Ryker appeared in a familiar world. Talents floated through the skies in an array of Spiritual Patterns that he recognized like the back of his hand. After all, many of these talents were the very ones that he had unlocked over the last several weeks.

By now, all of the talents that the trio of brothers could withstand while in the Enlightenment Realm had already been undone by him, and now all that remained were upgrades to their already existing talents.

But now wasn’t the time to consider them. That was because Ryker could already see Wind Phoenix. What he didn’t expect was everything else…

The entire world was filled with cracks of Corruption. When he laid eyes on the souls of the trio, two of which were completely unconscious, he could see that their essence was filled with the same cancerous growth. It was like streaks of lightning were running through their otherwise white souls, peeling into them and reaching into their cores.

Seeing this, Ryker felt a pang of guilt.

He had been with Phoenix since they were born. He had the same feelings that a father would have toward his children for them. Seeing them in this state, he was truly infuriated.

Their grandfather would rather put these three through such suffering than allow them to be under the control of a human.

Becoming a Demon Beast wasn’t a sure thing. In fact, it was very dangerous. Phoenix could easily lose themselves in the midst of the process.

Granted, the odds that they would make it through were high considering their talent. But there was a non-zero chance that they would be stuck as Werebeasts for the rest of their lives and wilt away slowly.

Ryker couldn’t believe that a grandfather would ever make such a decision. It filled him with disgust.

He understood that there was an irreconcilable hatred between human and Spirit Beasts. However, to allow that hatred to cloud what was best for their descendant was grotesque.

Ryker didn’t believe for a single second that Phoenix’s grandfather didn’t know that he had treated his grandsons well.

Wind Phoenix suddenly plunged for Fire and Earth Phoenix.

“NO!”

Ryker’s voice clapped like thunder, and Wind Phoenix felt like he had been hit with a bolt of lightning. But almost immediately, Ryker felt a wave of weakness.

‘Dammit!’

He had used up a lot of his soul stamina healing himself with Temporal Weave. Then he used even more to seal away their talents and deal with Fire and Earth Phoenix with the greatest speed.

Now, he had nothing but his soul to rely on, but not enough stamina to stop things.

His [Soul Ripple] hit Wind Phoenix and delayed him for a moment. But after a flash of determination, he plunged downward with even greater speed.

In this world, the three brothers were separate, and each one looked like a majestic, one-headed Serpent Phoenix. They would usually be soaring through the skies or tightly bound in a ball for a nap. But right now, only one of them was awake.

Ryker found that the distance was too far. Ultimately, this wasn’t his world. Wind Phoenix had obviously been prepared for his appearance.

In order to counter Wind Phoenix’s potential suddenly awakening and attacking his real body, Ryker had no choice but to leave the room, and that only gave Wind Phoenix more time.

At that moment, Ryker felt like a true failure of a Mythical Master. It wasn’t just the fact that he hadn’t noticed that his companion had such a hidden ailment, but it was also a matter of him not quite understanding just what kind they were.

Wind Phoenix often ended up as a backdrop to Fire Phoenix and Earth Phoenix. His abilities were best used in an auxiliary fashion. Ryker most often asked it to cast things like Accelerate and Soar, ultimately bolstering the strength of the others.

Although Earth Phoenix seemed to also be used in this fashion, Earth Reborn was on another level entirely and couldn’t be slotted in the same way. It could be said that while Earth Phoenix bolstered the group, Wind Phoenix was just a backdrop to it.

The intentions were completely different.

Ryker didn’t think that he had neglected Wind Phoenix until now, but the fact the latter managed to catch him off guard again and again painted a completely different picture.

He had never truly understood Wind Phoenix as well as he had the other two. Just by virtue of the fact he had targeted Wind Phoenix last, he knew that there was no refuting this.

Wind Phoenix’s maw opened wide. It wouldn’t take anything more than a blink of an eye for him to tear through Fire Phoenix’s throat.

