Swallowing the Stars: Starting with Panlong

Chapter 169 Cosmic Divine Weapon

After leaving the city lord's mansion, Lin Yun strolled through the streets of Chaos City, looking for a small building suitable for him to live in.

The architecture of Chaos City was ancient and imposing, with each small building tens of meters high and a pale white door in front, indicating that it was uninhabited. Lin Yun walked through several streets and finally stopped in a relatively quiet area. The door of the small building in front of him was pale white, and there were some blurry pictures and texts engraved on the steps in front of the door, which should have been left by powerful people who once lived here.

He placed his hand on the door, and after a moment, the door turned dark gray. Lin Yun pushed the door open and entered, walking onto the rooftop.

The rooftop is nearly a hundred meters long and wide, and the ground is covered with various patterns and texts. There are knife marks, palm prints, and curves. Some of the patterns and texts are clearly not carved by the same person, and their styles are different. Lin Yun looked down and examined them carefully. The lines faintly contained fluctuations of laws. Some were insights into the laws of space, some were traces of the laws of time, and some were even indistinguishable to him.

"Not bad." Lin Yun nodded in satisfaction.

He sat cross-legged, gazing up at the sky. In the primordial universe, chaotic currents drifted slowly, and spatial rifts in the distance constantly opened and repaired, with intricate patterns floating on crystalline threads. Here, the fundamental rules governing the universe were directly presented before his eyes, and the efficiency of comprehension was several times that of the original universe.

Lin Yun did not rush to comprehend the laws in the sky, but instead took out the cosmic divine weapon from his spatial ring.

It was a long, silver-gray rod, about 1.2 meters long, smooth all over with fine lines on its surface. Holding it in your hand, you could feel the immense energy it contained—a power woven from the two supreme laws of time and space.

The Cosmic Divine Weapon, the foremost of the Nine Divine Weapons, is officially named the "Nine Heavens Spacetime Divine Weapon." In its normal form, it is a long, silver-gray staff containing 108,100 thin, silver-gray swords, each imbued with incredibly profound runes representing the fundamental laws of spacetime. It costs 30 points in the Virtual Universe Company's treasury, but is available to members of the Primal Secret Realm at a 30% discount, costing 21 points. Lin Yun redeemed it without hesitation, for it was the most suitable weapon for him.

During his three-year journey to Chaos City, Lin Yun hadn't yet obtained the physical artifact, but in the virtual universe, he had begun to comprehend the mysteries of the cosmic divine weapon. The virtual universe could simulate any weapon, including divine weapons. In his training room on Rain Mountain, he held the cosmic divine weapon in his hands countless times, feeling the rhythm of each of its small swords.

Now, the actual item is finally in my hands.

Lin Yun probed the divine weapon with his spiritual power, sensing the structure of the more than 100,000 small swords inside. Each small sword was as thin as a cicada's wing, its surface engraved with secret patterns of the laws of space and time. These patterns were extremely complex, many times more profound than those of the Evolution Divine Weapon. Ordinary wielder-level divine weapons, like the Evolution Divine Weapon, combine the laws of metal and space; while cosmic divine weapons combine the two superior laws of time and space, making their difficulty incomparable.

The cosmic weapon has nine forms, each more powerful and more difficult to control than the last.

First level: Fleeting Stream of Light. The introductory level, imbuing divine weapon attacks with time acceleration, as fast as a stream of light, cutting into spatial rifts. This level is the most fundamental of all, requiring the initial integration of the laws of time into the attack. In the virtual universe, Lin Yun spent nearly a year mastering this level. Now, he has it thoroughly memorized and executes it with effortless grace.

The second level: Void Reflection Style. This initial integration of spacetime creates multiple afterimages in space, making it difficult to distinguish the real from the fake, each strike carrying the residual force of time. This level requires a preliminary fusion of the laws of time and space. After breaking through to the cosmic level, Lin Yun's mental power greatly increased, allowing him to execute this technique. Although not yet fully proficient, he had grasped the basics. However, after studying the first three diagrams of the "Cosmic Chaos Stele," his understanding of spacetime fusion advanced by leaps and bounds. The second level held no secrets, and he could break through to the third level at any time.

The third level: Time-Traces Rift. This level uses the power of time to leave indelible marks in space. The flow of time is disrupted at these cracks, and touching them causes immediate harm. This level requires a deeper integration of the laws of time and space.

