Iron Feathers felt confused when he saw that Noah wasn't inside the black cloud. However, that feeling only lasted for an instant since a dangerous sensation rose from the back of his mind and forced him to focus.
Iron Feathers turned as he followed the origin of that sensation and saw Noah charging at him. He wasn't using the Demonic Form because Elder Julia's spell wouldn't have been able to hide him otherwise, and he had even dispersed his other spells.
The Demonic Sword laid on his shoulder, and he kept his arms spread as he neared the cultivator of the Empire. Elder Julia's protection had lasted enough to get Noah close to the expert, but there were still fifty meters left to cross to reach him.
Noah could cross that distance in less than an instant, but Iron Feathers had all the time to control his defenses too. The few feathers remaining around his body and the two-winged birds around him pointed at Noah as they prepared themselves to attack.
However, Noah had already attacked. The walls of his mental sphere had started to tremble since he saw Iron Feathers turning, and an ethereal saber formed in front of him. The Mental Saber spell to shoot toward his opponent while he was still busy controlling his metal weapons.
As a mental attack, the ethereal saber was extremely fast. Also, Noah was close to Iron Feathers already, so his attack landed on his head even before he could understand what threat was coming for him.
Iron Feathers lost control of his spells when the saber hit his sea of consciousness. His vision went dark, and his consciousness retracted inside his sphere to stop the tremors that swept its walls.
Generally speaking, Noah's mental attack would often incapacitate his opponents for a few seconds, enough for him to complete the preparations for the second form of his martial art. Still, Iron Feathers was an old monster in the solid stage with a mental sphere that matched his dantian in terms of power.
His mind carried the experience accumulated through centuries of cultivation and battles. The Mental Saber spell incapacitated him only for a fraction of an instant before reopening his eyes and using all his concentration to reclaim control over his metal weapons.
Yet, Noah had reached him at that point.
Noah looked at Iron Feathers' bloodshot eyes and couldn't help but feel some respect for that existence. He could see how the cultivator of the Empire didn't stop the tremors in his mind and was forcing himself to regain control of his mental faculties in a desperate attempt to survive.
Iron Feathers was mighty and worthy of the respect due to a cultivator who had reached the last stage of the fifth rank. Still, Noah had to kill him to tilt the scales of the war on the invaders' favor and to seize his dantian.
The metallic feathers and birds shot toward Noah as he swung his arms toward his opponent. Iron Feathers wasn't ready to give up just yet. After all, he only needed to kill Noah before he could touch him.
A metallic bird aimed for Noah's right shoulder, but he didn't do anything to stop it. A feather went for his left eye, and Noah tilted his head to dodge it. Another bird tried to target his heart, but the Demonic Sword shot forward to slow down its assault.
A third bird tried to attack from his left side now that the living weapon was gone, but Noah's hand shot to grab the metallic pupped by its neck. Then, Noah's right hand touched Iron Feathers' low-waist.
Iron Feathers saw everything happening in slow motion. Noah blocked only the attacks that could threaten his life and let the others stab his body. His expression didn't change either. His reptilian eyes expressed only determination and didn't show any pain or struggle.
Then, Iron Feathers saw Noah's right arm reaching for his low-waist. Noah had arched his fingers during the attack, and his opponent couldn't help but think of his hand as the claw of a magical beast. Noah's pointy black nails helped in conveying that image too.
Iron Feathers hoped that his skin and muscles could resist for even an instant so that he could use his spells to stop the assailant. After all, his body was in the sixth rank of the lower tier. There was a chance that it could give him an instant.
However, he understood that all his hopes were nothing more than dreams when the tip of Noah's nails touched his skin.
Noah didn't feel any resistance at all as he trusted his arm forward. His hand pierced Iron Feathers' low-waist and came out from his back, holding a mixture of blood, muscles, and organs. There was even a shining spherical organ in Noah's palm, which made him retreat his arm quickly to secure it.
Iron Feathers' eyes had widened when he lost his connection with his dantian. He glanced at the arm stabbed in his waist before moving his gaze toward Noah, who was observing him.
Noah's vertical pupils trembled. It seemed that he was ready to launch another Mental Saber spell. Yet, no attack formed in front of him. Noah had just prepared the attack in case the cultivator of the Empire tried to kill himself before he managed to eat the dantian.
After all, Noah didn't know the limits of the Second Life formation. The centers of power were part of an entity, especially when it came to existences in the fifth rank. They would express their individuality and be connected forever with them.
There was the chance that the light of Second Life formation would envelop Iron Feathers' severed dantian even if it were outside his body. Noah couldn't risk that. He had to expose Elder Julia's hiding abilities and suffer a few injuries to reach that result.
So, Noah prepared a Mental Saber spell in case Iron Feathers tried to use his mental energy to control the metallic weapons around him.
Noah retracted his arm and threw the contents of his palm in his mouth before grabbing the expert again. His eyes never left Iron Feathers during the process, but he could see how the cultivator of the Empire lost every hope when his dantian entered Noah's mouth.
A dense amount of energy filled Noah's body. His cells destroyed Iron Feathers' solid "Breath" and turned it into primary energy that nourished all his tissues.
His wounds stopped bleeding and started to heal under the influence of that intense wave of energy, but Noah's focus was on the "Breath" of the earth element still inside his body.
After every part of Iron Feathers' "Breath" became primary energy, Noah felt confident that he had severed any connection the expert had with the second life formation and decided to release him.
Iron Feathers fell, and red light surrounded him when he crashed on the ground. Noah didn't feel anything happening inside him. His theory appeared to be on point. He had successfully exploited a flaw of the Second Life formation.