Chapter 489 - 489. Colonization

Chasing Demon spoke, leaving everyone around him too amazed to answer.

Noah wasn't an exception, he replayed the patriarch's words in his mind, trying to give them some sense.

'A piece of the Immortal Lands has fallen? That thing is almost as big as our continent, this is a damned world-level threat!'

Noah had never cared that much about the geography of the world but he had inevitably learnt a few things as he lived there.

The continent where the three big nations ruled was the largest landmass of the planet, some groups of islands and smaller lands were sparsely situated on the surface of the sea which covered most of the planet.

All in all, Noah knew that this planet was bigger than his previous one but there wasn't the same variety of places where to live, the biggest share of the human population lived in one of the areas of influence of the forces of continent.

Also, since it had never been conquered in its entirety by a single force, the continent remained nameless, no organization could ever claim the right to name it.

The continent, the other smaller landmasses, the islands, and the sea were labeled as Mortal Lands.

They were "mortal" due to the beings that inhabited them and to the "Breath" found there, it wasn't an environment fit for deities.

As for the Immortal Lands, Noah only knew that they were somewhere above the sky but the information about them was restricted to peak heroic cultivator who had started researching about their ascension, he simply didn't have the power needed to gain access to that intelligence.

"Patriarch, how can parts of the Immortal Lands fall?"

One of the elders around Chasing Demon asked, interrupting Noah's thoughts and raising the interest of the cultivators in the air.

Their curiosity was understandable, the new continent had once been part of the Immortal Lands, a place that only deities could reach!

That was supposedly the final destination of the cultivation journey, it was normal for those heroic cultivators to want to learn more about it.

Of course, the only entity of the Hive who could know something about it was Chasing Demon.

A pensive expression appeared on Chasing Demon's sharp face, he turned his gaze back on the azure landmass placed over the stratum of ice and sorted his thoughts before explaining what he knew.

"I remember something that my master, Divine Demon, said about the Immortal Lands."

A moment of silence followed those words, Chasing Demon's expression seemed to soften when he mentioned his master.

"The lands above the sky are richer of "Breath", capable of sustaining the cultivation process of many divine lifeforms. Yet, they aren't eternal, even the dense "Breath" contained in those places will eventually be depleted if too many deities affect it."

Noah and the elders next to him listened to his words with utmost attention, that was probably the first real information about the Immortal Lands after all!

"When an area in the Immortal Lands loses too much "Breath", it will separate and fall into the Mortal Lands since it can't meet the required standards of that higher plane. This is all I know and it's even a supposition, I can't be sure of the actual reason behind this event."

Chasing Demon fell silent after he provided his explanation, his gaze probed the new land with interest and even some eagerness, countless possibilities were evaluated in his mind in those short seconds.

"Does it mean that there might be divine beings there?"

At that time, it was Noah's turn to speak.

He had been fascinated by Chasing Demon's explanation and stunned by the spell that had blocked the meteorite but there was something that bothered him since he had discovered that the new continent had come from the Immortal Lands.

The gazes of the elders went on him, some of them realized the meaning behind his words and turned toward the patriarch as they waited for an answer.

According to Noah's reasoning, the Immortal Lands were inhabited by divine beings, meaning that there could be a divine-level threat inside the new continent.

"It is very unlikely, nothing ever comes back from the Immortal Lands unless its level isn't fit for them anymore, Heaven and Earth closely handle them after all. I suggest we wait a few days just to be sure before planning our next move."

Chasing Demon answered, reassuring the cultivators around him.

'There might not be an actual god there but there might be resources of a similar level too, magical beasts and cultivators will do anything in their power to seize them. It seems that the equilibrium of the continent will shift once again.'

Noah thought as he fixed his eyes on the horizon, the new continent gave him a strange sensation, his beast's instincts told him that danger was hidden in that azure environment.

Yet, where there was danger, there were also potential gains!

"Patriarch, when you said next move, did you mean what I'm thinking?"

Another elder expressed his concerns but traces of greed could be seen in its eyes, its intentions could be clearly understood by the others.

A new land coming from a higher plane, an environment probably at the peak of the heroic ranks.

That meant the possibility of finding resources and lifeforms in the heroic ranks, secrets about the Immortal Lands, leftovers of the divine beings that had walked on that area, there could be literally anything there.

Most importantly, if the new continent was found to be more valuable than the old one, the areas of influence of the three big nations would just lose importance since a better goal would be placed in front of those three dominant forces.

The goal would be the colonization of that better land!

Chasing Demon nodded and revealed a smile as he turned toward that elder.

"Yes, we will leave the first exploration to the three big nations of the continent, they can face the dangers hidden there for us. Meanwhile, we will decide if it's better to join the colonization of the new land or if it's time to finally strike our continent."