Chapter 526 Fear
The Immortal Ring Realm and the Connecting Heaven Realm were tied by a strong tether.
Usually, just the 'Connecting' portion of the latter realm was emphasized. This was the process of running one's energies through one's Pulses and Vessels. It was this connecting that formed the 'Ring' of that would thus be nurtured during the Immortal Ring Realm.
This was where the differences of the Immortal Ring Realm stemmed from.
A mediocre cultivator might not open all of their Pulses and Vessels. They might also potentially enter the Soul Birth Realm prematurely, thus losing access to a perfect foundation.
Those who lost a chance at this perfect foundation would have their Immortal Ring Realm broken up into Lower, Middle, Upper and Peak. This more 'general' separation allowed for more fluidity and was less hard-lined in comparison to higher forms of the Immortal Ring Realm.
Such a person might be lucky to have their Immortal Ring 'evolve' four times, but most would only receive two or three and completely lose a chance at the Path Extinction Realm.
A person who opens all Pulses and Vessels and maintained their availability upon entering the Connection Heaven Realm will gain access to stages 1 through 9 of the Immortal Ring Realm, thus giving them a chance at nine total evolution stages.
These so-called 'Evolution Stages' worked just like the Rites of the Awakening Realm. This would be a process where your Immortal Ring doubled in size. The end result would be dependent on how large your Immortal Ring was to begin with.
The sizes were also in line with what one would expect from the Awakening Realm.
A half meter was Common, one meter was Black, Ancestral Grade was five meters while the Origin Grade was ten. By the point one reached the 9th stage of the Immortal Ring Realm, one's Immortal Ring could truly be massive.
So what about Ryu? Why did he had to complete the Connecting Heaven Realm 13 times? And what was this about having more than a single Immortal Ring?
The answer should be obvious. Only by completing the Connecting Heaven Realm multiple times could you form more than a single Immortal Ring. But, the process itself was quite special. And in fact, as expected, only someone with meridians as sturdy as Ryu's would be able to accomplish this.
The process was simple enough. Taking each one of his Pulses and Vessels as a starting point, he would form his Immortal Ring with each as a center piece. He would complete these a total of 13 times and resonate with the Heavens for this total as well.
One might wonder that if there were six Qi Pulses, six Qi Vessels, six Body Pulses, six Body Vessels, and one of each Spiritual Pulse and Vessel, then the true number should be far more that just 13, but this was where the true complexity of Ailsa's design was rooted.
Sustaining just a single Immortal Ring took a great amount of fortitude. It could be compared to holding a nuclear bomb within one's body, one that with even the slightest loss of control could shatter.
In order to mitigate this loss of control, the Body and Spiritual Pulses and Vessels acted as stabilizers. One set of 12 fortified the body, keeping it strong and sturdy during the process. This allowed the body to stay empowered and not collapse during what would definitely be a trial of the mind.
The Spiritual Pulse and Vessel role to play was related in the 'Heaven' portion of the Connecting Heaven Realm. They acted as the relay station to the Heavens, calling down upon it in helping one to transcend from mortality to Immortality, because only upon completing that step would one be able to manifest their Immortal Ring into the real world.
The Body became Earth. The Spirit became Heaven. Qi connected the two, completing the cycle and forming the crown of Immortality: The Immortal Ring.
Ryu, then, would be forming one Immortal Ring with each one of his Qi Pulses and Vessels, thus completing a total of 12. The last would be a layering of them all, a perfect stabilizer to ensure they all survived the process, thus resulting in a perfect 13.
According to Ailsa's calculations, each cycle through the Connecting Heaven Realm was meant to go faster and faster, but it would still slow him down a measure. This was why despite having the Realm Heart which boosted his cultivation speed through the Mortal Realms, and having his own talent, it would still take Ryu 200 years to complete it all.
However, it would most definitely not take so long this time. Ryu could clear the passageways far easier and achieve resonance with far more ease like this.
The moment he began, his body trembled slightly, but there was hardly any other change. With the amount of power he had now, his frame was more than just a small bit solid. Even when he completed the first resonance, sustaining the first of his Immortal Rings, he felt that it was as easy as breathing.
What Ryu felt was the most powerful about Ailsa's method was that it was inherently perfect for his Miniature Dantians. The greatest weakness of the current Ryu was that using powerful Primordial Chaos Qis was taxing and even a form of terrible self harm. He couldn't even use Primordial Chaos Death Qi without fearing he might end his own life.
However, with every one of these Immortal Rings he formed, thanks to the foundation granted to him by [Six Realm Opening], it allowed him to use and access the qi separate from his body now, alleviating all the burdens that it would have come with.
This was the strongest benefit of Ailsa's method.
Not the vast amounts of atmospheric qi he could now pull on, not the absolute suppression his enemies would face in front of such a dauntless pseudo domain, and not even the added power of each one of his strengths.
Rather, what one should fear most would be Ryu's rampant and fluid use of Primordial Chaos Qis without reserve…