From Fanwu to Xinghai

Chapter 57: A Bloody Battle Beneath the Blazing Wilderness Pass

Lin Yuan reined in his horse, his pupils suddenly contracting.

The Yanhuang Pass before my eyes is no longer recognizable as human.

The western section of the city wall had completely collapsed, with rubble blocking the city gate. The city walls were covered with the black flags of the Dark Blade Pavilion. Thick smoke billowed from inside the pass, carrying the pungent smell of burnt blood; the nauseating odor could be smelled with every gust of wind.

"This..." A disciple behind him stammered, "This is too tragic."

"Enough talk." Lin Yuan dismounted, drew his longsword, and commanded, "Everyone, listen to my order! Follow me and charge in!"

The nineteen disciples responded in unison and followed Lin Yuan towards the breach in the city gate.

Inside the city gates, the battle has entered a fierce stage.

Holding a long sword, Chen Bo stood alone in the central square of the pass. His white robe was soaked in blood, indistinguishable between the enemy's and his own. Behind him, the remaining thirty-odd soldiers were making a last stand, relying on makeshift sandbag fortifications.

"Elder Chen, let's retreat!" a soldier cried out. "If we don't retreat now, it will be too late!"

"Withdraw?" Uncle Chen wiped the blood from his face, a bitter smile appearing on his face. "If I withdraw, what about the people behind me?"

He looked up into the distance.

That's the direction of the Qingyun Sect.

Lin Chen is still on his way. Just hold on a little longer, just a little longer—

"boom!"

With a loud bang, a three-zhang-tall psionic mech crashed through the city wall and entered through the breach.

The mech was entirely black, with the Dark Blade Pavilion's bat emblem engraved on its chest. Two psionic cannons were mounted on its arms, with the muzzles pointing directly at Chen Bo.

"Chen Xuanfeng." A cold voice came from inside the mecha. "You've really managed to hold out. Three hundred defenders, and you've held them off until now."

Chen Bo sneered, "Is this all the Dark Blade Pavilion is capable of? Over a hundred mechs, and it took them three days to break into the pass?"

"Sharp-tongued." The voice from inside the mecha turned cold. "But it doesn't matter, you're about to die anyway."

The psionic cannon began charging, and a blinding red light shone from its muzzle.

Uncle Chen gripped the sword in his hand tightly.

His spiritual power was almost gone. In the fierce battle just now, he had killed at least twenty assassins from the Dark Blade Pavilion, but he himself had also been stabbed seventeen times, and his spiritual meridians were almost severed.

"Looks like we've reached our limit."

He said something in a low voice.

Then, he raised his sword.

Even with his spiritual energy depleted, he was still Chen Xuanfeng, the number one genius of the Qingyun Sect thirty years ago.

A flash of sword light appeared.

A dazzling sword aura swept out and struck the psionic mech directly in the chest, leaving a deep mark on its armor.

The mech took two steps back, and the charging of the cannon was interrupted.

"You've got some skill." The voice from inside the mecha carried a hint of seriousness. "Unfortunately, you're at your last gasp."

It raised its foot and stomped hard on Uncle Chen.

"stop!"

A loud shout came from the breach in the city gate.

Lin Yuan, wielding a long sword, rushed in from outside. The Time River Mark on his body burst forth with dazzling golden light, and his speed instantly increased to the extreme. He transformed into a golden streak of light and crashed directly into the mecha's leg.

"Bang!"

The immense impact caused the mecha to sway, but it did not fall over.

"Oh?" The voice from inside the mech carried a hint of amusement. "Another one sent to its death?"

"Elder Chen, step back!" Lin Yuan stood in front of Uncle Chen, his longsword held horizontally in front of his chest. "Leave this to me!"

"You—" Uncle Chen wanted to say something, but suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body went limp, and he fell backward.

"Elder Chen!" The soldiers guarding the area quickly helped him up.

Lin Yuan took a deep breath, and the mark between his eyebrows shone brightly.

The power of the marks left by the river of time erupted within him.

Although incomplete, and although it consumes lifespan, but—

"I don't care about lifespan at all."

He said something in a low voice.

Then, he moved.

Northern Frontier Official Road

Lin Chen and Su Wan sped along the road.

They changed horses three times, each one a top-quality horse, but even with the spiritual energy urging them on, they were still running until they were foaming at the mouth and on the verge of dying from exhaustion.

"How much further?" Su Wan asked.

Her face was still pale; her spiritual energy was recovering very slowly after emerging from the dimensional interlayer. But even so, she was still the embodiment of a dimensional ruler, and her every move still exuded a pressure that ordinary cultivators could hardly match.

