Chapter 1822 - 1822. Mother
The sky sounded on the verge of speaking, but no words came out of it. Instead, the whiteness in specific points above and under the sandy region intensified as the humming noise continued.
Noah and the others didn"t know what was happening, but they instinctively retreated and deployed defensive measures. They all waited for Heaven and Earth to make their move and show how they handled that loss of energy.
Pillars grew from the spot with intense light. They shot toward the region and engulfed it in their radiance.
The mutated laws that made the sandy region burnt under the intense whiteness of the pillars. They crumbled right in front of the expert"s eyes and returned to their state of energy without a purpose.
The pillars vanished once the entire region disappeared, and the energy that the process released flowed toward the sky. Heaven and Earth were claiming that energy back.
"That was underwhelming," Divine Demon commented while taking a sip from his cup.
"How much wine do you even have in your s.p.a.ce-ring?" Wilfred asked.
"I don"t have any," Divine Demon shrugged his shoulders. "It only appears inside my s.p.a.ce-rings whenever I want to drink."
"I promise that I"ll eat you rather than let Heaven and Earth have you," Noah announced. "I fear what could happen if they manage to absorb you."
"My heir is so thoughtful," Divine Demon sniffed while drinking from his cup again.
"Why would they destroy these lands but let us keep the energy stolen from the void?" King Elbas asked while scratching his chin.
"Maybe they need them to be inside the storms until the new higher plane is over," Alexander suggested.
"Or maybe the higher plane is their body," Noah exclaimed, "And the lands inside the storms hide part of their secrets."
"We might see it as a simple rebuilding of the world," Alexander commented, "But, in truth, it might be the planning of their new center of power."
"Don"t jump to conclusions," King Elbas snorted. "That"s just another theory that we can"t prove."
"We should ask Heaven and Earth next time we see them," Noah laughed. "Shall we return now?"
The group didn"t have to answer to move back inside the storms. Their small break was over. It was time to resume their journey.
The environment inside the storms had already changed in the short period that the group had spent outside. The experts didn"t manage to see much during their first exploration, but they had found a few easily recognizable signals back then. However, they didn"t find their previous path. They couldn"t even see the hole created after removing the region.
The event left the experts speechless, but a second inspection revealed that the stormy regions didn"t stay still now. The lack of a higher plane had turned them into a ma.s.sive ring that rotated while expanding outward.
The rotation seemed to give stability to the lands that went through constant changes due to the chaotic laws. King Elbas actually came up with a map that tried to describe the calculations necessary to bring that balance, but only Noah and Alexander ended up paying attention to him.
Noah"s initial worry about the population of the stormy regions slowly vanished as the group advanced for months without encountering any living being. The gales intensified, and the energy in the environment increased, but they didn"t find any creature living there.
King Elbas, Alexander, and Robert ended up taking most of them. They needed to exchange part of their share of the centipede to obtain those materials, but they didn"t need the former anyway.
Noah enjoyed the travel more than his companions. The chaotic laws could be a dangerous fuel capable of tainting existences, but he had the perfect organ ready for the task.
The chaotic laws didn"t fuse directly with his existence. The black hole took them in its insides and turned them into a pure form of energy that suited Noah"s standards. He could basically cultivate during the flight due to the intensity of the storms, and his power slowly increased even as the calm period stretched for years.
His companions noticed that he never fended off the chaotic laws, but they didn"t try to understand his methods. They were also experiencing benefits in that environment. They simply didn"t involve only their cultivation level.
The materials found inside the stormy regions made Robert"s law more powerful. He could a.n.a.lyze different fabrics and make his toxic substance learn from them.
Alexander had many abilities that shared Robert"s requirements, so he also used those materials for himself. Yet, some of his innate skills even required specific alloys and other exotic items to work or grow, so he always ended up eating what he found.
King Elbas" curiosity was on fire during the flight. He found new and peculiar regions every month. The environment was never the same, and he could always witness structures of laws that he had never seen nor imagined.
Enduring the chaotic laws was constant torture, and Steven"s determination could only benefit from that environment. His cultivation level didn"t increase by a lot, but his law broadened and intensified.
As for Divine Demon, the expert limited himself to generate jugs of wine from the chaotic laws. He didn"t appear interested in the environment or his cultivation level. He followed the group of experts and waited for the next challenge to arrive.
Noah often glanced toward Alexander when he wasn"t busy taking care of his cultivation level. The expert had been at the peak of the eighth rank for quite some time, but the recent improvements didn"t seem to bring him near the breakthrough.
Noah never questioned Alexander. The group rarely talked at all. They had to be constantly wary of their surroundings, and they even had to handle the matters connected to their cultivation level.
Their senses eventually picked up on something. The experts suddenly felt a dangerous sensation spreading through their minds when a ma.s.sive figure descended toward them and covered their vision with scarlet fire.
The sudden attack didn"t catch them by surprise at that time, but they still had to deploy their best techniques to fend off the flames. They were far deeper into the stormy regions now, so the quality of their opponents had also increased.
Slashes, waves made of a toxic substance, a golden beam, and invisible energy pierced the barrage of flames and cleared a small area above them from the chaotic laws.
The ma.s.sive figure of a dragon appeared in their vision. Noah found the creature quite odd since he didn"t recognize its actual species. The beast"s front legs were part of the meat wings that covered almost the entirety of its body. Its skull also had a strange shape since it featured a horn-like structure stretching from its back.
Its body was overall slim, but the vast wings almost tricked the experts" vision. The dragon clearly was in the lower tier of the ninth rank, so its peculiar body made Noah believe that he had found a weaker species.
"Mother told us that you were a dragon," The creature suddenly announced in a deep human voice. "You barely smell like a dragon."
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Author"s notes: I ran late again. I need a few more minutes for the third chapter.