The quiet, domestic peace they had fought so hard to build lasted for exactly two days. On the third morning, the Imperial Court was convened in the war room, the atmosphere grim and heavy with an unspoken dread. The news of the Bakunawa's summoning had been contained within the palace walls, but the time for secrets was over. It was time for a strategy.
Xue Lian and Lan Yue stood side by side before the grand, glowing map of the realms, Princess Xue Hua having been safely ensconced in the royal library under the watchful eye of her celestial dragon. They presented a united, formidable front, but it was a front that was about to be tested.
Vex'aal materialized from the shadows at the edge of the room, her smoky form more agitated than usual. "Your Majesties," she whispered, her voice a chilling rustle of dead leaves. "I bring urgent intelligence from the mortal realm."
Every commander in the room leaned forward.
"The righteous sects are in a state of high alert," Vex'aal reported. "Elder Feng of the Golden Sun Pavilion has made a public proclamation to a council of the allied sect leaders. He claims that the Void incursions, and the subsequent summoning of the Bakunawa, were deliberate acts of demonic aggression, orchestrated by the Luminous Dynasty."
A low, angry growl rumbled through the assembled demonic lords.
"He posits," Vex'aal continued, her voice devoid of emotion, "that the Demon Empress, growing bold after a decade of isolation, has unleashed this ancient evil upon the mortal realm. His narrative states that you are now attempting to frame a 'noble, truth seeking faction' of righteous cultivators for this heinous crime."
Commander Kael slammed a gauntleted fist onto the stone balustrade. "LIES! They spit on our honor while their own hands are stained with treason! I will march to the border and demand his head!"
"There is more," Vex'aal said, her shadowy gaze flickering towards Lan Yue. "Elder Feng's narrative has been… corroborated. By a key, and most credible, witness."
Lan Yue's blood ran cold. She already knew what was coming.
"Elder Wei Chen of the Azure Cloud Sect has given a full, public testimony," Vex'aal stated. "He claims he personally witnessed Saint Yue fall back under the Empress's demonic influence in Luyan. He testifies that he uncovered evidence of your dark ritual sites, and that you conspired with the rogue demons. He is painting himself as a tragic hero who attempted to save his beloved 'sister' from her final corruption, but failed. He is now calling for a holy war, a final crusade to 'put an end to the demonic threat once and for all'."
The room exploded into furious uproar. The sheer, breathtaking hypocrisy of the accusation was an insult of the highest order. Lan Yue stood perfectly still, her face a mask of ice, but inside, a profound, weary disappointment settled in her soul. The last vestige of the earnest, honorable boy she had grown up with was well and truly dead, replaced by a willing, fanatical liar.
Xue Lian, however, did not move. She did not shout. She listened to the entire report with a terrifying, absolute stillness. When Vex'aal had finished and the room was a cacophony of demonic rage, she slowly raised a single, elegant hand.
Instant silence.
She placed her hands flat on the map table, took a deep, steadying breath, and looked up, her amber eyes burning with a light that was equal parts fury and a profound, cosmic exasperation.
"The audacity," she said, her voice dangerously calm, each word a perfectly enunciated drop of venom. "The absolute, unmitigated, testosterone fueled audacity… of these MEN."
The modern, alien phrasing of the insult left her demonic commanders utterly baffled. They exchanged confused glances. Testosterone? But they understood the sentiment perfectly.
Lan Yue, despite the cold fury in her heart, felt a small, weary smile touch her lips. Only Lian.
The moment of dark humor passed. Xue Lian's expression hardened, the Empress in full, strategic command. "This is his endgame," she analyzed, her voice sharp and clear. "Feng isn't just trying to start a war. He's trying to start a crusade. By painting us as the apocalyptic aggressor, he unites all the wavering sects under his banner. He's not just a traitor; he's positioning himself as the savior of the mortal realm."
"And he is using my name and Wei Chen's testimony to give his lies the veneer of truth," Lan Yue added, her own voice cold as the void itself. "He is turning my sacrifice into a martyr's banner for his own holy war."
"Then we will take that banner and we will burn it," Xue Lian declared. She turned to her spymaster. "Vex'aal. I want a new story spread. I want every spy, every asset, every whisper on the wind in the mortal realm to carry a different tale. Do not deny their claims directly; denials are for the guilty. You will muddy the waters. Spread tales of the Ashen Sword, the powerful, neutral protector who has been sighted in the borderlands. Spread rumors of a deep, internal conspiracy within the Golden Sun Pavilion. Spread questions. Why was Elder Feng in Luyan? Why did Wei Chen return without his prize? We will fight their grand, simple lie with a thousand complex, insidious truths."
She looked at Lan Yue, a new, dangerous fire in her eyes. "They want to paint you as a corrupted victim? They want to paint me as a world ending monster?"
She gave a sharp, predatory smile.
"Let's show them what we really are."