The Legend of the Great Desolation: I Am the Fortress

"call."

Lei Zhan's figure blurred, and it seemed as if there were figures following behind him.

Those figures seemed to exist between illusion and reality. One moment they were as illusory as bubbles, ready to burst at the slightest touch. The next moment, they appeared as real, flesh-and-blood beings, like clones, surrounding Lei Zhan.

In an instant, Lei Zhan traversed a vast distance and appeared at the site where the Crimson-Robed Daoist Yanming had died.

The shattered void around him was slowly healing and repairing itself. Lei Zhan scanned his surroundings, and with a wave of his hand, he collected all the magical treasures left behind by Daoist Yanming after his death.

As for Yanming Daojun's original body and the treasures it carried, they were stored away by his second primordial spirit when Lei Zhan was still in a deeper spacetime dimension.

"Whoosh."

At this moment, a streak of light flew rapidly towards the void where Lei Zhan was located from afar.

“Master.” Tian Qingzi flew directly to Lei Zhan’s side, a trace of lingering shock still in his eyes.

"Hmm." Lei Zhan looked at Tian Qingzi and nodded lightly, saying, "Yan Ming Daojun is dead; we should leave this Tianmu Holy City as well."

"Yes." Tian Qingzi nodded.

"Next..." Lei Zhan glanced at Tian Qingzi and transmitted his voice, "Next, we will go and hunt down the third-step Dao Lords and fourth-step Dao Lords of the Eternal Clan to complete the kill order of Emperor Qianbu."

“I don’t want things to turn out like this time, where in the end, you can’t even withstand your own enemies and you need me, your master, to save you.”

Strictly speaking, Lei Zhan was merely an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire of this life-or-death battle with Daoist Yanming; it was entirely unnecessary trouble.

There's not even a need to use the precious Dao talisman bestowed upon him by Daoist Xingyun.

Moreover, the fact that they were able to completely kill Daoist Yanming this time caused quite a stir.

If he hadn't made a breakthrough in his own 'Dao' at the last moment, deepening his understanding of the Dao of Time and Space, even with the help of the cosmic treasure, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand that terrifying flaming scimitar, which was very likely at the level of the lords of the eight holy cities.

At that time, Lei Zhan estimated that he would have to use the Time-Space Disc bestowed by the Lord of Mangya to save his life.

Although using the treasure of the universe blocked the flaming scimitar, it also exposed some of the trump cards in his hand to some powerful figures.

"I even asked Da Mo to keep my secret! But I turned around and came to the Eight Holy Cities, and I was immediately exposed. A mere Second-Step Dao Lord possesses a treasure of the universe..." Lei Zhan shook his head inwardly.

"Fortunately, I have made breakthroughs in both Annihilation Style and Reincarnation Style. As long as I break through to the second-step Dao Lord level, I will be able to rival those third-step Dao Lords who have fused multiple of the strongest Daos, and my strength will undergo another qualitative change."

"If we were to use the cosmic treasures at that time, the power we unleash would probably be enough to easily kill some Eternal Emperors!"

In the Dao Lords of Life and Death, those who cultivate normally can easily and quickly take one or two steps, and many do not encounter any bottlenecks.

Although the ultimate path is more difficult to traverse, the immense terror between life and death allows Lei Zhan to benefit from misfortune, as his strength increases under the pressure of being on the verge of death.

Among the five styles of time and space, the reincarnation style and the annihilation style have made breakthroughs first.

Lei Zhan's mind raced with thoughts, and he considered many things in an instant. He looked up at the extremely respectful Tian Qingzi.

"Master, Tian Qingzi understands!" Tian Qingzi kept his head down, and the voice transmission he sent to Lei Zhan's heart was filled with extreme caution. "Next, Tian Qingzi will do his utmost to hunt down the Life and Death Dao Lord of the Eternal Clan!"

"Alright, let's go." Lei Zhan glanced at the cultivators in the distance and shook his head.

With a whoosh, Lei Zhan waved his hand, and a black flying boat appeared in the void.

"Leave here first," Lei Zhan instructed.

"Yes." Tian Qingzi nodded.

The master and servant flew into the black flying boat one after the other. In an instant, the Sky One Heart Boat transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from the Heavenly Wood Holy City.

