One might think that this was a useless discovery. What good was a flexible tree, especially since it was of such a weak grade to begin with? Even Sarriel, who was observing Ryu's actions from above, couldn't help but look at him as though she was looking at some sort of idiot.
Of course, she could tell that Ryu likely had a reason he was acting like this, and likely a profound reason at that, but when had she ever needed an excuse to think of him as an idiot? In fact, it made her feel much better to deal with things like this.
Regardless, this matter wasn't just a small deal to Ryu. In fact, it was such an enormous deal that he had to take time to calm himself. This sort of discovery was like finding out steel was chewy, or water was brittle, or even that air was rigid.
Of course, it wasn't as exaggerated as that as these things could often be classified as fundamental elements while this was just a singular example brought upon by a single Spiritual Herb. But to Ryu, it was no less shocking.
Simply put, Ryu had a lot of faith in his analysis. Not only was he a great Herbologist, he was likely the best Herbologist Sacrum had ever seen, period. He might not have the greatest span of knowledge ever to be found in a single person, but what he did have was an exceptional mind for problem solving and noticing patterns.
Everything about this tree's characteristics, its chemical structure, the environment it grew up in, its ecosystem, everything… it all screamed rigid tree with solid body and poor flexibility. And yet, in practice, it was completely different.
There was only one explanation for this… it was Chaos Qi. The influence of Chaos Qi had resulted in something that couldn't be easily predicted.
'The question though… Is this replicable? Is there just a new set of rules I need to learn or is it that the change will be random and unpredictable? Would I always find a tree meant to be rigid and have flexibility? Would a plant grown in lava always have an Ice Element? Or could one of these trees be brittle and that plant just as easily form lightning?'
To Ryu, the latter possibility was far more fascinating. If it was just a new set of rules to learn, Ryu could probably deduce them all without even leaving this region.
The greatest reason why this would be less interesting would be because it would just be like looking into a mirror. If both worlds were truly just mirror images of one another, then the reality would be that there wouldn't be anything new to find here. Everything would have an opposite and as such would have a counterpart to be found in the Real Plane.
Though, it wouldn't entirely be a loss if this was the case. After all, many Spiritual Herbs had gone extinct on the Real Plane. If they had their opposites to be found here, then Ryu could likely find Spiritual Herbs he had never laid his hands on before on this Plane.
Still, Ryu very much hoped that it was the latter.
If a random chain of events could lead to all sorts of unexpected mutations, this would introduce a whole host of variables that Ryu could lose himself in. When rules aren't followed strictly, or at least not coherently, the world they could have in store would be on a completely different level.
But, that was just the tip of the iceberg. What if Ryu could take advantage of this? What if, with his own Chaos Qi, he could cause random mutations in Spiritual Herbs they would otherwise never experience?
It was one thing for him to use his Dao to forge weapons and concoct pills, that was formulaic and Ryu felt that given time, he would easily become the best. This was a rare case of Ryu not just being arrogant, but rather being realistic. The combination of his Dao and his Heavenly Pupils, not to mention his talent in qi control, input and output thanks to his Bone Structure, left him practically untouchable in these fields. If it wasn't because he was so focused on his combat prowess, he would likely have already made leaps and bounds already.
However… if Ryu could not only forge and concoct an end product, but even do the same with the starting products, just what kind of magical effect would that have?
Just imagine a time where a pill that Ryu needed didn't exist. Not only was its formula never created, but the theoretical ingredients that would be needed to even start making a formula also didn't exist.
Then imagine Ryu creating the Spiritual Herbs needed from scratch and concocting a formula from thin air. If he could do this routinely and consistently, unfettered by the laws of the Heavens or the restraints of his Ancestors….
Just what kind of monster would he become?
'I need to know more. Now.'
Ryu's gaze flickered, looking about. He guessed that the first thing he should do is check a second tree, right? It only made sense that he should…
Ryu's steps paused, his head suddenly snapping upward. He found Sarriel looking off into the distance, a deep frown on her features.
'Are there really people here? Sarriel said the Heavens were fighting a war and this was the frontlines, but…'
For the first time in a long while, Ryu really wasn't in the mood for battle. He just wanted to research like he had back during his first life. In an ironic twist of fate, he kind of missed it.
'That's fine. I like crushing people beneath my feet too.'
Ryu's figure flickered, appearing in the skies. His eyes grew piercing, distances of several tens of thousand kilometers away suddenly feeling as though they were right in front of his face. With his current eyes, even zooming into distances thousands of times further was child's play. He essentially had the eyes of a Sky God right now, these distances were nothing.
It was then that Ryu understood that there wasn't a group of people coming for them. Rather, there was a battle being waged between two parties.
On one side, there was a very familiar group of armored Heaven's Warriors. And on the other…
Well, Ryu didn't immediately know how to describe them.