From Fanwu to Xinghai

Chapter 34 The Wasteland

At 3:45 AM, at the main peak square.

More than two hundred inner disciples stood in neat rows, the air thick with tension and a chilling atmosphere. Everyone knew that what awaited them was not an ordinary trial, but a true battle to the death.

Shen Qingluan stood on the high platform, her gaze sharp as lightning.

"Let's go." She only said one word.

The next moment, a whooshing sound rang out, and two hundred figures soared into the air, speeding towards the north.

Lin Chen and Qin Mo flew side by side, the wind whistling in their ears.

"Are you nervous?" Qin Mo asked.

"A little," Lin Chen readily admitted, "but mostly...curiosity."

"curious?"

"I want to see for myself what those things are," Lin Chen said. "In my perception of time, they don't seem like ordinary enemies. They're more like... manifestations of rules."

Qin Mo was silent for a moment, then said, "Your senses are sharper than mine. When the time comes, I'll handle the fighting, and you'll just watch."

"good."

The two exchanged a smile, their unspoken understanding needing no further explanation.

Yanhuang Pass, the foremost pass in the northern frontier.

The city walls are thirty zhang high, forged from a mixture of black iron and spirit wood, capable of withstanding a full-force attack from a peak Spirit Cultivator. The pass is garrisoned by 30,000 elite troops, all at least at the seventh level of Body Tempering.

However, at this moment, the majestic pass was shrouded in deathly silence.

When Lin Chen and his group arrived, they found the city deserted.

"Where are the garrison?" someone asked.

"They've retreated." Lin Yuan's voice came from the side. "Three days ago, the commander of Yanhuang Pass ordered a retreat. All soldiers and civilians fled south overnight."

Why?

"Because the area outside the pass is no longer suitable for ordinary people to live in."

Lin Yuan walked to the edge of the city wall, gazing at the gray sky to the north. There were no clouds there, yet an indescribable sense of oppression permeated the air, as if something in the depths of the sky was watching you.

"A desolate land." Lin Yuan pointed to the barren plains beyond the pass. "Three thousand years ago, that place was a sacred ground for cultivation. Overnight, everything perished."

"Now, something unusual has happened there again."

Night falls.

Shen Qingluan summoned all her disciples and set up a defensive line in the main hall inside the pass.

"Get a good rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, we'll venture out to investigate," she said. "Remember, if you encounter anything unusual, retreat immediately. Don't linger in battle."

After everyone left, Lin Chen did not leave.

"Elder," he said, walking up to Shen Qingluan, "I'd like to go out and take a look tonight."

Shen Qingluan frowned slightly: "You?"

"My time perception can detect things that ordinary people can't," Lin Chen said. "If there really is an eclipse-maker there, I should be able to detect it in advance."

Shen Qingluan looked at him, a complex expression flashing in her eyes.

"You know this is dangerous."

"I know," Lin Chen nodded, "but I have to go."

After a moment of silence, Shen Qingluan sighed.

"Go," she said, "but take Qin Mo and Lin Yuan with you. The three of you can look after each other."

"And this too."

Shen Qingluan took out a jade talisman from her sleeve and handed it to him.

"This is my protective talisman. If you encounter mortal danger, crush it, and I will arrive instantly."

Lin Chen accepted the jade talisman and solemnly said, "Thank you, Elder."

At midnight, the three of them sneaked out of Yanhuang Pass.

It truly lived up to its name as a desolate land.

Beneath my feet lay cracked earth, devoid of any vegetation or life. No stars shone in the night sky; a hazy mist obscured all light.

"It's so oppressive," Qin Mo said softly. "It feels like something is watching us."

Lin Chen didn't speak; the mark between his eyebrows was getting slightly warm.

Time perception fully activated.

At first, he could only sense subtle fluctuations within a hundred-zhang radius. But as he ventured deeper, his sensing range gradually expanded: a hundred zhang, two hundred zhang, five hundred zhang…

Then, he "saw" it.

"Stop!" Lin Chen suddenly called out.

Qin Mo and Lin Yuan stopped at the same time, looking around warily.

"Northeast, three miles away." Lin Chen's voice was tense. "There's something there."

Lin Yuan's gaze sharpened: "A Time Eclipse?"

