Chapter 1820: Sitting in Discourse on the Dao

An ethereal voice rang out, causing Li Luo to fall into a momentary daze.

He gazed at the woman before him, who could be called the most dazzling legendary woman of all time; her fame, he had heard far too much of over these years.

In the long river of years of the Outer Shenzhou world, if Li Li Tianwang was a star adorning it, then she must surely be the most brilliant and dazzling among them.

Her radiance illuminated the ages, causing many later-generation Li Li Tianwang to pale in comparison.

Her long hair cascaded behind her like a waterfall, a mask covered her face, concealing her features entirely; only the eyes beneath that mask left Li Luo unable to resist a sense of reverie.

Because those pupils were like molten gold at sunset, radiant and mysterious.

Identical to Jiang Jiang Qinge's.

In that instant, he almost felt as if he were seeing Jiang Jiang Qinge, yet he understood they were not the same.

"Greetings, Sect Master."

The ripples in Li Luo's heart gradually calmed, then he cupped his hands toward the woman before him as a sign of respect; after all, in every respect, this legendary Sect Master deserved the reverence of Li Luo and the many later-generation Li Li Tianwang.

Moreover, Li Luo being able to reach where he was today, the Sect Master was a very important factor.

Even though this was their first true meeting.

"So polite?" Facing Li Luo's respect, the Sect Master seemed to let out a light laugh, her gaze fixed on Li Luo with great interest.

"Sect Master seems very familiar with me?" Li Luo asked with a smile.

"Naturally very familiar; you obtained my Myriad Phase Seed and many phase natures, so in a sense you are my inheritor, and besides, there's the reason of Jiang Jiang Qinge... When you see me, I naturally know everything." The Sect Master said with a nod.

"What exactly is the relationship between Sect Master and Sister Jiang Jiang Qinge?" Li Luo asked curiously.

By now, he already knew that a mere "pseudo tenth-grade" phase nature could not change one's own life form, and then transform from a single phase nature into a true living being.

"Mm..."

The Sect Master thought for a moment and said, "She is me, yet not me, but there is indeed an extraordinary bond and connection between us. Actually, in a sense, she is more like the 'Dark Sect Master,' both born from my self and the Source of All Evil."

"However, the 'Dark Sect Master' was born a step earlier. She merged the power of myself and the Source of All Evil, making her not only stronger, but even going half a step further than me on the path of phase force. After the Dark Sect Master's birth, I knew I could no longer keep her in check, but her birth also gave me an inspiration. So at the final moment of my life, I refined my own flesh and blood, merging it with the Light Phase, and at the same time sealed a strand of the Source of All Evil's power at the deepest part of the Light Phase. Thus, ultimately, Jiang Jiang Qinge was born."

Faced with this rather profound and complex answer, Li Luo fell silent for a moment, sighed, and said, "What a mess."

"Can I understand it as, in a certain sense, you count as Sister Jiang Jiang Qinge's mother? Then by seniority, wouldn't I have to call you 'Mother' as well?" Li Luo said thoughtfully.

"No, no, no, I am all alone, 'mother' is out of the question; at most we are sisters of one body and one heart." The Sect Master waved her hand, chuckling softly, finding it inexplicably amusing.

Li Luo shook his head helplessly, no longer dwelling on this complicated and hard-to-describe relationship. He looked at the legendary Sect Master before him and said, "Sect Master is actually not quite what I imagined. Judging from the reverence the Faceless Six had for you, I originally thought you would be a person as majestic as the sea."

Every one of the Faceless Six regarded the Sect Master as a deity, with a reverence and respect beyond imagination. That Yin Li Tianwang, even knowing the Dark Sect Master's true nature, still hypnotized himself into seeing her as the Sect Master's rebirth, projecting his own fervent emotions—this alone was enough to reveal that the reverence for the Sect Master deep within his heart had reached a level of devotion that was even pathological.

"You and I are fellow travelers pursuing the end of the path, ultimately we are not the same; how could I put on majesty before you? Besides..."

"The me you see now is merely a wisp of aura that has escaped the erosion of time; what majesty could there possibly be?"

"Yet you are a glimpse of the future that I saw at the final moment of my life. The chaos of this world will be ended by you. The reason this wisp of my aura stubbornly persisted through such long years was, in truth, nothing more than to meet you face to face and confirm what I had envisioned." The Sect Master laughed freely and lightly.

"Now it seems, you have not disappointed me. You have unraveled the secret of the Faceless Holy Sect, becoming the third person to know the Faceless."

Li Luo, hearing this, asked with some confusion, "The third person?"

If the Sect Master and himself were counted, those who knew this "Secret of the Faceless" throughout all ages should only be the two of them.

The Sect Master smiled and said, "You couldn't have forgotten the founder of the Faceless Holy Sect, could you? That elder was the first to know the 'Secret of the Faceless.' In my youth I received a strand of opportunity left by him, received his teaching, and only then entered the Faceless Holy Sect. Speaking of which, in my heart, he was my master."

