The Legend of the Great Desolation: I Am the Fortress

"The God Emperor is truly formidable; he saw almost everything about me at a glance." Lei Zhan smiled, but gradually understood.

"It's just a minor technique. Countless chaotic eras have passed since the ancient war. We still need to figure out some things."

Emperor Qiyang's gaze was gentle as he spoke, "I once received some guidance from Supreme Hongran. Over a long period of time, my understanding of the Way of Deduction and the Way of Cause and Effect naturally reached the level of a ruler."

"When I came to Guiyi City to see you, I was naturally able to deduce some things from you."

For Emperor Qiyang, Lei Zhan's existence was very special.

It was just like when I first became a disciple of Qi Zhizun and saw those junior brothers and sisters who had just started their studies.

However, the chaotic world where Lei Zhan was located was derived from the Supreme God Crystal of Qi Supreme, which made him feel familiar with it.

It should be noted that Emperor Qiyang was somewhat aware of some of the arrangements made by Supreme Qi.

As countless years passed, many rulers and lords of other universes were born in the chaotic worlds derived from those supreme divine crystals, but this was the first time that a monstrous ultimate Dao Lord had appeared.

Lei Zhan was also very curious and respectful of Qi Yang, one of the earliest disciples of Qi Zhizun.

When Lei Zhan was studying the many methods of the cultivator civilization, he found some secret techniques created by the Qi Yang God Emperor, which gave him some understanding of this second disciple of the Supreme Qi.

It should be known that the cultivators who participated in the ancient war and survived were all extraordinary.

"Causality and deduction are both at the Dominator level?" Lei Zhan looked at God Emperor Qiyang and couldn't help but admire, "That's really impressive. God Emperor is probably very close to breaking through to the Supreme level."

The myriad paths of the universe, the path of cause and effect, and the path of deduction are notoriously difficult to comprehend, yet Emperor Qiyang has broken through to the level of the Sovereign in all of them.

Once you start from the difficult and move to the easy, understanding other principles becomes much easier.

"A difference of a hair's breadth can lead to a difference of billions of miles." Emperor Qiyang shook his head slightly, speaking frankly:
"When our masters and the others attained enlightenment, they all followed the path of one path giving rise to myriad paths. Most of them comprehended nine paths at the level of a sovereign before finally breaking through."

"Although I have comprehended nine paths that have reached the level of mastery over these years, I have never been able to find the method for the last step."

“This…” Lei Zhan was taken aback.

For the Eternal Emperor to break through to become a Supreme Being, even the slightest difference is like an insurmountable chasm.

Otherwise, since the birth of the entire cultivator civilization, there have been countless rulers and emperors, but only a handful of supreme beings.

"Let's not talk about this anymore," said the Divine Emperor Qiyang with great nonchalance.

"Endless years have passed, and I've long since gotten used to it. Perhaps I'll remain at the level of an Eternal Emperor for the rest of my life, or perhaps one day I'll break through while eating and drinking."

"Hahaha. It's my fault for not being a good host." Lei Zhan laughed as well.

"God Emperor, please wait a moment. I'll get some food and drink, and we can sit down and chat."

Wow~~~
With a wave of his hand, Lei Zhan conjured two long tables on the lakeside.

On each of the two tables sat a jug of fruit wine, its aroma filling the air, along with some rare delicacies from the universe.

These were all left behind by Lei Zhan after he killed Hou Wucheng and other rulers of other universes. They were presentable enough to entertain the God Emperor Qiyang.

"Hmm?" Emperor Qiyang smelled the aroma of the wine and couldn't help but pour himself a cup. He took a sip and nodded in praise, "Good wine. Is this the Wutong Brew from the Qingwu Domain? It has a unique flavor."

“If the God Emperor likes it, then drink more. I still have quite a bit of wine left,” Lei Zhan said with a smile.

……

Lei Zhan and his companion sat by the lake, leisurely eating, drinking, and chatting.

Meanwhile, the two rulers of Changli stood guard at a distance.

Although they were only a dozen feet apart, their conversation was blocked by a barrier, so neither the Lord of Changli nor the Lord of Qushan could hear it.

This conversation lasted for quite some time.

