The message that pulsed from the Whispering Stone was not just a report; it was a wave of pure, unadulterated agony. In her silent, starlit study, Empress Xue Lian felt the echo of Ren's frantic panic, Jax's helpless fury, and a faint, terrible thread of Lan Yue's own searing pain. The stone fell from her numb fingers and clattered onto the obsidian floor.
Gravely injured. Betrayed. Hunted.
For a single, terrifying moment, Xue Lian's world dissolved into a maelstrom of grief and a rage so profound that the temperature in the room plummeted, a thin layer of frost instantly tracing patterns on the windows. Her demonic aura flared, a crushing, suffocating pressure that was the true, untamed power of the Netherworld's sovereign. Her eyes burned with a cold, murderous light. Wei Chen. Elder Feng. The entire righteous path. She would turn their world to ash for this.
Then, her gaze fell upon the door to the adjoining chamber, where her daughter slept, blissfully unaware. The inferno of her rage did not extinguish; it cooled, compressed, and hardened into a single, unshakeable purpose. She picked up the stone, her hand now perfectly steady.
*We are trying to make it back to the Whispering Pass,* Ren's frantic thought came again. *We can bring her home.*
*No,* Xue Lian's reply was instantaneous, a command of absolute, ice cold clarity. *Do not bring her here. The journey through hostile territory is too great a risk. And her wound… it was inflicted by a heretical celestial art. My healers would be useless against it. I will come to you.*
A surge of confusion and protest came from Ren, but Xue Lian silenced it. Her mind, a master strategist's tool, was already ten steps ahead, formulating a new, desperate gambit.
*I am reinforcing the Great Wards to their highest protocol,* she commanded through the stone. *The dynasty will become an impenetrable fortress. No one will get in or out without my direct command. Now, listen carefully. I am sending you new coordinates.*
A complex mental map of the mortal realm bloomed in Ren's mind, a single point glowing deep within a secluded, wealthy mountain territory, hundreds of leagues from Luyan.
*It leads to a city called Silverwood,* Xue Lian explained, her thoughts swift and precise. *On its outskirts, you will find a private estate known as Blackwood Manor. It is heavily warded with ancient, non demonic arts. It is secure. It is unknown. Get her there. Use the shadow routes my intelligence network established years ago. Avoid all contact. I will meet you.*
She cut the connection, leaving no room for questions. She moved to her desk and penned two short, sharp decrees. Within minutes, Commander Kael and Vex'aal stood before her, their faces grim.
"Our asset in the mortal realm has been gravely wounded by the traitors," she said, her voice devoid of all emotion. "I am leaving to retrieve them personally."
Kael's eyes widened in shock. "Your Majesty, you cannot! It is too dangerous!"
"It is not a request, Commander," Xue Lian's gaze was hard as diamond. "While I am gone, the dynasty is in your hands. Kael, you have absolute command of the legions. Defend our home. Vex'aal, you are my eyes and ears. I want the head of every spy Feng has in my realm on a spike by the time I return. Hold the line. Let no one question my decree."
Her authority was so absolute, so terrifying in its intensity, that they could only bow. "As you command, Empress."
After they departed, Xue Lian walked to her daughter's bedside. She stood for a long moment, watching the peaceful rise and fall of Xue Hua's chest. She gently brushed a strand of white hair from the child's face, her touch infinitely tender. "Be good for Elara," she whispered. "Your mother has to go bring a hero home."
She turned and walked to a blank wall in her study. Placing her palm upon it, she channeled her energy, and the wall dissolved, revealing a shimmering, swirling portal a secret exit she had maintained for a decade, a relic of a past life's paranoia. She had shed her imperial robes, now dressed in the elegant but practical traveling attire of a mortal. Her hidden identity, Lady Lian of the reclusive and fabulously wealthy "Fallen Snow" family, had been a tool she'd used in her early reign to covertly acquire mortal goods and information. Tonight, it would be her shield.
In a dark, forgotten cave, the race against time had begun. Ren and Jax worked together, using their combined skills to keep Lan Yue stable as they prepared for their perilous journey. The Whispering Stone pulsed with the new coordinates and a new, desperate hope.
"Blackwood Manor," Jax rumbled, gently lifting the unconscious, pale form of Lan Yue into his arms. "The Empress thinks of everything."
"She always does," Ren whispered, weaving a cloak of shadows around them. "Now let's move. The Empress is waiting."
Back in the Silent Palace, Xue Lian took one last, lingering look at the sleeping form of her daughter, now protected by her most loyal guards. The mother had secured her child. Now, the Empress was going to war. Not with armies and banners, but with all the cunning, fury, and love she possessed.
She stepped through the portal without looking back, and vanished.