All races revere me as the Heavenly Emperor, solely because of my nine disciples!

"If you still don't turn back, one day you will kill your son and your husband with your own hands!"

"You will become ruthless and heartless, and in the end, you will have no relatives or friends left. You will live a life worse than death in loneliness and solitude, and die in despair!"

This was a comment given to Xu Zifu by his son, Zhou Baoyu.

At that time, Xu Zifu did not believe that she would hurt her son or her husband.

But decades have passed, and she has changed. Everything she once didn't believe has become a fait accompli.

When she made this decision, she still didn't believe that she would be all alone, and she didn't believe that she would suffer a fate worse than death in loneliness and solitude.

But now, all of this is becoming a reality.

The whole world disappeared, everything was shattered, there wasn't a single living being left, not even heaven and earth, nothing at all, only herself remained.

In this situation, what else could she have left besides loneliness and solitude?

She couldn't see a single blade of grass, let alone relatives and friends.

This world has been completely shattered, and the concept of time no longer exists. It is like the primordial void. In just a moment, it feels like billions of years have passed for a living being.

Looking back, it seems like only a moment has passed.

It's a contradiction, and it's precisely this contradiction that's most tormenting.

Thinking of everything that had happened, and looking at the ruins before him, Xu Zifu felt as if he had experienced countless eras of change.

In reality, Zhou Lin, who should have only two years left to live, and Chen Xuan, who was already very old, were also spending their time in this chaotic state of having no concept of time.

But in their eyes, time seemed to stand still at that moment.

However, Xu Zifu suddenly looked incredibly old.

It is not the aging of life, nor the aging of the body, but the aging of the spirit.

A person's physical body and life can reach infinity, but without divinity, humanity cannot withstand such torment.

At this moment, Xu Zifu was on the verge of collapse.

Why is this happening?

"why?"

"Is this my punishment?"

"What did I do wrong? Why did I create all of this with my own hands, and send myself down this dead end?"

"Why? What did I do wrong?"

Suddenly, Xu Zifu let out a heart-wrenching roar, tears of blood streaming from her eyes, her whole being on the verge of breaking.

Her body was gradually dissipating, breaking apart bit by bit.

She was about to reach the end of her life.

Zhou Baoyu once said that giving her immortal life was like a joke.

To be precise, that's true.

The difference between a fleeting moment and eternity lies in a single thought.

Whether this fleeting immortality is endless time or a mere instant is entirely up to the individual.

And Xu Zifu, in that instant, after countless years, reached the end in despair, instinctively wanting to wither away.

This desolation was something even Zhou Baoyu's curse of immortality could not stop.

Perhaps the curse of immortality from the Duke of Zhou could be stopped, but that was not the curse of the Duke of Zhou, but the curse of the Duke of Zhou's reincarnation, Zhou Baoyu.

"Don't you understand?"

Just as Xu Zifu's life was about to end and everything was about to come to a close, the voice of the Duke of Zhou rang out.

Xu Zifu suddenly turned around.

“Baoyu…”

She gasped in surprise and couldn't help but call out.

In an instant, she seemed to find hope for survival, and her eyes burned as she looked intently at Zhou Gong (the Duke of Zhou).

It all started because of the other person, and she believed that the other person had the ability to change everything.

"I am not Zhou Baoyu, my name is Duke Zhou!"

Duke Zhou looked at Xu Zifu with a calm expression.

"Yes...you are the Duke of Zhou...tell me, what should I do?"

"Is my fate truly sealed?"

Xu Zifu realized what was happening and quickly pressed for an answer.

"Hehe... Everything in this world has its predetermined course, but not everything is immutable!"

"Your destiny is your choice, but other people's choices can lead to different outcomes!"

"Like him!"

"Take him for example!"

With a wave of his hand, the spirit of Zhou Cheng, who was causally connected to Xu Zifu, emerged, took human form, and appeared beside Xu Zifu.

At the same time, Chen Xuan and Zhou Lin also arrived.

"Zhou Cheng!"

"Zhou Lin!"

Looking at the two people in front of her, especially Zhou Cheng, whom she had once loved to the bone but also loathed, Xu Zifu suddenly realized that the hatred in her heart had completely disappeared, and all that remained was relief.

She had once been willing to do anything to kill Zhou Cheng. But now, seeing him, she felt inexplicably happy and suddenly realized how much she couldn't bear to part with him.

"Now, you have experienced pain, you have experienced despair, and you have experienced what it means to have a fleeting moment of eternity!"

"Don't you understand why?"

The Duke of Zhou's voice rang out again, his gaze calmly fixed on Xu Zifu.

Xu Zifu's pupils contracted, and he frowned as he looked at Zhou Gong.

She didn't understand what the Duke of Zhou wanted her to understand!

"Zifu, don't you understand?"

Zhou Cheng's voice rang out at just the right moment.

Xu Zifu turned his head and looked at Zhou Cheng again.

"Mother...don't you understand?"

As soon as Zhou Lin's voice came, Xu Zifu turned his head again and looked at Zhou Lin.

"Understand what?"

"What exactly do you want me to understand?"

Xu Zifu unconsciously put her hands behind her head; she couldn't understand it, she really couldn't understand it.

"Zifu, do you understand who you really are?"

"Who exactly are you? Don't you even know?"

Zhou Cheng hurriedly shouted.

"who am I?"

"I am Xu Zifu, who else could I be?"

Xu Zifu was filled with questions; in her opinion, the question was ridiculous.

Don't these people know who she is?

"No, Mother!"

"Xu Zifu is just your name, not you. You are yourself first, and only then do you have a name. Don't you understand?"

Zhou Lin closed his eyes helplessly and then reminded him.

"Om..."

In an instant, Xu Zifu's mind went blank. Zhou Lin's words hit her like a heavy hammer, jolting her awake.

Yes, I am Xu Zifu, but first and foremost, I am myself!

Why use a name to represent yourself?

But that doesn't make sense, what's the difference?

"Zifu, have you ever considered that all your suffering is your own choice?"

"You have to figure out the outcome of everything yourself!"

"In your life, you've loved others and hated others. Have you ever loved yourself? Have you ever cherished yourself?"

Have you ever been your true self?

Zhou Cheng suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Xu Zifu's arm tightly.

Upon hearing this, Xu Zifu felt a sudden dizziness.

In a daze, she seemed to understand.

"Myself!"

"Yes, when have I ever been my true self?"

Xu Zifu murmured to herself, thinking about all her experiences over the years.

At home, one obeys one's father; after marriage, one obeys one's husband.

From the very beginning, she was living for others.

Before she got married, she lived for her parents. After she got married, she lived for her husband's family. She took care of her husband, served her parents-in-law, and saw her parents and parents-in-law pass away.

She had her own child, and devoted her whole life to caring for her child.

Even later, due to fate, she lost too much of her lifespan, but for her husband's sake, she still refused to listen to advice and insisted on returning home, even choosing the path of no return that Zhou Baoyu had given her.

Zhou Baoyu repeatedly tried to persuade her, but for the sake of the family, she was not only sacrificing herself, but also forcing Zhou Baoyu.

This was even more true later on.

Even in the end, when she was in pain and despair, she still hated others and never truly considered her own feelings.

Even when she hates someone, her heart still revolves around that person. She is easily swayed by their every move, and she gets angry and resentful because of them. She never cares about how she can live her best life.

In the end, she shattered everything with her own hands, and fell into a state of confusion, a fleeting eternity that nearly destroyed her own life.

From beginning to end, she suddenly realized that her life had always revolved around others, and they had never cared about her.

She had unknowingly lost herself in this kind of life!