Initial Universe

The Virtual Universe Company's Headquarters Continent was incomparably vast. Though it looked close, there was still a long distance to cover.

Thus, Lu Qingshan's spacecraft continued flying toward the vast continent at sublight speed. Only after more than half a day of travel did it finally arrive near the Headquarters Continent.

At this time, Lu Qingshan saw countless spacecraft outside through the external simulation.

Some of these ships were heading toward the Headquarters Continent, while others were departing from it.

With just a distant glance at the various spacecraft, Lu Qingshan could tell that none of them were inferior to the E-class spacecraft he was riding in. There were even quite a few extremely precious F-class ships.

Just then, Lu Qingshan received guidance information sent by the staff within the Virtual Universe Company's Headquarters Continent.

Following the instructions, Lu Qingshan soon piloted his spacecraft toward one of the continent's entrances. Passing through the entrance passageway, he arrived in a vast hall.

The spacecraft gradually decelerated until it came to a complete stop.

Whoosh!

The cabin door opened, and Lu Qingshan, clad in dark golden battle armor, flew out of the spacecraft.

A staff member dressed in silver robes had already been waiting outside.

"Hello, I'm Lu Qingshan from the Yan Feng Universe Country!"

Lu Qingshan quickly handed over a credential, then said, "I've come to enter the Initial Universe for comprehension!"

After carefully verifying Lu Qingshan's identity through the credential, the silver-robed man smiled and said, "Please follow me!"

Lu Qingshan nodded slightly. After storing the spacecraft in his internal world, he followed the silver-robed man down a dreamlike corridor and soon arrived in an oval hall.

The surroundings and ceiling of the oval hall were transparent. Looking up, one could see the boundless starry sky outside, a truly magnificent sight.

When Lu Qingshan entered, he found that over a thousand people had already gathered inside. However, the hall was so spacious that it did not feel crowded despite the number.

"This is the waiting hall!"

The silver-robed man introduced it with a smile. "You only need to wait here for a while!"

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan hurriedly asked, "When will I be able to enter the Initial Universe?"

"Probably in another ten or so days!"

The silver-robed man smiled. "Actually, your timing is fairly good. The earliest person in your batch has already been waiting here for over a month!"

Lu Qingshan nodded slightly, then found a corner to sit in and waited quietly.

"Hey, hello there!"

A wolfman expert walked over to Lu Qingshan. "Did you come alone too? I'm Kremor from the Noah Universe Country!"

Lu Qingshan looked at him with interest.

In the original work, the human territory contained a full 1,008 universe countries, but not many were mentioned. The Noah Universe Country was one of them.

Bolan, the peerless genius from Luo Feng's generation, came from the Noah Universe Country.

But the Flame God race had not yet left the human race, so who knew how long it would be before Bolan appeared?

"I'm Lu Qingshan from the Yan Feng Universe Country!" Lu Qingshan nodded slightly. "I did indeed come alone this time!"

"It wasn't easy getting here alone, was it?"

The wolfman expert Kremor sat directly across from Lu Qingshan. With a flip of his hand, he took out a bottle of wine and two cups.

As he used world force to pour the wine, he said, "I traveled here from the Noah Universe Country by spacecraft, and the journey alone took over twenty years!"

"Thanks!"

Lu Qingshan raised his cup and said, "I had it a little easier than you. The Yan Feng Universe Country is closer to this place, so it only took me a little over ten years!"

"Yeah!"

Kremor raised his cup in invitation. After draining it in one gulp, he continued, "Among the 1,003 universe countries of our human race, the Noah Universe Country is one of the farthest from here!"

"We're quite close to the headquarters of the Universe Mercenary Alliance, but I chose to join the Virtual Universe Company back then, so I had no choice but to come here!"

"Brother Qingshan, how did you obtain your Initial Universe comprehension slot? At an auction? Or did you apply through internal company channels?"

"I applied through internal company channels!" Lu Qingshan replied calmly.

"Hahaha, me too!"

