'This thing again,' Noah thought while inspecting the breeding ground.
The red crystal didn't contain much. It was nothing more than a mineral filled with peculiar auras. It carried Noah's ambition and the same law of the Evolution Pit.
'This should be its best form,' Noah thought. 'The best form that its current energy can allow it to reach.'
The mole had evolved into the breeding ground after the fusion. Noah could understand the reasoning behind the transformation because his law carried similar properties. Yet, he was still unclear about its exact functioning.
That general understanding wasn't enough. Noah wanted to fuse the red crystals with his companions, so he wanted to know everything about those minerals. Only complete knowledge would satisfy him.
Noah's curiosity took control of his mind during his time inside the cave. Only countless tests could give him the answers that he needed. The Demonic Deduction technique couldn't help in the process, but Noah wasn't in a hurry.
The first experiment saw a thorough study of the breeding ground's behavior in the outside world. Noah dispersed the cage of higher energy and let the dark cloud interact freely with the matter around it.
The cloud didn't absorb energy, but the shadow of an upper tier mole soon came out of its surface. The breeding ground almost vanished, but the process allowed Noah to learn more about that species.
The mole that came out of the cloud was stronger than the creature captured in the underground area. The minute breeding ground left after the process was unable to give birth to more beasts, but it didn't disappear.
Noah linked that empowerment to the fusion. The mole didn't only evolve. It had also improved during the procedure, and that had given the breeding ground the ability to produce stronger creatures.
The new mole behaved as a proper magical beast. Noah could submit it easily, but he didn't manage to learn anything from the creature even after multiple interrogations.
'The breeding ground carries the collective intellect of the pack,' Noah concluded after those experiments.
Killing the mole replicated the process witnessed in the underground area. Noah broke the creature's neck countless times, but it always transformed into a shadow that flowed back into the breeding ground.
The cloud would then give birth to the mole again, in a cycle that didn't seem to have an end.
Still, the mole wasn't completely immortal. The cloud lost minute parts of its fabric every time the creature died and reformed. The breeding ground couldn't keep going forever.
Feeding the mole restored the cloud. The width of the breeding ground depended on how much energy its creations managed to retrieve.
The more Noah learnt about that species, the less he felt that the mole could become a suitable Blood Companion. That creature could only work as a meat shield. It had sharp claws, but its innate ability heavily affected its physical prowess.
Only the ability of the breeding ground was interesting. That cloud could revive the members of its pack, and Noah wondered whether he could harness that power to transform it into a technique.
'It's similar to the Second-Life Formation,' Noah thought as memories surged in his mind. 'It works so well with the moles because they are quite weak and need less energy to be born again. It will take far more to revive one of my companions or me.'
Theoretically, Noah had the power and the expertise to replicate that breeding ground and adapt it to his needs. However, the power carried by his existence was immense. He would have to store an unfathomable amount of energy to make that technique work.
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He also had to consider the various flaws that his replica would have. Noah wasn't as simple as the moles. His existence carried too many features, and a single breeding ground might not suit him.
Noah could compensate those flaws with more energy, but that would mean adding requirements to an already unrealistic technique. Creating it was possible, but he wouldn't know if it worked until he died.
'It doesn't seem a project that I can approach now,' Noah concluded. 'I desperately need nutrients to improve. Wasting them in this project will slow down my growth.'
Noah would have to amass enough energy to replicate his body, dantian, mind, and black hole. No rank 7 cultivator would gather so many resources and decide to store them for a miraculous technique.
His growth would also force him to adjust the energy stored in the technique constantly. That ability would end up consuming most of his gains, ultimately crippling his cultivation level.
'This goes beyond the fairness of Heaven and Earth,' Noah thought.
Part of Noah knew that the technique was feasible, but it was too expensive. It also went against his existence. Delaying his growth had never been in his plans.
The idea of fusing that innate ability with the workshop crossed his mind, but Noah eventually rejected it. His endless army of beasts and the breeding ground shared similar features, but Great Builder's technique was better when used with the dark world.
Noah could use the nigh-endless energy contained in the black hole to fuel the workshop. The breeding ground lost less power to revive its creations, but it was slower, and it required the beasts to return inside the cloud.
'What a pity,' Noah concluded before discarding any idea of transforming the mole into something useful. 'The red crystals seem reliable at least.'
His new understanding of the red crystals was the true reward of the experiments. Noah even tried to fuse more minerals into the mole, but they didn't manage to apply transformations anymore. They only made the creature more inclined to evolve further.
With that knowledge, Noah could finally move to experiments that would improve his battle prowess. He only had to decide from which companion he had to start.
'I might lose them if something goes wrong,' Noah thought before heaving a helpless sigh.
Noah had performed the fusion only once and on a simple magical beast. The process with Snore, the Demonic Sword, Night, and the Demonic Form would be harsher since the companions were complicated existences.
Noah had to make a difficult decision. His first choice had more chances to suffer from his inexperience. He was basically deciding which companion was expendable.
'Are you willing to be the first?' Noah asked as a large reptilian head materialized in the cave.
Snore's power had surpassed Noah's at times, and it was versatile. However, Noah had created it from scratch. He could rebuild an identical body any time. He only needed to find a suitable will to replace the Albino Snake.
Night's innate abilities were too peculiar, and Noah didn't know if he could recreate the Demonic Sword. The parasite was also unique. Snore was the obvious choice, but he wanted to make sure that the snake understood his intentions.
Snore sensed Noah's feelings and released a loud hiss that spread through the area. Its body materialized and destroyed the cave, transforming it into a large hole in the middle of the region.
Noah found himself in front of the massive snake, but Snore soon lowered its head to perform a bow. The Blood Companion was offering its life to Noah. It even radiated some excitement at the thought of becoming stronger.