Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Sensing and swapping your Immortal Qi for Cosmic Qi was just the beginning. Afterward, you needed to form your Cosmic Seed, condensing your Inheritances, Dao and comprehensions into a small and concentrated form. And then, even after you succeeded in this, you would then need to endure the planting of your Cosmic Seed.

It had taken Mae several months to finally succeed, almost half a year if she was correct. But this was already very fast, extremely so. It wasn\'t unheard of for this process to take upwards of half a decade.

Of course, those that took so long weren\'t very talented to begin with, but it was still important to note that it was within the realm of possibilities. Even in line with that, a year was considered fast already, for Mae to take less than half that time...

Mae looked toward where she had sensed Kyu disappear. It was a bit dangerous to enter seclusion in the same place, and that phoenix cry that had come from Ryu had definitely destabilized her a bit, adding about an extra week to the consolidation of her foundation. Even so, Mae\'s gaze was especially soft as she looked toward where Ryu was.

She knew that if it wasn\'t for Ryu, this sort of improvement speed would have been impossible.

That Embryonic Qi had cleansed her entire foundation. It had slipped into the cracks she hadn\'t even noticed were there, and it had also consolidated much of her talent into a strong pillar. It didn\'t feel as though she had changed qualitatively, but everything just felt... stronger and more compact, it was difficult to explain.

No matter how great of a genius you were, your foundation was bound to have small imperfections, this was inevitable. Going back and fixing these flaws was especially difficult and it required something on the level of Ryu\'s [Refinement Sutra]. However, in order to make something like that work for you, you would have to have Ryu\'s level of skill in craftsmanship to begin with, something most obviously didn\'t have.

Mae looked down at her dainty palms, they looked even more flawless. Even disregarding the increase in her cultivation realm, her base strength had increased at least tenfold. She was already a genius her family had doted on, standing at the top of her generation. But now, she felt like she could suppress even the last hundred generations of her family in pure talent alone.

Suddenly, Mae heard movement. She looked up and her brows jumped when she saw Ryu. Her heart stopped beating entirely, a strong sense of fear and trepidation taking root within her. Just meeting his gaze, it felt as though countless slithering chains had wrapped around her body, squeezing her arms to her side and cutting off her airways.

Ryu\'s presence felt exceptionally sharp. Even though she wanted to look away, she found that she couldn\'t at all, and not out of a lack of attempts. It felt like so long as Ryu didn\'t want her to look away, she wouldn\'t. It was almost as though she was experiencing a case of sleep paralysis.

Ryu seemed to realize what was happening and suddenly closed his eyes, shaking his head.

The pressure Mae faced vanished into thin air and she nearly collapsed, gasping for breath. That feeling had truly been too suffocating, in just a few moments, her body was drenched in fragrant sweat and her clothing clung to her curves.

"Are you alright?" Ryu came forward, a hint of apology in his gaze.

His session with the chains had lasted for longer than he thought it would, but things had ended up working out. It was no good for him to leave while Mae was still in seclusion.

His cultivation hadn\'t changed much because he hadn\'t been too focused on it, only improving to the Middle Dao Pedestal Realm and approaching the Higher Dao Pedestal Realm. But even so, his entire demeanor had changed, becoming quite unbearable for most to withstand. Someone weaker than Mae might have felt their Dao Heart collapse the moment they made eyecontact with him.

Mae caught hold of Ryu\'s hand, taking deep breaths. She smiled lightly and shook her head.

"I\'m fine."

Ryu nodded and didn\'t press for more answers.

"Congratulations on a successful breakthrough," he said with a soft smile.

Seeing Ryu go from so domineering to so caring at the flip of a hat, Mae suddenly found her gaze locked onto his. A flame flickered within her eyes and her demeanor shifted, the heat in the surroundings suddenly skyrocketing past a realm of normal comfort as though she was trying to scorch them both to ash.

Mae\'s gentle smile became like a devilish woman\'s grin, the excitement in her eyes only growing.

"You know, in my Dream Asura Clan, we have a saying. After every major breakthrough, the slate is wiped clean. In the eyes of the men of my Clan, I\'m an innocent virgin again."

Mae blinked, pouting almost too sexily. Although Ryu\'s expression didn\'t change, his gaze never shifted from the fire in Mae\'s eyes.

"Look at me, so vulnerable..." Mae said softly, licking her lips.

Claws appeared on her slender fingers. She reached up, raking them across Ryu\'s chest, shredding through his robes and drawing blood.

Ryu didn\'t so much as flinch, but his lip did suddenly curl.

His own hand reached forward, grabbing Mae\'s collar with an unexpected gentleness... until he suddenly ripped down with fierce momentum.

Mae squealed as her clothing was shredded to pieces, leaving behind sweat matted, laced undergarments that hardly hid anything. Her pretty pink nipples and lips seemed to invite Ryu forward with their faint wetness.

Mae leaned back, bringing her bloodied fingers to her lips as the excitement in her eyes grew.

Ryu stood to his height as Mae sank into the bed before him. He pulled his robes off, his cold gaze never leaving the excited Mae even once. It seemed that this woman had already forgotten the lesson he taught her last time.