"It should be," Lin Chen said. "Three of them. They're moving in our direction."

"Three?" Qin Mo frowned. "Which way do we get?"

"We're not leaving," Lin Chen said. "We'll wait for them to come."

"Wait?" Lin Yuan looked at him. "You have a plan?"

"I guess so," Lin Chen said. "I want to test whether they can sense me."

"What do you mean?"

Lin Chen did not explain, but instead took out the Time Compass from his pocket and gently held it in his palm.

"I have a feeling..." he murmured, "that they might be chasing me."

Three figures emerged from the mist.

Rather than "figures," they were more like three blurry wisps of gray mist. They had no fixed shape, constantly writhing and twisting, like time itself decaying.

But strangely, they have human-like features, walk upright, have all four limbs intact, and even have heads.

"These are the Time Eclipses," Lin Yuan said in a low voice. "They are not life forms, but rather the manifestation of time's erosion."

Lin Chen stared intently at the three wisps of gray mist.

In his perception of time, it wasn't gray fog, but three distorted timelines. They didn't belong to this point in time, yet they forced their way in, devouring the surrounding flow of time like parasites.

"They're here," Lin Chen said in a low voice.

The three streaks of gray mist accelerated simultaneously, rushing towards the three of them.

The speed was far beyond imagination.

Qin Mo flashed, using his movement technique to retreat rapidly with Lin Yuan. At the same moment, Lin Chen moved.

He didn't back down, but went to meet him.

The mark between his brows suddenly lit up, releasing a pale golden light.

The moment the light collided with the gray mist, something strange happened.

The three wisps of gray mist recoiled violently as if burned. They emitted a piercing screech, as if in pain or anger.

"It works!" Lin Chen was overjoyed.

His bloodline power has a restraining effect on those who are subject to the Time Eclipse!

But the next moment, his expression changed slightly.

After a brief retreat, the three wisps of gray mist regrouped and lunged at him again. This time, they were faster and more ferocious.

"not good!"

Lin Chen had no time to dodge; the gray fog was already upon him.

At this critical moment, a figure suddenly appeared from the side and struck the gray mist with a palm.

Lin Yuan!

His palms burned with the same pale golden light, echoing the light from the mark between Lin Chen's eyebrows.

The gray fog was repelled once again, this time even further, and its screech was even more mournful.

"Retreat!" Lin Yuan hissed. "They're going berserk!"

Without further hesitation, the three turned and ran.

Behind them, three wisps of gray mist hissed angrily, relentlessly pursuing them.

After a frantic run, the three finally returned to Yanhuang Pass before dawn.

When the soldiers guarding the city saw their disheveled appearance, they quickly opened the city gate.

"Close the door!" Lin Yuan shouted.

The heavy city gates slammed shut, keeping the three persistent plumes of gray mist outside.

Through the city gate, Lin Chen could see three figures lingering outside the city, letting out unwilling howls. But they seemed unable to cross the city gate and could only wander outside.

"They can't enter the city?" Qin Mo asked, panting.

"It should be," Lin Yuan said. "The walls of Yanhuang Pass are protected by array formations that can withstand ordinary time erosion. But..."

He paused, his gaze becoming serious.

"But this is only temporary. With their strength, it's only a matter of time before they break through the city gates."

Lin Chen looked at the three wisps of gray mist outside the city, but his mind was elsewhere.

He discovered several important things during that battle.

First, his bloodline power can indeed restrain the Time Eclipse.

Second, the eclipses reacted to him in a special way—they seemed very interested in him.

Third, Lin Yuan... also possesses the same bloodline power.

"Who exactly are you?" Lin Chen looked at Lin Yuan. "You said you come from another timeline. But shouldn't the bloodline of the Time Guardians be passed down from generation to generation? How come you have it too?"

Lin Yuan looked at him and remained silent for a long time.

"It's a long story," he finally began, "but I can tell you one thing first—we are the same person."

"What?"

Lin Yuan pointed to his chest, then to Lin Chen.

"It's not a metaphor. It's the literal meaning."

"In a certain future, you became the complete form of the Time Guardian. Then, you traveled back in time and became me."

"So, strictly speaking, I am you from the future."

"And you are me from the past."

Lin Chen stood there, stunned, unsure of how to react.