Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah understood that something had happened while he had remained immersed in the Elemental Forging method. The audience, the other inscription master's reaction, and the solid stage cultivator's words told him that his creations had attracted some attention.

However, Noah couldn't trust him so easily. He didn't forget where he was, so he had to be careful about those offers.

"Why would you offer me free materials?" Noah asked without suppressing his interest in those materials.

The barrels contained strange metals and peculiar tissues that Noah wanted to study, but he didn't take them even if he let his interest leak out of his figure.

Noah had plenty of experience in being a lone cultivator. He knew how he had to act to preserve some advantage in a foreign environment.

It was clear that his inscriptions had attracted some interest, but he didn't want to appear as the canny cultivator that he was. He would rather pretend to be a clueless genius in the inscription field while he studied his surroundings.

"I'm willing to pay to see you in action," The cultivator said while wearing an expressionless face.

Noah pretended to feel concerned about his words. His eyes widened as he put his hands behind his back and began to stand up.

"The barrier outside the structure prevents the creation of memories about the inscription methods seen here," The cultivator said when he saw Noah's reaction. "Do you recall anything about Master Jay's technique?"

The cultivator pointed at the white-haired expert during his question. Noah began to think about his brief inspection of that expert's inscription method, but he soon discovered that he couldn't remember anything about it.

No memories about his previous analysis existed in his mind. Noah recalled that he had tried to study the white-haired expert, but he couldn't remember even the faintest image when he thought about that.

'I wonder where is the limit to this feature,' Noah thought as he inspected the barrier.

Noah didn't know how strong a cultivator needed to be to avoid those effects, but his simple inspection couldn't reveal anything useful. Yet, the solid stage cultivator understood his thoughts and didn't hesitate to reassure him.

"I only remember a small cloud when it comes to your inscription method," The cultivator said. "I will forget about that too in a few days. Most of the barriers and restrictions in Vagona city have to go through the leaders' inspection. They make sure that every shop works in complete fairness."

Noah didn't need to ask who the leavers were. The five rank 8 auras that covered Vagona City were enough to answer those doubts.

"I don't want to join any organization," Noah announced as he moved his eyes between the materials and the bald cultivator.

"That's normal for newly ascended cultivators," The cultivator said. "I won't hide my disappointment, but we have long lives. I'm sure you will consider the inscription halls of the Balrow family in the future."

Noah didn't hesitate to question the cultivator about some aspects of the Immortal Lands since he appeared inclined to solve his doubts. It was clear that he wanted to gain Noah's favor, and he wouldn't miss that chance.

The cultivator's name was Saul Balrow. He didn't originally belong to the Balrow family, but his talent in the inscription field had given him the chance to join that organization and hone his skills. He had also managed to improve after he didn't have to worry about resources anymore.

Saul gave Noah a general overview of Vagona city. A few powerful families owned most of the shops, and they also had branches in other human settlements. The five rank 8 cultivator didn't belong to any of them, but they had organizations that handled other aspects of the city.

Noah finally gained a general idea of the political structure of the human side of the Immortal Lands. Cultivators divided themselves into organizations that had various purposes, and the most powerful of them had rank 8 existences as their leaders.

The most populated cities on the human side had multiple leaders from different organizations that enforced peace together. That didn't apply to the smallest ones that ended up being lawless zones where cultivators could act as they desired.

Saul stressed how beneficial the cities' life was, but Noah didn't want to remain entangled with political issues after his ascension. Once the elderly cultivator finished his explanation, Noah changed the topic of their conversation.

"How much did you offer for my items?" Noah asked before pointing at the audience across the entrance. "How much did they?"

Noah wasn't completely unaware of the environment of the Immortal Lands. He knew the rules about the inscription hall, so he could guess that his Instabilities had earned a decent success.

Saul's expressionless face flickered for an instant at those words, but he didn't hold anything from Noah. Still, he needed to ask a few questions before giving his weapons a final price.

"How do your items work?" Saul asked, and Noah saw the audience growing silent after his words.

Those cultivators wanted to see the effects of Noah's items to adjust their bids, but most of them felt somewhat discouraged. They knew how much the owners were willing to offer, so they thought they stood no chance in that auction.

"The Balrow family is willing to give you ten Soul Stones for each item," Saul said. "I know that your initial products were still incomplete, but we want to purchase them anyway at full price."

'Do they want to rope me in?' Noah wondered, but he soon understood that Saul's offer was quite close to the audience's best ones.

A few wealthy cultivators had offered similar numbers, but they weren't willing to purchase the incomplete products. Only the inscription hall could find even the weaker items useful.

'Three hundred and ten Soul Stones,' Noah did the math in his head, 'Are they even a decent number?'

Noah's lack of knowledge about the prices in that place was starting to annoy him, but he was about to fix that weakness.

"Three hundred and ten it is," Noah said as he took out thirty-one instabilities and placed them next to him.

"I can reach one thousand if you attach a description of your inscription method," Saul continued. "I can also offer you ten thousand to learn more about your storage item."

"The rest isn't for sale," Noah replied before shooting a cold glance toward Saul and continued. "For now, at least."

Saul showed his first smile since the beginning of their conversation and nodded at his reply. He didn't feel bad about that rejection. He had seen many cultivators like Noah desiring to remain alone for the entirety of their divine journey, but they always joined organizations at some point.

A pile of gray rocks covered by white lines fell from Saul's space-ring and accumulated in front of him. Noah could sense the presence of raw laws in those items, and he couldn't wait to get his hands on them.

Noah took out thirty-one Instabilities from his separate space and stored the Soul Stones. The inscription hall had lost its appeal after that transaction, so he left the structure after exchanging a few more words with Saul.

"Use this card if you want to contact a member of an inscription hall under the control of the Balrow family," Saul said as he handed Noah a small card made of green metal. "Give me your name. I will inform all the branches that you are welcome in our inscription halls.