The two False Sky Gods, one man and one woman, scanned the surroundings with a coldness in their eyes. It was clear that they were relying on their eyesight instead of their Spiritual Sense because they had already realized that their gazes would be more effective in this situation. However, even after scanning over the entire horizon with eyes that could easily see for hundreds of kilometers, they saw nothing.
Although there was a whole range of forest, mountains and cave systems to use as cover, if someone was moving through this terrain, even if they were wearing white and making use of cover, it would still be impossible for them to hide from their sight. The vision of Sky Gods, and cultivators in general, was simply too sharp.
However, even after several minutes, they found absolutely nothing.
"Carah, you stay here. I will go," the male False Sky God spoke.
"Mm." Carah nodded, her eyes still narrowed.
This matter was too important. Although others had already gone to investigate, they couldn't afford to be casual. Whether or not their Sect would gain a foothold in the Fourth Heaven come the next opening of the Heavenly Path was all contingent on this.
With a flicker, Amanrah, the male False Sky God, flickered and vanished, his overwhelming pressure pressing down on the surroundings as though he wanted to force Ryu out of hiding by force.
Within his chosen tree, Ryu remained calm. Amanrah's choice wasn't a bad one, the oppression of a Sky God could easily cause one to slip up. He had made the correct assumption that whoever had come here was unlikely to be at his strength level. After all, False Sky Gods were considered to be the pinnacle of strength in the Second Heaven.
However, if he thought that this would be enough for Ryu to shudder in fear, he was sorely mistaken.
Noticing that Carah was still in the air, Ryu realized that he would have to be more patient. But this just gave him the time he needed to investigate this situation more thoroughly.
pàпdá-ňᴏνêι.сóМ Even False Sky Gods, it seemed, couldn't sense his Void Spiritual Sense. Or, more accurately, False Sky Gods of this caliber. So long as he was cautious around the formations, he should be able to infiltrate once again and gain a better understanding of exactly what was happening.
About half an hour later, Ryu finally managed to enter Jenneless' tent with his senses again. This time, he was prepared for the iciness and guarded himself against it. His ice affinity was exceptional to begin with, he didn't fear a bit of cold.
Ryu silently observed Jenneless for a long time before he felt that he finally understood what was happening.
'She's refining her body, but it isn't a normal refinement, it's more like an entire rebirth. The further he crystallization goes, the closer she is to success. It's almost like recultivation, but far more dangerous. With just a single mistake, her life would be forfeit. Even when I disturbed her formation, she still didn't have the luxury of waking from her meditation.'
Every time a new beast was brought back, it was brought to a tent adjacent to Jenneless' where it was first processed via a special method. Then, this refined carcass was passed through an underground passage to Jenneless' tent where it was silently added to the pool of crimson.
This refinement process was quite exceptional.
From what Ryu could tell, the first shocking thing was that even the weakest creatures were of the Eleventh Order and of the Sovereign Grade. And yet, it still wasn't enough for Jenneless. There must have been hundreds of refined beasts in there, but she was only about 10% of the way through the process.
The second shocking thing, however, was the individual doing the refining.
This person was quite mysterious, wearing a cloak of black that Ryu didn't dare to peek into. At best he could gain a vague shadowy representation of the individual because this person seemed to have treasures that barred out even his own Spiritual Sense. If Ryu pressed forward, not only would he be exposed again and have to move once more, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to shake this individual off as easily as he had the others.
Ryu's brows couldn't help but furrow. Could it be that the Carving Ice Sect was actually a Three Star Sect with a True Sky God in their midst?
That was possible, but why would they hide it? In fact, this person seemed like they were hiding as well.
Now that Ryu thought about it, this wasn't the first oddity related to the Carving Ice Sect. Was it really a coincidence that Jenneless had found the Frost Clan's remnants?
While the other representatives of the Second Heaven had been focusing on recruiting Chosen, Jenneless had gone Ruin hunting instead. But considering what Ryu knew of her personality, she should have disdained to even try to find treasure on the First Heaven. In fact, considering how clearly important she was to the Carving Ice Sect, if she didn't want to go and recruit on the First Heaven, she just had to say a word and the matter would be shut down.
So why had this arrogant woman come down to the First Heaven? Could it be that she knew of Flowing Frost's Ruin from the very beginning? But how was that possible?
Even if the location of the Ruin was known, it still wouldn't be enough for Jenneless to make a move. Why would she care about something left by a First Heaven expert? Unless she already knew that it was a remnant left by the Sixth Heaven, or at the very least, she knew that it came from a higher Heaven.
But how could she know such a thing? If even a mere Second Heaven Sect could find out this information, would the enemies of the Frost Clan have wiped out their last hope long ago?
Ryu's gaze narrowed. There was definitely some sort of oddity here and he felt the need to find out what it was.