Chapter 540: A Special High‑grade Treasure! Leaving the Prime Universe!

During the final hundred years of his seclusion in Chaos City, Chu Yang set aside some of his energy and created numerous secret arts and supreme techniques.

These secret arts and supreme techniques are interrelated, forming a complete lineage.

This lineage alone can support a person in cultivating from Realm Master to Universe Overlord.

Of course, this is only the foundation; even after receiving the lineage, one is not guaranteed to become an Universe Overlord—it still depends on personal talent and opportunity.

In the Prime Universe, during Chu Yang's total of 960 years of seclusion, he successively integrated the Wood‑Time primal law, comprehended the Earth primal law, merged the Earth‑Time primal law, and finally grasped the Water primal law!

Moreover, he repeatedly contemplated the Giant Axe Chaos Stele, gaining great insight and already having a clear direction for the path beyond the breakthrough of a Universe Sage.

In the Glazed Tower, Chu Yang still sat on that chair on the ninth floor.

He had finished this round of teaching, yet he did not rush to leave; instead, he began to answer the questions of the scholars on the eighth and ninth floors one by one.

Two hours later, Chu Yang rose slowly and said softly, "Today will be my last teaching session in Chaos City; tomorrow I will depart the Prime Universe."

His words caused everyone to gasp in sudden surprise, and the Glazed Tower immediately grew much noisier.

Reluctance!

It was the shared thought of everyone! Not that they had formed a deep bond with Chu Yang, but losing a legendary instructor made them genuinely reluctant.

Especially those who had paid a great price, who had only just entered the Prime Universe and originally came because of Chu Yang, felt an unspeakable sorrow.

Chu Yang smiled and said, "When I gave my first lesson, I already offered many guiding clues."

"Back then you should have known that I am merely a guide, able to point out answers but not to lead you forever."

"Blindly following the paths left by others will inevitably limit your achievements."

"For the thousand‑mile journey I accompany you for only a stretch; after that, through wind, snow, or bright sun, I will no longer intervene!"

When he finished speaking, Chu Yang's figure vanished instantly from the spot, leaving the many scholars in the loft deep in thought.

The City Lord's residence, Chaos Ruins.

The Chaos City Lord looked at Chu Yang and said cheerfully, "Finally leaving?"

Chu Yang nodded, "Before I depart, I'd like to see Senior Brother once more."

The Chaos City Lord twitched the corner of his mouth and retorted, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking!"

"You're not here just to see me?"

"Clearly you're after the treasure I once promised!"

Chu Yang laughed heartily and did not deny it.

The Chaos City Lord was silent for a moment, then said, "I heard you forcibly shoved a little fellow into the Prime Wilderness?"

Chu Yang smiled, "It wasn't really forced; after all, I am an honorary director of the company, so my disciple can naturally become a core member."

'Honorary Director' is a title the senior executives of the Virtual Universe Company bestowed on Chu Yang after the Glazed Tower incident.

After all that has happened, those executives no longer hold any prejudice against Chu Yang; instead they strive to win his favor, giving him a stronger sense of belonging to the Virtual Universe Company.

As the saying goes, genius does not equal strength, but once a genius begins to display brilliance, it becomes something else!

The Chaos City Lord narrowed his eyes and said, "Exactly! Your disciple indeed qualifies to become a core member!"

"But entering the Prime Wilderness directly is something that has never happened before!"

"Although those executive types didn't block it, do you realize what kind of situation that little fellow would be thrown into?"

Chu Yang smiled calmly, "He is entitled to spend a hundred years contemplating in Chaos City."

"After a hundred years, he will venture onto the Heaven‑piercing Bridge, the Illusion Sea, and the Prime Mountain."

"When that time comes, if he cannot change his own circumstance, then consider that I never accepted this disciple!"

The Chaos City Lord stared at Chu Yang, and after a while asked, "You are unlike any teacher I have ever met; even I cannot grasp your ideas."

"Why can you give your servants and followers everything they possess, yet be so harsh to your own disciple, even putting him in danger?"

"Know that if he fails to pass this hurdle, his mindset may be severely affected."

At the Chaos City Lord's level, a disciple's mindset is especially valued, its importance almost comparable to talent.

Chu Yang shrugged, "If one lacks the courage to make an irreversible move, what use is preserving an unblemished mindset?"

"There is an Earth saying: a fine sword's edge is forged through grinding."

