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That being said, Mephisto was still shaken. These days, it's not normal people you're afraid of, it's madmen, especially those who are even more insane than demons. Using causal weapons for such a trivial matter is just too unfair!

Who knows what else this Heavenly Emperor might do if the fighting continues!

Upon realizing this, Mephisto didn't hesitate and immediately vanished. He planned to find a secluded corner to roll back to Hell; the demons were too terrifying.

But the demon's greedy nature made him reluctant to give up this clone, and once it was destroyed, it wouldn't be able to be restored in a year or two.

"They just ran away like that?"

Olaf felt a little unsatisfied, but the trip wasn't entirely without its gains.

This time, the Heavenly Emperor erased cause and effect while accurately preserving their memories of that period of time; such control is unbelievable.

This is truly eye-opening. The Heavenly Emperor, who can be ranked alongside the time-controlling mage Kieran, is indeed an incredibly powerful figure. On the other hand, Kieran is probably more than he appears to be.

Chapter 164 Escaping This World

Yang Qiu, who had terrified Mephisto, was now at home filled with regret. This time, the consumption was a bit too much. One-fifth of the concentrated energy blocks that Olaf and his team had just brought back had been used up in the blink of an eye. The cost-effectiveness was too low.

Unless it's something that absolutely requires disregarding cost-effectiveness, Yang Qiu will never use the Book of Time again.

To be fair, this ability is really fun to use!

In the hotel, half an hour after Mephisto left, the Holy Lord controlled the Shadow Legion soldiers to embed the Rat Talisman into his body.

"I...I've finally recovered!"

The Holy Lord, now restored to his dragon form, lowered his voice. He had not yet recovered from the shadow of seeing the Book of Time, and he needed to restrain his joy to avoid causing more trouble.

With his head down and body hunched over, the Holy Lord moved around the room for a bit before walking to the window and beginning to think about his next move.

Eleven more talismans are in the hands of others. If he doesn't collect all the talismans, his strength will plummet from the top of the eight demons to the bottom, which is something the Holy Lord finds hard to accept.

He had broken his promises to his seven siblings too many times in the past. If he didn't have some power, he was afraid he would be beaten to death shortly after he came back to life.

As for not releasing the seven demons, that won't work either. The contract and such are not important. Anyway, everyone knows that the Holy Lord has never kept his word.

The main reason for wanting to release his brothers and sisters is that the Holy Lord doesn't want to stay in this world any longer. He didn't have a choice before, but now that Mephisto has appeared, he has a choice. Going to the Hell Dimension should be a good idea, at least it won't be worse than staying here.

Going there is one problem, and gaining a foothold there is another. Even the Holy Lord, who has gathered all twelve talismans, dares not say that he is stronger than Li Xiaoyao. Li Xiaoyao was beaten to such an extent that if he were to go there, wouldn't he be kneeling and begging at Mephisto's feet?

No! Absolutely not!

After pondering for a long time, the Holy Lord realized that he couldn't possibly create the talisman on his own, nor could he stay peacefully in the Hell Dimension. So he had to find his brothers and hope that they had forgotten about those things because of their poor memory.

"Go, keep this room open, and don't let anyone disturb me!" Shendu said, staring at Valon, who was huddled in the corner with his head in his hands, ready to defend himself.

Valon nodded repeatedly, leaned against the wall to stand up, his legs trembling more frequently than the hands of a Parkinson's patient.

After Valon left the room, Shendu summoned the Shadow Legion again, filling the entire room. He then sat cross-legged in the living room of the presidential suite and immersed his consciousness into his body.

The reason why the Rat Talisman is said to be the talisman that Shendu desires most is because it cannot function without it, while the abilities of other talismans can be replaced by other means.

Soon, Valon obediently returned. He had no choice but to behave, as the shadowy soldiers following him could take his head at any moment.

After crouching back in the corner, Valmont saw a portal bursting with light open in front of Shendu, and then Shendu's body slumped down considerably.

Did his soul pass through there?

Valon pondered, slowly making his way toward the door, when suddenly a ninja emerged from the wall, blocking his path and looking down at him, as if asking Valon, "Do you want to die?"

Valon silently returned to his position and continued to crouch and defend with his head in his hands.

In the land where demons are sealed, the arrival of the Holy Lord's soul seems to have sparked a frenzy.

"Who is this? My little dragon? If I remember correctly, shouldn't you have let us out already?!"

The Sino-Soviet Union unleashed blinding lightning from their fingertips, causing the Holy Lord, who was immobilized by the Cursed Blue, to wail incessantly.

