Chapter 1248: The Mystery of the Hundred Origins Continent

"Boom!"

At the same time, the fighters in the distance felt the southern horizon suddenly flash a blinding light, then an incomparably violent and scorching energy instantly enveloped the sky within several thousand zhang of that light point, and as the fire sea spread, both Han Yu and his companions and that mysterious woman heard a tremendous roar transmitted at extreme speed.

Meanwhile, as the startled ones turned their heads to look, they saw a streak of light so fast it was hard to discern rapidly crossing space, sweeping wildly northward.

In the blink of an eye, that person vanished beyond the horizon tens of thousands of li away!

Of course, while fleeing, Lin Feng did not forget his original intention: whenever he encountered a Spirit Communication Sect cultivator or a magic beast corpse along the way, he skillfully used Dou Qi to draw them over, then if they had a storage ring he took the ring, otherwise he took the kind of cloth bag he had seen on Qiu Yue.

In short, he aims to waste nothing; given the chance, he will reap every possible benefit cleanly.

"That's... an Eight-Star Dou Saint secret technique? Damn, that brat really had no good intentions, he ran!"

After regaining his senses, Qiu Yue quickly realized that this must be that bastard Xiao Yan who ran away.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly looked around at the other Dou Saints, casually pointed at a few, and shouted, "You few, go stop that brat quickly; we'll withdraw from battle to help you as soon as we can. Before we arrive, unless necessary, don't get locked in a death match with him. What secret technique did that brat use to temporarily boost his strength to the Eight-Star level?"

"Yes!"

Those few, under the effect of the Iron Talisman, whose strength had temporarily risen to between six-star and seven-star Dou Saint, immediately replied in unison.

As soon as their words fell, they immediately summoned their spirit pets, which turned into streams of light and chased after Xiao Yan's direction at full speed.

At the same time, as Lin Feng sprinted north at full speed, upon sensing the opponent's movement he immediately turned his head to look behind.

After spotting the pursuers, he lightly clenched his palm, smirked at the corner of his mouth, and said, "Burst".

"Huh?"

At the instant the former's words sounded, Han Yu and Qiu Yue, far apart, almost simultaneously felt a violent and scorching force rising from within some of their companions.

Seeing this, they hurriedly turned and shouted, "Quick, everyone spread out as much as possible, stay far from each other!"

Although Han Yu and Qiu Yue reacted, the remaining Dou Saints were a step slower; before they could respond effectively, one saw some people's spouses, or couples, suddenly swell violently and then explode on the spot.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The next moment, continuous clouds of violent explosions kept blooming within Han Yu's group, incessantly impacting everything around.

Although the self-detonation of a Dou Saint expert is extremely spectacular, beneath this beauty lies a tremendous destructive power that makes one's heart palpitate.

Although most of these self-detonating Dou Saints, even with the Iron Talisman's enhancement, possessed only the Dou Qi of a two- to five-star Dou Saint, the power of a Dou Saint's self-detonation is far from simple, especially on such a massive scale.

Nearly all the other Dou Saint experts and spirit pets around these people were utterly annihilated in the blast, their bodies and spirits destroyed.

Only those with strength at the high-level Dou Saint tier could, upon seeing their companions' bodies swell, react in time and take effective action, thus surviving.

Nevertheless, even these survivors were either injured by their teammates' self-detonations or exhausted greatly while defending against the blasts, further reducing their combat power.

"Damn bastard, once I catch you I will surely cut you into a thousand pieces!"

After the smoke from the Dou Saints' self-detonations cleared, Qiu Yue gazed at the dozens of his Dou Saint comrades vanished behind him, his forehead veins bulging as he howled angrily to the sky.

Meanwhile, the usually steady Han Yu, seeing so many companions instantly left without intact corpses, also turned ashen with rage, infuriated by Lin Feng.