"Another saying… flowers in a greenhouse cannot withstand wind and rain."

The Chaos City Lord pondered, then clicked his tongue, "Earth truly is a wondrous planet; I'd love to see the great being who reshaped Earth back then."

Chu Yang gave no reply, but quietly watched the Chaos City Lord, whose face showed a hint of helplessness before he gently raised his hand.

A beam of light emanated from his palm, instantly covering thousands of kilometers, and the entire Chaos Ruins brightened.

The light gradually faded, revealing its true form.

It was a scroll, or rather a picture, stretched over more than a thousand kilometers in length.

The illustration depicted a lifelike bird with a bizarre appearance: an enormous head, hideously ugly, bearing a single horn, completely featherless and utterly bald.

It gave the impression of…

a giant, skin‑stripped roast chicken! Chu Yang's mouth twitched, waiting for the Chaos City Lord to introduce this treasure.

The Chaos City Lord waved again, the picture rolled up, becoming a scroll that floated before Chu Yang, then said:

"This is a very special treasure; strictly speaking, it is a High‑grade Treasure."

"But in terms of power and effect, it does not match the level of a High‑grade Treasure."

"Yet if used wisely, at a critical moment it might even surpass a top‑tier treasure."

Chu Yang frowned; the Chaos City Lord had said so much without naming the subject, and observing his somewhat odd demeanor, it seemed the treasure's 'special' nature was far more complex than he claimed.

The Chaos City Lord continued, "This treasure is called the 'Dao Tian Diagram', and its function and principle are simple: containment and release."

"Containment means forcibly drawing any strong individual who ever existed on a certain timeline of the universe into it."

"However, there are prerequisites: the target must be unable to resist, and its essence must be captured."

The Chaos City Lord paused, then said, "Release means unleashing the captured strong one's essence, allowing it to deliver its strongest strike without external aid."

After release, the Dao Heaven Map will enter a void state; unless it is re‑contained, it cannot be used.

Chu Yang finally understood the peculiarity the Chaos City Lord mentioned, as well as the reason for the treasure's huge upper‑lower limit gap. No wonder it is called a high‑level treasure, yet its function and power do not match that tier.

Because this Dao Heaven Map is rather useless! It looks powerful, but if it could contain the source of a supreme being, it could, at a life‑or‑death crisis, use that being's strongest strike from life to reverse the dire situation.

But the problem is…

The prerequisite for containment is that the target cannot resist! Under what circumstances would it be unable to resist?

Either it is dead! Or it has submitted! If the holder of the Dao Heaven Map can kill a supreme being, or make it submit, how could it then draw on that being's power?

Troubles that even the holder cannot solve, what use could a former defeated subordinate have? Of course, this is not absolute; if one can locate a fallen strongman's ruin and contain its remaining source, the Dao Heaven Map's effect would be as the Chaos City Lord described, even comparable to a top‑tier treasure.

But for such a person, as long as any source remains, they can cultivate to rebirth, so how could there be any chance of containment?

This is essentially a closed loop; from any angle, the Dao Heaven Map is rather useless…

But if the Dao Heaven Map is simply bestowed upon subordinates, disciples, and those whose own strength is insufficient, the situation changes.

For example, Chu Yang contained a king‑rank immortal and gave the Dao Heaven Map to Bei Qiu.

When Bei Qiu faces an ordinary immortal warlord and finds himself in a desperate situation, the Dao Heaven Map can instantly enable a counter‑kill.

Thinking of this, Chu Yang glanced at the scroll before him and asked, "What level of strongman is currently contained in the Dao Heaven Map?"

The Chaos City Lord smiled, "A mid‑tier cosmic overlord; I gave you a somewhat useless treasure, so I must make some compensation."

"Of course, in my view, this uselessness applies to others, but not necessarily to you."

He has personally witnessed Chu Yang's knack for causing trouble; the Chaos City Lord looks forward to this high‑level treasure, once dismissed by everyone, shining brilliantly in the hands of his junior disciple.

Chu Yang nodded, then reached out, grasped the Tong Heaven Map, and contained it within the Divine Realm.

After a moment, he suddenly asked, "Can the Tong Heaven Map contain the source of other treasures?"

The Chaos City Lord shook his head, "No, the Tong Heaven Map can only contain the source of life."

"Unless someone refines a special life into a treasure, it cannot be contained."

