Dan Feng grew weary of the long-standing political corruption within the Luofu's Vidyadhara, purging the internal ranks with an iron fist and casting several Dragon Masters into the cycle of reincarnation.
Afterward, to heal Bai Heng's injuries, he actually performed the Dragon Transformation Mystic Art on her after obtaining her consent.
This mad act triggered violent turmoil within the Vidyadhara; by the time the remaining Dragon Masters noticed, it was already irreversible.
When the people from the Six Sovereigns arrived, they only found two Vidyadhara eggs at the scene.
Through specialized testing, the Alchemy Commission and the Dragon Masters discovered that one of them was indeed the High Elder who had entered reincarnation.
But—
The aura of the High Elder within that egg was completely different from that of the former Imbibitor Lunae.
When the time for hatching came, the Dragon Masters were shocked to find that the reincarnation of the Luofu's successive High Elders had actually become a girl with a completely different appearance.
The other Vidyadhara egg was the one nurturing the original childhood form.
The die was cast; it was irreversible.
This matter alarmed the High Elder of Fanghu, Lord Huyuan, who personally came to the Luofu to decide on the matter.
Years later, a young girl with lavender hair and majestic horns on her forehead became the new Vidyadhara High Elder of the Luofu.
The former Imbibitor Lunae, Dan Feng, lost the High Elder inheritance and knew nothing of what he had done in his previous life.
Ultimately, he was named Dan Heng.
No one expected that as time passed, Dan Heng would gradually reveal the features of a High Elder.
After tedious and meticulous testing, an even more startling fact surfaced.
Dan Feng had actually successfully duplicated the Dragon Heart using the Dragon Transformation Mystic Art!
Had the inheritance not been non-replicable, the Luofu might have had two Vidyadhara High Elders at the same time.
After a joint discussion between Jing Yuan, Lord Huyuan, and even the Marshal, it was decided to inject both of them with the Needle of Past Dreams, which could evoke memories of their previous lives.
The Dragon Transformation Mystic Art could transform Bai Heng, who was originally a Foxian, into a Vidyadhara; this was of great significance to the Vidyadhara, who were unable to reproduce.
No matter what, this method had to be extracted from Dan Feng—no, rather, from Dan Heng.
The good news was that both of them remembered their past lives.
The bad news was that the memories were incomplete.
Neither Dan Heng nor Bai Heng had any recollection of the specifics of the Dragon Transformation Mystic Art.
A test would reveal if it was a lie, and the result disappointed Lord Huyuan.
Although Dan Heng could not remember the Dragon Transformation Mystic Art, he was well aware that many of his past life's actions had seriously violated the Alliance's regulations.
Purging internal affairs, destroying the past life memories of several radical Dragon Masters, using the Dragon Transformation Mystic Art without permission... Now that the High Elder inheritance was with Bai Heng, even though he possessed the Dragon Heart and could use the power of the Path of Permanence, he was ultimately just a false High Elder.
Therefore, Dan Heng petitioned the Marshal for molting, willing to undergo punishment to become an ordinary person, live out a mortal life, and then peacefully enter extinction.
The Marshal did not agree, nor did Lord Huyuan.
Dan Heng's ultimate fate was to hide his dragon horns and leave the Luofu, just as Yingxing had done back then, and he was not allowed to return at will.
The Dragon Masters were naturally dissatisfied with this arrangement, but the most radical among them had already been effectively erased by Dan Feng.
The remaining Dragon Masters had no choice but to submit memorials in protest.
In the end, Dan Heng departed peacefully, setting off alone.
At this point, of the High-Cloud Quintet, only Jingliu and Jing Yuan remained in this world; the other three all had new identities.
Two had left, and one had bid farewell to the past, renamed Bailu, taking up the duties of the Vidyadhara High Elder to watch over the Ambrosial Arbor.
Bailu had always missed her old friends, and she also missed her friend's master, who seemed stern on the surface but would generously give guests fine wine.
The plum blossom brew made by his hand was no more... It was a pity that things had changed and people were gone; Qi Zhimu's end was sigh-inducing.
With him perishing along with Shuhu, the members of the High-Cloud Quintet also went their separate ways.
