Chapter 1613: No-Face Moral Immortal

"Oh no, oh no, this time the loss is truly immense..." The Boundless Wall's wailing echoed incessantly in Bai Shuyue's ears.

Like the repeated tolls of a brass bell, it slowly roused Bai Shuyue's lost spirit. As if waking from a deep dream, she gradually recovered from the terrifying experience she had just endured. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly realized she couldn't open her mouth!

"Wuwuwu..." Terrified, Bai Shuyue instinctively reached up to touch her face, wanting to see what was happening. It was bad enough before, but upon touching it, her heart was filled with even greater horror. She quickly cast a Water Mirror spell to check, and then finally confirmed it. All her facial features had completely vanished! What's more, the contours of her entire face faintly resembled the figure she had encountered in the memories of the Star Sea's True Essence just moments ago!

"It's only your face; what's there to be afraid of? At least you're still alive," the Boundless Wall's comforting voice came just in time, bringing some peace to Bai Shuyue's heart.

"What terrible luck! I just escaped from that hateful woman, and then I ran into this big villain! I nearly lost my underwear! Listen, when you transcend in the future, you must repay me generously!"

"To rescue you, I truly exhausted myself. I'm not lying this time. You must be careful from now on..." The Boundless Wall rambled on, sighing repeatedly.

Knowing the Boundless Wall's greedy nature, Bai Shuyue couldn't help but feel a warmth in her heart when she realized it was willing to give up a pile of treasures inside itself to save her.

"Don't worry, if I ever transcend, I will never forget all your help," Bai Shuyue said with great solemnity.

The Boundless Wall was overjoyed to hear this. It did not know, however, that Bai Shuyue's promise carried far more weight than it imagined. For Bai Shuyue meant not just this life, but every life since their initial encounter and every life to come.

Amidst their predicament, their relationship deepened.

With the Boundless Wall's rapid escape, it soon brought Bai Shuyue to the fringes of the Utter Darkness Star Sea. Seeing the endless wreckage of worlds in the distance, Bai Shuyue felt an inexplicable shock in her heart.

"Just cross the barrier ahead, and we should be able to escape this place."

"However..."

"This barrier seems to have a dual orientation, leading to different locations," the Boundless Wall mused after observing it for a while. "Never mind, it's better not to cause extra trouble. Finding a safe place to cultivate now is the most important thing," the Boundless Wall quickly concluded.

Without consulting Bai Shuyue, it charged toward the tall wall. A flash of green light, and it leaped across. In the next instant, Bai Shuyue had already left the Utter Darkness Star Sea.

"The Grand Dao... seems to have become richer," Bai Shuyue keenly observed. However, due to her recent lesson, she was extremely cautious and did not immediately try to comprehend the Dao. Instead, she carefully observed her surroundings first.

The Boundless Wall sped towards a vibrant, distant land. "I told you, there must be other places suitable for cultivation beyond the Profound Yellow Realm!" As the Boundless Star Sea drew nearer, the Boundless Wall became a little too pleased with itself.

"Cultivate well, and transcend soon." It instructed Bai Shuyue.

Suddenly, for some reason, the Boundless Wall's flying speed slowed down. Around it, countless intersecting fine lines appeared, like a giant net, blocking the Boundless Wall. Before the Boundless Wall and Bai Shuyue could react, they plunged headfirst into the Dao net.

"An immortal artifact?" Along with a cold snort, a transparent giant hand appeared in the void, instantly seizing the Boundless Wall. Escaping from the Hungry Immortal and the What-Does-It-Matter Immortal had already exhausted the Boundless Wall's reserves. At this moment, it was finally unable to struggle and was slowly suppressed by the Dao net.

"Damn it! How could this happen!" the Boundless Wall wailed angrily before its consciousness faded.

Inside the Boundless Wall, Bai Shuyue watched the layers of protective barriers about to shatter around her. She sighed. "The outside is too dangerous; it's better to stay obediently in the Profound Yellow Realm." With a flicker in her eyes, she had already made up her mind.

Bai Shuyue committed suicide for the second time!

However, this cycle of reincarnation did not end there. A flash of green light appeared, and the Boundless Wall, which had clearly been suppressed by the Dao net, instantly escaped. It vanished without a trace in an instant. The transparent giant hand, filled with doubt, searched for a long time but ultimately found no trace of the Boundless Wall.

In the center of the Utter Darkness Star Sea, where the Star Sea's True Essence was most active, the Boundless Wall suddenly reappeared.

"Hahaha, I knew I wasn't meant to die!" The newly freed Boundless Wall was ecstatic and very smug. But when it looked around, it was suddenly startled: "Oh no, how did I end up back here again?" Then, it let out a shriek: "Oh no, oh no, little girl, how could you just die like that! It's over, everything's over..."

