From Fanwu to Xinghai

"Mother."

Lin Chen walked up to Su Wan, his voice trembling slightly.

Sixteen years have passed.

Ever since he was old enough to understand, he had always wanted to know what his mother looked like. Uncle Chen had described her to him, saying that his mother was the gentlest and strongest woman in the world. But those were just words, and they couldn't compare to the person standing right in front of him.

Su Wan stood up, reached out, and gently stroked Lin Chen's cheek.

Her fingers were icy cold, as if they had come from an ice cellar—a sign that they had been sealed away for too long.

"You've grown up," she whispered, tears finally welling in her eyes, "more than I imagined."

"I'm here." Lin Chen's nose tingled with emotion. "I've come to take you home."

"Silly child," Su Wan smiled, her smile full of affection, "This isn't the place to talk. The Agents could come back at any moment. We need to leave quickly."

As she spoke, she took out a jade pendant from under the futon. The pendant was engraved with the same pattern as the Time Crystal.

"This is the Key to Dimensions." She handed the jade pendant to Lin Chen. "Holding it will allow you to stay in the dimensional interlayer longer."

Lin Chen took the jade pendant and was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed.

The marks left by the river of time are pulsating violently.

Someone is coming.

And he's a very strong person.

"Walk!"

He grabbed Su Wan's hand and activated the time crystal, causing the two of them to disappear from the stone chamber in an instant.

The next second, another figure appeared at the entrance of the stone chamber.

It was a woman, wearing a dark red robe and a white tiger mask on her face. Her aura was three points stronger than Mo Chen's!

Late stage of Nascent Soul.

The four guardians of the agent, Bai Ying.

"It ran away?" Bai Ying's tone carried a hint of surprise. "To be able to leave silently within my perception range, it seems the Time Crystal has indeed recognized its master."

She walked to the center of the stone chamber, picked up a wisp of golden scent that remained on the ground, and smelled it.

"The direction of the dimensional bridge... is interesting."

Bai Ying's lips curled up slightly.

"Pass down the order: stop the pursuit. Send them to Yanhuang Pass, and we'll wipe them all out then."

Outside the Qingyun Sect Mountain Gate

Lin Chen pulled Su Wan as they tumbled out of the interdimensional space.

They appeared on a desolate slope thirty miles outside the Qingyun Sect. This remote place was the safest rendezvous point.

"That was just now..." Su Wan's face was a little pale. Traveling through the interdimensional space was too much of a burden for her—her spiritual power had been sealed for sixteen years and had not yet fully recovered.

"The fourth guardian of the executor, Bai Ying," Lin Chen said gravely, "is a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, stronger than any enemy I've ever encountered."

"You ran into her?" Su Wan's expression changed.

"There wasn't a direct confrontation, but she already knew we had escaped," Lin Chen said. "And she didn't seem to be in a hurry to chase us."

"She's waiting," Su Wan said softly. "I know the operatives' style; they never fight a battle they're not sure they can win. Bai Ying not chasing you means she has a bigger conspiracy."

Lin Chen paused for a moment.

Although his ability to predict time has partially recovered, he still seems powerless against a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

"Let's go to Yanhuang Pass first," he said. "Lin Yuan is there. We'll meet up there and then discuss our strategy."

Su Wan nodded.

She looked at the mark between Lin Chen's eyebrows, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

"Your father... Lin Yuan, he..."

"He's still alive," Lin Chen said, "and he's in the team for this mission."

Su Wan's body trembled slightly.

After sixteen years of separation, she was unable to see her husband one last time. But Lin Yuan was still alive, and this man who shared the same blood as her husband held onto her last hope.

"Let's go," she said softly. "The border can't wait any longer."

Yanhuang Pass

Smoke billows.

On the walls of Yanhuang Pass, there were burning iron pieces and traces of human blood everywhere.

Uncle Chen stood atop the highest point of the city wall, long sword in hand. His white robe had turned into a blood-stained robe, indistinguishable between the enemy's blood and his own.

At his feet lay the corpses of dozens of Dark Blade Pavilion assassins.

"Elder Chen, the east city wall has fallen!" A soldier, his face covered in blood, ran over. "The Dark Blade Pavilion's psionic mechs have stormed in!"

Uncle Chen gritted his teeth.

His spiritual power was almost exhausted.

Today marks the third day of the Dark Blade Pavilion's siege of Yanhuang Pass. Three days ago, the Dark Blade Pavilion's main force suddenly appeared outside the pass, with hundreds of psionic mechs arranged in a square formation, launching a direct and forceful attack.

Of the three hundred defenders, only one hundred and twenty-seven remain.

"Hold on!" Uncle Chen's voice was hoarse. "Reinforcements will be here soon."

"But--"

"No buts!" Uncle Chen suddenly raised his voice, "Yanhuang Pass is the last line of defense for the Northern Frontier. Once the pass falls, the Dark Blade Pavilion's iron hooves will trample the entire Northern Frontier!"

The soldier gritted his teeth, turned around, and rushed back to the battlefield.

Uncle Chen leaned against the city wall and took out a communication talisman from his pocket.

That was his and Lin Chen's private channel, which they only used in the most urgent situations.

"Lin Chen...come quick..."

His voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

Northern Frontier Official Road

Lin Yuan took the lead, followed closely by his nineteen disciples.

They had been traveling for two days and two nights, and three of their spirit horses had died from exhaustion, but they were still a full day's journey away from Yanhuang Pass.

"Senior Brother Lin, the territory of Yanhuang Pass is just ahead!" a disciple shouted, pointing ahead.

Lin Yuan looked in the direction he pointed and saw a large plume of black smoke rising from the horizon.

That's the color of war.

"Faster!" Lin Yuan spurred the horse's flanks. "Faster!"

The spirit horse neighed loudly, its four hooves flying, and its speed increased even further.

Lin Yuan's heart was pounding.

His timeline told him that the situation at Yanhuang Pass was even worse than Chen Bo had described in the communication talisman. The Dark Blade Pavilion had gone all out this time, deploying hundreds of psionic mechs and dozens of Nascent Soul stage experts; this was no longer just a border conflict!

This is war.

"Lin Chen, you must succeed on your end," Lin Yuan said in a low voice. "I'll hold off here at Yanhuang Pass."

Qingyun Sect Back Mountain

Bai Ying stood atop the mountain, watching the direction Lin Chen had left in, her smile growing ever deeper.

"Four Protectors, are you really not going to pursue them?" a man in black robes behind him asked.

"Chase what?" Bai Ying retorted. "Given that kid's personality, where do you think he'd go after rescuing his mother?"

The man in black robes thought for a moment: "Shall we meet at Yanhuang Pass?"

"That's right." Bai Ying nodded. "He will definitely go to Yanhuang Pass. By then, our people will have already breached the pass, and when he arrives, all he'll see is ruins."

"What about Lin Yuan—"

"Lin Yuan?" Bai Ying sneered. "An incomplete Time Guardian, does he even deserve to be called a Guardian? He can't even protect his own lifespan, what makes him think he can protect others?"

She turned around, her dark red robe fluttering in the wind.

"Pass down the order: within three days, I want Yanhuang Pass to disappear from the map."

"yes!"

The man in black robes accepted the order and left.

Bai Ying stood alone on the mountaintop, her gaze piercing through thousands of miles, as if she could see the tattered flag at Yanhuang Pass.

"Lin Chen, do you think it's over once you've rescued your mother?"

She spoke softly, a cruel smile playing on her lips.

"This is just the beginning."