Chapter 1249: The True Pingnan Pass

But speaking plainly, if a Upper Three Tribulation cultivator on the Hundred Sources Continent can truly endure these three calamities and ascend to the legendary Enlightened Source Realm.

Then the power this cultivator wields will no longer be the primordial Qi of previous realms, but the Source of the Hundred Sources Continent.

This Source is not an energy like primordial Qi or Dou Qi, but is somewhat akin to the "Dao" found in the cultivation novels Lin Feng read in his past life.

Moreover, these "Sources" come in many varieties, such as Wind Source, Fire Source, Earth Source, Wood Source, Symbol Source, Spirit‑Guiding Source, and so on.

Simply put, any path you can imagine can essentially be called a kind of Source.

When you reach the Enlightened Source Realm, you must find your own Source among them and cultivate it deeply.

As for the character "Source" on the Hundred Sources Continent, it originates from this.

Cultivators of the Enlightened Source Realm no longer need to absorb energy day and night like cultivators of earlier realms to advance.

What they do is contemplate their chosen Source each day.

Even in combat, it comes down to who has a deeper understanding of their Source and can better wield its power.

For example, if a Wood Source practitioner of the Enlightened Source Realm faces a Fire Source practitioner, and the latter's comprehension of their Source is far inferior, then despite the Wood practitioner's elemental disadvantage, they can still easily slay the Fire practitioner.

Moreover, cultivators in the Enlightened Source Realm have no upper limit on lifespan; theoretically any such cultivator can live as long as the heavens, persisting forever unless the continent perishes.

But that is only theoretical.

Because on the Hundred Sources Continent, cultivation is not as easy as on the Dou Qi Continent.

There, the term "Heaven Tribulation" essentially spans the entire lives of cultivators from the Lower Three Tribulations upward.

The Hundred Sources Continent's nine major realms—Na Yuan, Tong Mai, Ju Dan, Lower Three Tribulations, Responding to Heaven, Harmonizing with Heaven, Upper Three Tribulations, Enlightened Source, and Source—when a cultivator reaches the Responding to Heaven Realm, their theoretical lifespan exceeds two thousand years, yet they must face a Heaven Tribulation every three hundred years, each one stronger than the last.

Thus, Responding to Heaven cultivators essentially cannot reach their natural lifespan; ninety‑nine percent die under those increasingly stronger Heaven Tribulations.

In the Harmonizing with Heaven Realm, lifespan starts at least at five thousand years, yet the Heaven Tribulation that occurs every five hundred years is the primary cause of downfall; even in battles, death from combat is far less common than death from the Tribulation.

As for Enlightened Source cultivators, they also face Heaven Tribulations, but only once every thousand years.

Of course, according to records, Enlightened Source cultivators on the Hundred Sources Continent can already ascend to the Upper Realm.

However, during ascension they must endure a terrifying Ascension Heaven Tribulation, and after entering the Ascension Passage they must also traverse a perilous corridor before they can successfully leave the Hundred Sources Continent.

Worse still, the two dangers occur consecutively; even if you manage to survive the Ascension Heaven Tribulation, the Ascension Passage immediately opens, transporting you inside, and you must then quickly navigate the hazardous segment of the passage.

Since the Ascension Passage remains open only for a limited time, if you cannot exit within that window, you die!

Of course, if an Enlightened Source cultivator fully comprehends their chosen Source, they can step beyond the Enlightened Source Realm and become a Source Realm master—the strongest on the Hundred Sources Continent!

Upon reaching this realm, not only are the lingering Heaven Tribulations of previous realms gone, but the Ascension Heaven Tribulation is also absent, allowing them to leave the Hundred Sources Continent at any time.

However, it is said that once one enters the Source Realm, the Hundred Sources Continent gradually begins to reject cultivators of that realm.

Therefore, Source Realm cultivators can remain on the Hundred Sources Continent for at most ten years before they must depart for other worlds.

