The day of the meeting neared quickly.
Noah began to fly on his own along the western coast a few weeks before the set date.
He was directed toward the land after the mountains filled by snake-type magical beasts, which basically was on the other half of the coast.
The rules of the exchange meeting allowed the presence of escorts as long as they stopped in the territories before the set location.
However, the domain of the Hive was already relatively close to that area, and the heroic cultivators from the Coral archipelago were too busy with their matters.
Elder Julia simply couldn"t provide him with an escort.
However, she still gave Noah a few protective items that would keep him alive until one of the rank 5 existences came in his help.
Of course, no one believed that something would happen in the meeting, not even Noah.
Yet, it was a habit of his to be always prepared for everything.
Also, he had begun to feel a strange sensation in the past weeks, he felt as if a storm was about to crash on the piece of Immortal Lands.
"My dragon"s instincts cause this feeling, but it doesn"t seem to originate from the areas ahead. It is as if a natural disaster is going to storm the new continent."
Noah thought when he left the domain of the Hive and entered the territories of the Papral nation.
He could somewhat understand that the feeling didn"t originate from cultivators, but a natural disaster seemed equally unlikely.
"The only beings able to affect the environment on such a large scale should live at the center of the new continent, but there are the rank 6 existences there…"
Noah couldn"t shake off that feeling from his mind.
Also, he had noticed how even the magical beasts and plants under him seemed to share his sensations.
The yellowish moss under him seemed denser toward the coast and scarcer in the areas more inland.
Even the lake inhabited by the octopus-type magical beasts that he had previously pa.s.sed was completely dark, meaning that the magical beasts living there had activated their defensive measures.
"Well, there isn"t much that I can do against something so powerful, I can only leave it to the rank 6 existences."
In the end, Noah decided to suppress that feeling.
There was no point in worrying about something that he couldn"t control and that he wasn"t sure would happen, it was better to focus on the impending mission.
The absence of an escort didn"t bother Noah.
He was going to meet the talents of the other big countries, which meant that he would most likely be the strongest among them.
He had left behind him the status of a newly advanced heroic cultivator some time ago, his dantian was now deep inside the gaseous stage of the heroic ranks.
Almost four years had gone by since he pa.s.sed the Heaven Tribulation, but he felt as if he was still at some distance from the peak of the stage.
However, he wasn"t too worried about that.
The heroic ranks were too different from the human"s, he couldn"t expect to experience breakthroughs every three or four years.
Yet, he was confident that he was growing quite fast.
His individuality continued to solidify, and he was using a cultivation technique that he had personally created!
Theoretically speaking, he wouldn"t even need to explore his individuality to improve since his cultivation technique already expressed part of himself.
That was one of the advantages of creating techniques and methods, it was a.s.sured that Noah"s journey toward the fifth rank would almost be without hindrances.
Of course, Noah didn"t want to rely only on his technique and desired to improve as fast as he could, which is why he focused so much on his individuality in the last period.
Noah eventually crossed the area with the yellowish moss and entered the land inhabited by snakes.
The mountains in that place showed signs of battles, Noah could imagine that they had been thoroughly explored after his clash with Elder Cheryl.
The magical beasts in that area behaved in the same way as those previously seen by Noah.
The rank 4 snakes seemed unwilling to remain close to the central territories of the continent and ama.s.sed themselves along the coastline.
That ama.s.sment obviously generated battles between the many packs, but Noah wasn"t interested in that event and simply continued to fly toward the next territory.
A few days had to pa.s.s before a huge waterfall appeared in his eyes.
The waterfall was incredibly tall, it originated from one of the highest mountain peaks at the end of the area and poured in the rocky environment below.
The water of the waterfall was s.h.i.+ning, it illuminated the land on the other side of the mountain peak and created a small river that filled that area with life.
The water seemed to have peculiar capabilities, it released a scent able to relax even Noah"s mind.
Also, trees with a thick crown grew from the rocky terrain and gave to the environment many shades of green.
"I bet that many would treat this place as a natural paradise."
Noah couldn"t help but have those thoughts when the entirety of that new territory appeared in his view.
Yet, he was soon forced to divert his gaze from it since he sensed a faint presence approaching him from a distance.
"The Demon Prince of the Hive is indeed amazing, even my Master struggles to notice me since I"ve entered the heroic ranks."
A female voice resounded in the area, and Noah turned to take a look at the woman that had come to receive him.
Brown hair, s.h.i.+ning green eyes, slim eyebrows, a small nose, and a radiant smile appeared in Noah"s vision.
The woman had a slender waist, a quite ample bosom, and wore a luxurious white robe that enhanced the entirety of her harmonious body.
The sense of purity exuded by her robe and smile created a deep contrast with the sensuality of her figure.
Noah was sure that he had never seen a woman more beautiful than her.
"This place is amazing, isn"t it? The waterfall brings life to the hard rocks that make the terrain and peace to the magical beasts that inhabit it, my nation is doing its best not to taint the environment."
The woman continued to speak, but Noah didn"t move his gaze from her.
He wasn"t mesmerized by her beauty.
Instead, he was interested in the aura that she radiated.
The woman was surrounded by a sort of peaceful membrane that managed to stop his mental waves completely.
It wasn"t a matter of power, her mind was clearly weaker than Noah"s.
Yet, her mental waves seemed to have exceptional defensive capabilities, which made Noah unable to a.n.a.lyze her strength thoroughly.
"She is weaker than me, I"m sure of that. Yet, I feel that she would be quite troublesome to face."
Noah thought before the woman performed a slight bow and decided to reveal her ident.i.ty.
"I"m Faith Vigny of the Quiet Lake sect and the envoy sent by the Council."