The world narrowed to Empress Xianxia's piercing gaze, her touch a searing brand on his jaw. Long Hu's mind reeled, trapped between the fresh horror of cosmic annihilation and the overwhelming presence of his immortal tormentor. Her question hung in the stagnant air of the 'Sealed Heresies' – "What truly shattered the Harem Lord… or something far grander?"
He knew. The horrifying, shadowy figure, devouring realms, tearing apart cultivation bases like paper. This wasn't her doing. A twisted relief warred with profound terror. But to reveal it now? To share such a cataclysmic secret with the very woman who relished his fall? He was weak, nakedly vulnerable before her.
He swallowed, his throat dry. He forced his trembling voice steady. "I... I saw..." He hesitated, searching for words that wouldn't betray the full, terrifying scope. "A shadow. A power... that shattered everything. Not just my legions. *Everything.* It felt... like the end of a world. A cold, consuming force." He ended abruptly, letting the raw fear in his eyes speak for the rest.
Xianxia's thumb moved, a subtle, almost possessive stroke against his cheekbone. Her eyes, however, remained sharp, dissecting his every word, his every tremor. *A shadow. A power that shattered everything.* This wasn't the petty vengeance of a rival, nor the collateral damage of a cultivation breakthrough. This was something vast. Something ancient. Something that threatened even realms under *her* dominion. The implications were immense, unsettling.
Her cold curiosity deepened, tinged with a grudging respect for the sheer terror in his eyes. He wasn't lying. Not entirely. He truly *felt* it. And if he could feel such a cosmic tremor from a mere fragment of memory, what did that imply about the nature of his lost power?
She withdrew her hand, the sudden loss of contact leaving a strange void. "Interesting," she murmured, a single word laden with chilling calculation. "Your broken essence, it seems, acts as a divining rod for... cosmic decay. A rare talent, indeed."
Long Hu stared, unsure if her assessment was a compliment or a further condemnation. He knew his answer had changed something. Her initial amusement at his torment was gone, replaced by a gaze that was disturbingly analytical, yet somehow more... direct.
"Master Tian," Xianxia called, her voice echoing through the silent archive. The High Elder appeared instantly, a question in his eyes.
"Apprentice Long Hu will no longer attend to these dusty scrolls," she declared, her decision swift and absolute. "His talents are... wasted here. Henceforth, he shall reside in the Moonspring Gardens, adjacent to my own cultivation sanctum. His duties will involve the 'purification' of all inbound spiritual resources before they enter the Grand Celestial Palace. A sensitive role, requiring his unique discernment."
Long Hu's eyes widened. Moonspring Gardens. That was practically her personal domain. His tasks were no longer mundane chores; they were critical, sensitive duties that placed him at the very nexus of the palace's spiritual flow. He was being pulled from the shadows, not into the light of glory, but into the dangerous glare of her unwavering scrutiny.
Master Tian merely bowed, his face impassive, but a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes. An amnesiac mortal, barely clinging to life, assigned a task of such importance? It was unheard of.
"You will be given... resources," Xianxia continued, her gaze returning to Long Hu, a predatory gleam in her eyes. "To ensure your 'talent' thrives. You will be tested, apprentice. And you will not fail. For what lurks in the shadows beyond my realm, could very well threaten us all."
She swept out of the archives, leaving Long Hu alone, bathed in the stagnant energy of forbidden texts and the chilling echo of cosmic dread. He clenched his fists. The shadowy figure, the cosmic devastation – it was real. And Xianxia, the woman who had sought to break him, now intended to use him as her shield. His path to reclaiming his past was no longer just about personal vengeance, but about surviving a threat that dwarfed even the Immortal Empress. He was no longer just a pawn in her game of revenge; he was a vital, unwilling piece in a far grander, and terrifying, cosmic struggle. Their fates, it seemed, were inextricably bound.