Refining a living being into a treasure is an excessively cruel method; at least among the Human Race it is absolutely prohibited, a red line for the Human Race.

Anyone who dares to cross that red line will be struck down by the thunderous suppression of the entire Human Race! However, regarding this Tong Heaven Map, Chu Yang has formed a preliminary idea.

Perhaps when this thing is in my hands, it may not be merely a useless item on the surface…

In any case, the Chaos City Lord gave him a high‑level treasure, and setting the treasure aside, the contained cosmic overlord alone is enough for Chu Yang to be safe on the outer‑realm battlefield.

"Where are we heading next?" the Chaos City Lord asked softly. "The Demon Mountain side, the slot is still reserved for you, but I think you may no longer need it…"

With each of Chu Yang's lessons in the Chaos City, the Chaos City Lord paid close attention.

Therefore, in his view, Chu Yang's attainment in the Way of Laws is extremely high, even directly catching up to him.

In this situation, a mere Demon General inheritance is truly nothing to him.

Chu Yang shook his head, "No! The Demon Mountain still needs a visit!"

"Oh?" the Chaos City Lord raised an eyebrow.

Chu Yang said softly, "The Demon General inheritance has some merits; it is of great reference value to me."

"But before that, I must first go to the Barbaric Cosmic Nation."

The Chaos City Lord was momentarily stunned, then pondered, "Barbaric Cosmic Nation…"

"Lately things have been unsettled there, and the Cosmic Venerable under your command caused a great stir centuries ago."

"The insect matriarch hidden within the spatial layer of the Barbaric Cosmic Nation seems to be planning retaliation!"

"You need not go personally for this; the company will send someone to resolve it."

Chu Yang suddenly asked without reason, "If we sacrifice a core member of the Primeval Secret Realm to draw out the insect matriarch, even exposing the Divine Realm's coordinates, what would the company choose?"

The Chaos City Lord replied without hesitation, "Sacrifice him!"

Chu Yang shrugged, "So I still have to go myself!"

"You seem to know something?" the Chaos City Lord asked, puzzled.

Chu Yang nodded, "Tak told me that the insect matriarch intends to attack the Virtual Cosmos Company's Absurd Cosmic Nation branch, as retaliation against me."

"I don't care about the fate of a single branch, but there is a person there I must protect!"

The Chaos City Lord asked no further; he knew Chu Yang's actions must have his own purpose.

Perhaps the Primeval Secret Realm core member Chu Yang mentioned is closely linked to him—perhaps deep friendship, perhaps having once borne the other's feelings.

Chu Yang stretched lazily, saying helplessly, "I never expected that after nearly three thousand years, that fellow is still stuck at the Domain Lord level!"

The Chaos City Lord did not linger on the topic, but asked, "Will you return before heading to the outer‑realm battlefield?"

Chu Yang shook his head, "I will not return; from the moment I leave the Prime Universe, the alien races will begin to deploy on the outer‑realm battlefield."

"They will certainly devise ways to eliminate me, so the longer I delay, the more time I give them to prepare."

"I don't want to enter the outer‑realm battlefield only to be chased and forced to hide everywhere!"

The Chaos City Lord suddenly laughed, "You are more cautious and smarter than I imagined; now I can be at ease…"

"How about I let Gui Yi follow you?"

Chu Yang shook his head again, "No need; the troubles I cannot solve now, he also cannot handle."

A sharp gleam flashed in the Chaos City Lord's eyes; he sensed Chu Yang's strong confidence.

My junior disciple seems to want to, from an immortal realm, strike back against the cosmic overlord! If he truly achieves this, the entire Prime Universe would be set ablaze! After leaving the Chaos Ruins, Chu Yang went to the secret chamber where the Chaos Monument stands and met Kanderi.

Since Chu Yang founded his own sect, this guardian of the Sacred Monument has proactively befriended him; the two have become friends.

When Chu Yang left the City Lord's residence, it was already the next day; he said no farewells and departed directly with Tong Na, setting off.

Aisha and Kasiya will also leave the Prime Universe soon, and the Star Sea likewise.

Similarly, they will also enter the outer‑realm battlefield.

But Chu Yang will not act together with them; he will let them train on their own.

Moreover, even Bei Qiu must go to the battlefield to hone himself! Yet before departing, Chu Yang left some items for Aisha and asked her to pass them to someone about to arrive at the Chaos City… (End of chapter)