Chapter 1581 1581. Sly
Trying to find an organization that had spent its entire existence living in the shadows was far from easy. Noah had the knowledge of the Balrow family now, but he didn"t manage to learn much about his target anyway.
According to Pearl Balrow, the secret organization appeared when it desired to reveal itself. It was possible to contact some of its members through specific locations in each city, but Noah had no way to approach them safely.
Moreover, Noah didn"t know whether the secret organization would accept an envoy from the Balrow family. That force had different cells, but they all shared the need for secrecy.
"Let"s gather the rest of the Balrow family for now," Noah eventually ordered during a meeting with the experts who wanted to follow him in the mission. "I"ll spread the rumor that I want a meeting with the secret organization. I believe one of their cells will eventually decide to face me."
Noah"s group didn"t feature many experts. Pearl, Divine Demon, and Jordan had decided to come with him, but most beings in the seventh rank didn"t like the idea of jumping into another mess.
Only June, Daniel, the two Demons, Faith, and Fergie decided to go with Noah anyway. They didn"t care that they couldn"t join most battles due to their poor level. They would rather risk dying than remain in seclusion any longer.
King Elbas couldn"t come with them since he needed to help Alexander with the teleports, and Wilfred had to prepare for the breakthrough, so he couldn"t join the mission. Theodora generally loathed battles, so she ignored Noah"s invitation.
Many magical beasts wanted to come with Noah, but he ordered them to stay put. He couldn"t attract unwanted attention inside the human domain, and bringing those creatures with him would only make the organizations more inclined to hunt him down.
Still, Noah gave the magical beasts an important role. The Outer Lands were big, and they featured many regions that had bearable storms. Those creatures could focus on expanding their domain while he was away.
The group left almost in a hurry. They had to travel a long way to reach the nearest city, and the absence of teleports would force them to spend years in enemy lands.
Jordan acted as a guide and led the group across the Outer Lands before making her companion enter the human domain. The experts didn"t meet any danger along their path, but they still indulged in hunts and long rests.
After a while, the group reached Belsier city, one of the settlements near the Outer Lands. That place only featured two rank 8 cultivators that didn"t belong to the Balrow family, but it still had an inscription hall owned by Pearl"s force.
Noah and Pearl entered the city without even bothering to hide their cultivation level. The two rank 8 cultivators in charge of that settlement notified their organizations as soon as they recognized Noah, but they didn"t dare to engage him.
Defying Demon had become an infamous name during the past years. Noah had fought cultivators far stronger than him on multiple occasions, and he had often come out as the winner. Even when he lost, he managed to complete his task before running away.
That made Noah one of the most dangerous existences in the Immortal Lands. The level of his battle prowess was unclear, so no gaseous stage expert dared to approach him. The two leaders in Belsier city limited themselves to raise the defenses in their buildings and wait for reinforcements.
Noah and Pearl didn"t waste time inside the city. They flew directly toward the inscription hall of the Balrow family and forced all its members to join them. Pearl"s authority even allowed Noah to avoid threats.
The rank 7 cultivators gathered their resources inside the inscription hall and followed the duo in the sky. However, before they could leave the city, Noah turned to give voice to a simple phrase.
"I"m looking for the secret organization," Noah shouted, and his voice spread through the entire region.
The group left the area in a hurry and rejoined Divine Demon and the others before leaving the region. Reinforcements were about to arrive, so they had to disappear among the wilderness.
Noah"s group repeated the same approach in the two following cities. One of them was one of the major bases of the Balrow family, so a small army formed around Noah after their departure.
Noah didn"t like how smoothly his mission was going. The members of the Balrow family rarely complained about their forceful migration, which only made Noah more paranoid.
He knew that the Balrow family had traitors, but he couldn"t waste time interrogating the recruits now. Noah"s priority remained the secret organization since he feared the arrival of another Tribulation.
Pearl justified their willingness to leave the human domain with the fear of another attack, but Noah couldn"t believe them so easily. He remained ready to act at any time, even if those recruits couldn"t overpower him and his companions.
A message eventually reached Noah"s inscribed notebook. King Elbas confirmed that Alexander was unleas.h.i.+ng chaos deep into the human domain. The diversion had finally begun.
"We can finally hit the big cities now," Noah announced after receiving that message.
The group began to dive deeper into the human domain at that point. Noah soon found himself in front of the familiar Vagona city, which didn"t lose its peaceful aura in those years.
Of course, the limitations and rules in Vagona city didn"t apply to Noah anymore. The five rank 8 leaders that ruled over that settlement couldn"t do anything against his group, especially after they had spent their entire travel recruiting new troops.
Another small army left Vagona city and joined Noah"s group. Pearl felt ecstatic, but that sheer number of new a.s.sets only made Noah more worried. Still, something finally happened and turned his mood for the better.
When the group was about to leave Vagona city, Noah noticed that a single hooded figure was staring at him from the beginning of the mountain chain.
Fergie and Pearl quickly explained the meaning behind that gesture. The secret organization did that to express its desire for a meeting. Yet, Noah had to go alone.
"Remain in the mountain chain," Noah warned before leaving to meet that envoy.
"Defying Demon of the Legion," The hooded figure announced with a female voice when Noah reached her. "The secret organization thinks that you deserve far more than a simple meeting, but we"ll make it do for now."
"Do you belong to one of the cells that want to kill me?" Noah teased the envoy before landing on the ground.
The hooded woman was a simple rank 7 cultivator. Being so close to Noah made her understand how immense his aura was. His influence even generated black lines on her body.
"Let"s move," Noah said while turning toward the envoy. "I have never been good at waiting."
A chill ran down the envoy"s spine and forced her to move. She quickly brought Noah deeper into the mountain chain and pressed on a few inscriptions that appeared at their pa.s.sage.
The scenery soon changed. A few mountains disappeared and revealed a large pa.s.sage that led underground.
Noah hesitated a bit before deciding to follow the envoy into the underground structure. He kept his trump cards ready, even if his instincts were rea.s.suring him.
The lack of danger didn"t let Noah relax. Once the duo reached a large underground hall, Noah recognized one of the rank 8 cultivators sitting at the table. He saw Luke sipping some wine while wearing his iconic sly expression.
"This is an ambush then," Noah exclaimed while unleas.h.i.+ng his aura.
His entire existence became ready to fight, but Luke promptly stood up and begged him to stop.
"My cell ended up having a change of heart," Luke explained. "We don"t want to have anything to do with the Crystal City anymore. We are ready to give you full support to make up for our mistake."
"I only want to kill you," Noah exclaimed while drawing the Demonic Sword.
"Are you sure?" Luke asked as a sly smile broadened on his face. "Don"t you want to know how simple cultivators have managed to trigger a Tribulation?"