The Legend of the Great Desolation: I Am the Fortress

"call."

It took Lei Zhan a full moment to recover from the lingering, bewitching sensation.

He looked up at his surroundings, a flicker of emotion in his eyes.

“My Dao Heart, my feeling is right. Actively immersing myself in the allure of the Origin Chains can help my Dao Heart,” Lei Zhan whispered. “I can feel that my Dao Heart has become stronger after passing through the Origin Chains…”

"Owner."

suddenly.

The voice of the Winged Wind World God rang in Lei Zhan's ears.

"Hmm." Lei Zhan looked up and smiled. "Yi Feng? You've been waiting here all this time, haven't you thought about looking for some opportunities first? There are many opportunities in this inner region that even Fourth-Step Dao Lords would be extremely envious of."

Although Lei Zhan was immersed in the various temptations created by the original chains, his perception of everything around him was incredibly clear.

Naturally, the moment they stepped into the inner domain, they discovered the Winged Wind World God who had been waiting for them.

"It's only a day or two to wait, and those opportunities have been left in the inner domain for countless years, and no one has been able to obtain them all." The Winged Wind World God shook his head and laughed, "I'm looking for those opportunities, so a day or two won't make a difference. I might as well wait for my master to come and then we can explore together."

"Hmm." Lei Zhan nodded gently. "Let's go. The inner region is a full billion miles in circumference, so there's really no need to rush."

The inner world spans a radius of one billion li. Everywhere you look is desolate and dilapidated.

On the ground, one can still see huge ravines, canyons, and caves, which are clearly traces left by powerful beings fighting each other! They are all scars left by the flash of blades and swords.

In the distance, there are some dilapidated mountain ranges, and towering corpses emanating terrifying energy that can be seen at a glance.

“This must be a battlefield.” Wingwind World God obediently followed behind Lei Zhan, his steps never stopping, but his gaze swept across the entire inner domain.

The things that happen in the inner realm cannot actually be seen in the outer realm.

It was as if an invisible mist enveloped the entire inner domain, making it impossible to explore without entering the inner domain.

"A great battle at the level of Sovereign and Eternal Emperor..." Lei Zhan led the Winged Wind World God deeper into the area and soon arrived at a ruin formed after the great battle.

Standing on high ground, Lei Zhan looked out over the entire inner region, taking in all the sights within a radius of ten billion miles.

A billion miles may sound like a large area, but for a powerful cultivator, it's only the size of a palm. They can easily travel through it several times in just a few dozen breaths.

"That battle back then was truly chaotic," Lei Zhan remarked after observing for a moment.

Only from a high vantage point can one see the entire inner region clearly.

Within the inner domain, there is a vast expanse of sword intent and a surging rush of saber intent.

It has shimmering water and a sense of time and space being out of balance.

Even in this world, the remaining traces of battle are but faint echoes, offering a glimpse into the whole picture...

Lei Zhan was fully able to guess how terrifying the war for the other universe must have been through these traces and lingering impressions.

"So many corpses, and almost every one of them is 108,000 feet tall, and each one exudes the aura of an Eternal Emperor. Many of them are even stronger than the aura of Emperor Tianhua..." World God Yifeng was shocked as he looked at the huge corpses that had fallen.

It should be noted that after completing the test left by Emperor Tianhua in the Five Elements Flag of Tianhua, the World God of Yifeng also had close contact with a wisp of Emperor Tianhua's incarnation.

But the feeling that Emperor Tianhua gave him was far less than that emanating from these corpses.

"Emperor Tianhua is a top-tier emperor. But there are many here who are at the level of rulers, so he is far inferior."

Lei Zhan shook his head and laughed, "Look at that powerful figure closest to us, leaning on a blue greatsword. That's a strongman on the same level as my master, the Mangya Overlord."

"That powerful being?" Wingwind World God looked over.

There stood a towering, imposing man, his hands resting on a giant sword, its entire body a deep blue, the hilt reaching the same height as his chest.

He stood there, like a pillar of this world!

He looked straight ahead with a calm gaze. Just by looking at him, no one doubted that even if the universe were to be annihilated, he would still exist forever.

"Let's go. There are at least three powerful beings at the Sovereign level here."

"We'll just follow the path of those cultivators and wander around the entire inner region to see if there's any opportunity that suits us." Lei Zhan's eyes shone brightly with anticipation.

He knew that this primordial land of the alien universe was once the slumbering place of thirty-five beings who had achieved the Dao and were eternally enlightened.

These thirty-five ancient beings were prepared and calmly faced death. Their magical artifacts and treasures were all left behind.

