The Third Talisman, the World God's Inherited Divine Artifact

"Who are you?"

Shui Bing'er looked at them, not recognizing a single soul, her expression blank.

"Do you recognize this?" Ning Fengzhi took out the mask and smiled faintly.

Shui Bing'er was startled, but then her heart calmed, and she said slowly, "It's the mask!"

Memories of the past flooded her mind—the evil thoughts, the bloody scenes, and the feeling of helplessness after her body had been possessed.

Right, I still don't know how the academy is doing.

Shui Bing'er stood up abruptly, only to collapse back onto the bed.

"Take it easy." Ning Fengzhi helped her back down. "Young lady, I am Ning Fengzhi, Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I would like to talk to you about this mask, if you don't mind?"

Shui Bing'er looked at him. Several expressionless spirit masters stood in the room, and she was all alone.

After a moment of silence, she nodded gently.

Ning Fengzhi felt a surge of relief and asked, "Young lady, how did you encounter the mask..."

The two went back and forth, and Shui Bing'er told him everything she knew, including the half-masked man and the Snake Talisman.

She had accidentally lost the talisman when she was possessed, though she had no idea where it had fallen.

When Shui Bing'er realized that it was Ning Fengzhi who had saved her, she bowed to him in gratitude.

A life-saving grace deserved such a grand gesture.

Time passed as they spoke. Soon, Ning Fengzhi had learned everything he wanted to know. He also managed to persuade Shui Bing'er, who had been eager to return, to stay there for the time being.

"Once your identity as the Masked Man is exposed, the Heaven Dou Empire will surely put out a bounty for you. That would bring disaster upon Tianshui Academy."

Shui Bing'er thought about it in a panic and eventually agreed to join the Black Hand Gang.

Note that Ning Fengzhi did not tell her the true purpose of the Black Hand Gang. In reality, the gang had yet to perform a single act of resistance against the demons; they were merely growing.

Ning Fengzhi treated the reliable dead soldiers as the Secret Party, while the others were just ordinary members of the Black Hand Gang. This way, even if someone discovered the gang, they wouldn't pay it much mind.

In the conference room.

"Fengzhi, your plan of mixing truth with falsehood and creating illusions is truly brilliant." Chen Xin raised his teacup in praise.

Ning Fengzhi smiled, set down his cup, and sighed helplessly. "It is merely the struggle of ants. If we possessed the power of gods, we wouldn't need to fear the demons."

"Sigh! It's just a pity about that Snake Talisman." Gu Rong sighed with regret.

"Nothing to regret. It's just a trinket that grants invisibility," Ning Fengzhi said dismissively.

Invisibility was not the same as being intangible. A spirit master with strong spiritual power like him could easily pinpoint an opponent's location. In high-level combat, it was truly useless.

However, useless or not, it was still a talisman, and it had to be retrieved.

"Let's go look for it later. It shouldn't be too far from Tianshui City."

"Mm!" Gu Rong nodded and said no more.

Steam rose from the teacups, the room filled with the fragrance of tea, and the men drank in silence.

Even gods must feel fear, right?

Ning Fengzhi gripped his cup, thinking of those omnipotent deities.

A hundred miles outside Tianshui City, in a remote forest.

Dai Xieyue pushed aside the bushes and pulled out a talisman carved with a snake pattern, his face full of excitement.

"Finally found it. Lord Shendu will surely be satisfied this time."

Just as he prepared to leave, a figure suddenly flew across the sky—a man in white, carrying a sword on his back. Their eyes met.

"The Masked Man?" Sword Douluo stopped in surprise.

Looking at the fellow below wearing a half-red mask, wasn't this the Masked Man wanted by the Heaven Dou Empire and Tianshui Academy?

Good lad, I've finally caught you.

Sword Douluo drew his sword and slashed. A sword aura dozens of meters long crashed into the forest with a roar, triggering a massive explosion.

"Is this old man sick?!" Dai Xieyue turned into a shadow and fled the forest in a panic, cursing the man as an idiot.

Attacking me for no reason? I've marked your face. He etched the man's appearance into his memory.

BOOM—

The dust settled, leaving a massive trench in the ground, but the figure had already vanished.

Tunneling again. I should have brought Gu Rong. Sword Douluo unwillingly unleashed a few more slashes, destroying the entire forest, but there was still no sign of his target.

He had no choice but to search elsewhere for the talisman.

Using spiritual power to explore was convenient. He had just scanned the area and confirmed the talisman wasn't on the target. Had he failed to find it, or was it not here?

Sword Douluo flew through the sky, his spiritual power constantly sweeping the surrounding area.

Spirit Hall.

Dai Xieyue clutched the talisman and rushed all the way, finally delivering it into the hands of Shendu.

"Well done." Shendu did not skimp on his praise; it seemed that teaching this fellow a lesson earlier had indeed increased his efficiency.

Although it was only a relatively ordinary Snake Talisman, he was not picky; as long as it could complete the Divine Trial, it would suffice.

He placed the talisman into the groove, triggering the Divine Trial, and the throne in the void flickered with golden light.

A 300,000-year soul ring, 5% affinity with the World God, and a token to seal a demon.

Shendu looked at the red and blue sword before him, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

Lu Dongbin's sword.

Was this a mistake? He hadn't even been unsealed yet, and they were already rewarding him with a token of the deity who sealed him?

"A mere sword thinks it can seal me? Shatter!"

In the Divine Position Space, Shendu grabbed Lu Dongbin's sword, producing a sharp sound of clashing metal.

The next second, bang!

The originally hard and sharp sword was crushed by his bare hands, and the fragments scattered across the floor. Shendu stood proudly, refusing to lower his arrogant head.

"From now on, there is nothing in this world that can seal me!" Shendu said hoarsely.

The fragments that fell to the ground merged into the Divine Position Space, and a tree suddenly sprouted on the spot, growing at an incredible speed until it reached maturity and bore fruit.

Under Shendu's astonished gaze, the large tree dropped a strange, elongated fruit, which landed in his hand.

The moment he caught the fruit, Shendu understood its origin: it was the sword embryo of the World Tree.

When the fruit matured, it would give birth to a World Sword capable of controlling the world, representing his possession of the greatest authority in the entire world; it was the inheritance artifact of the Divine Position.

So that was it.

Shendu carefully placed the fruit into the river of divine power, using his power to nourish it. Although he did not know when it would bear fruit, it was, after all, his matching artifact, so he had to cultivate it.

Moreover, he believed that the moment the World Sword was born, it would surely bring him a surprise!

He withdrew from the Divine Position Space.

In the secret chamber, Bibi Dong and Dai Xieyue stood respectfully.

Bibi Dong's eyes were bright and spirited; she dared say that Shendu would definitely be surprised by this news.

"Bibi Dong, have you found the talisman?" Shendu asked hoarsely.

"No, but I have something here that I believe My Lord would very much like to know."

"What is it?"

Bibi Dong smiled faintly and said, "The Thunder Demon, Zhong Su, has unilaterally announced the conquest of the Douluo Continent. He demands that all forces on the continent go to Thunder City to pay their respects; otherwise, they will be treated as traitors and struck by five bolts of lightning!"

Hearing this, Shendu helplessly covered his head.