The catacombs were seemingly entirely empty without a hint of danger to be seen. But, taking even a single wrong step could cause one to be blasted to death.
Until now, none of them had died. But the same wasn't the case for those that had come before them. Yet, there weren't even corpses left behind. One could tell just how devastating this place could be once something was accidentally triggered.
The geniuses suddenly found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place.
Ryu continued stepping forward, his speed remaining calm and even, but still crossed two to three meters with every step. In fact, he didn't even seem to be hesitating in his movements.
By the time he had made it almost a hundred meters deep, the others realized that there was no coincidence at all. Somehow, this Immortal Ring Realm expert had actually been able to see through something they could not.
They had heard that blind cultivators tended to have far greater sensitivity to certain things than others, but this was the first time they were experiencing it for themselves.
But how could they know that this had little to do with Ryu's blindness and personal talent, and almost everything to do with his prior preparation? While all of these so-called geniuses were rushing here at their fastest possible speed, he had taken his time to observe and understand things. Now, in just a few seconds, he had already surpassed them.
"Follow his steps."
This was the decision they all made immediately. However, this wasn't so easy to do.
As cultivators, their memories were immaculate, so memorizing what Ryu was doing wasn't the problem. The main issue was that they all had different starting points. If they had been right next to Ryu, they would have likely already acted to kill him. But they had come from a separate entrance. In fact, because Ryu had carved a lot of his own path, he had formed his own entryway.
If they wanted to follow him, they would first have to find a way to carve a path that met with the path Ryu was taking, only then could they follow after him.
Clearly, Ryu knew of this as well, which was why he didn't even bother with trying to hide his attempt, not that he could. At their speed, it would probably take them at least several days to converge with his path. By then, he would have already long since made it to the core region.
Realizing this, and seeing Ryu getting further and further away, an anxiousness began to grow in their hearts.
"Hey, kid! How about you wait patiently for us to catch up, then we can all head down together."
Brune spoke with the same cheery tone in his voice, but it was clear this was much less of a suggestion and more of a threat. Anyone with half a brain could sense the underlying meaning. Ultimately, they would catch up with Ryu.
This place was only a few dozen kilometers long. Although they didn't dare to use their Spiritual Sense to lock onto Ryu's movements, they could still follow his steps forward with their eyes. With their cultivation, seeing such a distance was more than easy, it was simple beyond belief.
This all meant that it wasn't a matter of if they would catch up to Ryu, but when. And when they did, he obviously wouldn't have the combat prowess necessary to match up to them. By then, he would pay.
Unless, that is, he obediently waited for them now. In that case, they just might give him a path to live.
Ryu, who hadn't even glanced in their direction until now, suddenly turned back.
"Trash."
The single word stunned Brune into silence. He, who was very used to putting up a smiling front no matter the situation, finally met something he couldn't even properly react to. Never in his wildest imagination did he think that an Immortal Ring Realm brat would dare to talk to him like this.
Ryu turned away and flashed forward several more steps, his pace seemingly only getting faster.
He activated [Whispering Petals], his steps becoming ethereal and difficult to track. In those moments, it looked as though he was stepping in three to four different locations at once, his movements only becoming more impossible to follow with each passing moment.
If they could use their Spiritual Sense, with their cultivation, it wouldn't be impossible to see through what Ryu was doing. But being restricted in such a way, their expressions became incomparably ugly. They couldn't even spare the time to try to catch up. Each and every one of them became laser focused on Ryu's feet, trying to make out illusions from reality.
It only took several minutes before Ryu came to a stop. But by then, he was in the center of the formation and basked in the most concentrated energies. Without looking back again, he sat down cross legged, his hair fluttering slightly as he entered a state of meditation, seemingly not worried about anyone behind him.
Arrogance. Pure and unbridled arrogance. He didn't even deign them worthy of his attention.
Brune regained his bearings after a long while, chuckling a dark laugh. He couldn't remember ever being humiliated like this in his lifetime.
He took a step forward and a flash of light suddenly assaulted him from all sides. However, his long black hair reacted, whipped out like vines and shattered the attacks one by one. Then, he took another step forward.
While he couldn't find a path of least resistance like Ryu could, what he could do was find paths with triggers that were within his ability to narrow. If he didn't worry about stamina consumption and only focused on getting onto the path Ryu had used, he would move much faster.
The others took the same path as Brune, wishing to move as quickly as possible.
Farroth's expression flickered and he too followed. But no one seemed to notice that his pace was actually a touch slower than the others. This wouldn't matter much in the beginning, but as the days waned, the gap would become more obvious. This was exactly what he wanted.
…
Ryu truly couldn't be bothered with the people to his back. The moment he had entered the central region, all of the danger vanished into thin air and there was nothing but a thick and complex qi permeating the atmosphere.
Below Ryu, there was a complex vein of Spiritual Ore, while above him, there was a slowly condensing drop of liquid. The process of the latter was so slow that only a single drop fell for about every hour, but every time it did so, it would be immediately absorbed by the ore beneath him.
Although the liquid was no longer crimson, Ryu knew immediately that this was the blood of the fallen disciples. It had fallen through the earth and condensed into a clear liquid that held nothing but boundless vitality.
This purified blood was then absorbed by the ore below, making it the most valuable part of this region. At least, it was the most valuable physical object. This Ore was actually on the verge of becoming an Ancestral Grade material. If those geniuses could see this, they would already begin salivating.
Still, Ryu was focused on something entirely different.
This was a region that a supreme expert had entered closed door cultivation in. All of the energies that had been circulating around here had been of the highest degree. As a result, this location was akin to basking in the presence of a much higher Heaven. Although Ryu had never personally been to any higher Heavens, he felt that this place should, at the very least, be similar in quality to the Fourth Heaven, and that was a conservative estimate.
In addition, thanks to the locking abilities of the lingering protective formations, this place had managed to keep much of these energies under lock and key. It was only after the evolution of the ore vein was suddenly triggered that the disruption caused the leakage.
Now, Ryu was able to benefit from this directly.
Ryu wanted to progress his Dao as quickly as possible as it was his greatest reliance. But being stuck in lower heavens were like shackles on his body. How could he comprehend something if it was in such lower quantity and quality?
Luckily, he stumbled onto this place.
Ryu fell into silence, his focus only growing with every moment as he allowed the hours and eventually days to tick by.
The geniuses approached closer and closer, but Ryu didn't seem to notice them at all, having entered a state of absolute immersion.
And then, it happened.
CRACK!
Ryu's Dao foundation cracked and then shattered, but then it just as quickly reformed. This happened again and again, causing the hearts of those that heard the sounds to tremble, their own Daos quaking in agitation.
And then, Ryu's aura flourished, a wild energy shooting out from himself in all directions until it suddenly receded like a tide, retracting into his body.
Ryu's eyes shot open, a breath leaving his lips.
He had broken through his limits. His Dao was now at the Third Immortal Dao level, a realm equivalent to the Dao Pedestal Realm, and a level only Cosmic Seed Realm geniuses would be able to touch.
This level… This level was the very one that most Heaven Class geniuses of the World Sea Realm were stuck at. Ryu had gotten exactly what he came here for. Now there would be little stopping him from recultivating to the Immortal Ring Realm.