Chapter 1652: 1652. Meeting

The change in the scenery helped the group break out of the monotonous exploration, but the inscriptions also lead to problematic conclusions.

The inscriptions hinted at the presence of cultivators. There was a high chance that the lake hid the natives who had survived the absorption of the new world.

"Let's unravel these inscriptions," King Elbas ordered, and the other inscription masters gathered around him.

King Elbas' curiosity had gone out of control. It rarely happened that his sensors failed to find inscriptions laying around, so he had set his mind to study them.

Noah and the others didn't get in the inscription masters' way, but they still studied the white lines from afar. They also struggled to sense them. It was as if those formations were part of the world.

'Did they also mutate?' Noah wondered while the inscription masters tinkered with the white lines.

The inscriptions almost had no aura at all. Noah couldn't even sense the amount of power that they contained. They barely existed in the world, but he couldn't deny what he was seeing.

The inscription masters had to deal with those problems. Trying to break something that barely existed without triggering its effects was a tough challenge that they had to approach slowly.

The rest of the group began to cultivate after the inscription masters remained immersed in the study of those white lines for an entire week without making any progress. They would rather spend their time training than observing those experts at work.

The travel didn't give Noah much time to focus on his many projects. Althea and the others were keeping an eye on him, and he didn't want to slow down the exploration by secluding himself for years.

That approach had been acceptable inside the dimensional tunnel since Noah didn't know what to expect from the other side of the Immortal Lands. Yet, doing it again during the actual mission seemed a waste, especially since he couldn't gain immediate benefits.

All his projects would require decades or centuries to provide benefits. Noah preferred to wait until he acc.u.mulated enough knowledge about the chaotic laws to seclude himself for a long time.

His situation didn't completely stop him from testing a few things. The black marks from the Space Hounds were still with him, so he could study them from time to time.

His movement techniques improved whenever he gained a better understanding of the laws of space contained in those materials. Noah didn't even feel completely lost about the creation of the dark version either. He was making progress, even if at a slow pace.

The white lines eventually crumbled. The event marked the inscription masters' success in overcoming those formations, and the environment changed after that event.

Faint dark figures appeared inside the lake suspended in the sky. The inscriptions stopped covering those structures, so the experts could finally learn more about that environment.

The lake contained large buildings that the group couldn't properly make out from their position. The azure water surrounding them seemed to be part of a large defensive mechanism that hid most of the insides and blocked external mental waves.

"We have another riddle to solve," King Elbas sighed while studying those defenses.

The water itself was part of a large formation. The insides of the lake also hid multiple defenses that the inscription masters could only sense through their instincts. The group had met a complex array that only true experts could build.

Noah began to consider the possibility of starting one of his long projects when he understood that the inscription masters would take a while to clear the path. Still, something changed before he could build a cave.

The water suddenly churned. Dense currents ran through the lake and created an empty path that connected the outside world to the faint buildings.

Noah and the other experts on the ground quickly flew toward the inscription masters. Those events usually led to a meeting, and their experience ended up being on point.

A powerful aura flew out of the tunnel and covered the experts. The group could immediately sense multiple solid stage cultivators walking through that watery passage and leaving the lake to begin the meeting.

Three solid stage cultivators soon appeared in front of the group. The trio studied the experts while wearing stern expressions, but they seemed to lack ill intentions for the time being.

"I don't recognize you," The only man in the trio announced. "Where did you hide until now?"

Noah and the others exchanged awkward glances. It was hard to explain their presence there, especially to a group that had to survive an entire plane turning upside-down.

"Heaven and Earth have created a tunnel leading to this side of the Immortal Lands," Althea eventually tried to explain their situation. "We believe they wanted us to help with this crisis. Maybe they even predicted that we would join you in the task."

The trio didn't reveal any emotion at those words, but their silence hinted at something. The lack of a proper answer told Noah's group that the three experts were aware of part of that mission.

"Is this all of you?" One of the women asked while revealing a displeased expression. "Didn't you have stronger experts at hand?"

"We have also gone through a few crises in the last period," Althea continued. "Our organizations need to recover from their losses. Still, I can assure you that we are quite powerful."

"You even brought a magical beast," The second woman sighed. "How can this creature even help? Did you come here to mock Heaven and Earth?"

Noah's eyes sharpened. The woman had stated her position toward Heaven and Earth. She sounded like a follower of those distant rulers.

"I can eat your as-," The Foolery tried to shout, but Noah promptly closed its mouth.

Noah didn't like that arrogance either, but he wanted to play along until he learnt more about those natives. The power showed by the white inscriptions was quite fearsome, so those survivors had to feature some mighty experts.

'I don't think I can handle solid stage cultivators,' Noah thought while eyeing the Foolery. 'I'm able to fight liquid stage experts now, but these three seem a bit too strong.'

Knowing about his limits didn't make him abandon the idea of fighting those experts. Noah wanted to test his power against a solid stage cultivator, but that wasn't the right situation.

"We have asked Heaven and Earth for help," The man said while changing the topic. "The Devils are troublesome to fight for those belonging to the Great System. Most of our experts are like that. We need external forces, but I hope that your loyalty is in the right place."

The man was clearly asking whether Noah and the others worshipped Heaven and Earth, but the group could only exchange another series of awkward glances.

Even Althea's team could barely claim to be on Heaven and Earth's side. The three experts respected those existences, but they had yet to decide whether they would give up on their laws after reaching the higher ranks.

"Don't you have forces outside of the Great System on this side?" Noah asked before Althea could speak again.

"The initial stages of the crisis have been the harshest," The man sighed. "Devils filled the entire plane while destruction spread in every direction. We lost our battle and hid in these structures. I don't even know how many cultivators are still alive on this side of the higher plane."

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Author's notes: I think I have been unclear yesterday. I'm not taking another break. I just needed electricity to keep my laptop up. I've literally had nightmares about the missing chapters ahah. Don't worry. You'll get the other chapter in the next hours and three tomorrow.