Magical beasts of the darkness element weren't as rare as cultivators, but they weren't easy to find either.
Noah spent the weeks after he departed from the fourth dome exploring the territories under the domain of the Hive, but he didn't find any creature that suited him.
Of course, he hunted and ate the beasts in the fifth rank that he could kill, but there didn't seem to be any species of the darkness element in the entirety of the southwestern coast.
It must be said that the magical beasts didn't have much space where to thrive after the Hive created and enlarged its four domes, and some of the strongest creatures had even been captured by Chasing Demon.
Also, there was the rocky wasteland with the lava lake that further repelled living beings.
The packs could only venture through the destroyed mountain chain or along the southern coast to find better environments.
The fruitless travel only forced Noah to look elsewhere for suitable prey.
He couldn't go in the domains of the other nations, but there were areas in the old continent that he knew featured what he needed.
His targets had to be limited to the areas of influence of the three nations, but he already had an idea of where to find suitable creatures.
Noah flew toward the forest of White Woods and took the teleportation matrix to return to the Coral archipelago.
Then, he flew toward alongside the mountain chain that divided the areas of influence of the Empire and the Utra nation to reach the Afria nation.
Noah had made sure to stay away from the city of Slyfall to avoid meeting Drew for the third time, and he had even activated the Dark cover spell not to notify the Wardens of his presence.
He wasn't completing any political task at that time, so it was better if his return in the old continent remained unknown.
The Afria nation used to have an encampment of the Hive.
Still, everything had been removed even before the conquest of the Lutren nation.
Yet, Noah's target was more toward the eastern coastline, in the gorge called Granite Abyss.
Noah didn't dispel his cover when he reached the gorge and was pleased to notice that the light still couldn't illuminate its depths.
'You didn't die in these twenty years then.'
Noah thought as he dived through the darkness that filled the gorge.
Rank 4 dragons of various tiers and species rested in the cavities along the rocky walls, but Noah released a low growl to warn them.
That was a battle between rank 5 creatures, and those weak beasts were only allowed to watch it.
The situation was quite troublesome since he was in enemy territory, and a fight between beings on that level was bound to create chaos.
Noah had to kill the rank 5 Cursed dragon quickly before any expert from the Empire came to investigate that area.
The growl spread through the walls of the canyon and awakened the weakened rank 5 dragon at its bottom that raised its head to search for the invader.
However, it couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary.
Noah's spell was fueled by the energy contained in his Liquid dantian, and the dragon couldn't possibly sense him when he made use of his solid stage battle prowess.
The dragon was about to release an angry roar when it didn't find Noah, but two trails of black flames appeared next to its neck and teleported two fuming slashes.
The rank 5 dragon was only in the lower tier, and Noah knew that well since he had managed to survive to its attack when he was only a rank 3 cultivator.
Also, it was weakened, so Noah's full-powered attacks managed to inflict deep wounds on its scaled neck.
The Cursed dragon roared in pain and released a wave of white flames while tilting its head.
The flames filled the bottom of the Granite Abyss and moved toward its upper parts, threatening to reach its entrance.
However, a black sphere appeared on their path at some point and absorbed their destructive force inside its shape.
Noah wasn't using his liquid "Breath" to fuel his abilities, so he didn't have access to the second form of his martial art and his new spell.
However, all his other abilities were on a higher level when he used the energy inside his Liquid dantian!
Noah's Black hole's spell absorbed the wave of flames and stored their energy inside its shape.
The dragon didn't accept that its flames could be beaten and continued to pour energy inside them.
Yet, the dark sphere in front of Noah only became bigger.
The dragon had to stop its offensive at some point, and Noah directly exploited that chance to teleport the spell above its figure.
The dark sphere began to destabilize when it came out of the black flames, and exploded when it touched the body of the Cursed dragon.
The condensed energy of the white flames, together with part of Noah's energy, was released in less than an instant and enveloped the weakened rank 5 beast.
Cracks appeared on the rocky walls, and some boulders began to fall toward the bottom of the canyon.
The clash between two rank 5 creatures was bound to affect the environment drastically.
Nevertheless, Noah had to be quick.
He kicked the air and sprinted toward the dragon while the might of the blast was still injuring it.
Then, he delivered four fast slashes on the wounded neck of the beast when he reached it.
Even the sturdy scales of a dragon couldn't endure Noah's physical might, especially those belonging to a weakened creature.
The dragon died as Noah severed its head, and he stored everything inside his space-ring before using the Warp spell to leave the canyon.
His last attacks had shattered the terrain under the beast and caused an earthquake that destabilized the entire structure of the Granite Abyss.
Big boulders began to fall and fill the bottom of the gorge.
Yet, Noah had already reappeared in the forest on the surface and was flying at full speed through the trees.
Noah flew south until he reached the mountain chain, where he dug a cave with his bare hands.
His senses didn't pick up any presence, so he was quite sure that no one had noticed and followed him.
Noah made the entrance of the cave crumble and took out his two rank 4 Demonic swords when the darkness filled that underground area.
The sabers appeared perfectly fine, but Noah was able to notice with his consciousness that minute cracks filled their insides.
Those rank 4 items were reaching their limits since Noah kept on fighting creatures in the fifth rank.
Also, Noah was simply too strong, and those inscribed weapons were barely able to endure his physical might.
'I need to become a rank 5 mage soon.'
Noah thought as he prepared the procedure for the creation of a Blood companion.
He was far too used to that practice, and the only problem at that point was piercing his skin.