《Arrive in the world of movies》


 Chapter 1：Cairo Prison

    "Where am I?"


    Chen Xu shook his head and stood up from the ground, looking around in confusion. Wooden railings, walls made of yellow soil, and wooden boards surrounded him.


    Groups of men with bare feet, ragged clothes, and scarves wrapped around their heads were walking back and forth. The deafening shouts seemed to prove that this place was lively.


    But none of this had anything to do with Chen Xu. He looked coldly at everything around him while trying to recall his memories before he arrived here.


    He remembered sitting on a bus ready to go to work when the vehicle suddenly shook. Then there was nothing else; his memory stopped here and he couldn''t remember anything more.


    "Forget it, never mind. But where is this place?" Chen Xu looked around in confusion as he felt an odd sensation that reminded him of being imprisoned.


    "It seems like a prison."


    "This is indeed a prison." A scruffy-looking man took over Chen Xu''s words.


    "Oh! This used to be a prison? No wonder I feel like..." Chen Xu paused for a moment before shouting out loud: "Why am I in jail?"


    For any Chinese citizen, prison is not a good word; naturally, Chen Xu did not have positive feelings towards it.


    "Either you were caught or someone brought you here; there can''t be any other reason," said the scruffy-looking man.


    "Yes! Someone brought me here but how did they catch me?" Chen Xu was about to lose control. "I was just sitting on the bus normally; how could I end up here all of sudden? Even if there was an accident, shouldn''t I be in hospital instead?"


    "I don''t know either." The scruffy-looking man turned away as if he didn''t want to talk anymore with Chen Xu.


    Seeing this reaction from the man made Chen Xu anxious: "Friend! Can you tell me where this is? Which prison is this?"


    "This is Cairo, and the name of the prison is also Cairo." The scruffy-looking man looked at Chen Xu strangely. "You don''t know where you are?"


    Chen Xu ignored him and muttered to himself while searching his memory for the word ''Cairo'': "Cairo? I think I''ve heard of it before."


    "It''s probably a city, but I can''t remember which one," he continued.


    "The capital of Egypt - Cairo," reminded the scruffy-looking man.


    "Yes! That''s right; it''s the capital of Egypt." Chen Xu was happy that he found an answer but soon became unhappy again: "But why am I here? Shouldn''t I be in China?"


    "China? That mysterious country with many great wonders?" A woman''s voice interrupted them. "Oh, excuse me for interrupting. We found your magic box and want to ask you some questions."


    The woman wore a plain gray-brown cloth dress with a large hat on her head. Beside her was a well-groomed man wearing all white with neatly combed hair.


    "That''s not right." The scruffy-looking man shook his head.


    "What do you mean?" asked the woman curiously.


    "That¡¯s not right; you''re here to ask me about Hamunaptra," said the scruffy-looking man coldly.


    "Hamunaptra?" Chen Xu wondered why this name sounded so familiar to him.


    Shh! Shh!


    The well-groomed man kept making hushing sounds while looking around nervously as if afraid someone might overhear their conversation. However, upon hearing what the scruffy-looking man had just said, even the woman seemed shocked: "How did you know that Hamunaptra has something to do with our box?"


    "Because that¡¯s where I found it," sneered the scruffy-looking man.


    "How do we know you''re not just bragging?" The well-groomed man couldn''t hold back anymore.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Hey, hey, hey! You guys are talking about Hamunaptra, the city of the dead with Imhotep," Chen Xu finally remembered where he had heard this name before.


    The Mummy - a movie directed by Stephen Sommers that tells a tragic love story between a mummy and an undead woman. In it, a group of evil modern people try to destroy their love for their own greed but eventually justice prevails over evil. Imhotep and Anck-su-Namun defeat the modern people and live happily together in hell."


    Okay, Chen Xu admits that he really likes Imhotep in "The Mummy". Although Imhotep is ruthless in his actions, his love is unwavering.


    "Do you know?" The woman finally noticed Chen Xu beside her. "How do you know about the City of the Dead and Imhotep? Do you even know where the City of the Dead is?"


    "I don''t know," Chen Xu shook his head jokingly. Although he had watched the movie, he only knew that Hamunaptra was located in a desert but didn''t know its exact location.


    "But he knows." Chen Xu pointed to the scruffy man and cautiously asked, "Excuse me, are you O''Connell?"