Kremor laughed. "My contribution points originally weren't nearly enough to apply for an Initial Universe comprehension slot. But later, I performed a great service for the company and received a large number of contribution points. I immediately applied for a slot!"

"Still, the competition for these Initial Universe comprehension slots is simply too fierce. I waited more than three thousand years before finally getting this opportunity!"

Lu Qingshan was slightly stunned by that.

He had waited more than three thousand years?

It seemed Kremor had not bribed the staff at all, or had not bribed them enough. Otherwise, he definitely would not have needed to wait so long!

Lu Qingshan chatted idly with Kremor, and other experts occasionally joined in as well.

Just like that, twelve days passed in the blink of an eye. The Virtual Universe Company's staff soon appeared in the hall again.

A middle-aged man shrouded in an elegant white robe looked at the crowd. The faint aura emanating from him placed immense pressure on Lu Qingshan and the others.

"An Immortal!"

"That's right! And an extremely powerful Immortal. His aura is even stronger than my ancestor's!"

"The Virtual Universe Company is far too powerful. Such a formidable Immortal is merely a staff member!"

The middle-aged man paid no attention to the discussions and simply said, "Everyone, follow me."

The moment he spoke, a vast force instantly enveloped everyone present.

Whoosh!

The middle-aged man transformed with Lu Qingshan and the others into a streak of light. After flying for several minutes, they arrived before a spacecraft over ten thousand meters in diameter.

"Everyone, board the spacecraft. It will take you into the Initial Universe!" The middle-aged man set them down and spoke coldly.

Urged on by the middle-aged man, Lu Qingshan and the others entered through the hatchway one after another, soon arriving in the spacecraft's main hall.

An invisible pressure instantly enveloped everyone in the hall.

Lu Qingshan and the others looked up and immediately saw more than ten Immortals standing before them. At their head was a burly man in black battle armor, his aura as unfathomable as an abyss and as vast as the sea.

"Welcome to the Initial Universe!"

The black-armored burly man's gaze swept across everyone present before he said in a deep voice, "I am Black Peak King. This time, I will be responsible for leading you to the Initial Universe!"

"Thank you, Black Peak King!"

Lu Qingshan and the others hurriedly bowed.

"Hahaha..."

Black Peak King laughed heartily, then directly ordered, "Set off for the Initial Universe."

The instant he spoke, everyone heard a thunderous boom.

Then, the enormous spacecraft trembled slightly before vanishing from its original location in an instant.

The atmosphere in the hall was heavy.

Those heading to the Initial Universe this time were all World Lord-level experts like Lu Qingshan. Even for those with powerful backgrounds, meeting a King-level Immortal was extraordinarily difficult.

Take Lu Qingshan, for example. After cultivating for several million years, he had only met King-level Immortals twice.

Therefore, even though Black Peak King had not deliberately released his pressure, the aura naturally emanating from him was enough to fill everyone present with fear.

"Stop!"

A thunderous voice suddenly rang out from outside, entering the spacecraft and echoing in everyone's ears.

"I have been ordered to escort these cultivators to the Initial Universe. Please open the universe passage!" Black Peak King's calm voice quickly carried outside.

Rumble!

A burst of roaring came from outside, and the spacecraft began moving forward again.

Suddenly, Lu Qingshan and the others felt a wave of discomfort, as though time itself had become chaotic.

"We are currently in the passageway between the Initial Universe and the Primal Universe."

Black Peak King's gaze swept across Lu Qingshan and the others as he explained, "Because the flow of time differs between the Initial Universe and the Primal Universe, the flow of time within this spatial passageway is chaotic. Naturally, that causes you some discomfort!"

After roughly five or six minutes, the discomfort Lu Qingshan and the others felt finally disappeared.

At this moment, Black Peak King spoke again. "We have now arrived in the Initial Universe. Open the upper space!"

Hiss, hiss...

The metal ceiling above them automatically split apart, revealing a thin membrane like transparent glass.

