The mountain wind howled outside Lin Feng's quarters, matching the tension within as Liu Mei stared at the glowing jade lotus mark on his chest. "The Jade Lotus Sect," she whispered, reaching out as if to touch the mark before stopping herself. "Not myths or exaggerations, but real. And you're..." "A descendant of their bloodline, yes," Lin Feng confirmed. "Through my father." Liu Mei's gaze shifted to Elder Lian. "And you? You're also..." "I was born into the sect," Elder Lian said, her violet eyes reflecting the jade glow. "Before the time lock, before the disappearance. I was outside on a mission when it happened." Lin Feng retied his robes, concealing the mark once more. "Liu Mei, what we're telling you—what we're showing you—would be enough for the Crimson Phoenix Sect to execute all three of us without trial." "I understand," she said, straightening her shoulders. "But if you're trusting me with this, I need to trust you with what I know." She took a deep breath. "Ren Zhao didn't come here merely on suspicion. He came because his master ordered it." Elder Lian's eyes narrowed. "His master? You mean—" "Grandmaster Phoenix," Liu Mei confirmed. "I overheard them communicating through a special talisman. The Grandmaster specifically mentioned you, Elder Lian. By name." Elder Lian went very still. "He remembers me." "He said he's hunted the survivors of the Jade Lotus Sect for centuries," Liu Mei continued, her voice dropping. "And that you were one of the few who eluded him." A grim smile touched Elder Lian's lips. "Because I learned to hide in plain sight. To become so unremarkable that even the Crimson Phoenix bloodline's legendary detection abilities would pass over me." "Like you taught me to do at the main sect," Lin Feng realized. "Becoming the failed disciple everyone overlooked." "Precisely. Though in your case, it was your father's sealing of your bloodline that truly protected you all those years." Elder Lian turned back to Liu Mei. "What else did you hear?" Liu Mei hesitated. "Ren Zhao has been instructed to prepare something called the Blood Phoenix Binding. If he confirms Lin Feng has the bloodline, he's been ordered to ensure Lin Feng doesn't leave Cloudhaven alive." Lin Feng felt a chill at the clinical detachment of the death sentence. "The Blood Phoenix Binding," Elder Lian murmured, her expression darkening. "I haven't heard that name in three centuries." "You know what it is?" Lin Feng asked. "A technique developed specifically to counter jade energy," she replied. "It uses the cultivator's own bloodline against them, reversing temporal flow within their meridians. Excruciatingly painful and ultimately fatal." Liu Mei's face had gone pale. "And if I become an 'impediment'..." She swallowed. "Ren Zhao was told to 'deal with me as necessary.'" Lin Feng's hands clenched into fists. "I won't let that happen." "None of us will," Elder Lian stated firmly. "But this changes our timeline. If Ren Zhao is already preparing the Binding, we cannot wait any longer." "Wait for what?" Liu Mei asked. Lin Feng and Elder Lian exchanged a glance. "For the return of the Jade Lotus Sect's mountain," Lin Feng explained. "The original sect wasn't destroyed—it was sealed in a time lock. Elder Lian believes it's about to reappear." Liu Mei's eyes widened. "That's... if an entire sect mountain returns, with all its cultivators..." "It would shift the balance of power throughout the cultivation world," Elder Lian finished for her. "Which is precisely why the Crimson Phoenix Sect is growing desperate. They've maintained the fiction of destroying us for three centuries. If the truth emerges..." "Then we need to leave," Liu Mei said decisively. "All of us. Tonight." Lin Feng shook his head. "They're watching too closely. The Crimson Phoenix disciples have established a perimeter around Cloudhaven. No one enters or leaves without their knowledge." "Then what do we do?" Elder Lian moved to the window, gazing out at the night sky. "We bring the mountain back sooner." --- In the cold hours before dawn, three figures moved silently through the forest surrounding Cloudhaven. Lin Feng led the way, followed closely by Liu Mei and Elder Lian. They moved with the careful precision of cultivators aware they were being hunted. "There," Lin Feng whispered, pointing to a narrow gap in the rocks ahead. "The cave entrance." They had left Cloudhaven under cover of a concealment technique Elder Lian had placed on all three of them—a variation of the Time Flow Disruption that bent light around their bodies, rendering them nearly invisible to normal perception. It wouldn't fool Ren Zhao for long, but it had allowed them to slip past