[Bonus chapter for 100 golden tickets]
Ryu stumbled, crashing into a wall of the underground passage.
'Come on!' He roared in his mind, begging his body to cooperate.
The Natural Order Sect wasn't a Body Realm Sect like the Heavenly Body Sect was. As such, the pills they had in this lane were very limited. Ryu had no choice but to take out the same Blood Congealing Pills he used to usher his body into the Pulse Tempering Realm. Unfortunately, since they were Common Grade Pills, and Ryu was on the verge of entering the Vessel Tempering Realm, they weren't as effective.
Still, with the help of the Incubator, Ryu realized that he was capable of making even useless pills heavenly treasures.
Vital Qi surged into his blood, revitalizing it from dormancy. Ryu felt his mind clearing, albeit to a small extent. Still, this was enough for him to regain his equilibrium.
Ryu was once again in awe of the Incubator, but he didn't have the time to think about it any longer. His entire focus was trained on one thought: Run!
A black cloak covered Ryu's body as he sprinted to the far wall. He once more felt around until he found a hidden mechanism similar to what was concealed beneath Opes Kingdom, opening a pathway toward what remained of Heavenly Body Sect. Without another thought, he bolted down it.
Ryu tried to spur on his cloak, attempting to forcibly enter a State of Meditation to escape detection. But, he could only smile bitterly when he realized his Mental Realm was completely spent. He couldn't achieve the level of focus he needed, he could only rely on the passive abilities of the cloak.
When Ryu's wife, Elena, explained the properties of the cloak to him, she had said that if he entered Breath of Earth, and stayed still, even she wouldn't be able to detect him. It had to be said that Ryu's wife, when she was last alive, was a Dao Pedestal Realm expert!
However, there were two factors important here. First of all, she had very clearly said if Ryu didn't move. Obviously, Ryu wasn't in such a situation now. In all likelihood, the enemy already knew where he was. Secondly, Ryu couldn't even enter the lowest State of Meditation, let alone enter Breath of Earth. To make matters worse, the Essence the cloak relied on was much less pure in the Mortal Planes. Meaning, even if Ryu could enter Breath of Earth, there was no guarantee that the cloak would be just as effective as it was on the Shrine Plane.
Everything seemed stacked against Ryu. Every path he took seemed blocked off. Even his Northern Heavenly Wind could hardly counter the terrible condition his body was in. In his peak state, he could easily match the speed of a Mortal Plane Lower Spiritual Severing Realm expert. But, now? Even if he ignored the wind tearing his body apart, he would be lucky to match a Peak Qi Refinement Realm expect…
Ryu burst out from the path. Everything seemed identical except for the fact Opes Kingdom was under a perpetual winter, while Tor Kingdom was the exact opposite.
The massive rock that moved out of his way to allow him to exit was covered in moss and unkempt shrubbery were sprawled all around. In the distance, the remains of the Heavenly Body Sect laid barren. Countless destroyed pieces of once astounding architecture and improperly buried bodies strewn about.
Ryu continued sprinting for his life, cutting directly through the Sect.
At that moment, he suddenly heard a concussive boom. The reverberating effects were so large that a gust of wind inadvertently helped Ryu surge forward at a greater pace.
Several dozen miles away, the remains of Tor Palace came crashing down as Headmaster Leopold directly laid it all to waste. Ryu's [Third Perspective] didn't have a long enough range to witness this happen, but he could easily make some guesses.
'This person didn't come directly after me, but instead went to Tor Palace. There are two possibilities. The first is that he knew all along that the pieces were there but didn't have my means to retrieve them and could thus only wait for someone to collect the four for him. The second possibility is that he sensed my location… In which case, why is it that he doesn't know I'm no longer there?'
Ryu's brain worked in overdrive. Suddenly, he understood. If the locations of the four pieces were so easily found, then why hadn't any of the Immortals who descended in the past found them? Obviously, there was a barrier of protection around them, stopping prying eyes. Knowing this, Ryu concluded that this person used the seal to find his general location, and realized there was an area he couldn't pry into perfectly. Thus, he concluded that Ryu must be there.
As for why he could sense the seal through those protective seals, wouldn't the Zu Clan be too stupid if they created two mechanisms that conflicted with each other? In all likelihood, the seal's signal was the only sort of signal that could make it through those protections.
But, why did all of this matter? It mattered because it wouldn't be long before whoever crashed into Tor Palace would find the underground space. In that case, they would definitely find the secret passage Ryu ran out of, which also meant that they'd know where he was in a matter of minutes!
Ryu grit his teeth, thinking about whether he should change directions. But, in the end, he shook his head. He knew that his only chance for survival was in this very direction.
Why was the Heavenly Body Sect the most powerful of the four Sects? Why was it that the Tor Kingdom also seemed to be the most powerful? It was precisely because they were located in a cultivation Holy Land. The corner of the Higher Mortal Plane in which they were located was the closest corner to the Legendary Immortal Path!
So, why was it that Ryu was running for his life toward this Immortal Path? It was because it was his best chance for survival. While he could ignore the trial of the Immortal Path because of his Ancestral Great Circle, others couldn't do the same. The best part was that even though this was the Path to the lowest Immortal Plane, it was still powerful. As long as his enemy was below the Immortal Ring Realm, a mighty Realm two realms above even the Divine Vessel Realm, Ryu could flip this situation around!
Ryu was very familiar with absolute experts. Since his enemy took three hours to reach his location and wasn't coming from the direction of the Immortal Path, it was impossible for him to be so powerful. At best, he would be of the Connecting Heaven Realm.
At this moment, Headmaster Leopold tore the grounds of the Tor Kingdom apart. But, even with his strength, he suddenly reached a blockade below he couldn't blast through no matter how much he tried. He looked around frantically, before his eyes landed on a fountain that somehow survived through all his devastation. In that moment, his eyes narrowed.