Ryu kept clawing at his throat for a while and remembered he was investigating how the fatty can't feel the qi around and he stopped his drama, standing up from his lotus sitting position, and moved toward the innards of the Spacetime Void.
He moved toward the rippling space surroundings of the Spacetime Void, the space looks like it covers the Spacetime Void and also looks like it's also covering something else from the space Ryu is now.
The effects of the pill are wearing out but Ryu can still feel the qi coming from outer the layer of the rippling space, he touches the space but it looked like it is a solid wall, his hand not sinking as he excepted, of a rippling space.
He now remembered that since he has been here, he hasn't even touched this space layer of space, he is just testing it now
He is intrigued, this shouldn't be how a layer of a rippling space be.
'maybe there is a hindrance, let me attack first' Ryu thought and he attacked the space.
And when he attacked, the space just rippled like usual and nothing else happened.
Ryu was surprised, he thought that even if the space doesn't break, it shouldn't have just rippled but shake with his current strength at the 5th stage of the Earth realm and 3rd stage in all elements in indestructible Primal Body Techniques
But he immediately understands that as a natural god-grade artifact, how can his weak strength be enough to shake the void?
Ryu gives up and thinks 'i will later know what is there, but I'm sure it will be something related to all the remaining elements except the light and darkness elements.
Ryu moved back to his seat and sat down to continue refining the pills, he knows that the soldiers will still be there because even though he had been here for more than 20 days, for the soldiers outside the Abode, it's just 2 days and some hours so he continued to refine his pills.
Ryu refine again the Qi-engulfing meridian pill several times and on his 5th try, he kept refining 1 pill low grade in his 6th try he refined a high-grade rank 1 Qi engulfing meridian pill but it was also only one, it was as if the pill can only be refined one at a time.
Ryu had learned from his mistake and shortcomings so he jumped from mid-grade to high grade but he is still not perfect to refine peak grade.
Since Ryu started refining the pills, he hasn't refined any peak-grade pills so he was a little down which make the three present speechless.
They thought in unison 'if any other alchemist is here! They would have banged their head somewhere to die as they will be ashamed and furious you are still not satisfied with your progress
"Master, do you know that the Qi engulfing meridian pill is divided into mortal, immortal, and god grades and all in nine ranks so you shouldn't worry, you have already passed the stage to use the rank 1 pill just focus on rank 3 upward, though if you perfect this one, it will help you in perfecting the other rank as well, it will give you a solid foundation, it your choice, "the dragon asked and advice Ryu.
"Yeah I know and that's what I'm trying to do to build a solid foundation for myself, so let me perfect this one too"Ryu replied to little long while he continued to refine.
Though little long used to behave childishly, he is quite useful and helpful when needed like in this situation where he explained to Ryu the basics.
Ryu refine and refine till he reached peak grade in the Qi engulfing meridian pill though the pill still remains one, he can only refine one at a time.
Ryu used 17 days to refine and perfect his skills in pills and Ryu can now refine any rank one pill to Peak grade with the minimum number of 7 pieces.
Normally, the utmost number of pills that can be refined in one go in a cauldron is 9 pieces.
Which is the peak number in cultivation nine is the utmost.
After 17 days Ryu stand up and asked fatty void
"Are the soldiers still outside the Abode" Ryu was even lazy to check and only asked the fatty?
"Yes master, they left 7 days ago ...I mean 7 days in the Spacetime Void and outside..." The fatty wants to continue but Ryu stops him and said he understands.
He calculated and discovered that the soldiers left almost 18 hours ago,
They should have gone far
Ryu thought and he disappeared From the Spacetime Void to appear outside exactly where he was beaten half-dead by the general.
Ryu moved deeper into the forest but opposite the soldier's direction told him by fatty void,
He moved towards the harbor city inside the forest cautiously and sometimes pick up herbs on the way,
A while later he arrived at a peak that need to be crossed to the other peak to reach there, the place was quite perfect for an ambush
It have quite a shallow gorge before we reached the other Peak,
When Ryu sees that, he instantly became alerted and activates his All Encompassing Seeing Eyes
When he activated it, he saw some people hiding under the gorge, it looks like they were waiting for someone to ambush, Ryu was quite lucky to have activated his All Encompassing Seeing Eyes before he got there but even without it, the bandit can't hurt him all the same.
"Master, it looks like there is some bandit there, they must be waiting to ambush you, but ah! really pity them, they shouldn't have tried and ambush master, well it for master's good because you don't have many spirit stones with you except the one from the assassin and soldiers, so they should at least provide money for the master to spend"the dragon said mischievously
Ryu nodded and suddenly remembered that he didn't even have money so this bandit should just be his money bag for now.
