The Legend of the Great Desolation: I Am the Fortress

"Lord Dafeng? Are you trying to use Lord Dafeng to intimidate me?"

The Lord of Mangya's enormous, star-like, fiery eyes were filled with rage.

"In the past, your conflicts with my Mangya Kingdom were tolerated out of respect for Lord Dafeng. But now, you've actually attacked my personal disciple... Divine Banyan Emperor, you've become increasingly audacious!"

Lord Dafeng...

Even though the Mangya Overlord was extremely powerful, ranking among the top overlords, his heart was filled with gloom when he heard the Divine Banyan Emperor mention Lord Dafeng.

It should be known that Lord Dafeng is undoubtedly the strongest in the entire Sixteen Realms Alliance, and is revered by many powerful figures as the supreme leader of the Sixteen Realms Alliance.

This is an extremely powerful master of another universe, who also obtained the 'Azure Sun Star,' an extremely terrifying war weapon of the Sith civilization.

His own strength, as well as the Sith treasures he obtained, made his combat power incredibly terrifying.

Even though the ancient war had been over for a long time and Qingyang Star had been sealed away, no one dared to offend Lord Dafeng.

"Hmph!" Emperor Shenrong sneered, "So what if it is, and so what if it isn't? Countless years have passed, and although I, Shenrong, have migrated my clan to the Flame Dragon Domain, my connection with my master has never been severed. Even if you have the strength to kill me, how can you withstand my master's wrath?"

Silence fell, and the entire chaotic void fell into a momentary silence.

"Hahaha! Mangya, because of your Mangya Kingdom's royal family, you've always been restrained, as if wearing heavy shackles. You had the chance to become the overlord of the entire Yanlong Domain, but it was all because of your concerns..."

Emperor Shenrong laughed immediately, a very unrestrained laugh.

"However, this makes it possible for us to have a talk."

"Talk?" The Lord of Mangya's voice was deep. "Talk about what? You mad dog, you think too highly of yourself..."

Rumble~~~
As soon as he finished speaking, the towering, enormous body of the Cliff Sovereign vanished from its spot.

"Hmm?" The moment the Lord of Mangya disappeared, Emperor Shenrong immediately felt threatened. The terrifying threat from the shadows made his soul and spirit feel a stinging pain.

call.

The previously carefree Divine Banyan Emperor revealed a solemn expression, and an ordinary golden shield instantly appeared in his hand.

The great shield flew out and immediately formed a strange, enormous golden shield that directly enveloped the Divine Banyan Emperor.

"Boom boom boom—" The towering giant claw tore through the void and slammed into the golden shield. The terrifying power kept impacting it, but the golden shield withstood it.

The treasures that the Divine Banyan Emperor had accumulated over an unknown period of time were still of great use even when facing powerful beings at the Dominator level.

This golden shield, for example, is one of the most exquisite protective treasures in the possession of the Divine Banyan Emperor.

"Fortunately, we have this secret treasure, otherwise it would have been really difficult to block the attack of that old thing, Lord Mangya." Emperor Shenrong's expression changed slightly, and he immediately controlled the golden light shield to fly away at high speed into the distance.

Whoosh.

The colossal beasts could easily traverse time and space, appearing anywhere in this chaotic void.

"Escape? You think you can leave so easily?"

The Mangya Overlord, who suddenly appeared in front of the Divine Banyan Emperor, showed no emotion on his face, but his eyes held a terrifying killing intent.

"Bang!" The golden shield, still radiating brilliant light, struggled to withstand the towering claw, but it still shattered.

"Die!" The Lord of Mangya's eyes were deep. He stretched out his giant claw again, and with terrifying power, he directly grabbed at the void.

The void shattered silently under the claws, which then grabbed directly at the Divine Banyan Emperor in front of him.

"Hmph! Flames—Undying Body!" The Divine Banyan Emperor's figure flickered, and his body scattered into a swirling flame.

The Flame Immortal Body is the culmination of the Divine Banyan Emperor's countless years of understanding of flames, and it is also his strongest means of survival.

"Flames? Extinguish!" The Lord of Mangya's eyes flashed, and a terrifying wave spread out, instantly enveloping the Divine Banyan Emperor. Like an invisible cage, it imprisoned the endless flames in a small space.

boom! ! !
The flames shattered instantly, and countless sparks were annihilated in a flash.

"Hmm? This treasure..." Lord Mangya suddenly frowned. A deep black light suddenly shone from the large flames, and then the flames that had already been mostly annihilated disappeared without a trace.

