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A hundred years had passed in the blink of an eye.
In that time, the grandmaster of Lü Dongbin and the others had long since passed away.
But the eight of them still wandered the mortal world, training their magic and honing their strength.
Their power had already surpassed the rank of Grand Sorcerer and reached what they called the "Divine Realm."
Compared to others, the eight of them discovered that in this realm, they could defeat the Big Demons—but they still weren't strong enough to go head-to-head with the Demon Lords.
Yet faintly, they could sense something… like their lifespans had become endless, as if they would now live as long as the heavens and the earth.
That meant they had infinite time to grow stronger—enough to one day rival the Demon Lords and fulfill the dreams of their late master and countless fellow human sorcerers.
During their travels across the world, after digging through mountains of ancient scrolls and texts, the eight were one day guided by a surge of Pure Chi. Each of them ended up in different mysterious and unknown places.
After facing all sorts of trials and dangers, each of the eight finally obtained a magical artifact born from Pure Chi:
Sword of Pure Yang — also called the Dragon-Slaying Sword, packed with limitless magical power.
Moonflower Bud — filled with the power of creation.
Drum of Mountains and Rivers — contains the power to suppress entire landscapes.
Breeze Fan — holds the strength to tame violent storms.
Five Thunder Clappers — channels the heavenly thunder of Pure Chi.
Yin Gourd — draws in the water energy of the world.
Earthvein Blossom — its petals fall and take root, merging with the land.
Celestial Flute — plays a tune that can suppress heavenly phenomena and illusions.
Once they got their hands on these eight supreme artifacts, the eight's power rose to near-equal that of the Demon Lords.
But then… a strange feeling crept in. Something deep and unexplainable told them: Don't go rushing into the Demon Lords' territory just yet.
Pure Chi hadn't fully awakened. The artifacts that could specifically suppress the Demon Lords' dark energy had fallen into a deep slumber.
When Pure Chi returned in full, the balance of the world would shift drastically. And with its full blessing, the eight of them would be strong enough to truly stand equal to the Demon Lords.
Realizing this, Lü Dongbin and the others didn't rush or panic.
Instead, they quietly returned to the ancient Asian continent, waiting patiently for Pure Chi to reawaken.
But they couldn't ignore one troubling thought: The Demon Lords were immortal. Eternal. Tied to the world itself.
Even if the eight managed to defeat them, so what? They couldn't kill them. Sooner or later, the Demon Lords would just come back.
With that in mind, the eight set off once more. Their journey led them to ancient Australia, a relic of the demon age.
The place felt both familiar and strange.
Using Pure Chi magic, they cloaked their presence and wandered through the demon city hidden in ancient Australia.
After several years of investigation, they finally confirmed it—the familiar energy they sensed… was their own.
Still in disbelief, the eight combined their strength and used their Pure Chi artifacts to tear open the veil of space itself.
And just like that, they stepped into another world.
In a flash, they arrived in an underground realm where time and space blended into one, and time never stopped flowing.
"…Where are we?" Lü Dongbin muttered, his eyes narrowing at the blood-red skies and floating rocks.
At that moment, the Pure Chi around them seemed to awaken. A stream of lingering information flowed into their minds.
In just a few seconds, the eight understood what kind of place this truly was.
This was a world of exile, created by the ancient annals of time. It held the power to grind away the magic and wisdom of all beings.
Without a special method—or incredible magical strength—it was impossible to escape the flow of time here.
The only reason the eight were able to enter… was because they held the Pure Chi Supreme Artifacts.
Those artifacts were the key to this world.
Realizing this, the eight were shaken.
They had finally found it—a place where they could seal the Demon Lords for good.
This world had the power to wear down even immortal beings. If the Demon Lords were locked here long enough, their power and intellect would fade over time.
Even if the eight themselves vanished from the world in the future, the Demon Lords would still be stuck here, their strength almost gone.
And with a set of restrictive enchantments in place, if any Demon Lord tried to leave, the curse would drag them back in.
With that in mind, the eight sat down in a circle in mid-air, aligning themselves in the pattern of the Eight Trigrams. Each of them brought out their artifact, focusing their magic.
They were going to reinforce the power of this realm—tighten the restrictions—so no creature trapped here could ever escape.
With their power, the artifacts began to glow. Guided by Pure Chi, a massive yin-yang pattern formed beneath them. At its center, a cube-shaped object began to take form—something like a magical box.
Time passed strangely here. A few days felt like a hundred years.
But truly, it had only been days.
Still, the eight couldn't help but feel awe. This place really was a prison of time.
As the Supreme Artifacts poured their magic into the world, glowing magical runes spread across the sky like a web. In a flash, the eight opened their eyes and retrieved their artifacts.
In front of them now floated a perfectly square treasure box.
The box was engraved with ancient, mystical markings—arcane symbols filled its surface. Pure Chi overflowed from within, banishing all traces of darkness.
The eight stared at the box and, without speaking, came to a unanimous decision:
They would name it the Pan'ku Box.
And this underground world… they named Demon Hell.
This would be the final prison of the Demon Lords. The Pan'ku Box had eight mysterious glyphs on it, each one linked to a different exit.
With their mission complete, the eight took the Pan'ku Box and left Demon Hell, returning to the surface world.
At that same moment, six Demon Lords—some asleep, others meditating to understand their powers—were jolted awake.
A deep sense of danger began creeping into their hearts. Something huge was coming.
Shendu, disturbed from his study of the Moon and Fire Powers, frowned slightly. He couldn't tell what had changed—but the unease wouldn't go away.
The other six Demon Lords, who had also been shaken from their slumber, didn't hesitate.
A Council of Demon Lords was summoned. It was the will of dark chi.
The eight humans from the past… their return stirred up panic again.
And the memory of that strange underground world, where time itself could wear down the strongest beings, haunted even the mightiest of demons.
Even so, Daolon Wong no longer feared the Eight Immortals who had once defied time itself.
He had already begun to master Shendu's knowledge of divine transactions.
And Shendu—his ambition and ruthlessness had grown even stronger than Daolon Wong's.
"....."