"Brother Guiyi, your ultimate way of time and space is indeed profound and mysterious." Emperor Qiyang laughed. "This time, I have gained a lot of insights into the way of time and space."

“Likewise, likewise. Brother Qiyang’s path has also deeply moved me.” Lei Zhan was also very moved.

Those who claim to be the closest to the supreme ruler are indeed not simple.

This conversation naturally turned into a discussion of the Dao, and the insights that Emperor Qiyang had gained were also quite rewarding for Lei Zhan.

"Unfortunately, it is indeed very difficult for the ultimate Dao to merge with the Dao." Emperor Qiyang said softly, "In the past, all the ultimate Dao Lords were incredibly talented and monstrous, but they all failed in the face of merging with the Dao, without exception."

"To achieve harmony with the Way, one must give it one's all, and even in defeat, there will be no regrets." Lei Zhan said calmly.

After all, someone who can comprehend the sixth form of the Origin Heart Manual cannot have a weak Dao heart.

"What a fine example of 'no regrets'!" Emperor Qiyang's eyes lit up. "By the way, since Brother Guiyi is walking the ultimate path of time and space, if we could observe the paths of those two beings..."

"I'm afraid the chances of achieving the Dao will also increase significantly."

"Those two beings?" Lei Zhan looked at Emperor Qiyang, a hint of curiosity on his face. "Which two are you referring to, Brother Qiyang?"

"In my civilization of cultivators, there are quite a few Supreme Beings. And each of them has taken a completely different path."

Emperor Qiyang picked up his wine cup, took a sip, and slowly said, "My master, Supreme Qi, has the Dao of 'the origin of all winds,' while the Dao of another Supreme Hongran is 'the origin of all cause and effect.'"

"Although my cultivator civilization does not have a Supreme Being who follows the origin of all paths of time and space, as far as I know, there are two Supreme Beings whose paths are closely related to the path of time and space."

"Hmm?" Lei Zhan's heart stirred, and some information immediately flowed through his mind. "Both Supreme Beings' Daos are related to time and space?" Lei Zhan smiled, "But are they two Daos: time and space?"

“Indeed.” Emperor Qiyang nodded slightly. “Among the many supreme beings, there are two rather special individuals. One follows the ‘Origin of Ten Thousand Paths of Time,’ while the other follows the ‘Origin of Ten Thousand Paths of Space’!”

"The origin of all spatial paths and the origin of all temporal paths?" Lei Zhan's heart stirred.

Lei Zhan naturally had some understanding of some of the secrets of the cultivator civilization.

The two supreme beings mentioned by the Divine Emperor Qiyang naturally brought two names to mind for Lei Zhan.

"The Celestial Food Supreme and the Tapir Bone Supreme?" Lei Zhan muttered to himself, "Among the Supremes, only these two can be matched. However..."

Lei Zhan pondered the various pieces of information he already knew.

"The Celestial Devourer Supreme has been at the core of the universe's origin, attempting to refine the universe with his supreme body. The Bone-Bone Supreme, on the other hand, has been guarding the old lair left by the Sith race, and almost never leaves..."

Knowing is one thing, but whether one can obtain the opportunity left behind by those two beings is another matter entirely.

After all, although the ultimate path is very rare, if one fails to achieve the Dao, the Supreme Beings will at most give Lei Zhan a second glance because of his status as the ultimate Dao Lord.

After all, achieving the ultimate path of merging with the Dao is extremely difficult. No one has ever succeeded in doing so, and even the Supreme Beings don't hold out much hope.

At most, if I happen to be in a good mood, I'll just casually offer a few pointers.

Lei Zhan never even dared to hope that he could witness the Dao of these two before he reached the Dao.

While a thousand thoughts raced through Lei Zhan's mind, only a moment had actually passed in the outside world.

"Brother Qiyang suddenly brought this up... Could it be that I will have the opportunity to witness the Dao left behind by these two supreme beings?"

Lei Zhan looked at Qi Yang God Emperor with great anticipation: "Could it be that these two Supreme Beings, like Supreme Being Qi, left behind arrangements such as cave dwellings to cultivate disciples?"

