At the gate of the inner area, Kyrian, dressed in his black robe that fluttered in the morning, was waiting for soone.
Suddenly, i Ran appeared, walking upright with her two swords at her waist. In her hands she was holding the reins of a great eagle.
Wu Jian ca a little behind, following along and looking sowhat absent-minded.
The sky was still pale, covered by clouds that hid the rising sun. The breeze carried the cutting wind of the sword formation.
i Ran glanced once at Kyrian before mounting the eagle she had brought.
"We will not speak much. Our ti is precious," she said.
Kyrian rely nodded. Wu Jian swallowed dryly and climbed up last, mounting his own flying beast.
The eagle then spread its white wings, flapping once before shooting into the sky.
The sect was left behind, shrinking into a small blot among the mountains.
During the journey, silence prevailed most of the ti.
Wu Jian avoided looking at Kyrian and i Ran. He was still visibly shaken, the mory of the black shadow still gnawed at him.
Kyrian, in turn, remained quiet. Looking downward. His mind worked incessantly.
That mist... that empty state... It was definitely the sa as what he had seen in the little fox Luz, who was still sleeping in his courtyard.
A strange and incomprehensible force, one that seed to dominate the minds of others without needing high cultivation.
’Destined.’
He suddenly thought of the words left behind. The word echoed in his mind. He did not know where this feeling ca from, but it was as if the world was pushing him toward these encounters.
After nearly three hours, Wu Jian pointed downward.
"There."
The eagle then descended, cutting through the wind.
The group landed in a wide clearing. The silence there was strange and disturbing. Nothing like that of an ordinary forest.
No sound of birds, no beasts roaring. The wind passed between the trees, bringing the only sound present.
"Strange." i Ran was the first to descend, her eyes sharp.
"This forest should be filled with beasts. But it seems... dead."
Kyrian followed, his green eyes sweeping every corner. And then he found what they had first co to look for.
In the corner of the clearing, Long Xue’s body lay motionless, like a fallen statue.
Wu Jian took a trembling step forward.
"S-she... she’s exactly as before," he said with a hesitant expression.
i Ran approached faster than the two. She knelt beside her. Placed two fingers over Long Xue’s neck.
She expected the worst, her face hardened.
But as soon as she waited a mont, surprise appeared on her face.
"She breathes. It’s almost imperceptible... but she is still breathing."
"That’s impossible. I saw her dead! The body was cold, the eyes empty," Wu Jian exclaid, his voice almost breaking.
"And it is still cold," i Ran cut him off.
"Too cold. Cold as ice. But still alive. She is in so strange state I cannot identify."
Kyrian slowly approached. The sight of the unmarked, intact body, yet with that strangeness, left a bitter taste in his mouth.
It was definitely an anomaly. One he disliked for so reason.
"He is not here. I see no trace of that youth. No trace of beasts. Nothing," i Ran said, looking around.
Kyrian lifted his head, his gaze distant. His mind returned precisely to the beast tide caused by the white fox. It was the sa sensation now. It was empty here, but there was definitely a storm elsewhere.
"Wu Jian. Is there any city nearby?" Kyrian suddenly asked, sharply.
Wu Jian thought for a mont, then replied.
"Yes... to the south, within the Scarlet Domain. A dium-sized city. It’s less than an hour’s flight away."
Kyrian turned to i Ran.
"That’s where the beasts went. I’m sure of it. The youth are controlling them. And if he is doing that, he will also be nearby."
The elder’s gaze narrowed. Her hands closed over the hilt of her sword.
"It makes sense. Wu Jian, you take Long Xue back to the sect. Perhaps the leader knows a way to heal her."
"It’s better for her to remain under the protection of the sect than risk taking her along, especially since you are not in a good state."
"I... I will obey," he replied after hesitating for a mont.
Then he picked Long Xue up in his arms and mounted his beast, which imdiately took flight shortly after.
i Ran then mounted her eagle again. Kyrian climbed up behind her. The white-feathered bird soared with a single flap of its wings, shooting back into the sky.
As they drew closer to the south, the horizon changed. Columns of black smoke rose, staining the sky.
The air slled of iron, smoke, blood, and destruction.
Then, they heard the screams. The distant roar of countless beasts mixed with the cries of the weak.
When the city appeared before them, i Ran’s heart tightened.
Kyrian also frowned at the sight.
The city walls had been shattered. The gates were reduced to dust.
Fierce beasts flooded the streets like torrents, knocking down buildings and chasing people. Chaos was total.
Kyrian imagined this would have been what happened to Misty City, if not for Old Wang to handle the stronger beasts.
But the beast tide here was on another level.
While Misty City had only five beasts in the Qi Liberation Realm, here Kyrian could not count how many beasts of that strength existed. They were spread throughout the city.
In the midst of them, Kyrian saw sothing that made his eyes widen.
A colossal ape, over ten ters tall, advanced through the city like a titan. The Qi and pressure it emanated were terrifying.
It was definitely the most powerful beast he had ever seen. Each step destroyed entire houses.
i Ran, watching, clenched her fists.
"If we don’t intervene, this city will be completely annihilated."
Kyrian, however, did not reply. His eyes swept through the city at high speed, searching for only one thing. Until suddenly, he found it.
There, on a side street. Amidst the smoke and destruction of the city stood the youth of the Scarlet Sun Sect.
He stood motionless. Above and around him, the mist, no, the black mass pulsed, alive, like a heart of hatred and hostility.
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