This was still only the beginning.
One would think that with more Immortal Rings, it would also take longer to complete the Immortal Ring Realm. But, this line of thinking neglected a very important fact, and that was the resonance portion of forming an Immortal Ring.
After entering the Immortal Ring Realm, cultivation wasn't just about consuming more qi, though this was in part the case. It was also about deepening one's connection with the Heavens, allowing you to sustain larger and larger Immortal Rings.
One had to understand exactly what it meant to control atmospheric qi. You were essentially taking something of the Heavens. The only way such a thing would be allowed would be if you were recognized by the Heavens themselves.
With 13 Immortal Rings, this process would be even faster for Ryu and it wouldn't be necessary to do it one at a time. As long as he reached a certain threshold of acceptance, all of his Immortal Rings would advance as one.
When it came to the second aspect of advancing in the Immortal Ring Realm – that being absorbing qi – this was also far easier for Ryu.
The tradeoff in needing to gather more qi was offset, and then some, by the fact Ryu would be able to gather far more than more people would. The amount of improvement in this area wouldn't be merely additive, there would be an exponential benefit that would place Ryu far ahead of others.
It took great geniuses about 9000 years to complete the Immortal Ring Realm, about a thousand years per stage, allowing the best geniuses to cross into the Path Extinction Realm at around 10000 years old.
However, when it came to this Realm, Ryu had too many advantages.
His ability to resonate with the Heavens was far better than others thanks to his Bone Structure and his Pupils. On top of that, he gained the benefit of Ailsa's ingenious cultivation design to boost the amount of qi he could take in at the same time.
Ryu believed that with his current calm and carefree mindset, he could complete the Immortal Ring Realm in just a few hundred years.
This sort of estimation would leave anyone in shock. However… Even then, it didn't consider something very important that Ryu had neglected.
Ryu's body shook, bulging slightly as the 13th Immortal Ring was formed. He could feel the gate of the Immortal Ring Realm laid out before him, all he needed to do was take a single step forward. However, he could not.
Due to the fact his Realm Heart was only of the Mortal Grade, he could no longer rely on it to sustain his cultivation. Without a Spiritual Foundation, he would only be continuously ramming against a wall that had no intention of letting him through.
However, this was not a worry for Ryu.
In order to reconnect with his Spiritual Foundation, he had only needed to undo nine seals on his Heavenly Pupils. But now, he had already undone over 50.
For a long while now, he had already been able to faintly feel it calling back out to him, the tether of Karma linking them through time and space. The only reason Ryu hadn't connected with it yet was because Ailsa had warned him that doing so too early – before completing the Connecting Heaven Realm – would revert his Chaotic Silk Meridians back to what they once were.
But now that they were rooted and established… It would no longer be an issue.
The waters around Ryu rose and fell more violently, the glow of a golden ring being drawn on his chest and abs.
The ring was almost too perfect. Its edges were incredibly smooth and it fit with Ryu's body as though it had always meant to be there.
In a void, in a completely unknown place, a Spiritual Foundation spanning forty kilometers blazed with undying white flames. It was difficult to tell if there was something solid hidden within or not, but it seemed to have a space of its own, unblemished by the outside world.
As though feeling a tug from some unknown place, the Spiritual Foundation began to tremble. But, it soon stopped as though it had become confused on which direction to go.
Ryu frowned from within the dark pool, his first poor expression in the past several days. He could easily feel his Spiritual Foundation, but for some reason when he tried to pull on it to form it to return to him, it couldn't complete the action.
It was like something was blocking him from it, as though they were in two completely different worlds.
But the problem was that that should always be the case. His Spiritual Foundation would always be on another plane of existence, how else would he be able to fit something that was 40 kilometers long into his body?
Ryu's frown relaxed. The only reason he could think of was this fabricated world. But how could it possibly stop the Spiritual Foundation of a Sky God? Could it be that Isemeine lied? Or was it that she never knew the truth to begin with? Or maybe it was something else completely?
This was a problem. As powerful as Ryu's body was, there was only so long he could maintain his Immortal Rings . As long as he slipped up or his body grew too fatigued, his control would falter and the perfection of his Immortal Rings would be tainted. Once that happened, there would be no sustaining their Origin Grade level any longer.
Yet, somehow, Ryu still managed to maintain his calm. He could feel memories of his failed Severing dancing through his mind.
Would he fail like that again right on the precipice of success?
No. No he most definitely wouldn't.
The sound of a resounding barrier shattering rang through the Nether Realm. The earth trembled and the skies split. It felt for a moment that the world was coming to an end.