"Even within my spacetime prison, he managed to escape..." The Mangya Overlord sensed the complete dissipation of the Divine Banyan Emperor, but did not pursue him further.

The difference in strength between the Lord of the Holy City and the Overlord is obvious. A direct confrontation would be certain death.

However, some of them possess the ability to be "immortal," while others excel in a particular area, such as being highly skilled in "divination," enabling them to escape before a crisis arrives.

For example, the 'escape technique' is very powerful, allowing one to escape using special techniques, making it impossible for the ruler to pursue and kill them.

In short, once a cultivator achieves eternal enlightenment and becomes an emperor, anyone who lives a long life and holds a high position... possesses extremely strong life-preserving abilities.

Even if Mangya himself were to do so, it would be difficult to kill a powerful figure at the level of the Lord of one of the Eight Great Holy Cities without thorough prior preparation.

The Lord of Mangya gazed into the distance into the void, staring silently.

In a moment, whoosh! The enormous and majestic body transformed into human form, becoming an old man with a white robe and a six-curved beard. With one step, he appeared far away.

"Master," Lei Zhan greeted the white-bearded old man.

"Hmm." The Mangya Overlord looked at Lei Zhan with a smile on his face. "Very good. His comprehension of the Dao has reached the level of a third-step Dao Lord. He can probably break through at any time. Moreover, he has also gained the recognition of a cosmic treasure, which is rare even among many Eternal Emperors."

"If it weren't for the immense pressure from the Divine Banyan Emperor, it would probably have taken many more years to break through." Lei Zhan sighed, realizing that if the Mangya Ruler had been any slower, his true form would likely have perished.

Don't be fooled by his ability to withstand the attacks of the Divine Banyan Emperor. Besides the fact that the Divine Banyan Emperor didn't unleash his full power, the Time-Space Disc bestowed upon him by the Mangya Overlord also allowed Lei Zhan to hold on for a little longer.

“That madman Shenrong…” Lord Mangya’s expression also turned cold. “Endless years have passed, and he always thought that he could act recklessly just because he once followed Lord Dafeng. Fortunately, although he escaped this time, the price that madman paid was not small.”

"Lord Dafeng?" Lei Zhan wondered curiously. "Did the Divine Banyan Emperor also follow an even more powerful being?"

Lei Zhan had naturally heard of such a top figure in the Sixteen Realms Alliance. He never expected that such a powerful figure would have a follower within the Flame Dragon Realm!
“Hmm.” Lord Mangya nodded. “That was a very long time ago. That madman Shenrong was just an insignificant follower and servant among that great being.”

Even though the Mangya Ruler was the strongest in the Flame Dragon Realm, he found it quite troublesome to encounter the Divine Banyan Emperor.

After all, this Divine Banyan Emperor was not a cultivator from the Flame Dragon Domain, but rather migrated from a domain near the Azure Sun Domain countless years ago.

Although that realm has long been destroyed, the strongest member of the Divine Banyan Clan is none other than the Divine Banyan Emperor before us. But the most troublesome thing is that this Divine Banyan Emperor was once one of Lord Dafeng's many followers, and he also experienced the ancient war. He has many trump cards and is an old fellow who has lived for countless years.

"However..." the Mangya Overlord said with a deep gaze, "Guiyi, you don't need to worry. Regardless of the treasures that madman used, or those fiery bodies I annihilated..."

"This time, a great price was paid. If the Divine Banyan Emperor wants to recover his strength and return to his peak, he will need to recuperate for at least tens of thousands of Chaos Eras. During this time, if he dares to come out of his lair, he probably won't be so lucky."

"Tens of thousands of Chaos Eras?" Lei Zhan breathed a sigh of relief.

He wouldn't even need tens of thousands of Chaos Eras; in such a long period of time, he would probably have already reached the fourth step level.

At that time, even if we use the most precious treasures in the universe, it will be very easy to kill this Divine Banyan Emperor.

After all, the fourth-step Dao Lord of the ultimate path is comparable to a Sovereign. And Lei Zhan, compared to the Sovereign Mangya, is also skilled in mental power.

Under the control of mental power, no matter how powerful the opponent's immortal flame body is, it will still perish and its essence will dissipate.

"Let's go," the Mangya Overlord said softly. "As for Emperor Qianbu's kill order, you don't need to continue with it. I will ask a powerful expert who is also skilled in weapon crafting to help you forge a set of natal divine weapons. As for the price, I will pay it for you."

