"Are you asking for my story?" The expert inside the cocoon asked.
Noah limited himself to nod. He didn't want to give any hint that he was only trying to find a way to deceive that expert.
"My story is quite similar to every other existence who managed to approach the ninth rank," The expert explained. "I departed toward the storms once my cultivation level had reached the proper level and worked to perfect myself."
"Why did you build the mountain?" Noah asked while wearing a curious expression.
"Hybrids are undeniably better than every other species in the Immortal Lands," The expert replied. "I had to evolve myself to fend off Heaven and Earth's annoying punishment. I couldn't stand another day of that constant Tribulation during my time as a simple human."
"I do happen to suffer from the same punishment," Noah revealed. "My hybrid status can't protect me, sadly."
"Did you trigger Heaven and Earth's rage at your level?" Radiant Eyes asked. "I had to overcome the breakthrough to the ninth rank before receiving their offer. No wonder my influence can't improve you."
Noah bowed again in front of that compliment. His curiosity wasn't a lie, but his behavior wasn't sincere.
Noah felt nothing but respect toward experts who had managed to reach the ninth rank. Radiant Eyes had also refused to join Heaven and Earth, so she deserved his admiration.
However, Noah didn't care about those polite gestures. He was truly curious about the expert's story, but he was going out of his way to please her.
"I built this mountain after reaching the ninth rank," Radiant Eyes continued. "My patience was at its limits, so I had to do something. This whole structure is a breeding ground capable of turning energy into magical beasts that follow my orders. It can also alter other species to make them similar to my idea of perfection."
Noah nodded, even if his worry intensified. He had avoided Radiant Eyes' influence due to his black hole, but his companions didn't feature his same perfection. The dense liquid would transform them if he let the expert continue.
"Are you also transforming yourself?" Noah asked while his mind worked at full speed to find a viable solution.
"Of course," Radiant Eyes replied. "However, my procedure isn't perfect, so I'm holding it back while I experiment on other beings. I always end up creating mindless puppets."
"May I suggest something?" Noah asked as an idea popped into his mind.
"Always!" Radiant Eyes explained. "I'm not an arrogant leader."
"I suppose you want to use all of us as guinea pigs to perfect your transformation," Noah said.
"You are correct," Radiant Eyes quickly replied.
"Then, you must know that you won't learn much from us," Noah continued. "You need to learn how to transform humans into hybrids, not hybrids into your creations."
"Do you dare to question my methods?" Radiant Eyes shouted, and her heavy influence spread through the hall.
A scarlet halo seeped out of the chrysalis and pressed on Noah and the others. They soon became able to understand the nature of her law. Her light seemed to carry the very essence of transformation.
"I happen to have experience in this field," Noah revealed. "My current body comes from a fusion with a magical beast. I'm not a natural hybrid."
Noah had decided to reveal that detail of his species when he noticed that Radiant Eyes was letting him speak. He didn't fail to sense that the expert seemed desperate for a solution to her issue.
The revelation left Jordan and Luke's group speechless. They had always thought that Noah was a natural hybrid, but it seemed that they had to add that feat to his many achievements.
"How did you manage to succeed?" Radiant Eyes asked after a short silent moment.
"The fusion has to happen between suitable creatures," Noah explained. "You keep failing because your process is forceful. Your idea of perfection can't work for everyone. It can only work on you."
Radiant Eyes remained silent for a long time. She wielded the power of a rank 9 existence, but she had continued to fail in her transformations. She had even created a cocoon multiple times to perfect herself, but she had always fallen short in that aspect.
"What do you suggest?" Radiant Eyes eventually asked.
"Holding yourself back hurts the procedure," Noah replied. "Your fear of ending up like your puppets makes you unable to go all-out during the transformation. You aren't allowing yourself to evolve."
"I have already obtained a hybrid body," Radiant Eyes contradicted Noah.
"Then, why are you inside a cocoon?" Noah asked.
The buzzing noise suddenly stopped. The silk-like threads snapped and freed the cocoon. A crack eventually opened on the chrysalis, and a tall figure slowly came out of it.
Noah's companions had regained their freedom after the noise stopped. They could turn toward the cocoon and remain in awe of Radiant Eyes' figure.
The expert still had a humanoid body, but the abdomen of a scarlet bee grew from her back. Three pairs of insect legs also came out of her torso and additional body part.
A short layer of scarlet fur covered her insect body parts. Two antennae grew from her forehead, and her eyes were almost as large as her cheeks.
Noah almost lost himself inside those giant scarlet eyes. They lacked human features and were nothing more than a pair of red lights that radiated their color on the hall.
Noah had never laid his eyes on something so powerful. Radiant Eyes' cultivation level even surpassed the dragon met in the windy regions. She was a monster among monsters, and the world could only bow in her presence.
"I'm intrigued by your idea," Radiant Eyes announced. "I have the complete procedure already in my mind, but these lands can't give me enough energy."
"Why don't you travel deeper into the Outer Lands?" Noah asked. "I'm sure that the chaotic laws will eventually meet your requirements."
"No," Radiant Eyes quickly rejected that idea. "I need a constant flow of massive energy once I start the procedure. The storms alone can't satisfy me. I need existences who contain a lot of power and many of them!"
Noah had felt slightly relieved after Radiant Eyes had accepted his idea, but that new development had made his worry return. He didn't know what the expert had in mind, but it didn't sound good.
"The magical beasts are too weak," Radiant Eyes pondered. "I don't want to sacrifice the hybrids either. I guess that the humans will do."
Radiant Eyes stepped forward, and the ground morphed under her influence. The terrain opened before the whole hall shot upward and carried Noah's group across the superior layers.
The entire separate dimension began to transform. The underground layers broke while carrying all the chrysalises toward the surface. Tall mountains quickly began to fill the insides of that area and changed the very nature of the whole structure.
"I won't be able to gather energy once I start the procedure," Radiant Eyes explained. "You will side with my bees and gather resources from the human domain. Bring me back as many cultivators as you can. Don't hold back even with the experts in the seventh rank."