Chaos Stele

Qian Yu's gaze fell upon a carving beneath his feet, and in an instant, he was utterly captivated.

It was a seemingly simple arc, yet it appeared to hold the ultimate mystery of space. His consciousness involuntarily sank into it, countless insights about the Law of Space surfacing in his mind—layer upon layer, wave after wave, surging forth like a tide.

"This..."

Qian Yu's mind shook violently.

Many around him had also fallen into this state; some wore expressions of obsession, others muttered to themselves, and a few even began tracing patterns on the ground.

"Everyone."

The Reception Envoy's voice suddenly rang out, like a morning bell or an evening drum, striking straight into the depths of their souls. Everyone jolted, snapping out of their trance.

"In Chaos City, countless powerful beings from generation to generation have sat on these rooftops to meditate. During their meditation, they often carved, leaving behind many engravings that contain their thoughts on the fundamental laws."

The Reception Envoy smiled.

"If you're interested, most of the residences in Chaos City are currently unoccupied. You can go from building to building and take a look. Some might even be engravings left by 'Venerables' containing their insights."

The crowd's eyes lit up.

Engravings left by Venerables!

That was a stroke of fortune not to be sought lightly.

"However, I must first tell you a very important rule!"

The Reception Envoy's expression turned serious as he spoke solemnly.

"In the Initial Universe, humans are forbidden from killing one another. Whoever makes a move will surely die."

"No matter who it is—even if they are the ruler of a universe kingdom—once they violate this rule, they will surely die."

Everyone's hearts tightened, and they quickly nodded.

"Time is precious; don't waste it."

With that, the Reception Envoy leaped down from the rooftop, landing on the ground below.

The crowd followed, descending like a swarm of locusts onto the wide street in front of the villa buildings.

"Follow me. To the City Lord's Mansion."

The Reception Envoy said.

"That is where the City Lord resides, and it is also the core of all Chaos City."

Qian Yu followed among the crowd, his heart filled with quiet anticipation.

The Chaos Stele. He was finally going to see it.

The group followed the Reception Envoy, passing through several wide streets, until they finally arrived before the City Lord's Mansion.

It was a majestic building over three hundred meters tall, constructed entirely from some kind of deep gray stone, exuding an ancient and imposing aura.

From a distance, the three words in the universal language of the cosmos were clearly visible—"City Lord's Mansion."

The moment Qian Yu's gaze touched those three characters, he froze completely.

The strokes seemed to form a space of their own, a universe unto themselves, containing infinite profundities.

His spirit was uncontrollably drawn in, as if about to sink into that endless void.

"Not good!"

Qian Yu's heart tightened, and he forcefully lowered his head, daring not to look again.

Many around him had also fallen into the same trap, their faces pale and foreheads beaded with sweat.

Seeing this, the Reception Envoy laughed heartily and said.

"The three characters 'City Lord's Mansion'—take a look once, but don't stare often. They'll leave your mind dazed. Even an Immortal wouldn't dare to keep gazing at them."

Only then did the crowd breathe a sigh of relief, inwardly shuddering with awe.

Just three characters possessed such power. What kind of terrifying existence was the master of this mansion?

Following the Reception Envoy onward, they crossed a wide plaza, passed through one gate after another, and finally arrived at the entrance of a dreamlike corridor.

On the walls of the corridor hung enormous paintings, each ten meters long and ten meters wide, arranged in neat rows.

Qian Yu swept his gaze across them—fifty-two in total.

"This is..."

An indescribable sense of anticipation surged within Qian Yu.

The rubbing images of the Chaos Stele!

The Reception Envoy's voice rang out.

"Hanging on the corridor walls are fifty-two rubbing images, each corresponding to one Chaos Stele. First, examine these images. Though they cannot convey the true aura of the Chaos Stele, they will allow you to faintly sense something. Study these fifty-two images, and then decide which Chaos Stele to choose."

"You have half an hour."

As his words fell, the seventy-two people eagerly surged toward both sides of the corridor, beginning to study the images.

Qian Yu calmed his excited heart and stepped before the first image.

It was an ancient towering tree, its leaves withered and yellow, falling into decay. Countless yellowed leaves drifted in midair, densely packed, as if endless. Qian Yu stared at those leaves, and his consciousness was instantly drawn into them.

Those leaves seemed like independent lives, yet they were intricately connected to one another.

A single leaf was simple; two leaves were complex; ten leaves already formed a complete system.

And the tens of thousands of leaves in the image—their complexity far exceeded his imagination.

Qian Yu felt as if he had fallen into a vast formation, countless information surging in like a tidal wave, his consciousness nearly bursting.

"One minute up!"

The voice of his intelligent assistant rang out just in time.

Qian Yu snapped awake abruptly. He glanced at the name beside the image—Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele.

"Such terrifying deduction..."

Qian Yu's heart trembled in secret as he hurriedly moved to the next image.

One after another.

Fifty-two images, each containing endless profundities.

Qian Yu, like a starving man pouncing on bread, frantically absorbed the insights each image brought him.

In the past, he had always comprehended on his own, with no assistance besides the Primordial Dao Tree. Although the Primordial Dao Tree could help elevate his understanding, in truth, his consciousness did not fully occupy it; the tree mostly acted on instinct, so his enlightenment relied largely on himself.

Of course, even the parts he could control surpassed the comprehension speed of most geniuses by ten thousand and eighty-one times.

This had also made his current law insights extremely profound—though his application was another story entirely.

Time slipped away, minute by minute.

When the intelligent assistant reminded him there was only one minute left, Qian Yu stood before the final image.

It was a blade-mark image.

The picture was densely covered with blade marks, each differing entirely in trace, force, and angle. A full ten thousand eight hundred blade marks seemed to interpret the pinnacle of blade techniques.

Qian Yu stared at those marks, and involuntarily, one blade technique after another surfaced in his mind. Those techniques were fierce, domineering, eerie, heavy... Each style evolved within his heart, as if a supreme blade dao master were personally demonstrating for him.

"Such a powerful blade dao..."

Qian Yu murmured.

"Thirty minutes are up."

The Reception Envoy's voice rang out, waking everyone from their absorption.

Qian Yu closed his eyes. He had looked through all fifty-two images. Among them, over a dozen resonated strongly with him. But the ones that truly stirred his heart were only three—Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele, Nine Universe Chaos Stele, and this Heart Mark Chaos Stele.

Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele followed the path of evolution and deduction, which matched him extremely well.

Nine Universe Chaos Stele contained the fundamental laws of space.

And Heart Mark Chaos Stele was the pure pinnacle of blade dao, inheriting the same lineage as the blade techniques he studied.

The Universe Chaos Stele had indeed caught his attention, but for now, he only planned to cultivate one superior fundamental law—he didn't want to overextend his steps.

Which one to choose?

Qian Yu frowned slightly.

"Which one do you choose?"