Chapter 55: My Name Is Li Chunfeng

"Little one, I'll say it again. Leave this place at once, lest you lose your life."

The man, seeing that Cao Fu not only refused to leave but even questioned him, shot two sharp flashes of cold light from his eyes. The entire space seemed to compress with a suffocating pressure, as if a sword hung above each person's head, ready to fall at any moment.

Terrified, Cao Fu stumbled back two steps, his expression conflicted. Clearly, he did not wish to give up so easily, but the cultivation of the man before him was far beyond his own.

He glanced around at the others, his gaze growing increasingly fierce, his teeth clenched in frustration.

"Do you know how many years the Cao family has waited for this day? The Heavenly Incomplete Inkstone is our only hope of restoring the nation. Today, I must have it!"

With a shout, he commanded, "Attack!" The other four immediately unleashed their talismans. The eldest senior brother, possessing the highest cultivation, pointed a finger, and seven yellow talismans shot from his sleeve, transforming into a massive broadsword. The immense force shook the entire burial chamber, but in the next instant, the man within the coffin casually struck out with his palm, sending a shockwave that caused the senior brother to cough up two large mouthfuls of blood.

At the same time, Cao Fu and the other four seemed frozen in place, as if bound by a spell, unable to move. The man sneered as he stepped out from the coffin, hands clasped behind his back, and stood before Cao Fu.

From a distance, the man in the green robe appeared to be about one meter seventy in height, slightly shorter than Cao Fu. Yet his presence was like that of a banished immortal descended to the mortal world, so overwhelming that one could hardly bear to look directly at him.

"Do you know why Cao Cao was able to control the emperor and command the feudal lords? It wasn't because he was cunning, but because he understood people. As for you, still wet behind the ears, how could you possibly restore the glory of Cao Wei?"

His gaze bore into Cao Fu’s eyes, unabashedly radiating killing intent. Cao Fu trembled all over under his stare, pushed to the brink of terror, and yet his madness only deepened.

"Who the hell are you? Give me the Heavenly Incomplete Inkstone! That rightfully belongs to the Cao family!"

"Reckless fool!"

With a cold snort, the man jabbed his finger into Cao Fu's chest, and a burst of green light erupted. Hiding around a corner, Lu Xin watched in horror, certain that Cao Fu was doomed. But in the next instant, a vague shadow appeared between the man and Cao Fu—a towering figure clad in blood-red armor, wielding a halberd, descending like a god from the heavens.

The apparition and the man exchanged blows; blood-red and green light intertwined, engulfing the entire chamber. In that moment, Lu Xin could see nothing but those two blinding lights. The wind howled around him, and the collision of magical forces shattered the surrounding stone walls. It seemed to Lu Xin that the chamber might collapse at any moment.

After ten heartbeats, the chamber finally returned to calm. By then, Cao Fu had vanished without a trace, while the other five from the Yishui Pavilion all lay headless and dead upon the ground, blood pooling everywhere.

"Ancient sorcery, the Summoning Mantra? It appears the Cao family still hasn’t given up… Alas..."

The man shook his head and sighed deeply, hands behind his back. Within his tone was a hint of worry—a burden for the world and its people. But Lu Xin, standing among the corpses, was in no mood to fret over others; his face was ashen as he turned to flee.

Yet before he could take two steps, the man’s commanding voice rang out at his ear.

"You’ve been watching in secret for quite some time. I suppose you’re here for the divine weapon as well. Little one, why not come out and face me?"

"Damn, he noticed me?"

Lu Xin’s brow furrowed as he cursed his luck. Though he desperately wanted to run, with the man’s level of cultivation, once discovered, there was no escape.

He hesitated for several seconds before turning around, emerging from the shadows with a sheepish grin. "Senior, your insight is remarkable. But I’m not here for the divine weapon, nor am I with those others. I simply overheard news of the Heavenly Incomplete Inkstone and followed out of curiosity, nothing more. I hope you can forgive my intrusion."

"Oh? You..."

The man looked Lu Xin up and down, as if about to say something, but swallowed his words. His gaze was now entirely focused on the Wandering Immortal Sword at Lu Xin's side.

A sense of dread seized Lu Xin, and he instinctively tried to back away, only to find himself rooted to the spot. The man in green approached him step by step.

"S-Senior… What do you intend to do?"

Without answering, the man placed his hand atop Lu Xin’s crown, closed his eyes, and a faint green glow shimmered around him. The chamber fell utterly silent, broken only by Lu Xin’s quickened breaths.

"All your meridians are open, and there is a whirlpool of wood-elemental magic in your dantian. Yet you have not cultivated any methods, nor even condensed the Daoist true fire. It seems you have taken some kind of immortal herb. Young man, you are truly blessed by fortune!"

With those words, the man turned back to the black coffin, making no attempt to seize the Wandering Immortal Sword. Lu Xin, regaining the ability to move, was left in shock.

This man could discern his entire being in a mere moment—truly terrifying.

