The Legend of the Great Desolation: I Am the Fortress

Chapter 251 The Great Completion of Tao Wu's Eighteen Gods and Demons
I waited for a full half month.

The Nine Mysterious Cold Winds that Lei Zhan and Hou Yi had been waiting for arrived as scheduled.

As expected, under the protection of the Chaos Supreme Flying Boat, they successfully passed through the deep underground ice cave and arrived at the Earth's core.

"Is this the world at the center of the earth?" Hou Yi looked into the distance from inside the flying boat, where a huge and majestic city stood in the far distance.

Countless carriages and horses shuttled through the city, but very few cultivators could fly. However, each one who could fly was at least a powerful being at the level of a True God or True Immortal.

"This underground world is indeed extraordinary. True gods and first-class immortals are already quite rare and powerful beings in our Three Realms, but in this underground world, they are probably like a drop of water merging into the ocean, completely insignificant."

Hou Yi watched from afar, his understanding of mental power allowing him to silently and completely envelop the entire inner world of the earth.

Upon arriving at the Earth's core, Hou Yi immediately used his mental power to explore it.

"Nine hundred cities, each with at least ten True Gods and First-Class True Immortals, and more than twenty Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals..."

Hou Yi's eyes showed surprise, "The entire Earth's core world is only about the size of the Three Realms, but its foundation... is far stronger than that of my Three Realms!"

“The opportunities left behind by powerful beings are naturally extraordinary.” Lei Zhan shook his head and smiled, “But my Three Realms are not too bad either. You know, the cultivators in these inner worlds are not lacking in guidance from methods and secret techniques, so it is reasonable that they have such a foundation.”

"Yes." Hou Yi naturally understood this principle as well.

In the past, there were no good methods in the Three Realms. Otherwise, most of the third-class True Immortals and third-class Ancestral Immortals in the Three Realms would have the talent to cultivate a first-class Golden Core if they had good methods.

“Let’s go. We’re going to the holy city of the Earth’s core, where most of the ancestral gods and immortals are gathered.” Lei Zhan said, “Most importantly, the opportunity you’re concerned about, Senior Brother, is also there.”

"Hmm?" Hou Yi's eyes lit up, revealing a hint of anticipation.

Having come to this inner world, what we ultimately seek is nothing more than the various opportunities and chances that await us here.

……

Demon-Subduing Palace.

"Although I managed to kill the Ice Demon Lord in the Demon Subduing Palace this time, my own evaluation did not improve much."

Fuxi, dressed in a black Taoist robe, emerged from the main hall, a hint of contemplation in his eyes.
"Correspondingly, the supernatural abilities and techniques that can be exchanged in the Demon Subduing Palace remain unchanged..."

"It's difficult! Merit is hard to achieve, and even higher praise isn't easy to obtain!"

Although the Demon Subduing Palace has all kinds of treasures, it poses a considerable constraint for cultivators with average talent.

The first thing is the ranking evaluation.

For example, there is a significant difference between the initial evaluation of Lei Zhan as "Grade A, Second Class" and the later evaluation as "Grade A, First Class".

At least, many of the mental and spatial techniques that Lei Zhan later saw were things that could not be exchanged with a 'Grade A, Level 2' rating.

The second is achievements.

The importance of merit points is self-evident. With enough merit points, one can directly exchange for powerful magical treasures such as Dao Divine Weapons and Eternal Divine Weapons. Anything that exists within the Demon Subduing Palace can be directly exchanged for with merit points.

Therefore, if the rating is low, there won't be as many treasures available for exchange.

If you don't have enough merit, even if you see the best treasures, you can only look on with envy.

"Hmm? This aura..."

Fuxi seemed to sense something, and his gaze fell on two figures flying rapidly from the horizon.

"It's Lei Zhan. And beside him... Hou Yi?" Fuxi was taken aback, then a smile appeared on his face. "Good! Even Hou Yi has come to the inner world!"

call out!call out!
Two streaks of light streaked across the sky, one a brilliant golden rainbow, the other a bolt of lightning with nine horns on its head. Each one was incredibly fast, each comparable to the limits of the Heavenly Dao.

"Fuxi," Hou Yi said with a smile.

"Hmm? Fuxi? What a coincidence, we just happened to run into him coming out of the Demon Subduing Palace today." Lei Zhan smiled slightly, "I guess Fuxi went to break into the Demon Subduing Palace again."