the Crimson Phoenix guards posted around the outpost. The cave welcomed them with darkness and the faint scent of mineral water. Elder Lian produced a jade lamp that cast emerald light across the stone walls, revealing the circle of jade fragments still arranged from their previous visit. "What exactly are we doing?" Liu Mei asked, her voice hushed in the cave's silence. "You said something about bringing the mountain back sooner?" "The time lock that sealed the Jade Lotus mountain is failing naturally," Elder Lian explained, moving to the center of the jade circle. "But with the right technique and enough power, we can accelerate that process." "Is that wise?" Liu Mei's brow furrowed. "If the time lock failed because it was unstable..." "Controlled dissolution is safer than allowing it to collapse on its own," Elder Lian replied. "And we no longer have the luxury of waiting." Lin Feng touched Liu Mei's arm reassuringly. "Elder Lian has been preparing for this for decades. It's our best chance." Elder Lian gestured for them to join her in the circle. "Lin Feng, you'll channel the jade lotus energy. Liu Mei, your pendant can serve as a stabilizing anchor. The Crimson Phoenix detection talismans were modified from our communication arrays—they can still interface with the jade network in ways their creators probably never intended." "Will that put Liu Mei at risk?" Lin Feng asked sharply. "Some risk, yes," Elder Lian acknowledged. "But far less than what awaits if we do nothing." Liu Mei straightened her shoulders. "I'm willing. Tell me what to do." Elder Lian instructed them to sit in a triangular formation within the jade circle. "Lin Feng, remove your concealment pendant and allow the lotus mark to manifest fully. Liu Mei, hold your pendant in both hands and focus your qi into it, visualizing a connection to Lin Feng." As they followed her instructions, the jade fragments began to glow more intensely. The lotus mark on Lin Feng's chest shone through his robes, bathing the cave in pulsing jade light. "Now," Elder Lian continued, her voice taking on a rhythmic quality, "I will guide your energies into the temporal alignment necessary to connect with the sealed mountain." She began a series of hand movements, each one leaving trails of violet light in the air. The patterns she formed were complex, multilayered symbols that seemed to fold into dimensions Lin Feng could only partially perceive. "Focus on the jade network," she instructed. "Feel for the largest concentration of jade energy to the north." Lin Feng closed his eyes, extending his perception as he had been taught. Immediately, he sensed the scattered fragments of jade throughout the surrounding mountains. Beyond them, far to the north, he again felt that vast, oceanic presence—the sealed Jade Lotus mountain. But something was different this time. The mountain's energy signature felt... unstable. Fluctuating. As if already in the process of phase-shifting back into normal space-time. "Elder Lian," he said urgently, "the mountain—I think it's already—" "I feel it," she replied, her voice tight with concentration. "The dissolution has begun naturally. Earlier than I anticipated." "Is that bad?" Liu Mei asked, eyes still closed as she channeled qi into her pendant. "It means we're not initiating the process, merely guiding it," Elder Lian explained. "Potentially more dangerous, but also more powerful if we succeed." The jade fragments surrounding them began to lift off the cave floor, hovering in the air at chest height. The light they emitted intensified until the entire cave was filled with brilliant jade radiance. "Now, both of you," Elder Lian commanded, "channel your qi through me. I will serve as the conduit to the mountain." Lin Feng gathered his qi and directed it toward Elder Lian. Beside him, Liu Mei did the same, the betrothal pendant in her hands now glowing with an incongruous mix of crimson and jade energies. Elder Lian received their combined power, her body momentarily outlined in violet light before the energy flowed through her hands and into the complex pattern she had created in the air. "Jade Lotus Legacy: Time Anchor Convergence," she intoned, completing the final seal in the sequence. The pattern collapsed inward, condensing into a single point of blindingly bright light that hovered between her palms. Elder Lian brought her hands together, enclosing the light, then thrust her arms forward, releasing it toward the northern wall of the cave. The light struck the stone and simply... vanished. For a moment, nothing happened. The cave fell silent except for their ragged breathing. Then the ground began to tremble. "Did it work?" Lin