Cunning, treacherous, sinister, venomous, and greedy by nature—he would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
Because Su Yunqing hadn’t posted his memory replica in the chat group, he had no idea how he had failed. Since that was the case, he couldn’t be bothered putting up a pointless struggle. He would just wait until Jackie Chan and the others had gathered all the talismans, then wipe them out in one fell swoop.
Before that, he could even take the initiative to cooperate with Jackie Chan and the others in collecting the talismans.
Bai Xuan withdrew his gaze and gently brushed his right hand across the empty air. Twelve talismans, each emitting a faint luster, appeared before him.
Since he still possessed power in this world that was in no way inferior to what he had in his own, collecting the talismans was incredibly simple for him—in fact, it was just a matter of a single thought.
Meanwhile, at the special vault in Section 13 where the talismans were kept, no one had yet noticed that the talismans had vanished.
Bam!
With a single step, Bai Xuan crossed into another space in an instant. Before him stood a coiled dragon-shaped statue, its eyes gleaming with a faint red glow.
“First meeting, Shendu.”
Bai Xuan looked at the statue before him and said with a light smile.
“First meeting, Bai Xuan.”
The Shendu’s voice echoed from within the statue.
“When do you plan to make your move?”
“It’s already done.”
Bai Xuan said calmly, then—under the Shendu’s bewildered gaze—took the twelve talismans out of his spatial ring. The moment he saw the talismans, the petrified statue of the Shendu began to tremble violently, and his crimson gaze blazed even brighter. It wasn’t hard to tell just how thrilled he was at that moment.
“Pleasure doing business.”
As he spoke, the twelve talismans began to rotate slowly, then merged into the Shendu’s statue one by one.
BOOM!
ROOOAR!!!
Accompanied by a roar filled with excitement and elation, a massive figure appeared before Bai Xuan.
It had the head of a dragon and the body of a man, with eight horns sprouting from its skull—a fusion of Western and Eastern dragon features. Its skin shimmered with a faint luster.
“Hahahaha! The Shendu has finally returned!”
“This world has once again welcomed its true master!”
The Shendu laughed heartily, his voice brimming with unbridled joy and satisfaction. The feeling of being reborn and tasting freedom once more was something he had long missed.
But before that, the Shendu turned his crimson gaze toward Bai Xuan.
Bai Xuan, for his part, was watching the revived Shendu with great interest. Noticing his look, he said with a light chuckle:
“The Shendu hasn’t forgotten our deal, has he?”
He would never forget the Shendu’s identity and temperament—breaking promises and going back on his word were practically second nature to him. Even before making the deal, Bai Xuan had already prepared for the Shendu to renege. In fact, he was almost looking forward to it.
Having gone through the second spiritual tide, his [Natural Authority] ability had grown tremendously. He didn’t believe his strength would lose to the Shendu.
Not even a Shendu who had gathered all twelve talismans.
And even if he couldn’t win, escaping would be a piece of cake.
What’s more, he had already confirmed that his power hadn’t been diminished just because he was in another world—nature’s blessing still applied to him. So what did he have to fear?
“Of course.”
The Shendu’s eyes flickered with red light. After a long silence, he finally spoke.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go back on his word, nor was he worried about the consequences of breaking the agreement—after all, it was just a verbal promise. He had already gained his benefit, and whether he held up his end of the bargain was entirely up to his conscience.
Did demons even have such a thing as a conscience?
Of course not.
The only reason was that he had sensed a threat from Bai Xuan!
An overwhelming threat!
The moment he entertained any ill intent toward Bai Xuan, he felt the world itself turn against him.
It was as if, the instant he made a move, his power would be stripped away for all sorts of reasons, and he would once again fall into a state of sealing.
[Natural Authority]
Bai Xuan had never hidden his abilities in the chat group. It was a power that functioned like a bug in his own world—you could say he was the world’s favored child, with even more terrifying luck than any protagonist.
Anyone who targeted him would be met with the malice of the world itself.
But he hadn’t expected that Bai Xuan’s ability would still work in his world.
Because this was Earth?
Or perhaps… this ability wasn’t limited to his own world?
Though these were only his premonitions, having just been resurrected after so many years of sealing, he didn’t have the guts to gamble on that possibility.
It was just the Book of Ages, after all. So what if he had to give up some points?
He had no shortage of ways to earn points.
There was no need to fall out with Bai Xuan.
Bai Xuan said nothing, only giving the Shendu a long, meaningful look.
“This is your world. What you do with it is none of our business.”
“But when it comes to how you treat Huaxia, you’d better show some restraint.”
After leaving those words, Bai Xuan paid no attention to the Shendu’s changing expression. His figure vanished into thin air.
“That goes without saying.”
Having already come to view even his own siblings as prey, the Shendu no longer had any territorial restrictions.
With the vast Earth and its enormous territories, there was no need for him to fixate on Huaxia.
Setting aside the group leader’s goodwill in the chat group and Bai Xuan’s watchful eye—what if another two characters like Lu Dongbin popped up?
Get sealed again?
He would never allow that to happen again!
He would cut off any and every possibility!
Dad’s Antique Shop!
The invisible Shendu stared at Jackie Chan, Dad, and the others busy inside the shop, a hint of killing intent flickering in his eyes.
They were the ones who had repeatedly foiled his resurrection plans—and in the future, even after he came back, they would seal him once more.
If he killed them now…
Though that thought crossed his mind, in the end, the Shendu held back.
“Consider yourselves lucky—for their sake.”
“Heroes, hmph!”
There were heroes who belonged to their country, but no heroes who belonged to the world.
You’d better learn to tell the difference.
Otherwise… the red glow in the Shendu’s eyes grew even fiercer.
“Now, it’s time for me to hurry up and get stronger.”
“Angels, God-Slayers, Gods—the chat group sure has more and more powerhouses.”
The Shendu turned around, and his body quickly faded from sight.
He was heading to his hidden treasure vault, to convert all his hoarded riches into points.
Compared to those material things, points were clearly far more important to him.
With enough strength, what treasures couldn’t he obtain?
And after the Shendu’s figure had disappeared, Dad gazed thoughtfully in the direction he had vanished, then let out a long sigh.
“The world is about to change.”
With that, he went back to sweeping the floor, while a bewildered Jackie Chan looked on in confusion.
The Land of Kangaroos (Australia).
Bai Xuan looked at the barren mountain before him. He could sense a mysterious power—profound, ancient, and weathered.
RUMBLE!
The spatial gate, which would normally require an incantation to open, now manifested directly in front of Bai Xuan. He even felt a vague pull, as if something was guiding him to step inside.
