Mystic Eyes: My Eyes Steal the Laws of Cultivation

The first three days of the journey were monotonous.

The desolate plain gave way to gentle hills, covered in yellowish grass that swayed in the wind like slow waves. Small herds of beasts grazed along the slopes, lifting their heads when Arcon’s shadow passed over them.

Kyrian spotted a few small cities along the way, clusters of stone and wooden buildings surrounded by walls.

He could see cultivators training in open courtyards, merchants carrying goods along the roads, and children running between the houses.

He did not land in any of them. There was no need.

On the fourth day, the landscape changed.

The gentle hills gave way to a dense forest, tall trees with thick trunks and wide canopies that intertwined above, blocking the view of the ground. Kyrian flew above the treetops, watching the green sea stretch to the horizon.

The air became more humid. The scent of wet earth and decaying leaves rose up to him.

He saw a winged beast flying below, a large creature with leathery wings and a long tail, which observed him for a moment before diving toward the forest, likely in search of prey.

Kyrian did not care.

...

On the sixth day, he flew over the territory of a 4° level force.

He recognized it by the symbols on the banners fluttering above the walls of a city, a silver crescent moon over a dark blue background.

The Silver Moon Sect. One of the forces that had sent representatives to the Domain Gathering.

Kyrian did not slow down. There was no reason to announce himself. He simply passed by, a shadow in the sky, invisible to most.

Someone in the fortress must have seen him, however. Kyrian felt a spiritual sense directed toward him, a probing scan, likely from some curious elder.

He did not block it. He did not react. He simply continued flying.

The probe lingered for a few seconds, then withdrew.

Kyrian moved on.

...

On the seventh day, the forest came to an end.

Suddenly, the trees disappeared, replaced by a rocky plateau, gray and barren. The ground below was covered with loose stones and ancient craters, as if something enormous had fallen from the sky long ago.

Kyrian felt something strange in the Qi of the place. It was... murky. Heavy. As if something was corrupting the spiritual energy of the region.

He looked around with his crimson eyes, searching for the source.

Nothing. At least nothing visible.

He stored the information in his mind and kept flying.

...

The eighth and ninth days were spent crossing a desert. The air was dry, almost painful to breathe for ordinary people. Arcon beat his wings with more effort, clearly uncomfortable.

Kyrian fed the horse a few spirit stones, and they continued on.

In the middle of the desert, he saw ruins.

Ancient structures, half-buried in the sand, broken columns, collapsed walls, and faceless statues.

Kyrian could not tell which force those ruins had belonged to, nor how long they had been abandoned.

...

On the tenth day, the landscape changed again.

The desert was left behind, replaced by low hills covered in twisted, creeping vegetation. The air, once dry and hard to breathe, began to change.

It grew hotter.

Kyrian frowned. He lifted his eyes.

On the horizon, a mountain rose.

It was not an ordinary mountain. It was a volcano. A gigantic volcano, its peak lost in dark clouds. From its crater, red smoke rose in thick columns, staining the surrounding sky with a blood-orange hue.

Kyrian felt the heat increasing with each beat of Arcon’s wings. The black-winged horse neighed in discomfort but kept flying.

Kyrian took out Dong Zhen’s map and consulted it.

There it was. The volcano was marked on the map, with a note beside it.

"Active. Dangerous. Do not get too close."

And to the south of the volcano, a few days’ flight away, the City of Red Smoke.

Kyrian put the map away.

He could see why the city had that name. The red smoke from the volcano must spread across the region, tinting the sky with a reddish color. It must be an impressive sight.

For Kyrian, it was just another landmark along the way.

He had Arcon fly higher, trying to avoid the more intense heat rising from the slopes of the volcano. From above, he could see the structure of the mountain more clearly, the slopes covered in dark rocks, the fissures from which smoke escaped, and the rivers of lava slowly flowing down its sides.

Kyrian kept flying.

...