For thousands of years, Lei Zhan, Fu Xi, and Tathagata have been powerful beings from the same camp in the Three Realms, and they came to this endless icy sea together.

Later, they accidentally entered this inner world, and their relationship naturally became much closer and better than that of the others.

“Let’s go.” Hou Yi smiled. “The last time I saw Fuxi was during the ancient war of destruction. Later, I went to the Great World of the Crescent Moon with my master and haven’t seen him since. Later, when I traveled through the Three Realms, I learned that Fuxi had left the Three Realms.”

“Okay.” Lei Zhan nodded. He had already planned to take his senior brother Hou Yi to the Demon Subduing Palace, and now that he had encountered Fuxi, it was just the right time.

Both the Golden Rainbow of the Sun and the Nine-Horned Lightning Serpent Escape Technique are top-tier supernatural escape techniques. Almost instantly, they arrived at an open space in front of the Demon Subduing Palace.

"Hou Yi, I didn't expect you to come too!" Fuxi said with a smile. "Five hundred years ago, I heard Tathagata mention that you and your fellow disciple Lei Zhan directly caused that Yuan Dao Ren to die a miserable death. It was truly gratifying!"

"Yuan Daoren..." Hou Yi shook his head and said, "If it weren't for Junior Brother's use of Mind Control at the crucial moment, Yuan Daoren probably would have had other ways to evade. However, in the end, he was indeed worn down to death by Junior Brother's Golden Flame of the Sun and Profound Water of the Moon."

"This is truly gratifying! This is truly gratifying! This is indeed truly gratifying!"

"I only understood the strangeness of this Source Daoist after my own breakthrough. These Chaos aliens were hiding far too deeply," Fuxi sighed.
"He even came to the Three Realms as early as ancient times, secretly observing and even using methods to enslave us. If it weren't for him, I probably could have comprehended the Heavenly Dao of Life before the ancient cataclysmic war and directly awakened my past life memories..."

Even though Fuxi is now a true peak ancestral god, he is still afraid of being able to influence and control powerful figures silently.

After all, being completely enslaved means having no autonomy, which is tantamount to death for a cultivator.

“It’s all in the past. That Chaos Alien Origin Daoist has been completely annihilated.” Lei Zhan smiled and said, “Fuxi, since you’re here, let’s show our senior brother around this Demon Subduing Dao Palace. We can also get to know Fellow Daoist Qi Huo and Fellow Daoist Jiu Yan.”

“Alright.” Fuxi nodded. “Nine Flames Ancestor Immortal should be in seclusion recently. However, I had a drink with Qi Huo and the others a few days ago, so I was able to get to know them better.”

……

A portable immortal residence and a quiet room.

Golden futons were casually placed on the table. There were eighteen futons in total. Each one was made primarily of the chaotic wonder 'Winter Heart Grass', with the addition of a large number of precious materials. They had the effect of calming the mind and focusing the spirit.

Each one is comparable to a top-grade innate spiritual treasure!
However, even the most precious treasures in the Three Realms are nothing compared to Lei Zhan.

Wow! Wow! Wow!
Golden light flashed and then dissipated, revealing young men dressed in golden robes.

Each of them sat cross-legged on a futon woven from winter jasmine, exactly eighteen futons were used up.

"All the clones of my second primordial spirit have appeared here, and I have also prepared all the rare items and treasures needed for cultivating the Eighteen Divine Demons of Tao Wu..." Lei Zhan glanced at the clones around him, a look of anticipation appearing in his eyes.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

"Then let's begin!" Lei Zhan said softly, and with a wave of his hand, a large number of treasures appeared in mid-air.

There are rows of lush, verdant bamboo stalks, each joint shimmering with tiny, star-like rays of light...

There were rows of incredibly tempting red fruits, surrounded by a lot of air currents, and the rich aroma of the fruit made Lei Zhan feel a little drooling...

There were also stones that looked like withered wood...

There are numerous treasures and strange objects floating in the air, totaling nearly twenty different kinds, each radiating its own unique energy.

"Nine-Star Bamboo, Heavenly Wind Fruit, withered wind and secluded green stone..."

Lei Zhan scanned each treasure with his eyes, and after confirming that everything was correct, he closed his eyes and silently activated the third level of the "Tao Wu Eighteen Gods and Demons" technique.

