Chapter Forty: The Heart of Stone, Treasure of the Way (Second Update)

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Master Yuanmo flicked a spark of starlight from his fingertip into Sang Sang’s brow. He vanished, followed by the dissolution of all tables, chairs, and teacups, as if swept away by mist, leaving only a faint amber glow illuminating the small space beneath Sang Sang’s feet.

Sang Sang entered her own sea of consciousness, feeling herself transformed into a spectral giant, standing at the heart of a whirling nebula. Countless stars, some as small as sand grains, others as large as broad beans, circled her in flight, occasionally passing through her body. Beneath her feet, a star the size of a watermelon remained motionless, its shape reminiscent of a petrified human heart. The laws Sang Sang originally possessed, save for those of time, space, and stars, had been squeezed into a tiny corner, each cluster of mist pressed up against the purified star, looking pitiful indeed.

Master Yuanmo had lived thirty thousand years. At his fall, he had just stepped into the Cosmic tier, yet before he could comprehend the ultimate truth of space, a Temporal-tier powerhouse reversed time and slew him before he could reach the Profound tier, extinguishing his chance of resurrection. In his final moments, his greatest regret was not choosing to specialize in the laws of time and space. When the human heart hardens like dead stone, even the strongest temptations are useless.

These stars were condensed from the laws Yuanmo had comprehended in life, numbering seven or eight thousand. From energy laws to material laws, extending to time, space, chaos, and other real laws, as well as control, devouring, transformation, and other abstract laws, their diversity was staggering. Some Sang Sang possessed, some she knew or had heard of, but most she neither had nor recognized, nor had ever heard mentioned.

The strongest among them, the human heart, was the distilled essence of Yuanmo’s life’s learning, reaching the perfect realm of the law’s origin. Unfortunately, laws possess consciousness; due to his regret and disappointment at death, this law had faded into silence, leaving only the rough insights or those he had devoured from others. Aside from a handful of auxiliary laws he had cultivated to the level of origin, two or three dozen reached the realm of refined simplicity used routinely, a hundred or so were mastered to the point of exquisite skill and used often, a thousand had been employed occasionally with marvelous effect, and more than three thousand had entered the hall but were rarely touched. The remaining two thousand were only at the threshold—likely never used in his lifetime after acquiring them.

Within the Tomb of the Gods, time held no meaning. Sang Sang sat cross-legged, sorting through the knowledge gifted by Yuanmo, recognizing doubt as one thing, yet resolving that the banquet offered before her would not go untasted. Whether Yuanmo’s words were true or false, she was merely Sang Hongye.

Having roughly familiarized herself with the categories of all the laws, Sang Sang began to absorb and comprehend them one by one, starting with those she knew best.

The two law stars of time and space were the largest beneath the origin, reaching the refined simplicity realm and not far from origin. Of the two, space was slightly larger, and they were joined end to end, bearing signs of forced integration—likely Yuanmo’s attempt at late-stage cultivation of both time and space laws.

Sang Sang’s own space law had reached the peak of the “entered the hall” realm, though its accumulation was thin and its domain limited. The time law was at the pinnacle of entry, just a step away from entering the hall. Though the gap between the two realms was significant, their fusion was excellent, permitting her to reverse time and space briefly within a small area for a few items or beings. With the nourishment of the two law stars left by Yuanmo, even if much of it dissipated, she could surely advance further.

The time and space stars rested quietly in Sang Sang’s left hand. Her mental force wove through the stars, analyzing them. Their surfaces softened into liquid, which then vaporized into gas, and finally transformed into strings of runes. These runes fused into the star of time-space law in her right hand. The tiny pebble-like star absorbed the runes, its surface shrouded in mist, which liquefied and seeped within, growing at a visible pace.

Stars are the tangible form of laws; before entry, they are called law projections, typically as mist. In Sang Sang’s sea of consciousness, there were dozens of misty law projections yet to be entered. As each black law star from the outside vanished, Sang Sang’s own mist condensed into transparent stone cores.

Who knows how much time passed—Sang Sang kept no record, only aware that her mental force was exhausted fifty-three thousand one hundred and seven times. Her restorative potions had been depleted long ago, by the fifteenth thousand time. Energy crystals proved useless, for she discovered the lingering remnants in the Tomb of the Gods had no effect on her. More precisely, the petrified human heart could purify remnants; so long as she remained within a yard radius, she could absorb energy freely, untroubled by the remnants of the gods. The energy here was dense, absorption ten times faster than outside. Complete recovery took only half an hour, but tens of thousands of half-hours add up.

The law stars left by Yuanmo, save for the petrified human heart beneath Sang Sang’s feet, had all disappeared. Her sea of consciousness brimmed with stars, arrayed in orderly ranks under the command of time and space.

Sang Sang rose and performed a grand salute. From the depths of darkness came a somnolent murmur, the amber glow vanished, and darkness reclaimed the surroundings. Sang Sang was ejected, still in place, but the stone tablet that had been there had vanished into the void, awaiting the next fated seeker of its legacy.

“This harvest far exceeded expectations, though it took too long. Fortunately, no matter how long I stay in the Tomb of the Gods, only three days pass outside.” Sang Sang stretched, feeling her bones stiff, her soul weary, then looked up to see a dusty gray stone hovering above her head.

The tangible form of Yuanmo’s core law—the petrified human heart?

Sang Sang reached out, and the heart fell willingly into her palm—a stone heart about twenty-five centimeters in diameter, ashen white, its surface riddled with tiny cracks, as if it might shatter any moment. Yet no matter how much force Sang Sang applied, she could not chip off even a layer of stone.

Raising her right hand, she brought her index finger before her eyes, focused her energy at the tip, and drew in a sliver.

“It can purify the remnants of the gods outside as well. Excellent—now I need hardly fear soul-based attacks anymore.”

Silently, Sang Sang bowed toward the void. “Thank you, elder, for your gift.”

Delighted by this unexpected boon, Sang Sang took out the star sand and initiated her second attribute guidance. This time, she did not let the star sand pair automatically, but set her requirement—laws of time and space.

Even without Yuanmo’s advice, so long as her soul attributes did not conflict, Sang Sang intended to specialize in time and space. Their reputed supremacy as laws was one reason; her innate affinity for their origin was another. Most importantly, only time and space could marshal such a multitude of laws, assigning each its proper role, avoiding the chaos that plagued Yuanmo.

Sang Sang’s comprehension of space deepened considerably; her speed in teleportation and traversal increased. Before long, she arrived at the second guided stone tablet. This one, too, stood solitary, with no remnants leveraging laws nearby. The tall, translucent blue tablet was covered in dense script, with three golden words at its center: “King of Myriad Worlds.”

Sang Sang murmured, “So it’s him.”

The King of Myriad Worlds was a master from over ten thousand years ago. He once served as Chief Saint, then retired to the main court of the gods as an official, only to return a few hundred years later as archbishop of the temple. Sadly, after only a few decades as archbishop, he was kidnapped during a pilgrimage, and died a few years later, leaving only a remnant soul to return to the Tomb of the Gods. At the time of his death, he had reached only the high Profound tier, placing him among the weaker gods.

Though the “King of Myriad Worlds” was not powerful, the laws he cultivated were widely coveted. Within a century of his death, all three opportunities for inheritance were claimed.