The Legend of the Great Desolation: I Am the Fortress

Daxia world, the North Sea.

A long shuttle was flying at high speed in mid-air, carrying several cultivators. The leaders were two men and one woman, while the other three were all servants and guards.

"Senior Brother Ji Ning, Senior Sister Jiu Lian."

One of the youths, dressed in a green robe, had a hint of anger in his eyes. "That old demon is chasing us way too relentlessly. That immortal-grade magic treasure was the first one we discovered when we explored that immortal's cave. It was also the first treasure we obtained, yet that old demon is still pursuing us so closely, even all the way to the Northern Sea..."

"Junior Brother Mu," the boy in animal skin beside him smiled faintly, "you yourself said it's a Celestial-grade magic weapon, and the most precious Celestial-grade magic weapon at that, a Celestial Sword. If it were you... wouldn't you want to get your hands on it?"

"Moreover, I know a bit about this Old Demon Qiandou. He is a very evil and sinful cultivator, so naturally he will not give up and will chase us to the death. If he kills us, he can obtain a powerful immortal-grade magic weapon."

"So we're just going to keep running? This Northern Sea is indeed extremely beautiful, but we're constantly running around on it, with a mad dog chasing us..."

The young man in the green robe gritted his teeth and said, "If I weren't a little reluctant, I would really like to turn around and take out the puppet treasure that my master gave me, and blast this old demon of the Qian Dou right here."

"Junior Brother Mu, wait a minute! The puppet bestowed by Immortal Qionghua is extraordinary. In terms of value alone, it is probably comparable to a Celestial-grade magic treasure. We have not yet reached a dead end, and it is not yet time to take out that treasure."

The stunningly beautiful girl standing there exuded an extraordinary aura, and her simple, casual light blue Taoist robe made her even more breathtaking.

She smiled slightly, which immediately stunned the servants following behind her for a moment.

"Besides, didn't you see how calm Junior Brother Ji Ning was? With Junior Brother Ji Ning so confident, and with that Old Demon Qian Dou flying all over the Northern Sea... I'm afraid Junior Brother Ji Ning has already made his plans, hasn't he?"

"Senior brother, you had this planned all along?" The green-robed youth was stunned, then looked at the animal-skinned youth beside him and whispered, "Senior brother, why didn't you say so sooner? You've just let Senior Sister Jiulian laugh at me for no reason!"

"Hahaha!" The boy in animal skin laughed immediately. "You all know that I follow the path of the sword and am now at the level of a Nascent Soul Daoist, but you don't know that I have a second Nascent Soul! My second Nascent Soul has already reached the Nascent Soul Perfection and is just waiting to break through to become an Earth Immortal, which will be the death day of that old demon who pulls the stalks!"

"Hmm? Breaking through to become an Earth Immortal?" The young man in the green robe was overjoyed. "Hahaha, Senior Brother is about to break through to become an Earth Immortal so soon? No wonder you've been sitting so calmly like a fisherman, it turns out you're about to break through!"

"Once Senior Brother breaks through, and with that new Immortal-grade magic treasure we just acquired, I'm afraid it will be this old demon Qian Dou who's running for his life!"

The voice of the young man in the green robe echoed inside the shuttle, which made the servants all breathe a sigh of relief.

They were quite uneasy as they faced the pursuit of the powerful Old Demon Qiandou.

After all, the evil reputation of the Old Demon of the Swallow was extremely well-known throughout Anchan County and even in the surrounding counties.

Although their masters were all the pride of the academy, capable of withstanding the attacks of Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals at the Nascent Soul level, and had repeatedly escaped from the clutches of this Old Demon of the Bracelet, in the end, they were merely escaping for their lives.

That old demon with the cloak was a powerful rogue immortal who endured the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations for a full eight hundred thousand years!

"Don't worry, Junior Brother Mu!" The girl in the light blue Daoist robe smiled. "Although that Old Demon Qian Dou has the strength of a million-year-old Loose Immortal, didn't we still easily escape from his clutches?"

"I remember that my junior brother cultivates the most advanced second-grade Qi Refining method in the academy. Once he breaks through, he will be able to easily kill those third-grade Celestial Immortals!"

“Indeed.” The boy in animal skin nodded slightly, but his heart was calm. “Senior Sister Jiulian, Junior Brother Mu, my second primordial spirit needs a lot of primordial liquid and immortal pills to break through, and refining these will also take time. However, I’m afraid I can break through successfully in just half a day.”

……

Yanshan, atop a mountain peak.

"Junior brother, this little fellow's Dao heart is not bad." Hou Yi slowly drank from the wine pot, but his gaze was looking down at the vast sea in the distance.

Even without supernatural powers, the Dao Lords possess astonishing eyesight. They can clearly see even a mosquito's leg billions of miles away. They also witness everything that happens within the Northern Sea.

"This little fellow Ji Ning has a truly good Dao heart." Lei Zhan looked at the indifferent-looking boy in animal skin with a leisurely gaze and a hint of a smile in his eyes.

In reality, aside from his trip to the underworld, Lei Zhan did not interfere much in Ji Ning's life.

Aside from seizing opportunities to hone one's skills, there's a sense of detachment and indifference towards the changing world.

Even so, fate and karma still led Ji Ning to join the Black and White Academy, meet Mu Zishuo, Jiu Lian, Yu Wei, and even become a disciple of the Immortal Diancai.

However, in the Three Realms today, the overall strength of both top-tier combatants and lower-level cultivators has risen to a new level.

The Black and White Academy, one of the eight major powers in Anchan County, has many celestial gods and immortals. Among them, the Immortal of Palace Talent is a renowned sword immortal.

