: The Inner Vault Heist
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đŻď¸ The Target â Heavenfire Spirit Pill
Within the heart of the Sky Ascend Sect, beneath the towering Hall of 13 Heavens, lay the Inner Vaultâa relic chamber locked behind six elemental formations, guarded by the sect's most deadly arrays.
Few even knew what was stored there.
Fewer dared to dream of taking from it.
But Wang Wu needed the Heavenfire Spirit Pill, a legendary relic-grade pill known to burn away spiritual decay and reignite meridian growth. It was said to be made from phoenix flame marrow and the condensed Qi of three Solar Fruits.
And it lay behind a vault that hadn't been opened in fifty years.
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đ Infiltration Begins
On the night of Day Four, cloaked in Void Flame suppression, Wang Wu made his move.
He slipped through the disciple dorms under a veil of Shadow Pulse Mist, a technique he crafted using the Second Gate of Void. Guards saw only a flickerâa ripple in the air, like a breeze passing.
When he reached the inner sanctum, he stopped.
The marble walls shimmered with layered inscriptions.
Formation 1 â Spirit-Sensing Illusion Field
Formation 2 â Lightning Lock Array
Formation 3 â Phoenix Fire Purge Net
Formation 4 â Time Delay Loop
Formation 5 â Soul-Sever Trap
Formation 6 â Heaven-Ear Detection Seal
Each was a death sentence to the unworthy.
But Wang Wu wasn't ordinary anymore.
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âď¸ Breaking the Formations
First, he drew the Mirror of the Rootless Self, manifesting a weak clone to trigger the illusion fieldâa mist of phantom voices that tried to consume one's will. The clone dissipated with a scream, buying Wang Wu the three seconds needed to slip through.
Second, he used the ancient Void Flame Weaving Hand to twist the array's runes. Sparks flew, but the Lightning Lock shorted.
Third, he activated the Phoenix Feather Talisman that Lin Yue had left behindâit flared to life and dissolved the Phoenix Fire Purge Net with a single flare.
> "Even gone, she protects me..." Wang Wu murmured.
Fourth, the Time Delay Loop tried to trap him in a recursive hourâbut Wang Wu had mastered Void Soul Awareness. He folded time within himself, stepping sideways through the delay like stepping around a puddle.
Fifth, the Soul-Sever Trap activated, slashing toward his spirit.
He screamed.
His soul nearly split.
But his Void Pulse Soul Flame surged, sealing the riftâthough at great cost. Blood leaked from his left eye. His internal dantian flared with pain.
Now only one defense remained.
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𩸠Sixth Seal â Heaven-Ear Detection
The final formation couldn't be broken.
It listened.
To Qi. To breath. To heartbeat.
Even a drop of blood falling would alert the sect.
So Wang Wu did the unthinkable.
He stopped his own heart.
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đ¤ Stopping Time Within the Body
Using a forbidden Qi compression technique from the Void Pulse Scripture, he condensed all of his breath, Qi flow, and spiritual signature into a single stillpoint.
For thirty seconds, his body became as dead.
And during that windowâ
He entered the vault.
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đŽ Inside the Vault
The air inside was cold and dry, ancient and thick with forgotten power.
Dozens of artifacts glowed on floating stone pedestals: soul lamps, beast bones, scrolls, crystal orbs, and dust-covered weapons that had not tasted blood in centuries.
And there, on a solitary pedestal wreathed in stasis flameâ
A single crimson pill.
The Heavenfire Spirit Pill.
Its glow pulsed like a heartbeat.
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𩸠"I Knew You'd Come"
Just as Wang Wu reached for the pillâ
A blade pressed against his throat.
He froze.
Behind him stood a tall figure in silver robes, bearing the crest of the inner council.
A familiar voice.
> "Rootless scum. You can fool servants and elders. But not me."
Yin Long.
Wang Wu's old tormentorâand now a fully ranked Inner Disciple, loyal to Elder Han, one of Wang Wu's political enemies within the sect.
Yin Long's blade hummed with frost Qi, and his eyes burned with envy.
> "You think you can become the next Void Emperor? You? A peasant brat who can't even hold his soul together?"
Wang Wu slowly smiled, blood still trickling from his eye.
> "Funny. You're so desperate to stop me, you stalk the vault like a rat."
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âď¸ Duel in the Vault
Yin Long attacked first, his Frost Tiger Sword Art creating an illusion of a spectral beast that pounced from multiple angles.
Wang Wu dodged the first two slashes, countered the third with Void Flash Break, and spun into a fourth, parrying it with his broken inner Qi. His movements were roughâhe was still half-dead.
But Yin Long was furious, not calculating.
And Wang Wu was born in battle.
They clashed beneath floating relics and ancient scrolls, shattering runes and toppling dusty pedestals. The vault trembled.
In the endâ
Wang Wu baited him into striking a cracked wall glyphâtriggering the vault's auto-defense ward.
Yin Long was slammed into the wall by a force barrier and pinned by chains of light.
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𧪠Claiming the Pill
Wang Wu stumbled forward, catching himself against the pedestal.
His hand hovered over the Heavenfire Spirit Pill.
He hesitated.
> "Use it now and risk purging all my current Qi..."
> "Wait... and I may never get a second chance."
He clenched his jaw.
And swallowed it whole.
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đĽ Heavenfire Awakens
The moment it touched his tongue, flame erupted from his belly.
It surged through his shattered meridians, burning impurities, cauterizing spirit-rot, sealing cracks.
He screamed.
Collapsed.
The pain was like a second tribulation.
And thenâ
Silence.
When he opened his eyesâ
His body was whole.
His Qiâraging like a river.
The rot? Gone.
He was back.
Noâ
He was stronger.
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âŻď¸ Aftermath
Wang Wu turned to leave, sparing Yin Long one glance.
> "Next time," he said, voice low, "bring a real reason to hate me. Not just your pride."
And then he vanished into the void.
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â End of Episode
Wang Wu now has:
Full recovery from soul rot
Boosted meridian capacity
Heavenfire purification scars, enhancing flame resistance
Yin Long as a personal enemy within the Inner Council
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Next: Episode â "The Price of the Phoenix"
Wang Wu must find Lin Yue and obtain the final ingredient: a drop of Phoenix Heartblood. But the price she asks will change his path⌠and possibly his fate.