Grand Ancestral Bloodlines
chapter-1958

BOOM!

A world-shaking aura descended in a furious tempest.

Right then, a Dark Fiend suddenly appeared high in the skies, not far from where Ryu had just been standing. But it was obvious that he was a step too late, having missed out on Ryu by a hair's breadth.

Obviously, all of this had been perfectly calculated by Ryu.

The Dao God was too used to those far beneath his cultivation Realm being unable to read and react to his presence. He had no idea that Ryu had long since locked onto him with [Third Perspective].

By now, his [Third Perspective] was so powerful that even Lower Dao Gods couldn't easily sense it. The Fiend had no idea that he had been observed from the very beginning.

Of course, [Third Perspective] was originally a technique of Ryu's Heavenly Pupils that most couldn't sense at all. In the beginning of his journey, he used it like a cheat to read the cultivations of his opponents even when most wouldn't be able to do so.

Because it worked using the Lines of Fate and Karmic Strings, those of too low cultivation didn't even have the right to sense their probing at all. And the more powerful Ryu became, the less able even those that could would become.

Much like Space and Time, those of high enough cultivation would be able to feel their Fate and Karma. However, also much like Space and Time, there would be a vast gap between those that had the requisite affinity for it and those that didn't.

And now, this Fiend was learning of this personally.

"Reverend Dark Claw."

Several Lords and Sovereigns bowed. Even the humans did the same in a truly pathetic display.

Reverend Dark Claw was an existence of the Lower Dao God Realm and he was tasked with overseeing this portal.

This was especially odd and it was a dead giveaway to the importance of his particular Holy World. Usually, even if a Dao God might be tasked with a certain Holy World, that didn't mean that they would be physically present. There was a reason why Ryu was escorted away by Dao Sovereigns and not Dao Gods after leaving the Ice-Darkness Holy World.

And that was also why Reverend Dark Claw's expression was so ugly. Despite having been here, he had actually allowed a Transcended of all things to slip through.

He could only ignore all the respectful bows he was receiving, his gaze flickering again and again.

He wasn't sure what to do.

On the one hand, this was certainly something that he should be reporting. But if he did so, he would be putting his neck on the line for sure.

There was simply no way he would escape punishment. Although he certainly wouldn't die, a Dao God was far too valuable for that, he would most likely lose a pound or two of flesh and his Lineage would likewise take a hit.

But now…

Reverend Dark Claw inwardly shook his head. He knew that one way or another, there was no escaping his fate. However, that didn't mean that he couldn't lessen the punishment.

If he was the one to capture the Chaotic Silk Meridians, the merit would certainly offset his mistake.

The trouble was that the pride for such a thing would almost certainly fall onto Aria's shoulders because she would definitely be the most likely to capture Ryu.

However, he had an odd belief in Ryu.

Ryu had come here knowing that Aria was here. It was even something he tried to take advantage of to make his way in.

There was no way that Ryu didn't know how powerful Aria was by now.

On top of that, he was also the one who had a heavy hand in the destruction of their Light False Shrine. In that case, he had out-maneuvered even those mysterious figures back then.

Even in this situation, he managed to slip out of both the lock-on of a Dao God's Spiritual Quintessence and make it through all of their defenses as a mere Transcended.

Such a person wouldn't be foolish enough to send himself to death.

It only took Reverend Dark Claw a few split seconds to grasp exactly what sort of situation he was in right now.

He would have to strike a balance.

First, he ordered for this news to be sent to the Fiends inside of the Holy World. Second, he sent all the Dao Lords deployed to defend the outside, sending them into the Holy World as well for an extra helping of manpower. Then, using the Sovereigns, he set up a perimeter of defense and had his formation masters begin to set up several nets.

It was clear that Ryu had a Spatial Soul Nature. Although setting up a protective net to stop spatial teleportation was impossible around the Holy World portal itself because of the volatility of space here, that didn't mean that they couldn't do anything.

All they had to do was solidify the non-volatile space around the perimeter.

Of course, this would take a ridiculous amount of resources, but it was a necessary evil. It would also be able to stop outside interferences.

Once this was finished, the man contacted the other powerhouses of his Lineage. They knew that his screw-up would end up falling onto all of them if things went south, and though his Lineage wasn't among the strongest, they certainly had more than just one Lower Dao God. In fact, they had several Middle Dao Gods and a single Higher Dao God.

By secretly contacting them, those that were able to slip away from their duties or were free to begin with would be able to make their way here.

The man planned out everything meticulously, even to the point he didn't return to his secluded cultivation.

He stood like a statue in the skies, ready for the worst-case scenario.

Even if Ryu managed to clear the Holy World, he'd have death waiting for him.