Gradually the huge bird carrying Elen and Elena finally merged with the clouds in the sky as it quickly flew north.
The wind was strong, or rather, the bird's speed was great, and because of that, there was strong friction between the air and this group. However, with the advent of spiritual energy, both the beast and the two humans sitting on this bird would not be bothered with it.
Both girls' hairs were in the air. However, they weren't being messed up or anything. It was as if, despite the image of hair in the air, it was protected by something that kept them from being messed up.
Of course, that was the effect of spiritual energy.
Both Elen and Elena used a small portion of their energy reserves to form a tiny layer over their bodies that protected their integrity. But, of course, this wasn't strong enough to stop the substantial displacement of gases around them.
However, they still managed to keep their hair as a whole, even though it was flying in the skies, loose.
At the same time, there was no feeling of fatigue in both, given the effects of altitude, that is, the air rarefied.
Even though there were not abundant amounts of the gas needed for respiration, this was still within the acceptable range for cultivator bodies from the 5th stage of cultivation.
Individuals at this stage could breathe easily, even if the oxygen density were a third of normal, close to surfaces. As for this, this is related to the ability to manipulate the energy of heaven and earth.
Each cultivator would gain the ability to use some of the free energy in the environment upon reaching the Spiritual General stage. With that, and given the affinity of natural elements with spiritual energy, cultivators like Elen and Elena could attract oxygen molecules from a distance, breathing even in rarefied places!
But this ability had a limit, as there was no infinite attraction between gases and spiritual energy. Thus, if the density of gases were too small, such a thing would not work.
As an example, breathe underwater!
For this type of situation, only have a 5th stage cultivation would not be enough. If anyone wanted to breathe underwater, one would have to reach level 70, at the very least.
From this level, the form of life, not only human but also other living beings, would change completely. A Spiritual Saint, or someone stronger, would no longer be constrained by mundane things like breathing, the need for a body to survive, having a unique shape, the need for rest, eating, and so on.
All that would change after reaching the 8th stage of cultivation!
But even though Elen and Elena couldn't breathe underwater, they could still do it easily at high altitudes.
And as they flew north of the Kingdom of the Waves, the two were talking about what had happened earlier and their travel planning.
"Do you think Eduard and uncle Ernest will make it to the Dry City?" Elena asked as she sat behind Elen on the back of that giant bird from the 4th stage of cultivation.
"It will be tough... When those people realize what happened, they will most likely not lose track of our bodyguards." Elen answered her friend's question as she stared up at the endless sky in front of her.
They had separated from their bodyguards to create the previous circumstance necessary for this trip. However, contrary to what is perhaps common to think, for these two, separating from their protectors was not something negative.
After all, one of them was at level 46 and the other at level 47. Moreover, they were stronger than those two bodyguards because they both had complete sets of Black-grade techniques, with Elen even having one of Silver-grade.
In fact, when a young noble from these great regional families in the north of the Central Continent passed level 45, it was not uncommon for them to be seen alone, traveling through this region.
From this level on, only those Spiritual Kings within their respective families could surpass them in terms of strength. And given the fact that these individuals were too important to become bodyguards, after level 45, young nobles could dispense with their protectors.
Of course, they still had the right to continue traveling with these subordinates. Under certain circumstances, as in the case of Kevin, one person could not defend himself alone...
Usually, a subordinate would serve as a young noble's bodyguard until one of the two became a Spiritual King. If the subordinate got to that level first, he couldn't continue to do such humble service.
If it were the noble, from level 50 on, there would be no need for him to have a bodyguard from the 5th stage. After all, this would be of no use...
But before either of those two things happened, a subordinate assigned to become a young noble's bodyguard would have to come under his command.
Even if someone like Elen no longer desired Eduard's protection after reaching level 45, that man would remain her nominal subordinate until one of those conditions occurred.
And because of that, Elen and Elena still had bodyguards, which they had brought on this trip. Those two had come with them precisely to fulfill their role in this plot, making life easier for these two women.
And given their strength, there would be no danger for them to travel without their subordinates!
Elen then continued to speak. "I think they'll probably have to wait a few weeks here in the Kingdom of the Waves before they can leave. Then, when the Allen family group doesn't receive any updates for a few weeks, they'll return to Stone Island, or maybe they'll continue on the trail of Eduard and Ernest."
"If that last case happens, then they will have to return to Stone Island without us. Otherwise, they'd be better off staying here in the Kingdom of the Waves to share the Allen family's attention."
Hearing this, Elena made a sound of agreement and then asked. "How long will it take us to get to the Dry City?"
As a young woman leaving Stone Island for the first time, Elena didn't have a good sense of the regional commute time on the northern part of the Central Continent.
Usually, she just did business with Elen, dealing with numbers and things like that.
It was not her specialty to deal with the transportation of resources. So, she didn't know much about this factor. But not only that, given this young woman's ignorance in this matter, she had no idea of her and Elen's current geographic position...
Elen then thought for a moment and replied. "I think three weeks to a month. Normally this trip would take 2 to 3 months in beasts from the 3rd stage of cultivation, which are normally used in local trips in this part of the continent."
"But in a 4th stage beast, even more of a flying type like ours, the trip can be quite 'shortened.' However, we will only have time to stop and rest. Other than that, we'll have to travel all the rest of the time." Elen explained to her friend, pondering what lay ahead of them.
Most of this journey would not be dangerous for people in the middle of the 5th stage of cultivation. However, there were still some spots around the Kingdom of the Waves that they had to avoid due to the presence of powerful spiritual beasts.
Although they were traveling on a flying-type beast, occasionally, they still had to stop to rest. And because of that, the two acquaintances of Minos had to be careful wherever they went, both so as not to leave a trail or to defy powerful beasts.
They came from the north-central region of the Kingdom of the Waves, a region separated from the Black Plain by numerous forest areas and landforms ranging from mountain ranges to desert plains.
In fact, there were far more nature reserves in this region that these two were passing through than in the area Minos and Ruth had traveled in the Cromwell Kingdom during their journey.
That could be considered the strongest place in the north of the Central Continent, where even some wild beasts from the 6th stage of cultivation dominated regions!
"It's a long journey and lots of adventure. But for now, you'll have to contain your desire to see this place so that we can reach the Dry City as soon as possible…" Elen commented to her friend before the two finally started talking about other matters.
