Even after a few moments, Ryu could find nothing wrong with his senses. Other than the fact this Kings' Garden had a bit denser qi than normal, nothing was out of place. Plus, for Ryu who was so used to the qi density of the Shrine Plane, he almost didn't notice this minute difference. It wasn't so shocking that his thousand years worth of memories were overriding his fourteen years of experience here.
However, this was a problem only normal individuals would muddle through. Ryu had access to something others didn't: the first ranked set of Heavenly Pupils!
Ryu's eyes flashed open, a cold, silver-blue light piercing through the night sky. The truth of the matter was that the color of one's eyes were irrelevant to whether or not you had Heavenly Pupils. However, when facing experts of high cultivation, it was possible for them to sense the special nature of your eyes by looking into them.
For Ryu, his eyes held the vicissitudes of Fate and the depths of space. He gave those looking at him an unfathomable feeling, like they were looking at the expanse of everything in existence. When on the Shrine Plane, this affect was limited due to everyone's high cultivations, but on these lower Planes, a person could lose their minds looking at Ryu. As such, he needed to be careful.
Almost immediately, Ryu's eyes trained on the old gray fountain, sitting quietly in the corner. Previously hidden formations spun to life, etching complex ancient symbols into the air.
'This language is from the Sky God Era. However, there are small portions that contain inspiration from the Golden Era but are too novel to be counted as such. I assume that these are from the so-called current Martial Era.' Ryu pondered quietly.
From his understanding, there were eight main Eras written into history. Starting from the first, they were the Chaos Era, the Primordial Era, the Ancient Beast Era, the Sky God Era, the Shrine Era, the Blossoming Era, the Pedestal Era and the Golden Era.
After the Shrine Plane was sealed, a new Era was ushered in that was thus coined as the Martial Era. Considering Ryu's analysis, it was likely that Formation Theory had evolved once more in his absence to create this slightly new language. But, it wasn't so exaggerated that Ryu didn't understand. Over time, the language of Formations changed, but it was the duty of a Ruin Master to understand tendencies that survived across all Eras.
'To think that the mortal Plane would have such complex formations.' Ryu continued to observe, his eyes pumping with excitement. It seemed that after not being used for so long, they were happy to finally see the world again. Unfortunately, they were also quickly draining Ryu's stamina.
Ryu had never been able to use his eyes for very long, but now it was even more exaggerated. Without Immortal grade qi to supplement them passively, his pupils were essentially starving. But, it would be enough to complete this job.
'This seems to be a Half-Step Mystical Grade Formation. It would normally be impossible for me to crack without my usual tools, but…' With a thought, a pool of spatial energy appeared from his eyes, revealing a single beautiful dagger that shone under the moonlight.
Its spine was completely black, however, its jagged edges were a see-through crystalline blue, making it seem like more of a work of art than a blade.
Truth be told, if someone of this Mortal Plane heard Ryu analyze this formation as a Half-Step Mystical Grade one, they would either sneer at him for his stupidity or pass out in shock. One had to understand that Mystical Grade formations were the likes of which the largest Sects of the Immortal Planes used to protect their most priceless possessions. Even if this one was still technically a step shy of that, this was still the Mortal Plane!
Ryu didn't think much of it, though. Since he was used to his Clan's Ancestral Grade protective formation, he didn't flinch. Instead, Ryu was deciding how best to approach this break.
'This formation should have formerly been of the Ancestral Grade, but the disconnect between the old and new language left gaps. These were definitely placed here by Immortal Cultivators, but why leave them here for these Kingdoms?'
Taking a deep breath, the dagger in Ryu's hand began to grow with an added fierceness. Why was Ryu so confident in cracking this formation? The answer was two-fold. Firstly, it was a small-scale formation, not a large one. Although this meant its gaps were smaller, it also meant that its flaws had a larger impact. Secondly, Spiritual Qi was the basis of Formation Theory. What better way to combat it than with a blade that could attack with this kind of qi?
'Blood recognition symbols… This should be the newest addition to this fountain. It was adjusted such that only the offspring of the Opes Clan could open it… It also happens to be the weakest part of this formation.'
Ryu's approach changed slightly. Normally, he wouldn't care about anyone detecting him since he was used to dealing with Ruins. But, this case was slightly different. If the Immortal Cultivators who placed these here found out, matters could become troublesome.
Just about three hours later, a sweat soaked Ryu pushed his blade forward one final time. Like an expert lockpicker, his hands remained and controlled, moving his tools to a concentrated rhythm.
He was tired and his body ached, even his Spiritual Qi had run dry multiple times, further slowing the process. But, his diligence was rewarded.
The grey fountain slid back without a sound, revealing a set of stairs below. After checking to make sure there weren't anymore hidden formations, Ryu made his way down, the fountain closing above him.
Ryu followed a long and dark corridor, but there seemed to be a blue light waiting at its end. As expected, this blue light opened to a large inner space totaling about fifty meters in width and length, plus about fifteen in height.
At its center, a square pool with a depth Ryu couldn't calculate sat, filling the air with pure Spiritual Qi. Under normal conditions, this would have been an absolute shock. Dense Spiritual Qi reservoirs were far more valuable than cultivation qi reserves. Even the Tatsuya Clan only had a few of these.
However, Ryu wasn't focused on this at all. His eyes never left the mural on the far walls… The murals that depicted worship of the White Devil Cult.