Maggie was still shaken, but Rosen stepped forward, reaching for the silver-glowing book.
It was gripped tightly by the corpse, impossible to dislodge.
Rosen refused to believe a corpse could outmatch him; he'd break its arm if needed.
Yet, no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn't budge.
His hand slipped, and he was flung backward.
The book flew from the corpse's embrace, landing in Maggie's arms.
"This is the book you wanted," Maggie said, handing it to Rosen. As he took it, a tremendous force seemed to surge through the book, pinning his hand to the ground.
"Ahhh!" Rosen yelped, his hand trapped, unable to move.
"Quick… help me lift it!"
Maggie hurriedly picked up the book, freeing Rosen.
Damn, did it choose its master?
Rosen eyed the black-glowing book still in the corpse's embrace, wondering if it would act similarly.
Approaching the corpse, he said, "Play any more tricks, and I'll feed you to the dogs."
After a moment's hesitation, he reached for the black book.
This time, it came free easily.
Instantly, the corpse crumbled into ash, like burnt charcoal.
Rosen glanced at the black book in his hand, then at the white book in Maggie's arms.
Could these be the legendary Vishanti Book and Darkhold?
If so, was the figure he glimpsed earlier the corpse's remnant soul? Or someone from the future?
Rosen exited the ice cave with Maggie, his mind racing.
In the Marvel movies, the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, was over five hundred years old. It's now the early Ming Dynasty, roughly five hundred years before that time.
Could Maggie be the Ancient One?
He'd planned to seek Kamar-Taj, but it might not even exist yet.
Maggie pointed at two dead snow wolves nearby. Rosen understood—meat was valuable in this era.
He dragged the wolves back to the village.
Abang and several villagers emerged with torches, searching for Maggie.
Seeing her safe, with Rosen hauling two wolves, Abang sighed in relief.
"Father, I heard wolves howling tonight. I went out and saw them trying to raid the sheepfold, but they came after me and dragged me into the mountains. Luckily, Amu heard and saved me," Maggie explained.
Abang's gaze toward Rosen softened with gratitude.
He'd thought Rosen was after a village girl.
Now he saw his mistake.
For days, Rosen pored over the black book.
Its contents weren't normal text but strange symbols he could somehow decipher.
Turning each page was exhausting.
After a few days, he mastered two spells: Magic Tempering and Shadow Demon Creation.
He sought Maggie to discuss, only to find she'd read over half the white book.
Rosen was stunned. Was the gap between them this vast?
"Maggie."
"Brother Rosen, looking for me?" Maggie spoke in Tibetan, yet he understood.
"How… Why can I understand you?"
"It's Mental Speech, a simple trick," she said.
Simple? Rosen felt embarrassed. Where was the simplicity?
"Say that again!"
"Need something?"
"Does your book have Magic Tempering like mine?"
"Yes, many Magic Tempering methods exist. My Vishanti Book has one, but I've deduced several others from it."
Rosen was floored. Was this the caliber of the future Sorcerer Supreme?
"Ancient One? Why call me that, Brother Rosen?"
"Did I say something?"
"When you speak or think about me, I sense it. Is Ancient One tied to me?"
Rosen's eyes darted. "It's a prophecy spell in my book. It predicts you'll be titled Sorcerer Ancient One."
"I see." Maggie, still just Maggie, lacked the complexities of the Sorcerer Supreme.
Rosen felt guilty. If the future Ancient One recalled this, would she come for him across time?
He couldn't stay. Cultivating the Darkhold was risky.
If the future Ancient One decided to purge evil, he'd be doomed.
"Maggie, I've been here many days. I'm heading home tomorrow."
Maggie looked up, nodding quietly.
Her calm expression stirred Rosen.
The white book didn't seem benign either. Could the Ancient One's eternal celibacy stem from the Vishanti Book?
Crack—
The stone beneath Maggie's feet split. She gave Rosen a strained smile.
"Brother Rosen, you're traveling tomorrow. Rest well."
She turned and left.
Cold sweat beaded on Rosen's forehead. Maggie had sensed his thoughts.
Luckily, her Qi Cultivation was low. As long as the future Ancient One didn't come for him, he'd be fine.
The next day, Rosen packed. With only the black book added, his load was light.
Leaving the village, he saw Maggie at the entrance, watching him from afar.
Shadow Demon Creation: a creature born from fusing one's shadow with desire.
It wasn't complex; the first spell after Magic Tempering wouldn't be deep.
The Shadow Demon could extend from Rosen's feet and swap bodies with him—a crude teleportation.
It had emotions and could chat with Rosen when idle.
Though born from his desires and shadow, it had its own consciousness.
"Sen, when are we hitting a brothel?" it asked.
"I'm an honest man," Rosen said earnestly.
"Yeah, who wanted to bed the Ancient One before her rise?"
"I didn't act on it! Can't I think?"
"You're scared she'll pin you against a wall in the future, right?"
"No, I respect women." Rosen wanted to destroy the Shadow Demon.
An entity knowing his every thought was unnerving.
"What's that look? Planning to silence me?"
"You're not human."
"Wait… I'm your child, aren't I?"
Rosen grabbed its neck. "Nonsense. I'm a 24K pure virgin. Where'd I get a kid like you?"
"I'm useful!"
"For what?"
"I can refine magic."
"Show me." Rosen perked up.
The Shadow Demon refined magic slowly but effectively.
Rosen mused that enough Shadow Demons could outpace anyone, even the Ancient One.
He tried creating a second, infusing Greed.
The third got Gluttony.
The fourth failed, no matter what. Was his magic rank too low, or desires lacking?
The three Shadow Demons chattered endlessly.
Rosen saw why Darkhold users went mad.
They were his incarnations, their desires amplified, embodying his flaws.
"Master, that caravan—let's rob it. Wealth for Greed, women for Lust, men for me," Gluttony ranted.
"I'm normal. Stop the perverse talk."
"When I said men satisfy me, it's not what you think."
"It's not allowed." Rosen's face darkened.
Gluttony was the most perverse, anti-human in every way.
Anything, moving or not, was food to him.
"I made you to aid me, not warp my worldview. More twisted jokes, and I'll remake you. Clear?"
"Master, one question?" Lust asked.
"What?"
"If remade, can I be female?"
"No more perverse remarks!" Rosen felt perverse himself; why else were his Shadow Demons like this?
They showed his true face but aided cultivation, even the Twenty-Four Qi Refining Arts.
Pity he could only make three; he'd sew their mouths shut next time.
After three months, Kaiyuan County was two hundred miles away. Home was days off.
Under a tree, he sent the Shadow Demons to hunt while studying the black book.
Magic and Qi were distinct systems, from methods to energy forms.
Qi had elemental distinctions; clashing elements caused fierce reactions, like ice and fire.
But clashing Qi could harmonize, like Yin and Yang in Tai Chi, unleashing greater power if circulated properly.
The Twenty-Four Qi Refining Arts had many reinforcing and conflicting elements, yielding varied effects.
It was too early for a second Qi; Rosen's Awakening of Hibernation was only at Minor Achievement, far from Perfection.
Magic lacked elemental distinctions; its strength defined power.
Rule-breaking or Karma-defying magic could shift outcomes.
The Ancient One's Time Magic reversed Karma, letting her eliminate foes before their rise—an opponent Rosen dreaded.