From Fanwu to Xinghai

Chapter 15 Qingyun Sect Envoy

Lu Qinghe stood in the courtyard, uninvited, yet he possessed an aura that was impossible to ignore.

Lin Chen did not get up, but remained sitting cross-legged, his spiritual energy quietly circulating to its optimal state.

He could see clearly that the person in front of him was far more powerful than him, at least at the Dan Yuan realm, or even higher.

Trying to outsmart someone like that is pointless.

"Steward Lu, what brings you here from afar?" Lin Chen asked calmly.

Lu Qinghe glanced at him, his gaze lingering briefly on the River of Time mark between his brows.

"As expected," he said in a low voice.

He then turned to Zhou Quan: "Manager Zhou, may I have a word with you in private?"

Zhou Quan hesitated for a moment, then looked at Lin Chen. Lin Chen nodded slightly.

The two walked aside and talked in hushed tones. Zhou Quan's expression changed several times before he finally sighed and turned to leave.

"Be careful," he whispered to himself before leaving.

Only Lin Chen and Lu Qinghe remained in the courtyard.

Lu Qinghe sat down opposite Lin Chen, took out a jade slip from his sleeve, and placed it on the stone table.

"Three days ago, the spiritual veins outside Cloud City awakened."

He spoke in a flat tone, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

"The entire Qingyun Mountain Range sensed that fluctuation of spiritual energy. The sect elders worked through the night to deduce it and confirmed that it was the 'Qingyun Vein'—the founding vein of our Qingyun Sect."

Lin Chen's heart stirred.

The very source of the spiritual vein that founded the Qingyun Sect was actually the foundation of the sect.

"What shocked the sect even more was," Lu Qinghe continued, "that the way the spiritual veins awakened was extremely special. It did not awaken naturally, but was forcibly awakened by a young man using the Qi-guiding technique."

"This has never happened in nearly a thousand years."

He looked directly at Lin Chen: "You are that boy."

It's not a question, it's a statement of certainty.

Lin Chen did not deny it.

Denial is pointless; the awakening of the spiritual veins is so significant that cultivation sects could not possibly be unaware of it.

"So you're here to arrest me?" Lin Chen asked.

Lu Qinghe shook his head: "If the sect wanted to arrest you, do you think you'd still be sitting here?"

Lin Chen remained silent.

He's right. With the strength of the Qingyun Sect, capturing him would be a piece of cake.

"Then what brings you here?"

Lu Qinghe did not answer directly, but pushed the jade slip in front of Lin Chen: "This is an invitation."

Lin Chen picked up the jade slip and infused it with spiritual power.

A stream of information flooded into my mind—

The Qingyun Sect's Centennial Ascension Trial is about to begin. Anyone with spiritual roots, regardless of background, is welcome to participate. Those who pass the trial will be admitted to the Qingyun Sect as inner disciples and will receive the inheritance of an ancient civilization.

Trial Location: Tian Shu Secret Realm, Qingyun Mountain Range.

Trial period: Thirty days from now.

After reading it, Lin Chen placed the jade slip back on the table: "The Qingyun Sect's once-in-a-century dimensional ascension trial..."

"That's right." Lu Qinghe nodded. "Every hundred years, the Qingyun Sect holds an Ascension Trial. The content of the trial comes from ancient civilizations, and its purpose is to select talents with the potential to become 'Ascendants'."

"And this trial is of great importance to you."

Why?

"Because you have a fragment of the River of Time on you," Lu Qinghe said. "There is a resonance between the fragment of the River of Time and the Tian Shu Secret Realm. The sect elders have deduced that this trial is very likely to produce a 'time rift'—an extremely rare spacetime anomaly."

"And you are the only one who can sense and stabilize the time rift."

Lin Chen frowned: "Are you going to use me?"

Lu Qinghe paused for a moment, then said frankly, "You could say that. The sect does indeed need you to stabilize the time rift."

"But the sect will also give you corresponding rewards."

"What kind of reward?"

"The qualifications for joining the sect, the ancient inheritance, and..." Lu Qinghe's eyes burned, "...the truth about the fragments of the River of Time."

Lin Chen's pupils contracted slightly.

the truth.

Since activating the Time River Imprint, he has been entangled in countless mysteries—what are the fragments? Who is the observer? What is the price of time?

What Uncle Chen told him was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Qingyun Sect, however, clearly knew more.

"The sect leader has a message for me to pass on to you." Lu Qinghe stood up and took out a letter from his bosom.

The envelope was unsigned, except for a single spiritual rune, unlike the letters from the royal guards. This rune was ancient and profound, exuding an aura of vicissitudes spanning thousands of years.

"The sect leader said—" Lu Qinghe's voice was deep, "The river of time has never stopped flowing. That failure ten thousand years ago was not the end, but the beginning of another attempt."

"The mission of observers is not to save civilization, but to guide it to the right path."

"Only you can walk this path, but the Qingyun Sect is willing to light a lamp for you."

Lin Chen took the letter but didn't open it immediately. He looked at Lu Qinghe and said, "I have another question."

"ask."

"Uncle Chen...do you know him?"

