The mountain air tasted of iron and frost. Liu Shen landed on a jagged cliff edge, his boots grinding shards of stone into dust. Above him, six burning silhouettes cut across the sky, their white flame wings leaving trails that rippled the clouds.
The lead Envoy slowed, sensing something. His gaze swept the ridges below—calm, calculating. "Come out," he called, his voice reverberating with a faint divine echo. "We are not your enemies."
A laugh rolled through the mist, dark and unhurried. "Then it seems you've mistaken me for someone who needs friends."
From the shadow of the cliff, Liu Shen stepped into view, the wind pulling at his robes. The moonlight caught the faint crimson glow in his eyes, and for a heartbeat, the nearest Envoy faltered.
"Name yourself," the leader demanded. "We bear the authority of the Ninth Heaven. Interference with our mission will be met with—"
A flicker.
A breath later, Liu Shen was in front of him. One hand closed around the Envoy's throat, cutting off the rest of his words. The man's divine aura surged instinctively, but it crashed uselessly against the crushing demonic power pouring from Liu Shen's grip.
"You talk too much," Liu Shen said softly, his voice colder than the air.
With a twist, he slammed the Envoy into the cliff face. Stone exploded outward in a burst of dust and fractured light. The other five moved at once, wings flaring, divine blades manifesting in their hands.
Liu Shen released the first Envoy's limp form, letting it drop into the abyss, and turned toward the rest. "Five feathers left," he murmured.
Yu Meixing's voice whispered through the shadow thread in his mind. "Two are circling west, trying to bypass you. Lei Qing's traps will catch them in minutes. Can you hold the others?"
"I'm not holding them," Liu Shen replied, stepping forward as the nearest Envoy charged. "I'm breaking them."
The night erupted. Flame met shadow, divine hymns clashed with abyssal roars, and the moon was lost behind a shroud of winged fury.