Chapter 252 - Serenity

Noah looked around the peak he was on as many thoughts passed through his mind, realizing he did not really get any solid answers, but knowing that there was an unknown being somewhere who could be considered to be on his side.

None of the memories he held were of any help as he gazed at the peaceful vegetation and trees surrounding him, his thoughts wandering from his next goals, and what he wanted for himself.

He thought of the beings around him, those that depended on him, and those that he stood above. He thought of the two women he still did not fully open up himself to, as well as the woman taking care of a small Star City he had nearly forgotten about.

He could be considered strong and powerful to an extreme degree when others looked at him, but there was always a place where one would be weak at.

After the loss of his parents, he did not open himself up to anyone fully, not wanting there to even be a possibility of feeling the same pain he felt back then. Without his conscious knowledge, he had gotten extremely close to some of the women around him, that when he witnessed one of them ripped apart right in front of him, he was reminded of a pain he never thought he would feel again.

Even when he reversed everything and events returned to a better past, he still held those memories, and they weighed heavily on his mind. This was why he was not against it when Barbatos said she wanted to remain in the Spiritual Land and do her training there. This was why he continued to let the Ice Queen manage the Frozen Kingdom as a Ruler, and not someone he wanted to fight on the front lines.

Gradually, he was realizing that he was slowly opening himself up again to these people around him. This provided a conduit that could cause him great pain, something he had experienced before and never wanted to come across again. He gazed at the serene trees on the mountaintop he stood on as he continued to be lost in his thoughts.

Was it truly worth to open himself up to others like this? To open up the possibility to feel a tremendous amount of pain again?

Many thoughts appeared and disappeared in his mind as he was not able to find an answer. He stared at the leaves of trees swaying peacefully on the mountain he stood on as he closed his eyes and felt the abundant essence that could be felt everywhere in the World of Cultivation.

He felt the bubbling power in his body that was constantly boosted by Ultimate Skills from the Seven Deadly Sins, by Transcendent and Saint Ranked skills, as well as the naturally powerful Golden Sea Body he gained from the Lost World.

With his eyes closed, he began absorbing the many Saint ranked cores obtained from the Devilish Time Unveiler and the Magus, Black Serpent. He held Saint ranked abilities because of Skill Combination, and he could use them all without any problems because of the large mana pools he had access to. But his actual attributes were not in the Saint Rank. Barring the [Focus] attribute, his [Vitality] and [Strength] attributes were still capped at the peak of Transcendent Rank.

He absorbed the Saint Ranked [Core]s from his loot as his body gradually entered a serene state, and he fell asleep.

[Sleep Evolution] - When the user breaks into a new stage, they'll fall asleep, and their body will evolve in a favorable way.

[Awaken Sleep] - The user is aware of everything going on around them, while they're asleep.

The subskills of the Ultimate Skill, [Sin of Sloth], were activated as even in this state of sleep, Noah could sense the surroundings and the changes occurring in his body.

The abundant amount of origin he was absorbing from the Saint Ranked [Core]s were rapidly absorbed as a milky white color began to surround him. The [Sleep Evolution] ability came into full effect as it caused this milky white aura to explosively increase, his entire body being covered as he felt his bones and musculature be improved in ways he did not think could be further improved.

His dark hair flowed and became more abundant, obtaining a glossy sheen as it neared his shoulders as if he had not given himself a haircut for the longest time. The already compact musculature all over his body became more pronounced and refined as the milky white color exploded out, revealing a body that he recognized, yet it looked much more beautified.

His gaze lingered on himself for a few brief seconds before he shook his head wearily, not wanting to obtain the traits of a certain arrogant penguin as he stood up from the mountain and took into account the remaining Transcendent and Saint Cores he held with him. Because of [Sleep Evolution], he saw that his attributes at the Saint Rank were already more than halfway maxed, the supposed 'favorable' evolution from this Ultimate Skill not being a joke. This brought about new uses for the cores that he did not really need. A few more points in his [Vitality] or [Strength] would not really do anything for his power, and they could be put to better use if given to those around him.

Many of the beings around him were at the Phantasmal Rank at this moment, and he would divide the remainder of the Transcendent and Saint Ranked [Core]s he did not need to have them upgrade their attributes to enter the next ranks.

Even if they didn't have skills of the equivalent rank, their power would still be boosted as they held Ultimate and Unique skills that only grew stronger depending on what rank the user was.

There was also the abundant [Law Crystals] from the cultivators he had taken down recently, vastly improving any of his skills that could be placed in the category of Water, Time, or Space attribute.

He continued to peruse through all of these gains as his body lifted off the mountain peak, looking around him for the last time and then flying away. Plans about the distribution of loots and his future moves were outlined in his mind as his figure began moving towards the direction of one the three Supreme Sects in the World of Cultivation, the Profound Astral Sect.

In this sect, he had plans of infiltration that would allow him to gain access to one of the prized Treasures that was only given to the Core Disciples of the sect that showed the most promise, potential, and strength.

In the Profound Astral Sect, Elders at the Saint Rank were not rare, with the most talented Core Disciples that could be called geniuses actually having similar cultivation as the Elders of the Sect.

Multiple powerhouses at the Void Fimmerment Cultivation Realm were also situated in this powerful Sect, with many mysteries surrounding the Sect Leader of this Profound Astral Sect.

Yet, Noah had extremely clear memories from a certain Devilish Unveiler that detailed much of the secrecy and mystery surrounding this powerful sect, giving him a very clear picture of how he should start. His memories were a few hundred years behind, but the players remained the same, just slightly more powerful.

His goal was to first observe and collect information on the current Core Disciples of the Profound Astral Sect before making a move and obtaining an identity as one. After that, it was simply careful planning and scheming as he made his way closer and closer to something that even the Devilish Time Unveiler was denied.

His mind cleared up from the reverie of thoughts as his figure became enveloped in a dark light, the [Aberrant Saint] that was proficient in space being activated as a single minuscule ball of darkness flew even faster in the air.

In this small piece of darkness, numerous vicious Dragonoid heads and suffocating tentacles that nobody could see were contained, just waiting to be unleashed at a moment's notice.