countless calculations happened in his mind.

Noah was an expert in many fields, but King Elbas had an overall understanding of every topic connected to the cultivation journey. He could evaluate an idea through a broader vision, and Noah trusted his judgment because of that.

King Elbas studied that crazy plan. The layout of Heaven and Earth's system appeared in his mind and played the movements that the "Breath" performed.

Removing Mortal Lands from the system would reduce Heaven and Earth's overall amount of energy. It was unclear whether severing those connections would bring immediate damage to the rulers, but it would definitely hurt their plans.

Still, the mission needed a team of experts to pass through the holes in the sky, travel through the void, sever the Mortal Lands from the system, and returning inside the higher plane. A lot could go wrong, especially since Heaven and Earth made those worlds exist in different dimensions.

Leaving the higher plane wasn't an issue. It was enough to find a landing zone and fly in a straight line toward the sky. The hole connected to the void would eventually appear, and Heaven and Earth wouldn't even bother to deploy defenses there.

Returning inside the Immortal Lands from the void was the real problem. Sensors and beacons could work, but Heaven and Earth still had complete control of that space and could easily interfere with those items.

Moreover, finding the Mortal Lands could be troublesome unless they managed to pierce through the void. Heaven and Earth would definitely hide them, so the group would need methods that ignored those hindrances.

However, King Elbas couldn't deny the nature of his conclusions. The plan was clearly crazy, but it was far from impossible, especially with the various experts in Noah's group.

"How do you even come up with this stuff?" King Elbas asked in an honest tone.

"Destruction is part of my being," Noah laughed. "I instinctively know where I can inflict more damage, even when it comes to Heaven and Earth."

"I won't lie to you," King Elbas announced. "Our knowledge of dimensions, my inscription methods, the existences with the Devils' influence, the idiot, and the hybrids might make a great team for this mission."

"Is it possible then?" Noah asked as his eyes lit up.

"Definitely," King Elbas replied. "It only needs a lot of planning. Nothing can go wrong in a mission like that. A single mistake might leave us stranded into the void."

"We need to do something to slow down Heaven and Earth," Noah explained. "They are adapting too quickly. Even our current mission can only buy us some time. I want to do something permanent."

"Buying time for what?" King Elbas asked. "Supreme Thief and Great Builder have died after they reached the ninth rank. Increasing our cultivation level might not help."

"I'm not them," Noah announced. "We helped to revive two rank 9 existences as mere rank 8 experts. Our potential has to be higher."

Noah's confidence was quite disarming. King Elbas couldn't help but believe his words completely when he put them in that way.

"What are you two plotting?" Sword Saint suddenly said after arriving behind the duo. "I still don't understand why we aren't leaving for the stormy regions."

"I don't understand why you are still here," King Elbas honestly replied. "Are you part of this crazy bunch now?"

"I only follow the path of the sword," Sword Saint exclaimed. "The stormy regions have many valuable opponents, but I believe that following you all will lead me to better battles. We met in Heaven and Earth's trap in the end."

"He just wants stuff to cut," Noah summarized before ignoring the expert.

Sword Saint was incredible. He was one of the strongest experts that Noah had ever seen. However, he was like Divine Demon. His unrestrained character made every attempt to involve him in organizations pointless.

Noah was happy as long as Sword Saint remained, but he didn't dare to involve him in his plans. The expert wouldn't listen to them anyway.

"I'll think about the various details," King Elbas eventually exclaimed while leaving Noah. "We might follow through with the plan if Heaven and Earth fail to kill us in the imminent future."

Noah limited himself to nod before the travel became a mere series of meaningless talks with the various experts. Only Steven and Robert seemed to discuss for most of the flight, but it was clear that their topics involved Heaven and Earth.

"We are almost there," Steven announced after the group spent a few years flying.

The group had reached a mountain chain that featured multiple rivers flowing through the various valleys. Their waters carried the same whiteness that had corroded Cynthia, but Noah's instincts didn't sense anything dangerous in the area.

"One of the branches of the Rotway family is here," Steven explained. "They were one of the few families that didn't suffer while moving to the Outer Lands since most of their mines are here."

"Soul Stones?" Jordan asked.

"Many of them," Steven continued. "The Rotway family has always been outside of the political environment because it had never needed to interact with the other forces. It rarely became the target of attacks and similar events due to the secrecy of these locations."

"How did you even find it then?" Wilfred asked.

"The secret organization has helped to find these spots," Steven explained. "We even noted them down since the human domain always offers you a chance to gain a profit from this knowledge. I didn't think they would have been useful for these missions."

"How do we attack?" Luke asked while stepping into the conversation.

"I need a few instants to cross-reference my information with this current layout," Steven announced. "I should be able to find the location quickly."

Everyone nodded, but Noah, Sword Saint, and Divine Demon exchanged a helpless glance. The trio drew their weapons under the stunned gaze of their friends and quickly unleashed attacks toward the protected area.

Sword Saint placed his sword-shaped silver energy on his forehead as his consciousness expanded. An array of slashes materialized as soon as his mental waves reached those areas, and the whole mountain chain soon experienced those attacks.

Noah summoned Snore before pointing toward the mountain chain, and the snake promptly unleashed the full might of its black feathers.

Three different attacks flew toward the ground and unleashed unfathomable destruction.

Divine Demon's beam transformed into white energy that spread through the area after touching the ground. The mountains inevitably shook as that power crossed them, and many cracks appeared on their surface.

Sword Saint's energy had the shape of a blade. His sharpness spread through the area while mountains started to fall. His last attack severed those motionless structures into halves.

Then, Snore's feathers arrived, and everything fell into chaos. Their attacks flattened entire areas, burnt the rivers, and revealed which spots featured protections.

'Found them,' Noah thought as he fixed his eyes on a series of mountains that didn't shake during the impact of the spells.

It was clear that the area featured protections, and he couldn't wait to dive toward them.

****

Author's notes: I feel far better. The fever should be completely gone, and I'm basically back at my peak. I will resume my normal writing schedule tomorrow. Thank you for having been so patient with me.