The electric scooter jolted over crumbling ruins, scattering a flock of startled crows as Zhang Chengying slammed the horn.Chen Jiuzhang clutched the tattered Shaking the Dragon Sutra, his fingertips brushing the lingering warmth left by the spectral image of the Hongwu Emperor.He looked up and saw ominous black clouds swirling above the ruins of the Ming Palace. Within the clouds, a massive Taiji diagram had formed, frantically absorbing the city's spiritual energy.
"Something's wrong!"Shen Qingluan suddenly grabbed Chen Jiuzhang's arm, her fragment of the Imperial Jade Seal glowing hot."Old Knife is using the Heavenly Master Talisman to rewrite the Demon-Suppressing Stele's seal!"Before her words even faded, twelve Ming Dynasty bronze-armored corpses erupted from the earth. Their ceremonial patches flapped in the wind — all bearing the qilin insignia of first-rank military officers.
Zhang Chengying hit the brakes hard and tossed out a handful of glutinous rice grenades."Try my upgraded Daoist bombs!"
As the bombs exploded, the number plates on the corpses' chests flashed blue and transformed into chains that lashed onto the scooter.Chen Jiuzhang bit his tongue and spat blood onto his compass. The Twenty-Eight Constellations reappeared—but when their light struck the bronze corpses, a shrill buzzing erupted.The bodies had been enchanted with curse seals designed to counter starlight powers.
"Hahaha… so naive!"Old Knife's mocking laughter echoed from atop the Demon-Suppressing Stele, where he floated midair with the complete Heavenly Master Talisman in hand.Beneath him lay the forcibly awakened bixi, whose cracked shell now oozed golden blood.
"Back then, Liu Bowen designed the Seven-Star Dragon-Locking Formation, but he left one fatal flaw—only those with Zhang family blood can activate the core!"
Chen Jiuzhang's birthmark began to burn through his skin, and the fragmented Heavenly Master Talisman shot from his pocket, resonating with the complete one in Old Knife's grasp.
Without hesitation, Shen Qingluan yanked open his collar and pressed the jade seal fragment against the birthmark."Use the dragon vein's source to resist the Heavenly Talisman!Remember—your father didn't die to pass you a curse. He died to protect this power!"
Wracked with pain, Chen Jiuzhang's consciousness was pulled deep into his memories.He saw his mother clutching him as she knelt in the ancestral hall, while elders from the Seven Grand Daoist Sects sneered, holding lightning talismans.He saw his father, drenched in blood beneath the Seven-Star Lamps, shoving half of the Heavenly Talisman into his baby blanket.And last—he remembered the gaze of the bixi, as it awakened the night before: not rage, but relief and hope.
"Heaven and Earth Rooted in the Void—Origin of All Qi!"Chen Jiuzhang roared and smashed the compass into the Demon-Suppressing Stele.The Jinling Dragon Vein Diagram surged from the earth, colliding midair with the Taiji diagram.The bronze-armored formation was shredded by golden dragon phantoms—but the Heavenly Talisman's power was too immense.The stele cracked, and from within the earth, black mist from the Nine Nether Realms began to rise.
At the critical moment, Zhang Chengying rammed his flaming scooter into the bixi, jamming all the lightning-infused USB sticks into its shell."Buddy, I'm borrowing your power bank!"
A barrage of heavenly thunder followed.The bixi roared, shaking the heavens, and its chains shattered one by one.Chen Jiuzhang seized the opportunity, grabbing the Heavenly Talisman—two immense forces clashed in his body, and before his eyes appeared the final vision of Celestial Master Zhang:
"Only by breaking down can one rebuild—to protect the living, you must first withstand destruction."
From the black mist, a hideous Japanese onmyoji voice echoed:
"The dragon vein is wounded—Yamata no Orochi will soon awaken!"
Before it could finish, the birthmark on Chen Jiuzhang's chest exploded in golden light.The Demon-Suppressing Stele closed once more.But the backlash of such power caused him to collapse into unconsciousness.
Shen Qingluan caught him as he fell.Tears landed on the Heavenly Talisman in his hand.
In the distance, Old Wu the Drunkard leaned against the city wall and silently opened the final chapter of the Pushback Diagram (Tui Bei Tu)…