"If I had the time, I'd really like to tour the Hundred Sources Continent; after all, the Dou Qi Continent can't ascend now, maybe I could find an opportunity there?"

After recalling the information about the Hundred Sources Continent, Lin Feng's eyes flickered, and he thought silently.

But as soon as his thought ended, he instantly sensed a rapid detonating sound erupt behind him again.

That familiar sound immediately told Lin Feng that the wolf shadow was attacking again.

Thus he had no time to think further and casually flung out several fire lotuses.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In the next instant, as the fire lotuses detonated, the slightly muffled explosion echoed across the sky again.

Lin Feng looked up and saw that he was less than half a minute away from Pingnan Pass; he then turned around, and after noticing that his fire lotuses had briefly blocked the opponent, pushing them a short distance away, he immediately refocused his flight northward.

After all, his top priority now was to leave this cursed place, not to engage in a life‑or‑death duel with the opponent.

"Kid, you think you can run? It's not that easy!"

Just as Lin Feng prepared to sprint away at full speed, the cyan wolf shadow that leapt from the fire clouds behind him let out a sharp, piercing howl.

The moment the words left its mouth, before Lin Feng could react, the wolf shadow instantly turned into a wisp of cyan smoke and, in the blink of an eye, appeared right in front of him!

"That speed, and a form and talent I've never seen before."

Seeing this, Lin Feng could only reluctantly halt his flight, stare at the wolf shadow's fierce eyes, pause in silence, then frown and say, "You're not a demon beast from the Dou Qi Continent, are you? More precisely, you're a prime beast from the Hundred Sources Continent. And seeing a single lingering soul wield such power, you're likely a prime beast on the verge of reaching the pinnacle of spirit beasts!"

At this point, he gradually understood why, under Xiao Ling's amplification, he had temporarily entered the Eight-Star Dou Saint Realm, whereas before he could be wounded by a single strike from a peer.

It was because the opponent was using not Dou Qi, but the Hundred Sources Continent's primordial Qi!

Since the Hundred Sources Continent's level is far higher than that of the Dou Qi Continent, the Dou Qi he wielded could naturally not match the power of primordial Qi…

"Hehe, kid, you're clever. Though our realms differ only slightly, I, in my former life, was at least a prime beast with half a foot already stepping into the spirit‑beast pinnacle. Even a lingering soul, you—a junior who temporarily rose through dubious means—can still be dealt with. So you'd better obediently come back with me, lest you end up losing and have to help us out of trouble again."

When the other finally reacted, the wolf shadow's sharp snout curled, and beneath its seemingly amused tone lay murderous intent.

Even if the former refuses to cooperate, as long as they can intercept the kid, they have countless ways to make him help them escape.

Earlier they cooperated with this native only to ensure the matter proceeded as smoothly as possible.

Now that this little native refuses to help them leave peacefully, they must find a way to force the other to aid their departure.

"Heh, then let's see whether you have the skill."

With the path blocked, Lin Feng sneered and raised both hands high.

"Reincarnation Triple‑Ultimate·Reincarnation Devours Heaven and Earth!"

Accompanied by a booming shout, Lin Feng's voice was icy as he said, "Since you have been dead for nearly ten thousand years, stop lingering in the mortal world and reincarnate."

At the instant Lin Feng's words rang out, the surrounding heaven‑and‑earth energy swiftly converged above his head, forming a towering energy disc hundreds of zhang tall.

Ugh—

Then a streak of black flame shot from his hands into the airborne energy disc; in an instant, a terrifying suction erupted from the disc, now blackened by the alien fire, draining every bit of heaven‑and‑earth energy within a ten‑thousand‑zhang radius in a flash.

As a continuous influx of heaven‑and‑earth energy poured in, the suction generated by the disc above Lin Feng rose steadily.

Within the blink of an eye, the suction's strength was so great that even the cyan wolf shadow's beastly face grew solemn.

