I, the Lord of the Fifth Throne, am the source of all things!

Dalian suddenly looked up at Duanmu Lian, only to see that the other looked bewildered and helpless. Although there was no sadness in her eyes, tears were streaming down her face uncontrollably.

The girl didn't cry, but Lian did.

"I......."

Duanmu Lian raised her hand, somewhat bewildered, and caught her own tears.

Looking at the tears dripping into his palm, his eyes were filled with confusion and disbelief, and his heart was in turmoil.

Emotions that didn't belong to him swirled and intertwined within his heart.

Unwillingness, unease, regret, lingering affection, love, and so on... These emotions, left behind by the previous generation of Duanmu Lian, resonated in the soul of the present Duanmu Lian.

Each generation of Duanmu Lian would cut off their own soul and throw it into the Sea of ​​Souls; this was their inheritance and ritual as Duanmu Lian.

The fact that Duanmu Lian is in this state before Dalian means that fragments of the previous Duanmu Lian's soul must have been mixed into her soul.

The soul is still the same soul, but its memories, emotions, and personality have been formatted, giving rise to a completely new seed personality.

The entire group led by Duanmu Lian can be considered as one person, since they all started from the same point.

However, due to their different experiences later in life, they became different people.

The current Duanmu Lian can sense the thoughts and feelings of her past life.

He did not regret his fate, but he was resentful that he could not keep his promise to the one he loved.

At the same time, he was also worried about how Dalian would survive alone.

Including the current Duanmu Lian, Dalian can be said to have witnessed the birth of three generations of Duanmu Lian.

The Demon Lotus knew that after she was born, she would definitely take good care of Dalian after receiving his memories.

However, he also took into account Dalian's feelings.

How does the other person feel when they see someone who looks almost exactly like their loved one?

That remains to be seen, but it is certain that it is definitely not good.

Therefore, in her final words, Demon Lotus actually had some things she was hesitant about saying.

That is, the five words: "Live well".

He didn't know if Dalian would live in agony after he spoke out.

If that's the case, then these five words can be described as a 'vicious' curse.

Even if she didn't say it, Demon Lotus didn't want to see Dalian do anything foolish.

"alright......"

When Duanmu Lian was caught in a contradictory entanglement of past and present lives, the girl's gentle voice pulled him out of this state.

When Duanmu Lian came to his senses, he saw Dalian floating in front of him, gently patting his cheeks with her small, fair hands.

After seeing Duanmu Lian regain consciousness, the girl gently wiped away the boy's tears, then said with a smile that was hard to decipher—whether it was happiness or sadness:

"Thank you for shedding tears for me and him. I had said to myself that I didn't want to end things with tears, but in the end, you had to bear the sadness."

"I, um..."

“I know you are not him, and I am not the kind of woman who deceives herself, but... you are the continuation of 'Lotus' life, please do not deny that.”

Looking at the girl floating in front of her, holding her cheeks and smiling brightly, Duanmu Lian was speechless for a moment.

Today, a deep-seated sadness, almost forgotten, resurfaced in his heart, and he shed tears he hadn't shed in over a decade.

But he knew very well that these feelings did not belong to him.

If we disregard the predetermined past life, then this moment marks the official beginning of Duanmu Lian's birth.

He is not only a continuation of the life of the previous Duanmu Lian, but also proof that countless Duanmu Lians have ever existed.

All lotuses begin at the same point.

However, the paths they will take in the future, and the types of people they will become or change into, are what make them different from one another.

...............

"Dalian, what's the current state of my soul and body? *slurp*"

Duanmu Lian, who was already a little hungry, sat at the dining table, her eyes slightly bright as she watched Dalian serve her favorite rice noodles and spicy soup. As she ate, she talked about her body and soul.

These two dishes are arguably Duanmu Lian's favorite foods.

There's no particular reason; it's just because it's cheap and delicious.

It could be said that it's a food he likes, or it could be said that he's gotten used to it.

As the wife of the previous Duanmu Lian, Dalian naturally knew her husband's tastes.

Whether it's the lotus from before or the lotus from after, they share the same past life experiences and the same soul; the differences in their habits and personalities are really small.

"Well... how should I put it, you currently have two bodies, one in the outside world and one in the inside world."

Dalian's fair and jade-like face was flushed. After taking a bite of her favorite fried bread and a sip of black tea, she continued to explain, "And your soul problem... can be said to be shaped like a gourd."