The treasures and opportunities are right there; those who are destined to find them can take them!
If you're lucky enough, you can always find a suitable opportunity that belongs to you.

Even without them, just looking at these traces of war, the lingering echoes alone would be enough for some cultivators to treasure.

"Yes." Wingwind World God nodded.

……

Walking through the inner world, even Lei Zhan possessed a heart of piety and reverence.

Lei Zhan and the Winged Wind World God following behind measured this area with their footsteps.

Because here, the very origin of the universe exists, and many obstacles cannot be detected with divine sense; one can only approach and observe.

"Array Dao! Master, I can sense traces of the Array Dao!"

Suddenly, the World God of Winged Wind became extremely excited, "Here...there are traces of a powerful array master here!"

"Array Dao?" Lei Zhan followed the gaze of the World God of Winged Wind, and then his gaze fell on a deep pit in the distance.

Inside this deep pit sat an old man with blue hair, his vast aura boundless and eternal, existing in both the past and the future.

Before the old man were nine short sticks that resembled counting rods, each exuding a powerful aura.

"Hmm, the aura of this powerful being... he must have been at the level of the lord of one of the eight holy cities in his lifetime." Lei Zhan approached to observe, sensing the eternal aura emanating from the blue-haired old man.

"Yifeng, you're quite lucky." Lei Zhan turned to look at Yifeng and smiled. "This one... is even more powerful than Emperor Tianhua, and he walks the path of formations. If you can obtain this senior's opportunity, you might be able to combine the strengths of the two emperors and directly break through to become the most heaven-defying Dao Lord of Life and Death."

The Winged Wind World God nodded repeatedly, his eyes flashing with fervent light as he looked at the blue-haired old man sitting cross-legged.

“This is the twenty-third powerful being we’ve encountered so far. Let’s continue exploring and finish this inner region before approaching the corpses of these powerful beings one by one,” Lei said.

"Yes." The Winged Wind World God suppressed his excitement and followed Lei Zhan forward.

These ancient and powerful figures are all extraordinary individuals even within the entire Flame Dragon Domain.

But in the battle for the other universe, they all died here, and their treasures and heritage were all left behind.

But to obtain it, one must pass the tests left behind by these great beings before their deaths!

The test is extremely dangerous, even life-threatening... so each one must be treated with utmost care.

Time passed slowly, and half a day went by in the blink of an eye.

Lei Zhan and his servant strolled around slowly and carefully.

As he passed through those ravines and ruins, Lei Zhan was slowly comprehending the Daoist essence remaining in the inner realm.

"Time and space..."

"Mental strength..."

“I want to create my own ‘Heart Sword Technique’... This direction should be correct.” Lei Zhan stood in front of a huge ravine. This huge ravine was not a ravine, but it was a thousand feet wide and a million feet long, and it was bottomless. It was a huge canyon.

Within this million-foot-long ravine lies an astonishing mental force, a vast and boundless force that leaves Lei Zhan utterly terrified.

Within this vast chasm imbued with immense mental power, however, lie numerous temporal and spatial turbulence...

"Hu~~"

The ravine was bottomless, filled with endless darkness, yet Lei Zhan quietly closed his eyes.

"The Heart Sword Technique created by the Heart Sword Emperor is a perfect combination of mental power and divine power, and even incorporates the way of the sword..."

"Such a perfect combination can greatly increase the strength of cultivators."

After challenging the three rulers, the Heart Sword Emperor left the Flame Dragon Domain.

Before leaving, the Heart Sword Emperor left behind a copy of his creation, the "Heart Sword Technique," which he then handed over to the Dao Alliance.

Over the course of many years, the Lord of Mangya negotiated with the Dao Alliance multiple times before finally acquiring this terrifying sword technique.

Of course, although the Heart Sword Technique that the Mangya Overlord obtained at great cost only had the first to tenth forms and was incomplete, Lei Zhan still memorized it completely and kept studying it.

"Wow~~~"

suddenly--

Lei Zhan moved, and he casually waved his hand.

Instantly, spacetime became disordered in the void, and an invisible fluctuation permeated this disordered spacetime.

"Hmm? Something's not right..." Lei Zhan frowned slightly, looking at the spacetime turbulence swirling above the huge ravine.

"The Heart Sword Technique created by the Heart Sword Emperor is incredibly profound, and the combination of these three elements is not as simple as it seems..."

"It should be like this..."

With a thought, Lei Zhan waved his hand again, and simultaneously, turbulent currents of spacetime appeared in the void. However, within these turbulent currents, there was a trace of mental energy fluctuation...

boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!
A series of booming sounds echoed above this enormous ravine, causing the surrounding chaotic void to tremble incessantly.

a long time.

