The Legend of the Great Desolation: I Am the Fortress

Inside the enormous hall.

As Lei Zhan stood there, his divine sense entered the jade slip in his hand, and images immediately appeared in his mind.

It was a tall man dressed in a magnificent golden robe. He was handsome and seemed to be the embodiment of time and space, transcendent yet elusive.

Wow wow wow~~~~
The moment that tall man appeared, the images that had appeared in Lei Zhan's mind seemed to come alive.

The images depicted scenes of a tall, strong man embarking on the path of time and space when he was still weak, as well as many other scenes of him becoming an ancestral god, a world-realm expert, and the ultimate Dao Lord...

This ultimate Dao Lord from countless ages ago also followed the path of time and space.

From weak to strong, though the journey is full of stumbles and falls, it ultimately leads to the ultimate path.

The other person's experiences were completely different from Lei Zhan's, yet he seemed to see his past self in these scenes.

"The ultimate spacetime path at four levels..."

Many of the excerpts were passed on, as if Lei Zhan had witnessed them firsthand, which stirred his emotions.

The ultimate path reaches the edge of merging with the Dao, possessing incredible power.

It is mysterious and profound, and even more ethereal and transcendent.

With the guidance of this ultimate Dao Lord, many of the previous confusions and doubts vanished, and through continuous contemplation, his understanding of the ultimate Dao of Time and Space rapidly improved.

a long time.

"I made many preparations, but in the end it was all just a dream!" The tall young man sighed, but with a hint of relief.

"Difficult, difficult, difficult. Of all the myriad paths in the universe, the ultimate path of merging with the Dao is the most difficult..."

As the sound faded, the scenes before our eyes were plunged into darkness.

……

"Is the ultimate path, the path of merging with the Dao, the most difficult?" Lei Zhan awoke from those images, yet his heart was at peace.

"To fully integrate all the Daos is naturally not easy. Unfortunately, this ultimate Dao Lord had regrets in his Dao heart and ultimately could not achieve perfection. Otherwise..."

Lei Zhan also felt regret.

By watching many of the Ultimate Dao Lord's memory fragments, Lei Zhan can also intuitively perceive some problems.

"Compared to other civilizations in the universe, the cultivator civilization is far behind. Over countless years, only a handful of supreme beings have been born, and there has not been a single ultimate emperor."

"As for the ultimate Dao Lord who achieves eternal unity with the Dao, the secret that requires a perfect Dao heart is unknown to anyone."

Lei Zhan thought to himself, "Only those beings who possess great opportunities, great perseverance, and great fortune, those who are the most extraordinary and monstrous talents, have even the slightest chance of achieving eternal enlightenment..."

Whether it's embarking on the ultimate path or achieving perfect enlightenment, these are all extremely difficult!
For an ordinary Dao Lord to achieve eternal union with the Dao, it's a leap from one to ten. For those Dao Lords who defy the heavens to achieve eternal union with the Dao, it's a leap from ten to one thousand.

For the ultimate Dao Lord to successfully merge with the Dao, the leap is entirely from one thousand to one hundred thousand or even one million.

Even for those dozen or so Ultimate Dao Lords who failed to achieve Dao Integration, completing this massive accumulation would be extremely difficult, let alone succeeding in achieving Dao Integration.

"I'll accumulate slowly! At the very least, I must obtain opportunities like those that allow me to observe the 'Dao' of supreme beings!"

Lei Zhan himself is also on the ultimate path, and it won't be long before he breaks through to the fourth step of Dao Lord. The rest is 'integration with the Dao'.

Therefore, Lei Zhan was also very clear about this...

To unite with the Dao is to gather all the insights gained from the first, second, third, and fourth levels of one's ultimate spacetime Dao.

Let these insights undergo a qualitative change, transforming into the most perfect 'eternal ultimate spacetime path'.

If one successfully merges with the Dao, then the ultimate Dao of time and space at that time will be the true Great Perfection.

No matter how time passes, it will not have any effect; only such a 'Tao' deserves to be called eternal.

Therefore, every person who achieves the Dao will experience a leap in strength, reaching two major levels.

A Dao Lord of the second level can directly leap to the level of the Lord of the Holy City!

A peak Dao Lord can directly leap to the level of a Ruler!
The ultimate way of swordsmanship will also undergo a great leap forward...

The reason for the leap in strength is the power of the 'Eternal Way'! Therefore, it is extremely difficult for Lei Zhan to merge with the Dao and create the 'Eternal Ultimate Time-Space Way'.

"Let's continue watching." Suppressing his myriad thoughts, Lei Zhan shook his head.

The divine sense then invaded the remaining jade slips and the divine sense inheritance left behind by the Supreme Being.

The owners who left these jade slips were all ultimate Dao Lords, each of them having reached the edge of the Dao Integration stage.

