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"They're still alive?"
"Those eight damn bastards! They're the reason we've been trapped in this time-wasting underground world!"
"They dared to mess with the Book of Ages, tamper with time itself—there's no way they deserve to live!"
"Kill them!"
". . ."
The eight demon lords all turned their gaze toward them. Fury burned in their eyes, and bloodlust flared—they were just about to strike and wipe them out completely.
But then, Shen Du calmly spoke up."Let them stay here. Let them rot in this world, losing their magic, losing their minds. Let them suffer endlessly. Isn't that a much better punishment?"
The demon lords, who were just about to attack, suddenly paused. A flicker of thought lit up in their eyes—Shen Du actually made a good point.
A moment later, as if in silent agreement, they all breathed out a stream of dark magic. It wrapped around the prisoners' bodies. Cold smirks spread across their faces.
"Our magic will make them like us—undying and indestructible."
"But they'll suffer forever. Even if their bodies fall apart, their souls will live on—trapped in eternal agony."
"Buried in this underground hell, never to see the light of day again!"
The eight humanoid demons writhed on the rocky ground in agony, like ants tearing into their flesh. Their faces twisted in pain as they struggled desperately.
"Enough. Let's activate the Eight Trigrams Formation and get out of here."
Shen Du had fully regained his composure. All the panic from earlier was gone, replaced by complete calm.
He'd realized that this demon hell didn't suppress their magic at all—it was just a normal hellish world. As long as the eight demon lords worked together, they could return to the surface anytime.
Those eight demons who had once rewritten the Book of Ages—they were still being punished by the flow of time. An invisible, unbreakable barrier wrapped around them, blocking any chance of escape.
Time's punishment was to trap them in this hell forever, eroding their magic and their minds, until there was nothing left.
What the demon lords had just done was simply adding salt to the wound.
Shen Du, however, hadn't suffered the same fate as Zhou Lan and the others.
"The Eight Trigrams Formation… this spell formation…" Basha's eyes flashed with curiosity.
"This formation is bound to us—it was born with us, the eight demon lords," Ximu said proudly.
"We're not at our full strength yet. Using it now might come at a huge cost," Zhou Lan warned in a serious tone.
"Whatever the cost, this formation came from the Black Mist. Whether the price is good or bad… we won't know until we try," said Xiao Feng calmly.
"The Eight Trigrams Formation draws upon our powers as keys to channel the forces of the world. It can be used to attack our enemies—or defend against divine power."
"In the end, it's a way for us to connect to the power of the world itself. It has great potential… but we might not be strong enough yet to handle it."
As Shen Du finished speaking, the others fell silent, thinking it through.
To Shen Du, this formation was nothing but a blessing—a chance to feel power beyond his own fire element. A gift from the universe itself.
This formation had existed since the eight demon lords were born.
When all eight worked together to cast it, its power could shake the world.
"My friends," Shen Du said, sweeping his gaze across the others, "this is the chance to feel the power of the world beyond your own element. Don't tell me you're scared of it?"
Even the ever-cautious Zhou Lan seemed deep in thought. That made Shen Du speak up again.
"We can take it."
"We can handle the power of heaven and earth."
". . ."
Shen Du's tone almost sounded like mockery—as if calling them cowards for hesitating. And with the pride of demon lords, how could they let that slide?
"Let's do it!" Shen Du nodded slightly.
He then stepped back, taking his place in the position of Li, the fire trigram. The others followed, forming the eight positions of the Eight Trigrams.
"Lords of the Demon Realm! Please, take us with you!"
"We're innocent! We were just dragged into this mess—we don't belong here!"
"That's right! If you take us with you, we'll swear loyalty to you, my Lords!"
". . ."
From the shadows, other demons who had been hiding quickly emerged, begging desperately as they saw the eight lords preparing to leave.
The hellhound, two-headed serpent, sheep-devourer beast, winged lizards… countless demons showed themselves, surrounding the area and closing in.
"Get lost."
Before any of the other lords could even speak, Xiao Feng frowned in irritation. A fierce wind erupted around him—massive, wild gusts of storm energy ripped through the area, tearing the underworld apart.
The approaching demons were sent flying, tumbling through the air like rag dolls, completely blown away by Xiao Feng's storm.
"We can start now." Xiao Feng said casually, as if nothing had happened at all.
The other demon lords, who were hoping to maybe recruit a few of those demons for future use, were speechless. Some of those creatures were pretty strong—they might've made good pawns in the human world.
"Let's go. This boring world isn't worth staying in." Shen Du closed his eyes and said calmly, "Li—"
As the word left his mouth, a burst of fire ignited, forming the Li trigram symbol before him, glowing with flames.
"Kan—"
"Gen—"
"Xun—"
"Zhen—"
"Dui—"
"Kun—"
"Qian—"
The others followed, each closing their eyes and speaking in turn.
As their voices echoed, the power of their individual domains surged forth. The energy granted by the world itself gathered at their call.
Slowly, the Eight Trigrams took shape—forming a huge, glowing symbol of yin and yang. Black and white spun together in balance, swirling into a massive force that swept up the eight demon lords and shot toward the endless sky.
Crack—
The barrier of the underworld shattered.
The yin-yang trigram, wrapped around the eight demon lords, burst through and disappeared into the distance—leaving the demon world behind.
At the same time, far away in the hidden resting place of the Eight Immortals of the future—
The statues that held their sleeping bodies began to bleed from the corners of their mouths.
The punishment of time had caught up with them—delayed, but inescapable.
The price for the eight humanoid demons was eternal suffering in hell.
But the Eight Immortals had paid a different price for reaching into the past—for creating the demon hell before it ever existed.
Now, they were trapped in their stone forms forever, their souls the only part still alive.
They never ascended. Sealing the demon lords had drained them to the limit.
Back when they vanished in golden light, the world believed they had ascended to the heavens, becoming legends—myths that would never return.
Sigh…
Eight soft sighs echoed.
The Immortals fell back into their long, deep sleep, trying to heal from the wounds left by the demon lords.
They knew the price. But it didn't matter.
The demons had fallen into hell.
Their own existence had always been for the sake of mankind—everything they did, they did for the world.
That was their path. From the moment they were born, their destiny had always been to seal away the demons.
And it had all been worth it.
Even if it cost them their souls—it was worth it.
"....."