Entering Chaos City

"Once I enter Chaos City, I'm afraid I won't be able to return to Boundary Heart Continent for the next thirty years."

Only after the ship started up and left Virtual Universe Company Headquarters, heading for the Initial Universe, did Zhang Dong belatedly realize this.

These weren't ordinary thirty years. They were thirty years in the Initial Universe. By the Primordial Universe's flow of time, a full century would pass outside.

"It'll delay my cultivation of true intent a bit." He pondered to himself. Under the watchful eye of Chaos City Lord, he would never dare try to travel to Boundary Heart Continent.

Even if the Universe Master didn't notice, it would still be hard to explain someone simply vanishing.

Still, even if it meant losing thirty years, Zhang Dong believed joining the Virtual Universe Company was worth it.

With such a towering tree to lean on, its resources, inheritances, and protection far surpassed what he could get on his own or by staying in Ganwu Secret Realm.

Besides, improving his Law Comprehension in the Primordial Universe system would also greatly benefit him.

Comprehending the laws and cultivation systems of different universes and comparing them was something many True God Sovereigns dreamed of.

Time wasn't worth much to him anyway.

The ship's interior was spacious. Most of the passengers were Immortal Gods, with a few Realm Lords among them.

The Virtual Universe Company occasionally auctioned off entry slots. These Realm Lords and Immortal Gods had come in that way. When they saw Zhang Dong, a Cosmic Level, their eyes held a hint of envy.

Zhang Dong sat by the window, quietly watching the ever-changing space-time outside.

When the ship reached the Cosmic Passage, an indescribable sense of suffocation suddenly descended. An ordinary Cosmic Level, or even a regular Domain Lord, would have struggled to stand.

With his demigod-level soul, Zhang Dong's body wasn't particularly uncomfortable. He could even clearly see the scenery outside.

It was an endless, dazzling Cosmic Passage, with countless lights and shadows weaving together.

At the same time, he felt an obvious difference in the flow of time. It was his first time experiencing this.

In his mind, several seconds had clearly passed, but in reality only one second had gone by. The sensation was extraordinarily strange. If he could use it against an enemy, he could often catch them completely off guard.

"A change in the flow of time?" Zhang Dong thought he was beginning to understand.

The battles he'd fought in the trial tower had seemed to involve time going haywire, but in reality, they'd only affected the speed of his own attacks.

To use the flow of time to affect an opponent, or even an entire area, required the comprehension of a Marquis or King Level. Zhang Dong still had a long way to go, but experiencing it once had greatly benefited his cultivation.

Whoosh!

The ship moved at tremendous speed. After five or six minutes of travel, it arrived in the Initial Universe. The disorienting sensation of time vanished completely, and everything returned to normal.

"Everyone, we've arrived in the Initial Universe," said the Immortal God piloting the ship softly. "Next, we'll be reaching Chaos City."

At that moment, the ceiling above opened wide, revealing the scenery outside. This wasn't virtual; no matter how perfect the simulation, it couldn't reproduce the view beyond.

Everyone turned to look outside.

The scene was dazzling and strange, like the beginning of heaven and earth, yet also like the arrival of the apocalypse. What people understood from it depended on their level of cultivation.

The Miniature Universe hadn't finished evolving, which was why it looked like this. The laws were manifesting—one could call it the creation of heaven and earth, or say it resembled the end of the world.

Chaos Qi swirled. In the distance, the sky cracked open, and countless strange secret patterns drifted through the air. Threads beyond counting interwove, as if endlessly expanding the world around them.

The Immortal Gods and Realm Lords watched avidly, hoping to comprehend as much as they could. Zhang Dong did the same.

But the ship soon closed its ceiling and raced toward Chaos City.

When the ship landed in Chaos City, all the passengers disembarked. Zhang Dong glanced over them. There were thirteen Immortal Gods and six Realm Lords.

City Lord's Mansion.

As usual, Chaos City Lord examined the latest arrivals. Immortal Gods entering Chaos City for the first time would be closely monitored, so he focused his investigation on the Realm Lords and Zhang Dong.

As a Universe Master who controlled space-time, Chaos City Lord could instantly see through everyone within this vast area.

With one glance, Chaos City Lord had examined them all. Yet he couldn't see the Jade Green Bubble inside Zhang Dong at all.

A divine object capable of crossing between two Source Worlds, even ones on different Timelines, was beyond the ability of a Universe Master to spy on.

"Strange. There's clearly nothing wrong with this new Cosmic Level, so why do I sense something unusual about him?"

Chaos City Lord's gaze remained fixed on Zhang Dong.

The Jade Green Bubble also concealed the differences between cultivation systems. Chaos City Lord couldn't see through anything, but the Universe Master's instincts told him Zhang Dong was unusual.

If nothing were concealed, he would be able to see the particles within Zhang Dong's body, each one containing all kinds of mysteries.

Chaos City was ancient and imposing. A Reception Envoy flew over to guide the powerful newcomers who had arrived for the first time.

Several Immortal Gods had already left to visit the Chaos Stele and begin comprehending it.

The Reception Envoy led the group through the city, introducing its various districts. Zhang Dong was already thinking about which Chaos Stele to choose. For now, his main focus was cultivating time, but he knew he would eventually need more than that.

If he didn't follow the Path of the Beast God, then to become a Universe Master, he would have to comprehend two supreme laws.

Time and space.

There were fifty-two Chaos Steles in Chaos City—more than the number of human Universe Masters, so most of them must have been left behind by Cosmic Overlords.

As for High Venerables, they probably weren't qualified to leave one.

"In the future, I'll definitely cultivate both time and space. So the Chaos Stele I choose should have been left behind by a Universe Master or a Universe Strongest."

Before seeing them with his own eyes, Zhang Dong had been torn between the Universe Chaos Stele and the Giant Axe Chaos Stele.

"Everyone, we'll go choose our Chaos Steles now," the Reception Envoy announced. Zhang Dong looked over at the sound of his voice.

He'd been completely distracted during the introduction to Chaos City.

The Realm Lords and the Immortal Gods who had arrived for the first time obediently followed the Reception Envoy to a corridor.

The corridor was lined with enormous paintings.

Zhang Dong skipped over the Chaos Steles devoted entirely to the laws of space and went straight to the Giant Axe Chaos Stele.

It had been left behind by Giant Axe, humanity's publicly acknowledged strongest being, and was widely regarded as the number-one Chaos Stele. After studying it for a long while, Zhang Dong went to examine the painting corresponding to the Universe Chaos Stele.

Then he looked at several other paintings related to time.

In the end, Zhang Dong chose the Universe Chaos Stele, ranked second among the Human Race's Chaos Steles.

"The Universe Chaos Stele?"

"He actually dared to choose the Universe Chaos Stele."

When they heard Zhang Dong had chosen the Universe Chaos Stele, the Realm Lords and Immortal Gods in his group were all somewhat surprised.