However, he did not lose his reason like Qiu Yue; after taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, he gritted his teeth with a trembling voice and said, "The ancestors will surely capture that brat; we must hold this tree, don't let it cause trouble."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, the other Spirit Communication Sect members, though they longed to rip off Lin Feng's skin and suck his blood, still responded with grim faces to Han Yu's words.

Immediately afterward, everyone again unleashed their Dou Techniques in unison, fiercely striking the black giant tree, as if venting all their anger at Lin Feng onto the tree.

"Hehe, trying to escape?"

Just as everyone was fuming over Lin Feng's actions, the mysterious woman who was battling the ancient heavenly demon python suddenly uttered a phrase in the Dou Qi Continent language that no one could understand.

She casually waved her hand, and a green phantom shot forth.

"Ahwoo!"

That phantom, after flying a short distance, instantly transformed into a wolf-shaped figure over a person tall, and sprinted wildly toward the direction Lin Feng had fled.

What is astonishing is that, while running, this green wolf-shaped phantom seemed to have some magical force under its feet: although each leap appeared to cover only several tens of zhang, upon landing it would mysteriously appear tens of thousands of li away.

Moreover, this leap is extremely fast; in less than half a minute, the wolf-shaped beast phantom spotted Lin Feng's silhouette mid-leap.

"What the hell, what is this thing, how can it run faster than me?!"

Lin Feng, through his powerful soul perception, sensed the suddenly appearing powerful aura behind him, instantly turned his head, and couldn't help but curse.

In his perception, the phantom beast's strength was no different from his own after using the Myriad Fire True Form—both were at the early stage of the Eight-Star Dou Saint level.

But now he possesses the triple enhancement of the Grand Void Ancient Dragon's spatial compression, the Celestial Phoenix's speed, and the Wind Fury Dragon Flame—so even a fellow Eight-Star Dou Saint phantom beast, let alone a peak Eight-Star Dou Saint Celestial Phoenix, could not possibly approach him this quickly!

Nevertheless, aside from his shock, Lin Feng quickly turned his head to survey the surroundings, and after distinguishing the nearby mountains and rivers, he rapidly made an estimate in his mind.

Since the place where the Life-Eating Grass and Purple Soul are located is not far from Southern Peace Pass, he only needs to fly for about another minute to enter it.

By then, if that thing really works, there will be no need to worry about those behind catching up.

Thinking of this, Lin Feng's heart immediately relaxed a little.

Just one minute, plus the fact that Han Yu, Qiu Yue, and the mysterious woman—three Nine-Star Dou Saints—are currently tied down on the battlefield unable to move.

He didn't believe that the phantom beast behind him, whose strength matched his current level, could still keep him here.

"Ahwoo!"

However, before his thought finished, a sharp wolf howl suddenly sounded behind him.

Immediately, Lin Feng felt a howling gust surge from behind him.

At the same time, a sense of danger kept growing in his heart.

"Not good!"

Sensing the situation behind him, Lin Feng had no time to think; his heart pounded with alarm as he swiftly waved his palm and flung out two fire lotuses.

After all, he is now fused with Xiao Ling and can fully unleash the power of the strange fire; a few fire lotuses are almost effortless to conjure.

"Boom! Boom!"

The fire lotuses flung out, and the next moment two somewhat muffled explosion sounds came from behind him; the resulting scorching wave immediately expanded violently, causing Lin Feng's clothes and hair to flutter continuously in the air.

However, Lin Feng dared not be careless; after throwing the fire lotuses, he immediately turned his head to look behind and assess the situation.

"Whoosh!"

The former just turned his head, and immediately, amid the ever‑spreading dense flames, he saw a black silhouette dart out at incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye it was already in the sky behind him.

At the same time, Lin Feng, the instant the black silhouette drew near, suddenly heard a rapid burst of wind in his ears, as if something was approaching his back at a terrifying speed.

