The chrysalis made of dark matter shattered and returned inside Noah. The Foolery had just gone through the absorption phase, so the transformation had reached its end.
The creature had lost most of its funny features. Its wings had become bigger than the rest of its body. Its round shape had also transformed into a rectangular form that featured bulging muscles instead of layers of fat. Its tiny legs had grown, and its mouth had also enlarged.
The Foolery had developed a sea of consciousness and a dantian after the transformation. It had become a fully-fledged hybrid, and that required a complete overhaul of its fighting style. It wasn't a magical beast anymore. It was pointless to rely only on sheer physical strength now that it could cast spells.
A single horn had also grown on the left side of its forehead. The Foolery naturally radiated an aura similar to the Devils now, and traces of its laws had even appeared.
"I feel great!" The Foolery announces as it raised its head toward the sky. "I must be invincible now!"
An intense pride accompanied that announcement. The Foolery's aura spread through the region and sent its feeling in every corner of the area.
"Your dantian is still in the gaseous stage," Noah commented. "Your mind has a similar level too. It has just stepped into the eighth rank."
"You speak about complex stuff," The Foolery replied while keeping its head pointed toward the sky. "Let's go eat some lions. I've heard that you wanted a meeting with that pack."
"I still oppose that decision," Moira added.
'I would oppose it too if I had a choice,' Noah replied in his head before focusing on his companions again.
"I will force Elbas to teach you stuff if you continue behaving like this," Noah eventually threatened.
The Foolery immediately lowered its head before shaking it a few times. "Not the boring guy. He is the worst of them."
One of King Elbas' eyebrows arched, but he soon ignored the matter. Divine Demon had trained him well in that aspect of his life.
"You will eventually have to learn," Noah sighed. "Come with me now. We need a pact with the lions. Having to face only an immortal cultivator is easier when rank 9 magical beasts work with us."
"I will also come," Wilfred eventually announced. "I bet you need someone who can prove your species."
"I want to come too!" Fergie shouted, but Noah shook his head.
"Wilfred is ok," Noah said. "I can't accept any human in the mission. Magical beasts can be biased."
"Make sure to come back quickly," Moira added.
"You can be sure about that," Noah replied. "Remaining with the lions is too dangerous, and I can't go too far away. We would only give eventual stronger magical beasts the chance to chase us."
Everything was ready for the departure. Every member of Noah's team had a role to play or a project to complete. King Elbas had even built dispensers that could keep his ambition flowing among the group, so the environment would benefit their evolution.
Noah, the Foolery, and Wilfred separated from the main group. They flew around the battlefield and tried to reach the areas where the lions had first come from.
Of course, Noah didn't dare to step under the light of the sky blindly. He still invested time transforming the environment and creating a safe path that his companions could travel.
The task turned out to be easier than expected since the Foolery could help now. The creature spread the Devils' influence through odd methods, but its efficiency had been excellent right away.
Noah studied the Foolery during the journey to understand how the creature had changed after the transformation. The pig's law seemed to involve its hunger, but it was too faint to give it a proper shape. Moreover, its mutating influence spread through its poop.
The Foolery didn't lose its peculiarities. The transformation had even enhanced some of them. The creature could generate immense azure fields with a small number of excrements, and the azure bushes that grew from the ground released a mutating influence.
That ability significantly helped Noah since he didn't need to move from spot to spot anymore. The Foolery only had to take a dump, and an entire region would transform into a source of chaotic laws. That influence would even move in the nearby lands on its own.
"I must have been born to conquer!" The Foolery announced once Noah complimented it about its new ability, but that trend didn't stick.
Wilfred had no words to describe the events, but he ignored the matter altogether. He knew how eccentric his companions were, so he only decided to focus on the benefits that they brought.
Noah soon found traces of the lions after traveling for years. The marks led to a mountain far in the distance, and the trio didn't hesitate to continue the journey.
The path eventually brought the group in a large plain that featured even more traces. Noah didn't want to walk any further since he had surpassed a safe distance from his group. He would be too distant if rank 9 creatures were to attack him now.
"Let's go back," Noah ordered, and the group began to return toward their companions, even if they chose to travel on a different path.
The white battlefield only covered a single region, and its influence spread for a few more, but it was possible to avoid it as long as Noah and the Foolery created a safe path.
The ground had circled the battlefield from one side, but they were traveling on the opposite road now. In theory, that path could even lead directly toward the dimensional tunnel.
However, they soon discovered that a faint pressure would land on them whenever they moved toward the region containing the dimensional tunnel. Noah and the others weren't even near the structure, but something was reacting to their movements.
'This shouldn't be possible,' Noah concluded in his mind. 'Unless this pressure doesn't come from Heaven and Earth.'
His eyes naturally went on the white battlefield. Shockwaves filled the areas nearby, but the light there was too blinding to understand what was happening.
Noah guessed that one of the powerful existences inside the battlefield was keeping track of him. He didn't know the range of that ability, but he could understand that it pointed specifically toward him.
'What did I do this time?' Noah laughed in his mind before bringing his group back to the previous road.
The pressure didn't appear at that time. It seemed that nearing the dimensional tunnel automatically activated one of the techniques of the rank 9 existences inside the battlefield. Noah felt almost sure that the technique came from Lord Augustus, but he didn't have proof to confirm that.
'I couldn't even find a small pack of lions,' Noah considered in his mind while flying toward the rest of his group. 'That pressure also makes me believe that the rank 9 existences won't remain silent if we fly around the area.'
The mutated laws kept Noah hidden from Heaven and Earth, but cultivators could normally pierce that power. Noah believed that Lord Augustus had received precise instructions after he killed three powerful underlings.
'I guess it will be a mad charge toward the tunnel,' Noah thought. 'I can only hope that enough of us survive to activate the stabilizer.'
Noah was immersed in his thoughts when a large fuming figure flew out of the white battlefield and landed nearby. Smoke continued to come out of the creature, but Noah could recognize it anyway. It was one of the rank 9 lions that he had seen after the arrival of Heaven and Earth's troops.