Birth of the Demonic Sword

The group didn't immediately leave the city. Noah and the others had to seize the various rewards requested for the mission against the ghosts. They even had to spend some time with those materials and prepare a tactic against that unknown enemy.

Maps of the stormy regions were almost impossible to create since the chaotic laws constantly transformed the lands. Only the dead zones remained the same, even they moved from time to time due to the changes that involved their surroundings.

The group let the old Heaven and Earth create a tracker that could lead them to the ghosts and back to the city, but that was the best they could do.

'I finally understand,' Noah laughed in his mind as he browsed through chunks of fur featuring Kesier runes. 'I still don't know everything, but I understand.'

The end of the known cultivation journey was far away but in sight. Noah could finally gaze at the world without feeling lost. Many of its secrets still escaped his eyes, but he understood their functioning, especially after talking with the old Heaven and Earth.

Noah knew about the beginning of the higher plane. He had seen the world transforming into a hellish whiteness, and he could even study its current functioning.

The new Heaven and Earth created perfect counters to every existence that benefited from the unavoidable flaws of their system. Those beings relied on and exploited the d.e.s.i.r.e of the rulers' fairness to crumble to reach a threatening state, but only a few of them managed to remain alive long enough to become real problems.

Moreover, the only purpose of those counters was to buy some time until Heaven and Earth managed to defeat the dragons and take complete control of the world. The path for the tenth rank might open for them at that point, and everything else would die if they succeeded.

'The best tactic still is to defeat the other counters and keep them busy until we become strong enough to affect the world,' Noah thought as black roots came out of his palm.

The parasite instinctively stretched its roots toward the pieces of fur in Noah's hands. The magical plant recognized food that would benefit its foundation, and it didn't hesitate to turn them into a source of energy that fused with its structure.

Noah could feel that the parasite's base stretched and thickened under the careful inspection of the black hole. The magical plant's foundation improved a lot. The process allowed the creature to generate more roots at the same time and absorb energy faster, but it didn't cause any transformation.

Noah sighed at that scene. He didn't know what to expect from the process, but those results were rather disappointing. The parasite had improved as a living being, but it didn't gain any immediate increase in power. Absorbing the other Kesier runes could only benefit its future growth.

The parasite worked like cultivators. Eventual improvements would lead to better results after the upgrades to its foundation, but Noah didn't gain anything now. He only had made the magical plant even hungrier.

'Is that really all I can do?' Noah wondered as his mind continued to review the topics concerning the world as a whole and Heaven and Earth.

The main issue in the topic was his low cultivation level. Noah was amazing and could cross the limits of his centers of power at ease. He could even fill the gaps among the ranks and stages with only a brim of his power. Yet, he remained a rank 8 expert, and that led to limits.

Heaven and Earth and their system acted on higher realms. The simple ninth rank might even fail to be enough to defeat them. Of course, Noah felt sure that his actual power would be incredible once he completed the known cultivation journey. The problem was getting there without having to migrate toward different planes.

Taking care of Heaven and Earth's counters was a sound plan that could make them waste a lot of energy and time. Yet, that approach would also accelerate the appearance of the counters meant for Noah and his group.

Noah was willing to make the trade since he felt more confident in surviving anything Heaven and Earth tried to throw at him. The same went for his companions, but he still wanted to do more.

'How can I even affect the sky?' Noah wondered. 'Can I do something more than this?'

His question led to a simple negative answer. He was incredible, but he was already doing everything in his power to hinder Heaven and Earth's plans.

The path ahead didn't feature anything that could damage the rulers even more. Finding more existences who could one day be worthy opponents seemed the only possible option other than gaining more power. At least for now.

Noah knew that his breakthrough might give him the chance to find new weaknesses in Heaven and Earth and the sky as a whole. His destruction would finally approach its peak once he reached the ninth rank, and even the rulers would have to fear him.

The group uncovered multiple features of the city as they prepared to hunt down the ghosts. Some of its aspects were spectacular and magnificent, while others were so gruesome that even some magical beasts would struggle to stick with them.

It turned out that the old Heaven and Earth had told the truth. They didn't subjugate the Kesier species. Those creatures had decided to follow the old rulers to break free of their innate restraints.

The old rulers had been completely selfless in their efforts since they had always planned to give away the city to someone else. However, that had created a solid loyalty among the Kesier apes. That feeling had only intensified after the life among those buildings continued.

The old Heaven and Earth had modified the Kesier apes to make their bodies able to absorb one of the previous aspects of their existence. The lightning element that had managed to conquer the world was in the hands of magical beasts that already had a threatening innate ability now.

Still, the process wasn't perfect, especially when it came to the strongest specimen. Many Kesier apes had died or suffered severe injuries, and the old Heaven and Earth didn't throw their valuable bodies away.

Noah and the rest of his group discovered how the city produced the grey liquid, and the sight left some of them slightly disgusted. The old Heaven and Earth had basically created an imperfect breeding ground that never stopped making new Kesier apes. Yet, the system's flaws gave birth to mutated and barely alive specimens, but that was enough to ensure a constant stream of Keiser runes.

The most surprising aspect of that discovery was that the Kesier apes were aware of the factory, but they let it be. They seemed to worship the old Heaven and Earth, so they didn't care about all those deaths meant only to produce materials useful for the city. That event didn't even affect their willingness to give control of their bodies to the old rulers.

The city had far more to explore, but the experts ended up completing their preparations after discovering the factory. Noah and the others left at that point, and they even felt relieved when they left the range of those buildings. Some of them wondered if they would return there at all.