The No.1 Undercover in the Immortal World-Chapter 441 - 431: He Turned into Light

Lin Yun wasn’t particularly adept, but he was pretty good at bamboozling people.

The words he spoke might not necessarily be of any use, but they always made him seem rather impressive.

Yuxuan stroked his beard, nodding with satisfaction.

"The Great Dao is boundless, human effort has limitations, what can be done about this?"

Yuxuan threw out another question, and upon hearing it, Lin Yun couldn’t help but feel secretly delighted. Wasn’t this giving him a chance to show off?

"Life is limited, while knowledge is limitless. Pursuing the boundless with the limited is perilous indeed."

Dao could also be understood as a kind of knowledge, so Lin Yun didn’t change this word, and after hearing him, Yuxuan nodded slightly.

"Good."

Why don’t you say it’s brilliant?

Lin Yun scoffed inwardly, yet he felt that the scholarly atmosphere between them had suddenly increased a notch.

When Yuxuan said "good," he actually didn’t agree with what Lin Yun had said.

The Great Dao is infinite, life is finite. It is true that a finite life cannot tread the entire extent of the Great Dao, but stopping because of this is to waste a great life.

What Lin Yun said wasn’t wrong, but it was somewhat one-sided.

"At the dawn of the primordial age, who could speak of the Dao? The ancestors of mankind, newly born into the world, looked up to the vastness of the cosmos, gazed down at the abundance of species, and what they saw and learned, passed down through generations, until today. Modern beings benefit from the wisdom of the ancients, and future generations will inherit the Dao understood by the people of today. There will be offspring and their descendants, an endless lineage, why worry that the Great Dao will not be exhausted?"

Lin Yun: "..."

Can we speak in plain language, Taoist master?

I mean, I think I understand, but I still fear there might be some deviations when translated!

"What the Taoist master means is that the ancestors of the Human Race started off with no knowledge, but accumulated experience over generations. We are seeking the Dao standing on the shoulders of our forebears, and future generations will also seek the Dao standing on our shoulders, so one day, isn’t it possible that the Great Dao will be fully understood?"

"Indeed."

"But what if the Human Race perishes before exhausting the Great Dao and the world is destroyed?"

Yuxuan: "..."

Can’t you say something more optimistic?

However, Yuxuan didn’t deny Lin Yun’s statement.

He stood up, gazing at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, and said with a tinge of melancholy, "All beings are born and head towards death, from flowers, plants, and trees, to the sun, moon, and stars, none are exempt. Only the Heavenly Dao is eternal, cyclical and unchanging."

Lin Yun: "..."

I don’t know why, but a background music started playing in my mind again.

Both were silent for a while, then Yuxuan suddenly turned his head and said, "To speak of exhausting the Great Dao is still premature for us. I, for one, have merely advanced a small step on the path of cultivation."

Yuxuan’s words were quite modest, and Lin Yun hurriedly clasped his hands offering praise, "Taoist master, your cultivation level is unparalleled, you’re being too modest."

"It is not modesty, but self-awareness."

As Yuxuan spoke, he waved his hand, and suddenly, an illusion appeared before Lin Yun’s eyes.

He saw in a small pond, fishes swimming, when a golden carp struggled to leap from the water’s surface, only to fall back into it.

The illusion quickly vanished, and Lin Yun heard Yuxuan’s low and slightly hoarse voice.

"I am like a fish in that pond, striving to jump out of the water, longing to see the world outside. This is the wish of every cultivator. However, it’s only when I tried to leap out of the pond that I realized the water is where I truly belong."

"If I remain in the water, I will always be just a fish, one that has seen beyond the pond, but if I leap out of the water, I will only die on the shore. This is the truth of the Great Dao. Humans are born human, gods are born gods, humans have their human paths, and gods have their divine paths. For human cultivators, the path ends here."

Yuxuan succinctly told his own story, yet Lin Yun felt a heavy weight on his heart, as if pressed by a stone.

In Yuxuan, he sensed a certain resolution.

Perhaps he was already prepared to give his life for the Dao.

"A golden scaled fish is not an object of the pool; when it encounters a storm, it will transform into a dragon. With such enlightenment, I’m sure the Taoist master will succeed," Lin Yun said, hoping to comfort Yuxuan, but upon hearing these words, Yuxuan couldn’t help but look at Lin Yun more approvingly.

This principle was something Yuxuan had pondered over for a long time before he understood it.

If the carp can’t make it onto land, becoming a dragon would do.

Humans have limits, then...

"I’ll take your auspicious words."

Yuxuan touched his beard kindly, quite satisfied with today’s debate.

Originally, he just wanted to pass on his Dao to Lin Yun, but now it seemed that Lin Yun was indeed intelligent and could even provide him with some enlightenment.

Truly, learning has no sequence, and the one who has attained it is the master.

"There’s something else I wish to ask of you today," Yuxuan said, revealing his main purpose, which made Lin Yun’s heart jolt. Here it comes, the main event.

Questions and debates were all just a prelude; everything was for this "something else I wish to ask of you."

Lin Yun had no idea what it could be, but his usual strategy was to agree first, to sincerely agree. Whether he could fulfill the request later, he would find a way to muddle through. The important thing was to secure the benefits first.

"Please speak, Taoist master."

"My life’s learnings are all compiled within a single scroll, many of which are controversial and could cause upheaval if released prematurely. However, keeping them secret is also a waste. I ask you to safeguard them well, and when the time is right, reveal them to the public so they do not gather dust."

As he spoke, Yuxuan magically produced a scroll.

Lin Yun couldn’t help but be overjoyed upon hearing this. Was there such a thing as good fortune knocking at his door?

