The Legend of the Great Desolation: I Am the Fortress

"That's Tianmu Holy City." Tian Qingzi stood on the deck of the flying boat, pointing into the distance and gazing into the distance.

"Hmm!" Lei Zhan looked at the vast city that seemed to stretch endlessly, and a wave of emotion stirred within him.

They flew through endless chaos for more than thirty years before finally arriving at Tianmu Holy City, one of the eight holy cities.

The Heavenly Wood Holy City of the Dao Alliance, though called a city, actually has no city walls at all.

The entire holy city is composed of a group of magnificent buildings floating in the clouds!
Majestic palaces, ancient caves, and unique buildings floated in the clouds, each radiating a forbidden light.

For a moment, it was a riot of colors, and from a distance, it was indeed quite beautiful.

The most eye-catching of them all is the towering, million-foot-high city gate, entirely emerald green in color.

Looking into the distance, one can see many figures flying through the clouds, occasionally entering palaces and caves.

"This is the foundation of one of the nine major forces of the Dao Alliance."

Tian Qingzi looked at the rows of buildings and sighed with emotion.

“Every time I come to these eight holy cities, I can feel the vastness and profound foundation of the Dao Alliance.”

"Yeah." Leizhan nodded slightly.

The Dao Alliance is indeed a behemoth, not only with eight holy cities and the Dao Alliance Immortal Palace, which are nine major forces on the surface, but also with countless years of accumulation, even the Eternal Emperors do not know how many there are.

Countries like Mangya Kingdom and the Eternal Clan each have several emperors, but they only occupy a very small part of the endless territory.

The powerful Dao Alliance occupies over 99% of the territory and has a large number of old men who have lived in seclusion for countless years, whose strength is unfathomable.

Otherwise, even a Thousand Cloth Emperor wouldn't dare to easily release the news of hunting down the Eternal Clan.

“Let’s go,” Lei said. “After we enter the city, we’ll first go to the ‘Dharma Realm’ and then go to the Flying Feather Tower of the Heavenly Wood Sect.”

The main reason why Lei Zhan brought Tian Qingzi and the others to Tianmu Holy City this time was for their natal divine weapon.

However, if you want to obtain a good natal divine weapon, you can start with Emperor Qianbu. As long as you kill enough third-step and fourth-step Dao Lords of the Eternal Clan, you will not need to pay any other price.

Therefore, Lei Zhan was not in a hurry.

This time, besides his natal divine weapon, he came to Tianmu Holy City mainly to purchase some magical techniques to enhance his strength.

Whether it's building up the protective divine abilities needed for oneself, or the remaining six great secret techniques of the Nine Source Secret Techniques created by the Myriad Gods Dao Lord, better ones need to be found within the Dao Alliance's 'Dharma Realm'.

As for expanding the Guiyi Palace in the Three Realms, and acquiring some cultivation methods and secret techniques for the beings of the Three Realms...

Lei Zhan had already recorded all the secret techniques and methods of the Tianqing Sect through Tian Qingzi on his way to Tianmu Holy City, and placed them in the Three Realms.

"The magical treasures I obtained from Tian Qingzi, aside from those that helped Tian Qingzi's strength, are worth about fifty to sixty million cubic units of Chaos Spirit Liquid," Lei Zhan thought to himself.

"Of the remaining six secret techniques of the Myriad Gods Dao Lord, apart from the Nine Source Divine Thunder and Nine Source Divine Light which are more expensive, the other secret techniques, including the treasures required for cultivating them, would cost approximately twenty million cubic meters of Chaos Spirit Liquid..."

The power of the Nine Sources Secret Technique is beyond doubt.

If one masters a single Nine Source Secret Technique, one can directly kill a Dao Lord on the verge of Dao Integration!

If the nine secret techniques are combined, their power will be even more formidable.

The secret technique alone would likely cost even a top-tier Dao Lord like Tian Qingzi his life, or at least severely injure him.

