Devouring Stars: Master of Evolution

Chapter 190 Meeting the Lord of Chaos City

"This? This is the mainland?!"

Looking out at the vast continent suspended in the distant cosmos, Qin Mu was filled with awe.

Over the years in space, he has seen many large planets, some of which are thousands or even tens of thousands of times larger than Earth.

But when he saw this continent before him, he was still deeply shocked.

The stars and planets beside this enormous landmass floating in the starry sky are nothing but tiny specks!

Even as the spaceship continued to fly closer to that place, after flying for a while, the continent still felt so far away.

Although in the virtual universe, a single Black Dragon Mountain Island can accommodate everyone in the entire Black Dragon Mountain star field.

But that's a virtual universe! This is reality!

"How big is this?" Qin Mu exclaimed.

A smile appeared on the face of Venerable Guiyi, who was standing to the side. When he was still weak, he had been just as shocked when he first saw the headquarters of the Virtual Universe Company.

How big is it? If we don't travel through space to enter the dark universe.

It would take at least several decades to fly from one side of headquarters to the other using a spaceship.

Its diameter is around tens of light-years.

The Venerable Guiyi smiled.

"Tens of light-years!"

Upon hearing the introduction from Venerable Guiyi, Qin Mu was taken aback.

Compared to this continent, let alone Earth, even a sun wouldn't be noticeable if you threw it in.

No wonder some distant stars and planets look like sesame seeds; this continent floating in the universe... is ridiculously large.

"That's incredible!"

Qin Mu looked at the vast continent and exclaimed in admiration.

Whether this continent was formed naturally or shaped by a great and powerful being is unknown. The universe is vast and truly full of wonders.

After being teleported to the divine kingdom, the spaceship traveled at near the speed of light for about thirteen hours before arriving at one of the entrances to the virtual universe company's global headquarters.

The closer you get, the more breathtakingly beautiful the entire continent becomes.

What appeared to be mere natural beauty of the universe turned into a series of discoveries as the spaceship entered the mainland. Qin Mu then uncovered the advanced technology hidden behind this "nature."

The stars, planets, meteorites, and other celestial bodies surrounding the headquarters continent are actually extremely terrifying technological weapons.

Using the methods of the Virtual Universe Company, those stars and planets are manipulated at will, just like toys.

Even immortal powerhouses can manipulate stars.

Within the Virtual Universe Company, there are not only immortals, but also a large number of powerful individuals above the Venerable level.

How could it be so simple as the headquarters of a virtual universe company?

The spaceship flew along, traveling at near-light speed in one of the passageways, and then, seemingly without slowing down, entered another passageway.

"We are about to travel through the cosmic passage to the initial universe. Your strength is still weak, so the process may be a little uncomfortable."

As Venerable Guiyi entered the passage, he looked at Qin Mu and smiled.

"A cosmic passage?"

Qin Mu was somewhat puzzled, but he nodded without asking any further questions.

"It is I who have opened the cosmic portal."

Venerable Guiyi said calmly.

The sound penetrated the spaceship and reached the outside world.

"boom!"

A deep voice sounded from the outside, and then the spaceship continued its journey.

"Hmm? This really feels awful!"

Qin Mu felt a throbbing pain in his head and tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't see his surroundings clearly.

"We are now in the passage between the initial universe and the primordial universe."

The Venerable Guiyi looked at Qin Mu, who was persevering, and said with a smile.

"The time flow rate is different between the initial universe and the original universe, which causes the time flow rate to be disordered within the passage, making you feel a bit uncomfortable."

Qin Mu nodded with some difficulty. His cosmic-level strength was clearly too weak in this strange situation.

"The flow of time is disordered, it's truly amazing."

Despite feeling uncomfortable, Qin Mu kept his eyes wide open as he looked at the blurry surroundings.

After about five or six minutes, the discomfort disappeared.

"We have now entered the initial universe."

The Way of the Venerable Guiyi.

"Have we arrived in the initial universe?"

Qin Mu looked around curiously. Under the control of Venerable Guiyi, the exterior of the spaceship was clearly visible.

Qin Mu immediately noticed that it was dark outside, with only occasional wisps of chaotic air currents drifting by.