The reason these seven demons hate the Holy Lord so much is that long ago, after everyone was sealed by the Eight Immortals, the seven of them found an opportunity to send the Holy Lord out of here, hoping that the Holy Lord could also break their seal.

Of course, as everyone could have predicted, the Holy Lord, who treated betrayal as commonplace, completely ignored his brothers and sisters, leaving them to stay in this desolate place for so long.

"Third Brother, listen to me, listen to me! I really came here to save everyone!" the Holy Lord said loudly, lowering his posture.

"You should call me master! Earthworm!" Zhong Su roared. He was a typical megalomaniac who always looked down on the Holy Lord. How could a Chinese dragon that was underdeveloped and looked like this during its growth stage be fraternal with them!

"Don't talk to him anymore, I've been hungry for a long time, I want to eat him!" Mountain Demon Bo Gang floated over and said. She hadn't eaten for who knows how long, and her body had shrunk to only a few dozen meters tall.

"Brothers and sisters! Do you really not want to go out?!" the Holy Lord roared, knowing that if this continued, he would truly be eaten!

“Shen Du (the Holy Lord’s real name), I think you won’t have another chance to deceive us this time!” Basha said, staring intently at the Holy Lord. She was the closest to the Holy Lord, so of course, they were the best of friends.

Swish!

A shadowy figure, barely visible, flashed by. Ximu hovered above the Holy Lord's head. "You'd better explain everything clearly, or I swear, I really want to tear you apart!"

"Yes, yes, yes." The Holy Lord humbly told everything, without hiding anything.

Listening to the Holy Lord's explanation, the seven demon wizards fell silent. The Holy Lord's reasons were sound and his logic was reasonable, but why did they not believe him?

"Everyone, you didn't kill me because you wanted to know why I've been able to stay outside for so long without being caught, right?" the Holy Lord continued. "Actually, I was sealed into a statue, and my power was disintegrated, which is why no one pays attention to me. You wouldn't want that too, would you?"

"If we simply leave here, I think it won't be long before the Heavenly Court is free to deal with us, and as long as those immortals who once sealed us come down again, we will be imprisoned in this place again. So changing places is a really good idea, isn't it?"

The Holy Lord kept urging him that he had to persuade his brothers and sisters, or everything would be over.

With a wave of his hand, Zhou Lan added several more layers of restraints to the Holy Lord, and then floated to the side with the other six demons.

What are you thinking?

“If he really wasn’t lying, then it is indeed a good place. As long as the eight of us form the Acquired Bagua Formation, even if we can’t defeat that Hell Lord, we should be able to survive,” Basha said.

“I’m hungry.” Bo Gang had no other thoughts. “The Holy Lord doesn’t have enough to eat, and mortals can’t eat it. The demons he’s talking about must taste pretty good.”

"I just want to get out! This place is too small! Too small!" Ximu had already circled around the spot several times as he spoke; it had been a long time since he had ever flown freely.

Each demon had its own reasons, but they all shared the same thought: they didn't want to stay here any longer!

Chapter 165 The Eight Great Demons Surrender

After some conversation, the desperate demons decided to believe in the Holy Lord one last time. They had no choice; he was the only one who could enter and leave Hell in some form.

After leaving the sealed world, the Holy Lord breathed a sigh of relief. He had passed the first test. If these brothers and sisters could come out of the seal, at least they wouldn't attack him immediately.

The second challenge is more difficult. How do we obtain the remaining eleven talismans? How do we persuade Li Xiaoyao and the others to agree with our ideas?

After some thought, the Holy Lord decided to abandon the option of resolving the matter through violence. The Heavenly Emperor had only recently taken out the Book of Time, and they dared to continue their antics. Wasn't that just courting death? Didn't they see that even Mephisto, the ruler of Hell, was so scared that he didn't know where to hide?

Therefore, this matter can only be negotiated. There is nothing that cannot be negotiated, right? The energy used to construct the sealed space is not a small amount. These eight cannot be killed, as it would cause an imbalance between heaven and earth. Sealing them would require manpower to keep an eye on them. Sending them to Mephisto's territory would be better for everyone.

A win-win situation is desirable, but it's too much for one side to win twice every time. It would be nice if, occasionally, both sides could win once.

With this thought in mind, Valmont was once again possessed by Shendu, and under Shendu's control, he openly went to Old Man's Antique Shop.

Security on this street has become much tighter. The people guarding it aren't police officers, but elite soldiers. The general is getting restless if he doesn't make a difference. Besides, they still don't understand what happened, how Mephisto managed to flee in such a daze.

Even exposure to historical records can leave lasting negative effects on the mind of ordinary people; the sheer volume of information can overwhelm their consciousness.

When Valon was still a hundred meters away, Li Xiaoyao led his father and the others out of the store.