Sensing the situation, Lin Feng could not think further; driven by his extensive combat experience, he instantly turned, crossed his hands in front of him, and in the flash of an instant conjured several flame barriers ahead with his alien fire.

However, just as Lin Feng's alien fire barrier formed, a claw struck the pitch‑black flame barrier hard.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The next moment, under the startled gaze of the former, the barriers shattered one after another, finally slamming into Lin Feng's crossed arms.

Pfft.

The claw, upon touching Lin Feng's arms, made him feel as if a massive object had struck him; his face instantly flushed unnaturally, a mouthful of fresh blood spurted out, and with a sudden surge he was hurled backward at high speed.

Aah!

And the wolf shadow, after landing its blow, immediately pressed the attack, lunging at Lin Feng again.

You bastard, you really gave me a chance.

Seeing the wolf shadow pursue relentlessly, a fierce resolve flashed in Lin Feng's eyes; the next instant, his palm extended, and five flames—milky white, jet black, jet black, dark gold, and bright crimson—slowly spiraled above his hand.

Transform!

Summoning the flames, under Lin Feng's fire‑control ability now indistinguishable from Xiao Ling's, the five alien fires—Pure Lotus Demonic Fire, Void Son Fire, Eight Wilderness Destruction Flame, Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Fire, and Red Lotus Karma Fire—quickly began to writhe.

In the blink of an eye, the five flames transformed into fire spirits the size of wolves, leopards, lions, tigers, and jiaos, each towering thousands of zhàng.

The five fire spirits leapt out the instant they formed, arranging themselves in a pentagonal pattern that enclosed the wolf shadow.

Meanwhile, scorching flames continuously surged from their bodies, the intense heat scorching the surrounding space to ruin.

"The top‑ten flames among the five alien fires—I don't believe you can withstand them easily!"

As soon as the words fell, Lin Feng formed a hand seal and roared, "Five Wheels Departing Fire Technique, form the formation!"

With Lin Feng's shout, the five fire spirits encircling the wolf shadow instantly flashed a faint light in their eyes.

"Roar!"

The next moment, a deep roar erupted from the mouths of the five fire spirits, and five pillars of completely different hues blasted outward; as the wolf shadow watched with a solemn gaze, the pillars crossed into the bodies of the other fire spirits, finally forming a perfect pentagonal light shape!

As the light pillars intersected, they traced, like brush strokes, a series of mysterious grand formation patterns across the sky.

Rumble!

Just as the fire pillars completed their interweaving, the five fire spirits suddenly erupted in a burst of dazzling radiance, and an extremely intricate light array was fully formed!

"Hmm, interesting. With this fire‑control technique, if you were born on the Hundred‑Source Continent, given your talent, and you manage to survive the Upper Three Tribulations, you might actually comprehend the fire source and step into the Source Realm."

Gazing at the myriad interwoven light pillars around him, the wolf shadow, standing at the center of the five‑star formation, sneered coldly and, with a detached stare, addressed Lin Feng.

Hearing that, Lin Feng was briefly startled, then sneered, "Heh, you really hold me in high regard. The Upper Three Tribulations—your master must be at that level. But from the looks of it, you follow a cowardly, incompetent master. By my guess, he has only just passed the Body Tribulation, which makes me instantly disdain him; this lifetime he'll probably never make any real progress!" As he spoke, a hint of contempt flashed in Lin Feng's eyes, his tone unmistakably mocking.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he didn't wait for the other to speak further; he instantly vaulted backward, and at the same time altered his hand seal, coldly saying, "Detonate."

"Boom!"

The next instant, the Five Wheels Departing Fire Formation he had just gathered detonated into a cloud of five‑colored fire nearly ten thousand zhàng wide.

As for Lin Feng, he seized the opportunity and turned to run.

Because he knew, from the opponent's recent strength, that he clearly couldn't match them; using the self‑detonation of the fire formation to stall them was sufficient, with no need to tangle with the wolf shadow here.

