Chapter 1648: 1648. Threats

The group didn't have a clear destination. Heaven and Earth didn't bother to inform them about the contents of the mission, so they had to understand everything on their own.

The Devils were a problem that Heaven and Earth couldn't defeat with their laws. Noah's battle had cleared some doubts about their power, but the experts still felt that they lacked a complete view of the situation.

The chaotic laws carried by the Devils caused mutations in every material and living being. Their influence didn't have specific purposes, but it could still generate trouble.

Noah's ambition and Radiant Eyes' aura could trigger similar effects, but they forced the laws to evolve on a specific path. Instead, the Devils' mutations were completely random, so it was unlikely for them to lead to stable forms.

The living beings affected by those mutations would probably die due to the many instabilities in their structure. Yet, the Immortal Lands had countless magical beasts. Noah wouldn't be surprised if he found a few species that had benefitted from the Devils.

That led to a silent issue that Noah didn't want to bring up until he gained a clear view of the other side of the Immortal Lands. A good mutation could generate new overlords that could live in a world infested by Devils.

Broken environments crossed the group's vision. That side of the Immortal Lands had gone through a deep transformation that hindered the experts' exploration.

It was hard to move when the ground and the sky had switched places. Keeping track of their exploration in such a different environment was troublesome, and the experts often had to rely on inscribed items to help them with the issue.

The experts didn't lack inscription masters. That team had even developed a decent relationship after the issues in the dimensional tunnel, so the cooperation went smoothly.

The group could explore every crack of the floating ground and lake suspended in the sky. They could explore the vast sky illuminated by the regions hanging above it, and something off eventually popped out.

"Did the Devil kill everyone?" Harold shouted.

The group had explored the other side of the Immortal Lands for months, but they couldn't find a single magical beast. The environment also lacked magical plants and other living beings.

"The mutations might have left very few living beings alive," Noah explained. "I'm more surprised about the lack of cultivators. Did they all die? Heaven and Earth may have purposely sent us in a safe area."

"That would explain a lot," Althea exclaimed.

The expert didn't worship Heaven and Earth, but she felt deep respect toward those mighty existences. She could accept that they had placed the dimensional tunnel in an empty area on purpose.

A loud noise suddenly filled the area and interrupted that conversation. A few regions went dark and forced the experts to look above their heads.

A massive landmass had appeared among the whiteness. Scorching and fuming patches of ground covered its edges, and cracks opened through its structure as the vast region fell.

The landmass slowly shattered during the descent. It transformed into large chunks that continued to fall apart until they became nothing more than dust.

The dust didn't manage to reach Noah's position. It fused with the world during its journey through the sky, and an angry aura spread after the event.

Screeching noises filled the sky as the laws carried by the landmass began to fight Heaven and Earth's matter. Their influence forced other true meanings to escape that system and transform into something chaotic.

The group could finally observe part of the absorption, and curious expressions appeared on their faces. Their mental waves studied how the laws transformed under the other world's influence and gave birth to spectacular events.

The matter of the Immortal Lands transformed right in front of their eyes. Yet, part of the tainted laws didn't fuse with the world. They remained a chaotic mass of power that slowly spread their influence through the regions and continued to generate mutations.

Those masses of power gained a dark-red shade as the mutations continued to spread. The laws that didn't fuse with the world joined their structure and increased their size until their gained a humanoid shape.

Crazy laughs eventually resounded in the area. Noah and the others didn't hesitate to wield their weapons at that sound. They were witnessing the birth of a large group of Devils, and they didn't know how they would behave in their presence.

Multiple Devils appeared in the sky. Their auras fused and intensified their influence. Some of the chaotic laws even tried to reach Noah's group, but the experts quickly sent their mental waves to stop that energy.

"We don't need to fight them now," Daisy Newhall reminded. "We can ignore them until we learn more about this environment."

"Trouble is coming in our way," Noah whispered while turning toward a seemingly empty spot in the distance.

His instincts had sensed something. His words alerted his companions and made them turn toward that seemingly empty spot, but nothing appeared just yet.

"Are you sure that your senses aren't off?" Althea asked, but her words didn't gain the support that she hoped for.

Wilfred, King Elbas, and the other experts in Noah's team had taken that threat very seriously. Noah's senses had never been wrong, and they could often perceive things before his companions.

Noah couldn't understand what was happening. He could sense the danger drawing close, but his eyes and mental waves couldn't identify the source of that sensation.

The dark world quickly expanded and covered the entire region. Noah deployed all his investigative methods to identify that danger, and something eventually appeared when the currents of dark matter ran through the sky.

Large invisible figures moved through the dark world. Thin layers of dark matter covered their shape and gave them a form that Noah could sense. Those creatures resembled shark-like magical beasts, but some of their features were off.

Noah recalled the dark world without dispersing the dark matter around the creatures. His companions could finally see that new threat, and they didn't hesitate to prepare for the imminent battle.

However, the sharks didn't seem to care about the group. Screeches came out of their mouths as they flew toward the Devils and crashed on their figures.

The sharks became visible at that point. Noah dispersed his dark matter to inspect their features more in detail, and surprise soon appeared on his expression.

Those creatures had long bodies and sharp fins. A dark-blue shade covered their figures, but they also had sparse multicolored patches of skin.

Sparse rows of sharp teeth grew from their skin. Even some of their fins had those strange features. The teeth appeared completely unnatural. It was as if they had grown there only recently.

'A mutated pack!' Noah exclaimed in his mind.

His fears had come true rather quickly, but he still felt that something was off. He couldn't understand why magical beasts would decide to target Devils over cultivators. The latter contained far more energy due to the different centers of power.

The answer to his doubts arrived quickly. The Devils didn't immediately fight their new opponents, so the sharks could devour a large chunk of their chaotic laws during the first exchange.

The chaotic laws enhanced the mutations that afflicted their bodies. More rows of teeth grew from their skin, and changes even happened in their insides.

Noah could almost see organs appearing out of nowhere due to those mutations. The sharks seemed able to absorb the chaotic laws and use them to evolve their species, but the process was far from natural.

Still, Noah could only open his mouth in awe when some of the sharks raised their head and released waves of scarlet flames. A species with a water aptitude was using the abilities of the fire element, and he didn't know how to react to that sight.

****

Author's notes: I can only be sorry about this constant issue. I don't seem able to fix my sleeping schedule, so I just collapse on the bed at times. You can expect the other chapters soon.