Feng asked, steadying himself as small stones shook loose from the ceiling. "Yes," Elder Lian said, her voice strained. "The mountain is returning. But something's—" Her words were cut off by a surge of power that flooded the cave, washing over them like a physical wave. The jade fragments spinning around them suddenly shot outward, embedding themselves in the cave walls with explosive force. Liu Mei cried out in pain, dropping the pendant, which had begun to emit wisps of crimson smoke. "It's burning!" Before either Lin Feng or Elder Lian could react, the cave entrance darkened with a familiar silhouette. "How convenient," Ren Zhao's cold voice cut through the chaos. "All the prey gathered in one place." He stepped into the jade light, flanked by four Crimson Phoenix disciples. His amber eyes gleamed with triumph as they fixed on Lin Feng's exposed lotus mark. "I knew it," he said softly. "The jade lotus bloodline. After all these centuries." Elder Lian moved with surprising speed, placing herself between Ren Zhao and the others. "You're too late, young master. The mountain is already returning." "Perhaps," Ren Zhao acknowledged with a thin smile. "But you won't live to see it." He raised his hand, revealing a talisman unlike any Lin Feng had seen before—a disc of dark red jade inscribed with symbols that seemed to writhe and pulse with malevolent energy. "The Blood Phoenix Binding," Elder Lian breathed, her voice tight with recognition. "Crafted for occasions precisely like this," Ren Zhao confirmed. "Though I'll admit, I never expected to use it on three targets at once." Liu Mei rose to her feet, discarding the smoking pendant. "Ren Zhao, the alliance between our sects—" "Is of secondary importance to the eradication of temporal abominations," he cut her off. His eyes, when they turned to her, held a hint of genuine regret. "I had hoped you would understand that, Liu Mei. That you would stand with me in this sacred duty." "Duty?" she echoed, disgust evident in her voice. "You call murder a duty?" "What I call it is irrelevant. What matters is that it will be done." Ren Zhao raised the Blood Phoenix talisman higher. "Beginning now." He began to activate the talisman, infusing it with his qi. The symbols inscribed on its surface glowed with crimson light, detaching and beginning to swirl around him. Lin Feng felt the lotus mark on his chest burn in response, a warning of the danger those symbols presented. Without conscious thought, he stepped forward, pushing past Elder Lian to stand directly before Ren Zhao. "Lin Feng, no!" Elder Lian called. "The Binding will—" "I know," he replied calmly, never taking his eyes off Ren Zhao. "But I also know something he doesn't." With deliberate movements, Lin Feng raised his hands, palms facing each other. Between them, jade energy coalesced into a spinning disc that mirrored the Blood Phoenix talisman in form if not in nature. Ren Zhao's eyes widened. "Impossible. You can't have mastered formation talismans already." "Not mastered," Lin Feng corrected. "Remembered." The knowledge had come to him in that moment of crisis—flowing from the jade lotus mark directly into his mind. Not consciously learned but instinctively accessed, like recalling a long-forgotten skill. "Jade Lotus Legacy: Temporal Reversion," Lin Feng intoned, completing the formation. The jade disc shot forward just as Ren Zhao released the Blood Phoenix Binding. The two talismans collided in midair with a sound like thunder, crimson and jade energies warring for dominance. For a breathless moment, they seemed perfectly matched—two opposing forces canceling each other out. Then, slowly, the jade began to overtake the crimson, pushing it back toward Ren Zhao. Ren Zhao's face contorted with effort as he poured more power into his talisman. "This changes nothing," he snarled. "The mountain may return, but the Crimson Phoenix Sect stands ready. We destroyed you once. We will do so again." "You never destroyed us," Elder Lian replied, moving to stand beside Lin Feng. She added her power to his, strengthening the jade talisman. "And now, you never will." With a final surge of combined energy, the jade talisman overwhelmed the Blood Phoenix Binding. The crimson symbols scattered, dissipating like smoke in wind. Ren Zhao stumbled backward, momentarily stunned by the failure of a technique he had clearly believed infallible. His disciples drew their weapons, ready to attack. Before they could move, the ground shook violently—no mere tremor this time, but a sustained quake that sent all of them staggering. "The mountain," Elder Lian gasped, her eyes going distant as if seeing something beyond the cave