“Hua La La~~~~”

As the method began to operate, an invisible force immediately emanated from around the eighteen clones, a kind of inexplicable attraction.

Gradually, treasures and rare items such as Nine-Star Bamboo, Heavenly Wind Fruit, and Dry Wind Green Stone began to emit light.

Then, beams of light began to flow from the pile of treasures, each drawn by an invisible force to one of the clones, where they were then absorbed and inhaled by each clone…

……

time flies.

All the treasures floating in mid-air were completely absorbed, and the waste generated was burned into ashes by a blazing golden flame.

Below, eighteen figures sat cross-legged. Gradually, each of the golden-robed youths began to emit a hazy light. Their divine bodies, golden cores, and souls began to emit a hazy white light, within which mysterious divine patterns were faintly visible.

“Buzz buzz~~~”

One by one, the golden-robed youths began to approach, with one of them flying directly into the body of another, and the white light emanating from it suddenly intensified.

The white light enveloped the indistinct figure, rendering it unable to think.

Clearly, the golden core, soul, and divine body within the body are beginning to merge. Only those that originate entirely from the same source can merge.

As each pair of golden-robed youths began to merge, soon only nine figures remained seated cross-legged in the quiet room.

But this is only the beginning.

The nine seated figures began to move closer to each other, all converging on the figure in the center...

Just like flowing water, all rivers rush and eventually flow into the sea.

In that instant, the entire quiet room was completely enveloped by that hazy white light.

During the fusion process, Lei Zhan, as the dominant clone, was extremely clear-headed and could also clearly feel the sensation of the clones merging together.

It's very warm and incredibly comfortable.

Just like a baby in the womb.

I do not know how long it has been.

Only one figure remained sitting cross-legged in the quiet room, while the other seventeen prayer cushions were empty.

"Hoo~~~" Lei Zhan slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

"This feeling... my soul and spirit are perfectly complete, and my divine soul, magical power, and divine power are all in perfect harmony..."

Lei Zhan sensed the power slowly flowing through his body. "My divine power has undergone a transformation, and my magical power is even more refined. Even my first-class golden core, which was already extremely large, has become even larger now that my eighteen clones have merged into one."

When the many clones merge into one, the soul, magic power, divine power, mental power, and divine body can all undergo a leap.

Before they merged, each avatar was an independent individual, and a first-class ancestral immortal was only comparable to an ordinary ancestral god. But once they were combined into the main body, they would probably immediately have the strength to surpass the peak ancestral god.

The eighteen identical souls merge into one, resulting in a comprehensive improvement in every aspect, and a qualitative leap in every single one.

"When Tao Wu's eighteen gods and demons have completed their cultivation, they can gather and disperse at will." Lei Zhan looked around, "And my eighteen avatars have merged into one, gathering together..."

Lei Zhan carefully sensed the changes, which were comprehensive and naturally involved not only strength and cultivation, but also all aspects of his life.

"My soul is much stronger than before, and even my comprehension of the 'Dao' is significantly faster. Even if my thirty-six clones comprehended it at the same time before, it would probably not be as fast as the second primordial spirit that has undergone a qualitative change after fusion."

Lei Zhan's eyes revealed a look of satisfaction. Such remarkable results made his long-awaited expectations worthwhile.

"Let's try to restore myself to eighteen clones. If it truly is as described in the Dharma, where gathering and scattering are as desired..."

Wow~~~
With a thought, Lei Zhan saw figures identical to himself emerge from his body.

However, with each new figure that emerged, the aura of the second primordial spirit weakened slightly. This continued until the seventeen clones emerged, at which point the spirit was completely identical to its original form before merging.

“This feeling…” Lei Zhan shook his head, feeling a strange feeling he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

However, as it split into eighteen clones, the previously overwhelming feeling of power also vanished like a tide.

"Let's merge into one!" Lei Zhan said softly, and then his many clones quickly transformed into streaks of light and shadow, directly merging into his second primordial spirit.

"This special feeling..." With his eighteen clones merged into one, Lei Zhan vaguely sensed the difference.

After pondering for a long time, Lei Zhan shook his head helplessly.

"To cultivate these eighteen gods and demons of Tao Wu to their full potential... that would be a bit of a loss!"

……

(End of this chapter)