But soon, the wolf shadow's forepaw clenched fiercely, its immense force tearing the space beneath its feet; then it lifted its wolfish head and, in a cold tone, said, "Kid, today I'll see whether your Dou Qi can absorb my primordial Qi!"

Aah—

As soon as the words fell, the wolf shadow let out a long howl toward the sky, then dense azure energy surged along its limbs, crazily converging at its front paw.

As the energy kept gathering, shortly after the wolf shadow's front paw slammed forward, two azure wind blades, each a hundred zhang long, sliced through space at extreme speed, carrying a mass of spatial fragments; under the pull of suction, they struck heavily onto the rapidly spinning disc above Lin Feng's head.

Clang!

The instant the two collided, a visible surge of powerful energy rippled outward, expanding fiercely around.

Above Lin Feng, the two azure wind blades and the black disc continued to stalemate; the former tried to break the obstacle blocking them, while the latter aimed to swallow the attracted "food" completely.

But since neither was a simple technique, for a moment neither could overcome the other, causing the scene to fall unusually quiet.

As for the azure wolf shadow, after releasing those two wind blades, its previously solid body instantly became more than half as insubstantial.

Its eyes fixed on the wind blades locked in combat with that native boy, while it anxiously awaited reinforcements.

He also knew that he was only a lingering soul of a primordial beast that had died nearly ten thousand years ago, and the yuan qi inside him was already scant, using even less.

Even now it can, by relying on its yuan qi, temporarily overwhelm the native boy, but given enough time, it is the one that will die.

After all, the opponent can continuously replenish power, whereas its own yuan qi cannot.

Had it been able to replenish yuan qi, its master would have swept away all forces here and would not have failed in invading the Dou Qi Continent.

Boom! Boom!

Yet the more it worried, the more it feared; while the former anxiously awaited reinforcements, those two wind blades, like rootless duckweed, under Lin Feng's continuous infusion of Dou Qi driving the disc's erosion, ultimately shattered, and the fragments were swiftly absorbed completely by the black disc.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

But just after Lin Feng dealt with the wolf shadow's wind blades, he suddenly sensed nearly ten auras appearing behind him.

These auras all belonged to Dou Saints of five stars or higher; evidently, they were the pursuers sent by Han Yu and others.

He had just been fast enough to fling them far behind.

Now that the wolf shadow had delayed him here for so long, the opponent was gradually catching up.

Huff

When the wolf shadow saw the reinforcements arrive, it let out a sigh of relief, then curled its mouth in a grin and sneered, "Kid, it seems the ultimate victor this time is still us."

Heh, maybe not!

Sensing the rapidly approaching auras behind him, which entered his ten‑thousand‑zhang range in an instant, Lin Feng raised the black disc high, his expression calm, and said.

As soon as the words fell, under the wolf shadow's puzzled gaze, he forcefully opened his eyes, and a phantom swiftly appeared beside him.

The wolf's gaze looked and found that the phantom looked exactly like that native boy, as if carved from the same mold.

Not good, soul attack!

Seeing Lin Feng's phantom appear suddenly, the wolf was first puzzled, but quickly, long‑sealed memories instantly resurfaced in its mind.

Realizing this, the wolf head did not hesitate and turned to flee.

After all, it knew its current state lacked a physical body for protection, naturally making it vulnerable to this technique. Not fleeing now would only result in being reduced to nothing by the opponent's soul attack.

Yet as it fled, Lin Feng's soul clone opened its mouth and sucked in fiercely, causing its body to instantly swell to several thousand zhang in size.

Moo!

The next moment, the massive phantom's mouth snapped open, and a terrifying soul sound wave, moving faster than light, struck the wolf shadow's hastily formed azure barrier.

But Lin Feng had no time to worry about that; while his soul clone attacked the wolf shadow, he also raised the disc, turned, and faced its front toward the oncoming horde of Dou Saints charging from behind.

Everyone, be careful; his technique is strange!

