Phoenix Mark Appears, Wuchen and Qing Wan Speak Frankly

I chased him to the ruined temple, my footsteps faltering.

The wind whipped sand and dust from the barren slopes, stinging my face with its rough touch. The temple gate sagged, and half a broken stele stood at the foot of the steps. The moment the diagonal carving on it met my eyes, my heart clenched—it was identical to the mark on my wooden hairpin.

Ji Wuchen stood by the stele, not turning around.

"You knew I would attract the Lightning Tribulation?" My voice was low, my fingertips digging into my palm. "Or... are you also coveting my blood?"

Only then did he turn, his gaze falling on my brow. It still felt faintly hot, the Phoenix Mark not yet fully hidden, like a glowing red fissure embedded in my skin.

"If I wanted your blood, I wouldn't have brought you here," he said calmly, as if the battle just fought, the three charred corpses, were insignificant.

I didn't believe him. Three years of pretending to be useless, a single night of saving me, and now leading me to this desolate temple—how could it all be such a coincidence?

Just as I was about to ask again, he suddenly raised his hand.

A wisp of pale golden light emerged from his fingertip, hovering in the air, faint yet solid. The light trembled gently, resonating with the Phoenix Mark on my brow, as if connected by an invisible thread, sending out ripples.

My breath hitched.

"I didn't guess," he said, looking at the golden light. "It told me."

"It?"

"There's something inside me," he paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "It's called the 'Great Dao Felling Heaven System.' It can sense remnant daos, tribulation energy, battle intent fragments... and it can also sense the Primordial Aura within you."

I stared at him, speechless for a moment.

Three years ago, his Dao Bone had shattered, rendering him a cripple. Everyone in the clan thought he was just lucky to survive. But now, not only had he evaded countless assassination attempts, but he had also appeared at critical moments to shield me from fatal danger—it wasn't luck, nor was it hidden cultivation, but... something unheard of supporting him?

"You call it a System?" I finally spoke. "Then, how strong are you, really?"

He shook his head. "I can't say. If it's exposed, it will stop functioning. All I can do now is hide and wait for the right time."

"So you've been enduring it all this time?" I sneered. "Watching others step all over you, slap you around, and you just endured it?"

"It's not enduring," his gaze deepened. "It's nurturing. Every extra day I survive, I become stronger than I was yesterday. The more my enemies pressure me, the more the System gives me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the clouds overhead churned violently.

Purple-red heavenly light pressed down, like rotten flesh clinging to the night sky. Distant thunder rumbled, but it didn't come from the clouds; it sounded as if it was rising from the depths of the earth, making the flagstones beneath our feet tremble.

Ji Wuchen's expression changed, and he stepped in front of me.

"It's here."

Before he could finish, a bolt of bloody lightning tore through the sky, striking straight down!

BOOM--!

The entire ruined temple shook violently, the stone steps in front of the door exploding into fragments, tiles raining down. I instinctively retreated, but he grabbed my wrist, dragging me forcefully into the temple.

His back to me, he spread his arms, and a pale golden light shield instantly sprang up, blocking all the flying debris and residual shockwaves.

But the shield only held for a moment before its edges began to crack. Although the bloody lightning hadn't hit directly, its residual power was already too much for the Pseudo-Primordial Body to withstand. A sweet taste filled his throat, and he swallowed a mouthful of blood.

"Don't move!" he commanded. "This tribulation targets the resonance between our energies. Separating will only make it worse!"

Leaning against the broken wall, still catching my breath, I watched the blood seeping from his shoulder stain his clothes. My fingers curled involuntarily.

If he hadn't blocked that attack for me, I would be dead by now.

But why should I trust him? A person hiding such a secret, why would he reveal the truth to me now?

Gritting my teeth, I slowly raised my right hand.

A wisp of golden flame appeared in my palm, faint yet scorching. This was the first time I had actively mobilized my bloodline power since my awakening. As the flames danced, the Phoenix Mark on my brow burned again, as if something was stirring.

I pushed the golden flame towards the light shield that was on the verge of collapse.

The moment the fire and golden light touched, they didn't repel each other; instead, they merged, forming a crimson-gold barrier that steadily supported the remaining structure of the temple.

Ji Wuchen glanced at me, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Since it recognizes 'us'... we'll bear it together."

I didn't respond, only staring at the merged barrier. The two powers could coexist, even strengthen each other—what did this mean? Were our fates truly bound together by some rule?

Outside, the thunder roared again, this time closer together and more powerful.

Ji Wuchen sat down leaning against a broken pillar, closing his eyes to recuperate. His face was a little pale, but his breathing was steady. I leaned against the wall on the other side, silently circulating my Spiritual Power to suppress the turmoil within me.

In the silence, time ticked by.

After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly let out a soft laugh.

"You said you wanted to uncover my secrets. Now you've seen it, are you scared?"

I looked at the faint golden light still lingering in his hand and shook my head. "No."

After a pause, I added, "I'm just wondering, why would someone who could hide such a secret for three years tell me the truth now?"

He opened his eyes, gazing at the fading Phoenix Mark on my brow, his voice very soft. "Because you are not an enemy."

"And..." he paused, as if confirming some feeling, "I can feel your pain."

My heart trembled.

It wasn't verbal comfort, nor a tentative attempt at alliance, but an almost instinctive resonance. Just as the bloody lightning had struck, I could sense the tremors within his Origin, and he could equally sense my bloodline's loss of control.

This was no coincidence.

A deeper connection was quietly forming.

Thunder rumbled outside again, closer than before, but as it was about to strike, it abruptly changed direction, blasting into a distant mountain wall and kicking up a cloud of dust.

We both looked up towards the door.

That patch of purple-red clouds still lingered, but the lightning's power seemed to be drawn elsewhere, no longer focused on the dilapidated temple.

"It's adapting," Ji Wuchen said in a low voice. "Our resonance has altered its target judgment."

"Meaning... as long as we're together, it won't strike easily?"

"Not for now." He stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. "But it will come again sooner or later. And next time, it might not just be lightning."

I knew who he was referring to.

The Blood Demon Sect wouldn't let me go, and Ji Hantian wouldn't let him go either. And right now, both of us carried secrets that could alarm the entire Northern Wasteland.

"What do we do next?" I asked.

"Wait," he said. "Wait for the lightning tribulation to dissipate, wait for them to track us here. And then—"

He turned to look at me, his gaze sharpening. "Let them see what it means for true taboos to appear in the world."

I met his gaze, not backing down.

The Phoenix Mark on my brow was still faintly warm, and the Golden Flame in my palm hadn't extinguished. This time, I didn't suppress it.

Wind gusted through the gaps in the temple, blowing the ends of my hair. That streak of crimson grew more apparent, like burning embers slowly spreading.

Ji Wuchen looked at me, then suddenly reached out and pressed a jade talisman into my hand.

The cold sensation startled me.

"If you can't hold on, crush it," he said. "It contains a Origin Imprint I left behind, capable of blocking one fatal attack for you."

"And you?"

"Me?" He smiled. "I can't die yet. There are some debts that need to be settled personally."

I gripped the jade talisman, my knuckles turning white.

The thunder outside drew closer again, more violent than before.

Ji Wuchen walked to the doorway and looked up at the churning blood-red clouds, his back as straight as a pine.

I stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder.

Reflected in the lightning, two figures cast shadows on the ruined wall, their forms merging into one.

The next instant, a scarlet rift tore open in the sky, and a second blood lightning bolt poised to strike, aimed directly at the center of the temple.