Birth of the Demonic Sword Chapter 2354. Food

Sounds of groans, gasps, and various noises echoed across the regions. The strike from Heaven and Earth had drained most of the core team, leaving some powerhouses in dire need of recovery. Still, Noah couldn't tear his attention away from the entity that had pierced his awareness.

'What?' Noah exclaimed inwardly, unable to restrain himself, before shooting ahead.

Noah extended his consciousness well beyond its usual boundaries, enabling him to perceive the whole higher plane. All troops from Heaven and Earth's forces had vanished. Now, only his group and that novel sky occupied the higher plane.

Even the vast emptiness of the higher plane failed to divert Noah. He pressed on until he hovered right before the white layer. The sky concealed nothing from his senses, yet assessing its might proved challenging.

Noah's instincts didn't scream in terror at the sky, but hesitation gripped him. He sensed the vast power gap between himself and the white layer. His perception likely couldn't grasp the full threat it represented.

However, as moments ticked by, Noah grasped that the sky posed no harm. It remained still and quiet. Its structure didn't resemble a living being or a world. The white layer seemed merely like an etched artifact.

'Is it empty?' Noah pondered while reaching out to graze the sky.

Indescribable feelings surged through Noah's arm. He detected power surpassing the higher plane entirely, and his mind couldn't fathom its full extent.

The concepts embedded in the sky formed a separate mystery. Noah faintly recognized echoes of what Heaven and Earth had unleashed in the last battle, but darkness shrouded most details. His consciousness couldn't probe the depths the white layer attained.

'What does this even mean?' Noah cursed silently.

The issue baffled him deeply. Noah couldn't fathom how a simple artifact held such profound concepts, but he eventually shoved those musings aside. Perhaps his mind simply couldn't comprehend the evolution Heaven and Earth had undergone.

"What does this even mean?" King Elbas uttered, signaling his arrival beside Noah.

"I have no idea," Noah replied as additional experts departed their spots to draw near and examine the sky.

"Can-?" King Elbas began before cutting himself off. His eyes shifted to Noah, then to their allies, but helplessness marked his face.

Noah grasped King Elbas' unfinished query since identical ideas raced through his thoughts. His initial impulse had been to stab through the sky, but contact quelled that drive. The white layer qualified as a true rank 10 treasure. Rank 9 beings couldn't shatter it.

"What about Heaven and Earth?" Alexander questioned feebly as numerous healing techniques mended his wounds.

"Heaven and Earth are dead!" A known voice boomed from afar.

Noah's entire organization whipped toward the voice's origin, spotting pale glows emerging from the sky. Caesar and the remnants of Heaven and Earth's army materialized in the void, yet the event continued.

Countless patches of pale radiance bloomed in front of the sky, teleporting objects into existence. Before long, planets, continents, and diverse planes crammed the void, gathering at its core.

Noah could scarcely trust his vision. Certain landmasses held only human-rank materials and creatures. Others scarcely qualified as higher planes. Even lifeless beasts appeared among them, their levels ranging from heroic to divine ranks.

Familiarity washed over Noah, requiring little reflection to identify its source. He had witnessed some of those planes previously. They hailed from the Mortal Lands and other realms trapped under Heaven and Earth's domain.

"Heaven and Earth are dead!" Caesar reiterated, advancing to distance himself from his army. "Congratulations. Surviving the final battle signifies your triumph."

"What exactly does that mean?" Noah demanded, his human words laced with snarls.

"It means exactly what I said," Caesar affirmed, flashing his signature wide grin. "You won. You vanquished Heaven and Earth."

A dark streak abruptly sliced across Caesar, linking two ends of the sky. The strike poured its force solely into the targeted spot, sparing weaker nearby lands. Nevertheless, Caesar endured unscathed. His form crumbled into white mist before reconstituting.

"You can't hurt me," Caesar boasted gleefully. "I won't perish while the sky endures."

"What about your companions?" King Elbas menaced, conjuring a clump of faux quasi-rank 10 energy in his palm.

"They…," Caesar said, eyeing his followers before returning his stare to the foes. "They must choose their allegiance. Heaven and Earth granted one exception, but no more will follow."

"How can they make an exception if they are dead?" Noah probed.

"You should have understood this by now?" Caesar mocked. "You boast some top minds in higher energy forms. The leap to Heaven and Earth's state isn't far."

Noah and King Elbas shared a look before fixating on the sky again. All their knowledge of Heaven and Earth surged through their thoughts, until realization struck.

"Exactly," Caesar cheered upon seeing comprehension dawn on the experts' expressions. "Heaven and Earth sprang from a single path. Breakthrough was eternally doomed without erasing that defect."

Noah couldn't resist glancing at the sky once more. His prior sensations rang true. The sky was purely an artifact now, though that status wouldn't last.

"Death and rebirth," King Elbas noted.

"Correct," Caesar proclaimed. "The sole path for dual-path cultivation is singular birth. Your endeavors and Heaven and Earth's brilliance forged this success. The rulers shall perish only to resurrect as the universe's mightiest rank 10 entity."

All pieces clicked into place. Noah achieved total clarity on events. Heaven and Earth had never aimed for outright victory. The final battle held no true concern for them. They had always strived for this outcome.

Noah's group's battles had refined Heaven and Earth's crystal energy to perfection. Severing redundant concepts finalized that process, propelling the rulers to their ultimate form.

With ideal fuel secured, Heaven and Earth merely awaited rebirth. That renewal would purge hidden flaws, birthing a fresh powerhouse fueled solely by crystal energy.

"What about these lands?" Noah inquired.

"They are food for Heaven and Earth's rebirth," Caesar clarified.

"What about us?" Noah questioned. "Rank 9 existences can live forever."

"Theoretically," Caesar highlighted. "Worlds can persist independently, yet lacking trials and outer stimuli leads to decay. It may span eons, but Heaven and Earth hold no rush."

Noah's mind reshaped the response. Caesar avoided stating it outright, but Noah knew reality. His organization and the sky's enclosed lands had become mere sustenance.