Wu Yu was still lost in delight, even as the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord continued to hurl threats and abuse at him.

"It couldn't have been my imagination...."

He had seen the change in her eyes clearly. It could not have been faked.

At the same time, the pain and sorrow that graced her eyes in that instant could not have been false either. The Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord was not her - she would not have had that look.

He was currently carried away with excitement. Had he inadvertently stumbled on the answer?

The Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord's immortal spirit was already very weak. If he attacked her any more, he would kill her along with Nangong Wei.

Wu Yu calmed down and exited the Floating Dreams Pagoda. Even after he was gone from sight, the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord continued to rave and taunt. But she knew that her immortal spirit had been severely damaged, and she needed to heal. She would definitely work hard to recover.

"What a coward, running away like that."

What she did not know was that Wu Yu was calming himself down outside, in the sky full of stars.

"It might just be the Spirit Chaser Art. Until now, you've used it tens of thousands of times on her. After being inflicted with so much shock, it's a miracle she hasn't lost her mind yet. This means that there must be some vestige of Nangong Wei in her immortal spirit. You might be able to save her," Ming Long concluded.

This was what Wu Yu was thinking as well.

"When she has recovered some, I will continue experimenting."

One day outside was 100 days within.

After a few days, Wu Yu returned to the Floating Dreams Pagoda. The Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord was more or less fully recovered.

"Coward, you dare come in?" the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord sneered.

Wu Yu did not bother with words, but immediately used the Spirit Chaser Art. She was currently held down by an assortment of Wu Yu's destinable immortal treasures, and was unable to resist. She could only take it head-on.

Wu Yu did not use Fleeting Immortal Dreams to force her to sleep, but instead kept her in a semi-conscious state, continuing to torture her immortal spirit.

"Damn you!"

The Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord was crazy with anger. She had not thought that Wu Yu would torture her, and now the Spirit Chaser Art that she hated the most was being used exclusively against her.

"I hope you die," she mumbled through her disorientation.

Wu Yu limited himself to not killing her. He had to give her space to recover.

At first, the person who Wu Yu longed for did not appear. His anxiety rose as days passed.

"Be patient. You’ve waited for a thousand years. What is a few more days?" Ming Long reminded him.

"But you've really 'ruined' this little girl now. Others think that you've done it with her thousands of times already. If you don't actually do it, you'll be missing out."

That sounded more like Ming Long's true nature.

Wu Yu continued to work at it. When she recovered a little, her testiness returned, and again he laid on the Spirit Chaser Art, disorienting her and twisting her immortal spirit. If thousands of Spirit Chaser Art usages had not killed Nangong Wei before, then this was likely not to either, as long as the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord was the one resisting it.

As the number of times increased, and she still did not reappear, Wu Yu could not help but feel disappointed and anxious. This meant that he might not be on the right track.

But he had no other idea, and could only continue, clinging on to his only hope. There was no turning back now. Once the 100 years of the Great Void Immortal Path expired, he would have to kill the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord in order to save his own life from the Provenance Phoenix Empress!

At that time, he would also be killing Nangong Wei and her hopes!

He showed no mercy to the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord. Over and over, he kept her teetering on the brink of death.

This went on until even Wu Yu was sick and tired. He had lost all hope when one Spirit Chaser Art suddenly caused her to quieten. Her entire manner changed drastically. Her feisty temper and imperious air all vanished, and in their place was a feeling that Wu Yu was familiar with. Even without her speaking, Wu Yu felt a surge of elation. She had come!

"Wei Er?" Wu Yu said, full of emotion. He wanted to know. Was she alive?

The beautiful girl lifted her head, and Wu Yu saw the tremulous look in her eyes. Perhaps to her, seeing Wu Yu was the last thing she expected in this world. She had a confused look in her eyes. There was something else there, a look unique to those who had looked death in the eye.

