Dark Dimension

Now that he had finally defeated him and taken control of his soul, being asked to release Ancient One meant that all his previous efforts would go to waste.

Seeing Dormammu hesitate, Chen Xu felt uncertain as well. In truth, he was gambling. He could not destroy the Dark Dimension; with his current abilities, he was still incapable of destroying it. He could only gamble that Dormammu would not see through him.

More importantly, Chen Xu understood that the Dark Dimension was as important to Dormammu as his own life.

Soon, Dormammu spoke.

"Fine. I'll give you Ancient One's soul."

"Stop this at once."

"And the souls of the other Temple Mages."

"Fine. Agreed."

Those Temple Mages' souls had never been of much use to Dormammu anyway. Releasing them was no different from keeping them.

Having said that, Dormammu directly opened the space where Ancient One and the other Temple Mages' souls were imprisoned.

A black wormhole opened, and an extremely solid soul appeared within it.

"Where are the other Temple Mages' souls?"

They were not imprisoned together with Ancient One.

Instead, they were held inside a mirror. Within that mirror, Dormammu had created a separate space where souls could be hidden.

"They're all here. Take them and leave this place immediately. Never come back."

Seeing Dormammu's comical expression, Chen Xu could not help but find it amusing.

Chen Xu withdrew the Advanced Phoenix Force he had unleashed. The Dark Dimension, which had been rapidly expanding, slowly returned to its original state.

Chen Xu directly took Ancient One's soul and the souls of the other Temple Mages. Dormammu stared at Chen Xu, and Chen Xu stared back at Dormammu.

"Leave now. Don't ever come back."

"No."

"What do you mean, no? Are you fucking playing me?"

As soon as Chen Xu finished speaking, Dormammu prepared to fight him again.

"What else do you want?"

"From now on, you are not allowed to invade Earth again. Then I'll leave and never return."

"What? Are you fucking kidding me? Don't push your luck after getting what you wanted. Don't go too far, or I'll take you down with me."

Chen Xu smiled calmly.

"Take me down with you? Are you sure you can do that? Do you have that kind of strength?"

"Young man, don't be so reckless."

"Reckless? Sorry, I don't know what that means. I only know that the winner is king. You're the ruler of the Dark Dimension, yet you're lecturing me about being reckless. You're fucking hilarious."

"You...!"

Chen Xu's words made Dormammu completely lose his composure.

"You've already gotten what you wanted. Leave now. Don't come back again."

Dormammu chased Chen Xu away as though he were driving off the plague.

Seeing Dormammu's expression, Chen Xu stopped teasing him.

"Fine, then. I'm leaving. Farewell, Dormammu."

The moment Chen Xu's words fell—

Dormammu was once again furious with rage.

He wanted nothing more than to slice Chen Xu into a thousand pieces.

Only after Dormammu watched Chen Xu leave the Dark Dimension did he finally let out a breath of relief.

After returning to the New York Sanctum, Chen Xu directly returned Ancient One's soul and the souls of the other Temple Mages to their bodies.

The black aura around Ancient One's body vanished along with the return of his soul.

After a while, the Sorcerer Supreme, Ancient One, returned once more. The other Temple Mages gradually awakened as well. They all learned what Chen Xu and Dormammu had done, and they looked at Chen Xu with gratitude.

Ancient One was also deeply grateful to Chen Xu.

"Chen Xu, it's fortunate you were here."

Their praise made Chen Xu feel a little embarrassed.

"It was nothing. I'm a member of Kamar-Taj too. It was what I should have done."

"But the nightmare is finally over."

"Yes, the nightmare is finally over."

After that, Chen Xu buried himself in the library, constantly studying and once again reinforcing the seals, living his days thinking about the Dark Dimension.

Within an ancient starry sky, Thanos sat upon his throne and looked down at Ebony Maw.

"Ebony Maw, have you discovered anything unusual?"

"Reporting to Lord Thanos, I have not discovered any unusual activity."

Ebony Maw knelt on the ground with a fearful, reverent expression.

"Forget it. You may leave. It isn't anything particularly serious."

"As you command, my great Thanos."

Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D. in America.

Ever since Coulson had discovered Chen Xu last time, only for him to vanish again, he often returned to that old restaurant to investigate, hoping to obtain any information related to Chen Xu.

However, Chen Xu seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. No one had seen him again, and no one knew where he had gone. Then there were those people from Asgard, including Thor. They made everyone realize that beyond the universe, there were other intelligent life forms whose technology far surpassed Earth's. If war broke out, Earth would have no means of resistance and could only wait to be occupied or destroyed. This made them extremely uneasy. Whether it was the American Council or S.H.I.E.L.D., they all felt the same. After the disturbances caused by Thor's arrival on Earth, the American Council also began doing everything it could to support the Avengers Initiative proposed by Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In an icy, snow-covered land, a fighter plane was dug out. A shield bearing a five-pointed star was lodged in it, and a person lay inside.

If Chen Xu had been there, he would have known that this was Captain America. It also meant that Thanos's invasion had begun, and the true story had started.

"My God, he's actually still alive? How is that possible? How could a normal person survive for forty years under such circumstances?"

"No. He is no longer an ordinary human."

After Chen Xu rescued Ancient One and all the Temple Mages, everyone became incredibly admiring and enthusiastic toward him.

Chen Xu continued reading in the New York Sanctum, but later he discovered that those books were becoming less and less useful. Future battles would no longer be about techniques, but direct clashes of raw power. Moves were no longer of any use. Chen Xu stopped reading books about magical techniques, though he continued reading about the universe and general cosmic knowledge.

That day, after finishing his usual reading and reinforcing the seals, he was truly bored and went outside to wander around for a while.

Walking down the streets, he looked at the crowds passing by and the towering skyscrapers.

"Where should I go to relax?"

"Should I go to a bar, or just go to a restaurant and enjoy some food?"

In the end, Chen Xu decided to enjoy some food and be a devoted eater. Wasn't that better?

Chen Xu returned to the same restaurant he had visited last time, ordered several steaks, and began eating heartily while complaining about Kamar-Taj's food.

"This is what food for people is supposed to taste like."

Finally, he slept soundly on a Simmons bed in the hotel until he woke naturally, no longer needing to worry about any other invaders as he enjoyed the peaceful passage of time.