Chapter 1709 - 1709. Trap
"We are finally back," Noah thought as he inspected his surroundings.
The cultivators who had never seen that environment took their time to study it. They had only heard about the s.p.a.ce Hounds from Noah and the others, but they didn"t dare to rely only on their words in that situation.
The tension that had filled the army slightly dispersed. They were theoretically safe from the rank 9 existences on the outside in there. Still, they also felt partially trapped since they didn"t know what Heaven and Earth had in store for them.
"Let"s dive deeper into the tunnel before choosing where to rest," Noah ordered, and the rest of the army followed him.
Diving wasn"t the exact word in that environment. Noah"s group had descended through the tunnel during the first part of the mission, but they had to climb it now. Yet, the territory remained familiar, so they advanced smoothly.
No s.p.a.ce Hound appeared on their path. Noah couldn"t even feel the faint danger that his instincts usually perceived in that environment. It was strange, but he couldn"t do anything to find clues.
The army eventually stopped after a few months of travel. Almost everyone needed to rest and disperse part of their stress. Also, none of them believed that a short break would influence Heaven and Earth"s plan.
Noah visited King Elbas after announcing the break. The expert felt surprised to see him entering his cave, but Noah quickly took out an item that left him speechless.
"What is that?" King Elbas asked as his curiosity flowed out of his figure and converged toward Noah"s hand.
Noah was holding a white pinwheel. The item barely released any aura, but its power was undeniable. It was an inscribed weapon in the upper tier that seemed able to fuse with the world.
"I took this from Lady Phyllis," Noah explained. "It should come from the cities in the sky. I bet they use different inscription methods up there."
"That might open the path to inscribed methods that have never reached the surface," King Elbas happily exclaimed.
"I managed to seize a few of them," Noah revealed. "I"ll obviously keep most of them for me, but I don"t mind giving you this one."
"In exchange for?" King Elbas asked.
The expert knew that Noah wanted something in return for that present. The answer to that question was even quite obvious, but King Elbas wanted to hear it clearly.
"Heaven and Earth can counter most of my abilities now," Noah explained. "I can still overwhelm them, but I don"t know how long this will last. I bet the same will happen to all of you, so we need an alternative to my influence. We require a weapon meant to counter Heaven and Earth."
"Do you fear that they"ll learn how to counter your chaotic laws?" King Elbas asked.
Noah reviewed Lord Ethan"s words in his mind. The expert was right. The other world"s will came from a weaker plane. There was a high chance that Heaven and Earth would eventually become immune to its power.
"I always want to be one step ahead of them," Noah said. "I"ll also study these items, but you have a better chance to find flaws that escape my expertise."
"Of course I do," King Elbas smirked. "Hand it over and don"t destroy the other items. Leave me the sc.r.a.ps even if you do."
The break gave Noah the time to inspect his gains. He had killed a few experts that didn"t have Heaven and Earth"s protection, so he could seize s.p.a.ce-rings and the resources inside them.
Noah didn"t expect to find much there, and the s.p.a.ce-rings confirmed his thoughts. It was rare to find experts that relied on inscribed items or similar tools at his level. Those storage s.p.a.ces mostly contained Soul Stones, various potions that couldn"t do anything to him, and a few notes on the cultivation journey.
"Why do I even bother plundering anymore?" Noah sighed in his mind while feeding the items containing some energy to his black hole.
The cultivation journey forced the expert to move on personal paths, and that trend intensified in the higher ranks. Only some inscription masters like King Elbas continued to build items that every existence could use. The others would simply ignore that aspect of their expertise.
Noah could ma.s.s-produce living weapons and destructive items, but he found no point in doing that. His efforts to reinforce his allies would only weaken them in the long-run. He would turn his organization into one of the human forces if he spoiled his underlings.
The items seized by Lady Phyllis were peculiar. The laws that made them seemed similar to the abilities that they countered. Noah could see familiar true meanings inside them, but he also noticed the slight differences from his powers.
"I guess this is the aspect of my law in Heaven and Earth"s system." Noah concluded in his mind.
Thoroughly studying those inscribed items required time that Noah didn"t have at the moment. He would resume the experiments once back in the safety of the Outer Lands since he had to focus on other matters now.
The break didn"t last long. Noah summoned everyone after making sure that they had all returned to a decent level of power.
The environment of the dimensional tunnel also helped in that field. The absence of s.p.a.ce Hounds and Heaven and Earth"s silence made many experts believe that their mission had been a success. After all, nothing in the area hinted at the presence of traps.
Noah didn"t let his guard down, but doubts inevitably filled his mind. He could vaguely understand that his army had crossed the halfway mark of the tunnel, but dangers had yet to appear on his path.
"Did Heaven and Earth forget about the trap?" Noah wondered. "I thought they wanted to absorb our laws."
Noah was almost certain that Heaven and Earth were inept. He knew that those rulers couldn"t waste their entire time on him, but that still didn"t explain why they would wait so long to activate a trap.
A strange phenomenon eventually happened inside the tunnel. The event alerted the army, but it seemed harmless in its current form.
A series of faint lights would flash from time to time on the dark walls of the dimensional tunnel. King Elbas and the other inscription masters didn"t manage to find the cause behind that event, but Noah came up with an explanation without bothering to check those glows.
"Heaven and Earth are almost ready," Noah announced. "Be sure to do the same."
His announcement brought back the tension that the peaceful journey had almost managed to disperse, but he didn"t care. Noah only cared about survival in that situation, and keeping his allies anxious could improve their condition.
The faint lights shone more often, but no threats appeared on the army"s path. The s.h.i.+ning exit of the tunnel even arrived at some point, and Noah could only remain speechless.
"Did they really forget?" Noah exclaimed in his mind.
Noah couldn"t believe that Heaven and Earth could let him go so easily. He had created countless tactics in advance for a trap that didn"t exist. All his paranoia seemed wasted due to the absence of threats.
"Better than fighting," Noah sighed before giving a few orders.
King Elbas tried to study the exit, but everything appeared normal. The group also challenged Divine Demon to divine whether traps waited for them on the other side, but the expert couldn"t come up with anything.
Noah could only order to cross the exit at that point. The mission on the other side of the Immortal Lands seemed about to end on an anticlimactic note, but he accepted that positive outcome.
However, something immediately felt off once Noah crossed the exit. The tunnel didn"t lead them to the surface of the Immortal Lands. Complete whiteness filled his vision and made him unable to see anything.