……

Outside the Heavenly Wood Holy City, a gray-robed Daoist was setting up array flags in the void.

Suddenly, he stopped moving.

Wow.

The gray-robed Daoist flipped his hand, revealing a broken jade slip in his palm.

Looking at the jade slip that was completely shattered and torn to pieces, his expression froze for a moment.

"Hmm? This is the master's life tablet!"

"The jade slip is shattered. The master has actually perished?"

The shattering of the life tablet signifies that both Yanming Daojun's original body and his second primordial spirit have perished.

The gray-robed Daoist Lord had a sense of desolation in his eyes. As a follower of Yanming Daoist Lord, his relationship with Yanming Daoist Lord was naturally close, and they shared both glory and loss.

He also knew something about Yanming Daojun's strength.

"My master has cultivated in Tianmu Holy City for dozens of Chaos Eras, and his second primordial spirit has also come to Tianmu Holy City to follow him because of the cultivation of secret techniques. But now the life scroll is completely shattered..."

"No, no! With the combined power of Master's main body and second primordial spirit, even if Master encountered those peak Dao Lords, it wouldn't have been difficult for Master to leave. Yet, he still perished." The gray-robed Dao Lord's voice carried a trace of sorrow.

He turned his head to look in the direction of Tianmu Holy City, as if he could see Yanming Daojun, who had fallen near the nine-story towering building, through the layers of palaces that rose and fell above the clouds.

"Dare to kill your master..."

A sorrowful voice drifted slowly through the void, "My master has died, and the clan has likely received the news immediately. I must bring this information back to the tribe, the Azure Sky Sect, Azure Sky Child... Lord Guiyi..."

"Hmph! This matter won't be resolved so easily."

The sound echoed and then gradually dissipated, while the gray-robed Daoist instantly transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the depths of chaos without looking back.

As for continuing to set up layers of arrays and restrictions...

Even his master, Daoist Yanming, had completely perished and died, so there was naturally no need to continue setting up this formation. ...

A black flying boat swiftly traversed through the endless chaos.

Lei Zhan sat cross-legged on the deck of the airship, a faint smile on his face.

Before the tower, floating were various magical treasures, some intact and some damaged.

"This Dao Lord Yanming truly lives up to his reputation as a heaven-defying Dao Lord at the second level. Despite reaching the fourth level, he still possesses both his original body and a second primordial spirit, and he certainly has a considerable number of treasures at his disposal."

With the death and dissipation of Daoist Yanming, his treasures became ownerless. By channeling his magical power into each of these treasures, they were easily refined.

Under the perception of divine sense, it was seen that each of these magical treasure caves contained a large number of precious treasures.

"This is... um? Crimson Flame Fruit! And there are two of them at once!" Lei Zhan was counting the treasures in the cave treasure when he suddenly frowned and was shocked.

"Wow~~~"

With a flick of his wrist, Lei Zhan produced two fruits radiating seven-colored light. The fruits emitted an enticing fragrance that made Lei Zhan unconsciously swallow.

"The Crimson Flame Fruit of the Netherworld Orchid? It's the legendary Crimson Flame Fruit that's even incredibly useful to an Eternal Emperor? I... I'm really lucky. I killed this Daoist Yanming and got two of them all at once?"

Eternal Emperors, having attained eternal life through the union of the Dao, have no lifespan left. Ordinary magical treasures and magical artifacts have long since become ineffective against them.

However, the universe is incredibly vast, and naturally, some strange and dangerous places will also give birth to rare treasures that can also have an effect on the Eternal Emperor.

And this Crimson Flame Fruit is one of them.

Of course, the most common use of the Crimson Flame Fruit is as an auxiliary ingredient in alchemy. Combined with a large number of rare cosmic treasures, it can be used to refine a pill called the 'Heaven-Mending Pill'.

This elixir is a true treasure.

However, every ingredient needed to refine this 'Heaven-Mending Pill' is extremely precious, scarce, and rare.

"If we gather all the materials and invite a true master alchemist to refine a batch of Heaven-Mending Pills... even my master, the Mangya Overlord, would be tempted!"