Of course, regarding the cultivation path of the Hundred‑Source Continent mentioned earlier by the wolf shadow, ancient cultivators of the Dou Qi Continent, during their long war with the Tong Ling Sect, gradually uncovered the origins of those people and much information about the Hundred‑Source Continent through captured prisoners and seized records.

Lin Feng also found some of this information in the Naji (spiritual ring) left on the skeleton at Pingnan Pass, naturally learning a few things about the Hundred‑Source Continent.

For example, the cultivation system of the Hundred‑Source Continent—one of the most crucial pieces of data—was naturally a focus of the primordial cultivators; from the information in that skeleton's Naji, it appears that the battle nearly ten thousand years ago had already parsed about seventy‑plus percent of it.

According to the records, people on the Hundred‑Source Continent cultivate something called "Yuan Qi."

Indeed, the cultivators there train Yuan Qi, not "Source Qi."

Source Qi does exist on the Hundred‑Source Continent, but that substance is not accessible to ordinary cultivators.

As for cultivation realms, people on the Hundred‑Source Continent divide them into nine major stages: Na Yuan, Tong Mai, Ju Dan, Lower Three Tribulations, Ying Tian, He Tian, Upper Three Tribulations, Wu Yuan, and finally the Source Realm.

Strictly speaking, before Na Yuan there is another stage: sensing the Heaven‑and‑Earth Yuan Qi from nothing and acquiring a Yuan Qi of a particular attribute.

You read that right: the Yuan Qi attributes of Hundred‑Source people are not innate like the Dou Qi attributes of the Dou Qi Continent; they are derived through personal insight.

Generally, during childhood, they begin to sense the existence of Heaven‑and‑Earth Yuan Qi under the guidance of parents and elders.

This period, akin to the Dou Zhi Li stage on the Dou Qi Continent, can be used to gauge a child's future cultivation potential; the shorter the time taken to sense Heaven‑and‑Earth Yuan Qi, the stronger the innate talent.

Typically, this process takes several months to over half a year.

Of course, this applies to most normal individuals.

Some exceptionally talented geniuses may sense the Heaven‑and‑Earth Yuan Qi within a few days, allowing them to proceed to the next cultivation step.

But where there is speed, there is slowness; some slower individuals may need about a year to sense it.

Such people, lacking cultivation talent, may be marginalized or even exiled within large families.

However, after sensing Heaven‑and‑Earth Yuan Qi, one does not immediately enter the first formal cultivation rank Na Yuan; further deep insight is required to acquire a Yuan Qi of a specific attribute.

Of course, if you dislike the first attribute, you can spend more time sensing other attributes until you are satisfied and incorporate it, formally beginning your cultivation path.

After that, your Yuan Qi attribute becomes fixed and cannot be changed unless you spend cultivation resources to start over.

Nevertheless, ninety‑nine percent of Hundred‑Source people use the first attribute they sense as their lifelong Yuan Qi attribute.

After all, the attribute you sense first indicates your strongest affinity for it, making cultivation fastest.

Of course, if you truly have no preferred attribute, or simply don't want one, you can forgo selection and directly incorporate the sensed Heaven‑and‑Earth Yuan Qi to begin cultivation.

Such Yuan Qi is called "non‑attribute Yuan Qi" on the Hundred‑Source Continent.

Its advantage is that it ignores the attribute of a Yuan Method, allowing cultivation of any‑attribute Yuan Method without worrying about lacking a suitable one later.

However, the drawback is significant: because this attribute is not specialized, absorption is rather fragmented, requiring cultivators to spend considerable time refining it, thus slowing cultivation speed.

Moreover, this Yuan Qi is not the one you are most attuned to, so its absorption efficiency is far lower than that of a specific‑attribute Yuan Qi.

If you successfully sense Heaven‑and‑Earth Yuan Qi and assimilate it, congratulations— you have officially entered the first cultivation realm of Yuan Qi, Na Yuan!

