Chapter 56: Are There Immortals in This World?

Li Chunfeng emerged from the tomb and descended the mountain under cover of night. Though the path was steep and treacherous, he moved as if treading on level ground. Lu Xin, following behind, felt as though a gentle breeze buoyed his steps, lifting him slightly off the earth. The two walked in silence until they reached the banks of a great river, where Li Chunfeng finally halted. He gazed into the distance; the waters surged and roared, sometimes cresting into waves that leapt like dragons.

This river flowed from east to west. Though it could not match the grandeur of the Yangtze or the Yellow River, its magnificence was enough to stir awe at nature’s majesty. Standing beside Li Chunfeng on the riverbank, Lu Xin was suddenly struck by his own insignificance. The vastness of heaven and earth seemed a boundless cage, confining all living beings within its limits.

“Heaven and earth are vast and mysterious, the universe ancient and wild. The sun and moon wax and wane, the stars stretch in their constellations. Disciple, are you not thinking that this world is too immense—so immense it sometimes frightens you?”

“How did you know what I was thinking, Master?”

Startled by Li Chunfeng’s sudden question, Lu Xin’s entire body tensed, unable to mask his astonishment. The man beside him stood on the same earth, beneath the same sky, breathing the same air, and yet commanded mysteries that spanned the cosmos. To reach such a state of being—what else could justify a lifetime in this world?

“I do not know your thoughts,” said Li Chunfeng, “but standing here by the river, all mortals are bound to feel small and ashamed. The infinity of heaven and earth contrasts with the relentless toil of mortal life. In truth, this blue sky is a great dome, enclosing all living things, keeping them in ignorance for a hundred lifetimes without hope of release. We who cultivate must strive to break free from this cage, to take life and death into our own hands. And we must also work for the good of the world, so that the people no longer wander in confusion or die in vain.”

“So, Master, you have entered the world because you wish to go to Chang’an?”

“Indeed. The King of Tang bears the aspect of a sage; to assist him may bring about a golden age for the ages. The true hermit hides in court, not in the mountains. To serve a wise ruler is to protect all under heaven, earning boundless merit.”

“Master, you truly possess great wisdom. Emperor Taizong is recorded by later generations as a sovereign for the ages, and the Great Tang shall see tribute from ten thousand nations, shining for centuries. I am willing to follow you and protect the people.”

“Hahaha, very good. You command the Sword of Yin and Yang Wandering Immortal, and with my guidance, you must devote yourself to cultivation without ever disgracing Guo Pu’s trust. This divine weapon must be worthy of bearing the weight of the world’s people.”

Their conversation by the river drew master and disciple closer, clearly by Li Chunfeng’s design, to ease Lu Xin’s sense of alienation. Thereafter, the two traveled westward along the river’s bank, chatting idly. Lu Xin discovered that Li Chunfeng truly cared about the common people, harboring a heart for the country and the world. His dream was to let the people live in an era of prosperity.

Since arriving in the Tang Dynasty, Lu Xin had met many practitioners of Yin and Yang, most of whom considered themselves superior and saw the masses as mere ants. Take Huang Yuanyi of the Supreme Profound Sect—his greatest ambition was to ascend to the pinnacle of heaven and earth and control all things. If a mere disciple was so arrogant, what could be expected of the sect master Yan Fu, who had attained the Divine Realm?

But Li Chunfeng was different. Though his cultivation was profound, he had no intention of trampling the world beneath his feet. Quite the contrary—he wished to see the people live better, with greater dignity.

At dawn, master and disciple arrived at Phoenix Ridge Village. Along the way, Lu Xin recounted in detail how he had been poisoned by corpse toxin, fallen into the river, and been rescued by the old man. Li Chunfeng listened with great curiosity, and when he learned that the immortal herb had been given to Lu Xin by that old man, his face betrayed undisguised shock.

“There are five realms in the cultivation of Yin-Yang Masters,” Li Chunfeng explained. “The Realm of Observing the Void is the first, in which one acquires the essence of the five elements and kindles true fire in the dantian. Once magical power is cultivated, the six senses are strengthened, granting insight beyond the reach of ordinary men. When nine strands of Daoist true fire merge into the Purple Star Celestial Fire, ascending from the dantian to the Bright Hall, one attains the Golden Core Path. This is the Realm of Returning to Subtlety, allowing one to return to one’s original nature and perceive the true face of heaven and earth.”

“The Bright Hall?” Lu Xin was puzzled. It was his first time hearing such a detailed explanation of the five great realms. Seeing this, Li Chunfeng pointed to his chest and replied, “The heart is the Bright Hall, the chief of the five organs, ruling the spirit of the flesh. When the Purple Star Celestial Fire envelops the Bright Hall, it shines like a golden core. At this stage, magical power can flow through the five organs, and the fire can reshape the body. Once the hundred meridians and apertures are unobstructed, one may absorb the essence of sun and moon and enter the Secret Realm of the Divine.”

According to Li Chunfeng, for a Yin-Yang Master to reach the Divine Realm was as difficult as raising the dead. After years of cultivation, he himself had only reached the eighth level of the Realm of Returning to Subtlety, and had not yet opened the hundred meridians. Yet by consuming a single immortal herb, Lu Xin had attained the realm that practitioners could only dream of—proof of the herb’s miraculous power.

