Ryu vanished into the large forest, his body cloaked in a veil of darkness. While the others thought that he would make his way to the Sect, Ryu chose to take his time. He had no intention of entering that lion's den now. Since he had chosen to finally try his hand at the Dream World: Osiris, he would simply find a location where he wouldn't have to worry about being interrupted.
Not long after Ryu disappeared, several shadows appeared where he had just been. They looked around in confusion as though wondering how a Middle Divine Vessel Realm pup could possibly elude them.
However, there was no denying the fact that it had happened right before them.
"Could he have not headed toward the Sect?"
"Impossible. I'm certain that he took this path."
"Well, he's clearly not here, so how do you explain that?"
The shadows looked toward each other but clearly didn't have a good answer for one another.
Ryu coldly watched on from the sidelines, his expression indifferent. It was as though he didn't know that these 'shadows' were here for him.
After a while of getting nothing in return for their efforts, the shadows scattered.
Not even ten minutes later, they returned. But, there was still nothing to find.
'Quite persistent, hm?' Ailsa mused, her thoughts drifting to Ryu.
'Quite bold.' Ryu replied, an edge to his tone.
They were still with Moonlight Blossom Sect territory and weren't very far from the Sect at all. Yet, they still dared to come after him right here and now.
He had to say that this was probably a smart decision. It would be easy for Zulfiqar to blame another in this sort of situation.
Though the Three Pupil Eclipse Sect was a looming threat, the reality was that much like how everything else in the Martial World functioned, it was entirely reliant on strength. Ryu could complain, but if his voice wasn't loud enough, who would listen?
From what he understood, this Zulfiqar had quite the loud voice.
Ryu sneered. 'To think that this is how far my family's world would have fallen. I'll remind them of the power of the Ice Phoenix Clan soon enough.'
Ryu vanished.
Not long later, he found himself a secluded place and summoned his Death Worm Immortal Cave before burrowing into the ground. He had to admit that despite the relatively weak nature of the Death Worm, at least compared to higher end Immortal Caves, its stealth abilities were top of the line.
Once Ryu felt that he was in a safe enough position, he began to enter a state of meditation.
"Will you be able to come with me?" Ryu asked.
"Mm." Ailsa nodded. "It shouldn't be a problem. In fact, over there, we'll likely run into many more Faeries, my existence won't be too surprising."
Ryu nodded. That much made sense.
"I also have a few ideas… Namely, we need to do something about your weapons?"
"My weapons?"
"Yes. Your level of strength has long since surpassed them, so they're more of a hindrance than a help to you. And, beyond that, I think we may also need to consider something a bit more… novel."
Ryu's brows furrowed, not quite understanding what Ailsa was getting at.
"Let's go first and I'll teach you what I mean."
…
[Welcome to Osiris]
Ryu felt his vision swim, but he quickly acclimated himself.
After observing his surroundings, Ryu found that he was in the small pod. A gel of a consistency a level more solid that jello covered about half his body length-wise. Not even a foot above him lay a ceiling and his arms couldn't even stretch horizontally without crashing into more walls.
He wasn't very surprised by this realization. According to his understanding, Osiris was a grand Dream World no smaller than maybe the whole of the Martial World itself. Of course, things weren't so exaggerated since it was the hub of Mercenaries alone, but the point was that it wasn't much different from the real world.
As such, there were differences in statuses between people here not unlike how there'd be in the Shrine Plane or anywhere else.
The fact Ryu awoke in a pod meant that he couldn't afford to have awoken anywhere else. As such, the default brought him to this location.
Of course, part of the reason for this was the fact his great grandfather must not have put any effort into building his faction. From Ryu's understanding, he was the only person who had joined the Saintly Weapon Sky God Faction, so unlike the other Direct Descendants of Sky Gods who likely awoke in luxurious mansions, he had to settle for this uncomfortable hell hole.
Ryu looked down at himself as best he could in such a position and shook his head. Not to mention the fact he awoke in a pod, but even his clothing was downgraded.
All of Ryu's clothing had been sown by Spiritual Seamstresses, but it seemed that he wasn't lucky enough to bring such things with him. As a result, he was now wearing bland grey robes that made him look somewhat like a dilapidated Tai Chi master.
Ryu didn't actually mind this very much, he only wished that his clothing was black as he had grown accustomed to over the years. But there was no need to be so picky.
Despite the lists of complaints, Ryu actually felt quite refreshed. Compared to sending his mind into the crystalline jade, this sort of feeling was very different. He found that his mind was almost… breathing.
It was a weird feeling, almost as though his brain had lost the protection of his skull. But, rather than being in danger as a result, it felt more free and lively. The feeling was rejuvenating.
In the past, the perpetual use of Ethereal Tapestry was more of a burden than anything else. Though being able to see all the qis of the world was a special feeling that made reading the attacks of opponents and even cultivating far easier, it weighed heavily on the mind.
Ryu found that he got tired much more easily and his mind needed to rest more frequently. But, this only made sense. After all, wouldn't anyone feel this way if their normal world suddenly became nothing but a swirl of bright lights and colors all the time?
But, in this place, Ryu felt as though the burden had been completely lifted from him. In fact, he began to enjoy Ethereal Tapestry just as much as the very first time he awakened it.. He found that this mutation his Heavenly Pupils had undergone had far more possibilities than he had initially given it credit for. If he could bring out its full potential…
