Chapter 1: The Daoist Elder Says You Must Believe in Science?

In a parallel world, in the southwest of the Dragon Nation, the Great Wilderness's western mountain, Wuji Cliff, lies the Heavenly Beacon Daoist temple; the temple is neither large nor small, and atop the peak sits a one‑mu courtyard with a spirit palace at its center, offering incense to the Three Pure Ones; the side annexes each house only a single Daoist.

Ye Yun is the only Daoist in this temple; above him are only the Three Pure Ones, below him are myriad beings; this year, no one knows which millennium he has spent on the mountain, and the last time he descended seemed to be a hundred years ago.

When he attained the Dao, Heaven and Earth had just been separated, the gods were not yet sealed, humanity was just rising; the Great Way of Heaven and Earth granted him a title, Earth‑Bound Immortal, which by its name means that in this life he remains in the human immortal realm, unable to ascend to the Heavenly Court nor descend to the Underworld; calling it a title from the Great Way of Heaven and Earth is no more accurate than calling it a seal placed upon him.

In an instant, thousands of years passed; he has been meditating in this temple for an unknown span, still unable to break through these constraints, even the cat of Emperor Tang Xuanzong, which has lived beside him for a thousand years after receiving incense and hearing sutras, remains alive, and he still looks like a bird‑like figure.

Even though Ye Yun has descended the mountain in every dynasty to set foot in the mortal world, he has found no trace of opportunity; his Dao Heart seems to have already returned to void.

At this moment, he had just completed the three incense pillars and was calling the little orange cat on the roof from the courtyard.

In the mist‑shrouded forest, an ethereal long‑legged beauty, glistening with fragrant sweat, walked along a path overgrown with wild grass.

Her name is Li Yan, an outdoor streamer; a few days earlier she came to Shoulong Village at the foot of the mountain to explore mysteries and hunt for treasure, and after hearing villagers say there is an ancient temple of a thousand‑year history on the mountain, she came out of curiosity.

As an outdoor streamer who travels famous mountains and rivers to uncover relics for views, a thousand‑year‑old ruin is exactly her target!

Crack! Li Yan swung her sickle, cutting away a clump of shrub before her, climbed another step upward, and suddenly the clouds cleared, revealing a man‑made building before her eyes!

Here it is, this one!

"Now, we have found the Daoist temple the villagers mentioned; we can see there is a Daoist elder inside, let's go up and ask, and see what's different about this temple!"

Li Yan spoke while looking at Ye Yun inside the temple, dressed in a plain Daoist robe, his slender figure exuding a hermit's lofty aura.

"Daoist elder, may I disturb you?"

Ye Yun turned his head toward the voice and saw a brightly dressed, strikingly beautiful girl holding a phone walking toward him.

He did not know that the metal piece in the girl's hand would broadcast his every word and action, and he asked lightly, "Are you here to offer incense for blessings, to consult divination, or perhaps to fulfill a vow?"

Li Yan gave an awkward smile, pointed to her phone, and said, "I'm an outdoor streamer; I'd like the Daoist elder to give me a tour of the temple."

"I see… that works. Once I catch that foolish cat, I'll take you around."

Li Yan heard this, a dark line spreading across her forehead, thinking the Daoist elder looks barely eighteen, perhaps twenty at most.

How can such a young Daoist elder call himself "old man"?

Not only was Li Yan shocked, but the comment barrage surged with Ye Yun's words.

"Streamer, this Daoist elder is something! Young and handsome yet calls himself 'old man'?"

"He looks about twenty; given the ancient average lifespan in the Dragon Nation, calling himself 'old man' is barely acceptable."

"But this is the twenty‑first century! Wait, a streamer looking for such a handsome Daoist elder in a deep mountain forest—could it be for GHS? 【laugh】"

"Hehe, hiring an actor to pose as a hermit for cheap cash, what a trash streamer! Unfollow!"

Li Yan looked at the barrage and hurriedly explained, "I really don't know this Daoist elder; it's my first time here!"

But regardless of Li Yan's explanation, the livestream's popularity, originally fifty thousand, gradually fell to twenty‑ or thirty‑ thousand.

Those still in the livestream were mostly girls drooling over the Daoist elder's looks.

Li Yan, anxious about her popularity, glanced to the side and saw the Daoist elder lift his sleeve, pointing at the cat and scolding, "You wretched beast, I'll count to three; if you don't come down, I'll go up and catch you, and you'll get a few lashes!"

