There were many factions in the Icebound World, with what could be considered forces of evil and good fighting on opposing sides. There were thousands of what could be considered innocents dying every day while the tyrannical powerful continued to roam free. Noah didn't care too much about this, and was only treating this world as a place that he could send a few of his Harbingers to train and upgrade their power, with the ultimate goal of forming yet another World Connection once his people reigned in supreme power.
The one chosen to lead this expedition to the Icebound World was the first beast of the Frozen Plateau Spiritual Land, the Emperor Penguin! His beak rose into the skies after this was decided as coming along with him were the Imperial Phoenix, Kazuhiko, and the Kraken.
Steel Mikhail wished to stay true to his role as the protector of the Blue Planet, staying behind to clear the dungeons as he continued to oversee the smooth operations of the Blessed Empire and the United Federation.
Agares would occupy his role to keep watch and strengthen the forces of the Demon World while the White Tiger and Black Tortoise would work together with the Ice Queen to strengthen the forces of the Frozen Kingdom and the Mythical Kingdoms of the Beast World.
Everybody had their roles, and now it was just to allow the passage of time as they steadily rose their power.
The rise of something obscure and unknown was slowly occurring in a small corner of the universe. It was an unknown force that would take the center stage amongst the oncoming chaos.
Chapter 247 - A Confused Devilish Unveiler
In a barren mountain filled with heavy snow, a figure silently teleported amidst the freezing winds. His senses spread out as he observed the world around him for miles, nodding his head as he waved his hands and let out multiple figures onto the snowy ground.
The sleek and shining fur of the Emperor Penguin glistened in the light as he appeared, surrounded by multiple other beasts from the Spiritual Land. Kazuhiko appeared next, accompanied by two beast girls; one holding a fiery tail of a phoenix and another innocently looking around with feline features. Kazuhiko had vehemently voiced out that one could not have fun on an adventure without a balanced party like his.
The Imperial Phoenix also appeared next, surrounded by her generals and protectors. The fearsome Kraken and other Calamities of the Sea were already floating in the air, and the only figure that was missing was the voluptuous Barbatos. She didn't want to be bothered with what she termed laborious tasks, and opted to train in the Time Space of the Spiritual Land whenever she wasn't enjoying the luxuries built by Noah all around.
The ones that had the mission of the Icebound World were observing their surroundings closely as they looked forward to beginning their journey in this world.
"Side with those being unfairly treated, and kill those you see are blatantly causing death and mayhem while you increase your influence. Don't target those blindly following orders, but the generals and upper ranks that push their agenda onto them. But most of all, grow stronger as you increase your skills and raise your powers."
Noah reminded them of things they already discussed as a brilliant light bounced off the sleek fur of the Emperor Penguin, his flippers pounding his chest as he told his Master that he could be counted on!
Noah observed this with a light smile as he grasped the Dagger of Time, confirming his thoughts as he unleashed a force of multiple Phantasmal ranked beings on an unsuspecting world.
His forces had arrived in the warring Icebound World.
Possibilities and plans were reviewed over and over again before Noah nodded his head and disappeared from this new world, moving on to his own plans as he used {Spatial Transfer} with a singular destination in mind, the World of Cultivation.
---
Confusion was gradually setting into the mind of the Devilish Time Unveiler as he spread out his senses deep within the coffin he was confined in to confirm that the Dagger of Time that was floating above the coffin was inexplicably gone.
He did not feel it disappear, nor watch as someone took it. It just felt...gone, like he never had it!
His confusion grew into anger as the thoughts fell into place, and he realized just what exactly might have happened in order for the Dagger of Time to not be with him currently.
Someone had stolen his partner, and they inexplicably had the sheath that he lost before he went into slumber, and they used it to activate the Dagger of Time with them! His barely waking mind raged as he pieced the things together, his anger rising to levels never before felt as he chose to quickly change his plans.
He was manipulating from the sidelines as he released more and more news about his Devilish Abode, wanting to rope in the maximum number of beings that would serve as fuel for his revival. He planned to do this a few days from now, but he was now forced to do it in advance as he now felt that there was an unknown enemy that had already bested him once and taken his only true treasure!
Essence spread out as he used his last wisps of remaining energy to open the Realm in advance, word quickly spreading to the surrounding Sects as watchers were spread throughout the area and observed the changes.
Information traveled quickly as Cultivators from the Time Immemorial Sect and other surrounding sects quickly gathered and entered the Dangerous Realm, accompanied by otherworlders like the Black Serpent from the Magus World as they greedily went in to look for the treasures of the Devilish Time Unveiler!
Unknown to them, the skeletal body of the being they thought to be dead was already pulsing with life as some beings from Phantasmal and Transcendent rank began to face their deaths in the specially designed spaces of the Devilish Abode, a dangerous light passing through the blank darkness where the eyes of the Devilish Time Unveiler used to be as he began to laugh and cackle in his black coffin.
'Haha, whoever you are, I'll be sure to pay you back one hundredfold for stealing my treasure!'
He was ecstatic as he began to focus on devouring the oncoming origins, not noticing that in the same cavernous space that he had not allowed any beings to enter yet, a single being had inexplicably appeared far in the distance of the trembling temple that housed his coffin!