In the distance, one could faintly see the heavens and earth cracking open from time to time, and even see a large number of strange and mysterious patterns flowing at the edges of the cracked space.

The silk threads are intertwined, and the secret patterns on the threads are flowing, just like a loom, weaving the world into an ever-expanding expanse.

"This is the law governing the universe during the transmission!"

Chaos City has three treasures, the first of which is the law of the universe's operation, which can be seen with the naked eye.

Although I knew it beforehand, I could only feel the shock when I actually saw it; it was something that words could not describe.

Qin Mu subconsciously wanted to comprehend this law.

"The original universe we live in is an incomparably vast, enormous, and perfect universe."

"That's what Venerable Guiyi said."

"Because it is perfect, it is impossible for the laws governing its operation to be outwardly manifested, making it extremely difficult to comprehend."

"In the initial universe, everything was directly visible to the naked eye. You could also see how the various laws were perfectly combined with each other, how the universe was formed, and how the rules operated. Everything was directly visible, so it was much easier to comprehend."

"Don't rush to comprehend the laws. There will be plenty of time after you've met your teacher."

Under normal circumstances, members of the Genius Battle enter Chaos City approximately 100 years ago.

The time ratio between the initial universe and the proto-universe is 1:3.28, so it is generally a little over 30 years.

However, as a disciple personally taught by the teacher, you can stay for a very long time if you wish.

Seeing Qin Mu's appearance, Venerable Guiyi smiled and said.

"It's so shocking, I can't contain myself for a moment."

Qin Mu immediately stopped his comprehension and laughed.

"That's normal; most people are like this the first time they come. We're here, let's go downstairs."

As he spoke, the spaceship's hatch opened, and Venerable Guiyi flew out first, followed closely by Qin Mu.

"The city beneath our feet is called Chaos City, and it has existed for longer than most cosmic kingdoms!"

This Chaos City is jointly managed by five major powers. Our teacher, the Chaos City Lord, is responsible for overseeing this place and is known as the Chaos City Lord.

The teacher is at the city lord's mansion in the city center; we can just go there directly.

The Venerable Guiyi explained.

"it is good."

Qin Mu nodded, while observing the city.

Within Chaos City are rows of small buildings, and on the rooftops of many of these buildings, one can see people of all shapes and sizes sitting cross-legged in meditation.

Some humans were carving something on the rooftop, and the powerful aura they exuded was far stronger than that of a realm lord. Some of these powerful figures were muttering something under their breath.

At the farthest point of the cosmic rift, one could vaguely see beings standing in mid-air. Occasionally, these beings would look down at Qin Mu and Venerable Guiyi.

"Is this Qin Mu, who rose to prominence in the Genius Battle, personally led by Venerable Guiyi?"

"It must be him. It's unbelievable that he was able to pass through all the trial towers and be directly accepted as a personal disciple by the Chaos City Lord."

"His talent is amazing!"

At the edge of that rift in the universe, some great beings stood and chatted with each other.

Qin Mu simply followed silently behind Venerable Guiyi.

He could sense that there were many immortals here. However, the immortals were still very restrained and dared not release their aura recklessly.

However, more than ten powerful auras shot straight into the sky from the entire Chaos City, which even Qin Mu could clearly sense.

It was as if a dozen ferocious beasts were entrenched in different parts of Chaos City.

"Chaos City has existed for a long time. Many geniuses have come here, and naturally, many powerful individuals have emerged from it."

Seemingly sensing something, Venerable Guiyi explained.

"I brought you here directly, so no one has explained things to you. Let me give you a brief overview."

"Look, there are many small buildings in Chaos City with pale white doors, which means that no one lives here."

Venerable Guiyi led Qin Mu to the street and pointed to a small building.

"As long as you place your hand on the door for a moment, the sensor system inside the door will automatically activate, turning the door dark gray. You will then automatically become the owner of this house, and the information will be automatically recorded."

Each person can only choose one place to live.

"Because of Chaos City, countless powerful beings have sat on the rooftop to meditate and comprehend, and in the process of their comprehension, they would sometimes make carvings. As a result, many carvings have been left behind that contain the thoughts of these powerful beings on the fundamental laws of existence."