"Gourd...?"

After drinking all the spicy and refreshing soup in the bowl, Duanmu Lian looked slightly puzzled when she heard Dalian's description.

The current problem is that he can go to his memory palace.

However, his memories were simply too vast, so he decided to ask his ex-wife directly about some of the questions.

Hmm... she was my wife in a previous life, hence the name "ex-wife".

"YES, the you in the inner vision before me occupies ninety percent of the upper, middle, and lower parts of the gourd, while the you outside only occupies a tiny portion of the gourd's mouth, and its soul quality is only equivalent to a small hundred people..."

Dalian explained Duanmu Lian's current condition in great detail.

First and foremost is his health problem.

These are flawless, perfect bodies created by Duanmu Lian and others who extracted their own body cells from the outside world and then used genetic technology learned from countless worlds to mass-produce them.

Duanmu Lian is neither human nor non-human.

Why do I say that? Because at the genetic level, he far surpasses humans on Earth.

Furthermore, he is reproductively isolated from ordinary humans on Earth.

They may look like humans, but their genetic differences are actually greater than those between humans and chimpanzees.

Then comes the question of the soul.

Dalian's use of a gourd to describe Duanmu Lian's soul was not entirely wrong.

His free-moving soul and body exist within the interior space.

The lotus in the outside world was merely a cover, and could be considered Duanmu Lian's second primordial spirit.

The soul of that Duanmu Lian was a soul captured by the eternal return.

Duanmu Lian, who appears in the interior space, can be considered the one who secretly plots against others.

However, the lotus in the outside world was only a cover.

However, before the entire chat group system was eternally restarted by the Mercury Serpent in the fourth day of the world, it resided in the ordinary soul of Duanmu Lian in the outside world.

This is to ensure that Duanmu Lian does not lose this system.

After all, he often needs to go to other worlds to collect resources to become stronger, and there are also dangers involved.

The world projection is alright; at most, it will cause some wear and tear on the soul. Duanmu Lian's current soul lifespan can withstand the consumption.

However, if the portal to another dimension is used, Duanmu Lian herself would have to take the risk.

If he were to die unexpectedly in another world, it wouldn't affect the chat group system's fate. A new soul would be born in the Soul Abyss, inheriting his will and continuing the struggle.

Once the Mercury Serpent restarts the entire world, control of the chat group returns to Duanmu Lian within the inner world, allowing her to escape the vortex of eternal return in the cracks of time.

Meanwhile, after the Mercury Serpent restarts the entire world, the few years before Duanmu Lian is drawn into the Eternal Return, which is not yet dead, are a good time for him to move freely.

"I see......."

After listening to Dalian's explanation, Duanmu Lian nodded in understanding. The self in the external world and the self in the inner world can be said to be two parallel consciousnesses.

It has occupied a very important position in different situations.

"Your first priority now is to cultivate. During this process, I will tell you all the things you need to pay attention to. Let's go to the [Hall of Seeking the Way] first."

Seeing that Duanmu Lian had finished her lunch, Dalian also picked up a tissue to wipe her mouth, and then gestured to Duanmu Lian, who had the authority, to teleport over.

The Hall of Seeking the Dao, as its name suggests, is the place where Duanmu Lian of all generations pursued and chose the Dao.

Countless generations of Duanmu Lian have achieved remarkable success in various fields.

For example, there's the Demon God Lotus who followed the path of magic and achieved the status of a demon god, the Demon Cultivator Lotus who left behind the remains of the Ancient Tree of Reincarnation, and the Martial God Lotus who followed the path of martial arts, and so on.

Each Duanmu Lian will choose the path she wants to take in the [Hall of Seeking the Dao].

"good---"

Duanmu Lian is very ambitious, especially after she found her goal to strive for. After hearing Dalian's words, she immediately teleported there with her.

Each generation strives to defy fate, and even death cannot stop their progress.

If he can't do it, he'll leave it to the next person to do; if the next person can't do it, he'll pass it on.

Even if one's own personality and consciousness are gone, a new self will be born!

As Duanmu Lian said at the beginning, his soul was like the Ship of Theseus.

With her soul constantly being divided and recombined, and her personality constantly being replaced and renewed, what exactly is this Duanmu Lian?

I don't know, and I don't know either.

It wouldn't be wrong to say he's broken, but Duanmu Lian is now beyond redemption.