Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

The Formation Eye Visualization technique had been incredibly useful to Ryu in Sacrum, but here, it wasn't able to sustain the formations of the True Martial World. They were essentially meant to be like portable, self-created formation flags. However, they didn't have the proper supporting Fundamental Runes to work properly in this world.

Ryu hadn't had the skill or the time to improve them to the standards of the world. Even now, he still didn't. Though, it was probably more a function of time than skill now.

So why was he deploying a useless Visualization technique? It was because he was cheating. Each kernel of a Formation Eye was sustained by his Birthed Phenomena and his Founding Dao. Using the much weaker core of the Visualization as a foundation, he was able to trick the Heavens into thinking that it was indeed a Formation Eye that was present.

A Formation Eye was essentially a signal to the Heavens. When they were arranged in a certain way, Heaven's Laws reacted accordingly and allowed a formation's effects to take hold. However, if a formation flag was too weak, and tried to form a much stronger formation, then it would fail and shatter.

But Ryu realized not long ago that he had a built in ability to stimulate the Heavens to follow his will. His Birthed Phenomena pulled in and controlled much more qi than he could alone, while his Founding Dao carried a supreme power over the laws that allowed him to understand all things. Together, they could form a weak approximation of the real thing.

Ryu knew that it wouldn't last long. He had poured far more strength into the form of the Formation Eyes so that they would be able to sustain themselves, but they would last for nothing more than a few minutes at best before collapsing under his might. If that happened, he would need to trick the panther beast into giving him enough time again, and it would be much harder the second time around without a doubt.

Ryu roared, the delicate skin across his body, and even the flesh beneath, suddenly splintering and cracking as roaring black lightning began to descend from his Birth Phenomena. The violence was heart shuddering, and the qi in the surroundings, as though being judged by a higher being, began to scatter and rush about, the commotion becoming so violent that a whirling tornado of blackness shot into the skies.

"SIGHTLESS EYES!"

Ryu's palms, pressed together so hard his wrists fractured, began to outpour with a whirling violence of Spiritual Qi just as volatile beneath the raging black lightning.

As for what this black lightning was... It was none other than Ryu's first usage of Primordial Chaos Qi in the True Martial World... And it truly didn't

disappoint.

The Sightless Eyes Formation of the Unbalance Art Sect relied on volatile qi to create a confusion field that was easy to step into but impossible to step out of. This was just the core of the formation, though. When it was used cleverly...

The panther beast stood on the spot, and then suddenly spun around with a vicious expression, attacking. But it hit nothing but air. Its face might have contorted in confusion if it wasn't just a mere construct, but because it was, it turned and attacked again.

It was using its senses to track down Ryu, and it believed that it knew exactly where the latter was. But because of the volatile qi and the formation, the true effect of Sightless Eyes activated. It was certain of its choices, and yet that only made it all the more wrong.

Ryu took a deep breath, his intent blazing as he raised his bow. Crackling black lightning continued to split and char his skin, but he didn't dismiss it.

He had access to Chaos Qi, but he had already realized over the course of the battle that while it made him exceptionally powerful, it wasn't enough. Chaos Qi alone only really had the ability to swallow and devour other gis, or more accurately... destroy them, it wouldn't deign to take in weaker lifeforms into itself.

However, without another method of directing it, outside of this purpose, Ryu could only use it to amplify the strength of his attacks. He was lacking in techniques, or more accurately, techniques suited to the power of Chaos Qi.

As such, his Primordial Chaos Qi was actually the far stronger trump card, because even without techniques to direct them, they were fierce and oppressive. And better than that... Unlike Infinity Mist, he could control them perfectly.

SHUUUUU! BANG!

The panther spirit went flying, its head becoming a mangled mess of blood and flesh. It almost immediately stood to its feet, looking around with a furious sort of gaze. It had dodged, it was certain that it had dodged, but it had somehow ended up rushing right into the path of the arrow.

Ryu's gaze narrowed. It actually hadn't died from that single strike.

He pulled his bow back once more, the raging, crackling black lightning thunderous to light. But this time, there was an added trace of black flame...

This black flame wasn't his Rage Flames or his Death Flames, but rather a dense mass of destruction that seemed to have aspects of both.

Primordial Chaos Fire Qi.

SHUUUUU! BANG!

The panther beast tried to dodge again. It moved in the wrong direction, but it did so with such speed that Ryu still somewhat missed, causing his gaze to grow cold. Even so, the ribcage of the Golden Protector Spirit was blazed open, his skin a mass of boiling flesh, its bones cracked and haggard, its inner organs threatened to fall out.

What strong defenses...

Ryu fired several more arrows. He could feel that the Formation Eyes were about to waver and vanish, but he didn't panic. In the state the spirit was in now, it could no longer threaten him. However, the load of using such powerful Primordial Chaos Qis was practically ripping him from the inside out

He released a final arrow and the panther spirit seemed to unwillingly collapse.

Ryu's gaze suddenly flickered. In all of his thought and effort, he had forgotten one very important thing.

Did this panther spirit even align with his Martial Forms? Why was it that he couldn't tell immediately?

The moment he had this thought, the Sightless Eyes Formation collapsed.