If you're interested, most of the residences in Chaos City are currently uninhabited; you can visit each building one by one when you have time. Perhaps some of them are carvings of insights left behind by the 'Venerable One.'

"Once you've chosen the Chaos Stele, you can look at some suitable carvings. I'll help you pick one then."

"Return to Oneness is a Venerable One," he said with a smile.

"Thank you, Second Senior Brother."

Qin Mu smiled too.

This is the advantage of having a master and fellow disciples.

There are so many powerful individuals in Chaos City, and they have gained a lot of insights.

If no one guides you and you just randomly find a house to live in, you won't know what level of power the previous inhabitants were or what insights they gained.

Just like Luo Feng in the original timeline, he could only randomly choose one at the beginning.

However, after receiving guidance from the True King, he directly approached a genius who had also chosen the Nine Universe Chaos Stele, and the carvings on it greatly aided Luo Feng's comprehension.

From the very beginning, Qin Mu had the help and guidance of the Chaos City Lord and Venerable Guiyi, which saved him a lot of time.

That's how spiritual practice works: if you're quick at one step, you'll be quick at every step!

"In Chaos City, there is a very important rule that you should know."

"In the initial universe, killing each other was forbidden; whoever did so would surely die."

"No matter who you are, even if you are a disciple of the master, you cannot provoke the rules of Chaos City."

The Venerable Guiyi spoke in a somewhat serious tone.

"clear."

Qin Mu nodded. Why would he cause trouble in Chaos City? He was just looking for trouble.

"The City Lord's Mansion is located at the very heart of Chaos City; we're almost there."

As Venerable Guiyi walked, he talked to Qin Mu about some things that needed attention in Chaos City.

"Boom!"

In the distance ahead, a unicorn-like monster, over thirty meters tall and covered in crimson scales, approached, taking up almost half of the street.

Standing on the monster's back was a young man with short purple hair, dressed in dark blue armor and boots, carrying a giant purple sword.

However, the moment the man saw Venerable Guiyi, he immediately bowed respectfully.

"You can bring your own beasts into Chaos City, as long as you become a permanent immortal resident."

This isn't difficult for you. Once you're more capable, you can handle it yourself.

Venerable Guiyi didn't look at the man, but turned to Qin Mu and said.

With Qin Mu's talent, it was no problem for the Lord of Chaos City to accept him as a personal disciple and for him to become a permanent immortal resident of Chaos City.

"Okay, sure."

Qin Mu nodded, not paying any attention.

Teacher Yu Chen had mentioned these things to me before I arrived.

Anyone who makes a significant contribution to humanity or possesses extraordinary strength and is recognized by the Alliance can become a permanent resident.

As Qin Mu walked, he soon saw a magnificent and imposing building that was over 300 meters tall.

Even from afar, one can see the three most dazzling universal characters of the City Lord's Mansion—"City Lord's Mansion".

When you see those words, you can't help but be drawn in, as if the words themselves form a space, a universe.

It felt as if one's entire spirit was being constantly absorbed, drawn into the cosmic space within the writing.

After just one glance, Qin Mu quickly lowered his head and stopped looking.

"Haha, you're still weak. Just take a look at the three big characters 'City Lord's Mansion'."

Looking at it for too long will make you mentally disoriented; even with ordinary immortals, you wouldn't dare stare at them for too long.

Seeing Qin Mu's appearance, Venerable Guiyi laughed.

"Um."

Qin Mu nodded obediently, inwardly marveling at how Chaos City truly lived up to its reputation as a sacred place for human cultivation.

Even immortal powerhouses dared not look at those three words for long.

Because they were walking, it took several minutes before Venerable Guiyi led Qin Mu to the gate of the City Lord's Mansion.

Qin Mu could see at a glance that messengers dressed in black robes frequently came and went in the city lord's mansion, and occasionally he could also see some immortal beings and realm lords entering and leaving the city lord's mansion.

The gates of the City Lord's Mansion in Chaos City are always wide open, and people frequently come and go from the mansion.

When these black-robed messengers saw Venerable Guiyi, they would stop and respectfully bow before retreating.