Most importantly, this secret technique can be used in conjunction with Reizen's World of the Heart, making it another trump card for Reizen.

"Let's go, let's go in." Lei Zhan withdrew his gaze and steered the Sky One Heart Boat toward the distant Heavenly Wood Holy City.

……

The city gates of the holy city are majestic and dazzling.

Lei Zhan carried Tian Qingzi and flew directly towards the city gate.

When Lei Zhan first arrived in Tianmu Holy City, he needed to obtain a 'Dao Alliance Token' as a form of registration.

Otherwise, one cannot be considered a true member of the Dao Alliance, and there would be many places in the Holy City that one would not be able to enter.

And this naturally includes the Dharma realm.

"Two fellow Taoists."

At the city gate, a woman dressed in black robes immediately emerged from an inconspicuous hall and smiled, "Fellow Daoist, are you here to collect the Dao Alliance token?"

“Hmm.” Lei Zhan nodded slightly. “This is my first time in Tianmu Holy City. I would appreciate it if you could help me obtain a Dao Alliance Token.”

The black-robed woman in front of him had a very weak aura, just like the black-armored Dao Lords of Mangya Kingdom. Although she was only the weakest Dao Lord of Life and Death who had broken through by relying on the Stealing Heaven Life and Death Pill, Lei Zhan did not underestimate her in the slightest.

"Just one fellow Daoist?" The woman in black robes glanced at Tian Qingzi, who was following behind Lei Zhan. The undisguised aura of a Fourth-Step Dao Lord was quite conspicuous.

"I am Tian Qingzi of the Tianqing Sect, and this Lord Guiyi is the new leader of my Tianqing Sect." As Tian Qingzi spoke, he took out two tokens.

One was the token of the leader of the Azure Sky Sect, and the other was the recommendation token of the Great Mo Dao Lord.

"This is proof that I and Daoist Da Mo of the Great Mo Academy jointly recommended Daoist Guiyi to join the Dao Alliance, and that we are willing to guarantee it."

"Hmm?" The woman in black robes was secretly alarmed.

The new leader of the Azure Sky Sect? And the Great Mo Daojun is vouching for him?
The Azure Sky Sect might not be as well-known throughout the Endless Territories, as is the case with the Great Mo Academy. However, the Great Mo Daojun is known as one of the top three in divination, and even she had heard of him.

"In that case, please follow me, Senior Guiyi and Senior Tianqingzi," the woman in black robes said with a smile.

For someone like Lei Zhan, who has never registered with the Dao Alliance, obtaining a Dao Alliance token is actually quite troublesome.

However, after Lei Zhan parted ways with Daoist Da Mo, knowing that Lei Zhan was coming to Tianmu Holy City, he was willing to do some favors and took out this guarantee token.

With Tian Qingzi and Da Mo Daojun willing to vouch for Lei Zhan, a lot of trouble can be saved, and he can easily obtain the Dao Alliance token and be recognized as a member of the Dao Alliance.

Of course, this also applies to unfamiliar Dao Lords of Life and Death whose origins are unclear.

Some verification and even a life oath are required to prove innocence before one can obtain the Dao Alliance Token.

……

A moment later, everything was over, and Lei Zhan received his own Dao Alliance token.

Tian Qingzi has been a Fourth-Step Dao Lord for countless Chaos Eras, and has visited Tianmu Holy City many times. With Tian Qingzi's guidance, the master and servant are quite familiar with the route.

For example, one cannot act within the array restrictions of any palace or cave in the Holy City, nor can one kill or attack disciples of the Tianmu Sect within Tianmu City...

Lei Zhan also gained a lot of understanding of some of the restrictions.

"Master, the Dharma Realm is just ahead." Tian Qingzi led Lei Zhan to a pavilion in the clouds.

"Hmm." Lei Zhan's gaze also fell on the pavilion in front of him. The Dharma Realm contains countless Dharma gates and is one of the core elements of the Dao Alliance.

