The Legend of the Great Desolation: I Am the Fortress

Chapter 201 Demon-Subduing Palace
"The Demon-Subduing Palace?"

Lei Zhan looked over and saw a huge palace that was thousands of miles high, almost the tallest place in the entire holy city.

“Yes. You must also make the life oath mentioned earlier there.” Ancestral God of Abandoning Fire smiled and said, “Only those who make the life oath in front of the Demon Subduing Stele in front of the Dao Palace can successfully enter the Demon Subduing Dao Palace.”

What the Abandoned Fire Ancestral God didn't say was that they all grew from weaklings, and along the way, they were inseparable from the shadow of the Demon Subduing Palace.

Whether they are true gods or immortals, or ancestral gods or immortals, once they enter this Demon-Subduing Palace, they become members of the same camp.

At most, their status is determined by their strength. For example, the Abandoned Fire Ancestral God would have a higher status than the Nine Flames Ancestral God.

In reality, however, they are a very loose organization under this life oath.

“Yes.” Lei Zhan, Fuxi, and Tathagata all indicated that they understood.

"Alright. Time is running out! How much benefit you can gain in these few days depends on yourselves." Ancestral God of Abandoning Fire said, "As for the matter of the Ice Demon, Fellow Daoist Fuxi and Fellow Daoist Tathagata must not forget the time."

As for Lei Zhan, he has not yet met the requirements in either Qi cultivation or the Divine Demon Body Refinement, so the Ancestral God of Abandoning Fire has stopped mentioning it.

The Ice Demon has invaded; true gods and immortals are forbidden from participating in the battle!

This is a ban, and also a lesson learned in blood.

"Alright." Fuxi and Tathagata both nodded slightly.

“Nine Flames Ancestor Immortal, you should take Fellow Daoist Fuxi and the others with you,” said Ancestral God Abandoning Fire. “With you leading the way, we can avoid a lot of trouble.”

……

A majestic palace emanated golden ripples that swept across all directions. In front of this palace stood a massive black stone monument.

Led by the Nine Flames Ancestor Immortal, Lei Zhan and the others also arrived at this towering mountain that stretched for thousands of miles.

"First, make a life oath, otherwise none of you will be able to enter the Dao Palace," said the Nine Flames Ancestor Immortal.

"Ah."

Lei Zhan and the others nodded and then walked toward the huge, towering black stone monument.

Upon arriving at the Demon-Subduing Palace, Lei Zhan indeed sensed a powerful force resisting him, preventing him from entering the palace's area.

Fuxi walked at the very front and was the first to place his palm on the black stone tablet. The moment he placed his hand on the tablet, his body froze and he remained motionless.

Instantly, a vast aura descended, completely enveloping Fuxi.

"I swear on my life..." Fuxi made that life-ordained oath.

In just a few breaths, the oath of destiny ended, and Fuxi regained his autonomy.

"The oath is indeed quite lenient." Fuxi seemed to awaken from a dream. He turned his head and looked over, a faint smile on his face:
“You may also investigate the contents of the oath first, and then decide whether you want to take this oath.”

"Hmm." Tathagata nodded and stepped forward. He stood in front of the black stone tablet and quickly made his life vow.

“Fellow Daoist Lei Zhan, you can also go and take a look. True gods and immortals also have three chances to enter this Demon-Subduing Palace in their lifetime. And the oath is not too strict.”

Nine Flames Ancestral Immortal smiled and said, "Once you break through to the level of Ancestral God and Ancestral Immortal, the oath made by True God and True Immortal will dissipate and become more relaxed."

“Okay.” Lei Zhan nodded, then walked to the black stone tablet.

The stone tablet in front of them was incredibly tall, radiating a faint but powerful aura. This aura was so sublime that it paled in comparison to the World Prison Stone Tablet that Lei Zhan had encountered before.

"This stone tablet does indeed function as a vow stone." Lei Zhan used his divine sense to probe the contents of the life vow within the tablet, and upon closer inspection...

This life oath is indeed very loose. Besides the oath mentioned by the Ancestral God of Abandoning Fire to resist the Ice Demon Valley after becoming an Ancestral God or Ancestral Immortal, there are only two more oaths.

"After comprehending the Heavenly Dao, True Immortals cannot actively suppress their cultivation level; they must break through to the Ancestral Immortal level within a million years?"

"After comprehending the Heavenly Dao, a True God can break through to the Ancestral God level... but must also break through to the Ancestral God level within a million years?"

Lei Zhan's mind raced, and after a moment's thought, he looked at the next option.

"Those under the command of the Demon Subduing Palace must not kill each other."

"These two..." Lei Zhan thought to himself, "It seems that the powerful figure who established this Demon-Subduing Palace truly went to great lengths!"

In light of what happened at Ice Demon Valley, it was as if an invisible whip was lashing out at the many powerful cultivators in the Earth's core world.

Anyone with a modicum of ambition who comes to the Demon-Subduing Palace in this holy city will become a part of it.

This forces them to break through to the level of Ancestral God and Ancestral Immortal and then venture into the Ice Demon Valley, forcing them to constantly resist the Ice Demon.

Of course, if ancestral gods and immortals were to be more passive and merely resist the ice demon invasion that occurs once every million years, they could live a carefree life for countless years. However, the increasingly powerful ice demon invasions would eventually lead to their slaughter.

Moreover, this inner world is still too small compared to the endless chaos.

To be confined to this world for one's entire life is, in fact, a kind of torment.

The constraints imposed by this vow of destiny are almost negligible.

Having thoroughly investigated the oath, Lei Zhan had no more reservations and placed his hand directly on the stone tablet in front of him.

Then, the soul and spirit involuntarily began to make vows.