    "I''m O''Connell?" The scruffy man or rather O''Connell looked at Chen Xu strangely. "How do you know my name?"


    Chen Xu ignored O''Connell and pointed to the woman instead. "Are you Evelyn?" Then pointing to the man in white suit, he said: "And who are you? Evelyn''s brother?"


    "Jonathan," hoping that Chen Xu could recognize him as well, Jonathan immediately shouted out loud. "Remember my name - Jonathan Carnahan! Evelyn''s brother! Well maybe I have too common a face for people to recognize me."


    "Jonathan Carnahan huh? Are all of you planning on going to Hamunaptra?" Chen Xu asked again.


    He had almost confirmed that he was now inside ''The Mummy''s world'', and this scene was exactly when O''Connell was imprisoned; however, he didn''t understand how he got here.


    "The main god space? Time travel? Hope it''s not either one!" Chen Xu felt conflicted deep down.


    He wasn''t some protagonist with invincibility like an indestructible cockroach; if someone stabbed him once even if they missed his heart by an inch or two then he would die. Going to the main god space with such luck was undoubtedly seeking death, but as an orphan, he had almost no friends and was somewhat willing to time travel.


    "We are planning on going to Hamunaptra," Evelyn replied.


    "Take me with you." Chen Xu said very single-mindedly. "I don''t know how I ended up here, but it''s obvious that I can''t go back now. I don''t want to wait for death in prison either, so take me with you."


    "But..." Evelyn hesitated.


    "Don''t ''but'' me. The more people we have, the stronger we are. As for the gold, I don''t want it. I just want a book," Chen Xu said.


    He had already figured out that getting gold from Hamunaptra was basically impossible. In the desert, water was more important than gold and squeezing space for water and food to make room for gold was foolish. As for gems, they could be taken sneakily.


    In fact, what was most precious inside were not the gold or gems but two books with supreme magical power.


    He had seen movies like "The Mummy Returns" where reciting spells from the Book of Amun-Ra would unleash its power and he believed that it would be similar with the Book of Dead as well.


    Thinking about the power of magic made Chen Xu envious.


    Every person, especially men, craved power even more than wealth and status because they believed that once they had power everything else - wealth, women - would come rolling in. Chen Xu was no exception to this belief.


    "I don''t want any gold? Alright then remember to help me carry some when we leave. Remember though: it''s mine," Jonathon quipped before Evelyn could answer him back.


    "This Jonathan is quite clever," Chen Xu remarked after sizing up Jonathan again.


    Gold is heavy; one person can only carry so much but two people together can double their load of treasure.


    "However he''s only a little smart." Chen Xu added another comment since focusing solely on acquiring gold showed shortsightedness; a real man shouldn''t fear lacking in riches if he has strength!


    "The books are mine!" Evelyn protested while pulling her brother closer to her side.


    "You can copy them down." Chen Xu suggested: "How about this? One book each - I''ll take The Book of Dead while you take The Book of Amun-Ra."


    The Book of Amun-Ra''s main function was resurrection which, for Chen Xu at the moment, was a bit useless. The Book of Dead on the other hand contained terrifying magic spells and just thinking about Imhotep''s spell that could cover up the sun made Chen Xu excited.


    "Stop considering it. One book each - equality! Besides I don''t want any gold," Jonathan added his persuasion since he believed that books were not worth as much as gold.


    "Fine." Evelyn thought for a moment before agreeing to this arrangement.


    "Hey hey hey! You guys seem to have forgotten me!" O''Connell protested after seeing how quickly they had agreed upon their terms. "Without me you wouldn''t even know where Hamunaptra is!"


    "How can you tell us then?" Evelyn asked him.


    "Come closer." O''Connell smirked and looked at Evelyn who moved closer to him before suddenly grabbing her shoulder and kissing her hard on the lips.


    "If you want my help finding Hamunaptra then let me out first."


    "Guards! This prisoner has molested Miss Evelyn!" Cairo prison warden appeared in time and glared fiercely at O''Connell: "I''ll send him straight to the gallows!"


    Suddenly two people rushed in from behind them and grabbed O''Connell away.


    "Evelyn, please save me first then we can go back for that damn O''Connell later okay?" Chen Xu leaned against the wooden railing with resignation in his voice.


