Birth of the Demonic Sword

The strategy ideated by Noah and the Demons was simple. The edges of that separate dimension were a bit further than the end of the landmass. So, they could theoretically fly under the continent and create a tunnel toward the surface when they reached its center.

Of course, that task was easier said than done.

The six of them didn't have a method to sense where the void began. Their minds would disperse if they were to enter that mysterious environment. A misstep could kill them on the spot.

Yet, Raphaelle had the body of a huge Ghostly Snake in the upper tier of the fifth rank. The group could use her to scout the path ahead and fly where she had flown already.

Another issue was the fact that they had to fly in that dangerous place for months without ever having the possibility to rest.

The ground at the bottom of the landmass was so tough that it could take them weeks to create caves, which prevented the possibility of taking breaks. It would be pointless to spend that much time digging before even reaching their destination.

After all, they were powerful enough to fly for months without even flinching. The real problem was the dangerous environment, but it was doable.

There was also the chance that they could encounter lifeforms at those depths. Still, that seemed highly unlikely since any magical beast would feel an innate fear toward those areas since they were too close to the void.

As for what concerned their destination, Dreaming Demon had used the properties of her mental energy to study the other side of the storm.

The group advanced while keeping the utmost attention on Raphaelle, checking if any part of her vast body crossed some invisible layer that divided the dimension with the void. Silence reigned among them for entire months since no one dared to break the concentration of their companions.

The ground turned from brown to azure as they advanced under the landmass. The group kept the terrain close to their heads to avoid getting too close to the darkness under them, but it seemed that the safe space was at least a hundred meters wide.

They didn't lower their guard anyway after that discovery, but they relaxed a little when they understood that it would be hard to fall into the void.

Those months passed slowly, and Flying Demon had to carry his lover from time to time so that she could adjust their direction. There couldn't be any mistake in her calculations since the storm would destroy them if they happened to enter its range.

It took some time, but the group managed to reach their target.

The eight of them found themselves staring at a specific spot in the azure terrain above them and analyzing its structure to find any weakness in its fabric. It was time to dig their way to the surface, but they wanted to be as careful as possible before barging into an environment that could contain rank 6 creatures.

"Scout ahead," Noah ordered Joel, and the snake used his innate ability to become immaterial and explore the tough layers of rocky terrain above them.

Joel reappeared after a few hours and confirmed the safety of that environment. Also, he didn't find any trace of the passage of magical beasts, which further reassured the cultivators.

Noah, Raphaelle, Joel, and the Demons began to launch attacks at the azure terrain at that point.

The rocks were hard and resembled materials in the sixth rank when it came to their toughness. That didn't make them impenetrable, but it would take a while to pierce it even with the joint effort of three hybrids in the upper tier and two powerful existences.

Yet, the five of them didn't mind spending weeks in that task if that led them to the inventory of a divine being.

The group took turns. Noah, the hybrids, and the Demons were the main piercing force, while June, Faith, and Daniel focused on spreading the damage that they had caused.

The two teams alternated their efforts to keep their mental energy to optimal levels. They couldn't risk getting too tired when they still lacked a foothold.

The azure ground began to give up after a few weeks of continuous attacks, and a tunnel slowly formed thanks to their efforts. However, they had to spend some more time enlarging it to fit the two snakes.

Noah and the others would never reach for the other side without their powerful cannon fodder. Spending some time to increase their chances of survival was the least that they could do.

As the tunnel took form, the group could finally rest and let go of the tension that had accumulated on their minds after those months spent between the darkness and the azure ground.

Nevertheless, a different tension appeared as they became close to the surface.

The storm didn't scare them. Dreaming Demon had spent a couple of months fusing her mental energy with the world to pinpoint the exact center of the separated area. Also, she had even repeated that process during their exploration.

Still, they were about to resurface in an unknown environment that could feature existences at the peak of the heroic ranks. Feeling tense was only natural in that situation.

Noah and the others didn't dig the ground right under the surface. They let Raphaelle go ahead and excavate alone while they waited at some distance in the tunnel.

If the hybrid sensed that something was wrong, Dreaming Demon would understand it, and the six of them would return at full speed to the bottom of the tunnel.

Of course, they ordered Joel to stand between them and Raphaelle to provide another obstruction to any potential threat.

Raphaelle eventually broke the last layer of terrain and resurfaced. Her consciousness shared everything that she saw with Dreaming Demon, and the latter conveyed what she received to the rest of the group.

"It resembles the insides of a castle," Dreaming Demon said. "It's ancient, but there doesn't seem to be any danger."

The cultivators let Raphaelle wander on the surface for a while before they felt safe enough to resurface.

Noah found himself inside a large hall that seemed part of a tall structure. White columns stood near the azure walls of the room and shone with a light that resembled that radiated by the sky. Dirty grey tiles filled the floor, and a series of corridors linked that hall to other parts of the structure.

An eerie atmosphere filled the insides of that place, but the group couldn't sense the slightest trace of living beings there. The structure appeared uninhabited, but the cultivators weren't ready to abandon their caution yet.

No one spoke. The group went for one of the corridors to begin their silent exploration of that place.

The structure though decided to surprise them rather quickly since the group found a stuffed winged beast used as a statue in the first corridor that they explored. The aura of a quasi-rank 7 creature still lingered around that ornament.