Chapter 1481 1481. Trapped

"You are lucky that the Crystal City wants you!"

"Can't we poke him a little?"

"Lord Ethan will make you regret what you did during the auction!"

The cultivators in the mansion shouted toward Noah, trapped inside the sphere standing above the pagoda. His cultivation level had fallen to the liquid stage. His ambition had run out, and he was dealing with the drawbacks of the forceful enhancement now.

Noah sat inside the sphere. His body hurt, his dantian struggled to keep darkness inside its walls, and his mind launched painful sensations that spread through his tissues.

Pieces of magical beasts came out of his separate space as Noah ate to recover. He was using his entire stash to be ready to fight. His situation was far from ideal, but it seemed that his death wouldn't arrive just yet.

"Why don't you try to kill me?" Noah asked the figure sitting above the sphere. "You have an entire army here. I'm sure you will destroy me in no time."

The cultivators standing around the pagoda fell silent when they heard those words, and their eyes went toward the figure sitting above the sphere. Miss Nine didn't want to answer, but the gazes of the experts from the Sailbrird family forced her to give an explanation.

"You don't fool me," Miss Nine said. "I've already told you that I believe in your potential. You have the talent to reach the peak of the cultivation world, so I will use the safest approach that I can think of to kill you."

One of the cultivators among the crowd floated toward Miss Nine. He was an old man in the solid stage, and he performed a polite bow before giving voice to his thoughts.

"Miss Nine, I wish to express my honest opinion on the matter," The man said as he straightened his back and moved his long white hair away from his face.

"Speak freely, Ellis," Miss Nine replied.

"Defying Demon is trapped in a quasi-rank 8 inscribed prison," Ellis said before pointing at the crowd under him. "The Sailbrird family doesn't have any rank 8 cultivator in this branch, but there are twenty experts in the solid stage gathered here. Ten more are in the various training areas, and an army of weaker soldiers fills the whole structure. We can end his life now."

Miss Nine glanced toward Ellis' confused face and heaved a sigh. She understood the expert. She had also lost assets because she couldn't believe in Noah's power.

However, Miss Nine wouldn't let her experience and convictions trick her anymore. Noah's power defied logic. She firmly believed that he had a chance to escape as long as he was against experts in the seventh rank.

Her belief was unreasonable, but she couldn't suppress how she felt. Miss Nine had seen Abe and Ebe dying under her gaze. Those two experts were core assets of the Crystal City, but Noah had managed to kill them.

Noah wasn't even a real solid stage expert, but he had killed two incredible cultivators. His battle prowess already bordered the peak of the seventh rank. Only fellow monsters could keep him under control.

"I know that you don't understand my actions," Miss Nine said, "But I ask you to trust me. Even your wildest overestimations can't describe this hybrid. We need a rank 8 cultivator to be certain that he won't escape death."

Miss Nine's words didn't manage to clear Ellis' confusion, but the expert let go of the matter and descended toward the crowd. The Sailbrird family couldn't say much on the subject. The Crystal City had lost too much because of Noah. It was up to them to decide what to do with him.

"Notify Lord Ethan that the execution will happen inside the Crystal City," Ellis said once he returned among his companions. "He will know how to contact them."

Noah meditated in silence. He couldn't expand his consciousness, but he still gathered information about his surroundings. Miss Nine and Ellis' conversation didn't escape his ears. The duo had revealed what plans the Crystal City had for him.

"Do you fear me so much?" Noah asked. "Having a rank 8 cultivator take care of a mere liquid stage hybrid. What would the other organizations say about it?"

"How many plans depend on this question?" Miss Nine asked. "I know your kind. You will cling to anything to survive. Even the air that you breathe reeks of lies. I wouldn't be surprised if your current state were another piece of your tactics."

"I am an honest Demon," Noah replied. "I'm grateful for your zealous concern. You have no idea what your plan is doing to my ambition."

"Enjoy the feeling while you can," Miss Nine said. "I can accept that the strongest monster in the Immortal Lands can fill the gaps among the stages of the seventh rank. Still, that potential will be useless against a rank 8 existence."

Both Noah and Miss Nine had spoken the truth. Knowing that Miss Nine feared him so much had made his potential skyrocket, but she was also right in being so worried.

Noah had already recovered enough to express his peak battle prowess for some time. He could fight if the situation required it, and he had also stored enough special darkness for his Shadow Domain.

Noah could expand the Shadow Domain and teleport in that personal dimension as soon as the sphere opened. No one would be able to touch him at that point. His stash of special darkness would also give him the chance to fly safely for some time.

The sphere that was trapping him also offered temporary protection against attacks coming from the outside. Noah could focus on his recovery and prepare plans for now.

Still, his tactics would crumble if Miss Nine brought him in front of a rank 8 cultivator. His potential had no limits, but his centers of power were in the seventh rank. They couldn't give Noah what he needed to face that threat.

'If only I could destroy this item,' Noah thought as he glanced toward the invisible wall. 'I need to find a solution quickly, or I might really die.'

Noah had yet to lose hope about his situation. He was far away from the Outer Lands, his allies didn't know where he was, but he wasn't ready to give up just yet.

As long as Noah breathed, he would fight to live another day. It didn't matter how harsh his situation was. He would sacrifice every fiber of his existence to keep moving forward.

'I can't use the cursed sword,' Noah thought as the light of the Divine Deduction technique illuminated the insides of his mind. 'The blade might free me, but I will die due to its drawbacks. I might survive with a body in the upper tier, but I can't gather energy for the breakthrough here.'

Countless plans ran through Noah's mind. Ideas surged and crumbled as he evaluated every possible tactic that could lead to his escape.

'The companions are too weak,' Noah thought. 'My ambition can't give them enough power. I don't even know how much darkness Night needs to improve. It's pointless to consider them when my centers of power are closer to the breakthroughs.'

Noah could feel that his existence contained something that could help him, but he struggled to find it. Then, a realization hit him. He was relying on a technique created by a different cultivator to come up with a solution. The Divine Deduction technique had reached its limits, and it was time to improve it.