Inanimate Stillness (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

After detailed contemplation, a thought suddenly flashed through Zhang Dong's mind: these motionless micro-particles were likely just a subcategory under the broader category of Time Stop.

Just as spatial law included teleportation, which could be divided into teleportation of inanimate objects and teleportation of living beings—the latter far more difficult than the former—

Time Stop within the law of time naturally had its own layers of depth and distinctions based on the target.

What he saw before him were countless particles and micro-particles, all frozen in stillness. Even an ordinary Marquis-level Immortal would find it difficult to observe such minute details.

Capturing particles and micro-particles was already extremely hard, let alone perceiving them at the microscopic level.

The system of rules and mysteries could also be used to comprehend the laws of the Primordial Universe.

No matter what system one followed, it would ultimately lead to the fundamental Great Dao.

"I originally thought I'd see a direct manifestation of Time Stop... but being able to comprehend even one subcategory is already a tremendous opportunity. This trip was worth it." Zhang Dong did not feel disappointed.

Such an opportunity was something countless cultivators could only dream of.

He immediately steadied his mind and decided to first comprehend the broader category of Time Stop. If he could fully grasp it, his law insights would reach the level of a Peak King-level Immortal.

Moreover, Time Stop was even more useful in combat than teleportation.

If he could stop time for even an instant, that would be enough for an expert to deliver a fatal blow and decide the outcome.

Zhang Dong first needed to thoroughly study the finer classifications, achieving Inanimate Stillness. At that point, his law insights would be sufficient to pass the sixteenth floor of the Heavenly Bridge.

Using the system of rules and mysteries, Zhang Dong could naturally magnify particles and micro-particles billions of times.

In his field of vision, each micro-particle was as enormous as a star.

"The internal structure is intact. This isn't freezing—freezing should be a method of the water law." Zhang Dong pondered the essence of the law.

It was as if the time segment in which these micro-particles existed had been extracted out of thin air.

Time Stop was not a crude freezing of all things. If it were, the structure of the frozen object would collapse, because its internal particles were still in motion. Forcibly stopping them would be equivalent to destruction.

Yet these micro-particles before him had intact structures, merely ceasing all motion.

"Extracting time..." A thought stirred in Zhang Dong's mind.

He attempted to use his own insights into the law of time to touch that one micro-particle. Time Stop itself could be violently interrupted by external force.

It didn't require mastery of the law of time—even someone completely ignorant of it could ignore the law if their power was great enough.

But Zhang Dong used his own time-based methods to try to awaken the timeline of this micro-particle, forcibly interfering.

The next moment, the star-like micro-particle began to move.

Its timeline was revived, becoming active once more, even starting to affect the surrounding flow of micro-particles.

"I understand." Zhang Dong's eyes brightened. "The fundamental method of Time Stop is to extract the timeline. The difference between inanimate objects and living beings is significant, but as long as I can comprehend Inanimate Stillness, the rest shouldn't be too difficult."

Time Stop did not make everything halt; it temporarily stripped away the timeline in which they existed.

It was like extracting a single frame from a flowing film—the frame itself remained unchanged, merely removed from the playback process.

Understanding this principle filled Zhang Dong with immense joy.

He began to spread his consciousness, simultaneously perceiving ten, a hundred, a thousand micro-particles... attempting to influence them with his own power of the law of time.

At first, it was quite sluggish, consuming a great deal of mental energy. But as his comprehension deepened, his technique gradually became more refined, and his control over the power of time grew increasingly exquisite and subtle.

Outside, time passed quietly. The normal time limit for the Feather Slaughter Clan to stay inside was seven days, but Zhang Dong had already been there for a full fifteen years.

For fifteen years, Gao Li and King Huo Yi had not moved an inch, steadfastly guarding the entrance.

Within the Feather Slaughter Clan, there were some dissenting opinions, feeling that Zhang Dong had occupied the Chaos Heaven Mirror for too long, severely impacting the clan's geniuses' ability to comprehend it.

But with a single word from Elder Xu Jin, all opposing voices fell silent.

"Even if Zhang Dong comprehends for a hundred and fifty years, or even a thousand and five hundred years, it's fine." Elder Xu Jin said indifferently. "Even if an entire generation of my Feather Slaughter Clan's juniors cannot comprehend the Chaos Heaven Mirror, it doesn't matter."

Under normal development, one generation of Feather Slaughter Clan geniuses might produce one King-level Immortal and a few Marquis-level Immortals.

Did that mean much to the entire clan?

Ten thousand Peak King-level Immortals combined could be crushed with one hand by Elder Xu Jin.

As long as Zhang Dong could eventually become a Cosmic Overlord of humanity, or even a Universe Master, the status of the Feather Slaughter Clan would undergo a qualitative change.

Unlike the other vassal clans in the Hong Alliance, clans with Cosmic Overlords or Universe Masters enjoyed a high degree of freedom. They could even leave humanity and join other peak forces if they wished.

But clans that only had a few High Venerables had little freedom to speak of—they were essentially dogs for humanity.

At the entrance of the secret chamber.

"With His Highness's talent, comprehending for over a decade... I wonder how much progress he's made." Gao Li sighed. "Maybe he can even match me."

He was only one step away from becoming a Marquis-level Immortal, at the fourteenth floor of the Heavenly Bridge. Based on the attitudes of Ganwu Kingdom Master and others, Gao Li judged that Zhang Dong had likely already passed the Primordial Heaven-Reaching Mountain at the universe level.

Back then, he had already reached the twelfth floor of the Heavenly Bridge in law insights. After more than a decade of comprehension, he might have reached the thirteenth or fourteenth floor.

As for the fifteenth floor, Gao Li didn't consider it.

Every three floors of the Heavenly Bridge was a major threshold. The fifteenth and fourteenth floors seemed only one step apart, but the difficulty was astronomically higher. Marquis-level Immortals possessed undying bodies, giving them a status far above Army Lord Immortals.

If one could grow to the Peak Marquis level, even most King-level Immortals would have to pay a price to kill them.

King Huo Yi gave a faint smile and didn't pick up the thread. As a foreign king, it wasn't appropriate for him to comment on the law comprehension of a Virtual Universe Company prince.

Inside the room, Zhang Dong was still immersed in studying Inanimate Stillness.

Another three years passed. Suddenly struck by insight, Zhang Dong raised his hand and pressed down lightly into the void. In the empty space before him, dozens of floating Micro-Particles came to an abrupt halt.

It wasn't that he had forcibly pinned them down with brute strength—rather, the flow of time in that tiny region had been silently severed by him.

Though the range was minuscule and the duration extremely brief, this was indeed Inanimate Stillness at the microscopic level. Achieving this step meant Zhang Dong's law comprehension had reached the fourteenth level of the Heavenly Bridge.

On par with Gao Li.

Zhang Dong slowly exhaled, boundless joy shining in his eyes. The laws of the Primordial Universe were obscure and difficult to grasp, and he was no longer in the Realm Lord period when law comprehension was fastest. Yet in just over ten years, he was on the verge of mastering Inanimate Stillness.

At most another two years—within twenty years, he would go from the twelfth level to the fifteenth.

This was the true worth of a transcendent First-Class True Intent.

Of course, this was also inseparable from his system. The Rules and Mysteries system itself was more advanced among the paths of enlightenment.

Xue Ying had made it very clear when he left the Boundary Heart Continent for the various sacred realms: all enlightenment practitioners studied the mysteries of rules.