After the disc rotated a full 180 degrees, the Tongling Sect cultivators, whose faces had been beaming with ecstatic joy as they closed in on the target, suddenly paled, quickly warning their nearby comrades.

Ah!

But before he could finish speaking, several six‑star Dou Saints and a few weaker spirit pets instantly lost control, and in their terrified gazes, their bodies spun chaotically in the sky, rapidly crashing into the black disc.

Finally, after leaving a few water‑ripple‑like circles on the disc above Lin Feng's head, they vanished from this world forever.

As for the remaining two pursuers, seeing this, their bodies instinctively leapt back a great distance, then hurriedly used their techniques to counter the disc's suction.

However, although Lin Feng knew that if he kept exerting force he could quickly eliminate those remaining pursuers as well, lingering here any longer would give Han Yu and the others behind a greater chance to chase.

Thus, after repelling both sides, he immediately withdrew the soul clone, dispersed the disc above his head, and swiftly surged forward to continue blasting at the opponent.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

But shortly after the former left, the southern sky suddenly rang with a barrage of harsh whooshing sounds.

Immediately, over a hundred figures of various sizes swept down from the southern horizon, arriving at the spot where Lin Feng and the wolf shadow had just fought.

Where's that kid?

Arriving here, Han Yu looked at the two disheveled figures, furrowed his brows, and said coldly.

And just as the former finished speaking, an extremely thin azure wolf shadow suddenly scrambled out of the void, quickly saying, "Chase fast, that kid ran north; although he nullified my attack, he surely can't be unscathed now, his strength must be far less than before!"

What?

Hearing that Xiao Yan had already fled, Han Yu's face flashed with shock, then he shouted loudly, "Everyone, chase him quickly!"

Yes!

The others, upon hearing the native boy had fled, their faces darkened sharply, and they all surged northward.

Damn it, these people inherited the Pingnan Army's legacy, then after nearly ten thousand years of development, their strength has skyrocketed to a terrifying level; they're truly hard to deal with.

Sensing the dense auras appearing behind him, Lin Feng's complexion turned an extreme iron‑blue.

Pfft

But just as he finished speaking, he suddenly spat a mouthful of fresh blood, and his aura quickly waned.

At the same time, his Ten‑Thousand‑Flame True Body automatically withdrew due to his severe injuries.

"Bastard, this Dou Qi versus yuan qi is still too disadvantageous, and luckily the lingering soul of that primordial beast has so little energy left that it subconsciously conserves it. Otherwise I'd have truly fallen here."

Sensing the strand of yuan qi that had entered his body during the earlier clash, Lin Feng, as if money were no object, forcefully manipulated it to keep it suppressed, while he couldn't help shouting profanities.

Then, he transmitted his voice, "Xiao Ling, quickly absorb the surrounding energy to replenish me; the previous battle and the Ten‑Thousand‑Flame True Body consumed a great deal of Dou Qi, and now I still have to allocate Dou Qi to resist the ghost inside my body; I can't endure it."

"Alright, master."

Hearing that, Xiao Ling didn't dare to delay either; she immediately employed Wu Nie Tun Yan's devouring ability, frantically seizing the surrounding heaven‑and‑earth energy and continuously channeling it into Lin Feng's body.

The latter's complexion only improved slightly after receiving the battle Qi supplement.

Although this Ten Thousand Fires True Body lets him unleash the power of Exotic Fire to the fullest, its consumption is terrifyingly high.

If his Burning Secret hadn't already reached the top tier of the Heavenly Stage, he likely wouldn't have been able to sustain it.

"But it looks like I've won."

Seeing the five familiar peaks within his sight, Lin Feng's mouth immediately curved into a smile.

"Kid, where do you think you're running!"

Yet at that moment, a booming roar full of intense anger suddenly came from behind him.

When Lin Feng turned his head, he found Han Yu and Qiu Yue already within his view, rapidly closing in on him.

