Chapter 76: The Rescue Begins!

At this moment, after condensing Origin Energy into his eyes and focusing his gaze into the distance, Ryan gradually grasped the basic situation ninety meters ahead.

He had never expected the people stationed there to actually be from the Sterling Family.

The reason was simple, Ryan had clearly saw Jake among them.

At this moment, Jake’s feet were bound with thick ropes.

He lay sprawled on the ground, covered in blood, his head weakly tilted to the side as he hovered on the verge of death.

With great difficulty, he was licking a bowl of murky yellow water placed on the ground, taking it one mouthful at a time.

Upon closer inspection, Ryan’s expression immediately darkened, gritting his teeth.

Jake’s arms had been brutally twisted and crippled by the Sterling Family’s people.

They were twisted into bizarre spirals, resembling pretzels.

His arm bones and flesh hung limply, while bright-red blood continuously dripped onto the ground.

The sight was incredibly cruel.

"Damn the Sterling Family!"

Ryan’s anger instantly erupted.

His face became icy cold as he struggled to suppress the rage surging through his heart.

"You beasts! I’ll definitely make you pay a heavy price!"

He was truly furious.

Originally, Ryan had thought the Sterling Family’s target was him and that Jake had merely been caught up in the conflict.

Because of that, he had assumed they would not treat Jake too harshly.

He had clearly overestimated the humanity of the Sterling Family.

To ensure Ryan would come to their meeting, they had first disregarded everything and captured an innocent commoner.

Then, to provoke him further, they had brutally twisted and crippled Jake’s arms.

They were simply insane.

At this moment, Ryan’s rage had reached its peak.

He desperately wanted to charge over immediately and slaughter this entire group of so-called great family members.

"Wait... Something’s wrong."

However, in the next moment, Ryan suddenly remembered something.

His expression changed.

A cold sweat instantly broke out across his back.

He forcibly suppressed the rage surging through his heart and made himself calm down.

He suddenly realized something.

The Sterling Family had absolutely no reason to go to such lengths against a powerless commoner.

If Jake posed no threat to them, why would they deliberately torture him?

Then there was only one possibility.

They weren’t doing this to vent their anger.

They had deliberately twisted and crippled Jake’s arms, leaving him barely alive, precisely so Ryan could see it.

They wanted to blind him with rage.

They wanted him to lose his reason and recklessly charge into their trap.

And the reason they had left Jake with a breath of life wasn’t because they had shown mercy.

It was because they were afraid that if they killed him outright, Ryan would no longer take the bait.

If Ryan had truly charged over blindly just now, he would have fallen directly into their trap and immediately been placed in a completely passive position.

"These people have such sinister and malicious hearts."

After seeing through the Sterling Family’s intentions, Ryan’s expression became even colder.

At the same time, his mind completely calmed down.

"I must hold back and think of a solution."

"The primary objective this time is to rescue Jake."

With this thought, Ryan began carefully analyzing the enemy’s formation.

The black-clothed martial artists ahead were divided into two groups, forming a pincer formation around Jake from the front and rear.

One group consisted of more than ten people.

Their cultivation ranged from the Origin Sea Convergence Realm Fifth Stage to the Ninth Stage.

They were positioned about a dozen meters in front of Jake, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

Whenever a low-level Exotic Beast or an unfamiliar Bloodline Fighter approached, they would immediately drive them away and clear the area.

They were most likely the black-clothed guards and lackeys of the Sterling Family.

Although these lackeys were not particularly powerful, they all wore the Sterling Family’s flame clan emblem.

Unless someone was exceptionally stubborn, most people would choose to avoid them rather than provoke trouble.

Meanwhile, the remaining two black-clothed men sat cross-legged on a large boulder with their eyes closed.

Jake was lying not far in front of them, allowing the two men to keep him under close watch.

Ryan was completely unable to discern the cultivation levels of these two.

One was thin, while the other was stout.

They should be the Origin Spirit Realm expert Owen Sterling and his adoptive father, Gareth Sterling.

The Sterling Family’s lackeys were not worth fearing.

But those two Origin Spirit Realm experts were another matter entirely.

"I must first find a way to rescue Jake..."

After understanding the situation, Ryan immediately asked in a low voice:

"Mira, besides the Gray Light Shield, are there any secret techniques capable of concealing aura or hiding the body?"

He was very clear about one thing.

If he couldn’t rescue Jake first, he would inevitably become hesitant and constrained during the battle.

That would put him at an enormous disadvantage.

"Master, you’ve come to the right person."

Mira’s voice carried a hint of pride as she comfortably swam through Ryan’s Origin Energy Sea.

"After the Boundless Creation Furnace was upgraded to the Bronze Tier, some of its abilities have recovered. There also happen to be several new minor secret techniques that can be cast using the Boundless Creation Furnace’s Boundless Energy."

"They should be able to meet your requirements."

"For example, I know a minor secret technique called Concealment Art."

"It can conceal the target’s body while completely suppressing their aura. To anyone at the Origin Ascendant Realm or below observing from the outside, the target will appear completely transparent. Nothing can be seen."

"Really? That’s great!"

Ryan was immediately pleasantly surprised.

"Then, when I give you the command later, immediately cast Concealment Art on Jake."

The moment he heard the name Concealment Art, Ryan felt that it was extremely suitable.

If it could make Jake’s body completely transparent, it was clearly even more advanced than the Gray Light Shield’s ability to conceal his appearance and cultivation.

"Alright, no problem."

Mira nodded.