"Hmmm..god job little long for reminding me that"
Ryu said and change his path to the gorge, he was going to avoid them before, but now he needed money so these bandits should help him,
It's not like they are good people before, so if he robs them too, it's still good
Ryu moved to the gorge, behaving normally to not alert the bandit, and when he got beside the gorge, 7 men jumped out and immediately surrounded Ryu.
One of the men shouted
"Haha.....boss I think we got a fat sheep this time, look at his luxurious clothes and his bearings, one would have figured out he will be rich" the one in the middle at the back of the man in front who looks like their boss said, the man has an average face with a hooked nose and a wide jaw that can intimidate a normal people.
"You..don't you hear what I'm saying here, quickly bring out your belongings and let us see or you want to die!' the man said angrily making him more intimidating with his face.
The remaining crews also looked at Ryu with faint anger seeing this boy wasting their time and not quickly displaying all his wealth scrambling for mercy from them.
"Well, guys... Let me tell you this dress was given to me by my master and also I don't have any money, I was..hem .. thinking I can get some money from you guys that is why I passed this place, I have already discovered you guys since, so quickly dropped your wealth and scram from this place" Ryu said truthfully and lazily.
It was true that his master give him the clothes when he saw his tarted clothes when he entered the IMPERISHABLE GOLDEN ABODE the first time.
"Hahaha.... hahaha. hahaha!!!" All The bandits first froze and suddenly laughed uproariously in anger
When the boss shouted in anger
"Boy, you have angered us, now we won't just rob you but also beat you up for wasting our time and making fun of us, though we don't kill our victims, but you? We will beat you till you are half dead" the boss said and he signaled one of them to beat Ryu.
The man moved Ryu with his rod,
"So, are you ready, "the man asked showcasing his rod, and immediately swiping it toward Ryu's stomach ribs.
When Ryu saw the man's action, he chuckled and moved unhurriedly to the side avoiding the rod.
The rod was just too slow for Ryu making him move that way in front of an attack
The man was at the 3rd stage of the Earth realm which is already lowered than Ryu's cultivation stage with Ryu heaven defying power that he can fight one whole realm of his cultivation base, this is child play.
In the bandit group, the highest cultivation stage is the 9th stage of the Earth realm which is their boss and even that is child play to Ryu.
The man was surprised with how Ryu avoided his rod and he kept swinging his rod left and right but none connect with Ryu,
The man was soon tired, he was helpless against Ryu and he looked back at the boss for help.
"You are useless, you can't even take care of this small boy, all of you surround him and attack together, "the boss said
Though the boss said all that to the man he was cautious so he called the team excluding him to beat up Ryu, how Ryu was avoiding the blows of the man earlier was scary, so he want to finish Ryu in one go.
All the men moved with their weapons, some took a sword, spear, hand gauntlet, and so on to attack Ryu.
"Whooshes... Booooom...wroomm..." all type of sound is heard as all the blows land and Ryu evades all, he is using the wind chasing Foot Technique perfecting it with this live target.
Ryu kept moving around the 5 men hitting them lightly sometimes so they can continue to be his training dolls.
Suddenly when Ryu moved around the wide-jawed man, he hit the man on his jaw and
"Bam...Spurts" blood spurts out of the mouth and he moved another man to kick on his head
Before the man's head touch the ground, Ryu followed up with another blow to the same head bouncing the body away.
Ryu swipes his leg and connects with another man's leg, putting his knees under the swipe leg.
"Bam crackkk.."the back of the man connected with Ryu's knees breaking the man's spine.
Ryu kept injuring the men but whatever he do, he didn't kill them as they wanted to do to him.
The only person Ryu hit hard enough is the intimidating man with a wide jaw.
When Ryu was beating the bandits, the boss's jaw is wide open almost touching the ground.
He can't believe this, these are 4th-stage Earth realm to 8th-stage Earth realm cultivators especially the wide jaw man who is in the 8th stage, his assistant who was beaten black and blue by Ryu.
After Ryu finished beating the 5 bandits he looked at their boss pointing his hand and said
"I think it's remaining you right?
Ohh I almost forget you, the rodman right?" Ryu said and look at his side where the first man with the rod was lying down limply
"Please sir, don't beat me, just beat our boss, he is the one directing us as you see right?
Yes, he is the one, beat him as we were also beaten" the remaining 5 men said weakly while the man with the rod was rejoicing.
"Okay, as you can see, all of them want you beaten, get ready," Ryu said and rushed forward to the boss with his wind-chasing Foot Technique.