All good things must come to an end; the joyful times once spent in the Qingxin Residence were now left in the past... System Soul Realm.
Qi Zhimu lay in the starry sky resting for a full year before finally recovering from the end of his second life, slowly opening his eyes.
A life of nearly 1,679 years, with the emotional bonds and feelings experienced within it, was far beyond what his first life of secluded living could compare to.
"Jingliu, Sleeping Snow, Clear Cold..."
Qi Zhimu let out a long breath toward the sky, calming the turbulent thoughts in his heart, and raised his hand to lightly press his aching head.
"I shouldn't have let anyone down, and I should have kept most of the vows I made, right?"
The system did not answer him.
Qi Zhimu didn't mind and looked at the system panel.
[Second Life, Ended]
[Main Gains of This Life:]
[1. Biological Knowledge (Advanced)]
[2. Damaged silver moon jade pendant (Cannot be discarded, currently cannot be repaired)]
[3. Ancient Xianzhou Acupuncture]
[4. Eight Extremes Fist Mastery]
[5. Cloud Knight Swordplay]
[The above gains will be carried into the next reincarnation. Please select the memories you wish to forget; if there are none, please ignore this.]
"There are none I need to forget."
[Given that the memories of this life are too complex and the emotional feedback exceeds the threshold of normal human endurance, it is recommended to temporarily seal the memories of your past life before starting the next one.]
"Temporarily?"
[If you reunite with important people from your past in the next life, the connection can be renewed, and the corresponding memories will automatically unseal, thereby reducing the mental burden.]
[According to the system's assessment, if you carry past life memories into the next reincarnation, there is a 71% probability of suffering from hyperthymesia.]
Qi Zhimu realized.
hyperthymesia—as someone who had studied medicine, he naturally knew of it.
Rather than a disease, it was more like an innate talent, but this talent was a double-edged sword.
Those with hyperthymesia do not forget anything, but they easily fall into memories and find it difficult to pull away, especially from negative ones.
These memories surface repeatedly, leading to depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress reactions.
If the Xianzhou's Long-lived Species were born with hyperthymesia, they would hardly survive past three hundred years and would certainly fall into mara-struck before then.
"Then seal them temporarily."
Qi Zhimu didn't hesitate.
After all, there was no guarantee of meeting again in the next life; when Qi Zhimu died in each life, the bonds of relationship would also pass away.
Just as in the second life, there was no more news of Yu Qintu and Clarice.
In the third life, perhaps he would not cross Paths with Jingliu and the others from the second life either.
One should be open-hearted in life and composed in death.
Carrying no obsessions, untainted by worldly sorrow, facing karma with equanimity.
"Begin the next life."
[Timeline anchoring... Locked: Azure Star.]
[Inconsistent with current timeline, correction completed.]
[Starting to generate Talent Cards and Destiny Cards. Note: Talents cannot be retained after death.]
[Talent levels are, in order: Iridescent, Gold, Purple, Blue, White, Black.]
[A Beginning Without an End (Black)]: You will be born into a wealthy family with no worries about food or clothing, but you will not live to adulthood.
[Abundance Fortune (Purple)]: Sudden accidents cannot easily take your life; the probability of treading the Path of Abundance is slightly increased.
[Dwarf (Black)]: Your height will never exceed 130 centimeters in your lifetime.
[Clear Sight (Blue)]: Your vision will not decline, but your eyes are easily injured; remember to protect them.
[A Thousand Faces (White)]: Your face will change every two days, but it is completely random; your appearance might scare people to death.
[Inverted Charm (White)]: Compared to the opposite sex, you will more easily attract the same sex.
[Give and Take (Purple)]: Give up the two taels of flesh between your legs, and you can tread the Path of Destruction.
[Unlucky Masked Fool (Blue)]: You will become a Masked Fool occasionally targeted by Aha, but the outcome of events will be unpredictable.
[Friend of Animals (White)]: You have a natural affinity for the vast majority of animals.
[Please select three to start your next life.]
"What bad luck..." Qi Zhimu sighed.
The Azure Star was a world never heard of even in the Xianzhou Alliance; it was likely unremarkable.
"I choose Abundance Fortune, Clear Sight, and..."
After the last choice was confirmed, his consciousness quickly blurred.