walls. "It's fully returning. Now." The cave ceiling began to crack, stone fracturing under stress no natural earthquake could generate. Temporal distortions rippled through the air, visible as shimmering waves that bent light and distorted perception. "We have to get out of here," Liu Mei shouted over the rumbling. "The cave is collapsing!" Ren Zhao evidently reached the same conclusion. "Retreat!" he ordered his disciples. "We'll settle this another day." They fled toward the entrance, disappearing into the pre-dawn darkness outside. "We should follow them," Lin Feng urged, reaching for Liu Mei's hand. Elder Lian shook her head. "No. This is our chance." She pointed to the northern wall of the cave, which had begun to glow with the same jade light as the lotus mark. "That's not destruction—it's a doorway." "A doorway?" Liu Mei repeated incredulously. "To where?" "To the mountain," Elder Lian replied. "To the Jade Lotus Sect." The glow intensified until the wall vanished entirely, replaced by a swirling vortex of jade energy. Through it, Lin Feng glimpsed what appeared to be a vast hall of white stone, illuminated by the same jade light that now filled the cave. "The time lock is dissolving," Elder Lian explained urgently. "Creating temporary passages between our time stream and theirs. This won't last long." "You want us to go through?" Lin Feng asked, eyeing the vortex with understandable apprehension. "It's our only choice," Elder Lian insisted. "Ren Zhao will return with reinforcements. If we stay, we die." Another violent tremor shook the cave, larger chunks of the ceiling beginning to fall around them. "What about the time distortions you mentioned?" Liu Mei asked. "The ones that affected the sect members trapped inside?" "A risk we must take," Elder Lian acknowledged grimly. "But staying here is certain death." Lin Feng looked at the swirling vortex, then back at the cave entrance where Ren Zhao had disappeared. The choice wasn't really a choice at all. "Together," he said, taking Liu Mei's hand in his right and Elder Lian's in his left. "Whatever awaits us on the other side, we face it together." They approached the vortex, its jade light washing over them, pulling at them with an inexorable gravitational force. "The Jade Lotus Sect awaits," Elder Lian said, her voice tight with emotion—fear or anticipation or both. "Home, after three centuries." As one, they stepped into the swirling jade light, leaving behind the crumbling cave and the world they knew. The last thing Lin Feng saw before the vortex engulfed them completely was a flash of crimson at the cave entrance—Ren Zhao, returning just in time to witness their escape. Then there was nothing but jade light, the sensation of falling through endless space, and the warm, steady pressure of Liu Mei's hand clasped tightly in his own. --- They landed hard on polished white stone, the jade vortex collapsing behind them with a sound like shattering glass. For several moments, all three lay where they had fallen, gasping for breath, adjusting to the sudden transition. Lin Feng recovered first, pushing himself up to take in their surroundings. They were indeed in a vast hall, its ceiling soaring dozens of meters overhead, supported by columns of white jade. The walls were adorned with intricate murals depicting cultivation scenes, all illuminated by the soft glow of jade lamps similar to the one Elder Lian had used. "We made it," he breathed, helping Liu Mei to her feet. "This is..." "The Grand Hall of Temporal Harmony," Elder Lian finished, her voice thick with emotion as she rose shakily. "The heart of the Jade Lotus Sect." Liu Mei gazed around in wonder. "It's magnificent. But... where is everyone?" The hall was eerily empty, showing no signs of recent habitation despite its immaculate condition. No dust, no decay—as if frozen in time, which, Lin Feng supposed, it literally had been. Elder Lian frowned, moving toward one of the murals. "They should be here. Unless..." She trailed off, studying the painting with growing concern. "Unless what?" Lin Feng prompted. "Unless the time lock affected different parts of the mountain differently," she replied slowly. "As I feared it might." Before she could elaborate, a voice rang out from the far end of the hall—a voice that carried power and authority in equal measure. "Intruders in the sacred hall? Identify yourselves immediately!" They turned to see a figure striding toward them—a man of middle years, dressed in formal green robes emblazoned with the jade lotus symbol. His face bore a striking resemblance to Lin Feng's own, though his features were sharper, more defined by age and experience. Elder Lian fell