Tiger Talisman, Balancing Yin and Yang

Chapter 16: Tiger Talisman, Balancing Yin and Yang

A primitive, dragon-headed sculpture.

Shendu had originally intended to create a reclusive family to bring his Sacred Dragon Carving into the world, so he was greatly surprised to have obtained it directly.

"Little one, are you the one who found the Sacred Dragon Carving?"

Shendu looked coldly down at Dai Mubai—or rather, Dai Mubai's Evil Clone. He had not expected this fellow to be the one who found the Talisman.

Dai Xieyue swallowed hard, stood up, and forced himself to suppress his fear. "Yes!"

He looked tremblingly at the sculpture on the wall. A mere statue was actually speaking, and its voice was so terrifying, sounding like a murderer who had been locked in a dungeon for sixty years. This filled his heart with immense dread.

However, he knew that if it weren't for this voice, he would have long since been annihilated by Bibi Dong.

If he wanted to survive, this voice was his only hope.

"Hmph! Not only did you take my Sacred Dragon Carving, but you also took my Talisman. You certainly have good luck!"

"Talisman? You know what this is?"

Dai Xieyue looked up in surprise, forgetting his fear for a moment. Beside him, Bibi Dong also pricked up her ears, curious about what would follow.

This youth actually possessed a Talisman! And judging by Shendu's reaction, it appeared to be a genuine one! What a pity that she could not obtain it for herself.

The thought flashed through her mind and vanished, leaving no trace behind.

Whenever she contemplated anything detrimental to Shendu, she would erase the memory from her mind to prevent him from reading her thoughts.

Of course, she certainly possessed a method to unlock these memories for herself.

"It was always the property of This Seat. Hand it over!"

Shendu shouted, and a mass of black light erupted from within Dai Xieyue's body, causing him to float into the air.

"Ah!"

Accompanied by Dai Xieyue's terrified scream, a black orb of light surged out from his body and fell straight into the body of Shendu's sculpture.

One could see that among Shendu's twelve Talisman slots, the one for the White Tiger had already been fitted with half a Talisman.

"It's a tiger, but why is there only half?" Bibi Dong asked, puzzled.

"Hmph, you would have to ask him that, for this fellow is himself a product of the Tiger Talisman splitting!" Shendu let out a cold snort, tinged with a hint of regret.

The Talisman had been found, but unfortunately, it was only half.

"My... My Lord!" Dai Xieyue clutched his chest and begged, "Please, do not kill me!"

Having the power within him stripped away made him truly understand that the strength had never belonged to him, but was the property of another.

He had been wandering around on the owner's territory while carrying the owner's property, walking right into a trap. It was no wonder he had ended up in this predicament.

But he was unwilling to die just like that.

"My Lord, I am a prince of the Star Luo Empire. I can help you conquer the Star Luo Empire and make the entire empire pledge its allegiance to you."

However, his pathetic pleas failed to garner even the slightest bit of interest from Shendu.

Shendu turned his icy gaze toward Bibi Dong and said coldly, "Bibi Dong, go and retrieve the remaining half of the Talisman."

"The remaining..."

"Take this fellow with you. He will tell you that the Tiger Talisman can regulate the balance of Yin and Yang; he must know where the other half is."

"Yes!"

Although Bibi Dong still had many questions she wanted to ask, since Shendu had spoken, she had no choice but to go and recover the other half of the Talisman for him.

Fortunately, she was also quite curious about that other half herself.

"You, come here."

Bibi Dong glared coldly at Dai Xieyue, then hauled him out of the secret chamber.

The chamber fell into silence.

Shendu felt a stir of anticipation within. With half a Talisman embedded, he could feel his divine position beginning to shift.

His first divine trial was to restore his original power, which included retrieving the twelve Talismans. The trial had just hinted at granting him a reward, but it had hesitated because there was only half a Talisman.

He estimated that when the full Tiger Talisman was embedded into his body, that would be when he received his divine trial reward.

