A grand Immortal Sakura appeared about Ryu's head, but this time… its Projection couldn't have been more different.
It still kept the same short, thick trunk, and large looming canopy, but now its beautiful white blossoms that had once been merely reminiscent of snowflakes, had suddenly become a part of a gorgeous winter wonderland.
The bark of the Immortal Sakura was saturated with sheets of pure, clear ice that looked like the scales of a dragon. A gentle blue flame wafted a cold piercing air as it spread across its branches, giving the Immortal Sakura the image of a deity. Finally, as the cherry blossom petals fell, everything they touched seemed to freeze on impact.
A cold breath left Ryu's lips as the Immortal Sakura slowly faded away. If he fought those three geniuses now… would they even be qualified to touch a single hair on his head?
'My weakest point had suddenly become my attacking strength. Even if they can't harm me… can I harm them? What becomes the point, then?' Ryu frowned slightly.
"One problem at a time, Little Ryu. For now, there is the matter of your stamina to solve."
Ryu retracted his aura completely and nodded. "You have a solution?"
"Mm. There are two. First, you remember what I said before, right…? It isn't necessarily the case that you cannot cultivate. It's just that there are some restrictions."
"Restrictions?"
"Yes. Namely, you cannot break into new Realms. However…"
"I can increase my strength within my current realm?" Ryu suddenly understood.
"Exactly right. Cultivation Realms aren't arbitrarily set by humans, they're dividing lines set by the Heavens themselves. As such, in order to cross them, you must meet the requirements set by the Heavens. But, without your Spiritual Foundation, communicating with the Heavens is impossible.
"Simply put, during your first life, it isn't necessarily that you couldn't cultivate, but that you could only cultivate within a Realm lower than even the Awakening Realm. This was why you couldn't fully open your Spiritual Pulse until after you Awakened despite the mental hardship you had been through."
"So this means that I can still temper my Lightning Qilin Bloodline until it catches up with the others…"
"Yes, you can, but the brutally honest truth is that this won't be of much help to you. Your Lightning Qilin Blood still has about 100 000 jin of strength left to provide to you, but this amount is marginal compared to the enemies you will be facing. If you pushed it to the brink, you would only be comparable to a Peak Divine Vessel Realm expert or so. And, since you can no longer evoke Essence without your Spiritual Foundation, challenging higher Cultivation Realms has become far more difficult.
"Instead, it's ironically your Mental Realm that has more room for growth thanks to [Tribulation Nine Clouds]. Unfortunately, there are no sources of lightning, and definitely no Tribulation Lightning, nearby. But not all hope is lost. After all, there are other avenues to fix this problem. Your second option is right before you here!"
Ryu suddenly felt Ailsa share her gaze with him once more. This time, the Immortal Sakura all but disappeared from his sight as a new statue grabbed his attention.
It should have been nothing but a black sphere. No matter how one looked at it, there shouldn't have been anything special. Yet, Ryu felt his heart tremble.
This Visualization… It wanted to engulf the world itself!
Ryu somehow immediately understood which Ancestor birthed this Visualization… It was definitely Flora! That woman who even the aggressive Ancestor Balaur warned Ryu against.
When they first met, that woman invited him into bed as though she had no shame. Ryu, of course, immediately refused. Not long afterward, Balaur laughed and told Ryu that Flora was nothing but a virgin vixen. History said she had countless husbands and male concubines, but the truth was that none of them had ever touched her…
What had Balaur said back then…? Hadn't he said that if he had actually accepted, she would have ripped all of his talent from him and taken it for herself?
She was definitely the one! None of the other Ancestors suited this Visualization more!
Ryu's gaze trembled. As though to sear it into his mind, a name appeared without his consent…
[Divine Chaotic Annihilation].
Ryu's lip twitched. This woman was really too overbearing. Even the name she chose for her Visualization was way too over the top. What was he supposed to call her? The Divine Chaotic Annihilation Sky God? Just, imagining having to call that petite woman such a thing was beyond ridiculous.
Though Ryu reacted in this way, Ailsa frowned instead.
"Chaos is no laughing matter, Little Ryu. Since she dared to take this name for herself, this Visualization is incomparably dangerous."
Chaos was the embodiment of destruction. It was there before a Realm was formed, and it was all that remained after a Realm collapsed. Order was the symbol of life… Chaos was the symbol of death.
Though, this explanation was only to make matters simple. The truth was that the Laws of Order and the Laws of Chaos ranked above the Laws of Life and Death! They were concepts even more fundamental than Life and Death themselves!
"The highest level of qi is Cosmic Qi. The reason one must slowly evolve one's Mortal Qi to Immortal Qi and subsequently Cosmic Qi is related to matters of Order and Chaos. Fundamentally speaking, Cosmic Qi is the root of Life. The creation of a Cosmos is rooted with Order. As one's dantian becomes a World Sea, and slowly continues to form an expanse of existence unto itself, one needs Order to advance.
"This is the ultimate goal of cultivators. To take hold of Order to reach greater heights. Chaos is the bane of cultivators!"
Ryu's expression turned serious.
"However… Should one want to surpass the Heavens… One cannot do it without Chaos…"
Ailsa's voice was incomparably soft, almost as though she didn't want Ryu to hear to it. However, Ryu was already entirely focused on the Visualization before him. Even if Ailsa had spoken loud enough for him to hear, he wouldn't have registered her words at all.
Chaos being the bane of cultivators? Ryu didn't care. As far as he was concerned, the Heavens themselves were his only bane! Why not grasp the only Laws that could make it tremble.
He had already seen just how useful [Divine Chaotic Annihilation] could be to him.
Much like [Immortal Sakura], it was split into seven stages. The Mortal Chaotic Pestle Stage, the Immortal Chaotic Pestle Stage, the Divine Chaotic Pestle Stage, the Chaotic Birth Stage, the Chaotic Presence Stage, the Chaotic Domain Stage, and finally, the Chaotic Proliferation Stage.
The reason Ryu was eager was precisely because of these first three stages. They allowed their wielder to instantly obliterate and purify qi, turning it into Spiritual Qi in an instant.
The Mortal Chaotic Pestle Stage could grind any Mortal Qi into submission. The Immortal Chaotic Pestle Stage could grind any Immortal Qi. And the final Divine Chaotic Pestle Stage could purify even Cosmic Qi!
This sort of ability… Ryu was certain that there was no other Spiritual Qi cultivation method that could provide better or faster results!
But, this was only one aspect of this Visualization. With it by his side, Ryu could confidently be fearless of any Mental Realm attacks. Such foolish attempts would only lead to one result…
Annihilation!