    "All right but what did you do wrong?" Evelyn asked when she saw that they had taken Chen Xu away too.


    "I didn''t do anything wrong actually. I think I sleepwalked here or something but never mind how I got here; please get me out now. Trust me, all it takes is some money," Chen Xu said.


    In movies like these, Cairo prison wardens loved money.


    "One hundred pounds and we''ll let him go."


    "No way."


    "Two hundred!"


    "We want five hundred."


    "Three hundred!"


    "Four hundred!"


    "All right, deal."

 Chapter 2：Save OConnor

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    "We need to figure out what to do now," Evelyn said anxiously. "O''Connor is about to be executed, and if we don''t save him soon, he''ll be done for."


    "Don''t worry, O''Connor won''t die," Chen Xu strolled through the crowded streets of 20th century Cairo. Although the roads were narrow and cluttered with vendors'' stalls and occasional litter on the ground.


    "I think we should get the Chinese urban management team over here to clean up this place." Chen Xu almost slipped on an apple as he spoke.


    "That prison warden is not a kind person; when he says someone will be executed, they will be." Evelyn followed closely behind Chen Xu, afraid that she might lose him.


    In fact, she felt like she had gone mad. After listening to Chen Xu''s nonsense for so long, she had given him all her money. What was worse was that this man in front of her asked her brother Jonassen to steal things - it was simply unreasonable.


    "If you''re not going to save him yourself, give me the money and I''ll do it." Evelyn reached out her hand asking for money.


    "Three hundred pounds? How are you going to save him?" Chen Xu wasn''t stupid enough to just hand over his hard-earned money. This wasn''t modern times; three hundred pounds still held value and could at least buy them camels or food during their journey towards Hamunaptra.


    Evelyn stared at Chen Xu with wide eyes; it was quite intimidating.


    "Okay then." Chen raised his hands in surrender. "I originally planned on buying some things but since you want me to help O''Connor first... Actually I don''t think anything bad will happen to O''Connor because he''s not one who likes heroic sacrifices. By the way why are you so concerned about O''Connor? Did he kiss you or something?"


    Chen joked around but he found it strange that O''Connor, who clearly didn''t want to go to Hamunaptra, went there for Evelyn. However, before this incident, she had only met him once.


    Evelyn was also puzzled; after being kissed by O''Connor her attitude towards him changed significantly.


    "How could I like a ruffian and rogue?" Evelyn denied.


    "Then why are you so anxious?" Chen asked.


    "I just want to go to Hamunaptra. If something happens to him we won''t be able to find it," Evelyn explained weakly but in Chen''s eyes her explanation seemed feeble.


    "Don''t worry even if we don''t have O''Connor with us we can still find Hamunaptra. Not only does he know the location." Americans and the Pharaoh''s guards all knew where Hamunaptra was located; they just needed to follow them.


    Of course, Chen wouldn''t say these things out loud.


    The execution ground of Cairo prison was like ancient Rome''s Colosseum except that the Colosseum was used for watching warriors perform while here people came to watch prisoners die. Of course, the Roman Colosseum was a game for nobles while here it was entertainment for slaves and commoners alike.


    "Look! They''re about to hang O''Connor! Hurry up and save him!" Evelyn shouted anxiously.


    "I know I know don''t worry," Chen squinted his eyes scanning around until he locked onto the warden. "Let''s go find the warden."


    They pushed through crowds of people and climbed several flights of stairs until they reached where the warden stood. "Your Excellency Warden, I think you should reconsider your proposal regarding hanging O''Connor."


    "What? Do you have any objections?" The warden sneered at Chen Xu knowing full well that he had no money on him; therefore someone like Chen wasn¡¯t worth his time.


    "Of course, I have objections. O''Connor is the one who will take us to Hamnata. If you strangle him, how can we go to Hamnata?" Chen Xu said sincerely.


    "How could you mention Hamnata in front of them?" Evelyn complained on the side.


    "It''s none of my business whether you go to Hamnata or not... Wait, what? You''re going to Hamnata?" The warden suddenly stood up in disbelief and asked, "The City of Undead?"This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    "Yes, it''s Hamnata," Chen Xu nodded earnestly.


    "The one with lots of gold inside?" The warden still couldn''t believe it.