That was understandable, since his speed had already been greatly reduced due to being created, and moreover Qiu Yue and Han Yu are Nine Star Dou Saints, whose speed easily tramples his.

Nevertheless, Lin Feng was not flustered at all; in a calm tone he said, "Open the Gate City."

"Hm?"

Hearing the seemingly nonsensical remark, Han Yu and Qiu Yue, who were chasing from behind, were momentarily puzzled, not quite grasping his meaning.

But soon, as if recalling something, their faces suddenly changed dramatically, and they shouted, "Kid, how dare you!"

At that very moment the shout rang out, Han Yu and Qiu Yue almost simultaneously extended their palms, slamming them hard toward Lin Feng.

"Boom!"

As the two acted, atop the towering peak guarded by the four surrounding mountains, a dazzling golden beam burst forth, shooting straight into the distant sky.

Simultaneously, the four surrounding peaks each emitted a slightly smaller golden beam that also surged into the heavens.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Then, amid the increasingly ashen faces of Han Yu and the others, some seemingly ordinary distant peaks also each shot out a slightly smaller golden beam, charging straight into the far sky.

Lin Feng looked closely and realized that the peaks he had barely noticed before were actually part of this Pingnan Pass, and even as he gazed, the beams showed no visible end.

"Boom—boom—boom!"

The beams shot out, and the next moment they suddenly extended golden barriers to both sides, linking the beams together.

Lin Feng, in the final instant before the barrier fully formed, swiftly slipped through a gap and then raced at full speed toward the location of the five peaks.

"Clang! Clang!"

As soon as the former entered the Gate City, Han Yu and Qiu Yue's attacks followed, striking the golden barrier hard, producing deafening explosions and causing the barrier to ripple outward in concentric circles.

Although this combat technique caused a considerable commotion, aside from generating some ripples on the Gate City, it inflicted no damage.

"What a sturdy defense; no wonder it was the ancient great beings' fortification against the Tongling Sect's invasion."

Stabilizing his stance, Lin Feng looked at the scene beyond the golden barrier, a grin tugging at his mouth as he sighed.

"Body, I told you you suddenly fed me so many thunder‑type treasures up ahead; I guess you intended for me to take the damage!"

Looking at the hundreds of Dou Saints beyond the Gate City, including two whose strength was unfathomable, in front of the stone platform atop the central peak, a figure that seemed carved from the same mold as Lin Feng grumbled.

Although this person looked identical to Lin Feng, a closer look revealed a faint silver thunder aura surrounding him, clearly not a fire‑playing type.

Of course, this being could not be called a human, for he was the split‑self formed when Lin Feng cultivated the three‑thousand thunder illusion.

Hearing that, Lin Feng helplessly spread his hands and said, "There's no way. I alone can't execute the plan, and you clearly can't deceive them, so it has to be this way. Besides, I'm the one taking the biggest risk, okay? If that wolf‑shadow hadn't held back for fear of total annihilation, I'd have been finished."

Mid‑sentence, Lin Feng glared at his split‑self with irritation, thinking he'd almost left him there earlier; the risk wasn't that great!

"Cough cough"

But as soon as the words ended, the former's face flushed red again, spitting a mouthful of fresh blood, his breath weakening once more.

Seeing the former so badly wounded, the split‑self immediately furrowed his brows and said gravely, "Body, your condition doesn't seem good!"

"It's okay, at least I won't die."

Hearing that, Lin Feng replied hoarsely.

He then wiped the blood from his mouth corner, lifted his head, and gazed at the Gate City disappearing into the sky.

"No wonder this Pingnan Pass makes the Tongling Sect so wary; even attacks from Nine Star Dou Saints can't scratch this Gate City a bit. Such a sight is truly spectacular!"

Staring at the Gate City exuding immense pressure, Lin Feng couldn't help murmuring to himself.

At this moment, he finally understood the mysteries of this place.

(End of Chapter)