Fourth level: Time Freeze. A domain-type move that freezes time and space in a small area, almost freezing the enemy's thoughts and actions, leaving them at the mercy of the attacker.

Fifth level: Shifting Stars and Changing Space. A high-level teleportation technique that can instantly change the spatial position of oneself and the enemy, and even transfer the opponent's attacks to other spacetime dimensions.

The sixth level: The Inextricable Cycle. A deadly technique for trapping the enemy, creating a closed loop in space and time, trapping the enemy in an endless cycle of time and a labyrinth of space until they suffer a mental breakdown.

Seventh level: Reversal of Heaven and Earth. Manipulates local time reversal, which can briefly restore one's own state or revert the enemy to a weakened state.

Eighth level: Chaos Return to Origin. The attack targets the very source of spacetime, causing the laws of spacetime within a region to become completely disordered, turning into chaos, and decomposing all matter and energy.

Ninth Level: Dominator of All Realms. The ultimate technique, capable of creating or destroying a spacetime in an instant. The user is like the master of spacetime, even able to reverse the timeline within a small area using the power of divine weapons, achieving an effect close to "time reversal".

The Cosmic Divine Weapon is the most powerful and the most difficult to comprehend among the nine divine weapons. The power of its first level is comparable to the second level of the other eight divine weapons. When the other divine weapons are comprehended to their final level, they can be compared to an Immortal Army Lord; but when the Cosmic Divine Weapon is comprehended to its ninth level, a World Lord can easily slaughter ordinary Immortals, comparable to a King-level powerhouse.

However, those who can unleash the eighth level during the Realm Lord stage can easily break through to Immortality. Throughout countless eras, those who can unleash the ninth level during the Realm Lord stage are few and far between.

Lin Yun's goal is to master at least the eighth level during the Realm Lord stage, and even strive for the ninth level.

He placed the silver-gray staff across his lap, closed his eyes, and probed it with his spiritual power. Over a hundred thousand small swords slowly rotated in his perception, each radiating fluctuations of the laws of space and time. He began to activate the first level—the Fleeting Stream of Light.

A thin, hair-like beam of light shone from the tip of the silver-gray rod. It wasn't ordinary light; it was a stream of light produced by time accelerating to its extreme. Where the light passed, space trembled slightly, as if a tiny crack had been sliced ​​open. With a thought, Lin Yun sent the beam of light flying, striking a stone brick on the edge of the rooftop.

"laugh--"

A hairline cut appeared on the stone brick, its edges smooth as a mirror, as if it had been sliced ​​by the sharpest blade. But Lin Yun knew that it wasn't the cutting of a blade, but the power of time acceleration—the attack repeatedly struck the same point in an extremely short time, creating an effect far exceeding that of a normal attack.

"You've mastered the first level." Lin Yun nodded in satisfaction.

He put away the long staff, refocused his mental energy, and began to unleash the second level—the Void Shadow Technique.

The light on the long staff intensified, no longer a single stream of light, but splitting into dozens of afterimages. Each afterimage seemed real, leaving layered trails in the air. These afterimages were not illusions, but the result of the combined effects of time and space—the folding of space allowed attacks to come from multiple directions simultaneously, while the lingering effects of time ensured that each strike carried the residual force of the previous one.

With a thought, Lin Yun unleashed dozens of afterimages, striking a section of the rooftop. The stone bricks were covered in a dense network of cuts, some deep, some shallow, but each one undeniably real. Even more bizarrely, the cuts didn't appear simultaneously, but rather sequentially, as if time itself had been stretched out.

"The second level can also be used now," Lin Yun said softly.

But he knew that the second level was not yet fully mastered. In the virtual universe, he could only create a maximum of thirty-six afterimages, while theoretically, the second level of mastery could create hundreds. He needed more time to refine it.

"However..." Lin Yun retracted the long staff, closed his eyes, and the images of the three diagrams in front of the Cosmic Chaos Stele appeared in his mind.

The first image depicts ripples in space and time. A pebble falls into a lake, creating ripples. These ripples represent both spatial and temporal fluctuations. From this, Lin Yun gleaned a fundamental understanding of space and time.

