In a lot of ways, the Gem was the center of a griffin's strength. In lore, it was known as a World Core.
The simplest ability of the gemstone was its Spiritual Sense. Others had to awaken their own, but the griffins had Spiritual Sense from birth. This was the earliest example of their influence on the world around them.
At its core, Spiritual Sense was just Spiritual Qi interacting with the world, blanketing it, and studying it. This process could then relay an image back to the host of the qi.
Griffins were able to exude this sort of pressure to interact with the world from birth, allowing them to see with far more than just their eyes. It was also this special Spiritual Sense of theirs that allowed them to understand the Order of the world in a way many couldn't even hope to. In this way, their gemstone was a lot like Ryu's Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils.
It was no wonder they thought themselves to be superior. They felt that not only did they have the ability to comprehend the world in a much deeper way that Ryu could, they also had the ability to manipulate it to their whims once they reached a certain level of skill.
Maybe in the past, Ryu would have been stubbornly stuck in his ways. But, after seeing through the true weakness of his Pupils, he was more open to seeing things from the perspective of others. Plus, what better way was there to find a path of improving his Pupils into the future if not by comprehending the paths other similar Pupils have taken.
'It's quite interesting. If you think about it, most Heavenly Pupils seem to share some characteristics with the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils in one way or another, it's just that they're restricted by some laws.
'Even if you take the Fire Pupils as an example. They might not be able to see through the mysteries of all things, but by design, they're meant to be capable of seeing through the mysteries of fire itself. In that way, it shares a portion of my abilities.
'And, if you take a step further, though those born with my Pupils tend to make it further in cultivation, there's likely a much weaker glass ceiling for those who wield the Fire Pupils as well. If they ever made it to the level where they could wield the ability of the Mysteries of Heaven and Earth Pupils in full, they would have had to forge such an ability for themselves, so they wouldn't be faced with the same bottleneck I would be…'
Ryu thought these things but none of it brought him to a sudden breakthrough. It was a simple deduction and a mere single brick laid upon the foundation that would rise countless years into the future. But, Ryu still smiled when he thought about it.
After a moment, Ryu turned his attention back to the gemstone. Each one was unique in its color and often swirled with a mix like a beautiful nebula. The pressure it exuded was quite strong, it almost felt hat coming near it was like crossing a barrier over into a new world entirely.
It could be said that Formations were the attempt of lesser species to follow in the steps of griffins.
Formation Masters learned from the natural Runes of the world and eventually formed amalgamations of them that could execute all sorts of fantastical things. But, ultimately, Formation Masters were just taking a longer route to accomplishing things that griffins could do with a single thought.
If Ryu wanted to form a world of ice pillars, he would think of formations like the <Nine Purgatories of Hell> or <Rising Phoenix, Setting Sun> or <Abyssal Flame Rising>.
Of course, each one of these formations was of the Ancestral Grade and examples of protective and offensive Formations he had run into during his Ruin hunting days. Each and every one was powerful to an extreme, and if not handled properly, could incinerate not only you to ash, but everything within an entire world.
Just setting up these Formation required not only the expertise of a Grand Master, it required skill beyond imagination, and, most importantly, resources of ridiculous proportion.
An Ancestral Grade Formation required ingredients not weaker than this, and in a large amount at that.
It could be said that most of the reason Ryu had never really used Morvar's Formation Eye Visualization was because though it didn't require ingredients or resources to deploy, the resulting formation suffered as a direct cause of this.
Ryu knew the ins and outs of countless Formations though he had never drawn any personally. Still, it could be said that as long as he wanted to learn how to, it would take him a fraction of the effort of anyone else, it was just never worth the time.
But with this…
'I can threaten some real powerhouses if I do this correctly.'
Ryu's gaze flickered. He wasn't under the illusion that he would be able to keep improving at this speed constantly, but there was a shortcut right in front of him. His own personal strength was still the most important, but this war wouldn't wait for him to slowly improve.
The trouble was that Ryu wasn't sure if he had the skill to do it even if he felt it was feasible with his knowledge. Would he have to ask one of the Supreme Blacksmith's for help again? Returning there might be a big issue, though.
Ryu's thoughts danced back and forth. But, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to do it.
With the gemstone of a powerful griffin, he would essentially have a replace all measure for every resource one might need to form a Formation. If he combined this with the Formation Eye Visualization, he would be able to deploy any and all Formations without suffering even the slightest drop in their performance.
In his mind, Ryu even had countless Formations that could entrap even Sky Gods. Let alone entrap them, he knew Formations that could outright kill True Sky Gods, let alone False and Fragmented ones.
The trouble would be that Ryu would need either a Twelfth Order Griffin's gemstone to accomplish that feat, not to mention a much deeper comprehension of the Formation Eye Visualization than he had now. Or… He would need the gemstone of a Griffin who had truly awakened the World Pupils.
Ryu's gaze narrowed.