Flying in weightlessness, Kai felt as if everything around him was stretching and flying by. There was a lot of pressure on his body, but now, it was better than the first time.
When he had accidentally travelled to Astral Grad, he had almost died from the pressure of the array. He could calmly endure such a load.
"Hmm, something's wrong..." - Pondered Kai.
As he observed what was going on around him, he realised that he had been flying in this weightlessness for an extended period of time.
"When I was transported here from the cave, I remember it was literally in a second..." - Kai began to reason about what was happening.
"Exactly! Energy crystals..." - Kai seemed to finally realise what was wrong.
When he accidentally activated the array in the cave, he didn't realise what was happening and was only thinking about how to survive.
But now he realised that the cave had just quietly existed for thousands of years and absorbed the energy. There, its density, was already so strong that it began to manifest into physical matter, namely crystals.
"Since, there was also an energy gathering array in the transfer array. Over thousands of years, it has become much more powerful." - Realised Kai. He now understood the craftsmanship of the arrays much better, especially the arrays of the Astral Emperor Alchemy Era.
After studying the array in the Emperor's room, and the cube in the throne room, Kai began to understand the structures and pattern elements of the array much better. Because of this, he was able to guess what the issue was.
Because the transfer array in the cave was over saturated with energy, it completed its task much faster than it was supposed to at first. When it was drawn, it was not foreseen that it would stand for tens of thousands of years untouched.
As a result, a journey that should have taken a quarter of an hour was completed in seconds. This increased the strain on Kai's body many times over.
Travelling through space was a very dangerous matter. One had to do everything carefully and carefully. Travelling through such a peculiar spatial tunnel, if you were careless, you could be thrown out halfway through.
After realising this, a cold sweat broke out on Kai's back.
"The Astral Grad is deep underground. If something happened while travelling, I would just be thrown out somewhere underground. Then I would just be trapped there, suffocating to death!" - Cai thought cautiously.
When he realised this, he quickly concentrated. He decided that until he was transported outside, he would not let his guard down. Kai focused completely on his transfer.
"I'm also very curious... Where will I be thrown out to? What if the array throws me very far away from the Border Beast City... Why didn't I think of this earlier?" - Puzzled, Kai thought to himself.
Still, he was exiting through another array, there was a possibility that this alternate exit was connected to another place.
"Okay, I'll act on circumstances. Gotta stay alert..." - Kai thought.
At that moment, there was a flash of light and Kai finally felt the ground beneath his feet.
"I got out!" - Exclaimed Kai in his head.
As soon as he opened his eye, he immediately began to survey his surroundings.
The surroundings seemed very familiar, except that some of the details had changed.
- I'm in a cave! Hahaha - Shouted out Kai and started laughing.
Kai was very happy now, he had finally made it to the surface. He had spent a little over a year and a half in Astral Grad, being there all alone. He was now thirteen years old. For a normal guy at that age, it would be very difficult. Such events, would have taken a toll on his psyche, but Kai was in no danger of that. The Invisible Torture Kings had already hardened his mind and will very much.
- One less problem! At least I know where I am. - With a relieved exhale, Kai said.
He had feared that perhaps there was some other array. And since, it had been a very long time since the Astral Alchemy Emperor era, it might have led to the lands of ferocious beasts in the first place.
When Kai realised that he was still the same in the east of the Boundless Wasteland, he was able to calm down a little. There were definitely no beasts here that carried an incredible threat to his life. Especially now he was much stronger.
- Hehehe. I can't wait to fight real beasts already. I'd also like to test the Astral Fire of Sacrifice, not only in alchemy..." Kai said with a wicked smile.
- The guys didn't seem to be sitting idle either. - Saying that, Kai started walking towards the exit of the cave
As he looked around, he noticed that the energy crystals were much smaller. It seems that his group, had returned here after all and continued on with their plan. When they thought Kai was dying, their faces expressed intense grief and anger at themselves. Because, he was sure that they had definitely told Diso everything and organised the alliance without hiding anything. They didn't keep all the profits for themselves.
"Fatty, I hope you won't disappoint me! I have many gifts for you..." - Walking and smiling, Kai reasoned.
His ring was filled with a bunch of different rare plants. More importantly, it was packed with various pills that Kai had prepared, during his training! Those are impressive assets to trade.
"Diso, I'm sure you must have earned a good reputation during this time! So, you'll be selling all the stuff I've made up, hehehe'' thought Kai angrily.
Kai had complete confidence in the fat man. Even in the short time they had spent together, he had realised that Diso could be relied upon. Although he could be lax at some points, but when needed, the fatty was terrifyingly good at his aspects.
Likewise, Kai wasn't worried about Border Beast City taking away some of his profits. It was unlikely that they would think that a Cultivator at a high stage, would have spatial rings, as they were too rare.
Even so, during his time in Astral Beast City, Cai had researched the Astral Alchemy Emperor ring many times. He realised that it was far more skillfully crafted than Master Mo's ring.
The space within hid all traces of its existence. Only someone who was soul-bound to the ring could understand what it was. So to others, it was just costume jewellery.
But it's not surprising, it seems that in the times before the destruction of the previous civilisation, the masters were much stronger. And this didn't just apply to combat strength, but also to the craftsmen's skill!
"During this time, the Border Beast City had a lot to teach him. I'm even excited for our meeting. I wonder what kind of face he'll have? Haha." - Reasoning, Kai almost reached the tunnel exit.
Sometimes Kai had quite a vicious temper, he definitely couldn't be called a kindly person....
As he reached the exit and looked at the gorge below, he even got a feeling of nostalgia.
- It seems like I've been here only a short while ago. But it's been a long time... - Kai said smiling.
He started to look around to find a way to climb out. The tunnel was forty metres deep in the gorge and he didn't want to climb the walls.
When he looked a little to his right he smiled.
- Well hidden! - Expressing his praise, Kai said.
There was a rope hanging near him, tight against the wall and coloured to match its tone. Hardly anyone would have noticed it if they didn't know it was there.