I gain ten years' worth of cultivation every day, and even geniuses will only see my doorstep!

"Because I gave up my face." It raised its hand and touched its blank face. "The void devours everything that 'exists.' The face is a symbol of existence. With a face, there is identity, memories, and emotions. These things are utterly vulnerable in the face of the void. So I gave up my face, my identity, my memories, and my emotions. I turned myself into an empty shell, and the void couldn't find me, so it didn't devour me."

Lin Qing'er asked softly, "Are you... still conscious?"

"Yes," said the Faceless King, "but very faint. Like a candle flame in the wind, it could be extinguished at any moment. I have sat here for billions of years, just waiting for one person."

Qin Yuan: "Wait for me?"

The Faceless King nodded. "The fact that you were able to travel all the way from the lower realms shows that your power of existence is extremely strong. Your path is protection, and the essence of protection is 'existence'—what you protect must first exist. Therefore, your power of existence is stronger than anyone else's."

It stood up and took a step toward Qin Yuan.

"I need your power of existence." Its voice held a suppressed longing. "Not much, just a little. Help me reshape my face, let me regain my existence. In return, I will tell you everything above the Void Sanctuary."

Lin Qing'er frowned and subconsciously grabbed Qin Yuan's sleeve. She couldn't explain why, but she felt that something was wrong.

Qin Yuan looked at the Faceless King and remained silent for a moment.

"Okay," he said.

Lin Qing'er wanted to stop him, but Qin Yuan gently patted her hand, signaling her not to be nervous. He took a few steps forward and stood face to face with the Faceless King.

"What do I need to do?" Qin Yuan asked.

The Faceless King said, "Place your hand on my face, and then think 'You exist.' Your guardian spirit will automatically transfer the power of your existence to me."

Qin Yuan raised his hand and reached out towards the blank face of the Faceless King.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the blank face, the Faceless King suddenly moved. Its hands gripped Qin Yuan's wrists with astonishing strength, unlike anything that would normally dissipate. Two greyish-white flames ignited in its eye sockets—the flames of nothingness, capable of devouring all existence.

"Finally, you've arrived." The Faceless King's voice was no longer hoarse, but sharp and piercing, filled with ecstatic joy. "For billions of years, finally, someone with the power of a powerful being has come knocking on my door!"

Lin Qing'er's expression changed drastically, and she slashed at the Faceless King's arm with her sword. The blade struck it, producing a metallic clang, but not even a white mark was left.

"It's useless." The Faceless King laughed. "This is the Void Sanctuary, and I am the Void King. Here, I am the rule!"

Qin Yuan did not struggle. He looked at the Faceless King, his expression eerily calm.

"So, you've been lying to me all along?" he asked.

"Lie?" The Faceless King tilted his head, as if pondering the word. "No, I didn't lie to you. The Void Holy Court was indeed destroyed, the million-strong army was indeed reduced to dust, and I did wait here for billions of years. All of that is true. But my purpose in waiting for you was not to have you help me reshape my face—but to allow me to devour your existence and thus gain new life."

Its hands began to glow, a greyish-white light spreading upwards along Qin Yuan's arms. Wherever the light passed, Qin Yuan's sleeves turned to ash, his skin became transparent, and the blood vessels and bones beneath were vaguely visible. It was absorbing Qin Yuan's presence.

"Your power, your cultivation, your memories, everything about you will become mine." The Faceless King's voice grew increasingly excited. "Once I devour you, I will possess your face, your identity, your path. Then I can leave the Void Sanctuary and go to the world above. The Eternal Sanctuary, the Destiny Sanctuary, the Samsara Sanctuary… everything will be mine!"

Qin Yuan still did not struggle.

Lin Qing'er was so anxious she was about to cry. She desperately attacked the Faceless King, but all her attacks seemed to hit nothing but emptiness, having no effect whatsoever.

"Brother Qin Yuan!" she called out.

Qin Yuan turned to her and smiled. "It's alright. Don't worry."

He turned back and looked at the Faceless King.

"What will happen to me after you devour my existence?"

The Faceless King said, "You will disappear. Not die, but never have existed. No one will remember you, no trace will be left. It will be as if you had never come into this world."

"And what about her?" Qin Yuan asked, looking at Lin Qing'er.

"She will forget you too," the Faceless King said. "Your existence will be erased, and everyone connected to you will lose their memories of you. She will become a stranger, not remembering why she is standing here, not remembering why she is holding a sword, not remembering why she is crying."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qing'er couldn't stop her tears from flowing.

Qin Yuan remained silent for a moment.

Then he laughed.

"You know what?" he said, "On the way here, I've been thinking about something."

The Faceless King frowned. "What's the problem?"

"What is the Void afraid of?" Qin Yuan asked. "The Void devours all existence, so is there anything it fears? I thought about it for a long time and finally came up with the answer."

The Faceless King stopped. It sensed a sense of unease.

"What nothingness fears is not existence," Qin Yuan said. "What nothingness fears is existence that is 'unafraid of nothingness.' You devour me because you think I will be afraid of you. But I am not afraid."

He raised his hand and grasped the Faceless King's wrist with his other hand.

The Faceless King's expression changed drastically—it tried to break free, but Qin Yuan's hand gripped it like an iron clamp.

"Your power of nothingness can devour existence. But my guardian Dao can make existence undevourable." Qin Yuan's voice was calm. "Do you want to know why? Because guardianship is not passive. Guardianship is active. You devour me, and I become stronger. You devour a fraction of me, and I become tenfold stronger. You devour tenfold, and I become a hundredfold stronger. You can never devour me all."

The grayish-white flames in the Faceless King's eyes flickered violently. It sensed it—Qin Yuan's presence was not weakening, but rather constantly strengthening. Its rate of absorption was far slower than Qin Yuan's rate of self-strengthening.

"Impossible!" the Faceless King screamed. "How could you possibly fight against nothingness?!"

Qin Yuan did not answer. He simply continued to grip the Faceless King's wrist and continue to circulate the Guardian Dao. Golden light surged from his body, colliding, intertwining, and resisting the grayish-white power of nothingness.

The entire ruins of the Void Holy Court trembled. Collapsed pillars began to shake, crumbling walls began to peel away, and countless cracks appeared in the ground.

Lin Qing'er stood behind Qin Yuan, watching his back. His back wasn't broad, but at that moment it resembled a mountain, unshakeable.