to one knee, her head bowed in a gesture of profound respect that Lin Feng had never seen her display before. "Grand Elder Feng Tianhao," she said formally. "This disciple Lian Yueyin returns after long absence, bringing with her your grandson, Feng Lin." The man stopped abruptly, his gaze shifting from Elder Lian to Lin Feng with shock. "Grandson?" he repeated. "Impossible. My son Wuying is barely twenty years old." His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What trickery is this?" Lin Feng felt his heart skip a beat. Twenty years old? His father would have been well over forty when he died, over a decade ago. "No trickery, Grand Elder," Elder Lian replied, still kneeling. "But I fear the time lock has affected the mountain more severely than anticipated. For you, perhaps days or months have passed. For the outside world, it has been three centuries." The Grand Elder's face paled. "Three... centuries?" "Yes," Elder Lian confirmed gently. "The time lock did not fail completely, but it created distortions throughout the mountain. Different areas experiencing time at different rates." "Then my son..." The Grand Elder's eyes returned to Lin Feng, really seeing him now—seeing the resemblance, the bloodline connection. "Wuying lived a full life? Had a son of his own?" Lin Feng stepped forward and bowed formally. "My father died when I was ten years old. He never told me of my heritage or his origins. Elder Lian found me and revealed the truth only recently." The Grand Elder—his grandfather—studied him with eyes that contained the same intensity Lin Feng sometimes glimpsed in his own reflection. After a long moment, he approached, raising a hand to Lin Feng's chest. "The lotus mark," he said. "Show me." Lin Feng opened his robes, revealing the jade lotus glowing over his heart. The Grand Elder inhaled sharply, then pressed his own palm against the mark. Instantly, Lin Feng felt a connection form—bloodline recognizing bloodline, jade energy resonating between them. Knowledge and emotions flowed through that connection: the Grand Elder's shock, his grief for a son he'd barely seen grow up, his wonder at meeting a grandson born centuries after his own time. "It is true," the Grand Elder whispered, lowering his hand. "Three centuries..." He shook his head, visibly gathering himself. "Elder Lian, rise. Your loyalty honors the sect." As Elder Lian stood, the Grand Elder turned his attention to Liu Mei, who had remained silent throughout the exchange. "And this young woman? She bears no jade energy, yet..." His eyes narrowed at the faint crimson residue still clinging to her qi. "Phoenix blood? You bring a Crimson Phoenix disciple into our sacred hall?" "No, Grand Elder," Liu Mei said quickly, dropping to one knee as Elder Lian had done. "I am Liu Mei of the Soaring Dragon Sect. I wear this pendant only because of a political betrothal I have now rejected." Lin Feng stepped closer to her. "Liu Mei risked everything to help us. She warned us of the Crimson Phoenix Sect's plans to eliminate the last of the Jade Lotus bloodline. Without her, I would not be standing here now." The Grand Elder considered this, then nodded slowly. "Rise, Liu Mei of the Soaring Dragon Sect. Any enemy of the Crimson Phoenix is a potential ally of ours." As Liu Mei stood, the Grand Elder's expression grew more serious. "Now, you must tell me everything. How the outside world has changed. What became of our sect in the historical record. And most importantly—" his eyes hardened, "—what forces array against us as we return to the world." "It's a long story, Grandfather," Lin Feng said, the term feeling strange on his tongue. "Then let us find somewhere more comfortable," the Grand Elder replied. "The Elders' Council Chamber should suffice. And perhaps..." A shadow crossed his face. "Perhaps some of the others have also survived the time distortions." As they followed the Grand Elder deeper into the mountain complex, Lin Feng found himself walking between two worlds—the ancient legacy of the Jade Lotus Sect on one side, the modern cultivation world represented by Liu Mei on the other. And binding them together, himself—a bridge between past and present, bloodlines and alliances, personal loyalties and larger destinies. The jade lotus mark pulsed warmly against his heart, as if recognizing that he had finally come home. Yet Lin Feng knew that this was not an ending, but rather the true beginning of his cultivation journey. For outside the mountain, Ren Zhao and the Crimson Phoenix Sect surely prepared for war. And somewhere in the tangled corridors of this time-locked fortress, his father's past—and his own future—awaited discovery.