"What does all of this mean?" Ryu couldn't help but ask.
The dim light of Ailsa's gaze regained their fire. There was no greater honor for a Cultus Faerie than pioneering a new path for the Life Partner. She couldn't allow the resolve she cobbled together just barely to crumble so easily.
She immediately entered her true form, forcing Ryu to remove his upper garments so that she could place her palm on his back.
"Relax and allow my qi to flow…"
After a few moments of silent deduction, keeping her eyes closed, she began to speak.
"I'm beginning to understand… In part.
"Your Chaotic Silk Meridians are indeed connected to another Plane of Existence. However, I cannot see what this Plane is or where it's from, much like you cannot enter the Ethereal Plane at will. I can only tell that its laws are not the same as our own. In fact, it seems that its laws are almost a direct opposite… This is the simplest way I could put it despite it being far more complex than this."
'Another Plane of existence…?'
Planes of Existence were different from the Planes of the Shrine Realm, for example. As far as Ryu was aware, there were only three such Planes throughout all Realms. The Void Plane, the Ethereal Plane and the Real Plane where most life resided.
Ailsa was saying that his Chaotic Silk Meridians were connected to a Plane even she had no knowledge of!
"It seems that this ability would have never manifested itself if your meridians remained connected to your Spiritual Foundation. In fact, if you succeeded in even a single Severing, this ability would have been overwritten!"
Ryu's eyes widened. "Does this mean I have to give up on my Spiritual Foundation forever or make a choice between them?"
Ailsa's brows furrowed. "I can't give you a certain answer, but my intuition says this isn't the case."
Ryu sighed a breath of relief. This was enough for him.
"This… Let's call it the Chaos Plane, was a very minor characteristic of your Chaotic Silk Meridians. This made it very easy to override with a single Severing. However, I believe that if you strengthen this Character enough, even when you find your Spiritual Foundation, it won't disappear."
"So I was meant to do this all along…" Ryu muttered.
"I think this is the true strength of your meridians. Not its light weight, not its structural strength, but this connection to this unknown Plane of Existence."
"Can you sense anything special about this Chaos Plane?"
Ailsa smiled lightly. "I have a feeling that you can answer that even better than I can. Look at the changes in your qi, what do you notice?"
Ryu's brows furrowed. On instinct, he began to circulate his qi.
'This…!'
His qi was changing. To more specific, his neutral qi was being catalyzed into an unknown energy even he with his vast knowledge didn't recognize. It seemed to grind at his neutral qi, compressing and purifying it beyond his wildest imaginations.
Ryu punched outward. He hadn't even realized his own actions before his committed to them. It was all purely instinctual.
But the result… It was unlike anything he could have expected.
The earth so far below the surface was compressed into extremely solid crystals and ores. The only reason Ryu had managed to make it here was because he relied on the Realm Heart to avoid these hard vein deposits and dig through softer dirt.
However, at this moment, he had punched toward these very sturdy minerals he had avoided before… The result was devastating.
BOOM!
Everything crumbled. The underground cave shook violently as though the whole world would collapse. By the time the dust cleared, all that was left was a horizontal hole of almost three meters in diameter, stretching forward for almost one hundred meters.
Ryu's pupils constricted into pinholes. 'This strength is of at least the Middle Connecting Heaven Realm, maybe even bordering on the Higher stage!'
"This new qi is likely where the true strength of your Chaotic Silk Meridians lies. I'm afraid it's not as simple as being an Ancestral Grade Qi… In fact, I believe it's no weaker than Essence."
Ryu's heart palpitated. "You're saying that I can now freely control an energy on the same level as Essence?"
No level of cool headedness was enough for Ryu to maintain his calm.
"This is only the beginning, Little Ryu. My instincts tell me that this energy is the Chaos Plane's representation of Essence. Its yang to its yin or vice versa. As you know, the strength of Essence you can call down varies based on your abilities. For example, the Essence you called down as an Heir pales in comparison to the Essence you can evoke as an Imposer.
"The concept here is the same. If you want to wield stronger and more potent forms of this Chaos Energy, you need to deepen your connection with that Plane of Existence."
Ryu clenched his fists. Even if he had to give up his Spiritual Foundation, he was willing! But Ailsa had said there was no need to. He almost couldn't believe this windfall.
"With this, I believe opening the first nine seals of your Heavenly Pupils will be as easy as breathing, so the troubles of finding your Spiritual Foundation should be a thing of the past… But, I'm sure you know that finding it before your connection with that Plane of Existence is sturdy enough will erase all of these benefits."
Ryu nodded. "I understand."
A moment later, his flushed appearance disappeared, replaced by a cold oppressive gaze. Layers of frost wafted from his body, coating the underground cave in icicles.
Ailsa removed her hand from Ryu's back, hiding her sickly and pale features from him as she shrunk down and entered the Incubator. Ryu had no idea that the deduction skills she used to draw out the starting line for him had taken so much out of her…
But he simply didn't have the mind to pay attention…? He didn't notice that his Glove of Order was reacting oddly as well…
Now that he had this strength, he was entirely focused on washing the Inner Ring in blood in memory of his grandfather.