Birth of the Demonic Sword

Jordan had followed Noah's orders and had handled Ava's offensive while her companions took care of the gaseous stage opponent. However, Divine Demon had eventually seized control of the battle and forced the others to settle for a supportive role.

Ava was like Duke. She only used a fixed set of abilities during her battle. Her law made her able to turn her blood into different weapons that exploded whenever they touched her opponents. Instead, her spells forced the ground to wither and use its energy to fuel various barriers.

The winged expert usually used her blood to create spears that flew toward her opponents. Jordan had quickly become unable to handle that offensive since her attacks couldn't match the power of a liquid stage existence, so Divine Demon took her place.

Divine Demon's law countered Ava's spells. The expert tried to use the ground to fuel her shields, but Divine Demon took over the world and forced it to help him. The azure halo around him never ceased to shine, and it eventually overcame the scarlet radiance that filled the separate dimension.

"Give me more!" Divine Demon shouted. "I shouldn't even be able to touch you, but your techniques can't match my expertise. Is that everything you can do?"

Divine Demon's taunts didn't manage to make his opponent's flinch. Ava wore an aloof expression that didn't reveal any emotion. She limited herself to open her skin and draw blood that turned into various weapons.

Spears, swords, hammers, and more flew toward Divine Demon, who deployed all the energy taken from the world to create marvelous techniques.

Divine Demon didn't need Noah's teachings on the path toward the ninth rank. He had always been a monster capable of following his journey without lingering on bottlenecks and similar hindrances.

Still, his cultivation level didn't allow him to defeat Ava. He didn't even have Noah's incredible techniques and advantages at his disposal. He was a simple cultivator, so his law had to create unique abilities to fend off that offensive.

The space opened whenever Divine Demon's influence spread through the area. Those cracks attracted the various weapons and sent them into the void.

The others could attack Ava at that point. Jordan, Luke, and their companions sent waves of spells toward the winged expert who didn't manage to create defenses due to Divine Demon's influence.

Noah observed the exchanges. He had never underestimated Divine Demon, but he knew that his influence shouldn't surpass Ava's. His achievement mainly depended on the same flaws that had afflicted Duke, even if it remained pretty amazing.

The ability to take over the world's energy with a liquid stage cultivator contending that power spoke for Divine Demon's might. That feat left Ava defenseless and allowed her opponents to injure her weak body.

Noah could finally notice how Ava's body seemed above the human standards. She wasn't near the level of the magical beasts, but she went beyond the limits of her species anyway.

Noah linked that power to her partial transformation. It was clear that the separate dimension had tried to force her existence to evolve, but the result was nothing more than a flawed product.

'I wonder if Radiant Eyes has also gone through the same process,' Noah thought while inspecting the battle. 'That shouldn't be the case with a rank 9 existence, but it's better to leave this separate dimension anyway.'

Noah was slowly becoming aware of the nature of the mountain. Ava and Duke's condition and the chrysalises were enough to explain part of the many functions of that separate dimension.

His conclusions made him feel even more worried about that place. The deeper layers of the mountain had to feature dangers that even liquid stage cultivators couldn't overcome, and Noah didn't want to see them.

"This is too easy!" Divine Demon shouted while cracks opened around him. "I promised that I would defeat you without attacking, but this is too boring."

His taunts failed to trigger any reaction in the expert again. Ava continued to throw weapons at her opponent, but her attacks always ended up inside the void.

Ava's human body made her quite frail. Her opponents' attacks could injure her due to the lack of defenses. She soon lost her limbs and entire pieces of her torso, but she continued to use her blood to create storms of weapons.

Divine Demon didn't even bother to watch that assault. He crossed his legs and sat on the air before taking a jug of wine from his space-ring and filling a cup. Dark-red weapons were flying toward him, but the world opened to protect him.

His companions' offensive always followed that event. Jordan and the others used that chance to launch their attacks and inflict injuries on their opponent. Ava's blood allowed her to remain in one piece most of the time, but her enemies were slowly shattering her into pieces.

Luke eventually threw a gale that seeped into Ava's skin and made her tissues explode. The expert had nothing more than torn muscles and shattered bones at that point, so the following attacks reduced her to a bloody pulp.

Divine Demon didn't bother to watch Ava's death. He had no care for that event. He limited himself to sip wine while his cultivation level increased due to his successful challenge.

"I guess I will join Wilfred once I get back to the Legion," Divine Demon said when he sensed Noah approaching from behind. "You did great on your own. You definitely are the only existence worthy of being my heir."

"We should leave," Noah exclaimed while ignoring those words. "We don't know what the dimension hides. Let's go before we trigger another defense mechanism."

"I still think we can handle a few more layers," Divine Demon complained. "Look! These liquid stage experts couldn't do much against us. We can keep going until we meet solid stage threats."

"Something has forced those cultivators to transform," Noah explained. "They couldn't defeat that influence, so I have to believe that we can't do it either. There is no point risking our lives for a bunch of corpses."

Divine Demon sighed before storing his jug and cup. Noah was right. The separate dimension only offered challenges without ever giving rewards. It was better to spend their time inside Supreme Thief's inheritance at that point.

"I can contact a few experts and work something out," Luke said once he neared Divine Demon and Noah. "It's a pity to leave the mountain here. We should hide it from the human domain to gain a monopoly over this resource."

Noah wanted to nod. Luke's plan was the best compromise in the current situation. However, a buzzing noise suddenly came out of the ground and made the whole separate dimension tremble.

The sky and the ground shook while echoing that noise. The sound wasn't painful, but it made Noah and the others unable to move. They felt as if an external power had taken control of their bodies.

Noah felt unable to use his consciousness. He could still think, and he even retained complete control of his thoughts. Yet, he couldn't use them to manage his centers of power.

Even the black hole went dormant. The buzzing noise was suppressing his law and influence, and it gave him an order that he couldn't oppose.

Noah and the others quickly formed a platoon and began to attack the ground. They created cavities and dived into them in a matter of seconds.

The orders carried by the buzzing noise didn't feature human words, but its meaning was clear. The sound wanted the group to reach the bottom of the separate dimension, and they didn't have the power to fight it.