Chapter 152: 3° Stage of the Qi Liberation realm

The journey continued steadily over the next two days.

Kyrian maintained the mount’s pace, adjusting only small deviations whenever the mark on his hand pulsed more strongly.

The black horse with wide wings showed no signs of fatigue on the first day, advancing with strength and stability.

The altitude remained practically the same throughout the entire route, above the clouds, where visibility was wide and the wind cut past with uniform speed.

For the entire first day, Kyrian simply watched the sky. He found no cities along the way, nor any signs of cultivators at that altitude.

Only a few flying beasts, but none dared to approach a beast in the core formation realm.

Every few hours, Kyrian checked the mark. The heat it produced increased softly, signaling that they were heading in the right direction.

When the sun set for the second time and the sky grew completely dark, Kyrian pulled the horse’s reins.

“Descend here.”

The beast responded without hesitation. Its two wings retracted slightly as it began a stable descent.

Breaking through layers of cloud until reaching a flat, rocky area below. It was an irregular plain, but solid enough for the beast to land safely.

The creature beat its wings one last time and settled on the dark surface. Its hooves scraped lightly against the stones, showing a certain wear.

Despite being strong, it still needed to rest after flying for so long at high speed.

Kyrian dismounted.

The night wind was cold, and the environment was solitary and silent.

He looked around for a moment, assessing the region. There was no movement. No beasts or living beings nearby.

It was good enough.

Kyrian stopped to let the horse rest a bit, but also, mainly, because he felt the limit loosen.

Kyrian sat on a larger rock and took from his spatial ring a small mountain of spirit stones, low and mid-level.

Stones more than enough to make his cultivation advance to the next stage.

The mark on his hand burned faintly as he prepared.

Kyrian adjusted himself and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, countless particles appeared in his vision. It was denser than that of the sect’s mountains but not as dense as the environment of the Blood Court.

But it didn’t matter. The breakthrough would come from the stones, not the environment.

Kyrian then raised the first spirit stone between his fingers. A common stone that any cultivator would absorb slowly and carefully to avoid taking in impurities through their techniques.

But Kyrian didn’t need to worry about that.

Kyrian opened his eyes wide.

The blood eyes, completely red, seemed to pulse slowly. Kyrian then lifted the stone.

The spirit stone reacted instantly, turning into powder the next moment.

All the energy accumulated over years in the stone was completely absorbed by Kyrian’s eyes.

The Qi ran through the infinite channels of his eyes, being completely purified and concentrating in his dantians.

Kyrian then raised the second stone, then the third. And so he continued.

As the stones turned to powder, the energy within Kyrian’s eyes increased quickly.

Until a growing pressure built up in his eyes, but Kyrian kept absorbing until he felt the threshold.

“Now.”

Finally, Kyrian guided the last stone needed. His eyes absorbed it, the Qi was guided through the dantians, concentrating in a single point and expanding.

A sensation exploded from the inside out, breaking the barrier that kept him in the 2° stage.

The Qi stabilized soon after. The breakthrough was complete.

Kyrian felt a pure energy burst from his eyes and spread through his body, strengthening him a bit more.

And then, finally, the 3° stage of the Qi Liberation realm.

Kyrian exhaled slowly. There was no special glow, no dramatic vision like what happened when he broke through a major realm. Just his strength increasing. Which was more than enough for him.

Then he looked at the beast beside him. The creature was lying down, breathing deeply. Recovering the energy it spent during the flight. Kyrian thought for a moment and called the beast.

“Eat. It’s for you.” Kyrian said as he threw the rest of the pile of spirit stones to the beast.

This way, the horse’s recovery would be faster. And Kyrian wouldn’t miss those stones anyway.

If he did, he would just talk to Dong Zhen, at least that’s what Kyrian thought.

The horse swallowed the spirit stones happily as it closed its eyes.

It would still take a few hours before it was ready.

Kyrian crossed his legs and waited. Time passed quickly.

When the faint light of dawn appeared on the horizon, the winged beast lifted its head, shaking its heavy wings. The rest had been more than enough.

In fact, Kyrian could feel that the beast’s strength had even increased slightly.

Kyrian stood up. He brushed the dust from his clothes.

“Let’s go.”

The beast approached, as if understanding the command. Kyrian mounted with the same straightforward motion as before.

The black horse took a few steps, opened its wings, and rose into the air again.

The moment they reached enough altitude, Kyrian looked at the mark.

This time, it burned stronger.

“It’s close,” Kyrian murmured.

He leaned forward, guiding the mount toward a narrower direction between two mountain ranges. The beast’s speed increased with the wind current.

Then, minutes turned into hours.

The sky became clearer, bluer, and more open.

By the end of the morning of the third day, Kyrian finally saw something in the distance.

The mark burned intensely, as if trying to call for his direct attention.

Kyrian narrowed his eyes. Far below, a vast expanse of uneven mountains and narrow valleys stretched outward.

Kyrian brought the winged horse closer, descending a few dozen meters to observe better. The mark burned even more, pulsing as if in response to what lay ahead of him.

Between the mountains, a wide river cut through the terrain, but something was wrong.

The water flowed forcefully for hundreds of meters… until it simply stopped.

It wasn’t a waterfall, nor a slope, nor rocks blocking the path.

It was as if an invisible wall had been raised in the middle of the river’s natural course…

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