2189 2189. Mark

Divine Demon and Noah weren't battle maniacs, but they never backed out of interesting fights. Moreover, their desire to overcome their powerful opponent grew as their attacks continued to fail.

The simple desire of proving that their power was enough to defeat the strongest experts in the world was almost innate in their existences. Noah and Divine Demon knew that they were the best, and they wanted Heaven and Earth to see it.

'Immortality doesn't exist,' Noah stated in his mind as his aura darkened his surroundings.

Many powers in the ninth rank were unreasonable. Noah had a perfect example of that feature fighting at his side. However, limits existed, especially when it came to existences who had yet to step beyond the cultivation journey.

Supreme Thief and Great Builder had come back to life, but they had to rely on the deep properties that worlds obtained in the ninth rank. Those structures were extremely difficult to wipe out completely, so the two experts had the chance to resurrect them after fulfilling complicated conditions.

The situation was different with Philto. The expert seemed able to die and come back to life freely, and his power never suffered from that process. Yet, his attacks also failed to pose real threats, which hinted at a troublesome ability rather than an actual difference of power.

True immortality was impossible to achieve, but Noah could think of ways to get close to it. The trick was to review the matter from the perspective of rank 9 experts. It was clear that Philto's power had to involve the universe.

That was the only explanation behind such a flawless execution of a troublesome ability. Philto could endure countless attacks that many solid stage cultivators would find deadly without suffering any injury. His core had to reach a deep level of power, something that both Noah and Divine Demon had failed to touch during their offensive.

"I have a plan!" Divine Demon exclaimed while Noah was trying his best to come out with a valid strategy.

"I want my cup to be full if you are going to launch mindless attacks," Noah sighed.

"That's easy to do," Divine Demon laughed, and blood-red energy gathered in front of Noah to create a cup full of wine.

"Have fun," Noah stated before darting on the chrysalis and sitting cross-legged.

"I always do!" Divine Demon shouted as the whiteness around him fell under his control.

The white radiance condensed to give birth to blood-red light that accumulated behind Divine Demon. The expert didn't have any specific plan, but he wasn't the type to repeat the same mistakes.

Divine Demon had understood that his attacks had to reach the mark that Philto had left on the universe. That usually required a depth that only solid stage cultivators could achieve, but he planned to fill the gap through sheer power.

Noah knew that the approach could work, but something told him that defeating Philto wouldn't be easy. He had managed to create cracks in Cursed Reality and Caesar's techniques through a similar method, but Philto had a completely different smell, something that he had yet to understand.

<br/>The energy behind Divine Demon condensed until it took different shapes. Another cylindrical structure appeared above his head, but other techniques materialized at his sides and waited for his order.

Divine Demon only had to point his hand at Philto to launch his offensive. A series of tendrils shot forward and restrained the expert. Then, multiple orbs reached the cultivator's figure and started to erase his connection with his surroundings.

The world had given Divine Demon a plan that Noah could understand quickly. The many blood-red attacks wanted to separate Philto from the core of his world before launching a destructive offensive.

The tactic was sound, and Divine Demon also made the orbs continue their destruction until their light seeped into the space-time array. That radiance went deeper and deeper until it reached the void contained in the universe.

The radiance then transformed into a barrier that enveloped Philto and forced his power to exist inside those boundaries. The privileged cultivator seemed to have lost his connection to the universe, and Divine Demon unleashed his final attack before he could realize what had happened.

A wave of blood-red energy filled the battlefield and shattered everything on its path. Divine Demon's destructive power could reach unmatched levels, but Noah didn't let that scene surprise him.

More potential flowed inside Noah's mind as he did his best to study every change in the environment. He kept track of the space-time array and void as Divine Demon's raging energy destroyed everything. The offensive had been a success, but a white lump of light eventually appeared among that chaos.

"Why can't you just stop?" Philto's voice came out of the white lump of light as his body quickly materialized. "Everyone always rebels. Why can't you give up and let Heaven and Earth win? I'll finally have peace at that point."

"This is getting boring," Divine Demon commented as Philto reversed the destruction he had created.

"I wonder if ignoring him is the way to beat him," Noah laughed as he emptied his cup.

"That would be so nice of you," Philto exclaimed. "However, I can't let you go. Why don't you wait around until my companions are free?"

"What about the snake?" Noah asked while patting his hand on the chrysalis under him.

"I must kill that," Philto sighed. "Unless you want to deal with it yourselves. Let me see. We can take a break as long as you interrupt that transformation."

"He really is a boring guy," Divine Demon whispered.

"That's probably the answer," Noah revealed. "He isn't boring. He just threw away everything to achieve his current immortality."

"That sounds awfully easy to accomplish," Divine Demon declared.

"It takes a lot of resolve to throw away the entirety of a cultivation journey to reach the peak in a single field," Noah continued. "I wonder what happened to that determination. Did you grow bored of it after placing your mark so deeply into the universe?"

"Your ability to study beings connected to Heaven and Earth is as scary as always," Philto stated. "I didn't grow bored of it. You all forced it to go dormant. I don't even recall the last time I had to struggle to win a battle."

"Not losing isn't winning," Noah exclaimed. "I can probably show you the difference between them during this battle. Divine Demon, do you mind?"

"Not at all," Divine Demon shrugged his shoulders while teleporting on top of the chrysalis. "I thought he would have shown something interesting, but he is nothing more than a statue. That's not life."

"Every path is different," Noah sighed, "And, in the end, we face the consequences of our choices."

Noah darted forward and arrived in front of Philto in an instant. The expert waved his hand to launch white energy, but Duanlong ate it without needing to leave Noah's figure.

"What are you planning to do now?" Philto asked.

"Don't worry," Noah growled. "You only need to stay still. I want to see if I can reach the core of your world."

"That sounds troublesome," Philto complained as he prepared another attack.

"But I'll be able to kill you if I succeed," Noah replied. "Isn't that what you want?"

"No one wants to die," Philto stated. "Though, I guess experiencing something new isn't a bad thing."

'Night, your turn,' Noah thought as he withdrew his swords and placed a hand on Philto's forehead. 'I'll give you everything I have. Can you handle it?'

'I was waiting for you to say that,' Night said inside Noah's mind before the entirety of the ethereal blackness' potential flowed inside the creature.