Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

A feeling of danger blared in Ryu's mind. He was surprised, the danger could only be coming from the panther spirit, but given its wounded state, it should be able to make such a large surge. Even so, his surprise didn't make his reaction slow.

Although setting up the formation had taken up a lot of Spiritual Qi, he was practically a bottomless well. He didn't even feel fatigue, and the only reason he was injured at all was because of the backlash of his Primordial Chaos Qi. But that wasn't enough either to stop him.

He side stepped, his gaze reflecting the depth of an endless scape of stars. His Absolute Domain] moved him out of danger with incomparable ease and he could feel a vicious wind kick up as the panther spirit flew past the side of his head.

"It's tail," Ryu thought immediately, ducking with his greatest speed.

Unfortunately, one could only rely on gravity itself to duck, it was probably one of the slow movements that a cultivator could rely on, but even according to his [Absolute Domain] it was his best choice.

The danger and warning signs blared stronger and stronger. Even as Ryu ducked, he knew that he wouldn't make it. Despite his earlier injuries, the panther beast had never managed to actually lay a hand on him. Had it, he felt that his life would have already been forfeit, it was that strong, and his defenses were limited.

His mind worked faster and faster. This tail was aimed for his head, just a slight brush would be enough to crack it like a watermelon.

Even in this situation, Ryu felt a eerie calm. It was the calm he always felt in the face of death, a calm that came from a deep well of confidence, a calm that would never leave him no matter what changes to his personality occurred.

Stepping into the void now was impossible due to his own actions. The qi in the surroundings was too volatile to properly use Spatial Qi, and his Time Qi was still in its more infant stages of control and comprehension. Even so, he dug deep, reaching into his Time Qi and deploying it with much the same elegance as a child learning to walk for the first time.

Even so, he was an absolute genius of Time Qi, even with it utilized so crudely, it didn't do exactly what he wanted, slowing the events around him.

He dug even deeper, finding Eska's Primordial Yin and turning his Founding Dao on it. He grasped a small inkling, and deployed the Immortal Sakura for the first time in a long while. He tugged on Eska's comprehension and the very foundation of her cultivation..

BANG!

The Immortal Sakura shattered and Ryu's head suffered a destructive blow just a moment afterward. He flew back with a speed that tore into his clothing and aggravated his injuries, but none was worse than his furious collision with the walls of the enclosure.

He coughed out an arrow of blood, his head feeling like it was being spun around in a bowl. However, this only meant that it was very much intact. He thought he would have been able to give himself more time, his Time Qi was something he had been using more actively recently. However, it had such a dull effect on the panther spirit.

Even so, he had bought himself enough time.

He looked up with a sharp, albeit somewhat hazy gaze. His Origin Flame stabilized his mind quickly despite the jarring concussion, but he couldn't wait for it to finish its job perfectly. However, when he looked up, he found the panther spirit had collapsed under its own weight.

Ryu's gaze intensified and he realized that that attack was its final push. It truly reacted like a real creature, exhibiting signs of pain and fatigue at the same time.

Ryu shakily stood to his feet, coughing up another mouthful of blood. He raised a hand to his forehead and there was a very clear dent, his skull had been cracked. Had he been mortal, this alone would have been enough to kill him.

He had come to a decision. That sort of explosive speed and great agility was perfect for his Martial Forms.

He raised his bow once more, his breathing steady as he released another arrow. It pierced through the panther spirit's eye and it trembled once before it collapsed.

The panther spirit rose into a tide of golden aura that shot into Ryu's body.

The latter felt a huge surge of strength and he almost felt invincible. It was completely unlike anything he had sensed from the Bronze and Silver Protector Spirits, the disparity almost felt far too exaggerated.

'No more tricks, I'll fight with my own strength now! Ryu thought to himself.

The strength granted by the protector spirit was at least decent enough that he wouldn't be as helpless as he was because. Although it wouldn't close the gap. Ryu felt that that final attack was a strong wakeup call. In the end. schemes would never be as useful as your own personal power.

Some might argue that the Unbalance Formations were part of his strength, especially since they only worked with his Birthed Phenomena and his Founding Dao, and Ryu would actually agree now. However, if he relied on such things too often, it would come back to bite him one day.

When he imagined standing atop the world, he didn't imagine doing it with formations created by others and makeshift solutions to save his life by a hair. He imagined his palm being able to cover the skies and his steps being able to quake the earth.

This wasn't the path for him. But that didn't mean that he wouldn't use it to climb the mountain where he could.

Ryu took a breath and exhaled, then fell into meditation. After consuming enough Embryonic Qi to heal himself perfectly, he didn't move immediately, turning his attention to the insights of the panther spirit, but even deeper than that, the truth behind its strength.

He had to dig deeper than the surface, much deeper.

He replayed the process of the fusion again and again, relying on the Origin Flame to paint a perfect in his mind.