52 Chaos Tablets

“Time is precious, don't waste it.” The black-robed envoy immediately leaped down from the rooftop, landing on the ground below. The other 1,000 geniuses followed suit, jumping down like a swarm of locusts, covering the sky as they descended onto the wide street in front of the villa.

“Follow me to the City Lord's Mansion,” the black-robed envoy said. “That is where the City Lord resides, and it is the core of the entire Chaos City.”

“City Lord?” Luo Feng was secretly astonished. As the only city in the Primal Universe, Chaos City's history was older than many Cosmic Nations in the Original Universe. The status of such an ancient city's City Lord was unimaginable. Anyone holding that position would likely be no weaker than the Lords of those Cosmic Nations.

“Rumble~~” In the distance ahead, a single-horned monster, over thirty meters tall and covered in crimson scales, approached. The beast nearly filled the entire street. Standing on its back was a man with short purple hair, appearing youthful. He wore dark blue combat armor, dark blue combat boots, and carried a giant purple battle saber on his back, gazing up at the sky.

The black-robed envoy bowed respectfully, and the 1,000 young people watched as the giant beast departed.

“Tamed beast?”

“You can bring tamed beasts into Chaos City?” The group of young people couldn't help but whisper amongst themselves. The black-robed envoy in front smiled faintly. “The one just now is a permanent Immortal resident of our Chaos City. As a permanent resident, they are qualified to bring tamed beasts into Chaos City.”

“Permanent?”

“I heard that even for an Immortal expert to enter and comprehend, a single slot is incredibly, incredibly expensive.” The young people were shocked, and Luo Feng couldn't help but say, “How is that possible?”

Even his teacher, considered a powerful Immortal in the universe, couldn't afford a slot to enter the Primal Universe for comprehension. Yet, the man who appeared youthful was a permanent resident?

“Nothing is impossible,” the black-robed envoy said with a slight smile. “As long as one makes great contributions or possesses extraordinary strength, and gains the Alliance's recognition, they can become a permanent resident.”

Luo Feng's heart stirred. Alliance? Right, Chaos City was jointly managed by the five great powers. The so-called Alliance was likely the Alliance of the Five Great Powers.

“Excuse me, how does one become a permanent resident?” Prince Wuka of Manka Star shouted from the crowd.

“The conditions are extremely stringent,” the black-robed envoy smiled. “You'll know what they are when you become Immortals. Asking now is useless.”

...

The black-robed envoy led the bustling young people of various human races down the street, truly a sight to behold.

However, Luo Feng noticed that only a very few of the meditating experts on the rooftops of the villas lining the street opened their eyes to look at them. Most were deeply immersed in their arduous cultivation and comprehension. Many had beards and hair so long it seemed they hadn't been trimmed in hundreds or even thousands of years.

“The City Lord's Mansion is straight ahead,” the black-robed envoy pointed.

Luo Feng looked up.

It was a majestic and imposing building, approximately three hundred meters tall. From a distance, one could see the three most dazzling universal common language characters for 'City Lord's Mansion'. Just looking at the characters, one couldn't help but feel drawn in, as if a self-contained space, a universe, existed within them. Luo Feng felt his spirit being continuously absorbed into the cosmic space within the characters, startling him so much that he quickly lowered his head, not daring to look again.

“The three characters for 'City Lord's Mansion' are fine to look at once, but don't stare at them often,” the black-robed envoy chuckled. “They can make your spirit disoriented. Even Immortal beings generally wouldn't dare to stare at them for too long.”

“Oh?”

“That amazing?” Many geniuses who hadn't paid attention to the three characters before curiously looked up. Upon seeing them, they all fell victim.

“Haha...” The black-robed envoy couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Usually, when receiving super-beings, he might have to be more reserved, but dealing with these youngsters was much more relaxed.

...

What looked close was actually far. Even though they walked quite fast, it still took several minutes to reach the gates of the City Lord's Mansion. At a glance, they saw black-robed envoys frequently coming and going, and occasionally, Immortal beings and Sector Lords entering and exiting the mansion.

“Chaos City is the only city in the Primal Universe,” the black-robed envoy smiled faintly. “Within Chaos City, there are three treasures.”

Luo Feng's eyes lit up, and he listened intently.

“The first of these three treasures, as everyone knows, is naturally the operational rules of the universe, visible to the naked eye,” the black-robed envoy smiled. “As for the second treasure, it's within the city, specifically inside the City Lord's Mansion. The third treasure is outside Chaos City.”

“What exactly are these treasures?” a group of young people couldn't help but ask.

The black-robed envoy pointed around them. “On the rooftops of the surrounding cultivation residences, countless experts have lived over billions of years. During their cultivation, they often had flashes of insight, which they would engrave directly onto the ground before them. Then, after careful comprehension and thought, if they gained something, they would casually engrave that too.”

Luo Feng nodded secretly. Indeed, comprehending Origin Laws was somewhat like having a flash of inspiration; when a vague insight struck, one would casually engrave it. Diagrams were more vivid than words.

It was like some people who would jot down a line on paper; even years later, seeing that line would bring back what they were thinking when they wrote it. But if it were typed on a computer, years later, it might be hard to recall the original purpose of the text. Hand-engraved diagrams were excellent vehicles for comprehension.

