Noah climbed the side of the mountain quite quickly, its steepness was easily overcome by his rank 4 body.
Another quarter of an hour went by before he could reach the summit, Noah ended his climb with a jump, softly landing on the plain peak.
A series of inscriptions entered his field of view, lines covered the surface of the summit, forming an intricate formation that seemed to have peculiar runes in its core spots.
The surface of the plain on the summit of the mountain had the width of almost a kilometer, a formation that could cover its entire surface was surely the work of an expert!
A human figure sat at the center of the formation, his back was turned toward Noah and he could see the many scars that filled his bulging muscles from his position.
Noah didn't dare to take a step forward, he performed a polite bow and remained in that position, waiting for the patriarch's permission to enter his training area.
Minutes passed but nothing happened, the human figure sat silently, it didn't even seem to be breathing.
All of sudden, shining lines began to cover the ceiling of the underground area, they resembled white veins that expanded over the purple mineral as they converged toward the mountain.
Then, when the lines reached the area above the mountain, shining drops began to fall from the ceiling.
The drops contained small crystals and they precisely landed on the runes laid around on the formation.
The runes began to shine, some sort of mechanism was activated which made the entirety of the formation take life, illuminating the surface of the summit.
Noah watched everything with wide eyes, he still couldn't feel anything but he recognized the material that made the drops: It was "Breath"!
Yet, it also seemed different from the "Breath" that he usually absorbed, it wasn't just a matter of purity, it was as if its composition had been altered, bringing it to a higher state.
The lines of the formation slowly illuminated as drops continued to fall on the runes, they reached for Chasing Demon as the light spread.
When they reached his body, Chasing Demon forcefully inhaled.
All the light on the formation was sucked as he inhaled, it entered his body in less than an instant, leaving only the purple halo as a form of illumination.
Then, Chasing Demon exhaled, a shining gas came out of his mouth which then was absorbed by the ground, disappearing almost instantly.
Noah observed everything with great interest, he hadn't been able to understand the absorption process of the rank 4 cultivation technique in the Inheritance but what had witnessed was slowly solving his doubts.
'The "Breath" in the heroic rank isn't only purer, it has a completely different composition!'
Yet, even if he had understood that, he was still unaware of the method to extract and absorb it.
"Did you gain some enlightenment?"
An aged voice spoke, those words seemed to weight as they reached Noah's ears.
"Yes, but I still don't understand how to gain access to such "Breath". Does it have a different source? Or is the cultivation technique that alters its composition?"
Noah answered, his eagerness to expand his knowledge about the heroic ranks had made him abandon any pretense of politeness.
"Both."
Chasing Demon spoke again as he stretched his hand to point at the formation and then at the ceiling.
"The veins on the ceiling attract "Breath" of extreme purity from the sea, making it fall on the runes of the formation which carry my will. They then subdue the "Breath", condense it, and direct it to my body. This is the cultivation technique that I created to reach the sixth rank."
Noah took a glance at the formation before raising his head to stare at the ceiling.
Chasing Demon didn't explain why the "Breath" absorbed by the veins was different but they were invisible now, only the purple mineral could be seen by Noah's eyes.
"It seems that you are smart, lone cultivators usually are quick learner after all."
The patriarch stood up as he gave those praises, he turned to face Noah and slowly walked toward him.
Noah could see his face now, he had short brown hair, piercing red eyes, sharp features, and slim eyebrows.
His upper body was covered in scars but his skin seemed to glow, giving an otherworldly appearance to his figure.
"What heroic cultivators absorb isn't the "Breath" commonly found in the air but that inside the matter of the world. In other words, we steal the "Breath" contained inside the matter."
Noah's mind rumbled, many ideas popped inside it as he analyzed the patriarch's words.
He first thought about the atoms, particles that were common knowledge in his previous world seemed to be unknown on this one.
Yet, it seemed that the "Breath" the patriarch was referring to was contained in an atomic environment.
'Maybe, the physic of my previous world can't be applied in this case. This world has been modified by the "Breath", this energy is too miraculous, it doesn't seem to match with anything I've seen in my first life.'
Since science couldn't solve his doubts, Noah decided to ask the entity in front of him.
"How do I see it? How do I manage to absorb it? Why would it need to be subdued?"
Noah stormed the patriarch with questions, he had completely disregarded his situation when a chance to better understand the road in front of him appeared.
"Seeing it's hard, only rank 4 mages or above can look at the essence contained in the matter. Absorbing it's easy, you just need a cultivation technique with a suction force strong enough to affect the internal composition of the matter of this world. As for the subduing part…"
Chasing Demon freely explained, he didn't seem to mind Noah's curiosity as he neared him.
"The "Breath" contained inside the matter carries a purer will, it carries the laws imposed by Heaven and Earth, only a stronger will can force it to stay in a dantian and be used for a different purpose. This is also the reason why cultivation techniques personally created have better effects: They reflect more of your will, preventing from less "Breath" to escape your clutches."