You'll see Wang Wu's first true sacrifice, deep character development for Lin Yue, and the beginning of an emotional arc that will shake both their destinies.
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🔥 The Price of the Phoenix
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đź“ś Recap:
Wang Wu is on a 7-day race to heal Void Rot, a result of unlocking the Second Gate of the Void Pulse.
He now possesses two of the three needed relics:
Soul-Fusing Lotus (from the Graveyard of Cultivators)
Heavenfire Spirit Pill (stolen from Sky Ascend Sect's Inner Vault)
Only one remains: Phoenix Heartblood — a drop from a living Phoenix-bloodline cultivator.
There is only one who might give it.
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🌕 Day Five – The Call Beneath the Moon
Wang Wu stood on the edge of the Burning Petal Cliffs, where red mist rose from the canyon below. Above him, moonlight bathed the granite edges in silver and blood.
He wasn't meditating.
He was waiting.
And he wasn't sure if she would come.
Then—footsteps.
Soft. Feather-light.
She walked through the mist as though born from it.
Lin Yue.
But tonight, she didn't wear red robes or her sect's crest. She wore a simple silk tunic, tied at the waist with thread. Her black hair trailed in the wind. Her eyes—crimson like distant stars—looked straight through him.
"You called," she said.
"I need your help," he replied.
She already knew what he would ask.
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đź’” A Sacred Request
He bowed low.
The kind of bow cultivators gave only to someone who held their life.
"I need your heartblood," he said. "One drop."
Lin Yue remained silent for a long time.
Then: "Do you know what you're asking?"
"Yes."
"No," she said, gently. "You don't."
She stepped closer. Her voice trembled—not with weakness, but with the weight of history.
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🔥 The Burden of the Phoenix
> "Phoenix Heartblood is not like dragon blood or demon marrow," she began.
"Each drop is not just power. It's… memory."
"A phoenix only burns once every lifetime. When that fire ignites, a drop of heartblood forms. That drop… holds every flame the phoenix has ever endured."
"Giving it away is not giving Qi."
"It's giving pain."
Wang Wu looked at her, truly seeing her now.
How her eyes carried grief.
How her steps moved like someone constantly measuring whether to stay or leave.
How her soul… was burning all the time.
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🌹 "Why You?"
"Why me?" she asked, staring into the gorge. "Why not buy a drop? Or steal from a sect alchemist?"
"Because you're the only one I trust," he said simply.
She laughed—a short, cracked thing.
"I burned my brother alive by accident when I was twelve. My sect tried to marry me off to seal my flame. I killed the elder who tried. I'm now watched by five phoenix-blood pavilions."
She turned to him.
"And you still trust me?"
Wang Wu stepped forward.
"I'm rootless. I don't have time to think about what people deserve. Only what they choose."
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đź’‰ The Pact
Lin Yue stared at him for a long time.
Then she said:
> "One drop. But it must be taken willingly.
And it must be witnessed.
The Phoenix Flame can't be stolen or forced. It must be gifted with a bond."
Wang Wu blinked. "A bond?"
She drew a red thread from her sleeve. It glowed faintly with Qi.
"A soul-thread," she said. "We share it for one night. You take my pain. I take your name."
"What do you mean 'take my name'?"
She smiled sadly.
"You'll see."
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🌌 The Bonding Ceremony
They sat cross-legged across from each other, facing a small altar she made of smooth stones and flame blossoms.
She pricked her finger, drawing one drop of phoenix blood.
He bit his own finger—offering a drop of void flame essence.
The red thread twisted between them, binding their wrists.
When their blood touched, the altar exploded in light.
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🔥 Inside the Soul Flame
Wang Wu fell.
Not into darkness—but into flame.
He stood in a world of fire. Great phoenixes flew overhead, their bodies made of memory and agony.
And in the center—Lin Yue.
As a child. Crying. Alone in the ashes of her family's estate.
> "I killed them…" she sobbed. "I didn't mean to…"
He stepped forward.
She was no illusion.
This was her soul.
Wang Wu reached out.
And for a moment, the flames didn't burn him.
Because he knew what it was to be blamed for power he didn't ask for.
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🩸 The Drop
They returned to reality, breathless and trembling.
The red thread snapped.
A single drop of glowing heartblood floated in the air between them.
Wang Wu reached out—
And gently sealed it inside a jade vial.
"Thank you," he whispered.
She didn't respond.
Her hands were shaking.
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⚖️ The Consequence
He turned to leave—but she called out:
"Wang Wu."
He stopped.
"You owe me now," she said.
"For what?"
She stepped forward, gently touching his forehead.
"I know what you are. And what you'll become. When the time comes... I want you to burn it all with me."
"Burn what?"
She didn't answer.
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âś… End of Episode
Wang Wu now has:
All three ingredients needed to forge his Soul Core and heal Void Rot.
A living soul-thread with Lin Yue, linking their fates.
A spiritual glimpse into the Phoenix Flame Legacy.
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Next: Episode – "Soul Core Rebirth"
Wang Wu begins the final ritual to repair his shattered spirit—but something goes wrong. The Third Gate of Void opens early… and pulls him into a forgotten battlefield between ancient titans.