On the eleventh day, Kyrian flew over a small city on the outskirts of the volcano. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The buildings were low, made of dark stone, with slanted roofs so that volcanic ash would not accumulate. The streets were mostly empty, but Kyrian saw some cultivators walking between the buildings.

He noticed that many of them wore robes with symbols of flames or mountains. They were likely local forces, smaller sects that specialized in fire techniques, taking advantage of the proximity to the volcano.

Kyrian did not land. He kept flying.

...

On the twelfth day, he spotted another volcano.

This one was smaller than the first but still imposing. It also released red smoke, staining the sky around it. Kyrian began to understand the geography of the region, it was not an isolated volcano but a volcanic chain, stretching for many kilometers.

The heat was intense now. Kyrian felt his robe stick to his skin, and even Arcon seemed uncomfortable.

He then shifted from his crimson eyes of the blood path to his ice eyes.

Causing the temperature around Kyrian and Arcon to drop by several degrees.

He fed the horse more spirit stones, and they continued.

...

On the thirteenth day, Kyrian flew over a battlefield.

It was not a recent battle, the bodies had already been removed, and the weapons collected. But the marks on the ground remained, craters opened by powerful techniques, grooves carved by sword strikes, and areas where the earth had been melted by extreme heat.

Kyrian estimated the scale of the conflict. Dozens of cultivators, perhaps hundreds. At least some in the Core Formation Realm, perhaps even higher.

He wondered which forces had fought there and why. But there was no one to ask. Only the hot wind and the marks on the ground.

Kyrian kept flying.

...

On the fourteenth day, he began to see the first structures of the City of Red Smoke.

At first, there were only a few isolated houses on the outskirts, low constructions of dark stone. Then, small villages with open markets and dirt roads. Then, suburbs, dense residential areas with narrow streets and dark alleys.

And finally, the walls.

The City of Red Smoke was surrounded by tall walls, made of dark volcanic stone, with watchtowers at regular intervals. Red banners fluttered at the top of the walls, and Kyrian could see guards patrolling the walkways.

Beyond the walls, the city rose in layers, built along the slopes of a low hill. The rooftops were all dark, stained by volcanic ash. And above it all, the sky was tinted red by the smoke of distant volcanoes.

Kyrian had Arcon glide in circles above the city, observing.

It was large, not as large as the floating city of the Ancient Forest Sect, but still impressive. Kyrian estimated that hundreds of thousands of people lived there, perhaps more.

He saw temples, markets, residential areas, and, at the center of the city, a tall building that stood out from the others, likely the headquarters of the force that governed the region.

Kyrian did not know which force it was. Dong Zhen’s map did not specify.

He had Arcon descend.

The beast landed in an open area on the outskirts of the city, near a small grove of twisted trees. Kyrian dismounted and guided Arcon.

He put on a cloak over his red robe, hiding the symbols of the Blood Court. He did not know how the local forces viewed the blood path. Better not to risk it.

Kyrian walked toward the city gates.

The road was busy. Travelers, merchants, and cultivators entered and left the city in a constant flow. Kyrian blended into the crowd, his face partially covered by the hood of the cloak.

At the entrance, guards armed with spears checked those who entered.

He passed without trouble after paying low-grade spirit stones.

Inside the city, the smell of ash and sulfur was strong. Kyrian took a deep breath, feeling the local Qi, different from what he was used to in the Blood Court. Hotter. More turbulent. As if the very air were burning.

He walked through the narrow streets, observing the shops and markets. There was everything, weapons, pills, scrolls, beast pelts, and rare minerals. Merchants shouted offers, attracting customers. Children ran between the legs of adults.

Kyrian felt something he had not felt in a long time.

He was alone.

Not in the physical sense, there were people around him, dozens, hundreds. Alone in the sense of having no one by his side. No allies. No companions. No master.

Just him.

Kyrian set the thought aside for later and kept walking.

He needed to find a place to stay.

The City of Red Smoke was only the first stop on a long journey. But Kyrian was determined to make the most of it.