Chaos City

After a series of jumps and flights, the ship finally reached the Initial Universe without incident.

The Initial Universe truly looked like the cosmos at the dawn of creation. Once the top of the ship opened, the transparent cabin offered a view of the sky outside. It was dim, and wisps of chaotic currents drifted through it now and then.

In the distance, the heavens and earth seemed to split apart from time to time. Ling Xuan could even see countless strange Mysterious Patterns flowing along the edges of the rifts in space. Threads shot across the gaps, patterns drifting along them, as if a loom were weaving the heavens and earth ever wider.

Knowing that these were manifestations of the laws, Ling Xuan seized every opportunity to make progress. He immediately sat cross-legged and began studying them.

"We'll reach Chaos City soon." Venerable Beiyan looked at the young geniuses still marveling at the wonders of the Initial Universe. "Chaos City is where those who enter the Initial Universe to study the laws live and cultivate. I'm the one who escorted you here. I hope you'll all still be alive when I see you again in thirty years."

"We could die?"

"Is there danger?"

Everyone looked puzzled.

"Remember: once you enter Chaos City, follow the instructions of the Chaos City Reception Envoy. Listen carefully to the rules. Well, we're here." As Venerable Beiyan finished speaking, the spacecraft began to slow down.

The crimson bird sped through the vast reaches of the universe.

Only a moment after its top closed, the red bird flew over an ancient city. The hatch in its belly opened, and all one thousand geniuses flew out.

The hatch closed. With a flap of its wings, the bird glided off and vanished into the distance.

"The Initial Universe feels so strange."

"I feel so comfortable."

"Me too. It's wonderful." The young people stood in midair. Ling Xuan looked down at the ancient, majestic city below. As a city built in the Initial Universe, it carried a weighty, imposing air.

A streak of black light flew over from the distance.

It was the Reception Envoy of Chaos City.

Under the Reception Envoy's guidance, everyone learned the basics about the Initial Universe and Chaos City's three Supreme Treasures.

After entering the City Lord Mansion, the Reception Envoy soon led Ling Xuan and the others to the entrance of a fantastical corridor.

Huge paintings hung on the walls on both sides of the corridor.

"These are rubbings of the forty-nine Chaos Steles our Human Race has collected over the years. Take a look at them first. Though the paintings can't convey the aura contained in the Chaos Steles, they can still give you a faint sense of it. Look through all forty-nine paintings, then decide which Chaos Stele you want to study," the Reception Envoy said.

The young people stared blankly at the paintings lining both sides of the corridor. So they were supposed to choose which Chaos Stele to study by looking at pictures.

Each painting was exactly ten meters long and ten meters wide, with its name displayed beside it.

"You have half an hour." The Reception Envoy stood at the far end of the corridor.

Ling Xuan pretended to browse the Chaos Steles along with the others.

"Have you decided which Chaos Stele you want?" Ling Xuan took six minutes to look through every one, then went over to Feng Lishuang and the other two.

"Not yet," Feng Lishuang replied calmly.

Leng Yanqiu and Ren Yaoli shook their heads in confusion as well.

"Come on, I'll make a recommendation." As he spoke, he reached out to take Feng Lishuang and Leng Yanqiu by the hand.

Their hands felt delicate and smooth, soft as if they had no bones. Their cultivation as martial artists had done nothing to roughen their skin with calluses.

This was the first time the four of them had held hands in person. But none of the three women acted shy or embarrassed. They were all several decades old, and they had already confirmed their feelings for one another in the Virtual Universe.

He led the three women to the Nine Universe Chaos Stele.

"This is the Nine Universe Chaos Stele. It begins by breaking down the Law of Space, making it a good starting point. The three of you all cultivate the law of space, so this Chaos Stele is a perfect fit."

The three women gazed intently at the Nine Universe Chaos Stele for a moment, then nodded. Given their backgrounds, they already knew about these Chaos Steles.

They simply hadn't had the chance to study a Chaos Stele in advance and choose one as Ling Xuan had. The Nine Universe Chaos Stele had already been among their options.

They did have several other Chaos Steles in mind as alternatives.

But since Ling Xuan had recommended this one, and their initial impressions confirmed it suited them, they decided to choose it.

The thirty minutes passed quickly.

The Reception Envoy began asking everyone which Chaos Stele they had chosen.

"We choose the Nine Universe Chaos Stele," Ling Xuan said, his voice clear and firm.

Before long, everyone's choices had been tallied.