Lu Qinghe's expression changed slightly: "I know him. Uncle Chen, Chen Xuanfeng. Thirty years ago, he was the most talented disciple of the Qingyun Sect."

"The reason he left the sect was because..."

He paused.

"Because he discovered something he shouldn't have discovered."

"What is it?"

Lu Qinghe shook his head: "Only the sect leader is qualified to tell you about this matter."

"If you are willing to participate in the dimensional ascension trial, all the answers will be revealed there."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the door.

Reaching the door, he stopped without turning around: "There's one more thing."

"Chen Xuanfeng left Liuhe Town three days ago for Yunzhong City. He was going to see someone—someone who could help you."

"But he may be in trouble."

"The Dark Blade Pavilion has sealed off all access to and from Cloud City. Chen Xuanfeng is now... perhaps trapped inside the city."

Lin Chen suddenly stood up.

Master is trapped?!

Why didn't you say so sooner?!

Lu Qinghe turned to look at him, her gaze calm: "Because you are recuperating from your injuries."

"A Qi Refining Stage cultivator charging into Cloud City to fight the Dark Blade Pavilion assassins—are you going to save people, or are you going to your death?"

Lin Chen gritted his teeth, but had no way to refute.

He knew that what Lu Qinghe said was true. With his current strength, going to Cloud City would not only fail to rescue his master, but would also endanger him.

"The dimensional ascension trial is in thirty days," Lu Qinghe said. "You have thirty days."

"If you can break through to the mid-stage of the Spiritual Cultivation Realm within thirty days, and with your time manipulation abilities... there might be a glimmer of hope."

"The Qingyun Sect will not directly intervene to save Chen Xuanfeng, but if you pass the trial and become an inner disciple, the sect will have a legitimate reason to intervene."

"This is the best advice I can give you."

He pushed open the door and walked away.

The moment the courtyard gate closed, Lin Chen remained standing in the same spot, his fists clenched tightly.

The master is trapped.

Chen Bo, Chen Xuanfeng.

The reason why the most talented disciple of Qingyun Sect left the sect thirty years ago remains a mystery.

What exactly did he discover?

And what role does Lin Chen play in all of this?

After Lu Qinghe left, Lin Chen sat alone in the courtyard for a long time. Night fell, and starlight spilled into the courtyard.

He opened the letter from the Qingyun Sect Master.

The letter was very short, just a few words—

Lin Chen, you may think of yourself as just an ordinary teenager who has been pushed into a position that doesn't belong to you by fate.

But time never lies; its choice of you is no accident.

Ten thousand years ago, the previous observer awakened at the same age, and he too experienced fear, confusion, and helplessness.

In the end, he completed his mission, but at the cost of his own life.

I won't ask you to follow in his footsteps, but I want you to know that you are not alone.

The Qingyun Sect has been waiting for you for a long time.

come on.

At the end of the letter, the signature consisted of only one character—Xuan.

Lin Chen's fingertips trembled slightly.

Xuan, the sect leader of Qingyun Sect, is a person whose name consists of a single character.

He closed the letter and shut his eyes to concentrate.

A thousand thoughts swirled in his mind: Uncle Chen was trapped and in dire need of rescue; the dimensional ascension trial was an opportunity to become stronger, and also a path to uncover the truth; the Dark Blade Pavilion was watching closely and could find this place at any time; the Crown Prince's lineage was restless and the capital was in turmoil; with fifty years to go, the heavy burden of civilization's dimensional ascension weighed on his shoulders.

He was merely a young man in the Qi Refining stage of the Spirit Cultivation Realm.

"Oh."

Lin Chen suddenly chuckled softly.

It wasn't a bitter smile, nor was it self-deprecation; rather, it was a sense of relief.

Fear is useless, confusion is useless.

All he could do was move forward step by step.

"Thirty days." He opened his eyes, his gaze sharp. "Within thirty days, I will break through to the mid-stage of the Spiritual Cultivation Realm."

"Then go to the Qingyun Sect."

"Then save Master."

"Then……"

He looked up at the starry sky.

"Then find out the truth about all of this."

He got up and walked to an open space in the courtyard, where he sat cross-legged.

The Qi-guiding technique was activated, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth slowly gathered.

He began to cultivate.

On this ordinary night, in this unremarkable small town, a young boy embarks on a path that defies fate.

A thousand miles away, in the city of clouds.

The city gates were tightly shut, and squads of soldiers in black armor patrolled the city walls, their Dark Blade Pavilion tokens hanging from their waists. The city was teeming with spies, creating a tense atmosphere.

In a dilapidated temple in the east of the city, a middle-aged man sat leaning against the wall, his face pale and dried blood clinging to the corner of his mouth. The runes on the Cheng Ying sword in his bosom glowed faintly.

Chen Xuanfeng and Uncle Chen have been trapped here for three days.

Two men in black robes stood before him.

"Chen Xuanfeng, hand over everything you know, and the Dark Blade Pavilion will give you a quick death," one of them said coldly.

Uncle Chen looked up, a weary smile playing on his lips: "Do you know what I'm least afraid of in this life?"

"What?"

"trouble."

He suddenly stood up, drew his sword Cheng Ying, and the runes shone brightly.

"Especially—your troubles."