Zi Linling and Ye Lingyuan exchanged a glance, then simultaneously lifted their feet and stepped onto the hundredth step.
Huh?
Both frowned simultaneously.
Because when they stepped with one foot, nothing around them changed.
They exchanged another glance, then, with tacit understanding, lifted their other feet.
Only when both their feet landed on the hundredth step did everything around them finally change.
Zi Linling and Ye Lingyuan's first sensation was that their bodies felt much lighter.
Previously, the altar steps were filled with an oppressive aura, but here, not only was there no such feeling, but there was also a sense of invigorating freshness.
However, at the same time, vigilance appeared on both their faces.
Because what entered their sight was a circular altar.
In the center of the altar, a massive stone tablet stood imposingly, like a sharp sword plunged into the heart of the altar.
The stone tablet exuded an aura of antiquity, sorrow, and desolation.
Tears involuntarily streamed down Zi Linling's cheeks.
At the same time, her feet moved forward involuntarily, her heart filled with only one thought: to approach the stone tablet.
"Little girl, no!"
Elder Du's anxious telepathic voice echoed in Zi Linling's mind, but she heard it not.
The moment Ye Lingyuan saw the stone tablet, he felt a strange sensation.
But before he could fully comprehend it, he saw Zi Linling take a step forward.
"Lin'er, don't!"
Ye Lingyuan called out, but found that Zi Linling had no reaction, and was even lifting her other foot.
"Not good!"
He had a feeling that once Zi Linling's other foot moved forward, something uncontrollable would happen.
In a flash, too fast to describe.
Ye Lingyuan pulled Zi Linling's hand sharply backward, and her lifted foot landed back in place.
Then, he smoothly swept her up into his arms, standing steadily in their original position.
Zi Linling's forward-moving foot left the ground, and her eyes regained their clarity.
"Lin'er, are you alright?"
Ye Lingyuan asked, looking down at the person in his arms with concern.
Zi Linling shook her head apologetically, but a hint of sternness flashed in her eyes.
This sternness, however, was not directed at Ye Lingyuan, but at the stone tablet in the center of the altar.
Everything that had just happened, her consciousness was perfectly clear, yet inexplicably, she could not control her body.
Thinking back now, even though she was inherently audacious, she couldn't help but feel a chill of fear.
What exactly was this stone tablet?
How could it possess such power?
She had only glanced at it, and yet she had lost control of her body in a daze.
Ye Lingyuan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Lin'er, what just happened? I called you but you didn't react."
Zi Linling shook her head again and said gravely, "I don't know. I just looked at the stone tablet, and then I heard a voice."
A trace of surprise flickered in Ye Lingyuan's eyes. "What voice?"
He had been standing right beside Zi Linling the entire time and hadn't heard a single sound.
Zi Linling frowned. "A very ancient voice. It told me... to come closer!"
Ye Lingyuan's brows furrowed as well. "And then?"
A flicker of fear appeared in Zi Linling's eyes. "I knew it was the stone tablet at work, so I intended to observe it first. Who would have thought that my feet, despite my desperate efforts to stop them, would move forward uncontrollably?"
Ye Lingyuan asked, "So, your consciousness was clear, but you couldn't control your body, is that right?"
Zi Linling nodded. "After my first foot moved forward, I had a strange feeling, as if I had suddenly aged!"
"Aged?"
Ye Lingyuan, usually unflappable, was greatly astonished.
"Yes, the feeling was like withered grass and trees in autumn."
Zi Linling took a deep breath and continued, "I realized something was wrong and wanted to retreat, but my other foot moved up uncontrollably. Fortunately, you pulled me back and then carried me, allowing me to escape that force."
As Zi Linling spoke, a blush crept onto her face, and she quickly leaped out of Ye Lingyuan's embrace.
After hearing her account, a look of seriousness appeared on Ye Lingyuan's face. "Lin'er, I can sense fluctuations of laws on this stone tablet, and not just one."
Zi Linling was greatly surprised. "Law fluctuations?"
Although she had a rudimentary understanding of the Law of Life, it was more by chance than design.
But Ye Lingyuan was different; he was a genuine Small God realm expert.
At his level, he was very sensitive to the power of laws.
This was precisely the reason for the strange sensation he felt upon first seeing the stone tablet.
Ye Lingyuan nodded. "One of them is incredibly sharp, similar to the Law of Metal, yet slightly different, and carrying a killing aura. It should be a mutated law of Metal—the Law of Sword!"
The Law of Sword?
Did such a law exist?
Zi Linling harbored some doubt.
Elder Du's disdainful voice echoed in her mind. "Little girl, the Great Thousand Worlds are full of wonders. Laws naturally also change in countless ways. Just because many law cultivators haven't grasped their essence doesn't mean they don't exist."
Zi Linling nodded, feeling a sense of sudden enlightenment.
She looked at Ye Lingyuan and asked curiously, "Didn't you say there was more than one law on the stone tablet?"
Ye Lingyuan nodded. "The second law is what you mentioned before, the law that can wither all things—the Law of Desolation!"
"Desolation? That's also a law?"
Zi Linling's understanding was once again refreshed.
Ye Lingyuan nodded. "Laws are methods and rules. Conversely, as long as rules exist, laws can be derived."
Zi Linling began to understand.
In other words, wherever there is a rule to follow, there is a law.
"Is there anything else?"
Zi Linling was now like a curious child with a new toy, filled with fascination for the power of laws.
"Of course, there are also faint fluctuations of the Law of Time and the Law of Space on this stone tablet, but they are not very clear."
Ye Lingyuan looked at the stone tablet in the center of the altar, his heart filled with shock.
He wondered where this stone tablet came from. The mere presence of several laws emanating from it was enough to drive many people to madness.
Of course, this was assuming they could find Chaotic Purple Qi and break through the shackles of the Saint King realm.
Zi Linling was now utterly astounded.
A stubborn thought secretly arose in her heart—to break through to the Small God realm as soon as possible.
If this thought were known to others, they would likely laugh until they lost control of their bodily functions.
Because in this era without Chaotic Purple Qi, breaking through to the Emperor realm was already a distant dream, let alone the Small God realm.