She reached out to embrace Wu Yu, pressing close against his chest. She did not wail, but tears gushed out of her. He had not seen her in such a pitiful state in a long time, naked of her stubbornness.

"I thought... I thought I was dead, that I would never see you again.... But, but...."

She heaved her way through her words, and was finally too choked up to go on. Finally, her sobs rang out. She was once again that little girl who loved and hated without restriction. She bawled, clutching tightly on to Wu Yu. Given her current strength, she would have crushed an ordinary immortal to death.

Now, in Wu Yu's arms, she was like a child who had just escaped death. Wu Yu could feel her terror and despair, finally released through cathartic tears after being repressed for so long.

"Hold me. I'm scared," she said in a small voice.

Wu Yu thought about it, then folded her into his arms. She was really pitiful and frail now, and needed some support.

Wu Yu was still buoyed by his elation, but he needed to hold on to reason. Nangong Wei was here now, but she might not always be here. Wu Yu held her tightly, and let her cry it out. Then he said, "Do you know what has happened? Is there a solution? I will definitely find a way to help you live, so you must calm down quickly and give me information."

This was the real way to help her live. Wu Yu was not willing to let her lose everything.

"Yes... yes!" She seemed to suddenly come to her senses. Wu Yu had not held her like this in a long time now. A pity that this was not her body, or rather she was only a part of this body. She was the one to break out of his embrace first. She knew that Wu Yu had another in his heart, and she was already deeply grateful that he had come to save her.

"You must know about the Ancestral Phoenix Nirvanic Venerable Art. Even my mother did not know that the phoenix egg would turn out this way. I was taken away, and she was killed. I hate them.... And then I was in the sky palaces. I was consumed by the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord, and perhaps I became part of her, but also retained my own sentience. I don't know how she can have such awareness in her immortal spirit."

This concerned her future. She had to force herself to calm down and speak clearly. Wu Yu understood now. She was an awareness, and she herself did not know how she had come to be in the immortal spirit. Perhaps the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord had not integrated her cleanly enough. Or perhaps the Ancestral Phoenix Nirvanic Venerable Art was flawed. After all, the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord was supposed to fuse with companion phoenix eggs that had yet to form.

"How did you come out?" Wu Yu asked the most important question.

Nangong Wei struggled for control over her feelings. Her tears continued to stream as she held tightly to a corner of Wu Yu's clothes. Perhaps it gave her a sense of security. She was still talking, and looking at Wu Yu pleadingly. He knew that she was still gripped with terror. Therefore, he reached out a hand to give her a steadying embrace. "Don't be afraid. Speak calmly. Only then can I save you. Composure."

Wu Yu's hug helped steady her a little, a real feeling of warmth. She clutched onto his fingers desperately. She was truly shaken.

"I... I don't know. Before, I was a speck of awareness. I could only think, but not move. I only knew that I was in her immortal spirit, and her immortal spirit was huge. Gigantic, like a vast world....

"To me, she was like a huge beast in the immortal spirit, and her awareness could kill me many times over. But I was too small, and she could not see me. I thought that I would eventually die and disappear...."

And then she looked at Wu Yu with great feeling. "I don't know when, but the gigantic immortal spirit started to shake. Each time it did, the huge beast would bellow. At the same time, her body would be shattered into many pieces and fragments. These fragments were too big for me, but one day, I found one smaller than me. It was just a tiny bit. The moment I touched it, I realized I could merge with it. And then I grew a little bigger, and my awareness a little clearer. I didn't know what happened to her, but now I do. It must have been you!"

Her distraught state had calmed a little in Wu Yu's arms, and she spoke with more coherence. She had given Wu Yu crucial information!

Of course, he knew what had happened to the immortal spirit. His repeated usage of the Spirit Chaser Art had smashed her immortal spirit, causing the Dancing Flame Phoenix Lord's awareness to be shattered into pieces. Each time she reformed it, she would be weaker.

"And then?" Wu Yu asked.