Birth of the Demonic Sword

The woman's name was Chief Ash. Noah had learnt a bit about her during her questioning. She was a member of a guild that served the Sailbrird family and provided its structures with guards.

Noah wanted to ask more about those organizations, but Chief Ash never gave him the chance to question her. The line behind him also grew annoyed with his negative answers, so he preferred to cut the conversation short to enter the building.

"Since you have no affiliation whatsoever," Chief Ash announced once her interrogation ended, "I need you to pay the entire fee to enter the library. One hundred Soul Stones will grant you access to most structures belonging to the Sailbrird family for a whole year, but you can pay five of them if you desire a simple visit."

Noah had no idea what she was talking about. The cultivators before him didn't pay to enter the library, so the currency of the Immortal Lands was something that he had yet to see.

Chief Ash could see the confusion in Noah's face, and she seemed to understand something when he didn't give her an answer. She bent toward him and isolated the two of them with her aura before questioning him again.

"Is this your first time in a human settlement?" Chief Ash asked, and Noah couldn't help but nod at her question.

Noah could guess that his inexperience in those matters had exposed his newly ascended status, but he didn't mind that. Chief Ash revealed a newfound interest in him after she learnt about that feature, and Noah saw a chance to understand more about the Immortal Lands when she asked him to talk in private.

The four gaseous stage cultivators took charge of handling the line while Chief Ash led Noah in a large area near the defensive walls. A table and two chairs appeared on the white floor when she stopped, and Noah didn't hesitate to sit to talk with that expert.

"I guess you spent a millennium in the wilderness after leaving the landing zone," Chief Ash announced once she sat on the opposite side of the table.

"A few centuries," Noah rectified to study her reaction.

Only a few decades had passed after Noah's ascension, but he didn't want to reveal too much about himself. He preferred to lie to see how Chief Ash reacted to his claims.

"Centuries?" Chief Ash asked again while surprise flashed on her face.

She tried to suppress her emotions, but Noah didn't fail to notice that slight change on her face. His answer had been too sudden, so Chief Ash didn't manage to hide her real thoughts about his situation.

"It's not rare for newly ascended cultivators to spend some time alone before approaching organizations," Chief Ash revealed when she saw that Noah had noticed her expressions. "Still, they often fail to grow on their own. Talents like you are an exception. You must have many stories about your life in the lower plane."

Chief Ash had understood that Noah was new to the environment of the Immortal Lands quickly. She had seen many of them through her long life, and she usually needed only a few details to identify which existence had just reached the higher plane.

"I will be blunt," Chief Ash continued. "You have the potential to reach the liquid stage. You can choose to join my guild and gain access to the knowledge you were hoping to find in this library or continue in your solitary training. I won't suggest the latter, but you are still too young to understand how hard the path ahead can be. My invitation will remain open for as long as you need."

Chief Ash gave Noah a metal card that had a peculiar rune drawn on its surface. That symbol was different from those on the guards' robes, but Noah decided to take it when his instincts confirmed its harmlessness.

Chief Ash's eyes widened when she saw Noah storing her card. Storage items were a rare resource in the Immortal Lands, so she couldn't fathom how Noah had access to one of them.

Inheritances usually explained that, but Noah didn't seem the type of cultivator to rely on resources obtained from other experts. His claim about his growth speed already placed him above the average divine experts in the Immortal Lands, so it was probable that his expertise surpassed most of the other gaseous stage gods.

"I'm willing to give you some information as a show of goodwill," Chief Ash announced after she saw Noah storing her card.

Her approach had changed, and Noah could recognize that as his chance to learn more about the Immortal Lands. He knew that Chief Ash would hold something back, but he didn't mind that behavior as long as he obtained something valuable.

"Do cultivators aim to become a world in the eighth rank?" Noah asked, but Chief Ash's face didn't show any reaction to his words.

Noah had taken her by surprise the first time, but she had been ready for her questions now. His words had surprised her, but she didn't reveal any emotion. She only shook her head to express the secrecy of that information.

"How do you grow through the stages of the seventh rank?" Noah asked, but Chief Ash shook her head again.

She wouldn't reveal anything to him since that topic involved many branches of studies that belonged to the Sailbrird family. Chief Ash wouldn't be able to push Noah toward her guild if she revealed such important information.

"Soul Stones," Noah eventually said. "Talk to me about them."

"You can find them in many forms," Chief Ash explained. "They are the only possible currency in the Immortal Lands since they contain raw laws, and cultivators can absorb their energy to improve their level. Are you knowledgeable about raw laws?"

Noah's nod made Chief Ash continue. "Most of the mines of raw laws are under the control of powerful organizations, so you will always find them in the same shape in the cities. Yet, no one will refuse them if you find Soul Stones of peculiar shapes."

The explanation had been quite extensive at that time, but Noah wanted to learn more about them. Raw laws had their limits when it came to the cultivation level, but Noah wouldn't disregard them now that his dantian had stopped improving.

"You asked me one hundred Soul Stones to enter the library," Noah asked. "Is that normal for this place?"

Chief Ash hesitated a bit at his words, but she eventually gave Noah an idea of how the economy in the Immortal Lands worked.

Cultivators belonging to powerful organizations or who had completed jobs with them gained access to heavy discounts that made the access to those structures almost free.

The fee of one hundred Soul Stones would go down to five for any cultivator who had helped those organizations, and the price could go further down for those who still belonged to them.

The initial price seemed meant to force lone cultivators to join organizations. Noah did not doubt that Chief Ash and similar platoon leaders did their best to recruit promising cultivators. However, Noah desired to remain alone, so he soon refused her offer and walked out of the structure to decide on his next move.