In the eight holy cities of the Dao Alliance, each holy city has a Dharma Realm, from which Dao Alliance cultivators can learn many precious methods, supernatural powers, and secret techniques.

Even with the secret techniques of the Eternal Emperor or even the Dominator, there is still hope!

However, in this realm of Dharma, the more precious the secret technique, the higher the price that must be paid.

"Within the Dharma Realm, there are countless Dharma gates; you may choose any one." A guardian puppet stood at the entrance of the pavilion, calmly looking at Lei Zhan and the other, and said, "Once you have chosen, you can come to me."

"This aura... seems to be much stronger than that of an ordinary fourth-step Dao Lord." Lei Zhan's heart stirred, and he faintly sensed a threat from the guardian puppet in front of him.

"These puppets were left behind by the Dao Alliance, and they are all terrifying puppets whose strength is comparable to that of an Eternal Emperor."

Tian Qingzi secretly transmitted his voice, "Before these puppets, it is said that countless years ago, an Eternal Emperor died at the gate of this Dharma Realm."

"An eternal-level puppet..." Lei Zhan felt a surge of excitement. Among all magical creatures, puppets were the most loyal.

Like that three-eyed flame puppet in the Pantheon, even though the Pantheon Dao Lord has been dead for who knows how long, that puppet still guards the Pantheon with unwavering loyalty, striving to fulfill the Pantheon Dao Lord's last wish.

"Let's go in first." Lei Zhan smiled and then walked into the attic.

Stepping into this attic, time and space shift, revealing a completely different world.

This world contains canyons and streams, as well as high mountains and waterfalls.

Scrolls of jade slips and bamboo slips were scattered randomly throughout this world, some lying on rocks, some floating in the desert, and some on tree branches.

This world was created by the ancient and powerful beings of the Dao Alliance. It contains profound mysteries and secrets.

"Nine Origin Secret Technique..."

"Not here."

"Not here..."

Lei Zhan stood atop the clouds, his mental energy spreading out to explore the jade slips and bamboo slips that recorded various methods and secret techniques.

Each jade slip and bamboo slip contains a simple message, an introduction to the method, and the price required to exchange for it!
Like some normal methods, they all require the sacrifice of some Chaos Elixir.

Of course, obtaining those truly core Dao Alliance techniques and secret arts is subject to very stringent conditions.

For example, the Heart Sword Technique created by the Heart Sword Emperor is a powerful method that greatly enhances even the strength of the Eternal Emperor. Only the most core cultivators of the Dao Alliance have a chance to obtain it.

Time passed, and they searched for each one.

This world is vast, and it contains countless methods. Even the nine secret techniques of the Myriad Gods Dao Lord are but a drop in the ocean compared to the entire Dharma Realm.

"Hmm? Found it!" Lei Zhan smiled and appeared on a stream in a flash.

There are natural stones in the stream, and nine jade scrolls are casually tossed into the water, where they shimmer with gold as the water washes over them.

"These are the ones." Lei Zhan glanced at them briefly, then picked up six jade slips with a wave of his hand.

The nine secret techniques are: Nine Sources of Divine Water, Nine Sources of Divine Fire, Nine Sources of Divine Wood, Nine Sources of Thick Earth, Nine Sources of Profound Metal, Nine Sources of Divine Wind, Nine Sources of Divine Thunder, Nine Sources of Divine Light, and Nine Sources of Void.

Since the Nine Origins of Void, Nine Origins of Divine Fire, and Nine Origins of Divine Water had already been acquired, there was no need to buy them again.

"I'll wander around some more. Even if I cultivate the 'Golden Statue' divine power to its peak, I can only cultivate my divine body to the level of a top-grade Dao divine weapon. I should have found a more powerful divine power long ago," Lei Zhan thought to himself.

Its divine body is comparable to a top-grade Dao weapon, which is more than enough for an ordinary Dao Lord of Life and Death.