"Chaos City is the only city in the primordial universe. You should know that Chaos City has three treasures."

"The second treasure, the 52 Chaos Tablets, is also in the City Lord's Mansion. After you meet your teacher, I will take you to select a Chaos Tablet."

Venerable Guiyi simply nodded to the people bowing around him, then looked at Qin Mu and said.

Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly nodded.

Over countless millennia, countless powerful beings have visited this Chaos City.

When these powerful beings were comprehending the primordial universe, they often had flashes of inspiration during their cultivation. They would even inscribe these flashes on the ground in front of them, and then carefully study and contemplate them. If they gained any insights, they would also inscribe them at will.

Chaos City has also developed this tradition over countless years.

Some were recorded on a whim, without any pattern, and many of the recordings were only fragments, so most of them can only serve as a reference at most.

However, some of these inscriptions have very strong and systematic cultivation value.

The 52 Chaos Steles are the most precious among them.

Each Chaos Stele records a large number of mysterious patterns, etc. These 52 Chaos Steles represent 52 cultivation paths that lead directly to the most powerful path!

If one comprehends a Chaos Stele, one will directly become a true super being in the universe, and even opening up a universe would be a piece of cake.

With Qin Mu by his side, Venerable Guiyi entered the City Lord's Mansion with practiced ease and headed towards the most heavily guarded "Inner Palace".

The outer gate of the palace was always kept open. However, the inner palace was heavily guarded, and at a glance, every guard appeared to be an immortal deity.

"Greetings, Venerable Guiyi!"

The two guards bowed respectfully to Venerable Guiyi.

"Um."

Venerable Guiyi nodded, then led Qin Mu into the inner palace.

Inner government.

Following the wide corridor, we soon arrived at a plaza paved with chaotic rocks.

"The teacher has three incarnations, the one who presides over Chaos City is the one who is in charge of killing and warfare."

When you see your teacher later, you must be respectful and not offend him.

Venerable Guiyi smiled as he walked and spoke.

"Yes." Qin Mu's heart tightened, and he quickly and respectfully replied.

It's no secret that the "Lord of Chaos" possesses three avatars; the reason the strong are strong is because they are respected.

It was through true killing methods... The Lord of Chaos City also killed countless alien powerhouses, and his three clones were known to billions of races in the universe. Each clone possessed incredible power.

"The Chaos Ruins?"

Qin Mu looked at the quiet courtyard in front of him. Outside the courtyard was a stone tablet with the words "Chaos Tablet" on it.

"The teacher is inside," Venerable Guiyi said, leading Qin Mu inside.

Qin Mu also took a step into it.

Boom!

Time and space shifted. He was still in the city lord's mansion, but as soon as Qin Mu stepped into the courtyard, he felt as if the world had changed and he had entered a vast and desolate world.

On the endless land, corpses were everywhere. Some were as large as planets, while others were smaller than humans. Yet each corpse contained a terrifying aura that made one's heart tremble. This... must be the ruins of a terrible battlefield.

Qin Mu and Venerable Guiyi walked on this vast, seemingly endless wasteland.

"Teacher!" Venerable Guiyi suddenly called out.

"Um?"

Qin Mu noticed that a tall, robust man, about three meters tall, was standing not far away. He was wearing an extremely complex and ancient dark red battle armor and battle boots, and a scaled tail was sticking out from his battle skirt.

When Qin Mu's gaze fell upon this person, he felt his soul tremble.

At first, he only saw a figure, but then he seemed to see endless cosmic laws... The magnificent and vast cosmic laws were constantly emanating a killing aura, causing Qin Mu and even his soul to completely submit.

There was not a single thought of resistance.

"Qin Mu?"

A very ordinary voice rang out, and all the illusions disappeared. Qin Mu could see the man again with his naked eye.

The man wearing dark red battle armor and with a scaled tail turned to look at Qin Mu.

He had two fiery red horns on his forehead and strange, mysterious patterns on his face, making him look quite fierce. However, his eyes were calm, like a vast ocean or an endless starry sky, which made people feel peaceful.

"Qin Mu greets the City Lord."

Qin Mu knelt down.

