The Legend of the Great Desolation: I Am the Fortress

"This little fellow...is destined to be with the Dao Lord?" Lord Cui was startled.

You should know that in the entire Three Realms, the one in front of you holds the most exalted position.

Even among the many immortals and demons in Nuwa's camp, even his master, Nuwa, the first world god in the Three Realms, was slightly inferior in status.

But now, this powerful being who is detached from worldly affairs in the Three Realms actually takes a liking to such a young fellow?

If this were to be publicized, it would likely cause a great upheaval throughout the Three Realms, leaving countless immortals and demons utterly astonished.

"Whether one is reborn into the heavenly realm or the human realm, it is important to practitioners, but not that important."

"On the path of cultivation, the most important thing is a righteous heart."

Lei Zhan smiled and said, "A mere ten years or so has been this little guy's entire life."

"Throughout his life, I witnessed his unwavering conviction and his deep commitment to the Dao..."

Lei Zhan stood up and offered his seat at the table to Lord Cui.

"Lord Cui, do you understand?"

“I… understand.” Lord Cui looked at Lei Zhan respectfully, but his mind was deep in thought.

"Now that you understand, let that stupid ox outside bring the little guy in!" Lei Zhan ordered, then vanished from the study.

……

Wow~~~
A serene young man suddenly appeared above the gray clouds. A woman in purple was already waiting there.

“Brother Ji.” The woman in purple looked at Ji Ning. “The Lord has ordered me to send Brother Ji to the Yellow Springs.”

"Lord Cui? Then I'll have to trouble you, senior." It's unclear what Lord Cui and Ji Ning discussed, but Ji Ning remained remarkably calm.

He let the woman in purple hold his hand as they flew deeper into the underworld.

Ji Ning no longer had the doubts and curiosity he had before about everything around him.

"After crossing the Yellow Springs Road, you will reach the Bridge of Helplessness." Flying along, they quickly left behind the long lines of people.

Soon, a wide, winding river came into view in the distance. Large patches of beautiful flowers bloomed along its banks.

“That is the River of Oblivion.” The woman in purple pointed to the bridge in the distance and looked at Ji Ning, admonishing him, “The Bridge of Helplessness over the River of Oblivion is what the ghosts fear most. But Brother Ji, you have accumulated merit, so for you, the Bridge of Helplessness is just an ordinary stone bridge in the mortal world.”

"Ji Ning understands." Ji Ning looked down, his gaze following the winding, narrow path, but it was difficult to see clearly through the hazy mist.

"After crossing the Bridge of Helplessness and witnessing your past and present lives on the banks of the River of Oblivion, you must then visit Meng Po's Viewing Platform."

Lord Cui had high hopes for Ji Ning and had entrusted her with his personal escort, so the woman in purple explained in much more detail.

"The Terrace of Longing for Home?" Ji Ning asked. "I've heard that before entering the cycle of reincarnation, all living beings must drink a bowl of Meng Po's soup. If they drink it, they become confused and forget their past lives..."

“Indeed,” the woman in purple said with a smile. “Forgetting past life memories is for the sake of maintaining stability in the Three Realms.”

"If everyone reincarnates with their memories intact, wouldn't the entire Three Realms be in chaos? However..."

"Hmm?" A hint of curiosity appeared in Ji Ning's eyes. "But what?"

"The Way of Heaven is forty-nine, and one escapes. Naturally, it will leave a sliver of hope for cultivators." The woman in purple looked at Ji Ning, "As long as one's cultivation is strong enough, there will always be a time when one awakens one's innate wisdom."

“Awakening innate wisdom…” Ji Ning shook his head.

His life was only a short ten years or so, but the entire Three Realms are so vast compared to Earth.

Cultivators are almost immortal beings. Even if he awakens his past life memories in the future, with only a little over ten years of past life memories, will he still be the same Ji Ning as before?

"Fortunately, the Prefect had given prior instructions..." Ji Ning thought to himself.

"Alright, the road to the underworld is below." The woman in purple smiled. "Brother Ji, go ahead. I hope we will meet again in the future."

The woman in purple waved her hand.

Ji Ning, surrounded by golden light, flew directly to a distance below and joined the front of the line, effectively 'cutting in line'.

The bull-headed and horse-faced demon soldiers beside the procession dared not utter a word when they saw the woman in purple in the sky. One bull-headed demon soldier even followed Ji Ning very politely.

The woman in purple glanced at the obedient boy following the group forward, and muttered to herself:
"How strange! An ordinary being from a small world, with neither cultivation nor friends or relatives who cultivate, has never before shown such importance to Lord Cui..."

……

Beautiful flowers bloom along the banks of the River of Oblivion.

Not far from the bridgehead, there is a crystal stone that faintly shimmers with images; that is the legendary Three Lives Stone.

Not far from the Three Lives Stone is an earthen stone platform, known as the Looking-Home Platform.

The ghosts will walk across the earthen platform and arrive at Meng Po's side.

Meng Po is an ordinary-looking old woman who is holding a bowl of soup and giving it to every passing ghost.

The ghosts who drank it became confused and automatically jumped into one of the six realms of reincarnation behind Meng Po.

"Heavenly beings, Asuras, Humans, Beasts, Hungry Ghosts, and Hell." Ji Ning looked at the six unfathomable abysses behind Meng Po.

"Lord Cui said that I have saved countless children in this life and have accumulated merit. If I were to be reborn in the human world, I would surely be born into a family that has accumulated good deeds..."

Wow~~~
suddenly.