    "Yes, there are not only gold but also gems inside," Chen Xu drew a big circle for the warden. "As long as we find Hamnata, we can get a lot of gold and gems and even collectibles buried inside. But this premise is that we have O''Connor. Without him, everything is just an illusion."


    "Stop!" The warden suddenly stood up excitedly and said: "Put him down."


    Then he sat down again and said to Chen Xu: "I want five floors."


    "How many do you think we can take away?" Chen Xu spread his hands helplessly. "So much gold and so many gems piled up like mountains; I cannot carry them all."


    "What should I do then?" The warden became anxious because he had already imagined himself owning all the gold and gems in Hamnata. He felt sad at the thought that these precious stones might never see daylight if they were left behind due to being unable to carry them out.


    "No way! I must bring those jewels with me along with shining golden coins."


    "I alone cannot manage it; I can ask someone else for help." The warden wanted military personnel''s assistance but soon gave up on this idea saying: "No, I cannot ask anyone else. If I do so, they will take all the gold and not give me my share."


    The warden himself was a selfish person who naturally imagined others to be like him.


    "What should we do?" The warden paced back and forth anxiously.


    Seeing Chen Xu on the side, he immediately grabbed his collar and said: "You must have a solution, right?"


    "What''s the solution?"


    "The solution to bring out all of my gold," the warden said fiercely. "Tell me how to do it; otherwise, I''ll send you to the gallows."


    "The way to bring out your gold?" A cold light flashed in Chen Xu''s eyes for a moment but quickly disappeared. "You can get more camels. With camels'' help, are you still afraid that you won''t be able to carry away your gold?"


    He needed camels not just for carrying away his treasure but also as vehicles for transporting food and water since he had never seen or been in a desert before. He knew about its horrors from books and wanted to prepare accordingly.


    However, he didn''t have much money with him; he had only collected some from Evelyn which wasn''t enough. So he asked Jonassen to steal some money but now realized that there was no need because he had come up with an even better idea."


    "Exactly, with a camel, I can bring out the gold. Camels won''t betray me and will run away with the money." The prison warden immediately praised this idea, "You are amazing, dear... By the way, what''s your name?"


    "Chen Xu," Chen Xu replied.


    "Chen Xu, my dear lucky star. After I take out the gold and gems, I''ll give you a little bit," said the stingy prison warden.


    "Before you make any promises to me, you have to tell me how much money you really have," Chen Xu sneered at the warden''s promise. He didn''t care about that gold; he wanted the Necronomicon inside - it contained magic spells recorded in it."


    "As long as he has the Necronomicon, getting gold and gems is not a difficult task. Moreover, since he traveled through time, he is familiar with history, at least on the surface.


    In the future era of the Internet, all he needs to do is push a button lightly to reap unimaginable benefits. Money doesn''t matter to him.


    "How much money I have is none of your business," said Chen Xu. The prison warden immediately became alert and warned him: "Don''t try anything funny with me. Otherwise, you will die a horrible death."


    "If you don''t tell me how much money you have, how can I help you distribute it reasonably? You know there are many gold nuggets inside; we need lots of camels and supplies like water and food to prevent any possible accidents," replied Chen Xu.


    Evelyn next to them shuddered when she heard Chen Xu''s tone. Just now, he used this same tone to trick her out of her last 300 pounds and instructed Joneson to steal from her.


    Now that he was using his old tricks again, Evelyn felt infinite sympathy for the prison warden.


    "What distribution?" The prison warden was confused by Chen Xu''s words but felt that they made sense somehow. He just couldn''t put his finger on what was wrong exactly.


    "Of course it''s reasonable distribution," said Chen Xu carefully choosing his words. "Camels need food and water just like people do; we must also consider potential risks along the way such as sandstorms in deserts which happen frequently." Although I don¡¯t think we''ll be lucky enough for that kind of thing.¡±


    "When we arrive at Hamnata, we will need to transport gold and gems. At this point, food and water become things that must be sacrificed. However, I think we can use reasonable means to consume food and water on the way so as not to waste them while maximizing the use of camels."


    "Water and food are expensive, right? Your Excellency Warden."


    "It seems so," said the warden in a daze. Chen Xu spoke for a long time, making him even more confused.


    "So gold and gems are more important than water and food, aren''t they? Therefore, in order to make the most of our gold, we must distribute water and food reasonably so as not to waste anything."


