Birth of the Demonic Sword

The three Demons left once Chasing Demons persuaded Thirty-seven to help the Hive.

They wanted some time alone to speak about private matters, and no one could force them to attend social events until they decided otherwise.

Thirty-seven went with them since he was linked to the pendant, and Noah explained Elder Julia that he would spend some time sorting the knowledge retrieved in the palace before giving it to the Hive.

Elder Julia simply spread the news of Flying Demon and Dreaming Demon's arrival to the other heroic cultivators after everyone left.

The Hive had just gained two rank 5 elders, its power as a whole had drastically increased with that single event.

Also, she wanted the other elders to know that the merit for that accomplishment had to be assigned to Noah.

The morale of the assets had to be taken into consideration when managing such a powerful organization, and giving to the weaker cultivators someone to strive for could be a strong motivation.

After all, Noah had barely lived for half a century, but his feats already outclassed cultivators that had been in the fourth rank for decades!

His fame could only grow after that information became public domain, but he didn't care much about it.

Others could worship or look up to him if that helped them, but he couldn't be affected by their behavior.

'This is the trap hidden behind the safety of the organizations.'

Noah thought as he sat on one of the couches of his mansion.

The elders that he had met when he flew toward the invisible dome in the azure plain revealed heated gazes when they noticed his cultivation level.

Most of them had been in the gaseous stage of the fourth rank for decades, and some even for centuries.

Their potential dwindled with every year that they spent without making any progress, and the sight of Noah having surpassed their level could only give birth to deep respect.

However, Noah didn't feel happy when he noticed those emotions.

Instead, their situation made him ponder about the reasons behind their stagnation.

'Most of them have reached the fourth rank while their organizations still hid under the surface of the archipelago. There were no hindrances on their paths, and the legal factions didn't dare to oppose them. A life with no struggles can't forge an individuality.'

Noah picked one of the tomes inside his space-ring as he let his mind wander in those thoughts.

Isolating to cultivate was an approach that worked in the human ranks, but that could end ruining a cultivator's potential in the heroic ones.

Gaining insights on the laws of an element was a slow and random procedure that required in-depth knowledge of a cultivator's individuality.

Yet, organizations provided resources and a safe space, which ultimately hurt the drives of a cultivator.

Someone that relied on an organization too much would eventually become used to that practice and stop pursuing a power that belonged only to himself.

Noah knew that far too well, that was the reason why the nobles in the Utra nation usually failed to pass the Pain Tribulation.

'Being in an organization is needed because most techniques and methods could only be found there. Still, one should always be careful not to become a simple pawn that carries a banner.'

Noah put that matter in the back of his mind when he began to focus on the tome.

He couldn't affect the behavior of the elders stuck in the gaseous stage, but he didn't mind that Elder Julia was using him to rekindle their ambition.

Improving the power of the Hive could only benefit him, that was the reason why he had decided to help the Demons in the end.

The tome he was reading was one of those containing information about the Immortal Lands, according to Thirty-seven.

The tome though didn't reveal anything unusual, and it mostly contained theories made by powerful beings.

Noah quickly took another book at that point.

The automation had sorted the tomes and scrolls in the palace, and Noah had ordered the spirit of his ring to keep them tidy.

He intended to read through everything that could give him a clearer picture of the higher plane before providing that knowledge to the Hive.

There wasn't any hidden meaning behind that action, he simply wanted to read it before focusing on other matters.

Most of the knowledge regarding the Immortal Lands was like that.

There were only clues, or confused thoughts written down by cultivators that had discovered something at the cost of their sanity.

'Those that managed to learn something important have most likely kept the information for themselves. Something that could reveal part of the path for the divine ranks can't be made public so easily.'

Noah concluded once he finished reading a scroll.

He had already read a dozen tomes and scrolls by then, but he only found small details and a large number of theories.

Most of the cultivators that had suffered a backlash from pushing their consciousnesses near the higher plane described a blinding light and visible emotions.

It was as if the scenery of the Immortal Lands couldn't be grasped entirely by the sea of consciousness of beings in the heroic ranks.

Also, there were many mentions about material wills, sounds, and emotions that could only be linked to the presence of divine beings.

Yet, all of that was predictable.

Those cultivators had just confirmed some of the many hypotheses formulated throughout the years.

However, many studies claimed to prove some of those theories too, without the need for actual proofs from the higher plane.

'The Immortal Lands are expanding, and this cultivator even claims that Heaven and Earth are annexing more worlds to their domain. I know that they are sentient entities, but does that mean that they have a goal?'

Noah couldn't help but wonder about that aspect of the world.

Earth had spoken during his Tribulation, and Heaven had tried to interrupt his experiments with the fusion between species.

Nevertheless, enforcing rules was different from pursuing a goal.

The first action could even be executed by wills or automaton, while the second required a drive and an ambition.

Then, Noah found a piece of peculiar information as he continued to browse through the knowledge retrieved from the palace.

It wasn't something that regarded the Immortal Lands, Noah was still reading the introduction to that historical period when he noticed that something was off.

'The following pages describe Master Linus' theories, a cultivator born after the fall of the Shandal Empire.'

Noah read that line, and his interest immediately rose.

'This book should speak about matters that happened nine thousand years ago! What did it mean with the "fall of the Shandal Empire"?'

Noah thought as his curiosity mounted.

He momentarily discarded the tomes that spoke about the Immortal Lands to look for the historical ones.

His search ended when he read the title of one of the oldest tomes in his possession.

'Rise and fall of the Empires of the bored god.'