Birth of the Demonic Sword

Noah was in a hurry to find adventures that could force him to improve. The Land of the Fallen perfectly suited his needs, but the higher plane had many places that could entertain him while his cultivation level grew.

The library only mentioned the most noteworthy locations. It discarded old inheritances, especially those considered too troublesome to conquer.

The inheritance mentioned by Fergie was one of them. It didn't have proper trials, but it contained resources that a powerful existence had accumulated for millennia.

According to the data retrieved during its explorations, the inheritance was a vault placed in the Immortal Lands to hide items. The forces on the surface had uncovered it only after the higher plane had gone through multiple mutations, so any information regarding its creator had disappeared over time.

The dangers of vault let to believe that its creator had been an existence above the gaseous stage of the eighth rank. It contained threats that even some of the leaders in Vagona city couldn't approach.

Still, the vault had different layers of difficulty. That structure had many rooms and corridors. They led to multiple sealed areas and defenses that reflected the level of the items stored inside.

Rank 7 cultivators would usually appreciate that feature since it allowed them to avoid competing with stronger existences. Experts would go after resources that could help them at their current level, so they would ignore the weaker ones. Yet, the vault was different from a normal inheritance.

The creator of that place didn't want the items to leave. Its defenses aimed to kill any trespasser instead of testing them. That increased the overall dangerousness of the vault.

The cultivators attempting to take those items were thieves. They didn't aim to become the heirs of a forgotten inheritance. Still, disorganized groups didn't have the power to overcome the defenses, so the Balrow family easily bought the vault in an auction.

That would generally be the end of the matter. The Balrow family would invest time and effort to seize every item in the vault and pay its purchase back. However, the defenses had turned out to be quite challenging even for its forces.

The Balrow family had the power to breach the sealed aura protected by defenses in the seventh rank. A single rank 8 expert would have been enough to complete the task. Yet, a force on that level had no interest in such weak resources. It preferred to turn them into a source of income while focusing on the items in the eighth rank.

That vault had been a popular destination for hopeful rank 7 cultivators for a long time, but its fame had eventually waned. Only the forces of the Balrow family still patrolled its perimeter and attempted to obtain items. The other experts had moved toward other appealing locations.

Noah flew toward the vault. He didn't care if his ability wouldn't allow him to seize any item. He only wanted to test his power and see if he could succeed where others had failed.

He didn't mind obtaining divine items, but he didn't care if he couldn't either. The vault would act as a preparation for the Land of the Fallen, and it would also give him the time to adapt to the annoying aggression that filled the environment.

Fergie had told him everything he knew about the vault before leaving to return to his companions. Noah was on his own now, but he felt quite confident that the Balrow family would treat him well after showing his green card.

Many different sceneries went by in his eyes as he flew toward his destination. An immense lake with a wide piece of terrain at its center eventually appeared on his path, and he dived right toward it.

A series of rank 7 consciousnesses quickly focused on him, and a few guards came out of the door placed inside the surface of the island. They all wore green robes that carried the Balrow family's symbol, and they appeared quite friendly toward Noah.

"It's been a long time since anyone has attempted to steal something from this place!" One of the guards exclaimed when she saw Noah landing on the island.

She was an old-looking woman in the liquid stage. She kept her long gray hair combed into a thick braid behind her back, and wrinkles covered her face. Still, her smile appeared radiant when she looked at Noah.

"Is there an inheritance here?" Noah asked as he inspected the island.

Noah couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary in that place. It didn't seem to have anything different from the lake and its nearby areas.

"No foreplay?" The woman asked as her smile widened.

Noah took out the green card from his separate space, and the guards revealed surprised expressions at that sight. They could understand what that item meant, and they recognized the name written on its surface.

"Forgive me for not recognizing you, Defying Demon," The woman said as she performed a polite bow. "I'm Chief Etta, from the personal army of the Balrow family. We welcome you here to the Pyramid."

Noah didn't hide his surprise when he heard her words. He couldn't see any Pyramid around. The whole island appeared empty, and even the underground world didn't seem to hide anything.

Still, he had seen how the guards had come out of the ground. Noah guessed that the Balrow family had placed high-level protections that could deceive even his innate awareness. He also suspected that the place had countermeasures meant for rank 8 cultivators.

'Inscription masters sure are famous here,' Noah thought as he bowed to reply to Chief Etta's gesture.

Noah couldn't understand how a liquid stage cultivator could bow to a weaker one. Every organization in the Immortal Lands appeared in need of members, and powerful existences were even willing to lower their heads if that improved their chances of obtaining an inscription master.

Chief Etta quickly snapped her fingers when she saw his surprise, and a series of lines soon became visible on the island. The inscriptions created a net that slowly unlocked that place.

Noah expected to see a huge structure appearing out of nowhere after those inscriptions arrived, but nothing happened. The island remained unchanged. Those lines didn't change its layout.

"This way, please," Chief Etta said as she knocked on the ground, and a door materialized in that spot. She and Noah then moved through the stairs and entered an underground world full of branches and guards.

There were many rank 7 cultivators in those caves. Noah counted almost forty of them, but his instincts told him that there were greater dangers in that place.

Chief Etta led Noah toward a specific underground hall and touched its wall. The rocky azure terrain became transparent after her touch, and the tip of a huge Pyramid became visible from the other side.

"The environment inside the Pyramid is quite messy," Chief Etta explained. "You might chase a rank 7 item only to fall among threats in the eighth rank. The Balrow family won't enter to help you if you mess up, but we can offer many services that could help you in the task."

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Author's notes: The other chapters will arrive after I wake up.