'What a strange creature,' Noah exclaimed in his mind.
The chaos that had filled that area died out. The mutated laws continued to fight the true meanings inside Heaven and Earth's system, but they began to lose ground without the Devil spreading chaotic laws.
Those battles usually resulted in mutual destruction. Entire chunks of the floating boulders fell apart, and pieces of the layer made of dense air dispersed.
The dark cloud vanished now that the Devil was no more. Heaven and Earth wouldn't bother to punish the laws that had turned rogue. They saved their energy and let the world pay the price for that battle.
The area slowly reached a new harmony. Heaven and Earth's laws couldn't destroy all the mutated true meanings, but they managed to remove the rebelling will.
Part of the mutated laws didn't go back to their previous nature but only stopped fighting Heaven and Earth. Some boulders continued to float through the sky, air covered the ground, and small pools filled the sky.
'It seems that I can't take the easy path to obtain this power,' Noah sighed in his mind after reviewing what had happened when he had activated Supreme Thief's technique.
In theory, Supreme Thief's technique could steal any ability as long as its owner wasn't worthy of that power. Noah even firmly believed that he would eventually learn to wield those chaotic laws.
The technique had all the right cards to go smoothly, but it failed anyway. Yet, Noah had managed to understand something about those chaotic laws from the procedure. He had sensed that a massive will filled their fabric and guided their actions.
The owner of that will was quite clear. Noah had never sensed something so massive from a single living being. He had touched the other world's will while Supreme Thief's technique tried to steal that ability.
'I guess the problem isn't with Supreme Thief's technique,' Noah eventually concluded. 'I simply can't endure the will that would flow inside me.'
That outcome left Noah slightly disappointed, but he couldn't ignore his joyous mood. He had learnt a lot about the Devils during that short battle, and he had even found new projects to pursue.
Noah's abilities had been the same for a while by then. It was hard to improve from his current state, especially since he had spent a lot of time perfecting his battle style.
He also lacked proper sources of inspiration. Noah was in the eighth rank, so external techniques couldn't help his existence too much. Yet, the mission had already given him multiple ideas on how to improve.
The Space Hounds had opened the path for multiple improvements. Noah wanted to understand their innate ability to make his movement techniques reach new heights. Moreover, those creatures could allow him to create his dark version of space and add it to the dark world.
The Devil had shown Noah that it was possible to develop immunity to Heaven and Earth's laws. Those creatures were inherently different from every other living being on the cultivation journey. Still, Noah believed that he could create weaker versions of that ability if it turned out to be incompatible with his existence.
Then, Noah still had to improve his singularities. Sword Saint had shown him a path, but he had yet to understand how to reach that realm.
Having so much to do reinvigorated Noah. He could improve in many ways, and that sensation made him feel elated. He had yet to hit the peak of his potential. His law could still expand and encompass other fields.
"That was a bit reckless," Wilfred commented while nearing Noah. "You didn't know anything about your opponent."
"I do now," Noah replied. "This mission might become more fruitful than we initially thought. Heaven and Earth have led us here because they can't handle the Devils, and we can learn from those creatures."
Noah didn't bother to speak through his mental waves. It didn't matter if the other experts listened to him. He felt pretty sure that they had all thought about the same thing.
"Any idea on what Heaven and Earth exactly want?" Noah asked. "I like this place. I want to see if I can leave it in a poor state to piss them off."
"We identified the cause of the crisis," Althea explained. "Heaven and Earth probably want us to take care of the Devils. They can handle the refilling of laws after the threats are no more."
That conclusion was quite obvious, but Noah hoped for something else. The Devils weren't exactly his enemies. He even liked those creatures due to the damage that they inflicted on Heaven and Earth's world. He would love to leave some of them alive if the mission gave him a chance.
'I wonder if I can learn how to create them at some point,' Noah thought while the experts gathered around him. 'I don't know how powerful rank 9 minds are, but I should be able to replicate that will, even if in a weaker form.'
Noah even began to think of ways to kidnap one of those creatures and unleash it on the other side of the Immortal Lands. He would gladly sacrifice everyone's safety to hurt Heaven and Earth.
"Wicked thoughts already?" King Elbas asked when he noticed Noah's pensive expression.
"They never leave," Noah laughed. "I wonder what else can we expect from this mission."
"Natives probably," King Elbas replied. "Definitely more Devils. I bet that this side of the Immortal Lands also hides something else. I've never seen such conditions in normal environments."
King Elbas' words reminded the group of an aspect that they had decided to ignore until then. The other side of the Immortal Lands obviously had landing zones and lower planes connected to them. It was only normal for organizations to reside there.
'Some force must have survived,' Noah thought while inspecting the environment, 'But it will be hard to find them here. This place is a mess.'
"I think that we should split up now," Noah exclaimed and broke the silence that had fallen among the group.
"Why now?" Althea asked. "Do you have something in mind?"
"Of course," Noah replied honestly. "This is a world full of resources. Why would I even bother to share them with you all?"
"You didn't share much even when we were together," Harold commented.
"I did give some corpses for the group," Noah snorted.
"It was either that or death," Harold continued. "And you didn't look too happy about it."
"Don't get all sad over a few hundred rank 8 corpses," Noah replied.
"I counted more than a thousand," Harold complained. "Are you that stingy?"
"You have no idea," King Elbas sighed.
"Well, this is goodbye then!" Noah cut that conversation short and tried to leave in a random direction, but the other experts followed him closely.
"Why don't you go somewhere else?" Noah eventually said since the other teams didn't leave him. "Don't you have Heaven and Earth to help, or a world to save? Go and be heroes!"
"That's not happening," Isaac replied.
"I have the faint feeling that you can be more dangerous than Devils," Althea commented.
"They figured you out already, my heir," Divine Demon sighed. "You should be humble like your master and stab them in the back when they don't expect it."
"I fear the day when you reach the ninth rank," Wilfred laughed. "Heaven and Earth will have to create Devils for your existence."
"What did the Devil taste like?" The Foolery asked.
"Do you want to spend an entire mission with them around?" Noah asked while turning toward the other experts. "You would gain in mental sanity by leaving now."
Some of the experts considered his proposal, but they couldn't leave Noah on his own, especially when the fate of half of the Immortal Lands was at stake.
The excitement that filled Noah's eyes sent chills down their spine. The cultivators could feel that he had something dangerous in mind, so they couldn't let him roam freely. They had decided to keep an eye on him.
****
Author's notes: I just want to thank you for being so patient with me. I know the recent period has been a bit messy, and I'm grateful to have such a good fanbase. You are the best.