He had been thinking about learning Yuxuan’s skills before, but unexpectedly, Yuxuan had brought it up.

"Since it’s the culmination of a Taoist’s life’s studies, should I perhaps become your disciple?"

Lin Yun said enthusiastically, only to see Yuxuan hastily wave his hand: "There’s no need for that."

At this time, Yuxuan didn’t want to get too involved with Lin Yun. Relationships like that of master and disciple were best left unconfirmed.

He wasn’t sure whether getting involved with Lin Yun’s karma was good or bad. Since it was uncertain, it was better to avoid it if possible.

Lin Yun immediately felt a bit embarrassed. This old man really didn’t give him any face. I don’t necessarily betray my master every time, does he need to be that afraid?

Lin Yun accepted the scroll with a hint of embarrassment. The scroll itself was a Spiritual Artifact, specially crafted by Yuxuan to record his lifetime of studies.

Though it was only the size of a scroll, it contained the essence of his life’s research.

When Lin Yun received the scroll and opened it, he was immediately startled by the first few words he saw.

"The Complete Works of Mr. Yuewei... You are Mr. Yuewei?"

Lin Yun knew about Mr. Yuewei through Lin Yu. Because he thought Mr. Yuewei’s illustrations were well-drawn, Lin Yun even looked up some of his other works, which were indeed impressive.

This was talking about illustrations.

Since Mr. Yuewei hadn’t produced any new works in hundreds of years, everyone assumed he had died centuries ago.

Who would have thought that Yuxuan was Mr. Yuewei? Despite being a Taoist, he drew so well. Impressive!

The old Taoist knew a lot indeed.

"Correct, this volume contains both the grand and the minute ways of heaven and earth. I hope you can gain something from it," Yuxuan said generously, unaware of what Lin Yun was thinking. If he knew, he would probably have to strike Lin Yun with his sword a few times.

Lin Yun browsed the contents and realized that it included Yuxuan’s research and understandings of various things and phenomena, such as the earth being round and orbiting the sun.

This must be the earliest heliocentric theory.

At present, everyone believed that the sun, moon, and stars orbited the earth. Who would have thought that Yuxuan was such a scientist?

However, Lin Yun felt somewhat disappointed because this scroll contained only similar theoretical knowledge and lacked Divine Spells.

Lin Yun found it somewhat mundane and said in a half-mocking tone, "So apart from cultivation, the Taoist knows so much. These things are all amazing, I will study them well."

Yuxuan looked at Lin Yun sideways. How could he not know? This crafty kid was angling for his spell techniques!

"If you wish to learn, I can indeed teach you."

Yuxuan was prepared to discuss conditions with Lin Yun, like having Lin Yun keep a distance from Zhen Li, for instance.

But Lin Yun preempted him, saying, "Then I thank the Taoist in advance. Rest assured, as someone who repays kindness, if I ever encounter the Taoist’s disciple in the future, I will take good care of them."

Yuxuan: "..."

Well, I really do thank you for that.

"There’s really no need for that. Everyone has their own fate and the hardships my disciples encounter are trials on their path of cultivation."

Subtext: Stay away from my disciples.

Lin Yun hadn’t thought that much into it. He felt the old Taoist was being too polite, but no matter, he understood.

I’ll take good care of your Zhen Li in the future, and forget about Zhenren.

After all, Zhen Li was cuter, while Zhenren was different; a man whom Lin Yun couldn’t possibly find cute. Otherwise, it would be too horrifying.

"The art I have learned is called the Celestial Stars Spell. This technique, created by an Ancestor of Taiqing, differs from many other techniques of our time. It draws upon the power of celestial stars for one’s own use. In the beginning, progression may be slow, but once mastery is achieved, it exceeds the pace of other methods. Moreover, the power of the stars is different from the Power of the Five Spirits, as it isn’t influenced by the generating and overcoming cycles of the Five Spirits, yet it adheres to the principle of Yin and Yang Qian Kun."

Generally speaking, core techniques should not be shared with outsiders, but as Sect Leader, Yuxuan could teach whoever he wished.

Lin Yun had already been fascinated by the celestial power that Yuquan had used to injure him earlier. Now that Yuxuan mentioned it, Lin Yun was almost salivating with eagerness.

Coach, I want to learn this one!

"Please impart your teaching, Taoist."

Lin Yun was anything but polite, and Yuxuan chuckled before saying, "The scripture is here, listen carefully..."

Though Yuxuan asked Lin Yun to listen, as Lin Yun was about to pay attention, Yuxuan tapped his finger towards Lin Yun’s forehead.

Suddenly, Lin Yun found himself plunged into a mysterious and profound state and realized that the technique was understandable through intuition, difficult to convey in words.

He saw the stars flickering, and the Celestial Stars Spell was about absorbing the light of the stars into the body, transforming it into a special kind of energy.

Lin Yun couldn’t help but be amazed; the Ancestor of the Taiqing Daoist Temple was truly formidable. If one collected enough light energy, could not an X-ray be emitted as if Ultraman were fighting monsters?

After passing on the technique, Yuxuan added, "Be careful when cultivating this method. Do not draw in the Power of the Sun."

Lin Yun: "..."

"Taoist, what happens if I do?"

Having just learned it, Lin Yun naturally wanted to try it out instinctively, and with daylight, there was only the light of the sun available.

Yuxuan said casually, "The sun is so close, its light is everywhere. The slightest attraction will bring too much, and it would be akin to playing with fire and getting burned."

However, he was not worried.

Lin Yun had just learned the technique; surely he couldn’t activate the power of the stars straight away?

Yet, the very next second, he saw Lin Yun become a beam of light...