"But this minor secret technique consumes quite a lot of energy. Each casting requires at least 200 Low-Grade Origin Stones."

She then added seriously:

"Furthermore, each casting can last for a maximum of two hours, and the target cannot use any Origin Energy. Otherwise, the Concealment Art will immediately break and lose its effect."

"Two hundred Low-Grade Origin Stones?"

Ryan’s eyes widened.

"Is this Concealment Art really that expensive?"

He had never expected that what Mira called a minor secret technique would actually consume so many Origin Stones.

The six thousand Low-Grade Origin Stones he had painstakingly earned over the past two days were truly not enough to spend freely.

Buying a few treasures had casually cost him more than a thousand.

Upgrading the Devouring World Art had consumed another 4,400.

And now, casting a single Concealment Art would cost another two hundred.

These Origin Stones...

One only realized how few they had when it was time to spend them.

Honestly, the Concealment Art was indeed expensive.

However, after hearing its detailed effects, Ryan’s thoughts immediately began racing.

A rough rescue plan had already taken shape in his mind.

The restriction preventing Jake from using Origin Energy was completely irrelevant.

Jake had not awakened his Bloodline yet, meaning he did not possess Origin Energy in the first place.

That problem was solved effortlessly.

As for the two-hour time limit, Ryan had already thought of a clever solution.

"Yes, there’s no other way."

Mira helplessly spread her hands.

"A minor secret technique capable of providing temporary concealment of this level is naturally extremely energy-intensive."

"It’s not that I’m deliberately charging you a high price. These two hundred Origin Stones are merely enough to cover the energy required for the technique."

"If the Boundless Creation Furnace hadn’t been upgraded to the Bronze Tier a few days ago, I wouldn’t even have been able to cast it."

Although Mira instinctively wanted the Boundless Creation Furnace to recover all of its abilities as quickly as possible, she did not dare deceive her host.

Since the Boundless Creation Furnace had chosen Ryan as its host, whether by coincidence or fate, there was undoubtedly a reason for it.

As a companion artifact spirit, all she could do was wholeheartedly assist her host and speak the truth.

"Alright, I understand."

Ryan gritted his teeth.

He immediately took out two hundred Low-Grade Origin Stones from his spatial ring and sent them into the Boundless Creation Furnace within his Origin Energy Sea.

"I’ll give you the Origin Stones first."

"Later, listen for my command. The moment I tell you to cast it, immediately use Concealment Art on Jake."

He knew Mira would not deliberately deceive him.

It was just that he couldn’t help feeling reluctant about the Origin Stones.

A one-time minor secret technique actually cost two hundred Low-Grade Origin Stones.

It was truly heartbreaking.

"Okay, understood!"

After receiving the Origin Stones, Mira immediately became excited and happily agreed.

"I didn’t expect this artifact spirit to be such a little money grubber."

Seeing Mira’s excitement through his Mental Awareness, Ryan was somewhat dumbfounded.

He also felt a headache coming on.

"These minor secret techniques are becoming more and more expensive. At this rate, I can barely afford to use them..."

He had originally thought that possessing several thousand Origin Stones was already quite a substantial amount.

But now that he had begun spending them, he once again deeply understood two truths.

Money makes the world go round.

Money isn’t everything, but without money, you can’t do anything.

He was still too poor.

At present, only 194 Low-Grade Origin Stones remained in his spatial ring.

He had basically hit rock bottom.

There weren’t even enough Origin Stones left to cast Concealment Art a second time.

He only had one chance to save Jake.

There weren’t even enough Origin Stones left to purchase a Second-Order Top Grade Limb Restoration Pill.

Unless absolutely necessary, he would have to avoid using these one-time secret techniques in the future.

They were simply too wasteful of Origin Stones.

"Origin Stones can be earned again."

"I must solve the current problem first."

With this thought, Ryan composed himself and carefully scanned his surroundings.

Suddenly, he lowered his right hand.

WHOOSH!

Thirty thick bundles of Spider Silk shot toward the ground beneath the large tree.

Each bundle was formed by combining several strands of ordinary Spider Silk, making them roughly as thick as a little finger.

Although they appeared somewhat thick, their speed was not slow.

In the blink of an eye, the thirty bundles successively wrapped around thirty large stones scattered across the ground.

Ryan had carefully selected each one.

Every stone was at least the size of a human head.

"Hehe... Here’s a big gift for you."

A cold smile appeared on Ryan’s face.

He immediately switched to the Overlord Body Bloodline.

The Spider Bloodline’s strength was insufficient to lift so many large stones simultaneously.

As long as he wasn’t switching Bloodlines in the middle of combat and compromising the immediate situation, the slight delay caused by changing Bloodlines would not have much impact.

The Spider Silk had been formed by consuming Ryan’s Origin Energy and had already been released outside his body.

As long as he did not voluntarily retract it, the Spider Silk would continue to exist even after he switched to the Overlord Body Bloodline.

At this moment, Ryan fully circulated the Overlord Body Bloodline.

Using the thirty thick bundles of Spider Silk, he lifted all thirty large stones simultaneously.

He then aimed them toward a relatively open gap in the sky ahead, where no branches or leaves obstructed the trajectory.

His muscles tensed.

Then, Ryan suddenly swung his right arm toward the group of Sterling Family lackeys scattered around Jake.

BOOM!

Thirty massive stones shot through the air like cannonballs.

With this single swing, Ryan unleashed every ounce of strength he could muster from his Overlord Body Bloodline!