The roar of applause, though distant and muffled, did little to soothe the tremors still wracking Long Hu's frame. He stood in a secluded antechamber adjacent to the main Conclave hall, the Sapphire Bloom Orchid still gleaming in its case nearby. The terrifying clarity of the memory flash – Lord Xylos accepting the insidious seed of decay – had shattered his composure. The cosmic shadow wasn't just influencing; it was *implanting*.
He slumped onto a silk-draped bench, his head in his hands, trying to reconcile the image of his shattered cultivation base with this new, chilling understanding of a pervasive, insidious enemy. He was exhausted, drained not just of spiritual energy he didn't possess, but of a vital life force.
The antechamber doors slid open without a sound. Empress Xianxia entered, not in her full regalia, but still radiating an aura of immense power, softened only by the subtle worry lines etched around her eyes. She carried a profound weight, a burden he was only beginning to comprehend. Master Tian followed, his gaze unwavering, instantly assessing Long Hu's distress.
"Describe it," Xianxia commanded, her voice low, devoid of pleasantries. She didn't ask *if* he saw something; she knew. "The specific nature of the corruption. And the memory. Tell me everything."
Long Hu looked up, his eyes meeting hers. He saw the cold demand, but also a sliver of genuine, strategic fear for the realms. He couldn't hide it. He couldn't hide *from* it. He spoke, his voice hoarse, recounting the horrifying vision: the desolate void, the shadowy entity, its outstretched hand, and the chilling act of implantation. He described the "seed of spiritual decay," the way it burrowed into Lord Xylos's cultivation base, dormant yet potent.
"It wasn't a curse," he explained, struggling to articulate the nuance. "It was... a gift. A promise of power, paid for by rot. A slow, internal consumption, waiting for activation." He shuddered. "Elder Theron's aura felt the same. That parasitic frost... it's a symptom. The seed is the cause."
Xianxia listened, her perfect features utterly still. Her fingers subtly traced the intricate patterns on her robes. A vein throbbed faintly at her temple. A seed of spiritual decay. Implanted. This was a method far more insidious than any she had encountered in millennia. It bypassed traditional defenses, corrupted from within, and used its victims as unwitting hosts. The Void Devourers were not just myths; they were surgeons of soul-rot.
"Master Tian," Xianxia stated, her voice sharp with a new urgency. "Send scouts to the Northern Dominion. Investigate any unusual 'gifts' or rapid power surges among their cultivators in the last century. Be discreet."
"And the Conclave, Your Majesty?" Master Tian asked, his gaze drifting to the main hall. "How do we proceed? If this... 'seed'... is present in other delegations..."
Xianxia's eyes, burning with a cold, strategic fire, fixed on Long Hu. "Apprentice Long Hu will proceed as planned. His sight is our only defense. Every tribute. Every delegation. He will examine them all." She paused, her gaze softening almost imperceptibly as she studied Long Hu's exhausted face. "You performed admirably, Apprentice. Your resilience is... noteworthy."
He felt a strange warmth spread through him at her rare praise, even as his mind reeled from the terrifying implications. He was her weapon, yes, but there was a flicker of something else in her eyes – a shared burden, a reluctant dependence.
"But this enemy..." Long Hu began, his voice weak. "It is vast. How many others?"
Xianxia took a step closer, her hand raising as if to touch his brow, then halting mid-air, her fingers hovering just inches from his skin. He felt the immense power radiating from her, but also a confusing, almost familiar warmth. Her gaze was intense, analytical, yet held a flicker of something akin to shared vulnerability.
"That, Apprentice," she whispered, her voice a low, dangerous melody that seemed to resonate directly in his shattered core, "is precisely what we are about to discover. And we shall begin with the delegation from the **Crimson Peaks Realm.** Their Lord, Valerius, boasts of recent, unprecedented breakthroughs." Her eyes, now sharp and predatory, gleamed with grim determination. "He will be your next target."
Long Hu felt a shiver. The Crimson Peaks were known for their brutal, ambitious cultivators. His unique sight had just thrust him onto the front lines of a cosmic war, with the Empress as his reluctant, formidable ally. The next challenge would not merely be a test of purity, but a probe into the heart of a deepening cosmic conspiracy.