"call."

The exhibition finally stopped.

"It seems...that's how it is!"

Lei Zhan revealed a smile, made a sword-finger gesture with his left hand, and swung his arm out suddenly, as if a long spear was slashing down angrily.

boom! ! ! !

Instantly, a terrifying wave descended, crushing the chaotic void, and even causing cracks to appear in the void itself.

It should be known that the void of this primordial land is different from others; it is inherently incredibly solid.

Unless Lei Zhan unleashes his full power or uses a cosmic treasure, he might be able to shatter the incredibly solid void around him.

But now, his casual action has directly caused cracks to appear in this primordial land.

"This technique of time and space is something I've developed over millions of years by studying the Heart Sword Technique and combining it with my own understanding of the Dao of Time and Space," Lei Zhan muttered to himself.

"Let's call this move the Heart of Time and Space!"

Long ago, Lei Zhan began to study the Heart Sword Technique.

After all, compared to other cultivators, he cultivated all three powers simultaneously.

Whether it is mental strength, divine power, or magical power, it far surpasses that of practitioners at the same level.

As for profound and unparalleled techniques and secret arts like the 'Heart Sword Technique,' they are something that Lei Zhan has always coveted.

After all, such methods and secret techniques can greatly enhance one's strength.

If he were to combine this with his ultimate path and his natal magic weapon, he probably wouldn't be as pathetic as before if he encountered the Divine Banyan Emperor here.

However, Lei Zhan searched all twelve palaces of Mangya and the entire Dharma realm of Tianmu Holy City, but still could not find a method similar to the Heart Sword Technique that combines spacetime techniques.

Left with no other choice, Lei Zhan had to create his own.

"This technique of time and space is a fusion of my mental power, divine power, and the way of time and space. Although its power is less than one ten-thousandth of the true Heart Sword Technique, it still has a trace of its essence."

Although Lei Zhan wore a smile, there was a hint of turmoil in his heart.

Such an incredibly profound sword technique as the Heart-Fulfilling Sword Technique is not so easy to create.

Although Lei Zhan has just started, he has only scratched the surface of the matter.

The first move he created, Heart of Time and Space, was at most comparable to the eighth move of the true Heart Sword Technique.

This is just a prototype. To truly create a complete 'Heart Sword Technique' like the Heart Sword Emperor, one must at least wait until Lei Zhan's Dao Heart is fully perfected.

"However, it is a pleasant surprise that I was able to comprehend the secret techniques that have troubled me for so long in the inner region of this place of origin."

Lei Zhan gazed into the distance, his eyes deep and unfathomable. "This technique, similar to the secret arts created by the Heart Sword Emperor, is called 'Origin,' the Origin Heart Scripture!"

The name was just something Lei Zhan picked out on a whim. In reality, it meant absolutely nothing to him.

At his level, his Dao heart, having undergone the baptism of the Origin Chains, far surpasses that of many Fourth-Step Dao Lords. He chose this name simply because he successfully created this first move in the origin of this alien universe.

"Having mastered the first technique, 'Heart of Time and Space,' it's time to investigate the existence of that person."

Throughout the entire inner region, the corpses of thirty-five powerful beings were left behind.

Among these thirty-five powerful individuals, one follows the path of mental power, three follow the path of swordsmanship, and one follows the path of formations. But those who follow the path of time and space... there are only two.

Among these powerful figures, the most captivating opponent is undoubtedly the Emperor who wields the power of the Heart.

After that... came the two Eternal Emperors who were skilled in time and space.

"The Heart Power Emperor... Since that powerful being could serve as the leader of a force, his strength in his previous life was probably at the same level as Master Mangya Ruler."

Lei Zhan pondered silently, but his steps never faltered.

"If I could obtain some opportunities from this powerful being, it might be of some help to me in creating the subsequent methods of the 'Origin Heart Scripture'..."

"However, of these two Eternal Emperors who are skilled in time and space, one should be a top-level Eternal Emperor, while the other's aura is stronger, and he should be at the same level as Emperor Shenrong."

"To me, their 'Dao' is far inferior to that of Master Mangya."

The stacking speed was extremely fast, and after exploring the entire inner area, it became quite familiar with it.

Lei Zhan quickly arrived at the corpse of a powerful being.

At the same time, his gaze fell on the figure sitting cross-legged, radiating a faint golden light.

Before this powerful being sitting cross-legged were seventeen treasures, each exuding a vast and extraordinary aura.

...(End of chapter)