Shen Yu did not rush toward the altar to snatch the beast egg, nor did he make any move to flee.
Instead, he swept his tattered, blood-soaked robes aside and sank slowly into the full lotus position right at the edge of the stone platform.
He rested his forearms casually across his knees.
Streaks of dried black blood crisscrossed his pale cheeks, his broken eardrums still leaking faint crimson, but his blood-red irises remained locked onto the two figures across the chasm like the unblinking gaze of an ancient predator watching trapped prey.
"Cross the thread, dogs," Shen Yu rasped, his cracked lips pulling back into an unhinged, feral grin.
"Come. This sovereign will wait right here to tear your limbs apart."
Across the boiling and freezing void, Du Sha's pale face darkened with venomous malice.
"A crippled rat daring to put on airs. Ou Ba, suppress your heart demons. We take his head and divide the treasures."
