He Xiangu fell into an immediate panic.
Despite her immense power, she could not exert a single ounce of it. The tide of battle had completely defied her expectations. Tso Lan had vanished for mere days, yet he returned possessing such terrifying might. Her gaze was clouded with confusion, and a flicker of raw fear sparked in the depths of her eyes.
Tso Lan had changed; he had become infinitely more formidable.
"This power does not belong to you!" He Xiangu raged. She knew Tso Lan well; these chains were not part of his original authority.
"Quite right, Immortal," Zoran nodded in agreement. "Therefore, they now belong to you."
As Zoran spoke, he lightly pressed his palms together.
The specialized Chains of Heaven abruptly snapped taut, stretching He Xiangu's limbs into a "star" shape, binding her in the vacuum without any hope of resistance.
"What are you planning to do...?" She was suddenly struck by a wave of dread.
Zoran floated before her, extending a pale, skeletal hand. He pressed it firmly against her fair face. Through the gaps in his fingers, her eyes remained visible, wide and brimming with helpless terror.
Demon Chi erupted.
It was the power Shendu had brought back from the future. Zoran began to chant in a low, rhythmic whisper:
"In the name of the Moon Demon, by the power granted from the future, I seal the Immortal Deity, He Xiangu, into my domain."
"Exiled to the future of eternal silence..."
"The Dark Side of the Moon!"
As Zoran's voice fell, the entirety of the future Demon Chi brought back by Shendu was instantly consumed. Simultaneously, in He Xiangu's vision, everything plunged into darkness. The parallel space-time before her seemed to stretch into infinity. Bound by the chains, she had no way to dodge as the bottomless dark rushed to meet her, swallowing her whole.
In the next second, she opened her eyes.
Zoran, Shendu, and Lü Dongbin had all vanished. She was left entirely alone, locked within a pitch-black void. No sound, no words, no answers, only a crushing, dead silence. Not even light could penetrate this place.
Zoran slowly withdrew his hand, his movements composed and unhurried. He Xiangu was gone.
At the cost of expending an entire "future version" of his own power, he had sealed He Xiangu into the Dark Side of the Moon. It was still within this world, yet it was neither the past nor the present. It was the future, a future defined by eternal desolation. No one but the Moon Demon could ever find her.
While distinct from the Netherworld, it was far worse. In that place, there was no time and no hope. Bound by the chains, even movement was a luxury. He Xiangu would gradually waste away in that unchanging silence, her wisdom and power eroded by the same forces that ground down the demons in the abyss.
She deserved nothing less. At this moment, the Moon Demon's revenge was complete.
…
Naturally, Zoran's victory was witnessed by both Shendu and Lü Dongbin.
He Xiangu was gone! Even a sealing into the Netherworld required a door to be opened. But she had simply vanished into thin air before their very eyes!
Lü Dongbin was desperate! His body radiated a blinding majesty, and his sword surged with a fierce aura. Yet, despite his outward show of strength, his heart was gripped by anxiety.
He could not defeat Shendu!
Because the two Shendus before him were identical; there was simply no way to distinguish between them.
A deluge of magical energy swept across the stars. Having reclaimed his true self, Shendu was no longer limited to his twelve basic powers; he was bolstered by his original, primordial Demon Chi.
Shendu! (神都)
He had remembered all of his Demon Chi sorcery!
Countless dark incantations fell like starlight, ruthlessly suppressing Lü Dongbin's aura. The Immortal's power ebbed and flowed like a retreating tide.
Ancient weakening spells were taking effect. One moment, Lü Dongbin would stare at his sword as it suddenly drifted away, as if he had lost his very soul, only to snap back and realize a spirit-warping curse was clouding his mind.
Shendu was casting spells as if they cost him nothing. With his core Demon Chi and the might of his Dragon Talisman, his energy was bottomless. This was the perfect form of one of the three most powerful demon sorcerers of the ancient era: Shendu, the Demon Sorcerer.
More importantly, there were now two of them.
Of course, even this was not what made Lü Dongbin the most nervous. Among the three supreme sorcerers of ancient times, excluding the Sky Demon, Hsi Wu, who remained trapped in the Netherworld, his mind eroded until he remembered only the flapping of his wings, there was one other.
Tso Lan, the Moon Demon.
And he was currently watching from the sidelines with casual indifference.
Even in this dire situation, Lü Dongbin couldn't help but feel that his long life was finally nearing its end. With He Xiangu gone, the battle had instantly become a three-on-one. No matter how sharp his blade, no matter how much "Universal Law" empowered it, he still had to actually hit his targets.
In reality, whenever he swung his sword, he couldn't even tell which Shendu he was hitting. Was it the original, or the projection? On the rare occasion he caught one and severed a power, Shendu would simply churn the Demon Chi in his palm and use a counter-spell to pull the escaping energy back into his body.
This forced Lü Dongbin to recall the ancient days when the Eight Immortals first rose to challenge the Eight Demons. It was exactly like this, the same relentless, agonizing struggle.
Then, into this already catastrophic situation, Zoran moved. He manipulated repulsive force, physically shoving Lü Dongbin into the path of a Demon Chi curse released by Shendu.
The spell struck Lü Dongbin, his divine aura turning murky. Zoran raised a palm, pulling him toward yet another curse. He manipulated the deity like a marionette on strings.
Moments later, the divine light upon Lü Dongbin's body had faded, replaced by roiling black mists. He had reached his limit.
"It seems... this is the era of the Demon Chi," he sighed softly.
A cold ruthlessness flashed in Shendu's eyes. He slammed his palms together, creating a massive vacuum of attraction. The Eight Immortals were not the only ones who knew the incantations to banish others to the Netherworld.
As his palms met, an inverted Demon Portal thundered open. The red vortex within swirled with chaotic energy. Zoran's eyes flickered with surprise as he looked at Shendu. "When did you learn that?"
Shendu met his gaze and smiled. "Just now."
The crushing attraction dragged Lü Dongbin toward the gate. He struggled to flee, but his trajectory toward the abyss remained unchanged. A moment later, the portal swallowed Lü Dongbin whole and collapsed into a scroll, vanishing into nothingness.
The Shendu projection slowly dissipated.
"My brother, we have succeeded!" Shendu cried out in exhilaration. "Our era has returned!"
He surveyed the cosmos. Finally, he had achieved the revenge he had dreamed of for eons. And all of it was because of one being. His burning gaze landed on Zoran.
"Brother, this world belongs to us once more."
…
Inside the blood-red Netherworld.
Lü Dongbin drifted helplessly between the floating stone platforms. Above him, Hsi Wu beat his wings, soaring past with an excited shriek.
"Ooh—look who's come to visit!"
Lightning crackled as Tchang Zu appeared, gripping his thunder spear. "It seems we have a new toy." He hurled the spear, shattering a stone platform to reveal Lü Dongbin's fleeing form.
Po Kong sat atop a massive rock, her eyes fixed on the tiny figure. "I'm hungry!" she bellowed.
Dai Gui, the Earth Demon, shoved several stone pillars into Lü Dongbin's path, his heavy voice roaring with fury. "Are you here to inspect the prison?! Hmph?!"
"Inspect the prison? My brother, it looks like he is trapped here just like us," Bai Tza, the Water Demon, chuckled darkly.
A sudden gale seized Lü Dongbin. It was Xiao Fung, the Wind Demon. He looked up at the sky, his eyes misty.
"Brothers and sisters, it seems the Eldest Brother has not forgotten us."
"The day our suffering ends... is near!"
Lü Dongbin was trapped in the center of the abyss. From all directions, the crimson eyes of six demons were fixed unblinkingly upon him.
————
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