Chapter 1636 - 1636. Exploration
The group from the human forces didn"t believe Divine Demon"s claims. They couldn"t trust a rank 8 cultivator when it came to that inspection. Their best inscription masters had tried and failed in studying the dimensional tunnel. In their minds, an expert couldn"t reach better conclusions in such a short amount of time.
On the other hand, Noah and the others wore stern expressions. They knew how powerful Divine Demon could be, especially when challenged. They immediately covered themselves in defensive techniques and inscriptions since he had confirmed the presence of an enemy pack inside the dimensional tunnel.
That serious reaction made some of the experts from the human organization wonder whether that scene was an act. They could guess that Noah and the others wanted to give the Legion some credit, but they didn"t believe that their companions would go to such lengths to prove it.
After all, Noah"s team didn"t need to brag. Their fame had already spread through the whole higher plane. Defeating the Crystal City on multiple occasions had been enough to turn them into the most famous experts in the Immortal Lands.
The human organizations had also learnt about Radiant Eyes" defeat. They didn"t know the details behind that feat, but they were aware that Noah"s group had something to do with it.
Having experts who had managed to take care of a rank 9 threat as their companions was incredible. Some of the cultivators from the human organizations even wanted to use the mission to establish a friendly relations.h.i.+p with Noah"s organization.
The oldest forces could understand how the political environment would evolve. Siding with the organization containing the higher number of monsters was the best approach in any situation.
Noah was one of the few experts who didn"t activate any defensive technique. Wilfred and the Foolery imitated him, but their actions had no connection with those events. They simply didn"t need inscriptions or protections.
"We are ready when you are," Noah eventually said without moving his eyes from the ravine.
Gloria, Harold, and Althea soon tried to push the other experts to cooperate. Someone had to lead the group inside the dimensional tunnel, and Noah"s team had no intention to take the vanguard role.
The team from the Monneay family eventually took the lead and crossed the edges of the ravine. The trio"s figures disappeared once they entered that whiteness, and their auras even stopped reaching the surface.
Gloria glanced at Noah, but the latter only pointed at the ravine. His team would be the last to enter the dimensional tunnel. He wanted that group to think that Divine Demon could also sense the imminent threats.
Some experts wanted to complain. Noah and the others were the less trustworthy existences among them. Yet, they couldn"t say anything on the matter, especially since Noah"s force was a guest among those teams.
The experts slowly began to enter the ravine, and Noah"s team soon remained alone on the surface. Everyone else had gone inside the dimensional tunnel, leaving only his experts on the outside world.
"We can still turn back," Noah teased his companions, who gave voice to snorts and loud complaints.
The experts had no intention to leave. They knew that they had to play along to maintain their stern scene, but the dimensional tunnel was too interesting to ignore.
The Foolery quickly shot toward the whiteness, but Wilfred stopped its flight. The magical beast was reckless, but the hybrid couldn"t let it take all the risks on itself.
Wilfred and the Foolery ended up crossing the edges of the crack together. Fergie and Luke followed them, and the rest of the group soon imitated their companions.
Noah was the last to enter the whiteness. The scenery in his vision changed as soon as he crossed those edges. His consciousness also became able to sense the difference between the two environments.
The outside world was calm but also full of life. Instead, the dimensional tunnel appeared as a dead environment that couldn"t offer anything.
Dark rocky walls filled Noah"s vision. He found himself in an underground structure that resembled the lands in the lower planes. He couldn"t see any white light or higher power in that terrain.
King Elbas and the others experienced a similar surprise. Even the experts from the human domain felt the same. The dimensional tunnel didn"t seem to have anything interesting, but the existences ignored that feature due to the possible rewards on the other side of the Immortal Lands.
Noah"s senses began to send strange signals toward his mind. His mental waves could pick the traces of unique magical beasts inside that environment, but he couldn"t understand where they lived.
King Elbas and the other inscription masters reached similar conclusions, and they didn"t hesitate to convey them to their companions. They were in a foreign environment filled with empty areas, but danger lingered in the air. A strange tension also fell among them, but they couldn"t pinpoint the source of that sensation.
Noah felt quite happy about that. He wanted the mission to be hard since he needed to improve faster, and only troubles could give him that.
"Divine Demon was right," One of the experts in Harold"s team announced. "We are entering a pack"s domain. Some of these areas might hide spies in special spots that we have yet to recognize. We need to spread to cover more ground."
"No spreading," Noah firmly replied. "Your organizations didn"t even bother to send a decent number of troops. I won"t listen to your orders."
His remark made a series of angry glances turn toward him. Noah ignored the stares and abided by his role. He wanted to make it clear that his group was more important than the other experts.
It wasn"t hard to find the right direction in that place. The experts only had to go down to dive deeper into the Immortal Lands.
The group began to descend, and the first part of their journey went smoothly. The experts even decided to take a few breaks and focus on their cultivation during that exploration.
Noah didn"t mind using those extra days to cultivate. His centers of power always needed improvements, and his friends had the same idea about the matter.
Cultivating in that area slowed down the mission, but a careful approach was the best path in a foreign environment. The tunnel also came from Heaven and Earth, so Noah had no reason to hurry.
The team eventually found actual traces of the fauna. The exploration of the underground structure had continued smoothly, but chunks of fur and distorted s.p.a.ce soon appeared in their vision.
Noah immediately put his expertise into use. The fur couldn"t tell him much about those magical beasts, but the areas of distorted s.p.a.ce spoke for their innate ability. They were clear clues about the magical beasts sensed by Divine Demon.
The dimensional tunnel barely had any flaw. The terrain inside it wasn"t the product of inscriptions or similar techniques. It was actual ground that didn"t contain much power. The environment was also stable and could endure the pressure radiated by the group.
However, those few spots could tell Noah about the pa.s.sage of creatures that could ignore the boundaries among dimensions. Only that conclusion could explain why the tunnel featured those clear marks in such a stable environment.