The fact that the Holy Lord dared to appear before them in possession form was something no one present had expected. This behavior of the Holy Lord was like a wanted criminal going to the police station to get a certificate of no criminal record—he was simply asking for trouble.

Moreover, they were just inside discussing whether to retrieve the Rat Talisman from the Holy Lord before searching for the escaped Mephisto.

Valon was also very straightforward. He was a wise man who knew when to yield. He came up to people and raised his hands first, with an expression that was so innocent and harmless.

Just having an expression isn't enough. Valmont was only wearing a single shirt, a pair of trousers, and slippers. It's only because this is summer in Hong Kong. If it were Harbin, this guy would freeze to death.

"Jackie Chan, I'm here on behalf of my eight brothers and sisters to deliver a message!" Valmont said, standing still.

Jackie Chan paused for a moment. This topic sounded familiar. Should we talk about the wealth and glory promised by the Imperial Army... oops, the Japanese devils?

With a whoosh, a long whip sprang from Zhao Ling'er's fingers, binding Walong into a tight bundle. He didn't resist; after all, he couldn't possibly defeat this large group of people.

Seeing how cooperative the other party was, Zhao Ling'er and Li Xiaoyao exchanged a glance and dragged Valmont directly into Old Man's Antique Shop.

"Tell me, what message did you come to deliver?" Zhao Ling'er flicked her hand and hung the tile in a large "X" shape on the wall of the shop.

"We've come to surrender..."

"Wait, surrendering to us will not bring you any riches or honors, only the judgment of the people."

Jackie Chan interrupted Valmont, saying that those demons back then were no good; each of them created a small kingdom to oppress their people and indulge their desires.

"The trial is fine, but we need to be reasonable. There are quite a few people who have lived from our time to the present. You can find out more about them. I have always liked to eat slugs and worms, and my brothers don't like the taste of humans either, so we have almost never touched humans."

Valon argued that the most important factor wasn't actually disliking human taste; rather, the demon wizards who were causing trouble during the chaos were afraid of being purged. After all, humans weren't exactly a delicacy to them, so they just squeezed them dry.

"As for exploiting the people, many of your human nobles or scholars in history were more ruthless than us. Their tax burden was so heavy that even a demon like me was afraid of it."

"And we've been sealed and imprisoned for hundreds of years, so we've at least been in jail. Even if that doesn't count, the law during the trial should be based on the era before we were sealed. If it's based on this era, our cases are past the statute of limitations."

The Holy Lord began to engage in constant sophistry, arguing that the world is not simply black and white, and that if they hadn't been demons, they might have been recruited in that particular era.

"What exactly are you trying to say?!" the old man demanded directly.

"We want to restore our kingdom," the Holy Lord said casually.

"Impossible!" Guan Zhen, who was listening in, interrupted directly. The policy of maintaining territorial integrity will never waver. Let alone them, even if Qin Shi Huang were resurrected, it would be useless!

"Then let us all go out, how about exile?" The Holy Lord used the theory of "opening the window and demolishing the house first" very effectively. "Exile to Hell, not the Hell that has already been evacuated, but Mephisto's Hell."

"Mephisto comes to this world to cause trouble all the time. If we go to their world to cause trouble, we can also drag him down. It's a win-win situation."

Li Xiaoyao was a bit of a headache. In a sense, the Holy Lord's statement was not wrong. There was no need to worry about them joining forces with Mephisto. The eight brothers and sisters could fight each other to such an extent, so why would they be on the same side as Mephisto?

The problem is that this is a difficult situation to handle. They can't contact Mephisto on their own initiative, and what if they release these guys and they don't want to leave?

“As you know, we demons never learn from our mistakes, and Mephisto is no exception. At this point in time, we can’t exactly bring back all the people from Heaven, can we? But if we don’t bring them back, what’s the next time Mephisto comes? Wouldn’t it be inappropriate for you to ask the Heavenly Emperor for help again?”

If parents are called in too often, what's the point of having them? The Heavenly Emperor is already so busy, and it's inappropriate for him to keep causing trouble for the other party.

(Yang Qiu: Huh? I'm busy? I'm not busy.)

The Holy Lord kept saying that they were like a pile of nuclear waste, which was disgusting and a waste of resources. The Heavenly Court was not like some people who could shamelessly throw things away and then ignore them.

"We'll handle contacting Mephisto ourselves; you just need to go easy on us a little."

The Holy Lord continued, "If we don't persuade him today, we'll be in trouble. So we can only succeed, not fail."

"Is there anything else you want?" Li Xiaoyao asked, rubbing his temples.

"Could the remaining eleven talismans..." the Holy Lord continued, shamelessly.