Chapter 2147 - 2147. Mountains
Noah's statement said everything there was to say. Artamo didn't mind discussing the nature of his world or the cultivation journey, but arguing with Noah was beyond his interests. He couldn't bring peace to that conversation.
On the other hand, Noah had already made up his mind. He had to destroy another separate dimension to generate the key needed to reach the ninth floor. Artamo's ideals went against what Noah was trying to achieve, and his world was impossible to corrupt with ambition. The expert had to die so that those interested in the final battle could advance.
Noah activated his techniques without restraining the flow of potential. Artamo was a powerful liquid stage cultivator. His world didn't reach the same heights as Caesar, but it remained strong enough to require Noah's full power.
Night, Snore, and the parasite left his figure and began to radiate ambition. Shafu and Duanlong imitated them even if they remained inside the black crystal, and the two swords didn't refrain from joining the process.
Noah took his time to reach his peak. He didn't need to complete the process quickly or place defensive techniques between the castle and him. He knew that fighting Artamo wouldn't involve an actual battle, so he could prepare thoroughly.
The clash between two rank 9 experts would usually make weaker cultivators run away, but the existences inside the castles didn't move. Noah could sense their faith in Artamo's world fusing with his power and deepening his peace. Still, black lines began to spread in the sky anyway as Noah's aura continued to expand.
Noah knew how the battle would unfold. There wouldn't be any exchange of techniques or a grand spectacle of lights. His power would fall on the castle, and the structure would crumble if he managed to create a dent in Artamo's world.
Dark matter came out of Noah's chest and the Demonic Sword as roars, high-pitched noises, and cries echoed around his figure. His weapons and companions mustered their auras and let their ambition run freely as they prepared their offensive.
Then, a smooth movement from Noah's side started everything. He lowered his blades, and a series of attacks flew downward. Even Night and the others took that as the signal to launch their offensive.
The slashes, lines, waves of destructive energy, dark-red shades, and dark-purple liquid created a proper waterfall that obscured a vast chunk of the separate dimension. Blackness poured out of Noah's figure and tried to engulf the castle, but the structure remained unaffected by the event.
Spiderwebs of black lines made of Noah's destruction filled the sky, but none of them managed to touch the castle. They all stopped right over the structure as the immense amount of energy released during the attack seeped into the ground and vanished.
The offensive had been a failure, but Noah expected as much. He had already accepted that Artamo was strong, but he couldn't lose against such a passive opponent, especially after deciding to fight him. His whole path was at risk there.
Noah immediately launched a new series of attacks, and his companions followed suit. The separate dimension saw a sixth of its vast area grow dark as the powerful offensive engulfed the castle and crashed on the ground.
The castle came out intact of the wave of dense energy, and the ground absorbed everything that had fallen on its surface. Artamo's world was enforcing peace, so destruction couldn't unfold.
However, the black lines containing Noah's destruction had taken a step forward after his second wave of attacks. They had grown closer to the castle, and some even threatened to infect the ground.
Noah didn't care about the technical state of the battlefield. Plans and strategies were superfluous in that situation. He would attack until his energy ran out. A winner would appear by then.
Dark glows flashed inside the separate dimension multiple times. A sixth of the plain was in the middle of a deadly struggle, but everything appeared oddly silent.
The intensity and amount of destructive energy that Noah released with each attack were incredible. He was expressing the very peak of his power, but he never expected the event to be so quiet.
There was beauty in that silence. Noah had never claimed Artamo's path to be wrong or flawed. Everyone was different, so each journey had value, especially if it could reach the ninth rank.
Yet, events that many could simply view as unlucky could still happen. Advancing through the ranks only gave more control over the cultivation journey, but the other aspects of that arduous path remained, and luck was one of them.
Noah had known that since his first meeting with a dragon. The world was full of powerful beings, and the universe shared that feature. At times, luck led experts on the path of someone far stronger than them. In Artamo's case, he had just found himself before someone willing to destroy him to advance.
The black lines containing destruction never stopped expanding as the offensive continued. The plain eventually became unable to absorb them, and the castle also saw those ominous structures stretching over its smooth surfaces.
A series of attacks pushed those lines inside the castle. They expanded throughout the many corridors and halls without releasing their power. Noah didn't want to trigger them so soon. He found no reason to do that.
The weaker cultivators inside the structure didn't run away even when black lines expanded on their bodies. They knew that they were already dead, but they still did their best to add more power to Artamo's world. However, the outcome appeared inevitable.
"Your path is sad," Artamo exclaimed when he saw black lines reach his room. "You might go past me, but you'll always stand on mountains of corpses. The stench will be impossible to avoid."
"You see the cultivation journey as a choice," Noah decided to answer without halting his offensive. "All of us are different kinds of monsters, some more than others. We follow inhuman and unstoppable drives to force ourselves on the universe. I have accepted the nature of the cultivation journey. If my ambition leads to rivers of blood and mountains of corpses, I welcome them wholeheartedly."
"I have accepted its nature too," Artamo exclaimed while black lines spread on his figure. "My resolve matches yours. Why did I lose?"
"My world is heavier," Noah responded. "It might be due to the corpses."
"I was about to say that," Artamo laughed.
Noah continued to attack until his black lines had spread over everything under him. A mere snap of his fingers would be enough to trigger them, but Artamo managed to voice a question before that. "Will you hear my last request?"
"No," Noah exclaimed before waving his hand.
A slash left his fingers and triggered the destruction accumulated in the environment. Everything directly crumbled and fell apart. It only took an instant for the castle and all the experts inside it to turn into dust.
The event triggered significant changes in the whole dimension. The table suddenly disappeared, and the same went for the many delicacies. All the seated experts found themselves lost, but they didn't take long to identify the culprit behind the event.
Many cultivators, magical beasts, and hybrids flew toward Noah while voicing angry complaints. Some of the turtles were among them, but that didn't make any difference to Noah.
Noah placed his swords on his forehead, and precise slashes suddenly materialized on the various complainers.. Their figures split in half before they could retreat or summon techniques.