Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

[ Any soul at or above the soul reformation realm shall be struck with a mental demon inducing lightning upon attempting to harm, deactivate, oppose, or nullify any law fragments in this circle of laws ]

[ Any newly added law fragment that attempts to deactivate, nullify, destroy, or act against the primary functions of the law fragments herein shall be nullified and the operator of that law fragment shall be struck with a Mind Obliteration Tribulation. The number of lightning strikes will depend on the cultivation level of the offender]

These were the last two law fragments they had deciphered.

For quite a while, Han Xuhan had been pondering what the actual purpose of this Circle of Laws was.

How were the cultivators who wanted to break through this stage of the so-called 'inheritance test' supposed to really find a clue to what lay ahead of them? What was even the point of wasting so much of their precious time and risking their lives with no immediate incentives being offered?

Perhaps the answer lay within the law fragments and circle of laws they were studying.

But even then, a question remained. Since these law fragments were created as obstacles on their journey toward the central area of the fog, did that mean that these law fragments were actually active? But who was keeping them active? And for how long had they been doing it?

The law fragments seemed to be targeting any creature stronger than the physique transformation realm. Laws that laid restrictions on cultivators below that realm were extremely rare. So far, the two of them had only found a couple of such law fragments.

Why was it so?

This detail could be explained with the reasoning that the cultivators who created this 'test ground' did not want other powerful cultivators to enter and steal their inheritance.

From their deciphered texts so far, it was apparent that if these law fragments were active, no cultivator above the physique transformation realm would stand a chance at entering the foggy area without being instantly obliterated with all sorts of terrifying punishments. Even touching the walls would result into a deadly outcome for powerful cultivators.

However, what if those powerful cultivators sent somebody weaker than them, somebody at the physique transformation realm who could enter this place and destroy the law fragments and steal the inheritance for their masters?

But the circle of laws required at least a power level above the soul reformation realm to activate the laws in there, according to the first law fragment he had read just now.

What a complex paradox!

Briefly, Han Xuhan recalled the first law fragment he had deciphered by accident. It appeared unfinished, ending with an incomplete clause as if the creator of the law fragment had forgotten to put the rest of the sentence in there.

That could very possibly have been a crucial law. Its absence may have created the paradox here.

Maybe there was more to this inheritance ground than it met the eyes. After all, the cultivators who had created this place should not have overlooked such a loophole. This stadium was still on the periphery of the foggy area. Who knows what lay hidden deeper inside?

After seeing the last two deciphered law fragments on the paper, a clue had finally clicked inside his mind.

The law fragments that were carved on the walls were absolutely indestructible for a cultivator in the physique transformation realm, perhaps even in the soul reformation realm. The only way to affect other law fragments in a negative way was to use a new law fragment, just what Mu Ran had done.

Except, as per the second law fragment on the paper, such law fragments that went against the primary purpose of the circle of laws would be immediately met with appropriate punishment.

Thinking for a few moments, Han Xuhan finally realized why Mu Ran hadn't met any punishments and instead escaped from this place.

The law fragment written by Mu Ran had never gone against the logic this circle of laws operated on. He had merely written a new law stating that being able to activate a law fragment would get him a pass. Since all law fragments would have to defer to the law of punishing powerful experts, as long as a low-level cultivator could activate a law using loopholes, he could easily pass through. Moreover, his law fragment was not written on the walls where the circle of laws was carved but on the ground, thus bypassing the first law fragment on that paper. Because the punishment for using powers above the soul reformation realm did not apply to a newly made law outside the circle of laws. So Mu Ran's cheat grandpa could activate the law fragment without a problem.

"So this is the trick to make our way out? To create a new law fragment using our own source that doesn't go against the primary purpose of the circle of laws? Otherwise, the creator of the law fragment would be punished severely. But where am I going to find an expert above the soul reformation realm?"

For a moment, Han Xuhan counted his lucky stars that he hadn't blindly tried to make and activate new laws by using Mu Ran's law as a template. He hadn't read all the law fragments on the walls. What if he ended up writing something that would result into heavy punishment?

"You know, your friend doesn't exactly seem to be a...normal cultivator."

Qian Yun had been staring at the law fragment Mu Ran had written ever since he had sat down. His remark made Han Xuhan laugh and put a stop to those complicated train of thoughts. Mu Ran's rushed actions had inadvertently let out some of his greatest secrets. But it wasn't as if this problem was hard to take care of.

"Brother Yun, let me ask you something. If you have such an incredible secret like my friend, and face somebody who might use that secret against you or blackmail you with it, what's the first thing you're going to do?"

Han Xuhan's 'kind advice' silenced the man. He understood what might happen to him if he enraged a strange cultivator whose soul had the capability to use powers far beyond his actual realm of cultivation.

The threat in Han Xuhan's tone was certainly not a bluff. Qian Yun decided never to bring it up again and pushed the conversation in a different direction.

"Be that as may, we both are well aware that perhaps that little secret of his might be the only reason he was able to activate the law fragment he wrote. But what about us? Unless you too have such a secret, I don't see any way to escape this place and explore deeper inside the fog."

"You're not wrong. Perhaps only a cultivator that powerful can activate the law fragments. But it couldn't hurt to throw a stone in the dark, right?"

"You've thought of something already ?" Qian Yun sounded surprised, but only for a moment.

"Hehe, I'm pretty sure you've thought of it too. But you haven't done it due to the...risks involved. It's a simple solution, after all."

Qian Yun gulped audibly.

"Oh no no no. That's way too risky. You don't have any proof that it won't kill you immediately."

"Give me a quill and a paper. " Han Xuhan stretched his arms toward him. The cyan-robed man stared at him for a few seconds before sighing reluctantly and handing them to him.

Han Xuhan stretched his arms for a few seconds and got up. Then he gestured at Zhanxian to follow him.

The cyan-robed man sat frozen on the ground for a while before he made up his mind and followed the two of them to the walls.

"Little Zhanxian, lend me one of your fingers, preferably a sturdier one."

Zhanxian sent him an unreadable look and shoved one of his middle fingers into Han Xuhan's face.

"Good boy. If the punishment really falls on us, you need to prepare to be summoned back immediately. I won't let you die that easily. "

Han Xuhan grabbed Zhanxian's palm without batting an eyelid.

In the last seven hours, he had deciphered a large number of texts. He could basically recognize a large number of the letters in this archaic language. It wasn't that difficult for him to create a law himself using the simplest words.

Using Qian Yun's quill, he wrote his first law fragment on the paper. Qian Yun let out a strangled sound upon deciphering it.

Han Xuhan ignored him and wrote a second one, after which he threw the paper away and focused on the wall in front of him.

Picking out an area of the wall where the law fragments were relatively sparse, Han Xuhan started etching on it using the sharp ends of Zhanxian's fingers.

Qian Yun stood beside them and watched him struggle to carve the strokes on the hard walls. With each stroke, Zhanxian's bones were slowly cracking and breaking off at the edges.

He kept the last law fragment, the simplest of them all, incomplete. This fragment would consist of twenty-six strokes. Once completed, it would read:

[ All the inactive law fragments within the territory surrounded by the circle of laws shall be activated immediately upon the creation of this law fragment ]