    "So give me your money and let me handle it for you. This is the best solution."


    "Don''t hesitate anymore; shiny gold is just ahead."


    "Don''t hesitate or wander around; hesitation equals nothingness. Wandering equals missing opportunities."


    Chen Xu casually recited an advertising slogan from his past life.


    The warden was dizzy from Chen Xu''s words about missing opportunities. His eyes turned red as he said: "I''ll bet on it! I''ll give you all my money but wait for me for a while because I need some time to prepare."


    "And," gritted his teeth with determination: "I''m going too! I want to guard my property!"


    "No...that won''t work," objected Evelyn.


    "Whatever you say," replied Chen Xu calmly before turning serious again: "We shouldn''t divide our spoils until after getting our hands dirty inside since O''Connor is still in the warden''s hands. Don¡¯t put all your eggs in one basket.¡±


    "All right then,¡± Evelyn had no choice but to agree.


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 Chapter 3：Studying Ancient Egyptian Language

    Cairo Giza Port.


    Everywhere were shabby small shops, horse-drawn carriages running around with people, bargaining and cursing sounds combined to create a bustling scene.


    "Can you tell me where my money went?" The prison warden looked at Chen Xu empty-handed and saw Evelyn carrying two boxes. He looked left and right but didn''t see the promised camels. He immediately became angry, "Are you trying to cheat me? I warn you, even here, I can arrest you and throw you into the gallows."


    "At that time, click sound, your neck will break, your head will fall off, people go to hell and meet God."


    "I don''t believe in God either," Chen Xu said. "I am an atheist or rather a pantheist."


    "What is a pantheist?" The prison warden asked suspiciously.


    "Well...a pantheist is probably someone who doesn''t believe in anything too much but believes in whoever treats them well or benefits them. In simple terms they are selfish individuals." Evelyn said cautiously. "I don''t know if what I said is correct?"


    "Yes." Chen Xu clapped his hands and shook his head. "Evelyn knows me well."


    Evelyn was immediately dumbfounded by this statement. "What does that mean?"


    "Uh..." Just now he was happy playing as an ancient scholar so Chen Xu forgot that Evelyn was a Westerner who didn''t understand Eastern idioms.


    "Don¡¯t interrupt." The prison warden intervened. ¡°You have to give me an explanation for why there are no camels according to plan? I gave all my savings to you.¡±


    "Don¡¯t worry; your money is still there.¡± Chen Xu replied with nonsense words again.¡°But we cannot buy camels here since we need to board the ship later on.We can save a lot of shipping costs if we wait until we arrive at our destination to buy camels. Don''t you think so?"


    "Then where is the money?" The prison warden didn''t listen to Chen Xu''s nonsense. "Take out the money and let me see it. If it¡¯s still there, I''ll believe you; if not, hmph!"


    "Evelyn, take out the money and show him." Chen Xu said while complaining: "Nowadays people want to make money but don¡¯t trust others. They are really annoying like Ge Lan Tai or even more."


    Evelyn endured Chen Xu''s nagging and endured the prison warden''s shouting as she silently opened the leather box revealing a stack of cash.


    "Wait." A hand pressed down on Evelyn''s hand, preventing her from opening the box.


    "What are you doing? Damn O''Connor! You bastard who will be hanged!" The prison warden cursed loudly. "That¡¯s my money!"


    "If you want someone to rob your money then go ahead and open it here; I don''t care." O''Connor raised his hand and stepped back saying: ¡°Prison Warden should understand Cairo¡¯s environment better than me.¡±


    The prison warden thought for a moment but still felt that opening it here was inappropriate,"Okay, I believe you guys; we¡¯ll open it when we get on board."


    "Oh yeah, O''Connor can you guarantee that what you said is true?" Evelyn suddenly asked.


    "What guarantee? What did he say?" The prison warden leaned over curiously.


    "It has nothing to do with you." O''Connor slapped the prison warden in the face with his palm pushing him away before turning towards Evelyn solemnly saying: "It was because they believed too much that my troops crossed Libya into Egypt looking for that city but instead of gold and gems waiting for us were blood and sand."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    O¡¯Connor turned around walked away saying:"If you don¡¯t believe me then feel free to go back; I won''t force you."


    "It''s not that, I..." Evelyn wanted to explain but found she didn¡¯t know how. She could only stomp her feet and say angrily: "Forget it, I believe you."


