Chapter 1501: 1501. Breakthrough

Noah wanted to travel to the tree straight away, but he had to complete some preparations before. He wasn't in a hurry, and entering a battlefield that featured two rank 8 magical beasts at his current level wasn't ideal.

Luckily for him, he had been near the peak of the liquid stage for quite some time already. His potential had also skyrocketed after his feat in the Crystal City, so his dantian would soon approach the breakthrough.

His preparations didn't stop there. Noah's power depended on many factors. His companions had to improve to obtain the superior battle prowess needed on the battlefield.

Snore and the Demonic Sword depended on his dantian. They could only improve after Noah reached the solid stage. Still, Night required a different fuel.

After his experiments with the special darkness, Noah had learnt how to turn the workshop into a factory that could mass-produce the energy he needed.

Night didn't need to train and transform the environment for countless years to improve anymore. The Pterodactyl could directly rely on Noah and his ability to craft most forms of energy through the dark world.

Noah couldn't use the Demonic Deduction technique to invent a procedure that could create that darkness. His mental ability could only generate destructive thoughts now, which didn't cover the energy required by Night.

It took some time, but Noah eventually created a blueprint that allowed the workshop to make that darkness. Night alternated training outside the cave and inside the dark world at that point.

With the workshop in place, Noah could focus on his cultivation level. Fergie did the same, and the two experts trained in one of the safest regions next to the Foolery's domain.

The Foolery had given the duo part of their blue bushes, and Noah had gladly traded more of them for part of his stash. His approach was part of two different plans. The first saw him obtaining a better source of energy, and the second attempted to awaken the pigs' innate hunger.

Fergie soon understood the value of the blue bushes during his seclusion. He hesitated to use those plants at first due to their connection with the Foolery's excrements, but everything vanished once he realized how much energy they contained.

The expert couldn't absorb energy like Noah. Fergie wasn't a hybrid. He had a unique training method for his body which he had improved after his transformation. The arrival of the blue plants forced him to modify that technique further, leading him toward a complete set of abilities.

Fergie had understood how strong he had become throughout the years spent traveling with Noah, but he had yet to polish his training methods. All his ideas appeared unworthy of his new status.

That was a natural outcome of his sudden transformation. Noah had spent years polishing his techniques and improving his status. His growth wasn't abrupt. He had only needed to improve his methods whenever he reached a superior level.

The situation was different for Fergie. He had gone from being a cultivator to a completely different existence that even Noah struggled to define. He wasn't even an inscribed human. His centers of power had gone through a complete rebirth, embodying the true power that his law could express.

Fergie would need to spend the next centuries adapting his techniques to his new existence, but the task didn't scare him. He wouldn't throw his new status away to obtain an easier cultivation journey. The ambition inherited by Noah didn't allow him to accept a lower form of power.

'They taste as awful as I remember,' Noah thought while munching a few blue leaves.

The dark world covered his large cave, and the workshop occupied most of those areas filled with dark matter. Night was outside at that time, and his Demonic Sword stood on his waist as he absorbed the energy in the environment.

His dantian enlarged smoothly. It didn't even try to slow down its growth. Noah's existence was ready to advance, and his influence intensified whenever his organ grew.

It was only a matter of months before his dantian reached the breakthrough. Noah didn't need to prepare anything for the event, but he still ordered Fergie to build his cave far away.

The only thing that bothered Noah about his breakthrough was the black hole. He vaguely guessed that the dark matter wouldn't do anything crazy at that stage, but he couldn't wholly predict its behavior.

However, his worries turned out to be pointless. The darkness inside his dantian transformed into sword-shaped black crystals that radiated a complex aura, and his black hole barely reacted to that event.

The dark matter became denser after his darkness improved. The higher energy almost lost its gaseous properties to transform into a thick liquid that carried an immense power.

Yet, the black hole didn't change shape. It remained the same even after the amount of energy contained in its insides skyrocketed. It began to spin faster, but that was all.

The improved dark matter quickly started to transform Snore. The Blood Companion gave voice to a loud hiss before appearing in the dark world and undergoing those modifications. Every cell of its body carried the old higher energy, and the black hole couldn't allow that.

Noah continued to cultivate until his dantian reached a decent state. When he interrupted his training, he noticed that the entire cave had grown darker, and its azure materials had transformed into a sturdy black metal.

The workshop had also benefited from that influence. Its output of darkness had increased, allowing Night to close the distance with Snore and Noah faster.

'I wonder what will advance next,' Noah thought as he inspected the power carried by his new aura.

His mind, body, and dantian were almost at the same level now, but the eighth rank was a goal that could hide many surprises.

Noah had gone through many changes during his life in the Immortal Lands. His tissues had reached new levels of perfections after the events in the Evolution Pit, and his mind had also transformed with the bloodlust.

Some thorough transformations had to accompany the breakthrough to the eighth rank, which often forced Noah to accumulate more power. He didn't know how much energy his body would need, and the same went for his mind.

His dantian was the only stable center of power, but his absorption of chaotic laws had also slowed down its improvements. The vaster a law was, the harder it was to make it grow. Noah was almost sure that even his darkness would give him a rough time.

'There is a first time to everything,' Noah happily thought.

His influence was a dense wave that seeped into the world's matter and forced it to evolve. Wherever his gaze fell, materials would transform and grow dark. His sole attention could give birth to proper empowerments that lasted for entire hours.

Noah smiled at those improvements, but he didn't feel delighted. He was still far away from obtaining a rank 8 battle prowess. That breakthrough had made him stronger, but he couldn't enjoy it since his enemies had entire armies ready for him.

'Most cultivators would kill to reach this level,' Noah thought, 'But I can't even appreciate it. Even this power feels like nothing since I tasted something superior.'

Noah couldn't forget the feeling of being in the middle of a battle between rank 8 existences. The power that they could release was so immense that even his body couldn't survive in that environment.

'That's real power,' Noah concluded in his mind after the images from the battle in the Crystal City vanished. 'To obtain it, I need to seize anything I can from these lands.'

After reaffirming his determination, Noah sat back on the ground and resumed his training. He had to wait for the Demonic Sword and Night to evolve anyway, so he didn't mind continuing cultivating for the time being.