Chapter 1348 1348. Emotions

Noah's condition didn't allow him to think properly. The drawbacks of his ambition fell on his centers of power and made his mind feel sluggish. Drowsiness also filled his mental sea and forced him to sit down.

The injuries suffered while he endured the fire worsened his condition. He couldn't assess the strangeness of that room properly while he went through those painful sensations.

Noah decided to sit on a corner and close his eyes. He didn't sleep, but his awareness wavered as his mind struggled to remain wary of his surroundings.

His black hole filled his body with dark matter. The higher energy worked together with his innate regenerative abilities to heal his injuries and disperse the stress accumulated while his ambition was active.

No one disturbed Noah while he was in that weakened condition. Months passed quickly as confused thoughts filled his dizzy mind.

Noah continued to think about the Pyramid while pain and tiredness filled him. He had always felt that there was something off with that structure, and every expert who had the chance to explored it had felt the same.

That feeling had only become more intense after he saw the narrow staircase. The torches were defending something that didn't involve resources. Something told him that he was resting in front of the answers to his doubts.

His curiosity and greed stirred his centers of power to heal more quickly. They were mere feelings produced by a tired mind, but his existence reacted to them and did its best to get Noah out of that weakened condition.

Complete clarity slowly returned to Noah's mind, and hunger soon replaced his other feelings. He had to refill the energy depleted to heal his injuries and disperse the stress. Luckily for him, he had a large stash of rank 7 magical beasts in his separate space.

Noah noticed that Snore, Night, and the Demonic Sword were in different corners of the room when he took out pieces of flesh from his separate space. His companions had come out during that period of weakness and had protected him in silence.

They didn't make a sound when he started to move again. Their connection with his mind made them understand that he still needed to recover, so they remained in their spots to inspect the perimeter.

Even if other explorers were to reach that room, they wouldn't be able to enter. No gaseous stage cultivator could defeat those dangerous creatures.

Noah ate quickly, but he didn't linger of the beautiful sensation caused by the energy that flowed back into his tissues. His eyes remained fixed on the staircase. He couldn't wait to explore the areas that even the powerful Balrow family didn't reach.

Once his body returned to its previous peak, Noah called back the Demonic Sword to cultivate and increase the amount of primary energy contained in his spherical rune.

His centers of power returned to their previous might and began to grow. The emotions felt during the last months had made his potential improve again. His cultivation was smooth and without hindrances.

After he completely recovered, Noah stood up and called back his other companions. He didn't waste time in useless thoughts and walked directly toward the staircase.

He had already spent entire months evaluating every hypothesis. It was time to find the answers to his doubts now.

The narrow staircase made sharp turns. Noah kept track of his movements and compared them with the map from the Balrow family. That path seemed to be inside the Pyramid's external walls and kept on climbing until it crossed a few superior layers.

Noah didn't know where he was going, but worry filled him when he sensed that he had crossed the third layer in terms of height. The staircase had followed the Pyramid's peripheral walls through a secret path that no one had ever found.

The staircase moved past the fourth and fifth layers. Noah felt worried that the secret path could lead toward defenses that even peak rank 8 cultivators couldn't defeat, but he didn't stop. He couldn't retreat without even knowing what he had uncovered.

Then, the staircase made him cross the sixth layer. Most cultivators would escape at that point, but Noah couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about that place. His instincts also reassured him, so he proceeded slowly.

The Demonic Sword flew in his hand when he saw a change in that dark-yellow environment. The narrow path led to a dark room that radiated white flashes on a constant rhythm.

The light was harmless, so Noah decided to approach the room. He crouched as he walked past the last steps of the staircase, and his eyes widened when he gazed at the scenery inside that secret area.

A swarm of fly-like puppets flew through the room while carrying minute materials. They amassed them in a pile at the back of the area, and a white light shone from its insides at a steady rhythm.

White lines lit up and went dark on that pile of black materials. It resembled a dune made of metallic sand that shone whenever it accumulated enough resources.

Noah didn't enter the room, but he continued to peek to studied the process. The puppets were building something, and shock filled his mind when he recognized some features among that pile of minute materials.

A flash of light filled the area, and a claw appeared on the pile's base. The room lit up again, and a second talon formed next to the previous one.

The light seemed to indicate the moments when the materials fused. The pile of grain-sized metals transformed as the flashes continued to fill the room.

A creature slowly took form. Noah's eyes remained glued to the process until he saw the swarm of minute puppets retreating and revealing a humanoid beast covered in metallic feathers.

The beast's head made him think about an eagle-like creature, but Noah could see that it wasn't an actual lifeform. The flies had created a tall puppet that radiated power in the middle tier.

The eagle-like humanoid puppet didn't move. Faint white light shone from inside it and illuminated the room, but it remained immobile as if waiting for something.

Noah sat on the staircase at that point. An idea had begun to form in his mind, and his hands itched to test it. He believed that the Pyramid had created that puppet for him.

'Is this a real inheritance then?' Noah wondered as he studied the puppet.

The flies didn't use rank 8 materials when they built it. They had created something slightly stronger than the torches' fire. Noah didn't believe that to be a case, but his doubts forced him to wait until he inspected the whole situation properly.

There was no one else in the room. Noah sat on the staircase and studied the immobile five meters tall puppet. His thoughts soon converged toward a single question. He wondered whether he could defeat that creature.

'I am the strongest type of existence,' Noah thought as his eyes remained glued on the creature. 'I stand above magical beasts, humans, and hybrids. I have a living weapon that features the same advantages by my side, an improved version of the deadliest creature, and a Snake capable of pure destruction.'

Noah had to admit that no gaseous stage cultivator could even come close to match his power. He had three divine creatures by his side and was an existence that regular labels couldn't describe.

The puppet resembled a magical beast in the middle tier made of precious materials. Its power was clearly above what gaseous stage cultivators could handle, but Noah knew that he had a chance to defeat it.

His ambition began to improve his centers of power before he could reach a conclusion, and he sighed as he straightened his position. His individuality had decided. His existence wanted to see if he could defeat the puppet.

****

Author's notes: My hibernation is over. The next chapter will arrive in a few hours. Also, thank you for the constant support. I feel blessed to have such good readers.