Na Yuan, as the name suggests, is the absorption of Qi into the body, allowing one to control Qi against opponents.

Of course, like the Dou Qi Continent, each major realm on the Baiyuan Continent is also divided into several sub‑realms.

However, the sub‑realms on Baiyuan Continent are not as numerous as those on Dou Qi Continent; each major realm has only four sub‑realms, namely Early, Middle, and Late stages.

The Na Yuan Realm is the first stage of Primordial Qi cultivation; people on Baiyuan Continent generally can pass the Na Yuan stage and then breakthrough to the Tong Mai Realm.

As for the Tong Mai Realm, it is the second stage of Primordial Qi cultivation; as the name implies, one uses Primordial Qi to open the meridians within the body, making cultivation smoother.

However, in this major realm you must open three major channels before you can attempt to condense a Yuan Dan and enter the third stage, the Ju Dan Realm.

In this process, over 95 % of people on Baiyuan Continent become stuck in this realm and make no further progress.

The Ju Dan Realm is somewhat similar to the Great Dou Shi on Dou Qi Continent; both compress internal energy into a solid state.

However, the Ju Dan Realm is likely far more powerful than the Great Dou Shi stage.

According to combat power records, the later phase of the Ju Dan Realm is already very close to the peak of Dou Ling.

Moreover, in this realm you can forge or purchase your own destined spirit object and embed it for sacrificial cultivation, greatly boosting your combat power.

This kind of sacrificial cultivation is quite similar to the destined treasure described in cultivation novels that Lin Feng has read.

The destined spirit objects on Baiyuan Continent can be considered weapons, or special spirit fire, spirit ice, spirit talisman mother seals, and various other items.

Some cultivators who specialize in controlling objects may have destined spirit objects that are contracts with certain Primordial Beasts, making the beasts their destined spirit pets.

After the Ju Dan Realm comes the "Lower Three Calamities," which strike terror into Baiyuan Continent cultivators.

The Lower Three Calamities, as the name suggests, require you to overcome three successive tribulations before you can breakthrough to the next realm.

The three tribulations are the Body Calamity, Soul Calamity, and Heart Calamity.

The Body Calamity, also called the Physical Calamity, is a normal physical heavenly tribulation that cultivators must endure with their bodies.

Of course, if you possess any treasure, you can use it to resist the tribulation a few times, aiding your successful passage.

However, such shortcut cultivators experience fewer tribulations and gain less bodily refinement from the heavenly tribulation; on a blank sheet they are simply not as robust as peers who pass the tribulation normally.

Nevertheless, cultivators who have undergone the Body Calamity see a massive increase in physical strength; even a stationary Ju Dan cultivator may not be able to move them.

After the Body Calamity comes the Soul Calamity.

This heavenly tribulation does not harm the flesh but attacks the spirit directly; your spirit must be strong enough to pass safely.

Likewise, if you have relevant treasure, you can use it to aid your passage, but the cost is similar to that of the Body Calamity.

After surviving the Soul Calamity, the strengthened spirit allows cultivators to mobilize a small range of Heaven‑and‑Earth primordial energy in battle, greatly extending endurance so they won't run out of Qi after a short fight.

At the same time, cultivators in this realm can have their spirit operate at short range outside the body, and even after physical death the spirit can continue to exist.

The only restriction is that the spirit cannot stray too far from the body, or Heaven and Earth will force it into reincarnation.

Even if the spirit remains alive, severe bodily decay will still cause Heaven and Earth to force reincarnation.

This process takes roughly several hundred years.

However, if you can locate a cultivator with a weaker spirit before your own spirit perishes or is reincarnated, you can forcibly enter their mind, expel their spirit, and claim their body as your own—a practice commonly called soul usurpation.

But if you do this, your spirit will thereafter be unable to leave the body, not even a fraction!