"Huh?" Lei Zhan was taken aback, looking up at the Mangya Overlord. Helping to forge a natal divine weapon? Such a good thing exists?

The Lord of Mangya nodded, but didn't explain further. The price he needed to pay to forge a few natal divine weapons was nothing to him, just a drop in the ocean.

Most importantly, the Lord of Mangya has begun to value his newly accepted disciple even more. With his heaven-defying abilities and the approval of a cosmic treasure, the Second Step Dao Lord has managed to withstand the Eternal Emperor; his future is likely to be very bright.

If there is even the slightest chance in the future to achieve eternal unity with the Dao, then Mangya Kingdom will once again give birth to a powerful being at the level of a ruler.

This would be of great benefit to both the Mangya Kingdom and the Mangya ruler himself.

As for the initial optimism, it was completely insignificant.

"Let's go. Let's go back." As the Lord of Mangya said this, a spacetime rift appeared in front of them, and the master and disciple walked directly into the rift.

……

The Twelve Palaces of Mangya Kingdom.

Inside a magnificent palace, on a futon woven from an unknown precious material, a man sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

"Give me liberty or give me death..."

"The desire to seek the Tao is fundamentally for the pursuit of great freedom and liberation!"

"Ask for the truth...please for the truth!"

A myriad of thoughts arose in Lei Zhan's mind.

There is indeed great terror in the face of life and death.

When Emperor Shenrong uttered the words, "By making a vow of destiny, I will make you my servant," Lei Zhan's heart, yearning for the Dao, reached its peak.

It was at that time that Lei Zhan's Dao heart quietly grew significantly.

"I have been searching for a method that combines the three forces, similar to the Heart Sword Technique, and I have also been trying to understand the Heart Sword Technique itself..." Lei Zhan murmured softly.

However, the method of unifying the three forces is not so easy to obtain, especially the method of unifying the three forces in combination with the way of time and space, which is even more difficult to obtain.

After all, even someone as powerful as the Mangya Overlord has never seen the complete method of unifying the three forces of the Time-Space Dao.

"If I could learn a technique that combines three forces when I fight against Emperor Shenrong, I might have a chance to fight back." Lei Zhan shook his head and sighed.

"Forget it. Other people's methods are most suitable for those practitioners who create methods. Since there are none, with my understanding of mental power and the Dao of space and time, I might as well create a method of the unity of the three powers that belongs to me."

"but……"

"There is still a chance to create a new method, but my current cultivation level should be breaking through."

With a thought, Lei Zhan instantly drew upon a vast amount of chaotic power in the void.

Boom~~~
Like a thunderclap, in an instant, a large amount of chaotic power condensed around Lei Zhan, and the massive amount of chaotic power converged wildly, forming a terrifying chaotic vortex.

At the center of the vortex, drops of liquefied chaotic liquid dripped like a stream, eventually being sucked into Lei Zhan's body by a terrifying suction force.

"Rumble~~~"

At the same time, the Dao Tree within the chaotic space of the Golden Core cultivator began to grow...

The Dao tree was majestic, its branches resembling dragons, its leaves lush and verdant. Originally 52,000 feet tall, it continued to climb upwards once more.

The branches grew longer and longer, and the trunk became more and more majestic... Soon it climbed to a full 84,000 feet!

Eighty-four thousand feet is the limit for a second-step Dao Lord.

When an ordinary Dao Lord breaks through in cultivation, even if they break through to the second step of Dao Lord, their height is generally only 60,000 to 70,000 zhang. Afterwards, as they gradually improve their Dao through comprehension, they eventually reach 84,000 zhang.

Unlike others, his ultimate spacetime path is already the ultimate in the same level. Once he breaks through, he will reach the limit of this level!

"Hu~~"

As time passed, the Dao Tree grew, and the Golden Core Chaos Space also began to expand.

a long time.

"Phew." Lei Zhan exhaled a breath of stale air, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Finally, I have broken through to the second step of Dao Lord."

Lei Zhan's body was emanating an aura that was comparable to that of a Three-Step Dao Lord.

When he fought against Emperor Shenrong, Lei Zhan's ultimate spacetime path had broken through to the second level, but he still dared not break through in front of a powerful figure at the level of the Lord of the Eight Great Holy Cities.

Naturally, this was delayed until their return to Mangya Kingdom.

...(End of chapter)