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...

Lin Qing and Elorie were carried together by everyone into the cubic holes in the Sect’s cellar.

After that, a layer of wet, glistening flesh-membrane grew over the surface of the holes, slowly sealing them in.

"That’ll do." Wei said. "It’ll take several days for soul and body to re-fuse. Once they wake up, they’ll naturally emerge from the Mixed Element Room."

"So all disciples of the Lotus Cloud Sect are cultivated from here?" Honglian sighed. "Immortal Techniques can advance to such a level... it really is breathtaking."

"Then what about Liu Shuyue?" Liuli asked.

Everyone fell unavoidably silent.

Ji Lian glanced at Chen Xuan, who was not far away. "Let’s settle her here first. Within the core region her body won’t decay... there’s plenty of time for him to adjust."

"Do you all think that game Master talked about... is it real?" Xu Xuanling lowered her voice, almost only mouthing the words. "All the choices we made in the heat of battle were actually being controlled by someone else?"

Ji Lian shook her head. "I believe he didn’t lie to us. That doesn’t mean the Star God doesn’t lie. Besides, I firmly believe Master has absolutely no intention of harming us."

"I’m not doubting him. I just want to know... what exactly is the essence of fate."

"The essence of fate is to seek knowledge and to rebel." Liuli suddenly spoke.

"Even if the more you rebel, the more lost you become?"

"Even if the more you rebel, the more lost you become." She nodded with certainty. "Because that confusion will in turn push people to seek knowledge further."

"That’s... kind of reasonable." Xu Xuanling gave her a surprised look. "Where did you get an insight like that from?"

"Probably because I’m not human." Liuli said with a straight face. "As a wondrous artifact, I sometimes truly feel humans think way too much."

"Don’t worry, he won’t stay lost for long. I have faith in that man." Honglian cut the two of them off. "For now, let’s just leave him alone for a while."

...

Chen Xuan stood before the stone platform where Liu Shuyue lay, images of his time with her flashing through his mind over and over.

"My name is Liu Shuyue, a Cultivator of the Lotus Cloud Sect. I haven’t introduced myself before; that was rude of me."

"So this is what you call instant noodles? The flavor truly is incomparably delicious, but is it really that cheap?"

"So, I must perform Demon Slaying."

"I want to ask the Lotus Cloud Sect, what exactly is the meaning of the ’governing and comforting the people’ they speak of!"

"What... am I, really? Can I still be considered... a true person?"

Now she lay peacefully on the stone platform, and would never again greet him with that slight smile at the corner of her brows like she used to.

This was not Chen Xuan’s first time facing parting.

He had already attended Joan’s funeral before—as a shopkeeper, customers come and go; farewells ought to be the most normal thing in the world.

So why was he taking it so hard this time?

Was it because she was his very first customer?

Chen Xuan didn’t know what Liu Shuyue had been thinking when he swung that one strike that burned up all of the Demon-Slaying True Sword... but according to Ji Lian, a puppet under someone’s control could not possibly unleash the True Sword to that extent—the wielder must have enough will and intent to burn themselves out so completely.

In other words, the resolve with which Liu Shuyue swung her sword then even surpassed that strike she made when slaying the dragon in the Wanshan Wilderness.

From her expression, Chen Xuan didn’t catch the slightest trace of anger or unwillingness; on the contrary, he felt an indescribable serenity.

"What about using the Soul Forge?" someone suddenly asked.

Chen Xuan turned his head and saw Honglian walking over.

"Didn’t you say you’d leave me alone?"

"Ah... you heard that?" She shrugged.

"My ears are just fine, especially in a cramped space like this."

"I did mean it," Honglian said openly. "But I figured maybe you’d also want someone to talk to. So I came to ask—if you want peace and quiet, I’ll leave right away."

Despite saying that, she still came to stand beside him without the slightest hesitation.

She was worried about him. Chen Xuan knew that. "...Thank you."

"You’re welcome." Honglian patted him on the shoulder. "So, what do you think of my suggestion?"

"I’ve considered it as well." Chen Xuan’s gaze drifted back to Liu Shuyue. "But the chances of success are low. Her situation isn’t the same as Lin Qing’s; there’s no ’raw material’ on her that records her fate. Even if I use my memories of her to forge a soul, I still wouldn’t be able to recreate the whole of her life."

"So the soul forged that way... would basically be a new Liu Shuyue?"

"More likely it wouldn’t wake up at all." Chen Xuan shook his head. "Her body has been shaped by Spiritual Qi and is highly compatible with her soul; it can’t contain a fragmentary, incomplete piece."

After crossing hands with the Star God, his understanding of souls had deepened a bit further.

Fei Wuniang, Andor, Gustav... odds are they had all signed contracts with the Star God. They gained the power of change, but also offered their souls up to the Star God. After their deaths, their souls would return to the Star God, and how he chose to use them was then a matter of fate.

Those cards aren’t just like prisons—they are prisons themselves, currency that shackles souls.

Even that initial "demo" wasn’t really a trial run.

Shang He died in the demo game, which is why he never appeared again afterward.

But not everyone has a soul.

In other words, ordinary people don’t have the chance to be resurrected through a soul after they die.

He could now answer one question: a soul is memory, will, Spiritual Qi, and also ability. It seems to originate from some more fundamental power, and only those with a certain inborn talent might possess it.

Seeing Chen Xuan in a daze, Honglian couldn’t help but frown. "I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I absolutely don’t believe Liu Shuyue only did this because she was being controlled by the Star God or by you. The situation was extremely dangerous at the time; white cracks had already appeared in the sky—maybe another ten minutes and the grand formation would have collapsed completely. We could have chosen to withdraw, but you were missing, and the giant insect was already exhausted. I can understand her decision to stake her life on one last strike at that moment. If you see this outcome as your fault, then you’re really underestimating her!"

"I know." Chen Xuan replied.

"Huh?" Now she was the one taken aback. "You’ve figured it out?"

"Yeah. They looked like they were turned into cards by the enemy, but those might not be the same as true Demon cards. When an ordinary person uses a Forbidden Ability, they always think about how to cheat their opponent within the match, whereas the Star God’s methods of deception might have already jumped outside the match itself."

Chen Xuan said slowly, "Even the illusion of time stopping before the game started was something he deliberately crafted. If he has a way to obscure my senses and blur the flow of time, then he could easily observe the entire battle first, and only afterwards design the contents of the cards. I’m guessing... you used a short-range teleportation ability in the fight, and when facing enemy mental Spells, Lin Qing displayed strong resistance?"

"Uh..." Honglian scratched her cheek. "That... does sound about right."

"He matched each of your performances with the abilities in my memory one by one..." Chen Xuan clenched his fists. "And I actually thought he possessed a power that could see through everything, that he could easily read all of your hidden trump cards."

That also explained why the ability names on the cards were exactly the same as those in the Ability Store.

Because they were just reflections of his own memories.

Ji Lian was the most special case.

The Immortal Techniques she used had long since exceeded the scope of what Liu Shuyue had taught, and she’d rarely had the chance to display them in front of him, so there was no such content in his memory. The corresponding effect thus turned into "two actions per turn."

Probably because her Body Technique was particularly swift.