Lei Zhan muttered to himself, "A single fruit is probably worth more than 100 million cubic meters of Chaos Spirit Liquid, and there's no market for it. Even if you wanted to buy it, there's nowhere to buy it."

"The two combined... even if I were to have Emperor Qianbu forge several of my most perfect natal divine weapons right now, it would probably be more than enough."

Of course, this thought only flashed through Lei Zhan's mind. He wasn't that stupid.

Originally, the plan was to have Emperor Qianbu forge a natal divine weapon, which only required hunting down some Dao Lords of the Eternal Clan. Naturally, it was impossible to give up these two Nether Orchid Crimson Flame Fruits.

Such precious cosmic treasures are usually used for bartering, exchanging them for heaven-defying treasures that even Chaos Elixir cannot buy.

While natal divine weapons are precious, that's relative. At least one natal divine weapon has a price tag and can be purchased with Chaos Elixir.

It's easy to exchange a Crimson Flame Fruit for a natal divine weapon, but no one would be willing to exchange Chaos Spirit Liquid for this treasure.

"I don't know where Daoist Yanming got such a treasure, but in the end it benefited me."

Lei Zhan revealed a faint smile, "Even if all the other magical treasures were sold together, it would probably amount to nearly 200 million cubic meters of Chaos Spirit Liquid."

Today's Lei Zhan has inherited the legacy of many great masters, so his vision is beyond question, and his insight is also very sharp.

Aside from the minor incident involving the Crimson Flame Fruit, the remaining treasures were quickly identified and categorized under the probe of divine sense.

Such a vast fortune is naturally the result of Yanming Daojun's gradual accumulation.

It should be noted that a cultivator who wants to possess a second primordial spirit can generally only begin cultivating from a weak stage.

The journey is fraught with hardship, defying the heavens, and reaching the very end, where even the original body and the second primordial spirit are still alive on the verge of merging with the Dao, is extremely rare in the endless realm.

Yanming Daojun himself came from a powerful and special clan within the Yuxing Sea, and his clan was quite familiar with some of the dangerous places in the Yuxing Sea.

In addition, he cultivated a second primordial spirit from a young age, which is equivalent to having an extra life.

Daoist Yanming then relentlessly honed his skills and frequently ventured into dangerous and wondrous places. Through countless years of adventure and accumulation, he eventually amassed such a fortune.

"These treasures from Daoist Yanming have completely made up for my losses and solved my immediate problem," Lei Zhan thought to himself.

Having mastered the Nine Sources Secret Technique, there is now no further progress to be made.

As for his protective divine power, Lei Xian has now cultivated an even more powerful "Star Body," and his divine body can now rival some low-grade eternal magic treasures.

However, if you want to further enhance your divine body and make it even stronger, you will need to use a large number of treasures.

"Currently, I have a huge shortage of treasures for my own cultivation. Although Emperor Qianbu has issued a kill order for my natal divine weapon, I also need to prepare some treasures for the future growth of my eternal divine weapon. Finally, there is the development of the Three Realms..."

Some thoughts flashed through Lei Zhan's mind.

"The Three Realms are not lacking in magical techniques and secret arts. What they lack are magical treasures and magical items, and some of these should be left in the Three Realms."

The Daoist Canon contains the accumulated knowledge of the entire Tianqing Sect over countless years, and copies have been preserved in all three realms. These Daoist Canons are sufficient for all beings in the three realms to cultivate.

As for those even better, the gods and demons born from the Supreme Divine Crystal all possess extraordinary talents, and they will likely have the opportunity to obtain even better methods and secret techniques when they venture out in the future.

The path of cultivation is about 'striving'. If you can lend a helping hand when you encounter something within your power, that's enough.

“And…” Lei Zhan frowned in thought.

"Although the resources required for cultivating and refining my Dharma Body are relatively few, it still requires tens of millions of cubic meters of Chaos Spiritual Liquid..."

The more treasures you acquire, the more places you'll need them.
"Not enough! Not enough!" Lei Zhan thought helplessly. "Two hundred million cubic meters. Even a typical fourth-step Dao Lord wouldn't dare to dream of such a thing. But for me, even this treasure worth nearly two hundred million cubic meters of Chaos Spirit Liquid is still not enough!"

...(End of chapter)