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⚰️: The Graveyard of Cultivators
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🌙 Midnight Departure
Wang Wu descended the mountain under the cloak of night, his steps quiet but strained.
His internal injuries screamed with every movement. His Void Qi, once smooth and cold like flowing ink, now moved like molten tar—thick, unstable, and dangerous. The backlash from the Heavenly Eye's judgment was worse than he let on.
But there was no time to rest.
He had only seven days to prevent his soul and meridians from collapsing into Void Rot, a fate that would leave him alive... but crippled forever.
And the only cure?
> Soul-Fusing Lotus – a forbidden flower that only bloomed in a cursed place...
The Graveyard of Cultivators.
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🏞️ What Lies Beyond the Sect
The path toward the graveyard lay beyond the Eastern Mist Wall, a spiritual barrier that protected Sky Ascend Sect from the haunted wildlands.
Few dared to cross it.
Even fewer returned.
Legends spoke of a valley where dead cultivators buried themselves, not by the blade of their enemies—but from madness and guilt. Their Qi lingered. Their regrets festered. The very land had turned into a domain of pain and memory.
Wang Wu passed through the barrier using an ancient spirit token he stole years ago.
A pulse of black mist greeted him.
> "...This place reeks of broken Dao."
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☠️ The Valley of the Dead
By dawn, Wang Wu arrived at the edge of the graveyard.
No birds sang.
No trees swayed.
Tens of thousands of swords stood buried hilt-up in the cracked soil, each marking a grave of a fallen cultivator. Names were etched into the steel—Yin Huai, 3rd Heaven Slayer. Lin Fang, Soulburner Sect. Fei Qing, Crimson Mist Spy.
Some blades wept blood.
Some hummed old chants.
Wang Wu didn't dare touch any.
He walked slowly between the swords, toward the heart of the valley, where the Soul-Fusing Lotus was said to bloom.
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🩸 A Trial of Memory
As he approached the center, the mist thickened.
Then—
Whispers.
Hundreds. Thousands.
> "Wang Wu…"
"You left me to die…"
"Traitor."
"You call this cultivation?"
"You are rootless. You have no place among us."
His heart trembled.
He dropped to one knee.
From the ground, ghostly hands reached for his ankles, for his arms, for his eyes. They were made of regret—pure thought-forms from those who died unable to complete their path.
> "Join us…"
"Bury your sword…"
Wang Wu clenched his fists.
> "You are not real," he growled. "You are shadows of failure. I walk forward. You crawl backward."
He activated Void Soul Flame.
A burst of black light burned the illusions away—but his soul cracked deeper.
He was now down to six days.
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🌺 The Soul-Fusing Lotus
At the very center of the valley was a pond of black water.
Floating above it was a single lotus.
Each petal shimmered with Qi—soul Qi. It radiated peace… and danger.
Wang Wu stepped toward it.
Suddenly—
CLANG.
A blade slammed into the earth before him.
He turned.
A man stood across the pond.
But he had no head.
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⚔️ The Cursed Swordsman
The man wore tattered black robes. On his back were nine swords, each cracked, each weeping spiritual energy.
Around his neck was a noose, tight and old.
His head… was missing.
Yet he spoke.
> "Turn back, rootless one. This lotus does not bloom for those without a name."
Wang Wu narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
The voice came again.
> "I am Xu Bei. In life, I was the Heaven-Splitting General of the Soul Flame Empire. In death… I am the Guardian of Regret."
Wang Wu reached for his sword.
"I don't have time for riddles."
> "Then die and join us."
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💥 Battle on the Pond
Xu Bei drew all nine swords at once.
He moved like mist, silent, impossible to track.
Wang Wu was already wounded—slower than usual—but he activated Void Step, warping through dimensions to dodge the first three attacks.
But Xu Bei wasn't real flesh.
His attacks cut across spirit.
Wang Wu's shoulder cracked, his vision blurred. Blood poured from his nose.
> "One cut removes a memory," Xu Bei whispered. "Second cut steals a name."
Wang Wu spat blood. "Then you'll need ten to forget me."
He roared—
Void Clone – Mirror of the Rootless Self!
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👥 Mirror Duel
A second Wang Wu stepped from his shadow.
But this clone wasn't perfect—it looked younger. Weaker. Unsure.
The Rootless Self.
Still, together, they fought.
One attacked from the front.
The other warped behind Xu Bei's form.
Swords clashed. Flame met mist. Qi surged.
Then—
Wang Wu's real body feinted, allowing the clone to absorb Xu Bei's final strike.
It shattered into light.
But it had distracted the cursed swordsman long enough.
Wang Wu struck with all his Qi.
> Void Abyss Sword – Pulse Breaker!
He cleaved through the cursed general's chest.
Xu Bei paused.
> "You have regrets…"
He crumbled into dust.
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🧠 The Cost
Wang Wu staggered toward the lotus, clutching his ribs.
He picked it with both hands, absorbing it into his spatial ring.
And then—
He collapsed.
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📿 Final Vision
As his consciousness faded, he heard a voice.
Not Lin Yue's. Not Heaven's.
But a woman's.
Kind. Cold. Terrifying.
> "You're late, child."
He opened his eyes within the Void again.
A woman stood before him. Her eyes were stars. Her body was shadow.
> "Three gates remain before you know the truth."
> "Before you reach the Ninth Gate, you must face the one thing even Heaven cannot control."
> "Your origin."
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Wang Wu awakens on the third day with the lotus in hand, but time is slipping away… and the next item he must steal lies within the Inner Vault of Sky Ascend Sect, guarded by disciples and deadly formations.