Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu didn't know the thoughts of the cloaked figure, but he could most definitely guess at them. The fact that he had chosen to reveal his Storm Talent and Lightning Spirit Body meant that he was already prepared for the potential outcomes and he was likewise aware of the measure he would have to take to properly protect himself. 

With a final palm strike, Ryu's hand landed on the final smoke tower. 

At that moment, the cloaked figure's casual expression and indifference vanished. They had been so focused on Ryu's Lightning Qilin Bloodline that they had completely forgotten to consider exactly what Ryu was doing running around like that. 

But now, it was already too late. 

The dome formation flourished as Ryu exhaled a breath, his heart rapidly beating as sweat fell from his brow. Not only was running with his life on the line incredibly taxing, but using his Storm Talent in the True Martial World also seemed to be. It felt like each bolt was ripping out large chunks of fortitude from him as though he was falling further and further into debt the more strength of the Heavens he used. 

The old woman, who was rushing after him, suddenly looked into the skies with a stunned expression. The invisible formation was no longer just as Carah, the second False Sky God, made her way over from the horizon. 

Seeing the situation, Carah's expression turned incomparably ugly, her gaze focusing on Ryu. However, she realized that she tried to pressure Ryu, her own aura rebounded back at her, causing her to hesitate. 

With her strength, it wasn't impossible to destroy the formation, but once she did so, everything would be ruined. Not only would they lose their protection, but the poison they were using would also lose its effect. It wasn't without reason that the smoking pillars became the foundation of the formation. 

She stared daggers at Ryu, unwilling to take a loss, but Ryu had already stopped worrying about that. In fact, Ryu didn't even give her glance. 

Suddenly, all the Sky Gods aside from one was stuck outside of the formation, leaving Ryu practically without any pressure to deal with whatsoever. 

With a flash, Ryu began to set up his teleportation formation again, unwilling to deal or care with the things around him. It was only when he sensed the old woman try to charge at him again that his gaze flickered with coldness. 

A deathly intent locked onto the woman, causing her to freeze in place. 

"Do you believe that I can kill you with a single thought?"

"Boy! Don't you dare! If you lay a hand on her I'll destroy this formation right this moment!"

Carah's voice boomed. 

Ultimately, this was still just an Ancestral Grade Formation. It could only up against Carah for a moment, but not forever. If Ryu forced her hand, things really might go south for him, and this time, he wouldn't have another hand like this to play. 

Of course, Ryu already knew this and had no intention of killing the old woman. Sky Gods were too important to Sects, even one as secretly powerful as the Carving Ice Sect. The death of one was too large of a blow to let slide easily. 

If Ryu killed one, who was to say he wouldn't target those on the outside as well? By this, it wouldn't be worth it at all. 

Ryu completely ignored Carah's words and started setting up his formation again. This time, he was even faster than last time and after just ten minutes, he was finished. He could go at any time now. However, how could he just leave like this? 

There had to be something here that Ryu could use, something that would give him an advantage in the future. If he just left like this, it would be too great of a loss. What would he get out of this trip? An Eleventh Order Sovereign Grade beast companion? That might be more than good enough for others, but it wasn't enough to Ryu. 

For one, he felt that he would surpass Little Silk very soon. Secondly, even if he couldn't surpass her, the exposing of his talents was not worth it at all if this was all he received in return. 

He wasn't satisfied. Others might feel like escaping with your life in the face of so many Sky Gods as a mere Immortal Ring Realm expert was more than enough to hang your hat on, but he was Ryu Tatsuya. He didn't flinch in the face of Sky Gods to begin with. In his eyes, he would soon surpass them so what need did he have to respect them? Such people weren't worthy of forcing him to suffer a loss! 

With a sweep of his Spiritual Sense, Ryu began to check each tent one by one until his pupils constricted. 

There, in a tent on the opposite side, there was a pile of Beast Crystal and bones, but they weren't ordinary in the slightest. There were only a small number of them, but all of them had Dao Runes! There were three Dao Crystals and one Dao Bone, a truly small number, but they were the very same things that Ryu couldn't find even after days of hunting. 

Ryu flickered and vanished, sweeping these items away before looking around again. 

He still didn't seem to be satisfied with just this, but right now, he knew that there was nothing valuable to take anymore. What he was looking for wasn't valuable items any longer, but rather information. 

There had to be a connecting thread here, some information, some leverage that he could use in the future to force these people to play on a level playing field with him. These people had secrets, they had goals, which meant that they had weaknesses. The question was… what was it? 

Unfortunately, even after several more sweeps, Ryu couldn't seem to find anything. 

He already knew that it would be too convenient for him to gain such a thing here, this was information likely only Carah and Amanrah knew of, along with the cloaked figure. 

Ryu sent his Void Spiritual Sense into Jenneless' tent once again, but at that moment, a violent and warning aura surged toward him, forcing him to take a step back before coughing up a mouthful of blood. 

Ryu's expression turned frighteningly cold, but he had still made one more sweep of her tent. Although he didn't find anything groundbreaking, he did find a symbol that he committed to memory. When next he saw this symbol, he would make sure that things didn't end so simply. 

With a step, he entered his formation and activated it, vanishing moments later.