Birth of the Demonic Sword

"You really did a lot of crazy stuff," June commented after adjusting her position in Noah's arms. "The path past the sky sounds interesting."

"You all had it rough too," Noah said while inspecting his lover's body and applying dark matter where it could help. "I almost injured your world. You should take your time to stabilize it properly before going all-out."

"It's fine," June said while stretching herself over Noah's chest and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I work through battles. Fighting you was quicker."

June was sitting between Noah's legs, with her back on his chest. The two stared deep into each other's eyes when she pulled him from his neck. They were in the middle of the weak sky, inside the dark world. The environment was far from safe, but they felt completely comfortable with their situation.

"Are you sure that I won't create problems for your world?" Noah asked while the two stared at each other. "I probably became necessary for you now."

"Remind me," June mocked as a warm smile appeared on her face, "Where did your creation come from?"

"We are in the ninth rank now," Noah stated. "Things might work differently."

"Noah, you are stronger than me," June said while pulling him closer. "You will do everything in your power to remain the strongest, while I'll use my entire life to defeat you. A part of me might die if I succeed, but you won't let that happen, right?"

"No," Noah promised. "Your pursuit will be eternal."

"I'm fine with that," June sighed. "I have always been fine with that. I can sense it clearly now."

"Indeed," Noah laughed. "It feels stupidly perfect."

"As long as I don't surpass you," June commented.

"As long as you don't fall behind," Noah added.

The two smiled warmly, and their intense stare quickly transformed into a kiss. Heaven and Earth, the weak sky outside the dark world, and all the problems of the higher plane disappeared after that gesture. Noah and June forgot about everything as they lost themselves in sensations that they didn't feel for millennia.

Time passed, but Noah didn't keep track of it. June was in a similar situation. They had just found each other after spending countless lifetimes apart. They could finally stand on the same level of the cultivation journey, right near the end of the path, so neither of them wanted to separate again.

In the end, they found it pointless to even think about separating. The dullness of the weak sky had annoyed Noah ever since his last breakthrough, and the situation would have been worse now that he didn't have any specific project. However, June made those empty moments full of something he had almost forgotten to have.

Noah had already filled the higher plane with his quasi-living workshops. In theory, he only had to wait for his influence to expand to improve and progress through the cultivation journey.

June was different. She had just stepped into the ninth rank, and her experiences in the previous levels of the cultivation journey didn't allow her to develop a complete understanding of the path ahead. Still, her experience as part of Heaven and Earth's system had given her new perspectives, and she had Noah now.

Noah only had to cultivate and expand his influence naturally due to the lack of possible missions that could raise his power quickly. He didn't mind helping June through those phases of the ninth rank. She also didn't take long to figure out how to expand her influence since she had to use her connection with Heaven and Earth for that.

June's world turned out to be quite peculiar. She was similar to Divine Demon due to her connection with the world, but her aspects also made her completely different.

Divine Demon was the favored son of the "Breath". He was the chosen one when it came to that energy. Instead, June had needed Heaven and Earth's sparks to change the nature of her body and allow her to endure the superior power generated by the Perfect Circuit.

In its current form, the Perfect Circuit already had the potential to bring her to heights that even Noah couldn't reach. Yet, her body and her centers of power as a whole couldn't withstand such a massive output of energy. She had modified herself throughout her life, but she remained a cultivator at her core, and that was a limit that no amount of fuel could fix.

Since June's world already had what it needed, she had to improve the sturdiness of her Circuit. Her body, mind, and dantian had to grow strong enough to endure the massive power she could generate with her endless desire for battle, and only Heaven and Earth could provide suitable materials.

In short, June needed to feed on Tribulations just like Noah had fed on energy during most of his life. Each spark that fused with her body increased her affinity with her lightning bolts and allowed her to endure even more power.

Of course, the weak sky created an issue that Noah and June struggled to solve. He had his anger, and she had sharp senses when it came to Heaven and Earth's lightning bolts, but they couldn't use their abilities properly in that environment.

Maribel could sense and predict the arrival of Tribulations due to her experience with Heaven and Earth, but June and Noah weren't even close to her level. They simply lacked the countless years she had spent in that white environment.

The only solution to the issue was traveling and hoping to find Tribulations along the way. The fact that Noah and June were together removed most of the dullness of the exploration, and their senses were quite incredible when they joined forces. Lightning bolts appeared on their paths from time to time, and June never hesitated to absorb them.

Noah obviously thought about the orange city during the travel. The old rulers probably had access to primordial versions of the lightning bolts, which might help June a lot. He even mentioned the issue to her, but finding the actual location of those structures turned out to be impossible. Even his attempts to contact the old Heaven and Earth ended up failing.

June didn't mind missing out on the orange city. She preferred to deal with the Tribulations on her own to give more value to her growth. She accepted that the old rulers could help, but she guessed that approaching them later-on on her path would be for the best.

Hence, Noah and June traveled together, searching for Tribulations and discussing ways to quicken their growth. Their pace was relatively slow since they decided to take many moments for themselves, but that didn't prevent them from meeting multiple packs of magical beasts that Heaven and Earth were trying to hunt down.

Noah never missed the chance to use those meetings to plant fake cores in those creatures. Some magical beasts would even decide to travel with the couple for a while before going on their way.

Everything went well, and Noah and June improved without needing to separate. It felt incredible to have finally reached that point in their journey, and they never failed to enjoy their happiness while years flowed by.