253: The mystery of the void master, the perplexity of the common origin.

After returning to Wanfa Sect, The Seven of Lu Chen did not rush to integrate the seven emotions flower into the Samsara Grand Array. Instead, they first delved into the Cultivate Secret Realm in the back mountain, attempting to unravel the mystery of the Void Lord's shared Origin with them. The Spiritual Qi was dense in the Secret Realm, isolating all external disturbances. The seven emotions flower was placed on a spiritual jade platform in the center, its colorful spiritual light slowly flowing, faintly imbued with a trace of Evil Energy, resonating with the affection jade pendant in Lu Chen's palm, occasionally emitting subtle fluctuations, as if narrating a dusty past.

Lu Chen stood silently before the spiritual jade platform, gazing at the seven emotions flower, his confusion growing stronger. The Void Lord's phantom bore a seven-tenths resemblance to himself, and that inexplicable shared Origin connection made him subtly uneasy—if the two truly had a connection, then would the Void Lord's Evil Energy-fueled misdeeds also be inextricably linked to him? This doubt weighed on his Heart-Nature like a massive stone, gradually shaking his once resolute mind.

"Big Brother Lu, don't overthink it. Let's activate the seven emotions flower together; perhaps we can perceive the Void Lord's past and unravel this mystery." Ling Xi, seeing Lu Chen's confusion, gently comforted him. At the same time, she raised her hand to draw upon the Formation's Spiritual Qi, outlining a probing Formation pattern around the seven emotions flower. "The seven emotions flower contains pure emotional power and can reflect past Karma. As long as we use our emotional bonds as a guide, we will surely glimpse the truth."

Lin Yulan also nodded in agreement, already holding several ancient, rare scrolls she had found in the ancient book repository. She said in a deep voice, "Ancient records state that the seven emotions flower can not only strengthen the Grand Array but also trace back past trajectories related to emotions. The Void Lord shares an Origin with you, so his past must be connected to your emotional bonds. If The seven people work together to activate it, we should be able to awaken the memory fragments within the seven emotions flower."

Lu Chen took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and nodded. The seven people once again gathered around the spiritual jade platform, Lu Chen in the center, with The six women encircling him. Their fingertips touched, and the power of their emotional bonds instantly erupted, slowly flowing into the seven emotions flower through the spiritual jade platform. The pure white spiritual light of their bonds intertwined with the colorful spiritual light of the seven emotions flower, and the spiritual light grew increasingly brilliant, gradually enveloping the entire center of the Secret Realm. Vague images slowly began to emerge within the spiritual light.

Initially, the images were chaotic and disorganized, all fragmented snippets of Lu Chen's past Reincarnation cycles—there was the passion of fighting Evil Energy side-by-side, the tenderness of companionship, and the struggle when facing crises. But as the power of their bonds continued to infuse, the images gradually became clear, finally settling on the end of the last Reincarnation: at that time, Lu Chen had reached the Peak of cultivation, but due to emotional entanglements while protecting heaven and earth, dense negative emotions arose in his heart—confusion, suspicion, cruelty, indifference. These emotions, catalyzed by the Reincarnation energy, gradually condensed into a Clone similar in form to him.

This Clone carried all of Lu Chen's negative emotions; its Heart-Nature was twisted and highly destructive. To prevent it from wreaking havoc upon heaven and earth, Lu Chen of the previous Reincarnation and his companions had no choice but to harden their hearts and banish it to the desolate Evil Energy land, hoping it would dissipate in solitude. But who would have thought that this Clone did not perish? Instead, it continuously absorbed Void Evil Energy in the Evil Energy land. Negative emotions and Evil Energy fused, gradually growing stronger, eventually becoming the current Void Lord, taking the devouring of sentient beings' emotions and the destruction of heaven and earth as its mission, vowing to take revenge on Lu Chen who banished him that year.

The images slowly dissipated, and the spiritual light of the seven emotions flower gradually calmed, but the Void Lord's past was clearly imprinted in the minds of The seven people. Lu Chen stood frozen in place, his eyes filled with shock and confusion, his body trembling slightly—he had never imagined that the Void Lord, who threatened the entire continent, was actually his negative Clone from his previous Reincarnation, formed from his unresolved negative emotions.

"So... I harmed everyone..." Lu Chen's voice carried an almost imperceptible choke, his heart filled with guilt. "If I hadn't developed negative emotions back then, if I hadn't completely resolved that entanglement, the Void Lord wouldn't exist, and so many beings wouldn't have been corrupted by Evil Energy..." His mind completely fell into chaos, and he even began to doubt whether he was inherently of the same Origin as the Void Lord, whether he too would one day succumb to evil and harm those around him.

"Big Brother Lu, it's not your fault!" Ling Xi was the first to react, quickly stepping forward and tightly hugging Lu Chen's arm, her eyes filled with determination. "That's just your negative Clone, not the real you! The real you is the one who protects us, who protects heaven and earth, the one full of gentleness and responsibility. The you we love has always been this you!"

The other Five Women also gathered around, hugging Lu Chen tightly, conveying their firm love and trust with the warmth of their bodies. Lin Yulan gently stroked his back, softly saying, "Who doesn't have negative emotions in their heart? The important thing is that you have never been swallowed by negative emotions and have always held onto your original intention of protection. That's enough. The Void Lord is him, and you are you. You are already two independent existences; there's no need to blame yourself for his evil deeds."