Even now, he had picked his target perfectly. Fire Phoenix was likely to be the greatest strength to him. Although he had a fiery temper, his offensive prowess was too strong. Even if Ryker managed to stop him, he would eventually succeed in the end no matter what.

Too fast. Even here, Wind Phoenix’s speed was beyond compare.

‘Not like this.’

Ryker was running with all his might, but it felt like he was stuck in a quagmire. He knew that he needed to take the time to break free of these bindings that Wind Phoenix had set up first, but he also knew that the moment he did, everything would already be over. So he vainly ran, his mind trying to churn for a solution even though he felt that it was impossible for there to be one.

‘Think! Think! Think!’

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There were too many things closed off to him in here. He had nothing but his Spiritual Resonances and whatever few soul techniques he had. He couldn’t use the abilities of the Silver Mirror, he certainly couldn’t summon any other Spirit Beasts, it felt like he had no choice but to just stand here and watch the Corruption take over—

Ryker’s gaze flashed.

He had a sudden thought.

If everything had a Dao, then what was the Dao of Corruption?

He was wrong. He had access to more in here than just his Spiritual Resonances because his Daos hadn’t disappeared either.

But he didn’t have a Dao of Corruption. And even if he did, what would he do with it?

‘Think!’

Time slowed around Ryker as he forcefully used Temporal Weave again. His speed of thought was already extraordinary because of his Pure Soul, but with time dilating now suddenly, it was even more ridiculous.

He could feel something weaving into his mind, and he subconsciously understood that it was a consequence of using Temporal Weave too much.

Comprehending the Dao of Time had allowed him to weaken the side effects of Temporal Weave, but if he went too far, he wasn’t immune from being screwed over and ending up in a state not too dissimilar from his mother.

It was just one problem after another. He had just lost decades of his lifespan and likely some of his cultivation speed as a result, he was in the process of losing his first true contract beast, and now he might lose his mind again.

Fantastic. Just—

Ryker’s eyes widened.

‘Wait… why is it that the Dao of Time can weaken the impact on my mind…?’

Streaking stars practically lit in Ryker’s eyes and enlightenment came in waves.

He suddenly understood.

How could he not have noticed already that the issue with Temporal Weave was Corruption? Its excessive use, the excess pressure on the soul, formed worms of Corruption that burrowed into you and ultimately made you weak.

It wasn’t the same kind of Corruption that beasts experienced.

Corruption was only misaligned Spirit Energy, twisted and mutated. When it was overcome and used, it could increase the strength of beasts explosively because it broke the shackles of the usual laws that bound Spirit Energy. It could allow beasts to break the restrictions of their Bloodlines and Circles, elevating to another level.

Temporal Weave was doing the same thing, but over a much longer and slower period of time.

It seemed that the Dao was able to mitigate the mutation of Corruption, as for why…

‘It makes perfect sense. The Dao represents the Order of the world, and Corruption is the antithesis of that. It’s no wonder that one would slow down the other.

‘But why is it that the Adonis Clan doesn’t have a chance to become Demons as well? What’s missing?

‘No, more importantly than that, with how powerful the Daos I’ve given to the three are, why are they still being influenced by this Corruption?’

The only answer was that the Corruption was too powerful. It came right from their grandfather, who should most definitely be a God Beast already. Ryker’s Dao wasn’t strong enough to combat it passively…

But was it possible to do it actively?

Time began to slowly slip from Ryker’s grip, but he grit his teeth and communicated with his Circles. At that moment, he pumped all his intention and will into the Dao of Wind that bound Wind Phoenix.

Wind Phoenix might not be listening to Ryker’s commands any longer, but their connection was still very much there. And through it, Ryker could perfectly sense the state of Wind Phoenix’s soul.

He took the Dao of Wind and forced it forward, wrapping through the Corruption and forcefully subduing it.

Wind Phoenix faltered in the skies, his energy suddenly being thrown off balance. Confusion flickered in his eyes and he landed awkwardly by his slumbering brothers.

The jolt seemed to bring him back to his senses, but then the Corruption came roaring back.