"Half a day's journey," Lin Chen said, "if we take the main road."

"Taking the main road is too slow." Su Wan glanced at the official road ahead. "The agents are moving faster than you think; they're already on their way."

Lin Chen's pupils contracted.

The foresight gave him a warning: there was an ambush five miles ahead.

"Enemies!" He reined in his horse. "In the valley ahead."

"She's one of Bai Ying's people," Su Wan said calmly. "She knew you'd take this path."

Lin Chen paused for a moment.

Then he laughed.

"Then let them come."

He dismounted and held the Time Crystal to his chest.

The crystal's light enveloped him and Su Wan, their figures gradually becoming transparent—

Dimensional mezzanine.

"If we travel through the interdimensional space, they won't be able to catch up," Lin Chen said.

Su Wan shook her head: "Although the dimensional interlayer is safe, the speed is not comparable to direct flight. Moreover—"

She paused for a moment.

"Bai Ying has a way of tracking the aura of the Dimensional Bridge. She will be waiting for us at Yanhuang Pass."

Lin Chen frowned.

"What should we do then?"

"Continue through the dimensional mezzanine," Su Wan said firmly, "but before we reach Yanhuang Pass, there's one thing we must do."

"What is it?"

Su Wan raised her hand, and a pale blue crystal appeared in her palm—the essence of the Seed of Dimensions.

"Activate the Dimensional Seed within you," she said. "Only a fully activated Dimensional Seed can contend against a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like Bai Ying."

Lin Chen looked at the pale blue crystal and a sudden unease welled up in his heart.

Is there any danger in this activation process?

"Yes." Su Wan nodded frankly, "It's very dangerous. If your will isn't strong enough, you might be backfired by the dimensional power. At best, your cultivation will be completely destroyed; at worst..."

She didn't continue.

But Lin Chen already understood.

Severe cases can lead to death.

"Do it." He didn't hesitate at all. "Do it now."

Su Wan looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You're just like your father," she whispered, "equally foolish, equally stubborn."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" Lin Chen laughed.

"It's a compliment," Su Wan smiled, "the best compliment in the world."

She reached out and pressed the pale blue crystal between Lin Chen's eyebrows.

Dimensional power surged in wildly.

Lin Yuan's battle has entered its most intense phase.

He was fighting alone against three psionic mechs, while dozens of assassins from the Dark Blade Pavilion surrounded him from all sides. Nineteen disciples formed a battle formation and fought desperately, but the casualty count continued to rise.

"Captain, the eastern defense line can't be held!" a disciple, covered in blood, shouted.

"Hold on!" Lin Yuan cleaved through the armor of a mech with a single slash, but his own hand was split open, and blood dripped down the hilt of the sword.

His lifespan was burning up rapidly.

The power of the Time River Mark is immense, but the price is also enormous. Each time it is used, his lifespan is shortened by one year.

But he cannot back down.

Uncle Chen was still behind, unconscious.

More than thirty defending soldiers were still behind him, hoping he would hold off the enemy.

"Give me--"

He raised his longsword, the mark between his brows shining brightly.

"--break!"

A golden blade of time erupted from the sword, striking the nearest psionic mech directly. The mech's armor was sliced ​​through like paper, and the operator inside was shredded to pieces before he could even scream.

One mech, destroyed.

But Lin Yuan's face also turned ashen.

That attack cost him ten years of his lifespan.

"Hahaha!" Laughter erupted from the remaining two mechs. "The harder you fight, the faster you'll die!"

They simultaneously raised their psionic cannons.

The cannon was aimed at Lin Yuan.

Just as the psionic cannon was about to fire—

"boom!"

A blue beam of light descended from the sky, striking one of the mechs directly and completely vaporizing its upper body.

The other mech quickly turned its cannon towards the direction from which the beam of light was coming—

In the sky, a boy, enveloped in blue light, slowly descended.

Between his eyebrows, a pale blue crystal was sparkling.

The seed of dimension is fully activated.

"Thank you, Mother."

Lin Chen landed on the ground and turned to look at Su Wan.

Su Wan stood on the city wall, her long hair fluttering in the wind, the mark between her eyebrows exactly the same as Lin Chen's.

Mother and son joined forces.

"Everyone from the Dark Blade Pavilion," Lin Chen raised his hand, the Time Crystal and the Seed of Dimensions glowing simultaneously, "I accept your generous gift."

He smiled slightly.

"Now, it's my turn to return the courtesy."