Ryu froze before this scene before laughing. This wasn't a laughter of sadness, nor was it one of grief or remorse. No, it was a laughter of disgust and disdain, pervaded by an uncontrollable killing intent.
In his life, whether the first or this second, Ryu had never killed a person. In fact, he had never felt killing intent toward another. Yet, in just a few months' span, he had felt it not just once, but twice.
From Ryu's analysis of the formation protecting this underground space, the Opes Clan had not opened this hidden area for several thousand years. However, just how ironic was it that the tufts of grass surrounding the Tor Clan's identical fountain was worn dry, scraped from constant usage?
On the surface, King Tor was pushing his own son to the brink of death, forcing him to live a life of despair and anguish, while in reality, he was benefitting from the very Devils he made his son out to be.
Ryu had never seen his father open the entrance personally, but with his intelligence, did he need to? King Tor had already reached the top of his blacklist, a place Ryu never thought he'd improve from. Yet, he had somehow pulled it off.
Taking a deep breath, Ryu calmed himself, the rage on his features dissipating into the cold air.
With a steady gaze, he scanned the room, trying to see through its purpose. Aside from the murals that depicted worship and the pools of Spiritual Qi, there seemed to be a broken piece of Memory Jade at the very bottom of the dense waters. Oddly enough, there weren't any other protective formations to be found, but the truth of the matter was that the Spiritual Qi was its own form of protection.
If Ryu wantonly tried to grasp the broken Memory Jade, his Mental Realm would burst apart. Similar to how substances tended to flow from most dense to least dense areas, so too did Spiritual Qi follow this rule. By giving it an area of low density to flow to in his own Mental Realm, Ryu would be giving himself over to the reaper. It was an ingenious and simple protective mechanism.
By Ryu's calculations, the Spiritual Qi pool was five by five meters. However, it was difficult to tell its depth from how clear the waters were. It could be anywhere from fifty to a hundred meters deep. Such an influx of Spiritual Qi would even shatter the Mental Realm of an expert who had cultivated to the Soul Refinement stage.
As Ryu saw it, there were two methods a normal individual could use to reach the Memory Jade.
The first was to exhaust the Spiritual Qi. Over time, the qi would eventually dissipate. In fact, this was already happening considering the fact there was about a ten-foot gap between the edge of the pool and the water's surface. One could also speed up this process by cultivating one's Mental Realm near this source.
Once the level of the Spiritual Qi lessened to an adequate degree, the Memory Jade could then be retrieved relatively painlessly. However, this would take a very long time, millions of years, potentially.
The second method was one always available in the martial world, and that was to simply be more powerful than the protective mechanism could withstand. If one was at the Soul Quintessence realm, even if this pool was ten or a hundred times deeper, it would still be child's play.
Obviously, Ryu had none of these options available to him. He had only just begun his Mental Realm cultivation and couldn't even be considered to be at the true Spiritual Entrance realm.
'I do not have the time nor the strength to use a third method…' Ryu thought to himself. Looking around, he smiled lightly. 'I'll be back.'
Ryu leapt across the pool, using the Northern Heavenly Wind to clear the five-meter distance with ease.
Making his way to the White Devil mural, his large hands glided across its surface before almost coincidentally pressing downward.
The sound of shifting mechanisms creaked beneath Opes Palace. It was clear that this hidden path hadn't been used for several thousand years… Although Ryu wasn't certain of the details, he had a good guess that this was how things were meant to be.
A burst of cold air greeted Ryu as he walked up another flight of ice-covered steps. This time, however, there was no grey fountain at the other end. Instead, there was an inconspicuous stone, the kind that seemed to have aged for countless eons in the very same spot. If it wasn't for the snow covering its surface, Ryu was certain that the green of moss and various fungi would coat it.
Harsh winter winds whipped against Ryu's frail cheeks, reddening them as he looked into the distance. He couldn't help but feel very content with the results. As expected, that long path had led him to the remains of the Natural Order Sect!
To a casual observer, Ryu was simply smiling toward seven mountain peaks covered in pure white snow. However, Ryu's Heavenly Pupils saw different. In his eyes, those seven peaks became seven Martial Pavilions. Brilliant architecture dotted these natural phenomena, turning an Earthly Wonder into a paradise of cultivation.
As expected of a top Sect, the Natural Order Sect was quite aware of its own appearances. Despite being a mortal Sect, it still held its own pride as a member of the Highest Mortal Plane. Ryu felt like he would find great use for this place. There was a little less than two years until that fateful date, so this would be his home for now.
Ryu's feet began to move in odd patterns. Not wanting to destroy the formation, and also not having the time or strength to manipulate such a large one as he did before, Ryu could only use another method.
Every formation had a backdoor. This so-called 'backdoor' was put in place by the creator just in case anything with awry. It was also a method of self-protection for Formation Masters to ensure that their creations were never used against them, and, at the same time, it was also a sort of signature akin to what an artist would leave behind on his works.
Small scale formations rarely had these backdoors as they were too small to accommodate them. However, they were frequently found in large scale formations like this one. And, for Ryu who had eyes that could see through the Mysteries of all things, taking advantage of these backdoors was as easy as breathing.
Just half a day later, a Ryu's sweat matted body appeared in what seemed to be a complete other world. While the outside was layered in cold and coarse snow, the Natural Order Sect was experiencing a mid-summer's day. Unfortunately, that made the stench of its corpses all the more unbearable.