1259 Show Me
Ryu stepped toward the first pillar and began to study it. At first glance it seemed smooth outside of the golden liquid dripping down from its body and into the pool below, glowing a faint red gold. However, after staring at it for a long while, Ryu finally saw the Runes dancing just beneath the first layer of its surface.
With the help of the Origin Flame, they were all directly imprinted into Ryu's mind. Various connections were being quickly made in his mind and the comprehension of the profundity of these pillars was quickly increasing, even to the point the globules of golden liquid within him began to slowly take shape and form up, solidifying into small rods that quickened the purification of Ryu's Bloodlines.
This realization caused Ryu's gaze to narrow.
Could it be that this trial wasn't over just yet? Was this left behind here on purpose, or was it a coincidence? If Ryu had left like he intended to, these globules within his body would have had a difficult time forming up, it would have taken him many years and attempts likely.
Even so, Ryu didn't feel that this was what the Nine Pillar Flame Sect had intended, that was because just to see these Runes took someone with special abilities on the level of Ryu. To actually understand them, though? That was another can of worms.
If the Nine Pillar Flame Sect had expected this out of a successor, they had expected far too much. This wasn't a normal ask of anyone and it was even more annoying than leaving things to luck.
Ryu thought for a moment and thought that he might have missed something else. The process it took to get here was far too complicated, even someone who could awaken from that world and survive wouldn't necessarily be able to do this. Did the Nine Pillar Flame Sect want an Inheritor? Or did they just want to kill anyone who even tried.
There seemed to only be two logical conclusions.
The first was that the Nine Pillar Flame Sect was similar to the Unbalance Art Sect. They only planned on giving out a portion of their Inheritance from the very beginning and would make him fight for the complete one some time in the future after enough successors had been gathered, that was the first option.
The second option was that figuring out the rest of their Inheritance was part of the trial itself. Though completing the pillars would have been difficult if Ryu left, he felt that any genius given enough time could figure it out. Of course, "time" was relative and it might very well take millions of years, but this amount of time to a Dao God was negligible.
Obviously, becoming a Dao God would be the minimum requirement for reawakening the Taboo Powers, so Ryu felt that this frame of thought was still appropriate.
Between the two, Ryu felt that either one might be correct, but he leaned toward the latter. He could feel the spirit of the Nine Pillar Flame Sect and they didn't seem to be excessively scheming.
Ryu circled the pillars and eventually passed through them all. The first one had taken him the longest, taking an entire day. But the second went even faster, and the third even faster than that. They all built atop of one another.. making comprehending one result in the next being simpler to the eye.
'Interesting...'
Ryu still couldn't comprehend the pillars fully, but his current comprehension was already enough for that mysterious golden liquid to begin forming from his own Nine Pillars. They had gone from globules of gold molten liquid, to sturdy rods piercing into his bones, and now they were producing more molten liquid on their own. As this molten gold formed, it seeped into his bones, fracturing them slightly before those fractures were instantly filled by this liquid.
Ryu watched these changes in silence. He felt that his Bone Structure was evolving again, but this time it wasn't his Bloodline forcing it to do so. He wasn't sure if this would make his Life Extinctions easier or harder, but he knew that for now it only benefited him.
Ryu turned his attention away from his body and began to look toward the surroundings once again. This time, the surroundings look very different to him. As expected, there was a formation that extended from the pillars into the floor and around the walls, protecting it.
'If I can find a small gap...'
Ryu's plan was simple.
With his current understanding of the Runes, while he didn't fully grasp them, finding some weaker points wasn't impossible. Normally, he wouldn't be able to exploit these weaknesses, but because he shared a similar aura now, it was very much possible that it would let him through.
If he entered the void and slipped past the walls, he would be able to see what was on the other side.
Was this reckless? Absolutely.
He had no idea what was on the other side. For all he knew the Nine Pillar Flame Sect had hidden their final hope in the depths of a blackhole and when he stepped out he would be shredded to pieces.
Of course, that was ridiculous. No teleportation would work directly into a blackhole, the spatial tunnel would collapse the moment you got close. But the sentiment was the same regardless.
However, the more progress Ryu made, the further from the pinnacle he felt. He could feel how difficult rising to the top would be, and making it there without taking any risk would be impossible.
He had just had a huge change to his foundation, and yet he still felt that he would have to bring out everything to battle Starlight if they had been on the Seventh Heaven. Of course, that was assuming that Starlight had improved his cultivation from the Immortal Ring Realm, which he certainly had.
This was unacceptable to Ryu, but pouting wasn't something within him. Rather than wasting time, he would simply go harder.
'Show me what's on the other side.'
Ryu's gaze blazed to life as a pair of silvery crystalline wings spread from his back.
With a step, he vanished into the void.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