“Over countless years, Chaos City has developed this tradition,” the black-robed envoy sighed. “Because these records are purely spontaneous and lack a pattern, many engravings are just fragments. Thus, most offer only a slight reference.”

“However!” “Over billions of years, among countless enlightened engravings, some possess immense and systematic cultivation value.” The black-robed envoy stated solemnly, “In my Chaos City, there are the most precious 52 Chaos Tablets. Each Chaos Tablet records a vast amount of mysterious patterns and so on. These 52 Chaos Tablets represent 52 grand paths of cultivation, leading directly to the pinnacle! If you fully comprehend one Chaos Tablet, you will directly become a true super-being in the universe. Even establishing a Cosmic Nation would be effortless for you.”

Luo Feng couldn't help but hold his breath. Around him, the savage Rongjun, the Manka Star youth... all thousand young men and women were excited.

52 Chaos Tablets, containing grand paths to the pinnacle. Comprehend one, and you can establish a Cosmic Nation?

“These 52 Chaos Tablets are the second treasure of our Chaos City,” the black-robed envoy smiled. “As for the third treasure... it's outside Chaos City. There's a detailed description on the stone tablet at the city gate. You'll know when you see it for yourselves.”

The group was filled with anticipation. The first and second treasures were greatly beneficial to everyone, so the third treasure likely wouldn't be inferior.

“The 52 Chaos Tablets,” the black-robed envoy said. “Every cultivator who enters the Primal Universe gets one chance to comprehend them. Each person's comprehension time is seven days!”

“Seven days?” The group's eyes widened. So short?

“The Chaos Tablets are our human race's ultimate treasures. They convey the grand path to the pinnacle more clearly than any secret technique. Seven days of comprehension is enough for you,” the black-robed envoy then walked towards the main entrance of the City Lord's Mansion. “Everyone, come in and prepare to choose which Chaos Tablet to observe.”

...

The City Lord's Mansion covered a vast area. Even the rooftops of ordinary cultivation residences were a hundred meters long and wide, so the sheer size of the City Lord's Mansion was easily imaginable.

“Each person can only choose one Chaos Tablet to observe and comprehend,” the black-robed envoy led Luo Feng and the others to a dreamlike corridor entrance.

On the walls lining both sides of the corridor hung massive paintings. Luo Feng's gaze swept over them, and he immediately knew there were 52 paintings in total.

“Hanging on the corridor walls are 52 replica paintings. Each painting corresponds to one Chaos Tablet. You should first observe these paintings. Although the paintings cannot convey the aura contained within the Chaos Tablets, they can still give you a slight impression. Observe these 52 paintings... and then decide which Chaos Tablet you wish to choose,” the black-robed envoy said.

The group of young people stared blankly at the paintings on both sides of the corridor. So, they had to choose which Chaos Tablet to observe based on these paintings.

Each painting was a standard ten meters long and ten meters wide, with a name beside it.

“You have half an hour,” the black-robed envoy stood at the very end of the corridor.

Luo Feng and the others could only begin observing.

...

Luo Feng casually chose a painting and began to observe it. The first painting depicted an ancient, towering tree with withered yellow leaves, countless of which were falling. The withered yellow leaves floating in mid-air in this painting, by Luo Feng's conscious calculation ability, instantly determined there were definitely over ten thousand leaves.

In the painting, withered yellow leaves fell one after another. Some leaves still clung to the branches, while the ground was covered in fallen leaves.

As he watched... Luo Feng felt as if the withered yellow leaves drifting in mid-air were like individual soldiers, forming military formations. These incredibly complex formations, where a hundred leaves formed a intricate small array, would become even more wondrously transformed with the addition of just one more leaf, making it 101 leaves.

“One minute up!” Babata's voice awoke in Luo Feng's mind. “Luo Feng, you only have half an hour to view all the paintings. You cannot spend more than one minute on each painting.”

“Understood.” Luo Feng quickly snapped back to attention and glanced at the name on the painting—“Mother Ancestor Chaos Tablet.”

This made Luo Feng frown slightly. “Mother Ancestor? What's the connection to the Mother Ancestor Planet?”

He didn't dare to ponder too much, as there were 52 paintings to view. Luo Feng quickly moved to observe the other paintings nearby, needing to find the Chaos Tablet most suitable for him within just half an hour. After all, what was suitable would lead to higher cultivation efficiency. As for the 'Mother Ancestor Chaos Tablet', just looking at it gave Luo Feng a headache.

101 leaves could create formations a hundred times more varied than 100 leaves. To what extent tens of thousands of leaves would evolve was unimaginable.

...

Painting after painting, a profound silence fell. The 1,000 geniuses were like ravenous wolves, their eyes gleaming as they stared at the paintings. Previously, everyone had been annoyed at having to choose a Chaos Tablet based on paintings, but after observing, they all became engrossed. Fortunately, everyone had their smart optical computers to remind them, otherwise, they might have spent half an hour on just one painting.

“Hmm?” Luo Feng was staring at a large painting before him. The painting consisted of numerous saber marks, each giving a different impression. The entire painting contained 10,081 saber marks, and the corresponding Chaos Tablet was called the “Heart Mark Chaos Tablet.”

“Alright, half an hour is up. Tell me which Chaos Tablet you've chosen, and I'll record it,” the black-robed envoy called out.