The crimson beam from the World-Seer Array tore through the heavens like a bleeding wound across the fabric of reality itself, its pulsing light casting eerie shadows across the gathered Wen Clan elders. The glow painted their faces in alternating shades of blood-red and abyssal black, making their expressions appear almost demonic in the unnatural light. The beam pointed unwaveringly northeast - toward the accursed Deadbone Wastes, a territory so vile that even carrion birds refused to fly over its blighted landscape.
Wuxing's fingers clenched around the cracked bone scroll case with enough force to make the ancient material groan in protest. The Nine-Shadow Dynasty's bill of sale burned in his mind like a brand:
*"One Wen female specimen, confirmed prime bloodline purity. Delivery to Bone Crucible facility. Payment: Three Heavenly Dao Fragments. Guaranteed preservation of subject for minimum three centuries."*
The clinical detachment of the wording made his golden eyes narrow to slits. This wasn't just a record of capture - it was a laboratory report. They had treated Wen Lian, the revered Founder of their entire bloodline, like some rare ingredient to be harvested and stored.
Elder Wen Rong's newly strengthened Nascent Soul aura flickered like a guttering candle, his spiritual pressure waxing and waning with barely contained agitation. The normally composed elder couldn't hide the tremor in his voice as he spoke:
"Patriarch, the Wastes... the reports from our last scouts..." He swallowed hard, his aged face suddenly looking every one of his four hundred years. "It's not just a dead zone anymore. The land itself has become... alive. In the worst possible way."
Wuxing remained silent, his attention fixed on the Veil of Shadows operatives kneeling in perfect formation behind Wen Qian. Their masked faces revealed nothing, but the tension in their postures spoke volumes. With a subtle gesture, he commanded the nearest operative to present their findings.
The masked figure produced a memory crystal that projected a holographic image above the assembly. Gasps rippled through the gathered elders as the three-dimensional display revealed the horrific transformation of the Deadbone Wastes.
Where once there had been merely skeletal trees and bleached bones, now stood grotesque, pulsing formations of flesh and bark fused together in unholy union. The trees had developed thick, vein-like ridges that throbbed visibly, their roots submerged in pools of what could only be freshly spilled blood. Most disturbing of all were the occasional glimpses of humanoid shapes trapped within the trunks - their mouths open in silent screams, their hands pressed against the inner bark as if trying to escape.
The System chose that moment to deliver its analysis in stark, clinical terms:
**Ding!**
**[Environmental Hazard Detected: Bloodline Siphon Field - Stage IV]**
**[Current Effects:]**
**- Drains 1 Minor Realm per hour from non-Nine-Shadow cultivators**
**- Corrupts spiritual roots on prolonged exposure**
**- Induces permanent qi deviation after 3 hours**
**[Warning: Blood Moon Rising in 4 hours - Effect amplification x3 expected]**
Wen Zixuan, still pale and sweating from his earlier vision-induced collapse, stumbled forward. The young disciple's hands trembled as he clutched at his chest, his newly awakened Heaven's Pulse Meridian reacting violently to the images.
"The throne... in my vision..." he gasped, blood trickling from one nostril. "It wasn't just made of stars. It was... consuming them. And she was chained to it, but the chains... the chains were part of her!"
Wuxing moved with sudden purpose, his golden eyes darkening to molten amber. In three strides he was before Zixuan, his hand clamping down on the disciple's shoulder with enough force to ground him. A pulse of purified Patriarchal qi surged into the younger man's meridian network, stabilizing the dangerous fluctuations.
The moment their energies connected, the vision struck them both with the force of a spiritual avalanche:
A woman suspended in endless darkness, her tattered crimson robes floating around her like petals in a stagnant pond. Liquid shadows coiled around her limbs like living chains, pulsing in time with some unseen heartbeat. Her golden eyes - so like Wuxing's own - snapped open...
And then the connection broke as the ground beneath them erupted in a shower of bone fragments.
Wuxing's voice cut through the chaos like a blade:
"Qian, Zixuan, Xuanhu - with me. The rest of you, prepare the clan for full mobilization. Alert all outposts. Recall every operative." His gaze swept across the assembled elders, the weight of his will pressing down on them like a mountain. "We go to war not as petitioners, but as conquerors. Let the Nine-Shadow Dynasty learn what happens when they steal from dragons."
As the elders bowed in unison, the System delivered its final warning in flashing crimson characters that hung burning in the air:
**[Mission Parameters Updated: Infiltration Time Limit - 4 Hours]**
**[New Variable Detected: Blood Moon Convergence]**
**[Predicted Outcome: Siphon Field will achieve critical mass]**
**[Recommended Action: Immediate extraction or total annihilation of hostiles]**
The message faded, leaving behind only the scent of ozone and the unshakable certainty that whatever waited for them in the Deadbone Wastes was far worse than mere imprisonment.
Wen Lian wasn't just trapped.
She had become part of the prison itself.