The focus of the Devilish Time Unveiler was fully placed into absorbing the oncoming origins as much as possible. He needed to regain much of his power before this unknown enemy that now held in his hands the Dagger of Time could even get the chance to reap his life while he wasn't fully recovered.
'The Dagger of Time required the use of a tremendous amount of Time Essence! Even someone at the Void Fimmerment Realm would not be able to produce enough Time Essence to fill the Sheath Regalia in such a short period of time, so the Dagger will be unusable if the enemy chose to come back now!'
Yes! From his knowledge, he had some time before his unknown enemy would ever get the idea of coming, and thus he needed to move his plans forward differently from what he would have done before, changing any possible future that his enemy would have seen!
"Haha, Haha!"
Crackles of laughter resounded throughout as the Devilish Time Unveiler felt things coming into place, the origins he had absorbed being enough to allow his cultivation stage to start breaking through the Saint Realm once more!
He felt this overpowering feeling of strength as essence converged towards his core, feeling ecstatic as he would be one rank away the moment he stabilized his cultivation in the Saint Realm! This was his power, it laid in his deep planning and schemes that allowed him to revive hundreds of years after he should have been dead. Even if he had lost his treasure to a wicked enemy in a previous time, he would get it back and pay them back a hundredfold. He began stabilizing his cultivation at the Saint Realm as grandiose thoughts floated through his head.
It was at this moment though, that he suddenly felt resounded alarm bells as he spread his senses outwards, feeling speedily approaching attacks that caused cracks to spread throughout the temple and the sky around the cavernous space to tremble!
What!
<
br /> To his horror, in the middle of his breakthrough to the Saint Realm, at this extremely crucial juncture, someone that had been hiding from his senses attacked him!
"WHO DARES!!!"
Chapter 248 - Too Much!
"WHO DARES!!!"
Rumbling ensued as he felt a strain in his core, stopping his advancement halfway as he directed his half Saint Realm essence to form an extremely minuscule Black Hole!
Different from a timeline that the Devilish Time Unveiler had yet to experience, this Black Hole did not have even half the strength it would have had when he used it against a descending Spiritual Land.
He frantically placed more essence to stabilize the protective Black Hole that flew towards the numerous and heavy attacks that were raining from the skies!
A large amount of extremely condensed white dwarf stars that carried a tremendous amount of weight were crashing down towards his coffin nonsensically. As if this was not enough, accompanying these many stars was a brilliantly shining golden trident that shone with an outline of a menacing red light. Coursing on the empty spaces of these stars and gloriously shining weapons were jagged spikes of bones that painted a picture never before seen.
The sky over the cavernous space shimmered with beautiful white light from the wide expanse on deadly bones, white dwarf stars, and a piercing golden Trident of the Sea that thundered down to meet the center of the coffin!
BOOOM!
A vigorous tremor spread out as the coffin housing a skeletal figure exploded out, the temple it was housed on top of crumbling to the ground!
"HMPH!"
An arrogant snort rang out as the emaciated skeleton was filled with confidence even after this sneak attack at a critical juncture, but it was just him not being aware that he had already fallen under the effects of multiple debuffing and weakening skills, while his pride was already getting boosted rapidly to extremely high degrees. Half of his chest bones were missing as he was dealt a heavy blow as a golden trident was solidly wedged within, but he still stood strong.
The Devilish Time Unveiler looked at the highest point of the cavernous space as he found the outline of a fiendish demon with an aura that screamed regality. His emaciated body moved quickly as he moved to eliminate the deadly intruder, using the half Saint Realm essence that he could not finish consolidating as he started off with the strongest attack he could muster to end this quickly!
"Spatial Rupture!"
Ruptures spread out in space as they sn.a.k.e.d through the skies, trying to lock on to an abstruse target in the skies.
The Devilish Time Unveiler looked on expectantly when a foreboding feeling erupted as he heard a single word!
"Stop."
…
OOOM
A distinct droning sound rang out as the ruptures spreading through space came to a stop. Silence and calmness pervaded the surroundings as in the hands of a fearsome Arch Demon Lord in the skies, a purple and golden dagger had appeared. Its regal sheath showed rapidly reducing purple lines as an ability that used the most Time Essence was activated!
[Stop] :: Time can be brought to a halt in a specified area. This ability goes against natural laws and will require a tremendous amount of Time Essence every time it is active. 24 hours are required before this ability can be used again.
In the cavernous space around them, time had come to a stop. The Devilish Time Unveielr watched with endless horror as an ability he was very much familiar with was used against him. Terror began creeping in as this old schemer saw the fast movements of the only being that could move in this stopped time, the initiator of the ability of the Dagger of Time, the one who had taken it from him!
Noah saw the trembling light in the eyes of this fearsome schemer as he moved rapidly, the Time Essence he had fully recharged in the [Sheath Regalia] reducing at high speeds as he kept the ability to stop time active. He only had a few seconds.
His figure moved in a circular manner around the skeletal figure that was frozen in space, its hands reaching towards the skies as he cast a tremendous amount of skills all around.
