Happiness bloomed within Eska's heart. Even if Ryu's condition was to marry her, she would accept in a heartbeat.
She had never been with a man in her life, but she had already long since become a Sky God. The reasons she had used to put off love in the past were meaningless after reaching such a height. How could she focus on cultivation any more after reaching the pinnacle of all that there was? Maybe, somewhere deep within, she regretted never settling down and having a family of her own.
Of course, she didn't have such feelings for Ryu. He was nothing more than a child in her eyes. At most, it would just be her sacrificing for the sake of her Clan, something she had already done plenty of in her life time, even down to tying her soul down to this place.
Plus, as far as sacrifices went, this one wouldn't be too bad. Ryu's talent was clear for them all to see. And, he might have been even more of a beautiful man than she was a beautiful woman. Also considering the fact she didn't have the inhibitions of a young woman as a seasoned elder, she didn't see anything wrong with giving herself away like this.
She was mature. She had long since forgotten the childish dreams of love and prince charming she had in her youth.
Taking a deep breath and regaining her composure and elegant demeanor, Eska began to speak. Her long white hair flowed, her graceful curves restraining themselves as though playing a game of cat and mouse with Ryu's libido.
"Firstly, you should know that though this crystalline jade contains all of our Zu Clan's most valuable teachings and training facilities, all of core importance to the rebuilding of a clan, what it doesn't have are true resources. There are endless techniques and fountains of knowledge here, but we can lead you to true wealth.
"The remnant of the [Phoenix Heavenly Body] technique I mentioned to you before is just one example of this. But, that remnant is actually from one of the Ruins our Zu Clan knows how to find the location of, all of which are related to the Ancestral Beasts."
When Ryu heard this, his gaze rose from Eska's curves. One would never think that he was drinking in the sight of a beauty by his eyes which remained as cold as ever. However, Eska didn't mind this. As long as he was looking, that was enough for her.
"Ruins?" Ryu said slowly.
"Yes. We have information on many such Ancient Ruins."
Ryu's gaze narrowed. The further back a Ruin was dated, the more difficult it was to find. The Dark Phoenix Ruin was the oldest Ryu had ever found, but even then, it was only because he was looking for its Shrine. As such, he had clues to work with many wouldn't have.
There were nine Eras in history. From oldest to most recent, there was the Chaos Era, the Primordial Era, the Ancient Beast Era, the Sky God Era, the Shrine Era, the Blossoming Era, the Pedestal Era, the Golden Era – which Ryu was born in – and finally, the current Martial Era.
Of these, Ryu had the knowledge necessary to explore a Ruin from almost any Era. However, the oldest one he had ever found was from the Shrine Era.
It was obvious. Usually, the older a Ruin, the more valuable it was.
From Ryu's understanding, these Zu Ancestors were from the Sky God Era. That meant that whatever Ruins they were talking about had to be from that Era at worse, better yet, it might be from the Ancient Beast Era since Eska mentioned them.
A faint excitement gripped at Ryu's chest. In his first life, he had always lamented not having strength of his own. The closest he could get to any sort of thrill was exploring Ruins even though he had always had Nuri by his side.
It had been a long time since he discovered and explored a new Ruin. He hardly counted Hecate's at all. Though, he had been planning on searching other Death Ruins he had in mind if the Tri Palace couldn't give him any further clues about becoming a Summoning Necromancer.
Seeing that Ryu was interested, Eska finally began to relax more and more. As long as they had something of value to give, there was always a chance. Even if it had just been herself, she would have been happy. But since Ryu was interested in more than just this, she finally felt true relief.
"The second help we can provide is with our unique Visualizations. Though I guided you in my [Immortal Sakura] in the past, I held back a lot back then. With us, your already blazing speed will be even faster…"
Eska listed off many benefits. But, after the first, everything else paled in comparison. Even the second was almost meaningless to Ryu. If it wasn't for the fact that Ailsa was in a coma, he could learn their Visualizations whenever he wanted. It was only slightly more enticing since he didn't know when Ailsa would awaken.
After Eska finished, she fell into silence, waiting for Ryu's response.
Ryu shifted his gaze away from Eska's body, something he found to have been too difficult. He found his current state to be ridiculous, but there was nothing he could do about it. A cauldron of emotions was stirring inside him already, having a volatile Bloodline that wanted him to fuck everything in sight definitely wasn't helping his mental state.
"What is your Visualization?" Ryu turned toward Balaur, asking a question he didn't know the answer to.
Among the four Ancestors, Balaur was the only one that didn't look like a refined scholar. In fact, he was quite burly and brutish. If it wasn't for his flowing white hair and piercing white eyes, it would have been impossible to think of him as a Zu.
Balaur, much like his other two companions, had been watching Eska's interaction with Ryu with complicated gazes. They were all seasoned veterans, how could they not see the sacrifice that Eska was willing to make?
Even though they were all born in different generations, after so long of being stuck here together, how could they not grow close? To them, Eska was a big sister.
Hearing Ryu's question, the usually boisterous Balaur sighed in what almost looked like defeat.
"My Visualization is called the [Elemental War God]. Its stages are…"