Just as the Boundless Wall was in disbelief, wailing incessantly, Li Fan quietly appeared beside his aunt's corpse. Looking at the disfigured face, he gently placed his hands upon it.

"How dare you! Who are you, to desecrate..." The Boundless Wall's words abruptly cut off as if someone had clamped its mouth shut. However, it wasn't Li Fan who stopped it. Li Fan was currently examining his aunt's memories from before her death. Instead, upon seeing Li Fan, the Boundless Wall was so terrified that it couldn't speak.

It had witnessed countless True Immortals in the Immortal Realm, even past Immortal Emperors. Its intuition told the Boundless Wall that the person before it was very dangerous. Extremely dangerous! The Boundless Wall's intuition was remarkably accurate. Its ability to survive the great catastrophe that destroyed the Immortal Realm and even loot the Dao Palace was undeniably linked to its intuition. The reason it had gone all out to help Bai Shuyue was that its intuition told it Bai Shuyue was a good person. Helping her a little would bring tenfold rewards in the future! Yet, it had never expected Bai Shuyue to die so easily. And, to make matters worse, it had encountered such an incredibly dangerous individual...

"He can't see me, he can't see me..." The Boundless Wall repeated silently to itself, not daring to make a sound. It was like the days many years ago, when it lay quietly and motionlessly atop the Taiyi Palace.

Li Fan naturally noticed the Boundless Wall's subtle movements. However, in his current state, he no longer needed to pay it any mind. If a Saint Lord were present, he would certainly treat them with solemnity. But this was merely a tile used by a Saint Lord to build a Dao Palace in one of countless possibilities... Even acknowledging it would be beneath Li Fan.

"What-Does-It-Matter Immortal.""Moral True Immortal.""What does it matter to me? What a 'Moral True Immortal'!"

Exiting his aunt's memories, Li Fan gently swept his hand, dispelling the lingering immortal power. The blank face slowly returned to its original appearance. The figure his aunt had just encountered was precisely that Moral True Immortal who had transformed the previous Hungry Immortal into a Heavenly Pillar to resist the Tribulation of Dao Annihilation!

"'The Immortal Realm is suffering, and the lower realms won't last much longer. Someone must step forward and, for everyone's sake, endure the Dao Annihilation. Why can't it be you?!'""'Sacrifice the lesser self to achieve the greater good. We survivors will remember you.'"

The Moral True Immortal uttered these grand-sounding words, then casually suppressed and killed the old Hungry Immortal. Moreover, after arriving in the lower realms, he instigated a world-ending catastrophe.

"With the Moral True Immortal's power, destroying the lower realms would be a mere wave of his hand. Yet, he didn't act personally; instead, he inscribed numerous True Immortal Seals and used their power..." Li Fan frowned slightly. A being with the power of a Moral True Immortal would certainly not do anything meaningless. "It seems it might be related to his method of transcendence." "And furthermore..."

With a thought, a statue appeared before Li Fan. It was the Xuantian Divine Statue, buried beneath Su Bai's old home in the Profound Yellow Realm. Back then, Li Fan had inadvertently touched it and, affected by its power, had lost his face. This was exactly like his aunt's experience. Li Fan's appearance this time also had this reason.

"My previous conjecture was actually true.""The What-Does-It-Matter Immortal is the Faceless Immortal. And also the Moral True Immortal.""But..."

Li Fan fell into confusion. The Faceless Immortal had once saved the life of King Xuantian, and even after King Xuantian returned to the Profound Yellow Realm, the two maintained contact. His actions in various situations didn't resemble those of the reckless Moral True Immortal at all. Moreover, when Li Fan was still a mortal, he had utilized the Faceless Immortal's immortal power and successfully escaped while under its influence. If the Faceless Immortal truly was the Moral True Immortal, with the power he had displayed, the Li Fan of that time would certainly not have had a chance to escape.

"To find the answer..." Li Fan looked at the Xuantian Divine Statue before him, separated a wisp of his divine sense, and entered it. It seemed to pass through a long stretch of darkness.

"Who's there?" A wary voice responded.

"An old friend of King Xuantian," Li Fan casually replied.

"Xuanyuan Hong's friend?" The voice on the other side sounded a bit confused.

"He doesn't know me, but I know him, and I've received much help from him," Li Fan explained. This statement was not a lie.

"I see." After saying just that, the other side fell silent. It seemed to still hold some apprehension towards Li Fan's sudden appearance.

Li Fan didn't mind and instead asked, "Fellow Daoist, your state seems a bit off? Do you need any help?"