    The group entered the large steamship one after another.


    ...


    Night falls, stars twinkle.


    "This word is pronounced ''si''."


    "Si?"


    "Yes, it should be pronounced as ''si'', there''s no mistake." Evelyn said seriously.


    "Thank you. These characters are really difficult to learn." Chen Xu stretched his hands and leaned back in the chair. His body crackled and popped from sitting for too long; he needed to move around.


    After boarding the ship, Chen Xu found an excuse to learn Ancient Egyptian with Evelyn. He wanted to obtain the magical power contained in The Book of Dead, so learning Ancient Egyptian was necessary.


    And Evelyn, who understood The Book of Dead and The Golden Sun Book, was the best teacher here at least.


    "In fact, Ancient Egyptian is not difficult to learn. It''s not as hard as your Chinese characters," Evelyn comforted him.


    "Oh thank you for your praise. I think I should be happy that a beautiful lady like yourself compliments my country right?" Chen Xu picked up a beer bottle and opened it with a pop sound. "Let''s celebrate then."


    "Oh I don''t drink alcohol. Ladies shouldn''t drink alcohol or at least this kind of alcohol," instinctively lying down on her backside behind her seat cushioned by pillows she replied.


    "Okay." Disappointedly throwing away his beer bottle aside, Chen Xu said: "Then please continue teaching me because my time is running out."


    "What do you mean by time running out?" Evelyn asked curiously.


    "It doesn''t mean anything; just please hurry up..."


    Bang!


    Something was thrown onto the table making a loud noise which startled Evelyn.


    "I''m sorry if I scared you but what are you two doing here?" O''Connor looked suspiciously between them both.


    "We''re just studying," Chen Xu said helplessly knowing that O''Connor liked Evelyn but also felt jealous towards him.


    "Chen Xu said he wants to learn Ancient Egyptian so I taught him," explained Evelyn. "He''s learning well, he basically remembers it after a few times of teaching. He''s a language genius."


    "That''s amazing!" O''Connor was shocked by Chen Xu''s learning speed. "I think you should become a translator instead; it won''t be much slower than earning money in Hamunaptra."


    "I''m not here for gold," Chen Xu explained: "As I said before, what I want is The Book of Dead. In Ancient Egypt, The Book of Dead is an anthology of poems praising the Pharaohs and represents the wisdom crystallization of ancient Egyptians. I want to find it and contribute its contents to the world."


    He had already searched but there was no such thing as The Book of Dead in this world nor did those poems praising Ra appear so he could say whatever he wanted.


    "Your idea is really great." Evelyn felt how petty she was compared to Chen Xu''s ideas because she only wanted spells from The Golden Sun book out of curiosity rather than contributing something great to society.


    "Not great at all; truly great are the Pharaohs and ancient Egyptian people who created these magnificent poems." Chen Xu smiled.


    Of course, he wouldn''t tell them that The Book Of Dead wasn''t just about praising Pharaohs or Ra with beautiful poetry but also contained spells and incantations which included magical powers from Ancient Egypt -the true wisdom crystallization- belonging solely to pharaohs and priests.


    "Compared with you, I feel like a despicable woman who only wants to satisfy her own curiosity," Evelyn said ashamedly: "I came here looking for The Golden Sun book which contains Egyptian runes and spells. Since childhood, I''ve been fascinated by this book; it has always been my dream."


    Evelyn suddenly stood up shouting loudly:


    "But now I have decided that I will find this book then put it in the museum where everyone can study its content!"


    "Woah, that''s a great idea!" Chen Xu clapped his hands frantically. "Miss Evelyn is truly amazing with such a great dream."


    "Thank you for your praise," Evelyn bowed shyly.


    "You two remind me of actors in a play." O''Connor said sourly: "By the way, can you shoot?"


    "No." Chen Xu shook his head. He was from an era of peace; he had never even seen what real guns looked like let alone learn how to use them. The only thing he knew about guns were those ''papapa'' sounds on TV.


    "Well then, it''s my pleasure to teach you how to shoot next." O''Connor threw him a revolver loaded with bullets. "It''s very simple; just like this."


    O''Connor opened the safety catch and pulled the trigger making a loud sound while saying: "This is how enemies die."