Of course, this separation refers to the spirit's main body; the spirit's consciousness you release in combat to sense surroundings is fine as long as the main body stays in the mind.

And after seizing a body, your lifespan remains that of your spirit's original first body; it does not arbitrarily increase.

So if, when your end approaches, you hope to extend your life through soul usurpation, that is a delusional fantasy.

After the Soul Calamity comes the even more terrifying Heart Calamity; this heavenly tribulation harms neither flesh nor spirit but creates illusionary realms featuring the things a cultivator most despises or most cherishes.

Such illusion consumes a cultivator's mind and stamina; if one cannot awaken in time, they will literally die of exhaustion within the illusion—a truly bizarre fate!

Of course, just as before, you can use a treasure with the relevant function to improve your success rate, but the price is the same: your mind will not be as resolute as a peer's, and in combat or unexpected situations your reactions may fall far short of theirs.

If you can safely pass the Heart Calamity as well, then after the baptism of the three tribulations, your body, spirit, mind, and lifespan will all receive a tremendous boost at this moment, propelling your overall strength to an unimaginable leap!

After overcoming the Lower Three Calamities, you will step into the fifth stage of Primordial Qi cultivation, the Ying Tian Realm.

This realm differs completely from the previous Qi realms in combat style; practitioners not only wield their internal Qi but also mobilize the power of Heaven and Earth to annihilate foes.

Of course, do not misunderstand: this Heaven‑and‑Earth power is not merely the manipulation of primordial Earth‑Qi used after the Soul Calamity in the Lower Three Calamities; here it truly means harnessing the forces of Heaven and Earth for battle.

However, the range and damage depend on your blank‑sheet strength.

In such cases, no other treasure can help you, unless it is a primordial embryo of the native plane.

If one had to compare, this realm is somewhat akin to the high‑rank Dou Zun to Half Saint Realm on Dou Qi Continent.

After this comes the He Tian Realm mentioned earlier.

The He Tian Realm takes mastery of Heaven‑and‑Earth power to the next level; one can merge body with Heaven and Earth, overwhelming all beings and fighting by borrowing their momentum.

In this realm, even countless cultivators below the Ying Tian Realm are useless, for a He Tian great being needs only a glance to shatter all life within ten thousand li with the might of Heaven and Earth.

Although Ying Tian cultivators can withstand the initial onslaught of a He Tian practitioner, they cannot inflict any damage in direct combat.

The phrase "body merges with Heaven and Earth" in He Tian is no empty talk; at this level, a cultivator can fuse body with a swath of heaven and earth, and unless you can destroy that heaven and earth, you cannot harm them—a god‑like existence.

Moreover, once a He Tian cultivator merges with heaven and earth, every action of all beings within that merged heaven and earth is inevitably observed by them.

Even more terrifying, within this range a single thought lets them appear at any corner or location; cultivators below He Tian cannot even locate them.

Of course, if two He Tian practitioners face each other, the body‑merging technique may be only marginally effective.

Beyond He Tian lies the "Upper Three Calamities," which frighten even the top cultivators of Baiyuan Continent.

These three are essentially an amplified version of the Lower Three Calamities, with terrifying power; cultivators who can pass them safely are, according to records, equally rare on Baiyuan Continent.

However, the records show that the ancient Tong Ling Sect Sect‑Head who led troops to invade Dou Qi Continent was a cultivator of Upper Three Calamities level.

Unfortunately, because he had traversed an immense distance across the cosmos, by the time he arrived on Dou Qi Continent he was barely clinging to life; moreover, lacking Primordial Qi replenishment, he could not exert his full combat power and withdrew immediately.

Later, an ancient great being of Dou Qi Continent seized the opportunity, directly swallowed the Imperial Core, and then, leveraging that power, directly sacrificed his own life, sealing it beyond the continent's boundary, preventing the Tong Ling Sect Sect‑Head from entering Dou Qi Continent. (End of chapter)