Only then did Li Luo realize; he had indeed forgotten the founder of the Faceless Holy Sect. After all, that era was far too ancient, and coupled with the fact that the Sect Master before him was far too brilliant and stunning, her radiance eclipsing every previous generation's Sect Master of the Faceless Holy Sect, later generations had already forgotten the former.

And he had not expected that the Sect Master and that elder had such a connection.

"However, knowing is knowing, but whether it was that elder or myself, neither of us was able to fully realize the 'Faceless.'"

"And you, you will be the one throughout all ages who truly forges the 'Faceless.'"

"The so-called Faceless begins from emptiness; emptiness turns into being, being transforms into many, many become myriad, and myriad returns to nothing." The Sect Master spoke at leisure, and within that ethereal voice seemed to emanate an ultimate true resonance capable of stirring heaven and earth.

Li Luo's expression grew serious; he knew this was the most important part of why the Sect Master's wisp of aura had persisted until now.

This was a discourse on the Dao.

A discourse on the Dao leading to the true tenth-grade.

With his current realm, he had also reached the same level as the Sect Master, so he could fully understand and comprehend the true resonance contained within the Sect Master's words.

This was the Dao of the "Faceless."

Beginning from the Empty Phase, then moving from emptiness to being, then through successive forgings of phase natures, achieving more phase natures; the phase natures within the body naturally transform into many phases, comprehending the resonance between all phases, then the number of phase natures reaches its extreme, achieving the Myriad Phases, and finally the Myriad Phases disperse, everything returning to nothing.

"Using emptiness to prove being, then using being to prove nothing." Li Luo said softly.

"The Myriad Phase Seed is not the Myriad Phase Seed; it should be called the 'Faceless Seed,' that is its final form."

Although in his previous comprehensions, he had suddenly realized that the moment in his life closest to the "Faceless" was when his own Empty Phase was born, being close did not mean arriving; even maintaining the Empty Phase for a lifetime, Li Luo could not forge the "Faceless."

Because the process of "Being Phase" was missing; the Empty Phase would ultimately remain just the Empty Phase, not the Faceless.

This process was extreme in its harshness, extreme in its difficulty; no wonder since the founding of the Faceless Holy Sect, no one had ever truly arrived.

The Sect Master nodded approvingly and said, "Only in this way can one prove the Dao of the tenth-grade. I too only realized this at the very last moment, but my path of proving the Dao was not complete, so I could only pass down the Myriad Phase Seed, seeking out the one who could prove the Dao."

Li Luo, all along this journey, began from the Empty Phase and achieved the Six Palaces Twelve Phases within himself; this foundation was already better than the Sect Master's had been. Coupled with his previous actions in the Memory World, where he reversed the phase natures at the node of time and forged ten thousand phase natures—although these were false phases, he had ultimately comprehended the true resonance of the Myriad Phases.

Finally he pierced through the fog, performing "Sacrifice to Nothing" on all his phase natures including the pseudo tenth-grade phase nature. At this very moment, within Li Luo's body, the proving of the "Faceless" had already begun.

In the Sect Master's gaze, the Li Luo before her seemed not to exist here, yet would inevitably exist in every corner of the world.

Omnipresent, and yet nothing in particular.

Profound upon profound.

However...

"It's still not enough; the tenth-grade 'Faceless' is still missing a piece."

Li Luo spoke slowly. Now within his body, although the Faceless had been born and was infinitely close to the "tenth-grade," infinitely close also meant it had not truly arrived.

That was because the phase natures that had undergone "Sacrifice to Nothing" were still insufficient.

But even the pseudo tenth-grade Empty Mist Phase had already been sacrificed to nothing; then where was that final missing piece?

Besides...

Li Luo raised his head, his gaze piercing through the Star Palace to the farthest reaches of the Outer Shenzhou sky, where the "Black Sun and Blood Moon," silent and motionless for ten years, began to emit a terrifying, sinister light before the horrified eyes of countless people.

And above the Black Sun and Blood Moon, the temple complex formed from Jiang Jiang Qinge's body began to collapse.

The ten-year deadline had arrived.

Yet Li Luo's expression remained unruffled, his eyes still deep and bottomless like a dark pool.

The Sect Master asked with some surprise, "Your composure is indeed remarkable. That Dark Sect Master is about to break the seal and descend upon the world once more. If you cannot fully manifest the 'Tenth-Rank Formless,' how can you be her match?"

Li Luo looked at the Sect Master, whose face was covered by a mask, and smiled, "Naturally, I am waiting for the Sect Master to return my Phantasm to me."

"Your Phantasm?" In the Sect Master's golden eyes, curiosity seemed to flow.

Li Luo pointed to his own body, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

"Naturally, it is the three Phantasms that were originally meant to be born within my three Phantasm Palaces back then."