Even the last divine thought inheritance still completely preserved the Dao of the Supreme Being, which Lei Zhan naturally cherished immensely and was immersed in.

……

"Awake?" The white-haired old man looked at Lei Zhan.

“I’m awake.” Lei Zhan shook his head and said, “I felt as if billions of years had passed, completely immersed in the world of those powerful beings, but when I finally woke up, it was just a dream.”

“Those ultimate Dao Lords met you far too late, Master. But you, you have had a great opportunity,” the white-haired elder said. “You are far more fortunate than them!”

"Alright, stop lamenting! You've already seen the first hall. Now you can enter the second hall, which is also the last one."

"The last hall?" Lei Zhan looked at the white-haired old man.

"Follow me!" the white-haired old man said, and walked deeper into the hall. "This second hall is about my master's wish."

"A wish?" Lei Zhan seemed to be thinking, and obediently followed the white-haired old man towards the end of the hall.

Upon reaching the end of this hall, a door naturally appears to have split open in the original wall. Entering through the door, one arrives at the second hall.

Looking at it at a glance, Lei Zhan realized that the second hall was much smaller, probably only a hundred feet in size!

The hall was shaped like an octagon, and bookshelves were placed around it, with scrolls of jade slips on them.

However, the number of jade slips in the second hall is estimated to be only tens of thousands, which is far less than that in the first hall.

"Senior, what is the Supreme's wish? Is it something that even the Supremes who stand at the pinnacle of cultivator civilization cannot fulfill?" Lei Zhan asked curiously.

“Although the Supreme Being is the most powerful being, he is not omnipotent.” The white-haired old man shook his head gently. “You must have cultivated the ‘Ninefold Space’.”

"Nine layers of space?" Lei Zhan looked at the old man. "Senior, are you referring to the nine layers of chaotic restrictions?"

“Yes, it is the Ninefold Chaos Restriction.” The white-haired old man nodded and said, “When my master created the Ninefold Chaos Restriction, he could open up a space in his sea of ​​consciousness, which resembled a blue and white flower. This is the Ninefold Space.”

"This profound method is merely a reference to the Sith's methods, which can transform all the cultivator's power, including magical power, divine power, and mental power, into a power that is like mist." "This is the most proud method created by my master during the long years after he became the Supreme Being, and it is also the method he regretted the most. Even when he died, he still had regrets in his heart."

“This…” Lei Zhan listened silently.

“My master has always harbored regrets and was unwilling to accept it,” the white-haired old man continued. “This ‘Nine-fold Space’ technique has many flaws. For example, it must be mastered before reaching the World Realm! Otherwise, it is impossible to open up the ‘Nine-fold Space’ in the sea of ​​consciousness. Also, the power of this mist cannot leave the body.”

"But the most important, the most fatal flaw is... this 'Ninefold Space' method can only convert the power of the Dao Lord of Life and Death at most! It cannot convert the divine power, magical power, and mental power that have reached the Eternal level at all."

"Only Dao Lords can use it..." Lei Zhan understood the huge flaw of this 'Ninefold Chaos Restriction'.

The powerful members of the Sith race, even the Supreme Beings, can wield power similar to the Azure Mist. That would be a tremendous boost to their strength!
The white-haired old man shook his head and sighed, "According to the master's original idea, he was to create a full twelve layers of restrictions! Just like those life forms of the Sith race, whether they are weak or the strongest, they all have similar mist power to yours."

"Therefore, my master's wish is for the most talented and brilliant people in the cultivation civilization to perfect this method."

"The Ninefold Space at its peak can not only transform the divine power and magic power of the Eternal Emperor, but also the divine power and magic power of the Supreme. If this method can transform the divine power and magic power of the Supreme, it will be of great help to the Supreme."

"If the Ninefold Chaos Restriction is perfected, it can be used at will like the divine power and magic power of a cultivator, and may even be more powerful than ordinary divine power and magic power..." Lei Zhan thought even more.

"If this method is perfected, it could even significantly boost the overall strength of our cultivator civilization!"

“Yes!” The white-haired old man looked at Lei Zhan and nodded gently. “My master is now dead, and his biggest regret before he died was this matter.”

"Therefore, the master hopes that future generations will be able to create the tenth layer of chaotic restrictions, or even the eleventh or twelfth layer that he envisioned."

Lei Zhan nodded slightly, "Now that I have received such great help from the Supreme One, this Ninefold Space... if possible, I will do my best to perfect it!"

The mystery of the Enlightenment Pearl is so profound that even Lei Zhan now finds it extremely mysterious.

In particular, the various wondrous uses of the Enlightenment Pearl, including perfecting the method of creation, are only one aspect of the treasure's uses.