Hai Qinghan leaned against Lu Chen, her voice gentle: "Along the way, we've seen you give your all to protect sentient beings, seen you throw yourself into danger to protect us. These are not false. The fault of the negative Clone should not be borne by you. We will be with you and solve him together." Although Bing Ningshuang spoke little, she held Lu Chen's hand tightly, her clear eyes full of certainty, silently conveying support; Luo Wanning's eyes were red, and she softly said: "No matter how many Clones you have, no matter what we encounter in the future, we will always be with you and will never let you face it alone." Zhu Yanyao patted Lu Chen's shoulder forcefully, saying cheerfully: "What's there to be afraid of! It's just a negative Clone, isn't it? As long as The seven people are of one heart, we can deal with him! If you dare to be confused and blame yourself, we won't let you off!"

The six women's embrace was warm and firm; their sincere love and trust were like a warm current, gradually dispelling the confusion and guilt in Lu Chen's heart. He slowly came back to his senses, looking at The six women beside him, whose faces were full of concern, his eyes filled with emotion, and the turmoil in his heart gradually subsided—yes, he was not alone. With the companionship of The six women's bonds and his original intention to protect heaven and earth, he should not be trapped by past mistakes, much less doubt himself.

"Thank you all..." Lu Chen took a deep breath, gripped the hands of The six women, and a determined light rekindled in his eyes. "I understand. The Void Lord is my negative Clone, but he has long been separated from me. I will personally end his evil deeds, protect you all, and protect this heaven and earth."

After unraveling the mystery, everyone began to search for a way to confront the Void Lord. Ling Xi immediately activated the Formation's deduction power, performing deductions around the seven emotions flower and the Void Lord's aura. Formation patterns rapidly flowed from her fingertips, her expression focused and solemn. After about an hour, Ling Xi opened her eyes, a flash of realization in them, and said in a deep voice, "I've deduced the Void Lord's weakness! Although he grew stronger by absorbing Evil Energy, because his essence is condensed from negative emotions, he cannot withstand pure love—the more sincere and pure the emotion, the greater the damage to him, even capable of disintegrating his Evil Energy Origin."

"Pure love..." Lu Chen's heart stirred; the affection jade pendant in his palm grew slightly warm. He could clearly perceive that the bond of love between him and The six women was precisely the purest power, perhaps this was the key to ending the Void Lord.

At the same time, Lin Yulan also found important clues from ancient texts. She held a yellowed ancient scroll and quickly walked to the others, excitedly saying, "The ancient texts record that a negative Clone and its main body are inherently of the same Origin. If a spiritual item containing the power of the seven emotions can be used as a guide to lead the Clone to re-integrate into the main body, the Clone's negative energy can be completely resolved, allowing it to return to its Origin, and the Evil Energy will also dissipate—and the seven emotions flower is the most suitable spiritual item to trigger this!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces showed joy, and their confidence grew stronger. Ling Xi's deduction and the ancient records corroborated each other, providing them with a clear direction for confronting the Void Lord: using the seven emotions flower as a guide, and the pure love of Lu Chen and The six women as the core, to re-integrate the Void Lord, this negative Clone, into Lu Chen's main body, completely purify the Evil Energy, and end this crisis.

"In this way, not only can the threat of the Void Lord be resolved, but Big Brother Lu's past emotional entanglements can also be resolved, making his cultivation and Heart-Nature more complete." Luo Wanning said with a smile, her eyes full of relief. Zhu Yanyao also excitedly said, "Great! This way, we won't have to fear his Evil Energy. As long as we fully unleash our love and the seven emotions flower, we can surely make him obediently integrate into the main body!"

Lu Chen nodded, his eyes filled with determination, and the last trace of doubt in his heart completely dissipated. He raised his hand to grasp the seven emotions flower on the spiritual jade platform, and colorful spiritual light surged into his body through his fingertips, intermingling with his emotional power, allowing him to perceive the Void Lord's location and state more clearly.

Just then, Lu Chen's heart suddenly stirred; the affection jade pendant in his palm and the seven emotions flower simultaneously trembled violently. He could clearly perceive that the Void Lord, far away in the core of the Evil Energy land, seemed to have also sensed this shared Origin connection. The Evil Energy aura, which had been spreading, suddenly stopped expanding and even showed signs of subtle retraction.

"The Void Lord... he sensed it." Lu Chen said in a deep voice, a hint of complexity flashing in his eyes. "He didn't continue attacking; instead, it's as if he's... waiting for my choice."

Evidently, the Void Lord also knew of his connection with Lu Chen. His cessation of attack was perhaps to force Lu Chen to make a choice—whether to completely destroy him or to accept him back into the main body. And this waiting added a few unknowns and variables to the impending ultimate confrontation.

At this moment, the spiritual light of the seven emotions flower surged again, and an ancient magical seal slowly emerged from the flower, integrating into Lu Chen's Divine Soul. Simultaneously, a yellowed booklet fell into his hand, its cover inscribed with the four characters "Clone Breaking Method." The booklet detailed the techniques for guiding a negative Clone back into the main body, including how to soothe the Clone's negative emotions with emotional power, how to stabilize the Fusion process with the power of the seven emotions, and how to purify the residual Evil Energy generated during the integration, providing precise guidance for their subsequent actions.

Lu Chen handed the "Clone Breaking Method" to The six women. They took turns flipping through it, their eyes filled with understanding and determination. The method to confront the Void Lord was now clear, and the path to integrating the Clone was also visible. Next, they only needed to make thorough preparations and head to the Void Lord's lair, the Hall of Recklessness, to commence this ultimate confrontation.

The seven people stood side by side before the spiritual jade platform, the colorful spiritual light of the seven emotions flower swirling around them, their bonds tightly intertwined. The threat of the Void Lord was imminent, yet there was no fear in their hearts—the mystery of their shared Origin was solved, the method of confrontation was clear, and they had each other's love and bonds. No matter how powerful the Void Lord was, no matter how perilous the Fusion process, they would work together to end this crisis and protect this heaven and earth they cherished with all their hearts. And the Void Lord's waiting was destined to make this ultimate choice a crucial battle to sever the past and protect the future.