"I swear on my life..."

……

"Congratulations, fellow Daoists." Nine Flames Ancestral Immortal walked over with a smile.

After they all made their life vows, they became members of their inner world.

“Fellow Daoist Jiu Yan.” Lei Zhan nodded, then sensed that the Demon Subduing Dao Palace in front of him was no longer resisting him.

At this time, Fuxi and Tathagata had already entered the Dao Palace. "I will also go and take a look at this Demon-Subduing Dao Palace first."

Lei Zhan left these words behind, took a step, and entered the Demon Subduing Palace.

Wow~~~
Suddenly, Lei Zhan felt a change in the space-time around him. In an instant, he arrived in another space.

……

The Demon Subduing Palace is actually divided into two levels.

The first level is for true gods and immortals to explore.

The realm that the ancestral gods and immortals ventured into was another level.

Upon entering the Dao Palace's territory, Lei Zhan was immediately teleported into the vast ice plains.

This is a world where countless snowflakes drift and fall. A cold wind is blowing in the sky, whistling and swirling the snowflakes.

Just as Lei Zhan appeared on this ice field.

"Awooo!!!" A long, desolate sound echoed throughout the sky.

Rumble~~~
The earth is shaking.

Immediately afterwards, figures materialized from the endless cold wind and snowflakes.

These figures had snow-white skin, a pair of black curved horns on their heads, and were all extremely tall. They wore ice-blue armor and each carried weapons such as knives, spears, and forks.

Lei Zhan looked over and saw that these tall figures with curved corners had bloodthirsty killing intent in their eyes, and each of them had an extremely powerful aura.

"These... could they be the Ice Demons?" Lei Zhan's gaze sharpened as he carefully sensed the figures in the distance, and he vaguely understood.

After all, the "demon" in the entire Demon Subduing Palace refers to the Ice Demon!
"However, these ice demons actually exude the aura of True Gods and First-Class True Immortals?" Lei Zhan pondered, but dared not be careless.

As Lei Zhan made his life vow before the Demon Subduing Palace, a massive amount of information was also transmitted into his mind.

It contains all the information about the Demon-Subduing Palace.

There is one rule in this.

"The more Ice Demons you kill in this Demon-Subduing Palace, the richer the rewards will be. You can even exchange them for top-tier Chaos Treasures or top-tier Secret Techniques." Lei Zhan whispered, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

"Awooo~~~" One by one, the ice demons roared and howled, wielding their knives, spears, forks and other weapons, and charged directly at Lei Zhan.

"Die!" Lei Zhan's eyes turned cold, and ninety-nine pale blue octagonal stars radiating powerful energy appeared around him.

Rumble~~~
The terrifying golden flames of the sun and the mysterious waters of the moon descended, vast and mighty, enveloping the surrounding millions of miles of space. Instantly, they completely enveloped the many ice demons that had appeared.

With ninety-nine innate spiritual treasures, the 'Flashing Stars,' as its bones and the golden flames of the sun and the mysterious water of the moon as its flesh, it instantly formed a vast and mighty rotating wheel. It frantically crushed and annihilated the ice demons that were enveloped within it.

"Kill!" A black spear appeared in Lei Zhan's hand, and his body transformed into a golden streak of light as he rushed into the ice demons.

The gun flashed.

Time is disordered, space is fragmented.

puff!
The head of an ice demon flew up and was instantly annihilated by water and fire.

clang!
The spear grazed the steel fork and smashed a tall, thin demon to pieces.

At the same time, the Yin-Yang Wheel of Life and Death, which covers the entire space, is also wreaking havoc.

Even the Ice Demons at the True God and True Immortal level can only rival the True God level in terms of physical form, but their comprehension of the Dao is far inferior to that of a divine body.

Under the terrifying onslaught of water and fire, it was a completely one-sided massacre.

A frenzied massacre!
……

In a hazy, chaotic void, a girl dressed in white stood. Her eyes were deep and unfathomable, like a bottomless abyss.

She was surrounded by a unique aura of eternity, and the occasional glimpse of vicissitude in her eyes was truly chilling.

"Hmm? Another little brat trespassing into the Demon-Subduing Palace?" The white-clad girl casually swept her abyss-like black eyes across the landscape, then focused her gaze through layers of space onto the endless ice plains where the young man was manipulating water and fire to slay the ice demon.

"Hmm? This is... spacetime?" A hint of interest appeared in the white-clad girl's eyes. "This little guy's comprehension of spacetime should be at the fourth level of primordial power... There aren't many who can control ancestral water and ancestral fire at the level of true gods and true immortals."

The girl in white had incredibly sharp eyes; with just one glance, she accurately discerned the true nature of Lei Zhan, who was engaged in a frenzied battle.

“However… although it follows the path of time and space…” the girl in white shook her head, “this time and space secret technique… is rather ordinary.”

"Pity."

The girl in white's gaze lingered for a moment, just a moment.

True gods and immortals are as numerous as grains of sand in the endless chaos; you could grab a handful of them! If she hadn't sensed this fluctuation in spacetime, she probably wouldn't have even glanced in this direction.

Even if it were an ancestral god or ancestral immortal, she would only cast a glance at it at most.

Unless they are exceptionally talented, only those are worthy of her attention.

"However, this Ancestral God is quite interesting. It seems to have comprehended two opposing Heavenly Daos? Unfortunately, his forte is the Dao of Formations."

"Unfortunately, his foundation is too weak, and he doesn't have any good supernatural powers or secret techniques. Otherwise, he could be considered a top-tier peak ancestral god. But this time... let's increase the difficulty."

The girl in white murmured, her eyes still unfathomably deep, and then gradually fell silent.

……

(End of this chapter)