"You? Help?""If Xuanyuan Hong is the purest and truest person I've ever met, then you are the most evil and wicked!" the Faceless Immortal sneered.

Upon hearing this, Li Fan's eyes narrowed slightly. "It sounds like you have the ability to discern others' natures."

The Faceless Immortal remained silent.

"You say I am the most evil and wicked, but I disagree. Leaving aside the two suppressed in the Eternal Heavenly Steps of the Other Shore, just considering a certain Moral True Immortal I know, his actions are no less than mine! I truly cannot bear the title of 'most evil and wicked'!"

"It seems your divine ability hasn't reached its peak yet!" Li Fan smiled.

Like a pebble dropped into calm water, Li Fan could feel waves of emotional fluctuation emanating from the Faceless Immortal. "So, you're here to test me." After a long silence, the Faceless Immortal scoffed coldly.

"The Moral True Immortal is no longer me.""If you have any grievances, seek him out yourself.""It has nothing to do with me!"

"'It has nothing to do with me, what does it matter to me.' And you say it's not you?" Li Fan sternly retorted.

"No wonder. At first, King Xuantian, to thank you for saving his life, ordered numerous statues of you to be erected, commanding his followers to prostrate before them. But later, he strictly forbade his subordinates from worshiping the Xuantian Divine Statue again...""He must have discovered that you, his life-saving benefactor, were actually the culprit behind the Star Sea calamity in the lower realms!" Li Fan mused thoughtfully.

"I told you, that wasn't me!" the Faceless Immortal retorted angrily.

"The Moral True Immortal isn't you, but are you the Moral True Immortal?" Li Fan countered.

"No." The Faceless Immortal seemed to hesitate, pausing for a moment before answering.

"It seems, Fellow Daoist, that your cultivation has gone awry," Li Fan realized. "Perhaps you don't know, Fellow Daoist, but I am well-versed in the medical principles of heaven and earth. Even chronic ailments of mountains and seas, I can treat. If you have a problem, feel free to speak plainly. I might be able to lend you a hand," Li Fan said with great sincerity.

"Heh heh..." The Faceless Immortal certainly wouldn't believe Li Fan's nonsense. However, for some unknown reason, he still began to explain: "It's not exactly that my cultivation went awry. It's merely an inevitable part of the path to transcendence."

"I was once the renowned Moral True Immortal of the Immortal Realm. Dao means formless and intangible, giving birth to heaven and earth, with a mind unblemished. De (Virtue) means broad and magnificent, achieving harmony through cultivation, acting without regret. Morality and Virtue are one, with temperament as their root."

"What I followed was not common worldly morality, but the principles flowing through heaven and earth. It's just that..." The Faceless Immortal sighed deeply: "With the erosion of Dao Annihilation and the collapse of heaven and earth, even heaven and earth themselves struggled to circulate completely. The morality and virtue I cultivated naturally developed various flaws. To repair these flaws, I began to seek a solution."

"But I never expected to embark on an unforeseen path."

"Did your consciousness split out of control?" Li Fan asked.

"It's far more complex than that. Morality and Virtue have split apart," the Faceless Immortal said with a hint of helplessness.

"Dao, De, split, apart?" Li Fan carefully savored these four words.

"I am De (Virtue), he is Dao. Morality and Virtue could not be simultaneously maintained, hence we parted ways."

"He lost the shackles of De, acting wantonly and without restraint. He took his own actions, thoughts, and deeds as his virtue. Surprisingly, he even achieved moral perfection, advancing further."

"As for me..."

"His actions became my demonic obstacle. De was no longer De, hence I lost my face."

"Preoccupied with my own struggles, how could I seek the Dao again? Compared to him, I have fallen more than just one level," the Faceless Immortal said with a touch of melancholy.

Li Fan was not a dull person; with the Faceless Immortal's explanation, he quickly understood. But recalling his aunt's recent experience, he quickly spotted a possible flaw in the Moral True Immortal. He couldn't help but burst into laughter: "I see, Fellow Daoist, you are trapped within the situation and unaware of it!"

"What do you mean?" the Faceless Immortal asked, surprised.

"Morality and Virtue. Although they have split, they ultimately remain interdependent. If Virtue is no longer Virtue, thus losing its face, then what if Dao loses its Virtue?"

"In my opinion, you still can't escape the fate of being faceless in the end," Li Fan said with a light chuckle. "If I'm not mistaken, that Moral True Immortal must have been looking for you all this time, right?"

The Faceless Immortal responded with silence. Li Fan, however, became even more certain in his heart.

"Morality and Virtue splitting apart might allow for temporary transcendence.""However, to truly achieve perfection, you two must eventually reunite."