“I have changed the entire Three Realms, and even far too much. Without the Water Mansion, the Gate of No Return has long since merged with all living beings in the Three Realms, and even the gods and immortals within the Three Realms are as numerous as hairs on a cow. Even those World Realm and Life and Death Dao Lords are quite numerous…” Lei Zhan thought to himself.

"I merely touched upon the mysterious forces of fate, yet everything was re-presented in a seemingly peculiar, yet quite logical, way..."

"Is this cause and effect, destiny?" Lei Zhan seemed to understand something. "It's like a great river rolling forward, everything proceeding according to a predetermined arrangement."

“命运……因果……”

For some reason, Lei Zhan's thoughts suddenly faltered. His gaze became increasingly distant.

At that moment, he thought about many things. He thought about how he had awakened his past life memories and become a disciple of the immortal Juhua.

He thought of his own enlightenment, of becoming a disciple of Fangcun Mountain. He thought of becoming the Lord of the Water Palace and conquering countless worlds…

Step by step, he unknowingly transformed from a Purple Mansion cultivator who had miraculously survived into a peak Dao Lord with immense influence throughout the endless territory.

"Cause and effect, destiny... how mysterious." Lei Zhan murmured softly, sitting on the mountaintop, when a flash of inspiration ignited in his mind, illuminating his confusion and bewilderment.

……

"Hmm? Junior brother, is this... enlightenment?" Hou Yi, who was drinking fine wine, stopped and turned to look at Lei Zhan, whose body was emitting mysterious fluctuations.

"How did this junior brother suddenly achieve enlightenment while eating and drinking? This pervasive fluctuation of 'Dao'... seems to be related to cause and effect?"

Of all the myriad paths in the universe, the path of cause and effect is the most difficult to comprehend.

Even Hou Yi didn't expect that a casual chat between his fellow disciples, watching a little guy grow up, would lead to Lei Zhan's sudden enlightenment.

"Wow~~~"

Suddenly, spacetime around Lei Zhan became distorted, and everything became illusory.

Even for Hou Yi, who had become a Third-Step Dao Lord, it was not easy to see anything clearly from the distorted spacetime.

"Cause and effect..." As time accelerated, Lei Zhan's understanding of cause and effect and destiny improved rapidly.

At the same time, the energy accumulated within the Enlightenment Pearl over countless years flowed away like a tide, transforming into dazzling light that surged into the soul and true spirit that had been forged within it.

Time passes little by little.

Soon, the distorted spacetime around Lei Zhan returned to normal.

"Hmm? So fast?" Hou Yi looked at Lei Zhan, who had just opened his eyes, and asked curiously, "It's only been the time it takes to drink a cup of tea! Junior brother, you..."

"I had a sudden realization just now, which gave me a deeper understanding of cause and effect and destiny," Lei Zhan said casually.

"Cause and effect, destiny?" Hou Yi shook his head and sighed, "The way of cause and effect is the most difficult to comprehend. I have never heard of anyone in the entire endless territory who is proficient in the way of cause and effect."

“Junior Brother has followed the path of time and space, and is now a fourth-step Dao Lord, on the verge of merging with the Dao. If he comprehends more of the other Daos, it will probably be beneficial for him to merge with the Dao in the future.”

"He Dao..." Lei Zhan shook his head and smiled.

He is still a third-step Dao Lord, and although he is about to break through, even if he becomes a fourth-step Dao Lord, he will not easily merge with the Dao without sufficient accumulation.

"However, understanding other principles and drawing inferences from them can indeed be of great help to one's fundamental principles."

Lei Zhan casually picked up the wine jug, took a sip, and said with a smile, "My enlightenment just now has made my understanding of the Dao of Cause and Effect comparable to that of some ordinary Third-Step Dao Lords."

He comprehended multiple of the strongest paths and combined them perfectly, thus breaking through to become a Dao Lord.

People like Daoist Yifeng and Daoist Wuming are indeed comparable to ordinary three-step Daoists in their understanding of the Dao.

Just now, Lei Zhan pushed his own Dao of Cause and Effect to the level of a Dao Lord.

"Comparable to an ordinary Three-Step Dao Lord?" Hou Yi smiled slightly. "Junior Brother's talent... even I am quite envious! I can't compare, I can't compare at all!"

Lei Zhan smiled slightly, his gaze sweeping in all directions.

At a glance, the entire Three Realms came into view.

Even time and space are no longer obstacles; chaotic worlds, stars, and even distant eternal realms...

Lei Zhan's gaze swept across hundreds of territories.

Wild grass is sprouting from the soil...

Some mortals live for a hundred years, only to turn into dust upon death...

Some mortals embark on the path of cultivation, single-mindedly desiring to become immortals...

A demon is struggling, living in constant fear, terrified of being killed by a cultivator...

A powerful demon reigns supreme over the land, devouring and slaughtering countless beings...

A foreign race multiplied to millions and dominated a region...

One should cultivate oneself wholeheartedly in the realm of the world.

The Dao Lords of Life and Death undergo various trials, venturing between life and death, unafraid of death, and ultimately striving to merge with the Dao...

“From mortals to Dao Lords and Emperors, everyone has their own path,” Lei Zhan murmured. “My path, Ji Ning’s path, and even the path of billions of living beings in the entire universe…”

Lei Zhan's understanding of cause and effect has just been achieved, and the many insights brought about by the 'path of cause and effect' are completely different feelings for Lei Zhan.

call.

Lei Zhan withdrew his gaze, then turned it back to the animal-skinned boy above the Northern Sea.

"This time, I really have to thank this little guy!" Lei Zhan thought to himself.

"Once I reach the fourth step of Dao Lord, I will learn the 'One Path Creates Ten Thousand Paths' method from Supreme Bolin and the others, and finally achieve eternity."

"Now that the path of cause and effect has been initiated, it is a good start!"

...(End of chapter)