However, Lei Zhan's future opponents are generally the most powerful Dao Lords of Life and Death in the endless territory. Those who can make him fight at close range are generally at least at the level of top Dao Lords or heaven-defying Dao Lords.

It should be known that the Four Steps Dao Lords are generally recognized to be divided into four levels throughout the endless territory.

The ordinary level refers to the path one walks, and the weakest level of strength.

The top level is like Tian Qingzi.

The second level includes figures like Daoist Lanzhou, Palace Master Muhua of the Sword Palace, and Daoist Fuyi of the Heart Power Palace.

The pinnacle was the generation of figures like the Wine Saint, Li Xing, and the Palace Master of Xingyun.

If Lei Zhan were to reach the level of a third-step Dao Lord, he would be at that level without using any cosmic treasures, relying on the ultimate Dao.

If this batch of fourth-step Dao Lords successfully merges with the Dao and becomes Eternal Emperors, their corresponding strength will also be at four levels.

Ordinary Eternal Emperors are the weakest and are rarely seen, because they have almost all been killed or escaped.

The top level is that of Emperor Qianbu and Emperor Melobo, who also have the largest number of Eternal Emperors in the entire Endless Territory.

Their strength is comparable to that of the most powerful Dao Lords, and because they live longer, they have accumulated more life-saving methods, making them extremely difficult to kill.

Above that is the level of the Lord of the Holy City, including the Lords of the Eight Great Holy Cities, and so on.

At the very pinnacle are the three supreme rulers! These are the Wine Saint, Palace Master Li Xing, and Palace Master Xing Yun. Once they attain eternal Dao, they become supreme rulers!
Those who stand at the peak of the Dao Lord realm are all incredibly powerful, and their protective divine abilities are at least at the level of eternal magic treasures.

If Lei Zhan's own protective abilities are not strong enough, he will be at a great disadvantage in close combat with them in the future.

Even if Lei Zhan has cosmic treasures to make up for this gap, strong individuals at this level also have very powerful trump cards.

……

As time passed, Lei Zhan leisurely strolled around this 'Dharma Realm'.

The Dharma realm is vast and boundless. Even though the number of Dharma techniques and secret arts that Lei Zhan had seen in Mangya Kingdom was already quite large, it was still far from enough compared to the entire collection of the Dao Alliance.

After all, the number of cultivators in the Dao Alliance is too large, and naturally, the number of prodigies is also much larger. Over the generations, they have accumulated many more methods that are stronger than the Nine Great Secret Techniques.

"Hmm? This method..." Lei Zhan picked up a bamboo scroll that was casually placed on a stone, and immediately showed a hint of interest.

"The Way of Time and Space? This is the Time-Space Imperishable Divine Body created by a cultivator who follows the Way of Time and Space?" Lei Zhan examined the method in his hand, his eyes lighting up.

This "Time-Space Indestructible Body" method is not a protective supernatural power, but the reason why Lei Zhan was somewhat tempted was because it is a method of cultivating an indestructible body through the path of time and space.

Some powerful Dao Lords who defy the heavens have reached the edge of the Dao Integration stage. As long as their own Dao is strong enough, they have a slight chance of comprehending the indestructible body.

The Dao Lord who created this "Time-Space Indestructible Body" is known as "Time-Space Indestructible, Self Immortal"!
"It's a pity, it's just a fragment, and this cultivator's path is not suitable for me."

Lei Zhan shook his head and sighed, "If time and space are immortal, then one is immortal... Once my Reincarnation Technique reaches the fourth-step Dao Lord level, I will naturally be able to comprehend the immortal body."

"However, this method..."

Lei Zhan's gaze was leisurely, and with a wave of his hand, he grasped the method.

Although this method is not suitable for Lei Zhan, it still follows the path of time and space, and can offer some lessons. Furthermore, it greatly helps Lei Zhan in comprehending the cycle of time and space. (End of Chapter)