"Is this the Lord of Chaos City? His strength is terrifying!"

Qin Mu was terrified.

"Not bad! You were able to conquer all the trial towers at the Hengxing level."

The Lord of Chaos City looked at Qin Mu and smiled.

Qin Mu listened respectfully.

"Would you be willing to become my personal disciple?"

"The Lord of Chaos asked."

"This disciple is willing."

Qin Mu said respectfully.

The Lord of Chaos City nodded.

He is a figure standing at the pinnacle of humanity. Although genius is important, he is well aware that... some people may be slow to comprehend, but they can still continuously break through and advance, and still become cosmic masters.

So unless it's a once-in-a-millennium genius, he won't care.

Even if a peerless genius appears only once every tens of millions of epochs, the Lord of Chaos City will still observe him before deciding whether to accept him as a personal disciple.

But if it's a genius like Qin Mu, who only appears once or twice in billions of epochs or even a single reincarnation era, he also needs to take him seriously.

With the talent Qin Mu has shown, he is capable of comprehending the Ten Fundamental Laws before achieving immortality!

What does this mean?

It is important to know that the universe contains ten fundamental laws: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, lightning, light, space, and time.

When the universe was born, there were only two powerful laws at the beginning. One of them broke down into six fundamental laws: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, and space.

Another approach is to break it down into the four fundamental laws: wind, lightning, light, and time!

This created two factions.

The Spatial School considers space as the superior principle, while metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are considered inferior principles.

The Time faction considers time as the superior law, while lightning, wind, and light are inferior laws.

To fully comprehend the laws of space is to become a master of space.

To fully comprehend the laws of time is to become a Time Master.

Meanwhile, the one who fully comprehends time and space, truly controls time and space, and possesses incredible superpowers such as time-space reversal, is the 'Lord of the Universe'.

At the Hengxing level, Qin Mu had entered the threshold of all ten fundamental laws.

This is definitely the seed of the Lord of the Universe.

Over billions of years of human development, there have only been a dozen or so masters of the universe!

How could he not value a genius of this caliber?!

"You specialize in studying the colossal star beasts with peak bloodlines to comprehend the laws, right?"

The Lord of Chaos City had a smile in his eyes as he looked into his field of vision.

Although Qin Mu's soul is peculiar, it is still human.

However, inside a world ring he carried with him were towering mother nests, and around the mother nests were star beasts with peak bloodlines!

Not only are there giant beasts with peak bloodlines, but other star-shaped giant beasts with powerful bloodlines are also everywhere.

He even saw hundreds of demon slayers and rock giants—non-flesh and blood creatures!

Moreover, around the mother nest were enormous earthworm eggs.

The aura emanating from those insect eggs was none other than that of a giant star beast with peak bloodline!

This discovery shocked even the Lord of Chaos City.

Originally, he thought Qin Mu was just for research purposes, but he never expected that this peculiar insect race could even hatch star beasts with peak bloodlines!

It's important to know that even natural reproduction is difficult for life forms with such peak bloodlines as the Starry Sky Beast!

But now, they are being hatched in batches, how can this not be shocking?

"Could they be Zerg left over from other eras of reincarnation? This is astonishing!"

The Lord of Chaos City thought to himself, "Even I have never seen such a high-level opportunity!"

Other top-tier opportunities pale in comparison to Qin Mu's.

"Indeed, the more extraordinary a talent is, the more incredible and heaven-defying opportunities they possess."

Of course, the Lord of Chaos City also understood that having a stroke of luck was not enough.

Through his investigation of Qin Mu, he learned that Qin Mu was extremely diligent in his cultivation and had a very strong will.

It is the combination of these factors that has made Qin Mu who he is today.

"I dare not hide it from my master. The reason I was able to comprehend so many fundamental laws is actually due to a fortuitous encounter I had in the past."

Qin Mu bowed respectfully.

He never intended to hide the existence of the Zerg; in fact, he did not hide it.

He also wants to use this opportunity to allow his swarm to appear openly and legitimately!

Chapter 1, 6k words. It's almost the end of the month, so please vote with your monthly tickets! If you have any, please support me, Old Cow. Thank you!

(End of this chapter)