Chaos Stele

Qian Yu's gaze fell on an engraving beneath his feet, and he was instantly captivated.

It was a seemingly simple arc, yet it appeared to contain the ultimate mysteries of space. His consciousness involuntarily sank into it, and countless insights into the Law of Space surfaced in his mind, layer upon layer, wave after wave, surging in like a tide.

"This..."

Qian Yu's mind trembled violently.

Quite a few people around him had also fallen into the same state. Some wore fascinated expressions, some muttered to themselves, and some had even begun gesturing on the ground.

"Everyone."

The Reception Envoy's voice suddenly rang out, like a morning bell and evening drum striking directly at the depths of their souls. Everyone shuddered and awoke from their absorption.

"In Chaos City, countless powerful beings across generations have sat atop rooftops to comprehend the laws. During their contemplation, they often engraved things, leaving behind many carvings containing their thoughts on the Origin Source Laws."

The Reception Envoy smiled.

"If you are interested, more than half the residences in Chaos City are currently unoccupied. You may inspect them building by building. Some may contain insight carvings left behind by a 'Venerable.'"

Everyone's eyes lit up.

Insight carvings left by a Venerable!

That was a rare opportunity one could only hope to encounter!

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

The Reception Envoy's expression turned solemn as he spoke seriously.

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

"No matter who it is, even if he is the ruler of a universe country, once he violates this rule, he will undoubtedly die."

Everyone's hearts tightened, and they hurriedly nodded.

"Time is precious. Do not waste it."

The Reception Envoy then leaped down from the rooftop, landing on the ground below.

The others followed close behind, descending onto the broad street before the villa buildings like a swarm of locusts.

"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 Chaos City."

Qian Yu followed amid the crowd, anticipation quietly rising in his heart.

The Chaos Stele—he would finally see it.

The group followed the Reception Envoy through several broad streets before finally arriving before the City Lord's Mansion.

It was a majestic structure more than three hundred meters tall, built entirely from some sort of dark gray stone and emanating an ancient, imposing aura.

From afar, the three words written in the universal language of the universe stood clearly in view—"City Lord's Mansion."

The instant Qian Yu's gaze touched those three words, he froze.

The script seemed to form its own space, its own universe and heaven and earth, containing boundless profundities within.

His mind was uncontrollably drawn inside, as though he were about to fall into that endless void.

"Not good!"

Alarmed, Qian Yu abruptly lowered his head, not daring to look again.

Quite a few people around him had fallen victim to the same thing. Their faces turned pale, and sweat beaded across their foreheads.

Seeing this, the Reception Envoy laughed heartily.

"Seeing the three words 'City Lord's Mansion' once is enough. Do not stare at them often. They will leave your mind dazed. Even Immortal beings would not dare keep looking at them."

Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief, inwardly shaken.

Three words alone possessed such power. Just what kind of terrifying being was the master of this City Lord's Mansion?

Following the Reception Envoy onward, they crossed a broad plaza and passed through one gate after another before finally reaching the entrance to a dreamlike corridor.

Huge paintings hung along the walls on both sides of the corridor. Each was ten meters long and ten meters wide, arranged in neat rows.

Qian Yu swept his gaze over them. There were fifty-two in total.

"This is..."

An indescribable anticipation rose in Qian Yu's heart.

Rubbing paintings of the Chaos Steles!

The Reception Envoy's voice sounded.

"Fifty-two rubbing paintings hang on the corridor walls. Each painting corresponds to one Chaos Stele. Observe these paintings first. Although they cannot convey the true aura contained within the Chaos Steles, they can still give you a faint sense of it. Look through these fifty-two paintings, then decide which Chaos Stele to choose."

"I will give you half an hour."

As soon as he finished speaking, the seventy-two people impatiently rushed toward both sides of the corridor and began examining the paintings.

Qian Yu calmed his excited emotions and walked before the first painting.

It depicted an ancient towering tree. Its leaves were yellow and withered, falling away. Countless dead leaves floated through the air, densely packed and seemingly endless. Qian Yu stared at those fallen leaves, and his consciousness was instantly drawn into them.

Those fallen leaves seemed like independent lives, yet they were linked to one another by countless threads.

One leaf was simple. Two leaves were complex. Ten leaves already formed a complete system.

As for the tens of thousands of fallen leaves in the painting, their complexity had far surpassed his imagination.

Qian Yu felt as though he had fallen into a vast formation. Countless streams of information flooded toward him like a tide, and his consciousness was nearly bursting apart.

"One minute is up!"

The Wisdom Assistant's voice rang out in his mind at just the right moment.

Qian Yu suddenly awakened. He glanced at the name beside the painting—"Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele."

"What a terrifying path of deduction and derivation..."

Qian Yu was secretly alarmed as he hurried toward the next painting.

One painting after another.

Each of the fifty-two paintings contained endless mysteries.

Like a starving man pouncing upon bread, Qian Yu frantically absorbed the insights brought to him by every painting.

He had always comprehended things on his own in the past, without any assistance apart from the Primordial Dao Tree. Though the Primordial Dao Tree could also help improve his comprehension, his consciousness did not fully occupy it. The Primordial Dao Tree acted more on instinct, so most of his contemplation had relied on himself.

Of course, even what he could control had granted him a comprehension speed 10,081 times greater than that of most geniuses.

This had also given him profound insights into the laws, though actually putting them to use was another matter entirely.

Time passed second by second.

When the Wisdom Assistant reminded him that only one minute remained, Qian Yu was standing before the final painting.

It was a painting of blade marks.

The image was densely covered in blade marks. The trace, force, and angle of every mark were completely different. A full 10,800 blade marks seemed to expound the ultimate essence of blade techniques.

Qian Yu stared at those blade marks, and one blade technique after another involuntarily surfaced in his mind. Those techniques were sharp, domineering, strange, heavy... Every style evolved within his heart, as though a supreme master of the blade was personally demonstrating them for him.

"What a powerful blade path..."

Qian Yu murmured.

"Half an hour is up."

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

Qian Yu closed his eyes. He had viewed all fifty-two paintings. More than a dozen had strongly resonated with him, but only three truly stirred his heart—the "Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele," the "Nine Universe Chaos Stele," and this "Heart Mark Chaos Stele."

The "Mother Ancestor Chaos Stele" followed the path of evolution and deduction, making it extremely compatible with him.

The "Nine Universe Chaos Stele" contained the Space Origin Source Law.

As for the "Heart Mark Chaos Stele," it embodied the pure ultimate of the blade path, sharing the same lineage as the blade techniques he studied.

The Universe Chaos Stele had indeed caught his attention as well, but he was currently only prepared to cultivate one Higher Origin Source Law. He had no intention of biting off more than he could chew.

Which one should he choose?

Qian Yu frowned slightly.

"Which one will you choose?"