The enhanced ability of the {Sin of Pride}, [White Dwarf Throw] was being cast hundreds of times per second as twinkling miniature stars formed a circle around the skeletal figure. The {Eye of Fate} was on full display as it provided tremendous boosts to all of his skills while reducing the defenses of the Devilish Time Unveiler through the uses of [Domineering Fate] and [Empowering Fate]. {Celestial Aura} was already activated as it went to achieve the same effects, just compounding how much damage his skills could do while weakening the enemy in front of him.
[Sin Empowerment], [Rage Empowerment], [Fury Channeling], [Aura of Pride]...there were actually too many skills one could spend hours singularly looking at them and their exuberant effects, but the core of their purpose remained the same.
They heavily boosted his attributes and damage he could deal while heavily weakening his enemies, simple as that!
On top of all these enhancing skills, any attack skill he cast would be crazily boosted in power. The domineering white dwarf stars droned with power as they filled the surroundings of the skeletal figure, just waiting for time to resume before they came thundering down. Around these white dwarf stars appeared endless spiked bones as the Ultimate Skill, {Bone Master}, was also used multiple times.
Skills from the Seven Deadly Sins series and {Bone Master} were the only ones currently being used, with him not dipping into his combined skills that surpassed the Transcendent Rank after more than 30 days of constant maxing of proficiencies and combinations. This was just was one of the pathways that Noah had foreseen through using [Insight], one the best and fastest ways of achieving his goals!
The Time Essence in the [Sheath Regalia] was rapidly being used up as the Devilish Time Unveiler watched on with horror as one layer of domineering white dwarf stars surrounded by bones with menacing lights that covered his eyesight. He had faced an attack of this level just before, and it had nearly destroyed his upper right chest. Now, another one was coming the moment time began to move again, and he could not defend himself!
He prepared for the worst, but soon came to realize that he did not fully imagine what the 'worst' could be.
One could still see gaps among the numerous stars and bones that surrounded him in a circular manner, but that soon changed as he observed another set of stars and bones form a second layer.
The area where he was surrounded in gradually became dark as all the gaps were filled with even more attacks. Terror was fully unbound within the Devilish schemer's heart as he did not understand how his enemy could produce such a large number of attacks in this instant.
Even him during his prime would have run out of energy by now, so he wondered how his enemy had layered so many attacks in a matter of seconds!
His achievements in the Law of Spacetime allowed him to barely use his senses in this stopped time as he despairingly felt another layer of white dwarf stars and bones appear.
A fourth layer.
A fifth layer.
By the sixth layer, the darkness of his skeletal eyes completely dimmed as only sparse thoughts passed through his mind.
'Wasn't this too much?'
'Wasn't this unfair?'
A single thought, and it was the last thought of a thousand-year-old schemer as the force of hundreds of white dwarf stars surrounded by piercing bones that caused space to tremble came tumbling down the moment time could move forward again.
CRACK!
Chapter 249 - Annoyance with Spatial Locks
A tremor shook the entire Devilish Abode, the beings inside it feeling a destabilizing of space as something akin to the most horrendous bomb had exploded.
In a particular cavernous space, space was trembling as it weaved back together, the power concentrated at one location having been too tremendous for the spatial laws of this world and causing it to fold.
In the space where a large temple and a black coffin used to stand, sandy white particl
es of bones were all that remained as Noah let out calm breaths. He saw the burst of skill books and cores erupt from the grounded skeleton that was the Devilish Time Unveiler as he confirmed the schemer's death!
Through [Insight], he had seen that one of the fastest ways he could have taken down the thousand-year-old cultivator quickly and without waiting for any unforeseeable events was to attack while he was trying to stabilize his cultivation at the Saint Realm.
Begin with a single attack that would weaken and reduce his defenses without his knowledge, and then use the killer combination of actually stopping time, however briefly, to unleash a concentrated attack from all sides!
The result was the death of an old schemer who still did not fully know what was going on.
In his regal Arch Demon Lord form, Noah went forward and collected the loot as he used [Devouring] on the remaining crushed up bones as he quickly perused the memories of the Devilish Time Unveiler. He made it his goal to take this being down not just as a payback, but also because it was a cultivator that was proficient in the Law of Spacetime.
He wanted to peek at the memories and skills, as well as possibilities to the problem that he always faced when he was in the most danger- not being able to teleport because someone more powerful had locked space!
His mind moved quickly as his body automatically disappeared into the Time Space of the Spiritual Land, knowing that combing through the memories of a thousand-year-old schemer would take some time, and there were still other beings in this Devilish Abode.
---
The Magus leading the expedition into the Devilish Abode, Black Serpent, was warily sensing the surrounding space that had begun to tremble and destabilize as he chased down a group of cultivators from the Time Immemorial Sect.
His target was actually the group led by Elder Dan, the actual Elder Dan of the Time Immemorial Sect that had not been taken down by Noah this time!
The other Elders and Legacy Disciples with them were frantically throwing out attacks as they defended themselves against the power of the Saint Ranked Black Serpent, the image of a corporeal death serpent becoming rapidly solid as it bore its powerful jaws towards them.
Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse c1-705 Page 102
