Chapter 327: Inside the Gate

Kyrian studied the two formations carefully.

The first, the illusion formation, was relatively simple. Its purpose was merely to hide the gate from casual glances. Any cultivator with sharp perception or training in formations could notice that something was wrong. But most people would simply fly over the mountain without noticing anything.

The second, the barrier formation, was more complex. An invisible membrane of Qi enveloped the entire gate, preventing entry by anyone unauthorized. Kyrian touched the barrier with the tip of his fingers and felt a solid resistance.

But there was something strange.

Both formations were weak. Very weak. As if they had been left there for a long time, without maintenance, and were about to fall apart on their own. Kyrian estimated that, in a few days, both formations would disappear completely.

“Someone placed them here a long time ago.” Kyrian murmured, more to himself than to Arcon.

“And never returned to reinforce them.”

He could simply wait a few days and come back. But curiosity was stronger. Kyrian decided he would open the formations himself.

He had studied formations in the books he read during his time in the Verdant Sword. He understood enough to deal with simple and weakened formations like those.

First, the illusion.

Kyrian focused. His crimson eyes glowed as he examined the structure of the formation, searching for its core, the central point where all the formation’s energy was concentrated. With his eyes, he could see the flow of Qi moving through the symbols carved into the gate and the surrounding rock.

The core was in a jade plaque hidden behind a rocky protrusion, a few meters from the gate.

Kyrian walked there. The plaque was covered in dust and cracks, another sign of the formation’s advanced age. He removed it from the rock with a smooth motion.

Immediately, the illusion wavered.

A drop of scarlet blood appeared at the tip of his finger. He flicked it toward the plaque with a sharp snap.

The drop struck the center of the jade plaque.

Kyrian’s blood, imbued with his essence, his Qi, his intent, spread across the surface of the plaque like fire on dry paper. The symbols engraved in the jade shone intensely for a moment, then went dark.

The plaque split into three pieces.

At the same instant, the air around the gate distorted violently. The image of the rock wall that concealed the entrance fell apart. The great dark stone gate emerged completely, visible to anyone looking in that direction.

“The barrier remains.”

Kyrian approached the invisible membrane protecting the gate. It was weak but still resilient. He calculated that he would need a few strikes with all his strength to break it by brute force. But Kyrian did not like wasting unnecessary energy.

Instead, he decided to use his knowledge of formations to find a weak point.

His crimson eyes scanned the barrier millimeter by millimeter, analyzing the flow of Qi, searching for irregularities. The barrier was old and poorly maintained, full of points where Qi accumulated unevenly, creating internal tensions.

It was, in essence, similar to the barriers described in the formation books Kyrian had studied. But simpler. More basic.

Kyrian found the weakest point in less than a minute.

It was a small fracture in the structure of the barrier, where two flows of Qi collided at different angles, creating an instability. If he applied enough force at that exact point, the entire barrier would collapse.

Kyrian raised his right hand.

Five drops of blood emerged from the tips of his fingers, floating in the air like small red jewels. They spun slowly, then merged into a single larger drop, denser, pulsing with Qi and blood intent.

The drop glowed with a crimson light, so intense it looked like a small star.

Kyrian aimed at the weak point of the barrier.

And released it.

The drop of blood shot forward like an arrow, cutting through the air with a sharp hum.

The drop struck the weak point.

The barrier trembled violently. Cracks spread from the point of impact, like spiderwebs forming in shattered glass. The invisible membrane shuddered once, twice, three times.

Then, with a sound like glass shattering, the barrier broke apart.

Fragments of Qi shimmered in the air for an instant before dissipating completely.

Kyrian lowered his hand. The barrier no longer existed.

He approached the great dark stone gate. Now, without the formations protecting it, the gate seemed even more imposing. The symbols carved on its surface were ancient, a dialect Kyrian did not fully recognize, but which seemed to belong to a much earlier era.

What would someone hide there? And why?

Kyrian placed his hands on the gate and pushed.

At first, nothing happened. The gate was heavy, very heavy. Kyrian felt his muscles tense beneath the red robe of the Blood Court. He channeled Qi into his arms and pushed again.

This time, the gate groaned.

Slowly, very slowly, the two stone doors opened, revealing a dark passage that led into the heart of the mountain.

Kyrian entered.

The interior was cool and dry. The air carried the scent of ancient dust and damp stone. His crimson eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, revealing a short corridor that led to a larger chamber.

He walked to the end of the corridor and entered the chamber.

It was a large room, rectangular in shape, carved directly into the mountain rock. There was no furniture, no decorations, no sign of life. Only bare stone walls and, in the center of the room…

A tomb.

Kyrian stopped.

It was a stone coffin, raised on a low platform. The lid was closed, and there were no inscriptions or symbols indicating the identity of whoever lay within. The coffin was simple, almost austere, but the very existence of that place, hidden by two formations, suggested that its occupant was not an ordinary person.

Kyrian understood then. He had found the tomb of some ancient cultivator. Someone who, for unknown reasons, had chosen to be buried there, in the solitude of the mountain, far from prying eyes.

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