Chapter 1288 1288. Monster

The ominous aura was no more. Noah had even managed to store the maimed corpse of the quasi-rank 7 Eternal Snake. The only possible conclusion was that the creature wasn't alive anymore.

Noah didn't believe that at first. The Eternal Snake had come back from the dead so many times that he felt skeptical about its actual death.

However, his instincts soon reassured him, and the ice appeared to have lost the drive that characterized its peculiar behavior. The giant frozen structure had stopped moving, and it soon fell while carrying Noah with it.

The drawbacks of his ambition began to hit his centers of power. Noah felt weak, weaker than he had felt in years. That battle had utterly drained him, but the dark matter released by his black hole filled his body with a refreshing feeling.

The black hole wouldn't allow him to collapse on the spot, but it couldn't heal him either. Even his new flames couldn't fix his current condition since his tiredness didn't come from injuries.

Only a long rest could disperse the stress accumulated by his centers of power. The injuries would arrive if Noah continued to use them without getting rid of the fatigue that they had accumulated.

Those wounds wouldn't even be easy to treat. Stress was tricky to deal with when it came to centers of power, and Noah wasn't an exception. He had a few advantages in the field due to the dark matter and his innate superiority, but he couldn't overwork himself for too long either.

'I need to stop fighting like this,' Noah thought as he raised his head and pointed his feet on the platforms of "Breath" that cultivators used to fly.

The massive frozen structure stopped falling after the area that had witnessed Noah's battle landed on his palm. There was enough ice to cover entire regions in that maimed armor, but Noah could keep it in the air even in his weakened condition.

The Eternal Snake had consumed its divine armor to revive a few times, so only the quasi-rank 7 ice remained in the area now. Still, that material carried the same energy of its body, so Noah could eat it to absorb its nutrients.

His gains in that battle surpassed his wildest expectations. The entire frozen structure had enough ice to revive the Snake five to six times, but now it belonged to Noah. It was as if he had obtained more than six complete quasi-rank 7 corpses after winning that fight.

Noah couldn't store the ice as long as it kept that shape. His space-rings weren't big enough to contain that giant structure, and its power also went beyond what they could hold.

Yet, Noah didn't have to hide anymore now that the Snakes' leader had died. His victory had essentially freed the world from those creatures. He could throw it on the surface and build his new home around it.

'This power should be my last resource,' Noah thought as he brought the ice on the ground, 'Using it as my normal battle style will only bring injuries in the future. I can't be this weak in the Immortal Lands.'

The world was a mess after the battle between Noah and the quasi-rank 7 Snake. Most of its old layout was no more. The ice had destroyed entire continents when it flew in the sky to create the frozen armor.

Only a few large islands continued to float on the sea. A few changes would happen due to the magma flowing out of the shattered seabed, but Noah could only settle for the largest piece of land that he found for now.

Noah laid the frozen structure on one of the largest islands before coming out of it to inspect the area. The ice went beyond the edge of that piece of land, but the terrain appeared able to withstand its weight.

Noah had already planned his next moves. His victory against the Snake marked the end of his adventures in the lower plane. It was time to seclude himself until his centers of power reached the seventh rank.

He would have to prepare for the Tribulations, but they didn't worry him too much. Heaven and Earth had already tried to punish him multiple times, but he had only gotten stronger after them. His level of power was already far beyond their fairness.

Still, the world managed to give him one last surprise. A series of powerful presences appeared in the range of Noah's mind, and he could only heave a sigh when he recognized the owner of that aura.

"I guess this is the perfect time to attack me," Noah said without moving his eyes from the ice.

Twenty human figures appeared in the air above him and surrounded the island. They were identical, and they all wore the same small golden crown on their heads.

"This is my last chance to overcome you," Second Prince's copies said at the same time. "I'm grateful for what you have achieved in these years, and I won't forget your teachings. Yet, I'm sure you understand why I am doing this."

Noah raised his head to stare at the copies that had surrounded the islands. They all exuded the aura of a newly advanced solid stage cultivator.

"I do understand," Noah replied. "I even asked you to do this."

Second Prince's copies smiled at the same time when he heard those words, and they pointed their right hands toward Noah as they began to accumulate power.

That was an army of solid stage cultivators. Second Prince would have had a chance of defeating the quasi-rank 7 Snake if Noah didn't take care of the issue first.

"I'll make sure that time won't erase your name from the historical records of the world," Second Prince said as golden flames gathered on his palms.

"You should focus," Noah replied as a cold smile appeared on his face. "Killing me is no easy feat."

Second Prince snorted before his copies launched their attacks. Waves of golden flames flew out of his hands and filled the island with their destructive might.

The island sunk under the might released by the Royal. The ice remained unaffected by those attacks, but it fell on the seabed after losing its foothold.

Part of it remained on the surface. The frozen structure was too big for the sea. It created a huge silver mountain after most of its body went underwater.

A figure slowly walked out of the wave of golden flames. Noah ignored that attack as he strolled on top of the frozen structure and inspected the areas nearby.

The flames couldn't hurt his body. The drawbacks of his ambition made his centers of power weaker than their actual level. Still, that didn't apply to his tissues. He felt tired, but his condition didn't affect the sturdiness of his skin.

His body had become too strong after eating the remains of the winged beast. Even the attacks of twenty solid stage cultivators couldn't pierce his innate defenses.

Of course, Second Prince didn't use any special attack. His flames were the most basic spell that he could launch, but that scene still surprised him.

Noah was a monster that no labels could classify. His level of power went beyond common knowledge. Inside Second Prince's mind, he appeared far more dangerous than the quasi-rank 7 Snake.

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Author's notes: Did you miss me?