The Reception Envoy announced, "I'll now call out the names of several Chaos Steles. Those who chose one of them should follow me. Their cultivation chambers are currently unoccupied."

"The Tianxu Chaos Stele, the Anjue Chaos Stele, the Darkness Chaos Stele, the Ice Peak Chaos Stele... the Nine Universe Chaos Stele..."

As the names were read out one after another, Ling Xuan's lips curled into a smile. He turned to Feng Lishuang, Leng Yanqiu, and Ren Yaoli. "We got lucky."

The three women smiled as well.

They had only thirty precious years in Chaos City. Every second mattered to their cultivation, and beginning their study of a Chaos Stele early was like getting a head start in a race.

"Those who chose these eighteen Chaos Steles, head to the entrance on the far left. Someone there will arrange for you to enter your chambers." The Reception Envoy pointed to the thirty-meter-high entrance at the far end of the training ground. "Let's go."

The group entered a passageway sixty meters wide and one hundred and twenty meters high. Bronze Giant Gates stood in rows along both sides. Each gate was one hundred and sixty meters long and one hundred and twenty meters high, with ancient, powerful characters carved into it—

"Mother Ancestor"

"Giant Axe"

"Longxing"

Strangely, a kind-faced old man stood in front of every gate, and every one of them looked exactly the same.

"There are forty-nine entrances here, corresponding to the forty-nine Chaos Stele chambers," the Black-Robed Envoy explained with a smile. "The Nine Universe Chaos Stele chamber is just ahead. We've arrived."

"Lord Kandeli, these are the latest batch of geniuses from the Giant Axe Martial Arena." The Reception Envoy bowed respectfully.

The three-eyed old man Kandeli looked kindly at Ling Xuan and the others. "I know. You're Ling Xuan, the descendant of Elder Zhulong, aren't you? You're a fine talent indeed. You chose the Nine Universe Chaos Stele?"

"Yes, senior." Ling Xuan bowed as well.

He wasn't surprised that Kandeli respected Zhulong Ancestor so deeply. As the guardian of the Chaos Steles, Kandeli must be ancient enough to know about those long-buried events.

"Go in and study it carefully. If you have any questions, come ask me at any time." Kandeli smiled and waved. The bronze gate to the Nine Universe Chaos Stele chamber rumbled open. "Remember, the gate will open again in seven days. You must come out immediately."

"Thank you, senior!" Ling Xuan led the three women into the chamber. Chaotic currents roiled and swirled inside, like a vast ocean of energy.

Through the hazy chaos, an enormous stone stele appeared and disappeared amid the currents.

"This is the Nine Universe Chaos Stele... Here, it's even easier to lose yourself in the ocean of laws than in the Virtual Universe," Ling Xuan murmured.

The four of them each found a place, sat cross-legged, and began to study it.

Feng Lishuang and the other two focused on the first Raindrop Diagram on the stele. They had only just begun to grasp the Law of Space and had made some progress, but they still had a long way to go before they could understand the first diagram.

Ling Xuan, however, focused on the Second Diagram.

The Second Diagram was the Drizzling Rain Diagram. Counting carefully, it contained thirty-six raindrops.

Each drop held the deepest mysteries of the Law of Space. It combined the nine simplest mysteries from the first diagram with the twenty-seven more difficult ones that followed.

Ling Xuan had already grasped the first twelve mysteries and was now doing his utmost to break through to the thirteenth.

He emptied his mind, and his consciousness gradually merged with the faint, overlapping ripples around him.

The ripples were endless. He could clearly distinguish only the twelve nearest ones, along with a thirteenth in the distance, still blurry but already taking shape.

So this is the thirteenth fundamental mystery of space... As Ling Xuan stared intently, the hazy ripple gradually grew clear, revealing a whole new pattern of change.

The first twelve ripples he had already understood lay open before him like the pages of a book. They held no secrets from him anymore.

Ling Xuan immersed himself in the world of laws, unaware of time passing.

At last, in a certain moment, his sea of consciousness shook violently. The thirteenth fundamental mystery of space lit up like a lamp, becoming clear in his mind.

The instant his study succeeded, the bronze gate rumbled open. Kandeli's voice rang out, strangely compelling: "Come out. Come out."

For the scenes of wandering around Chaos City, many of you may have read them a hundred times already. I'll skip as much as I can, but I can't leave it all out, or the story will become too jumpy and disjointed.

Please vote, recommend, bookmark, follow, and invest.