Ye Lin only felt endless images flashing before his eyes.
They were the evolution of the Dao, the manifestation of laws, the principles governing the workings of heaven, earth, and all creation.
Metal, wood, water, fire, earth; yin and yang, the five elements; life and death, reincarnation; karma and retribution—everything, all of it, slowly unfolded within that voice.
"Thus, ever without desire, one may observe its mystery; ever with desire, one may observe its boundaries..."
The voice suddenly stopped there.
Ye Lin's heart tightened, and he looked up.
He saw the figure seated cross-legged in the void slowly turn its head.
Its features remained indistinct, but those eyes pierced through the light of Chaos and stared straight at Ye Lin.
What kind of eyes were those?
Deep as the universe, vast as the starry sky, as though they contained everything from ancient times to the present.
Under that gaze, Ye Lin felt like a speck of dust, minuscule beyond measure.
Yet there was no contempt in those eyes, no lofty condescension—only an indescribable compassion and calm indifference.
As though, in Its eyes, all things were Dao, and all things were equal.
Dust and stars were no different.
The instant their eyes met, Ye Lin felt as though he had been struck by lightning.
Within those eyes, endless images surged forth like a tidal wave.
He saw—
A figure seated cross-legged amid Chaos, comprehending the Dao through countless primordial eras.
Chaos churned, the Great Dao roared, yet that figure did not move, like an unyielding stone.
He saw—
That figure finally rise, splitting Chaos with a single finger and opening up a world.
Heaven and earth shattered, sun and moon shone together, and the figure stood in the void as holy light finally bloomed from Its body.
He saw—
That figure