"Hmm." The white-haired old man showed a hint of satisfaction. "You don't need to feel pressured. The treasures my master left for those who come after him are naturally not limited to these. In addition to the countless methods in the First Hall, there are two other great benefits waiting for you."

"Two more benefits?" Lei Zhan's heart stirred. Could it be the stone platform and the Fire Stone used by the Supreme Being?
Thinking of this, Lei Zhan's heart also burned with excitement.

Although he couldn't possibly take these two treasures with him, just using them would be an incredible opportunity for those powerful figures outside.

Even for Lei Zhan himself, it was of great help.

"I wonder which of these treasures left behind by the Supreme Being is stronger, the Enlightenment Pearl or the Treasure of Enlightenment?" This thought flashed through Lei Zhan's mind unconsciously.

"However, to use the Stonefire Pearl, one must complete the test left by the Supreme Being: create ten secret techniques comparable to those of the Lord of a Holy City..."

Just then, the white-haired old man looked towards the center of the entire second hall, which was also the very center of the octagonal hall.

He pointed into the distance.

Rumble~~~
The ground began to bulge out, revealing a stone platform shaped like a futon with an octagonal design. The platform was black, with a faint white halo around its surface.

"This is one of the treasures left behind by my master." The white-haired old man turned to look at Lei Zhan. "You sit cross-legged there."

Without hesitation, Lei Zhan walked over and sat cross-legged on the stone platform.

"Wow."

Instantly, a bone-chilling coldness permeated his entire body.

Lei Zhan was jolted awake, feeling his soul and spirit's thinking speed surge, much faster than before.

If I had to describe the feeling, it would be like activating the Enlightenment Pearl to achieve sudden enlightenment.

“No! The effect of this Supreme Stone Platform…” Lei Zhan sensed the subtle differences and was shocked.

"Surely, truly..."

Lei Zhan's Dao Heart was incredibly powerful, yet he was secretly astonished by the difference between the two.

"This Supreme Stone Platform, which the Supreme Being painstakingly created, is actually less effective at aiding enlightenment than the sudden enlightenment achieved by accumulating power over five years?"

Suddenly, the voice of the white-haired old man echoed in Lei Zhan's ears.

“My master spent countless efforts building this cave dwelling, and the core of the cave dwelling is this stone platform.”

"The convergence of countless restrictive powers gives this stone platform an amazing auxiliary effect! It has an effect close to 'sudden enlightenment'."

"Hmm? Almost... an epiphany?" Lei Zhan suddenly understood.

"That's right! In the entire Flame Dragon Domain and even the entire universe, most treasures that help with enlightenment are close to sudden enlightenment. Even a Supreme Stone Platform is powerful, but its effect is more obvious and lasts longer than other treasures."

"But the Enlightenment Pearl requires the accumulation of mysterious power, which is then released all at once, in order to allow me to achieve sudden enlightenment."

Lei Zhan pondered to himself, "Although the Enlightenment Pearl is incredibly powerful, it cannot accelerate the replenishment of energy by altering the flow of time. To achieve enlightenment once, it would take at least five years."

The Supreme Stone Platform allows cultivators to be in a state similar to sudden enlightenment at all times, as long as they sit cross-legged on it.

The Enlightenment Pearl, aside from its energy limitation, represents true enlightenment.

Not to mention the effects of energy accumulated over thousands of years and the effects over hundreds of thousands of years.

Lei Zhan looked down at the stone platform in front of him, becoming more and more satisfied. Although the effect of this stone platform was not as heaven-defying as the Enlightenment Pearl, it could be used continuously.

With this stone platform, my understanding of the Dao will be greatly enhanced. Perhaps my chances of achieving 'union with the Dao' will also be much greater.

"My master originally crafted this stone platform for himself, for his usual meditation. He paid an astonishing price to craft it, but now it has been left to a destined person." The white-haired old man looked at Lei Zhan calmly.

"If this stone platform is of great use to all cultivators, then the remaining treasure will be of great help to cultivation, especially to your 'merging with the Dao'."

"However... there will be some challenges in obtaining this treasure."

"Hmm?" Lei Zhan looked at the white-haired old man. "I wonder, what kind of test is it?"

"The chaotic universe ranks first in its ability to aid cultivation, and naturally, it also ranks first in its ability to help one achieve Dao," the white-haired elder said. "This test is naturally somewhat special as well."

Lei Zhan listened attentively.

"This test requires you to create ten different methods!" the white-haired old man continued.

"As a Dao Lord, the profundity of each of your methods must reach the level of a Holy City Lord. Only after you prove that you have the ability to create methods will I give you this treasure."

"Ten methods? At the level of the Lord of the Holy City?" Lei Zhan nodded slightly. "Alright, then I will create ten methods."

……

(End of this chapter)