The cat seemed to understand Ye Yun's words, lazily lifted its head, meowed a few times at a distance, and waved its paw as if unwilling to back down.

This comical scene caused cheerful noises to ripple through the livestream.

"This Daoist elder actually shouted at a cat from afar?"

"Meow: If you've got the guts, come up! If you dare come up, I'll dare go down!"

"Haha, I'm wondering what the Daoist elder must do to catch that cat?"

Li Yan pursed her lips, somewhat absent‑minded, and said to Ye Yun, "Daoist elder, where is the ladder? Shall I fetch a ladder for you?"

She now only wanted Ye Yun to quickly catch that foolish cat, then give her a proper tour of the temple, preferably uncovering some priceless ancient books or relics to restore her lost popularity.

"Ladder? This temple has no ladder."

"Then how will the Daoist elder catch the cat? Could it be that he can't fly?"

Ye Yun smiled; his already handsome face, now brightened by a sunny grin, made Li Yan's heart skip a beat.

"How could I fly? You young person, you must believe in science!"

With that, Ye Yun, in front of Li Yan, leapt, landing directly on the roof, then reached out and seized the orange cat by the nape.

"Wretched beast, come down with me to be beaten!"

Saying so, he performed another somersault jump, landing steadily on the ground, moving with cloud‑like, water‑like grace, like a martial‑arts master from a TV drama.

Li Yan opened her mouth, stunned for a long moment, unable to utter a word, while her livestream suddenly exploded.

"WTF! This is the Daoist ultimate skill Ti Yun Zong?!"

"No, no, no, this is just lightness skill, right? First you have the streamer believe in science, then a second later you're flying?"

"Isn't this better than a live stream? I want to see the Daoist elder fly up and down again!"

Lord Sun Gong launched a super rocket and shouted, "Whether this Daoist elder is on a wire or not, his cloud‑like, water‑like movement is worth the money."

Someone mentioned the wire, and instantly a crowd began offering scientific explanations for why such a scene could occur.

The overwhelming majority in the livestream thought the Daoist elder was on a wire, essentially confirming that the streamer hired an actor for cheap cash.

Nevertheless, even so, Li Yan's popularity, boosted by the super‑rocket's worldwide banner, continued rising to fifty thousand, returning to its initial level.

"Hehe, the streamer really knows how to hire actors; for a cash‑grabbing streamer, is it even worth watching?"

A viewer, clearly annoyed, said.

"Yeah, I don't believe this Daoist elder can really fly; the roof is at least five meters high, even NBA players don't have that vertical leap!"

"Streamer, we want to see if the Daoist elder has a wire rope!"

Li Yan swallowed, glanced at her phone screen, then walked over to Ye Yun, who was pressing the orange cat to the ground, and, having seen it with her own eyes, was certain there was no wire rig on this towering peak; she could hardly believe it was real!

"Daoist elder, could you…?"

"Could you what? Do you also want to get your butt spanked?" Ye Yun said irritably, referring to the lazy cat that was supposed to catch mice but only sunbathed on the roof all day.

Li Yan's cheeks flushed, and she quickly waved her hand, "No, no, Daoist elder, could you perform that again? The supreme skill you just showed—just a whoosh and you flew up to the roof and back down?"

Ye Yun glanced at Li Yan, "What? You want to go up to the roof and bask in the sun?"

"No, no, my audience is curious how you got up there."

"Audience? Where? Why didn't I see any? Are you pulling a fast one? There's no audience on this desolate mountain ridge."

"Live‑stream chat: 'You two graduated from Beijing Film Academy, right? So good at acting!'"

"That's not right; just now the Daoist Priest was flying up and down and hasn't left the camera. Why doesn't he have a safety rope on him?"

"Upstairs, you can't really think this Daoist Priest actually flew up, can you?"

"Li Yan looked at the Daoist Priest, who seemed out of step with the times, and for a moment didn't know how to explain what a live stream was, when she saw a private message from Lord Sun Gong."

"Strange, why doesn't this Daoist Priest have a safety rope? Moreover, I don't see any rigging equipment around."

"Host, have the Daoist Priest show a couple of moves; he should have real kung fu. If he's not bad I'll give you ten Super Rockets!"

"Li Yan saw Lord Sun Gong's private message; that's ten Super Rockets! One Super Rocket costs two thousand, ten makes twenty thousand!"

"If she secures those ten Super Rockets, she'll not only fill the gap in travel expenses but also make a big profit."