From Fanwu to Xinghai

Chapter 55 A Difficult Choice: Dividing the Forces

Two communication talismans lit up simultaneously, one on the left and one on the right, like two mountains pressing down on Lin Chen's heart.

On the left was Uncle Chen's voice, hoarse with anxiety: "Lin Chen, come back quickly! The main force of the Dark Blade Pavilion has reached outside Yanhuang Pass, with over a hundred psionic mechs. We can't hold them off any longer!"

On the right was the voice of her mother, Su Wan, gentle yet trembling: "Child, I'm in the forbidden area of ​​the Qingyun Sect. The proxy has already discovered my location. Come and save me quickly, or it will be too late."

Lin Chen's hand holding the Time Crystal trembled slightly.

At Yanhuang Pass, Uncle Chen was waiting for him, along with three hundred guards. They were his benefactors and his elders.

On the other side of the forbidden area of ​​the Qingyun Sect is his mother. They haven't seen each other for sixteen years, and they have just reunited when they face a life-or-death separation.

"No matter which side you choose, someone on the other side will die." Lin Yuan leaned against the cave wall, his face as pale as paper. Having just taken a direct hit from Mo Chen's time blade, his injuries were far more severe than they appeared. "This is a multiple-choice question, and there's no standard answer."

Lin Chen closed his eyes.

The marks of time pulsated slightly between his brows, as if sensing the struggle within him.

He quickly mentally analyzed the possible outcomes of the two choices!

If they go to Yanhuang Pass: with his current strength, along with Lin Yuan and nineteen Foundation Establishment disciples, they can barely hold off the Dark Blade Pavilion's attack.

But if the proxy succeeds in taking control of her mother, the consequences will be unimaginable. Su Wan is the embodiment of a dimensional ruler; if she is controlled by the proxy, the entire human realm will become a battlefield for dimensional war.

If we go to Qingyun Sect: Mother might be able to be rescued, but the three hundred guards of Yanhuang Pass will be wiped out, Uncle Chen will die, and Anren Pavilion will take this opportunity to advance unimpeded, leaving the northern border wide open.

Both sides are at a dead end.

No, that's not right.

Lin Chen suddenly opened his eyes, and a dazzling golden light burst forth from the mark between his eyebrows.

"Who says you can only choose one side?"

Lin Yuan was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"Splitting the forces." Lin Chen's tone was crisp and decisive. "You take the troops to Yanhuang Pass, and I'll go to Qingyun Sect alone."

"You're alone?" Lin Yuan frowned. "The Qingyun Sect's forbidden area is guarded by agents; with your current cultivation level..."

"I have a Time Crystal," Lin Chen said, holding up the pale golden crystal in his hand. "Moreover, there's an exit to the dimensional bridge within the forbidden area. I can sneak in directly from the dimensional interlayer without having to force my way through the gate."

Lin Yuan fell silent.

He knew Lin Chen was right. The Time Crystal had activated the dimensional bridge, meaning Lin Chen could travel between different dimensions—something even the Agents couldn't do.

Even so, the risk of venturing into forbidden territory alone is still too great.

"I'll go too." Lin Yuan stood up, his injuries causing him to sway slightly, but he quickly regained his balance. "It's too dangerous for you to go alone, I..."

"You can't go," Lin Chen interrupted him. "The Flame Wasteland Pass needs you. Only you can handle the Dark Blade Pavilion's hundreds of psionic mechs. Although your Time River Imprint is incomplete, it's more than enough to deal with those mechs."

"But!"

"No buts." Lin Chen's tone left no room for argument. "Lin Yuan, you were my father's comrade-in-arms, the person I trust most. I'm entrusting the three hundred garrison soldiers of Yanhuang Pass, and Uncle Chen, to you."

Lin Yuan looked at Lin Chen, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

There was emotion, worry, and a vague sense of guilt.

"Okay." He finally nodded. "Then be careful."

"rest assured."

Lin Chen smiled and turned to walk towards the dimensional bridge.

The light from the crystal enveloped his body, and his figure gradually became transparent.

"Once I leave the Qingyun Sect, I'll immediately head to Yanhuang Pass to meet you," his voice came from within the light. "Until then, I'll leave Yanhuang Pass to you."

"Um."

Lin Yuan's voice was a little hoarse.

He watched as Lin Chen's figure completely disappeared at the other end of the dimensional bridge before turning around and shouting to the nineteen disciples outside the cave, "Everyone, listen up! Set off immediately for Yanhuang Pass!"

"yes!"

The nineteen disciples responded in unison.

Lin Yuan mounted his horse and took one last look in the direction of the Qingyun Sect.

"Lin Chen, you must get out alive."

Dimensional mezzanine.

This is a special space between reality and nothingness, which can only be entered by the guardians of time and the inheritors of the dimensional rulers.

Lin Chen's body floated in the hazy void, surrounded by fleeting light and shadow, like fragments of the river of time.

He could see scenes from the real world: the mountain gate of the Qingyun Sect, the bustling disciples, and the faint black aura in the direction of the forbidden area—that was the aura of the proxy.

"Mother, wait for me."

He activated the Time Crystal, and his body moved rapidly through the dimensional interlayer.

This method of movement was more than a hundred times faster than flying on a sword. In just a few breaths, he arrived above the forbidden area of ​​the Qingyun Sect.

Looking down from the interdimensional layer, the forbidden area is a courtyard sealed off by multiple arrays. In the center of the courtyard stands a stone tower, whose doors and windows are locked with iron chains covered with sealing talismans.

The talismans emitted a dark red light, clearly a method left behind by the proxy.

Lin Chen took a deep breath and descended from the dimensional interlayer to the top of the stone tower.

The moment his foot touched the tile, he felt a powerful restrictive force rushing towards him—

"who!"

A sharp shout came from below the stone tower.

Lin Chen looked down and saw that the door of the stone tower had opened, and more than a dozen men in black robes rushed out, holding various magical weapons and exuding a menacing aura.

"The henchmen of the proxy." Lin Chen's eyes turned cold.

He raised his hand, and the Time Crystal emitted a dazzling golden light.

Time slows down.

Everything around them slowed down instantly. The movements of the black-robed men became as sluggish as snails, their expressions still frozen in their previous rage, their pupils not even having time to contract.

Lin Chen floated down from the roof tiles, his long sword unsheathed, its light like a rainbow.

One sword.

Two swords.

Three swords.

Three sword lights flashed, and before more than a dozen black-robed men could react to what was happening, they had already fallen into pools of blood.

"Too weak." Lin Chen sheathed his sword, his tone flat. "The executor sent this kind of trash to guard Mother?"

He walked to the entrance of the stone tower and looked at the iron chains and talismans.

The Time Crystal lit up again, its power transforming into a pale golden blade of light that easily severed the iron chains and removed the talisman.

The stone gate slowly opened.

Inside was a dimly lit space, with only the faint glow of the luminous pearls on the wall.

In the center of the stone chamber, a woman sat on a futon, her long hair cascading over her shoulders. Her face was pale and beautiful, and between her brows was a mark identical to that of the Time Crystal.

She is Su Wan.

Lin Chen's mother.

The embodiment of the dimensional ruler.

"child."

Su Wan raised her head, looked at Lin Chen at the door, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"You've finally arrived."