If others were watching, they would feel Ryu's cultivation increasing by leaps and bounds.
From the 1st Extinction, to the 2nd, to the 3rd, the 6th, the 9th, and somehow even increasing beyond.
Ryu couldn't feel these changes too subtly because he was entirely focused on making sure that he didn't lose himself in the Chaos Plane. Although he had his Dao to rely upon as an anchor, if he wasn't cautious, he could still very easily lose his life, something he was obviously unwilling to allow to happen.
However, even if he was aware, he wouldn't be very surprised.
The continuous reformation and destruction of his Inheritances, although happening without his knowledge or acknowledgment, could have been considered a process of Extinction. The difference was that the process was far smoother and safer, likely facilitated by his Meridians themselves.
Due to this, when Ryu underwent his first true Extinction, its value was far greater than just one. The accumulated breakthroughs and regressions, only to break through again, made the value of a single Extinction for Ryu worth that of dozens to anyone else.
Logically, the more Extinction one underwent, the more powerful they would be, but it was also a matter of quality as well. Some didn't crush their comprehensions perfectly and as such had lackluster Extinction results. By the same token, there were some who crushed their comprehensions perfectly, but failed to rebuild them with the same level of perfection.
Ryu, though, not only gained a perfect accumulation of Inheritances, their destruction was absolutely perfect, and their rebuilding was not only perfect, it was beyond perfect, forming a perfect whole for his Inheritances.
Ultimately, though, the real underlying reason Ryu shot through the Path Extinction Realm like this was because that was always what was meant to happen.
According to the original design of the Chaotic Silk Meridians, a wielder of it who followed along its true path would be stuck at the peak Immortal Ring Realm for a very long time. But in return for this patience, they would be granted direct entry into the peak of the Path Extinction Realm in a single bound so long as they could survive the process.
Just like that, over the next weeks, Ryu's aura slowly grew through the Path Extinction Realm before settling at its very pinnacle, just a single step away from the Dao Pedestal Realm.
As Ryu underwent these Extinctions, he could feel his connection with his Spiritual Foundation growing stronger and stronger and he could even faintly feel that he could borrow some power from it now. In fact, if he used some of the strength of his Spiritual Foundation, he felt that his strength would increase by a factor of ten at the very worst.
This wasn't surprising to Ryu. After all, the Path Extinction Realm was a primer for the Dao Pedestal Realm which would be the second opportunity a cultivator gained to increase the size of their Spiritual Foundation.
However, what did shock Ryu was what happened next.
At first it was very subtle. The duality of it all didn't really sink in to Ryu, or rather, it was more subconscious as opposed to overt and in his face. But as the weeks continued to tick by, the feelings only grew stronger and stronger.
By the end of it, Ryu's heart felt as though waves were rushing through it.
Ryu's Chaotic Silk Meridians began to shimmer as though there were two halves to it.
One half was connected to the Real Plane. This connection was formed through his current Spiritual Foundation.
This made sense. Although Spiritual Foundations were located in the depths of the Abyssal Plane, they had a natural mode of connecting to the Real Plane. If not, how would the cultivators of the world be born with them?
Through establishing this connection, Spiritual Foundations chose their partners at birth and became the foundation for them to communicate with the Heavens.
This connection was formed in Ryu's lower belly and it was clear and resounding.
However, there was a second connection that had just been formed, one that was much more infantile and barely perceptible. Still, with Ryu's current spatial affinity, he could just barely feel it and he had a feeling that it also pointed him toward where the next steps of his improvement lay…
This was the second half of the Chaotic Silk Meridians, the half that was always striving to form a connection with the Chaos Plane, and the half that was only becoming more and more prominent as Ryu progressed.
Ryu was shaken. Could it be that in order to enter the Dao Pedestal Realm, the next step was to form a connection with a second Spiritual Foundation?
Ryu's brows couldn't help but crease and worry.
The last time he tried to do that, he had suffered terrible backlash. In fact, if not for his Fate Reversal skill, he would still be suffering now and his cultivation would have slowed considerably. It was clear that the Phoenix Sky God did not want to take on another Spiritual Foundation. Or, at least that was what it seemed.
What if the Phoenix Sky God's Spiritual Foundation just didn't want to be replaced? What if it would allow him to do as he pleased so long as he used this second more subtle connection to communicate with his original Spiritual Foundation?
Ryu waited patiently for his breakthrough into the pinnacle of the Path Extinction Realm to finish first before he did this again. This time, rather than using his dantian to communicate, he went through this mysterious second connection he seemed to have formed, reaching out toward the Spiritual Foundation he had meant to be born with.
Now that Ryu had already met it once, finding it again was all too easy, especially now that his soul presence had grown considerably in power.
Ryu couldn't help but feel incredible in his heart. The idea of having not just one but two Spiritual Foundations filled him with expectation. Just what kind of monstrous strength would he be able to display? Even if his original Spiritual Foundation was as ordinary as it got, just the fact it would be his second would be enough for him to look down upon the world.
Ryu calmed himself and focused his attention. This would be his breakthrough into the Dao Pedestal Realm, he couldn't be so casual about it.
Soon, he saw his Spiritual Foundation. It was a radiant silver color with veins of pulsing blue. It shimmered like a refined gem in the depths of the darkness, shining even brighter than his Fate Star.
Ryu reached out toward it and established a connection, wanting to reel it back into his body.
However, at that moment, it suddenly trembled.
In the real world, Ryu's body convulsed and he was suddenly sent flying backward, several mouthfuls of blood flying out from him one after another.
Each and every one of the bones in his body shattered, his organs shredding to pieces and his body sliding along the white grass like a dead dog.
His orifices bled and his body convulsed, each breath taking with it another coughing mouthful of blood.
In the depths of the Abyssal Plane, a certain Spiritual Foundation stood tall and firm, but the chains wrapped around it were even stronger.
