The Zodiac Talismans

"Talismans?"

Bibi Dong had never heard of such a thing, and her expression grew even more puzzled.

"They are my power. But over the long passage of time, I lost them. As long as I find the Talismans, I can recover my strength. When that time comes, I will grant you power beyond the gods!"

Shendu's persuasive words brimmed with temptation, and Bibi Dong couldn't help feeling moved as she listened.

She had just heard the crucial part: power beyond the gods. Those were gods!

If it was true, then she wouldn't have to continue the arduous Godhood Inheritance of the Rakshasa God.

She was truly excited, of course, but she wasn't blindly trusting him. Though the power he had displayed already made her wary, and the story he told seemed real, she still needed to remain cautious.

Bibi Dong was no one who could be easily fooled.

"Thank you, Shendu!"

Bibi Dong held her shoulder and bowed slightly, looking grateful yet still confident. Until she had figured out whether he was up to something, she would tentatively accept the title of his servant.

After bowing, she felt that interacting with him wasn't so difficult after all. She couldn't help asking, "Shendu, what do these Talismans you mentioned look like?"

Shendu had been waiting for him to ask that very question. He put on an air of mystery and said, "My twelve Talismans represent my twelve abilities. Each Talisman is engraved with its corresponding animal, and together they make up the Chinese zodiac."

"The Chinese zodiac?" Bibi Dong was puzzled again.

There was no such traditional Chinese knowledge on Douluo Continent.

"That means Rat, Ox... The Ox Talisman grants immense strength, enough to uproot a mountain with ease. The Dragon Talisman lets you control all the flames in the world and spew blazing Dragon Flame—"

"Enough, enough. You'll understand once you find them," he said calmly.

"So that's how it is!" Bibi Dong straightened in surprise. She hadn't expected such miraculous artifacts to exist in the world.

But demons had already appeared, so she could accept that other strange things might exist too.

After receiving Shendu's command, she prepared to take her leave.

"Shendu, I still have matters to attend to outside. I'll be going now."

"Go!"

After the Shendu Statue spoke, its red eyes dimmed, as if it had fallen asleep.

Bibi Dong stood there for a few seconds before turning and leaving the secret chamber.

When she closed the door, she leaned against it and let out a long breath. The tension she had felt inside eased considerably.

Since becoming Pope, she had rarely been as nervous as she was today. Yet the pressure Shendu had brought to bear made her afraid to let her guard down for even a moment.

Just how powerful was he? A Peerless Douluo? Or even stronger?

Bibi Dong couldn't help wondering.

But worried he might read her thoughts again, she quickly shook her head, straightened her clothes, and left with a solemn expression, leaning on the Pope Staff.

"Tap—tap—"

Her high heels and the Pope Staff struck the ground with heavy, echoing knocks.

Meanwhile, in the secret chamber,

after sending Bibi Dong away, Shendu eagerly checked his godhood. As for Sky Demon Hsoi, who had fled in panic—who cared about him?

Taking care of himself was the top priority. Hsi Wu's role was to cause trouble, and the more the better. The more people who knew about him, the more readily they would believe it when Shendu revealed the demons' identity.

"If you tell people demons exist in this world, no one will believe you. But give the name 'demon' to something they can't defeat, and they'll scramble to believe it." Shendu smiled, shook his head, and looked toward his godhood with anticipation.

Inside him, the single wisp of divine power had now grown to eight. Bibi Dong had contributed every one of them, and Hsi Wu's appearance had helped greatly, making Bibi Dong almost completely believe in the existence of demons.

"Not bad. Eight wisps of divine power are enough for me to get a few things done."

Shendu nodded in satisfaction.

Still, though divine power was important, what he looked forward to even more was the godhood's divine trial.

Since becoming a god would let him control the world, of course he wanted to inherit the godhood as soon as possible.

He excitedly checked the First Divine Trial.

"Divine Trial: Collect the Twelve Talismans to restore your strength. Your performance will be evaluated according to the number of Talismans recovered."

Collecting the Talismans? That was exactly the same as his original plan. He would have done it even without the divine trial.

But he was alone now, so he could only place his hopes in Bibi Dong.

"I hope Bibi Dong can help me gather the Talismans as soon as possible!" he sighed.

The twelve Talismans had scattered across all of Douluo Continent. Who knew where they had ended up? If one had fallen into the deep sea, even searching for a hundred years might not turn it up.

But didn't Shendu have a treasure in the original story? It seemed to be called the Sacred Dragon Carving, and it could track the Talismans' locations.

Shendu thought of that four-dragon handle and wished he had it.

At the same time, elsewhere, a young man was searching through a patch of wild grass. Suddenly, he felt a long, yellow-brown object. Four dragon heads were inlaid on it.

The young man picked it up and saw that the eye of one of the dragon heads suddenly lit up with a brilliant red glow, stirring his curiosity.

Spirit Hall, Pope Palace.

Bibi Dong sat in the high seat, watching the people below with a stern, composed expression. Because a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast had attacked moments earlier, everyone had gathered in a tense crowd, asking the Pope to deal with the matter.

"Your Holiness, the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that attacked us just now was a gigantic bat monster. I've never seen anything like it, and I couldn't identify its species." Yue Guan spoke a few words in shame, then his anger flared. Struggling to contain it, he said:

"But that Soul Beast was incredibly arrogant. It deliberately provoked Spirit Hall, then simply flew away, as if it didn't take us seriously at all. I request permission to hunt it down. That beast must be given the punishment it deserves!"

He spoke with righteous indignation, wishing he could tear it limb from limb to vent his hatred.

"That's right! We absolutely cannot forgive it!"

"It must be punished severely!"

"If we don't resolve this today, the other powers on the continent will make a laughingstock of Spirit Hall."

The crowd was agitated, and everyone supported the decision to hunt it down.

Half an hour had passed since the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast left. By now, spies from the other powers had probably already sent back the news.

Word that a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast had attacked Spirit Hall and escaped unharmed would soon reach the meeting tables of all the major powers. Spirit Hall couldn't bear such humiliation.

Revenge was a must!

At that moment, however, Ghost Douluo stepped forward. With a grave expression, he cupped his hands and said, "Your Holiness the Pope. That Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was extremely fast, and it could break through our Polar Forbidden Domain. Its strength is extraordinary. I urge Your Holiness to proceed with caution."