"Senior?"

"My name is Li Chunfeng, from Yong County in Qizhou."

"What, you’re Li Chunfeng?"

At the mention of his name, Lu Xin’s expression changed dramatically, and he could not help but exclaim. The name Li Chunfeng was renowned in later generations—his presence filled history books, unofficial accounts, and novels alike.

He was a famed diviner, on par with Yuan Tiangang; together they authored the Prophecy of the Back-Pushing Diagram, foreseeing thousands of years into the future. In a sense, Li Chunfeng stood as the greatest representative of Daoist philosophy through the ages—a mystical sage, a puzzling figure in the vast sweep of Chinese history.

Now, this very man stood before him. How could Lu Xin not be stunned?

"If he truly wrote the Back-Pushing Diagram and could see the future, might he know a way for me to return to the modern world?"

Once he calmed down, the thought surged in Lu Xin’s mind. It had been over two years since he inadvertently traversed to the Tang Dynasty. Unlike his cousin Lu Tingfang, he had no ambitions; his only dream was to find a way home.

"You recognize me?"

Li Chunfeng turned in surprise, brows furrowed, a hint of suspicion in his gaze. Seeing this, Lu Xin gritted his teeth and fell to his knees.

"Senior, you are a sage who knows of future ages. I beg you, teach me how to return to the future."

"Return to the future? You… are not of this mortal world?"

Li Chunfeng was stunned for a moment before he began divining, his face growing more serious by the second. Lu Xin looked up, watching the man’s fingers shift through intricate patterns, the green aura about him turning to the hue of yellow jade. Clearly, he was delving into some profound calculation, striving to pierce through the river of time and unveil the youth’s true origin.

Yet Li Chunfeng's brows only knit tighter, and his expression grew ever more grave. After three minutes, he finally emerged from his trance, and when he looked at Lu Xin again, his gaze was complex beyond measure.

"I thought you were merely a disciple of Guo Pu, but your fate lies beyond the Three Realms and the Five Elements. This is a destiny reserved for those who have ascended to immortality. I cannot see through you."

"Senior, you cannot see through me? Why not? You are the sage who knows the next thousand years—can you truly not discern whence I came?"

Lu Xin was aghast; Li Chunfeng’s reply seemed to dash his last hope. If even the man who wrote the Back-Pushing Diagram did not know the way to transcend time, who else possibly could?

At that moment, the youth slumped to the ground. If history had erred, if Li Chunfeng had never co-authored the diagram with Yuan Tiangang, then his dream of returning to 2018 would never be realized.

"Hahaha… The seasons come and go, flowers bloom and wither, all seeming eternal. Yet clouds shift, stars turn in the heavens! Among all the people in this world, who can truly see thousands of years ahead? Little one, I believe what you say. But even if Confucius or Mencius were alive, they could not see the whole future, much less journey to another world."

Li Chunfeng threw his head back in laughter, returning to his ethereal and commanding self. Yet now, his attitude toward Lu Xin was markedly different, full of warmth unlike the coldness he’d shown Cao Fu and the others.

"Senior, you believe me? You believe I’m from a thousand years in the future?"

"Hahaha, if Guo Pu placed all his life’s hopes on you, why shouldn’t I believe? As I said, the world has its rules—flowers bloom and fade, there is order in all. Those with deep cultivation may glimpse the future, but the universe shifts and changes; no one can see everything. So, I trust in fate, but I do not submit to it."

"Trust in fate, but do not submit to it?"

Lu Xin was taken aback. Li Chunfeng’s words pulled him back from the brink of despair. Indeed, the world is ever-changing. Even Zhuge Liang, so famed for his foresight, died at Wuzhang Plains. Since he could travel from the future to the Tang Dynasty, perhaps one day he might also find a way back.

"Thank you for your wisdom, Senior. I understand now."

"Your name is Lu Xin? Good, good. I’ve slept in this tomb for three years—it's time to return to the world. Little one, since I began my cultivation, I have never taken a disciple. Today, will you become my apprentice?"

"You want to take me as your disciple?"

Lu Xin took a deep breath, hardly daring to believe his ears. This man, though fully aware that he held one of the five divine weapons, the Wandering Immortal Sword, showed no trace of greed. Yanfu and Ji Yunmeng had both once made similar offers, but Li Chunfeng was fundamentally different—his gaze and voice were sincere, not conditional on seizing the divine weapon.

At this moment, Lu Xin could not help but recall the day his cousin left. The man in white had accepted Lu Tingfang as a disciple, but told him to live an ordinary life. That look of disdain was something he would never forget.

"Senior, two years ago, a great master told me I was of mediocre talent and ordinary foundation, unfit for cultivation. You truly wish to take me as your disciple?"

"Hahaha, what nonsense! Even without the immortal herb, you have the best foundation in all the world. Come, follow your master out of the tomb. The Tang Dynasty cannot do without the two of us, master and disciple! Hahaha…"