Chapter 514
The period after the reinforcements from the Coral archipelago came was quite messy for Noah .
He flew north, along the western coastline and past the forest of White woods in his solitary exploration of the new continent .
The fact that the lava lake didn't suit his element and that the corpse hidden under its surface was out of his reach didn't discourage him, he actually felt quite calm at that moment .
The reason behind that sensation was that he was alone .
Noah had always preferred to be alone, even before transmigrating, there was some sort of silent freedom when he was left on his own .
That feeling had only increased through his second life, he felt as if he could truly be himself only when he was alone after all the escapes and pretenses that he had been forced to perform as he pursued his goal .
His fusion with the Cursed dragon further accentuated that preference, the egoism of the magical beasts was part of him now and he knew that the procedure had forever altered his mental state .
His mind wandered as he flew over a seemingly empty lake that had appeared after the forest of White woods, his mental energy continuously fueled the Divine deduction technique as he pondered about himself .
He had gained some insights after he attempted to probe Elder Austin, the mental waves of the rank 5 cultivator resembled a scorching defensive layer that melted any energy that tried to pass it, it was as if Elder Austin's mind was made of fire itself!
That realization made Noah understand something: The entirety of a cultivator would change after it began to understand the laws of its element!
Of course, that was mostly a hypothesis in Noah's mind, he couldn't be certain of that after just a brief interaction with Elder Austin .
Yet, he had to start somewhere and that was the only clue that he had managed to pick up about the understanding of the laws of one element .
'Before searching for an external meaning, I should thoroughly understand the depths of my individuality . I don't have to understand all the laws of the darkness element but only those that suit myself and that I can make mine . Everything must start with me . '
Noah thought as he slowly descended toward the surface of the lake .
The water in the lake was murky, only the azure radiance released from the ground made him able to see part of its depths .
That radiance though seemed to diminish every time Noah breathed, his lungs continuously absorbed the "Breath" contained in the light around him, creating a dark halo that followed him everywhere he went .
'A being that feeds on light to empower its darkness . '
Those words entered Noah's mind before he analyzed the depths of the lake with his consciousness .
The way Noah saw it, he needed to reach a deeper enlightenment about himself before he could understand the laws of the darkness element that matched his individuality .
He had already done something similar when he had chosen the magical beast to fuse with his body but he had become something completely different after the fusion .
Also, he was now a complete heroic cultivator, the standards of the human ranks weren't enough to define him anymore .
A tentacle came out from the surface of the lake and tried to pierce Noah with its sharp tip but his hand shot toward the slippery limb of the beast and stopped its attach before it could reach his skin .
Noah's hand squeezed the large purple tentacle and held it still, its tip resembled a sharp hook that was as large as Noah's chest .
'I don't know this species of octopus-type magical beasts, it can hide its presence due to its ink but it also has a powerful body which doesn't really suit its former capability . Well, it's only in the middle tier anyway . '
Noah increased the strength behind his squeeze until the skin of the beast was torn into pieces, a hole appeared on the tentacle where there once was Noah's hand .
The water of the lake became darker, Noah knew that the octopus hiding in the lake was trying to hide its presence with its ink before attempting in a surprise attack .
'A being that uses darkness as a cover for its lethal attacks . '
Noah thought as he stared at the scene, his mental energy was continuously depleted to keep the Divine deduction technique active, Noah felt as if he had entered a peculiar mental state that allowed him to see part of himself in the environment that surrounded him .
Ten tentacles shot from the dark lake and converged in Noah's position, he didn't even look at them as a pair of white sabers appeared in his hands and slashed toward them .
Black lines appeared in the trajectory of the tentacles and directly severed them from the main body, Noah casually picked one of the severed limbs of the beast and bit it, his eyes never left the dark water of the lake during that gesture .
'A being that feeds on others to grow stronger, the hated union between two species . '
His mind continued to play his deepest thoughts, he sensed that he was understanding something about himself when his status as a hybrid was mentioned .
Countless bubbles appeared on the surface of the lake, filling Noah's mind with a dangerous feeling .
Black flames covered his figure, making him disappear from his position just before a massive hook pierced the air there, creating a shockwave that made the water of the lake fall into chaos .
Noah reappeared far away in the air, his eyes stared at what seemed the tentacle of a rank 5 magical beast before going back on the lake where the tall waves were dispersing the ink that had previously tainted the water .
'A being that Heaven and Earth wanted to destroy, a being that Heaven and Earth couldn't be bothered to dismantle . '
More than half of his mental energy had been depleted since he had activated the Divine deduction technique, it seemed that the peculiar mental state that he had reached required more fuel to be maintained .
Yet, he felt that he had obtained some sort of realization, something that he believed could be his starting point .
'I am a mistake . '