Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

1759 Brighter

Empana clearly hadn't been as lucky as Selheira was, but that ironically might have been because, unlike Selheira, he could actually walk around.

The result of that was him running into enemies he could defeat and suffering for it. Though, honestly speaking, that could be just about anyone in this place.

Making it to the seventh layer definitely meant that you were exceptionally powerful amongst that group of geniuses, so there were simply no safe zones around here. The moment you ran into someone, if you didn't have the strength to protect yourself, you would be finished.

This was probably also the reason why Ryu had only been surrounded by three geniuses instead of a dozen or more.

After sensing the golden pillar, many probably realized that they were too far away to be among the first to get there, and there was too much to risk by trying, anyway. It was better if they searched for opportunities elsewhere.

That was especially the case since, unlike Ryu, moving around would definitely get them targeted by beasts as well. It could be said that Selheira was also very lucky in this regard. Or at the very least, she had grasped just enough Bloodline Resonance to keep her body protected and mask her aura.

Ryu reached down and placed a hand on Empana's forehead, confirming what he had already known. His soul was definitely still buried deep in there, and his body was in a quasi state of rebirth.

All of his organs had shut down or ruptured. Even his heart had been completely shattered.

There was only a small kernel of life deep within. It would have been easily missed if it wasn't for the fact that this was exactly what Ryu was looking for.

Once again, some droplets of Embryonic Qi would have probably done the trick, but much like Selheira, Ryu sensed something curious.

The methods of the Lizard Demons were clearly much weaker than the Phoenixes. This Bloodline talent should be based on skin shedding, or something similar.

It was designed to be likely used just once in their lifetime, and rather than a holistic change, it was targeted as more of a Bloodline change. Comparatively speaking, the Phoenix's Rebirth was exactly that, a true Rebirth. Ryu even speculated that a great deal of Embryonic Qi might be involved in the talent as well. Though he was unconscious at the time so he had no way of confirming.

He had seen his father's Rebirth before, but he hadn't even been able to approach at the time. Even if he had used his Spiritual Sense, his soul would have been burnt to ash.

What was interesting about this was the fact this skin shedding rebirth of sorts had almost perfect synergy with the Rotten Seas.

The trouble was that because Empana hadn't triggered it in optimal condition; he was moments from dying. In fact, though he was fighting now, had Ryu found him a few hours later, his death would have truly been inevitable.

This was truly unfortunate for Empana.

Even in comparison to the Lizard Demons, his talent was poor. That was why he looked so much like a human and had so few Lizard Demon features. That likely meant that he hadn't even awakened this talent until this very moment.

But luckily for him, he had Ryu.

Rather than pulling out a pill or something of the sort, Ryu decided to take a different approach.

He would see how much fight Empana truly had in him.

Triggering his Bloodline Resonance, Ryu began to slow weaken the pressure around Empana, allowing his body to breathe a bit.

Part of the reason Empana couldn't find a path out of this mess was precisely because the pressure in the seventh layer was far too much. So instead of helping him out directly, Ryu took this path instead.

Much like Selheira, if Empana could accomplish this on his own, the result would be far more favorable.

Ryu wasn't in a rush to go anywhere. If he descended to the eight layer right now, he would be letting those on his kill list off.

He highly doubted that much more than a handful, if any at all, would be able to enter the eight layer. That meant that the seventh layer was his last opportunity to catch them all in one place.

In that case, why not take his time to help out his wife and his new Summon?

This wasn't entirely a waste of his time, either. Setting aside the fact that Empana would become a part of his fighting strength in the future, this was the first time Ryu would get to witness a rebirth up close.

Of course, once again, it was nowhere near as close to a real rebirth as the Phoenix's talent was, but that didn't mean that it didn't have its own merits.

Not only would this help him to understand much more about Empana's body, which would help him increase this Lizard Demon's strength into the future. It would also be an opportunity for him to deepen his Dao and comprehension of the world.

Ryu continued to lower the pressure. He could feel that the will in Empana's heart was still incredibly strong. Even until the last moment, he refused to give in.

The Lizard Demon had no idea what was happening around him at all, but that didn't mean he wouldn't take advantage.

Even so, it wasn't until Ryu had lessened the pressure to what was on the second layer that an equilibrium was finally reached.

Finally, Empana began to make some progress forward in his rebirth, latching onto the chance like a thirsting man in the desert to water.

The process was slow, and though Ryu could have weakened the pressure even further to help speed it up, he didn't do so. In fact, at a certain point, he began to weaken his Bloodline Resonance, increasing the pressure around Empana once more.

As Ryu observed, his eyes glowed brighter and brighter.