Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ryu continued to stare out at the field. He could practically feel every ounce of Ailsa's hard work, he didn't even want to touch it, not that he could. While his soul could enter here, at least a portion of it, his eyes were still sealed. It was impossible to move things in and out. That said, even if he could, he probably wouldn't. Not until Ailsa was back.

Looking at the beauty of the field of Spirit Seeking Lilies, Ryu remembered how he used to use their petals with impunity. He never really worried about running out, and why would he? He had a Cultus Faerie by his side, carefully cultivating them. By the time he finished consuming one, two more would appear in its place. She did that without complaint, even when he hadn't treated her the best.

"It'll be here for you when you come back," Ryu said lightly, standing to his feet slowly. Then, he vanished.

When he appeared again, he was within his immortal cave once more. Eska sat at the edge of their bed, looking as elegant as ever. She didn't move a single inch. Though she could feel Ryu's agitation, she didn't feel that their relationship was close enough for her to comfort him... not that she was very good at comforting people to begin with. She probably wouldn't usually be self conscious about such a thing, but right now she felt hyper sensitive.

Ryu gazed toward Eska quite calmly, the rage in his belly having already disappeared.

He hadn't forgotten his master and the other Zu Clan Ancestors, but he somewhat wished that he could. The Zu Clan Ancestors had already experienced so many years, how could they survive such time dilation? Even if they could, maybe they would have already lost their minds. He remembered that the youngest amongst them, that petite woman with a fiery personality and the creator of [Divine Chaotic Annihilation], was already beginning to somewhat lose her sanity.

Even so, he didn't check, reason being those two worlds were distinct and he couldn't seem to access the other one just yet. It had to be remembered that the usual inner world of Heavenly Pupils wielders was just a bland cubical. The reason Ryu had a world like his was because he had fused with the Incubator. That separated his world into two, one he used like a spatial ring to hide his greatest treasures, and a second where he, or rather Ailsa, raised Spiritual Herbs.

That second world was where the crystalline jade and the Prayer Mat were. He still couldn't sense either one of them.

The reason he was looking at Eska the way he was was because he didn't quite know how to break this issue to her. Usually, he would be cold and unfeeling about the matter, especially since he had also lost his wives and his beast companions to this matter, but he didn't seem to have it in him to be so unfeeling anymore.

In the end, his lips parted and he explained the issue in the greatest detail he could.

Eska's expression changed and by the end of it, her gaze had decreased somewhat.

The four remaining Ancestors of the Zu Clan had spent so long trapped. Although it was for the sake of their Clan, the heaviness of the issue weighed on them constantly. Even as Sky Gods who had experienced trillions of years, confinement was a completely different animal. While she had never shown it, it was because she had these three companions that she was able to keep her sanity. She was sure that they likely felt the same way.

As leaders of their respective eras, they were usually standing alone at the top. No one in their lives could have understood them, but ironically after death, they found companions who understood them far more than anyone they had ever met before. She could still remember Balaur's brutish humor and Morvar's failed elegance. She had even begun to treat Flora like a little sister.

When she chose to sacrifice her purity for the sake of tying them to Ryu, many of them had tried to talk her out of it. If it had been when they first met one another, their reactions would have been indifferent. It was only right to sacrifice oneself for the sake of the Clan. But they didn't treat her like a pawn of the Clan, they treated her like a close sister.

But now, it seemed that they were gone.

Ryu took a breath, looking away. There wasn't much to look at in his Immortal Cave, but his eyes seemed capable of seeing beyond, expanding beyond the walls and seeing to the skies above.

His master was his benefactor. He was a man even that repressed and depressed version of him could respect. He had never thought that he would take a master in his life, but he had ended up doing so, and this master was not only the reason he was able to break free of his previously atrocious soul talent, he was also the reason he had found a path of his own to follow after entering the True Martial World, faced with adversity from all sides...

Ryu suddenly wanted to forge... he wanted to concoct... he wanted to draw an array the likes of which he never had before.

He stood and entered the Golden Moon World. But the moment he began, the ring began to vibrate with his actions. The Golden Moon Ring vibrated and latched onto the outside. Like tendrils of delicate gold, they squirmed into the voidal paths of existence, forcing the world itself to resonate as well.

It was only several days later that Ryu came out, his aura far more refined. It was clear that he had made use of the [Refinement Sutra], allowing his Body Realm and Qi Realm to enter a state of absolute perfection.

But it wasn't just that. Even his soul felt different. His gaze carried a sharpness it never had before, his look alone carrying the weight of a thousand worlds.

He had left behind the Dao Sovereign's Mental Realm cultivation technique, taking his own.

Two Great Swordstaffs hovered to his back, ringing like the chimes of the Heavens, while a bow was strapped across the chest of his fluttering white robes.

"Let's go," Ryu spoke lightly, extending his hand toward Eska who took it with an elegant grace.