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"That's the Book of Time?!"
"This palace's balance of yin and yang is way off!"
"The power those demons used to rewrite history—did it really come from that massive book?!"
". . ."
Following Shen Du and Shendu Blue into the Palace of Time, the six other Demon Lords noticed the enormous Book of Time and gradually gathered around it.
"Shendu, can that huge book really let us see the future?"
Basha spoke first, her tone filled with curiosity and temptation. She was itching to try it out—what if the eight Demon Lords willingly paid the price to use the Book of Time?
"Basha, we mustn't mess with the Book of Time lightly. The future is the future—if it's changed or revealed too soon, is it really still the future?"
"But hey, if you want to bear the cost of tampering with time all by yourself, go right ahead."
"Just don't forget—those demons who fell into the underworld… they're still down there, paying their price forever."
Shendu wasn't trying to stop Basha. He was just stating the facts.
"Enough talk—let's check out how this world was born!" Ximu said eagerly.
He wasn't that interested in the future, but the origin of the world? That, he had to see.
The other Demon Lords nodded in agreement.
Standing before the Book of Time, Shendu heard the impatient mutters of the others. With an annoyed glance, he stepped aside.
"If you wanna see the world's origin, go ahead and flip through it yourselves. I'm not touching that thing."
Shendu Blue also caught on to the hidden warning in Shendu's tone. Silently, he floated aside to give up his spot too.
"Wow, Shendu. Didn't think you'd be such a coward," Basha sneered hoarsely. "It's just a book."
Zhong Su chimed in, full of arrogance. "We're the Eight Demon Lords—we're not here to change the past, just to take a peek at how things began. What kind of punishment would we even face for that?"
"Right, Ximu?"
Zhong Su looked over at Ximu, who'd just said he was curious about the world's origin.
Ximu noticed the strange expressions on Shendu and Shendu Blue's faces. But not wanting to look weak in front of the others, he said, "Yeah, exactly. But it's a bit tight over here—I can't reach. Zhong Su, give me a hand, will ya?"
Zhong Su smirked. "No problem."
He stepped toward the Book of Time, ready to flip through the ancient records and see how the world was born.
That's when Xiaofeng, sensing something strange, quickly said, "This place is giving off weird vibes. Maybe don't touch the book, Zhong Su."
"What's there to be scared of?" Dikui growled. "It's just time. We're Demon Lords. Looking at the past won't hurt anything!"
Bo Gang, off to the side, watched all this unfold with boredom. All she could think about was food.
As Zhong Su flipped open the Book of Time and started reading about the birth of the world—
A flash of white light burst out, illuminating the entire Palace of Time.
The blinding light made it impossible to see. For a moment, it felt like time itself was warping.
The eight Demon Lords suddenly found themselves suspended in a vast, dark void full of thick, swirling chaos.
"Where are we?" Shendu Blue asked after a pause, confused.
The others looked around, just as puzzled. This didn't look like the beginning of the world.
Only Shendu's eyes lit up with a strange fascination.
He knew where they were.
This was the world before creation—the primordial chaos.
But... there was no Pangu or any other god of creation in the Jackie Chan Adventures universe. So how did the world begin?
Just then, two streams of yin and yang energy appeared, glowing like the mother of all things. The divine light from the streams cut through the chaotic void and transformed it into a vast universe.
Eventually, the two streams of energy—black and white—merged into a single planet known as Blue Star.
That's when the Demon Lords finally understood—this was the origin of their world: born from black chi and good chi.
The black chi, in particular, was what had birthed the eight of them.
But just as they were about to take a closer look, the space around them shattered like glass. The vast universe vanished.
And they were back in the Palace of Time, staring at the massive book in front of them, deep in thought.
After a long silence, Shendu Blue spoke slowly. "Let's get outta here. This Book of Time… it's more like a decoration than anything. You can look, but you can't change a thing."
With that, he floated off. Shendu gave the book one last look, still feeling like there was something deeply powerful about it—something world-shaking—but he couldn't put his finger on it.
He turned and left as well. One by one, the rest of the Demon Lords followed.
They emerged into the desolate land outside, each ready to return to their own domains—until Shendu suddenly stopped.
"Wait… did we forget something?"
The others paused, confused.
"Forget what?" Shendu Blue asked, frowning.
"Our business here's all wrapped up," said Ximu. "There's nothing left in this world that can threaten us."
"No, that's not right…" Xiaofeng shook his head, eyes narrowing in thought.
Then it hit Shendu.
"This palace—it's forbidden ground. We can't let anyone else get in here!"
The moment he said it, the other Demon Lords exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
Basha's raspy voice cut in, "Then let's put a magic barrier around it. If anyone breaks in, we'll know immediately."
"Sounds good," Shendu said.
"In that case, let's do it!"
"This palace is off-limits to all but the Eight Demon Lords!"
"If any other being enters the Palace of Time… it could bring disaster all over again!"
"Can we hurry this up? Bo Gang's starving!"
". . ."
After their quick exchange, the eight Demon Lords circled the palace and began chanting secret incantations. Within moments, an invisible barrier of demonic energy sealed the entire place.
Eight keys floated into their palms. The only way to enter now was to have one of those keys.
That was the only way.
Unless the magic shrouding the palace somehow disappeared, this place—and the Book of Time within—would never appear again.
It might take until the modern era, when the world's energy was depleted and the age of magic came to an end, for the seal to vanish and the palace to be revealed once more.
With that, the eight Demon Lords went their separate ways, returning to the lands they ruled.
"....."