“The Undying Reviving Herb taken by Ao Tian grants only longevity, not magical power. But the herb you ingested opened all your meridians and elevated your body to a new realm. Not only that, you possess wood-elemental magic in your dantian even without prior cultivation. This means you were born with an immortal body; if you master another technique, you may possess two types of magic power within you—an opportunity that countless Yin-Yang Masters through the ages could only covet.”

“Master, are you saying that old man…”

“Such an immortal herb is unattainable even for the leaders of the great sects. Not only today’s practitioners—even Ao Tian, one of the ancient Qi Refiners who has attained the Heaven-Merging Realm, would be hard-pressed to find a second such herb beneath the sky. The one who saved you may well be a true immortal in this world!”

Li Chunfeng shook his head, his expression grave. That such words came from his lips was astonishing in itself. Thinking back to the moment he had met the old man, Lu Xin, too, felt it was beyond belief.

Yet when they returned to the old man’s dwelling in the mountains, they found only two empty rooms—one for sleeping, the other for storing firewood.

The place was deathly quiet, with no sign anyone had been there for ages. It was as if the house had stood empty for centuries.

Li Chunfeng lingered inside, then wandered through the mountains for a while, finally telling Lu Xin that the area was rich in the essence of the five elements and ideal for cultivation. Though they did not find the old man, he was certain that, if not an immortal, the man was at least a Yin-Yang Master of extraordinary attainment.

“Master, do immortals truly exist in this world?”

“Of course they do. But they have long since transcended the mortal realm and are no longer bound by the cycle of rebirth. They have no connection to you, me, or the people of the world. If you look with the naked eye, you cannot perceive them. But if you look with your heart, perhaps one day you may see.”

Li Chunfeng looked up at the sky as he spoke, his tone as ethereal as drifting clouds. Clearly, he himself had never met a true immortal. Yet to become immortal was the dream of every Yin-Yang Master, and Li Chunfeng was no exception.

“I have met Yan Fu, Master of the Supreme Profound Sect, and Ji Yunmeng, Mistress of Hundred Flowers Valley. Both have reached the Divine Realm, their bodies able to fly through the air, truly formidable. But in my own world, people can only fly with external aid; flight by one’s own body is impossible. Should anyone achieve it, they would indeed be seen as immortal.”

“The Divine Realm is a watershed in cultivation. In this realm, the Purple Star Celestial Fire refines the Bright Hall into nine-colored radiance, residing in the Heavenly Spirit Acupoint, reaching the true state of divinity. The nine-colored radiance tempers the soul, granting the body extraordinary abilities. Flight is nothing remarkable here. Yet, even at this level, man is still merely human—not a true immortal. Perhaps, as Ao Tian said, this world long ago lost the path to immortality.”

At this, Li Chunfeng sighed, his spirits waning. From his words, one could sense just how arduous the path of the Yin-Yang Master truly was—beyond the power of words to convey. Lu Xin could not imagine: if even someone like Li Chunfeng could not become immortal, who in this world could?

“Master, I once found a scripture that seems connected to Wujin Buddha Mountain in the Southern Sea. Could you examine it and see if its secrets can be unraveled?”

As Li Chunfeng spoke of imparting cultivation methods, Lu Xin suddenly remembered the Scripture of Benevolent Earth Burials and hurriedly produced it. Li Chunfeng took it, glanced at it, and his gaze froze.

“How did you obtain this?”

Lu Xin had no choice but to recount in detail how he came by the scripture. Li Chunfeng listened intently, his eyes never leaving the brocade, as if witnessing something incredible.

“This is a cultivation method, integrating the teachings of Buddhism, Daoism, and Demonic schools. If I am not mistaken, its foundation is the superior Dharma of Wujin Buddha Mountain—the Earth Treasury Sutra.”

“A superior Dharma?”

“Yin-Yang Masters cultivate by absorbing the essence of the five elements and the energy of sun and moon. But the body is fragile; without the proper method, one cannot master the transformation of body and soul. The Earth Treasury Sutra is a superior Buddhist method, enabling one to reach the Realm of Returning to Subtlety. Do not underestimate this little scripture; it is the crystallization of centuries of devotion by high monks. To possess a single copy is enough to found a sect and become its master.”

“No wonder that monk chased me from the Southern Sea to Yuezhou. If I were a sect master, I would not let the Demonic School obtain my sect’s Dharma, either.”

“Don’t be hasty. This scripture is far more extraordinary than you imagine. Superior Dharmas are treasures of the great sects, but they can only allow a practitioner to reach the Realm of Returning to Subtlety. Only miraculous scriptures of divine power can allow one to break through to the Divine Realm; these are the true foundations of the five great sects. This method, based on the Earth Treasury Sutra and fused with the strengths of Demonic and Daoist schools, already displays the signs of such a miraculous scripture. If you can perfect it, you may one day surpass all the great sects.”

Having finished reading the Scripture of Benevolent Earth Burials, Li Chunfeng was both amazed and delighted. He had intended to teach Lu Xin his own cultivation method, but clearly changed his mind. Although this technique was not yet a true miraculous scripture, with refinement, Lu Xin might one day found a sect or even stand above the five great orders.

“Disciple, it seems your master has nothing worthy to teach you now.”