"Come forward." Meng Po's voice suddenly echoed in Ji Ning's ears.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning awoke from his reverie, only to find himself uncontrollably standing before Meng Po. "Drink it! Drink the Meng Po soup, and all past events will return to dust!"

A voice from the depths of the universe echoed in Ji Ning's ears, and an invisible force compelled him to pick up the Meng Po soup and drink it.

Ji Ning drank the Meng Po soup and immediately became confused and disoriented.

call.

Then, Ji Ning leaped down the nearest reincarnation passage, the 'Human Path'.

……

The Great Xia World, Yanshan Mountains.

On the summit of a majestic mountain.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Strange golden-red flames were burning.

Above the flames, huge chunks of meat floated.

Under the terrifying heat, the flesh and blood of the strange beast slowly turned golden brown, and a rich, exotic aroma of meat wafted through the mountaintop.

Beside the golden-red flames, Yi Lei Zhan and a tall man who looked like a woodcutter were eating and drinking.

On the large rock in front of them were some roasted pieces of meat and jugs of fine wine.

"Tsk tsk tsk! Junior brother really knows how to enjoy himself." Hou Yi grabbed a piece of meat and ate it in big bites, not bothering to care about the juice splattered on his face and clothes.

"Eat slowly, I still have some left, enough to satisfy your appetite, Senior Brother." Lei Zhan grabbed the wine pot and drank in big gulps, but his gaze was fixed on Hou Yi in front of him.

"That's enough!" Hou Yi grabbed the wine jug in front of him, tilted his head back, took a sip, and casually wiped the corner of his mouth.

"This meat is delicious, but if I ate it every day, it would get boring. Drinking and eating meat is only truly enjoyable when you're with a few close friends."

"This..." Lei Zhan smiled slightly, feeling quite pleased. "Then this time, let Senior Brother have a good meal!"

After dealing with Ji Ning's reincarnation, Lei Zhan came to the Great Xia World from the Netherworld.

Born, awakening memories of past lives, embarking on the path of spiritual cultivation...

Lei Zhan watched every step Ji Ning took.

Lei Zhan, who had been constantly studying the Dharma, was enjoying a rare moment of leisure, which coincided with the return of his senior brother Hou Yi to the Three Realms.

The two brothers, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, decided to have a small gathering in Yanshan. That's how this scene came about.

"Hahaha." Hou Yi laughed immediately. He wasn't in a hurry to eat. Instead, he slowly picked up the wine jug and drank the wine while looking into the distance.

Below on the vast land, there was a young boy in animal skin wielding two swords. He was born as if he were the purest uncut jade, and now he was undergoing various trials and tribulations.

"Junior Brother, this is the first time I've seen you so concerned about a little fellow. What's going on? Is the renowned Lord Guiyi, who is famous throughout the Endless Territories, now taking on disciples?"

"Senior brother, please don't make fun of me."

Lei Zhan shook his head. "If I'm not mistaken, you are now a third-step Dao Lord, and the most heaven-defying one at that—a Dao Lord of the Heart Power Flow!"

"In terms of strength, he is probably much stronger than those second-tier Heaven-Defying Dao Lords!"

The powerful beings in the Three Realms were all exceptionally talented, and the eldest disciple, Hou Yi, was no exception.

Nearly a billion years have passed, and the person who was once the most powerful in the Three Realms is now making his mark in the endless territories.

Daoist masters like those who cultivate the power of the mind are already rare, and those like Hou Yi, who created their own unique three-force fusion technique very early on, possess extraordinary strength.

Even though all these years have passed and Lei Zhan has been cultivating in seclusion in the Qinghua Cave, he has still heard about the deeds of his senior brother Hou Yi.

"I've only just entered the third step of the Dao Lord level. I heard that my junior brother has become the master of the twelve palaces of Mangya Kingdom. He just came back for a visit when he passed through the Great Mo Domain." Hou Yi smiled.

"I had planned to have my junior brother's Dharma body guard the Three Realms, catch up with him, and leave my Dharma body behind as well. I never expected that my junior brother's true form would also be here."

"Just broke through to the third step of Dao Lord..." Lei Zhan's heart stirred. "I didn't know about Senior Brother's breakthrough. Now that I know, I have a treasure to give to Senior Brother."

"A treasure?" Hou Yi was taken aback.

“Yes, a treasure.” Lei Zhan casually tossed out a bright green leaf, which flew to Hou Yi’s front. “This is a natal talisman. A single talisman is worth a life, and almost all Dao Lords can be resurrected with this talisman.”

"A natal talisman... one can be worth a life?" Hou Yi was stunned, but then shook his head repeatedly, "How can this be? Such a precious treasure..."

“Senior brother, we are brothers, why do we need to talk about these things?” Lei Zhan shook his head. “Besides, although the natal talisman is precious, I have more than one.”

As he spoke, Lei Zhan casually took out a jade talisman with black and white markings. Although this jade talisman was different from the leaf-shaped natal talisman, the aura it emitted was exactly the same.

"These...two?" Hou Yi unconsciously put down the wine pot in his hand, staring blankly at the two Taoist talismans in front of him, deeply shocked.

He had never even heard of treasures like his natal talisman before. And now, two of them were placed right in front of him!

Lei Zhan smiled, flipped his hand, and the black and white jade talisman in his hand disappeared into thin air, while the remaining leaf-shaped jade talisman floated in front of Hou Yi.

He can now break through to become a fourth-step Dao Lord at any time, so this treasure, which can only be used by Dao Lords, is naturally useless.

As for that extremely precious item that the Eternal Emperor could use, Lei Zhan would not easily take it out.

After all, that natal talisman was truly a lifeline for Zhan!

...(End of chapter)