The wind had changed.
After the portal sealed behind Crown Prince Longxuan, a ringing silence settled over the ancient forest. Snow began to drift lightly from the sky, coating the ground in white as if to foreshadow what was coming.
No one spoke for a long while.
Then Zhenhai let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "He did it."
Fenglan kicked a stone. "He just left us with the hardest part."
"Because he trusts us to hold the line," Jiang Fenglie said, stepping forward to face the sealed portal. "And we will. No matter what comes."
Ling Xi closed her eyes, placing one palm on the cold stone. The portal's residual energy still crackled faintly. "It won't open again for at least three days. Maybe longer."
"So we're the only thing standing between Liu Shengjie and that gate," Huayin said, his usual teasing tone gone.
Shuiyun stepped forward and slowly rolled his shoulders. His eyes had narrowed into a quiet glint. "Then we prepare. We set traps. We layer talismans. We build a barrier that will make even a god think twice."
Zhenhai nodded. "We make them regret every step they take."
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.
Within hours, the clearing around the sealed portal had transformed.
Ling Xi and Jiang Fenglie carved spiritual formations into the earth with their qi, lines glowing faintly as layers of defensive magic took shape. Shuiyun raised frost-walls of icy water to cloak their position, veiling the portal in illusion. Huayin summoned foxfire and bound spirits to form scouting familiars that circled the sky.
Fenglan grinned with manic energy, slamming talismans onto every tree in sight. "Anyone walks in here, they're gonna get more than their robes singed."
Zhenhai knelt in the center, sword across his knees, eyes closed. He was meditating, letting his spiritual core synchronize with the surroundings. His stillness anchored them.
The air grew colder. The wind howled like a warning.
—————
By nightfall, they sat around a small fire, tension knotting their shoulders.
Fenglan broke the silence. "You think he's alright?"
Ling Xi looked up. "He will be. He has tobe."
Huayin nodded. "Tianzun's not one to fall easily. Neither is Longxuan."
Fenglie ran a hand through his hair. "Still... I feel it. Something big is coming. The heavens are stirring."
Suddenly, one of Huayin's scouting familiars burst into sparks mid-air.
Everyone stood at once.
A pulse of divine energy rippled through the trees.
Dozens of glowing figures began to emerge from the woods. Armor gleamed. Weapons glinted. Robes bore the sigils of the Celestial Army.
Leading them was a figure in flowing robes of blinding white.
Liu Shengjie.
His eyes found the group instantly. "Stand aside," he said, voice like thunder. "You're protecting a devil."
Zhenhai stepped forward, sword drawn.
"We're protecting our friend."
Ling Xi's eyes flared with twin energies.
"And you," she said, voice trembling with power, "are the true devil here."
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.
The battle line was drawn.
The next breath might be peace.
The next heartbeat—war.