At that moment just now, the Ao Fish mark that had been dormant in her dantian suddenly stirred, followed by a tremendous pulling force, like a whale sucking in water, attempting to drain her spiritual power completely dry!

Since she and Yun Ya had confessed their feelings for each other, the Ao Fish mark had essentially become decorative. Feng Miaojun’s cultivation had grown increasingly profound, and these past few years she had been occupied with state affairs, living peaceful days without any urgent need for spiritual power.

But now, Yun Ya was frantically drawing her spiritual power without any warning, seemingly intent on emptying her in one go!

This could only mean he had encountered a sudden emergency, desperately dangerous and difficult to handle, which he couldn’t manage with his power alone and had to resort to using hers!

Therefore, Feng Miaojun didn’t even think twice before mobilizing the spiritual power in her dantian to flow into the Ao Fish mark, wanting to provide more aid to her lover.

Until not a drop of spiritual power remained in her dantian.

No matter how profound her cultivation, she couldn’t withstand such an intense outflow, naturally becoming unsteady on her feet at that moment.

Then, there was nothing more.

The last bit of spiritual power sent over vanished like mud into the sea, with no response for a long time.

What was Yun Ya doing? Was he still right? Considering he was at the northwestern front, confronting the Yan army, her heart was naturally in turmoil.

Several hours later, the Ao Fish mark finally released a trace of spiritual power, returning to her dantian.

Was this Yun Ya guessing her worry and using this method to show he was still alive? Feng Miaojun wasn’t optimistic, because the spiritual power returned through the mark was merely a tiny amount, proving that Yun Ya currently had no energy to spare.

In other words, his trouble hadn’t yet passed.

But in the days that followed, the Ao Fish mark returned to stillness, the other end like dead water, without a ripple.

When Feng Miaojun returned to her chambers at night, she would always encourage the red-headed parrot by her bedside to speak a few words. It wasn’t because she enjoyed keeping birds or was bored, but because this type of parrot was known as a “kindred bird”; once a male and female pair bonded, they could hear each other’s voices no matter how far apart they were.

The “kindred bird” was an ancient precious creature, with very few remaining in the world. This pair had been found and given to the Queen by Yu Haizhen, beautifully described as “relieving her lovesickness.” Feng Miaojun kept the female bird with her and sent the male to Yun Ya so that even when separated by great distances, they could use the parrots to relay messages.

This world had no telephones, and most instantaneous communication techniques had been lost. Her simplest method of talking with Yun Ya was through these kindred birds. Unfortunately, the parrot’s voice was strange and coarse, turning Yun Ya’s sweet nothings into something unrecognizable and unbearable to hear.

So, these birds were only suitable for communication; to truly share their hearts, they either had to meet privately across thousands of miles or commit their feelings to paper.

But Feng Miaojun’s current problem was that the parrot hadn’t spoken for several days.

This meant that Yun Ya hadn’t transmitted any messages through the male bird for many consecutive days.

Something had happened on his end, and it was serious.

Feng Miaojun diligently practiced breathing exercises daily to recover her spiritual power. But after several instances of sending spiritual power with no return, Yun Ya silently accepted everything without giving any acknowledgment.

This was far too abnormal.

Days passed one by one amid Feng Miaojun’s anxiety.

Half a month later, war reports from the Yan-Wei front finally reached her hands, this time bringing major news. Feng Miaojun’s heart trembled after just a few glances:

In northwestern Wei, at the Battle of Red Demon Mountain, Wei’s State Preceptor Yun Ya had used techniques to trigger underground lava eruptions, destroying most of the Yan army’s camp. The Yan King fought him and returned wounded.

So Yun Ya had once again triggered volcanic eruptions, destroying the Yan encampment and wounding the Yan King, thus reversing the battle situation in one stroke. This was an unprecedented achievement, yet Feng Miaojun showed no joy upon hearing it, only a grave expression.

This had been going on for a month, with court officials feeling the Queen’s low spirits every day.

Princess Hanyue was confused and privately asked her husband: “Wei has gained the upper hand this time, holding their heads high. Why is Anan displeased instead?”

“Yan has suffered greatly, with damaged camps and casualties, even the Yan King was wounded,” Miao Fengxian asked her in return. “Conversely, do you think Wei and its State Preceptor emerged unscathed? In war, killing a thousand enemies often costs eight hundred of your own.”

Princess Hanyue was shocked: “You mean Wei also sustained serious damage?”

“Even the Yan King personally entered the battlefield, showing this fight has reached white-hot intensity.” Miao Fengxian gave a cold laugh. “Let them fight, best if both are severely wounded.” As the former Crown Prince of Yao, he had no fondness for either Wei or Yan.

Meanwhile, Feng Miaojun was also restless:

The day after the volcanic eruption, Yun Ya made one public appearance in the military camp, surrounded by a group of generals, seeming completely normal.

But her private communication with Yun Ya had also been interrupted. Not only did the parrot remain silent, but he hadn’t written to her for almost a month.

It’s worth noting that throughout the past seven years, no matter how busy Yun Ya was, he never forgot to write pages full of sweet words to her every half month.

So, how was he doing now?

Yun Ya held an extremely high position in the military, and in such extraordinary times, he needed to increase his visibility to stabilize morale, so this couldn’t be taken as a sign that he was safe and sound.

Naturally, Feng Miaojun knew he was still alive, after all, her own heart continued to beat steadily.

But as time passed, the shadows of unease and foreboding in her heart expanded, as if disaster was about to descend. As an experienced cultivator, she would never underestimate her sixth sense.

Soon, the aftermath of the Battle of Red Demon Mountain was revealed:

The Yan army had suffered heavy casualties. Red Demon Mountain had been a dormant volcano, not having erupted for nearly a thousand years, which is why the Yan army had chosen to camp at its flattest foot. As a result, when the volcano erupted, there was no time to retreat, and one hundred and thirty thousand soldiers lost their lives to lava, falling rocks, and volcanic ash, not to mention the destruction of other facilities and supplies.

The war report described the scene as extremely tragic, like hell on earth.

In the face of such a natural disaster, even the strongest Yan warriors were terrified to the core.

The Wei army had no intention of letting them go. With the Red Demon Volcano’s eruption, living beings within a hundred miles could hardly survive, and endless volcanic ash blotted out the sky, making normal breathing impossible for ordinary people. However, the Wei forces had set up ambushes along the Yan army’s retreat routes in advance, charging out to attack the fleeing enemy when they abandoned their armor and fled in panic.

As mortal enemies, there was no concept of not pursuing a desperate foe.

So when the Yan army escaped to safety and regrouped for a headcount, they confirmed that over one hundred and sixty thousand had died, with several thousand more missing.

When the news reached Yan’s borders, the nation was in an uproar, with memorial altars and mourning visible everywhere, even in the Yan capital. Under pressure, the Yan King had no choice but to withdraw his troops from northwestern Wei—this route had always been easy to defend but difficult to attack, unsuitable for long-distance, prolonged military penetration, and had been heavily criticized by the royal court.

This round was a major victory for Wei, with nationwide jubilation.

Among the flurry of incoming war reports, Feng Miaojun carefully collected clues about Yun Ya, but there were too few.