Ryker convulsed and his gaze became bloodshot. He pulled again, hard.

The bindings around him vanished and he flashed forward, appearing amidst the three of them in a flash.

Ryker faltered and almost collapsed, but he grit his teeth and pulled again. This time, he could feel Phoenix in the outside world being brought into his dantian.

His consciousness faded as he finally relaxed, his mind bl

urring.

…

Ryker only awoke a long while later, his mind spinning and his thoughts feeling like they had to run through a grinder before he could understand them.

His thoughts remained fuzzy and his gaze was unfocused. But the pain in his body was on another level.

Only 50% of his injuries had managed to heal before, but what shocked him was that this wasn’t the reason for the pain.

He immediately checked his dantian.

According to what he knew, a beast was forced into a state of dormancy in the dantian, restricted by the Circles. It wouldn’t even be conscious, so logically, it shouldn’t be able to fight it or cause him harm.

But the pain in his body made him worry. How had it gotten so much worse?

Ryker sighed a breath of relief when he saw that Phoenix didn’t somehow manage to start a rampage. However, what he did immediately see were the veiny lines of Corruption that were only somewhat suppressed by the Daos of his Circles.

In his absence, this energy was what had begun to rampage around, and it was causing a great amount of destruction to his dantian. If he was any slower, he would have ended up a complete cripple. At that point, 9 Circle talent or not, it wouldn’t matter in the slightest.

Ryker coughed and tried to sit himself up, his body convulsing beneath the strain.

He grit his teeth and gave up on trying to sit up. Maybe the floor wasn’t so bad after all.

A cough came from his lips and blood flooded outward. It was only now that he realized that his surroundings looked like a murder scene. Blood pooled out of his pores and wounds, gliding along the smooth floors.

‘Fantastic…’ Ryker thought. ‘… They’re too rare for me to even have a database of them, but I definitely need a Spirit Beast that specializes in healing one of these days… this is getting too ridiculous…’

He didn’t get injured often, but when he did… it was absolutely horrible. He had already given up too much of his lifespan and was entirely unwilling to give up any more. Even if he was, the act alone would definitely ruin his potential.

Age was incredibly important when it came to cultivation. Ryker had already wasted 18 of his best years, he simply couldn’t afford to waste any more.

Right now, he was approaching his 22nd birthday, but he had what was effectively the body of a 60-year-old right now.

In the cultivation world, a 60-year-old that was still a First Ascended was pathetic at best. It was lucky that Ryker had only lost these years after his breakthrough, or else he might truly be finished.

The good news was that after becoming an Ascended, he had gained an extra 100 years of life, and it should be possible to gain an extra one hundred for every step upward until the God Realm. So, his lifespan had gone from around 350 years to around 310 or so.

He would have to break into Second Ascended status as quickly as possible. But how would he do that with the current state of his dantian?

His Daos could suppress the Corruption, but they couldn’t erase them completely. It would always be there.

And by this point, taking Phoenix out of his dantian wasn’t a solution. The Corruption had already spread to his Circle. Plus, bringing Phoenix out would just start their battle all over again, this time with Fire and Earth Phoenix on full alert, and him in an even worse state.

‘What do I do?’

Ryker sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

Everything had been going so smoothly, and now it had all come crashing down suddenly. He had gone from comprehending Dao Path after Dao Path and improving with lightning speed, only to end up hitting near rock bottom days later.

He grit his teeth.

There was only one way out of this. He had to help Phoenix evolve into a Demon Beast. That was the only way for Phoenix to incorporate the Corruption, regain their clarity, and stop harming him.

But how could he do that?

The catalyst for their Corruption ending was obviously his death. They couldn’t begin to work toward evolving from Spirit Beast to Demon Beast unless he died.

There was also no way that he could make his Daos powerful enough to combat an energy from a God Beast any time soon. He predicted that it would take at least two months.

That was already an obscene timeline for anyone else, but right now, it felt far too slow.

‘What do I do…’

Ryker hadn’t felt this helpless in a long time.