A reward from the World God—he wondered what it would be?

Shendu waited in secret anticipation, red light glowing within the eyes of the sculpture.

On the other side, at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, in the conference room.

Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo sat together, the atmosphere heavy.

After a long silence, Bone Douluo Gu Rong finally couldn't help but speak: "Fengzhi, is what you saw credible?"

He remained skeptical about the contents of those ancient books. Even if the situation was already quite obvious, what was recorded was simply too fantastical.

He would rather believe that Qian Daoliu of Spirit Hall had found the Ning Xiaoyao's Travel Diary and learned of the demon that way.

"Sigh!" Ning Fengzhi let out a long, weary sigh. "Uncle Gu, Uncle Sword, I know you don't believe it. If I hadn't found absolute proof, I probably wouldn't believe it either, but..."

He paused, a look of terror surfacing in his eyes.

"But what? Speak up, Fengzhi!" Gu Rong pressed his hands against the chair, speaking with urgency.

Sword Douluo furrowed his brows, his heart growing heavy; he could sense the fear radiating from Ning Fengzhi.

"But, I have found that stone figure!"

Ning Fengzhi used every ounce of his strength to finally utter those words, leaving the two Title Douluos utterly shocked.

"Fengzhi, you aren't mistaken, are you? Is it the stone figure from the records?"

"Didn't our ancestor say he had already discarded it? Where did you find it?"

The two asked, unable to believe what they were hearing.

"I investigated the footprints of our ancestor Ning Xiaoyao during his lifetime and arranged for disciples to search everywhere, eventually locating the stone figure. Ancestor Ning Xiaoyao once went into seclusion there for three years; this must be it."

Ning Fengzhi looked toward the side of the screen. Following his gaze, the two Douluos finally noticed that a stone figure had appeared in the room, yet they hadn't sensed it at all!

The crude stone figure was pitted and uneven, its face even covered in moss; even Chen Xin felt he could have carved something better himself.

Yet, looking closely, it felt vivid and lifelike, as if a real person had been turned to stone. Those stone eyeballs seemed to be staring right at you, sending a chill down one's spine.

"This stone figure... why is it so eerie!" Gu Rong swallowed hard, speaking with trepidation.

His back was drenched in a cold sweat!

In the secret chamber of Spirit Hall, Shendu felt his divine power increase by a few wisps and raised his head to carefully sense the source.

"So it is you all. You've discovered the stone figure already—how quick!"

The stone figure was something he had casually made before; it was entirely ordinary, devoid of any special traits. The fear Ning Fengzhi and the others felt was merely them frightening themselves.

However, if it were to truly emerge into the world, it could not remain this ordinary stone; it had to be a living, breathing person.

But Valmont, how should I go about creating you?

Shendu pondered in his heart.

The most important thing when writing on the Chronicle of Ages is logic. Things appearing out of thin air would cause severe historical bugs, and if things went wrong, the entire world could collapse.

Compared to creating a Valmont, impersonating Valmont seemed much easier.

Valmont was merely a tool he used to deceive the world; whether it was the real Valmont did not matter. If there were someone who could impersonate Valmont...

Shendu's eyes suddenly lit up. He had it: Dai Mubai's Evil Clone!

There was no one more suitable to play the role of Valmont than that fellow. Now, he only needed to conceive how to rewrite history!

He thought it over in his mind while waiting for Dai Mubai to return.

Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

"If the demons are real, then wouldn't even Qian Daoliu be no match for them?" Sword Douluo suddenly said.

"Damn it, he must be intending to use the other spirit masters on the continent as cannon fodder so he can reap the benefits himself!" Bone Douluo slammed the table, speaking with resentment.

"We cannot let his plan succeed; we must expose this matter!"

"Yes, Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, I leave it to you!"

"Rest assured!" The two rose and departed.

The conference room fell silent once more.

Ning Fengzhi tapped his fingers on the table, contemplating the increasingly chaotic continent, his mind a tangled mess.