The second image depicts two mirrors reflecting the heart. A mirror of space and a mirror of time stand facing each other, separated by a chasm. That chasm is the key to the fusion of space and time. From this, Lin Yun comprehended how to separate and perceive the powers of time and space, and then combine them.

The third image depicts an interplay of light and shadow. The convergence of light and crystal creates countless interplays of light and shadow. These interplays are the rudiments of spacetime fusion. Lin Yun gleaned the direction of spacetime fusion from them.

"Before comprehending the Chaos Stele, my understanding of the second level was still superficial," Lin Yun thought to himself. "Now, the second level holds no secrets for me."

He grasped the cosmic weapon once more, and this time, he attempted to unleash the third level—the Time-Trace Rift Technique.

On the silver-gray rod, light began to gather. It was no longer a flowing stream of light, nor an afterimage, but a more solidified form, as if etched into space. These marks were not the trajectories of attacks, but rather engravings left by the power of time in space. Wherever these marks appeared, the flow of time became disordered—time accelerated in some areas, decelerated in others, and stood still in still others.

With a thought, Lin Yun created a mark in the air. The mark was only the length of a finger, but the air around it was slightly distorted, as if space itself was trembling. He pushed the mark towards the stone bricks at the edge of the rooftop.

"laugh--"

Instead of cut marks, a deep groove appeared on the stone brick. The edge of the groove was not smooth, but rather had a strange wavy pattern. This was caused by a disruption in the flow of time—at the moment the cut passed, different parts of the stone brick experienced different flow rates of time; some parts were eroded at an accelerated rate, while others were preserved at a slower rate, ultimately creating this peculiar destructive effect.

Lin Yun looked at the groove, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

"The third level, I've already touched the threshold," he said softly.

Before comprehending the Chaos Stele, his understanding of the third level remained purely theoretical, making it impossible to implement. But now, he has managed to execute it once, albeit with some difficulty. Although it's not yet stable and its power is insufficient, it proves that he's on the right track.

"If I had more time to digest the insights gained from the Chaos Stele, I would be able to fully master the third level," Lin Yun thought to himself.

He didn't continue trying. Instead, he put the cosmic weapon back into his spatial ring, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes.

In Chaos City, he had three things to do. First, to comprehend the laws governing the universe. Second, to continue cultivating the "Heavenly Ruins," mastering all 54 secret techniques of the second diagram and attempting to reach the third diagram. Third, to comprehend the divine weapons of the universe, striving to master the fourth or even fifth level within thirty years.

These three things reinforced each other. The laws governing the universe allowed him to see the operation of the laws of spacetime more intuitively; "Tianxu" allowed him to systematically learn the techniques of spacetime fusion; and the cosmic divine weapon allowed him to transform these insights into actual combat power.

Lin Yun looked up at the sky.

In the primordial universe, chaotic currents drifted slowly across the sky. In the distance, spatial rifts continuously opened and repaired, their crystalline threads shimmering with intricate patterns. Some of these patterns contained the mysteries of space, others the mysteries of time, while still others intertwined the two, revealing the nascent form of a fusion of space and time.

Lin Yun stared at the secret runes, his consciousness sinking into them. The golden and silver eyes of the Time-Space Nightmare Beast clone opened simultaneously, golden and silver light flowing within them. He compared the secret runes he saw in the sky with the patterns on the Chaos Stele, with the secret techniques in the "Heavenly Ruins," and with the moves of the cosmic divine weapons.

A strange resonance arose in my consciousness.

"So that's how it is." A sudden realization dawned on Lin Yun.

The process of repairing spatial rifts in the sky is itself a perfect manifestation of the laws of spacetime. The tearing and repair of space, the flow and disorder of time, are all embodied in those crystalline threads. The first three images of the Cosmic Chaos Stele are abstractions and sublimations of these phenomena. The secret techniques of *Tianxu* transform these abstract concepts into cultivable skills. Cosmic weapons, on the other hand, condense these skills into means of attack.

The four are originally one.

Lin Yun was so immersed in this realization that he forgot the passage of time.

On the rooftop, chaotic currents drifted slowly by. His figure appeared and disappeared within the currents, as if he had merged with the chaos. There was no light emanating from him, and his aura was extremely restrained, yet his consciousness roamed the ocean of time and space.

Before I knew it, another day had passed.