Birth of the Demonic Sword

Envying Noah and the other members of his group was almost normal. All of them were monsters who could ignore the gaps among stages and tiers. They had demonstrated their superior power countless times, and Heaven and Earth's followers had watched as their leaders failed to create effective countermeasures.

Their unreasonable power didn't even seem to have limits. Divine Demon was the favored son of the "Breath", Sword Saint had managed to call mighty structures past the sky, and King Elbas had won a bet against Divine Architect. Those achievements were only the last incredible feats that Noah's group had accomplished, but they were already enough to put them into the realms of legends. The world didn't have to describe them after everything they had done.

The surprise in Noah and King Elbas' minds didn't come from the content of the woman's request. They had seen something similar happening with Robert, and they even found that desire reasonable. They would have done the same if they were in the opposite situation.

However, Robert had been a rank eight cultivator when he asked Noah to transform him. Instead, the liquid stage woman had a world provided by Heaven and Earth. Noah didn't know if he could rebuild something so powerful at his level. The chances to fail would be incredibly high even if he asked King Elbas' help.

The fact that Noah didn't trust the woman was another important factor there. Everything with Robert had been smooth due to the expert's personality. The power of the Devils had also made everything easier. Instead, the liquid stage expert was mysterious, and she probably had hidden intentions.

"I can just kill you and try my chances against the sky," Noah threatened, but his words only broadened the woman's smile.

"The choice is yours," The cultivator giggled. "I won't try to defend myself. Kill me if you must."

A slash followed those words. Noah didn't hesitate to attack with both his swords. His blow severed the woman's waist, and a superficial injury even appeared in her world.

Noah had made sure to attack had abruptly as possible. Even King Elbas remained temporarily stunned by how direct his friend had been, but his surprise only intensified when he looked at the liquid stage cultivator.

Noah shared his friend's surprise when he inspected the cultivator. A sudden attack would normally trigger innate defenses or similar tools, but nothing happened with the woman. She didn't see the slash coming, but her world didn't react even after that. She only limited herself to smile when she understood what had happened.

"Do you have a death wish?" Noah asked as he prepared himself to perform another slash.

"Everyone in the sky is already dead," The woman laughed happily. "Many have joined Heaven and Earth when they could still promise immortality and stability, but look at them now. The breakthrough of a mere rank 8 cultivator had forced them to abandon most of the laws connected to the sword path. You have no idea how many of us have died during that event."

The dark world filled the area and enveloped the three experts in a realm that Heaven and Earth couldn't inspect, but the cultivator's words ended up triggering a reaction in the sky. A white lightning bolt with power in the ninth rank fell and aimed at the large black patch that tainted the whiteness.

Noah and King Elbas sensed the arrival of the lightning bolt and decided who had to take care of it through simple glances. King Elbas shot out of the dark world and summoned the golden robe again to empower his spear and throw it toward the incoming attack.

The spear exploded into a scorching nova when it met the lightning bolt. The impact between the two techniques shook the fabric of the world and destroyed entire patches of whiteness. A massive crack opened, but the storms struggled to reach it due to the lingering burning energy that had remained in the area.

The energy eventually dispersed and allowed the storms to fix the whiteness. King Elbas had taken care of the lightning bolt with a single attack, but he had to sacrifice his spear in the process. Luckily for him, he had amassed countless materials lately.

King Elbas returned inside the dark world and glared at the woman as soon as he felt that she could sense his gaze. Noah had remained silent while his friend took care of the lightning bolts, but he didn't hesitate to voice a question now. "What was that? Why did Heaven and Earth attack us?"

"We have some restrictions," The liquid stage cultivator explained. "We can't reveal too much about the sky. Our existence can transform into a beacon that attracts punishments."

That explanation made sense. Heaven and Earth's followers couldn't have complete freedom, but Noah and King Elbas inevitably thought about a unique figure that didn't seem to abide by those rules.

"What about a cultivator named Caesar?" King Elbas questioned.

"He is a peculiar world among Heaven and Earth's system," The woman scoffed. "I don't know much about him. I've heard rumors, but we don't interact too much."

"What exactly do you even do inside the sky?" Noah asked. "How can you not know someone else if you are part of the same system?"

"Are you ready to face another punishment?" The woman teased, but Noah followed with another question. "Why don't you take care of them?"

"I can't," The liquid stage cultivator revealed. "My power comes from Heaven and Earth. They will take it away as soon as they sense that I'm using it to hinder their punishments."

Noah and King Elbas glanced at each other and established silent turns. They couldn't let go of the possibility to learn more about the sky. A chance that the woman was telling lies and that everything was a ploy existed, but they could make up their minds about that after hearing what she had to say.

Lightning bolts fell non-stop on the area, and Noah and King Elbas alternated themselves to take care of them. Their questions resumed as soon as they reunited inside the dark world, and a punishment arrived whenever they heard an answer.

The liquid stage cultivator's name was Sepunia. She told Noah and King Elbas everything she could, but she eventually had to stop since the punishment grew stronger after each answer. The two experts had to stop questioning her when the lightning bolts started to border the solid stage in terms of power.

It turned out that the life inside the sky was far different from how Noah and King Elbas had imagined it. The white layer had cities, but they weren't actual social areas. The cultivators inside them spent their time in a trance that connected them to Heaven and Earth's mind. They basically became part of the rulers and helped them deal with some issues that afflicted them.

The majority of the cultivators living in the sky acted as tools meant to relieve part of the pressure the rulers had to endure constantly. Yet, that connection had made it clear that Heaven and Earth as a whole were suffering as their victory drew close.

According to Sepunia's words, Heaven and Earth had grown unstable lately, more than usual at least. They had thrown many laws into the void after Sword Saint's breakthrough since they needed to balance what they had lost, and tension had also started to build.

Heaven and Earth's followers could sense the changes in their leaders when they rested inside the sky. They felt their turmoil, and agitation had inevitably built. Moreover, those cultivators had also acknowledged that the rulers might turn all of them into cannon fodder. Only a few experts had privileged positions and would remain untouched.