“Of course not,” Emperor Qiyang shook his head. “The most important reason why Master left behind the cave was that he had an unfulfilled wish.”

"But these two supreme beings are alive and well now, and they haven't been traveling around the universe. Furthermore, they don't have the same strong obsession as our master, so naturally they couldn't have left behind these arrangements."

"This..." Lei Zhan was surprised, but his concern made him somewhat flustered. After all, the supreme opportunity was right in front of him, and it would be a lie to say that he was not tempted. What cultivator would not be tempted by it?

"In fact, I only know some information about the opportunities of the two supreme beings, or even some speculations."

Emperor Qiyang said slowly, "Based on this information, I am very confident in deducing the general scope. As for more detailed information, we need to narrow down the scope and confirm it slowly."

"You know some information?" Lei Zhan's eyes lit up immediately. "Knowing some information is enough. For the sake of achieving Dao, I will strive for it as long as there is even the slightest possibility, let alone the opportunity left behind by the two Supreme Beings?"

"Alright." Emperor Qiyang asked, "Brother Guiyi, do you have a domain-boundary flying boat? The origin of ten thousand paths of time is probably within the eight domains of origin, but the origin of ten thousand paths of space is probably very far away."

"Without a dimensional spaceship, it would probably take you millions of Chaos Eras to travel through endless darkness to another dimensional realm..."

"When we obtained Canglan Star, we were lucky enough to get two ships," Lei Zhan said.

"Two ships? One is enough," said Emperor Qiyang.

"These opportunities were actually left behind by the Supreme Beings during the ancient war. I only heard Supreme Being Hongran mention them briefly when the war ended."

"It should be known that our cultivator civilization fought a great war with the Sith in ancient times, and the Supreme Beings divided the entire universe into regions."

"And the Supreme Beings led the Sovereigns and Emperors in battle against the Sith in the areas they needed to protect."

“For powerful weapons like Guiyi City and Canglan Star, which can influence an entire region, the rulers would have to sacrifice their lives to break through them, but that would result in too many casualties. We don’t have that many rulers or emperors. So when we encounter these kinds of weapons of war, it is usually the supreme beings who take action themselves.”

Emperor Qiyang slowly recounted the great war that had swept across the entire universe in the past.

The supreme opportunities he knew of were mostly left behind by supreme beings after they had conquered powerful war weapons.

The torch is passed down, generation after generation.

The reason for this was to prevent the cultivator civilization from having more different possibilities, in the event of a failed war.

"Hmm?" Lei Zhan immediately understood, muttering to himself, "It seems that the opportunity Brother Qi Yang mentioned is very similar to the one that Supreme Bolin left in the Flame Dragon Domain. Both are about leaving behind treasures and their own 'Dao' after breaking through some powerful weapons of war, out of fear that cultivators would lose the war."

As far as Lei Zhan knew, the endless darkness surrounding the Flame Dragon Domain was the presence of a terrifying war machine on the same level as Canglan Star.

However, while the core of Canglan Star remained intact, the warship was completely destroyed and rendered unusable.

Inside the warship, there is a grotto left by the Supreme Lord Bolin, as well as some treasures and opportunities.

"Brother Guiyi is exceptionally talented; passing the tests left by the Supreme Beings shouldn't be difficult for him. However..."

Emperor Qiyang shook his head and said, "But to find the specific opportunity left behind by the Supreme One, one needs great fortune. In the past, I also tried to look for it, but I could only find some faint traces."

"Hmm? Brother Qiyang also went to search?" Lei Zhan was taken aback. Judging from Qiyang God Emperor's expression, his search had obviously been fruitless.

"Hmm." Emperor Qiyang nodded slightly.

“Supreme relics are not easily found. I observe that Brother Guiyi has extraordinary luck. If you and I join forces, our chances will be much greater.”

"However, all I can do is probably deduce the approximate location of the opportunity based on some information and give you some guidance. The specifics will have to be up to you, Brother Guiyi."

“Yes, I understand.” Lei Zhan was not disappointed. “Being able to confirm the general area is already a great help to me. Brother Qi Yang is not unaware of this; the Way of Time and Space is most adept at finding things.”

...(End of chapter)