Lu Qingshan looked up and saw a dim expanse outside, with wisps of chaotic airflow drifting about from time to time.

In the distance, heaven and earth split apart and fused together intermittently. At the same time, countless strange secret patterns appeared within the cracks in space.

Threads of laws linked together as secret patterns drifted through the air. Like a loom, they wove the distant heaven and earth ever larger.

"The stars and planets of the universe all have lifespans. Naturally, the universe itself also has a lifespan, though it is incomparably long."

Black Peak King continued, "This Initial Universe is a new universe in the period of 'the universe's beginning.' During this period, the universe is constantly perfecting itself, so the laws governing its operation manifest externally."

"What constantly repairs those distant spatial cracks are the externally manifested laws governing the universe's origin, including the various origin laws you comprehend."

"Within this Initial Universe, you can directly observe these externally manifested origin laws with your naked eyes. Naturally, comprehending them is much easier than in the outside world! I trust you all know exactly how precious the comprehension slots in your hands are. I hope you seize this opportunity!"

The spacecraft continued onward.

"We'll reach Chaos City soon."

Black Peak King reminded them, "Chaos City is where you will live and cultivate in the Initial Universe. Since I brought you here, I hope every one of you gains something from this place!"

A moment later, the spacecraft flew above an ancient city.

This ancient city was incomparably majestic. Situated within the vast and desolate Initial Universe, it appeared towering, solemn, and eternal.

Whoosh!

The cabin door opened. At Black Peak King's reminder, Lu Qingshan and the others quickly filed out of the spacecraft.

The hatch then closed, and the spacecraft trembled slightly before transforming into a streak of light and flying into the distance.

Suddenly, a black streak of light flew over from afar.

"Everyone, I am Chaos City's reception envoy."

The black streak of light landed before Lu Qingshan and the others, revealing a black-robed man. He smiled and said, "Chaos City has existed for an incomparably long time. It is the true holy land of our human race!"

"Chaos City is now jointly managed by the five great powers: the Virtual Universe Company, Giant Axe Dojo, Universe First Bank, Cosmic Star River Bank, and the Universe Mercenary Alliance."

Lu Qingshan and the others quietly watched the black-robed reception envoy.

"Follow me."

The black-robed man smiled as he led Lu Qingshan and the others down from the sky, landing on a broad street within Chaos City.

Small buildings stood throughout Chaos City. On the rooftops of many of them, human experts of various appearances could be seen, some sitting cross-legged in meditation, others deep in thought.

Even near the spatial cracks in the distant sky, powerful figures could be seen standing in midair.

"There are many supreme beings in Chaos City."

As they walked, the reception envoy explained to Lu Qingshan and the others, "You may comprehend here in the Initial Universe for three hundred years, but do not disturb anyone else as they comprehend the origin laws. If you disturb someone, your qualification will be immediately revoked and you will be sent out of the Initial Universe!"

Lu Qingshan and the others all nodded. They certainly would not do such a thing.

Next, the black-robed reception envoy introduced the various rules and matters requiring attention within Chaos City.

For example, human experts were forbidden from killing one another in the Initial Universe; the three treasures of the Initial Universe: the visible laws governing the universe's operation, chaotic beasts that could yield Chaotic True Spirits, and the fifty most precious Chaos Steles...

As he continued his introduction, the black-robed reception envoy soon led Lu Qingshan and the others before a magnificent building three hundred meters tall.

The black-robed envoy looked at the grand building and said respectfully, "Look, that is the City Lord's Mansion!"

Lu Qingshan and the others looked up and soon saw the three most dazzling words in the universal language written above the magnificent structure—City Lord's Mansion.

At the mere sight of the handwriting, Lu Qingshan felt his soul tremble, as though it were about to be pulled from his body.

"Hahaha!"

The black-robed envoy laughed. "Even Immortals generally do not dare stare at the plaque above the City Lord's Mansion for too long. You little World Lord-level fellows should be more careful!"

"All right, next I'll take you to choose the Chaos Steles that suit you!"