Zoran traveled through the tunnel up from the Queen's chambers. It was a long winding chute that was as wide as three of Zoran's wingspans and some more. Surrounding him was the solid Miasma that could decay even his durable body made of Miasma. This lethal Miasma could only be commanded by Alize herself and not something Zoran could touch unless he advances in his cultivation.
He swam up at fast speeds, using his Tyrannical Miasma Strike at his soles to propel him even faster. From time to time, he used the 4th Dimensional Leap to practice this newly acquired skill to increase his mastery over it. He could still better its accuracy since his could not pinpoint his landing point as close as he wanted.
Thankfully, the journey up to the surface was a long one that took several days. Each day he traveled nonstop without sleeping, the light to the top was getting brighter and brighter. He was getting closer.
He did not let up on his cultivation as he carried the condensed Miasma Bead in his grasp as he went up. He cultivated the Miasma in his spare time, filling his cultivation core with as much Miasma energy as possible. He had to slow down his ascent because of this, but it was a trade-off he was willing to pay.
And after twenty days of travel, Zoran finally reached the top of the surface. He burst through the surface of Miasma, with large black tendrils pushing him from behind. Rocks and stones disintegrated to mere dust as Zoran emerged into the overworld.
His eyes were temporarily blinded by the bright sun at its zenith looking down on him from above. The smell of fresh air entered his nose, heat from the sun's radiation warmed his body, birds chirping and trees swaying entered his ears. He missed all these little things after being confined into the cold and senseless void of the Miasma for at least 3 months.
His body was no longer coated in Miasma as his breathing returned to that of a normal human. His stomach woke up roaring for food as it was no longer sustained by the energy of the Miasma. He felt his connection with the Miasma weakened with his emergence since he could no longer feel it with his body. He now had to rely on the Miasma produced in his body to create the tendrils of Miasma for him to control.
But despite this, Zoran felt as better as ever. He felt like a newborn with his whole body experiencing a rebirth.
In the depths of Miasma, his cultivation soared to the very apex of the 1st stage. Zoran's body was broken down and regenerated continuously in the realm of decaying Miasma, which only served to strengthen his physical capabilities. But in his journey up, Zoran felt a limit to his consumption of Miasma. It had completely filled his core to the maximum.
However, it was strange. He felt satiated from the Miasma, but still felt as hungry as a lion. It was then that he realized that he had taken all that he could from the Miasma, but failed to realize that there was still one aspect of his strength that was left unsatiated.
Once he was outside in the presence of the natural energy of the Universe, the Yi energy in his body erupted like a rabid wolf. His mythical pure Yi energy ran rampant amongst his cultivation core to steal every sip of energy from the natural environment as fast as it could. The green grass beneath him shrank and turned brown as it had all its energy drained to satisfy the hunger of his cultivation.
This was the reason why he cannot advance to the 2nd stage. He had neglected his Yi energy. There was an imbalance of power between his tyrannical Miasma and pure Yi energy, leading to a surplus of one over the other. His Miasma Cultivation Technique was a technique of unity, and without that balance, there could be no advancement to his power.
Zoran took a deep breath and looked at his surroundings. Tall trees with violet vines filled the forestry, with a vanilla scent accompanying the scene to depict a serene environment. He was familiar with this forest. It was the same forest that housed Draco's cave and where Zoran first regressed.
It seemed that he did not stray far off from the original cave that he fell through. He quickly turned towards the sun and calculated its position relative to the shadows it created to have an accurate measurement of the general directions that led back to Draco's cave.
He started walking towards the North, where he believed he could find Draco's cave. And from then on, he could find his way back to the town and settle some business there.
But then he noticed that he was naked all this time. His clothes were the first part that decayed from the first time he fell through the Miasma pit. In the Miasma, he could be naked because it was dark all the time and Miasma Beasts do not care about nudity, but it would be considered taboo in human civilizations. He could even be arrested.
Zoran raised his hand to a tree with leaves similar to a banana tree. An invisible force plucked the leaf from the roots of the plant and pulled it towards Zoran.
This leaf was big enough to cover his crotch and serve as make-shift clothes. With basic decent attire, he went on his way, jumping through roots of trees and avoiding shrubs like an assassin. He didn't leave any evidence of his movements despite him going faster than any normal animal in this forest.
It didn't take long for him to find a small wooden cabin with smoke rising from the chimney. There was chopped wood all around with an ax stuck in a tree stump, a boar was hung upside down with a pool of blood underneath it; whoever lives in this cabin was a recluse from human society who lived off the natural land.
"Who are you?"
Zoran heard the cabin's wooden door creak open and an old man with a full white beard walked out. He had a knife hidden behind his back, which despite the old man's best efforts, would not be hidden from Zoran's sharp eyes.
"I come in peace. I was stuck under a cave for a long time and had now just emerged. Do you know where the next town is?"
The old man squinted his eyes and looked at Zoran. He immediately saw Zoran's make-shift clothes made of leaves.
"Oh! Did you survive the tragedy of Draco's cave?" the old man asked.
Zoran was surprised to hear that the old recluse was still able to remember that incident. From his estimation, the cave-in happened about three months ago or maybe more since that was how long Zoran was stuck in the Miasma.
"Thank the Beings you survived. How did you live without food for three days?"