    Chen Xu thought for a moment knowing that he would face some danger soon so he decided to accept O''Connor''s kindness: "Can you give me some bullets? I need to practice shooting and aiming first."


    "Sure." O''Connor spread out his bag revealing firearms,

 Chapter 4：Drowning

    The reflection of the moon was in the river, and a small boat kept rowing. A group of people dressed in black robes slowly approached under the ship.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    After three consecutive gunshots, bullet marks appeared on the walls around the bottle.


    "It seems to have missed." Chen Xu was satisfied with this result. Although he didn''t hit the bottle, from an angle perspective, it did not exceed the range of human body. In other words, he could shoot at people without worrying about hitting something else. For a beginner like him, this was already a good result.


    "According to the plot, those who claim to be Pharaoh''s Royal Guards should have come aboard!" A glint flashed in Chen Xu''s eyes.


    In the movie, Pharaoh''s Royal Guards were on O''Connell''s side. But for someone like Chen Xu who aimed to obtain The Book of Dead Spells for himself only, they were just obstacles.


    After all, he could deceive O''Connell and Evelyn who knew nothing about The Book of Dead Spells but couldn''t fool these guards; there would definitely be conflicts when they met.


    "Strike first or suffer later." A cold light flashed in Chen Xu''s eyes as he picked up his gun and loaded it with bullets before tiptoeing towards Evelyn¡¯s room.


    Seeing a dark figure inside it made him pause for a moment before putting away his revolver and taking out his dagger instead. He pushed open the door abruptly and rushed forward when seeing one of Pharaoh¡¯s Royal Guards; immediately exerted force and stabbed him fiercely into his abdomen with his sharp knife while avoiding being noticed by others nearby.


    "We need to leave now," said Chen Xu as he grabbed Evelyn firmly by her arm before heading outside together with her.


    Bang!


    Someone broke into their room suddenly - It turned out that person was O¡¯Connell himself.


    O''Connell was stunned to see Chen Xu and Evelyn together. Then he saw the corpse on the ground, his face changed: "Let''s go, we need to leave here."


    "We should jump into the river now." Chen Xu said in a low voice. "There are many people outside, and it is on fire. This ship cannot be saved; jumping into the river is our only choice."


    "Then let''s jump." O''Connell made up his mind immediately. "I''ll lead the way, you follow me behind while escorting Evelyn."


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Gunshots were heard everywhere outside with bullets flying all over the place; wooden boards of the ship could not stop them from penetrating through.


    "Oh, I hate this situation where there are bullets everywhere. If one isn''t careful enough, they will be hit by stray bullets - it¡¯s purely luck-based," Chen Xu muttered to himself silently before vowing that he would never let such a thing happen again.


    "We count 123 and rush out together." O''Connell fought back while shouting loudly.


    "1."


    Chen Xu calmed down and adjusted himself to his best state.


    "2."


    He bent his legs slightly as if ready for an assault.


    "3!"


    Chen Xu rushed out suddenly with his body intentionally or unintentionally hiding beside O¡¯Connell so as to avoid being shot at directly by enemies nearby.


    With a thud sound, three of them broke through the wooden fence together and jumped off into water below.


    "At last we''re safe," thought Chen Xu relievedly.


    Pharaoh''s Royal Guards came here for The Book of Dead Spells map and key which were still inside Evelyn¡¯s room without being taken away yet; he believed that Pharaoh''s Royal Guards wouldn¡¯t notice their presence either.


    "No map or key means we have no other options but figuring something else later," whispered Chen Xu in heart.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    He carefully recalled the swimming posture he had learned at school and followed O''Connell to swim ashore.


    "We lost everything." Evelyn complained while walking on shore. "Our tools and clothes..."


    "Is the money still there?" Chen Xu interrupted her words.


    "The money is still here, don''t worry," Jonathan smiled and patted his bag. "When I went to find Evelyn, I saw that she didn''t bring a bag with her, so I brought it over."


    "You''re really fond of money." Evelyn glanced at Jonathan dissatisfiedly before saying: "Why weren¡¯t my tools and clothes taken out?"


    "Don''t blame Jonathan; he did the right thing. With money, we can buy new clothes and tools." Chen Xu said in a deep voice. "O''Connell, do you know who these people are?"


    "I''m not sure either but their attire is similar to those soldiers who attacked us last time; they should be from the same group," O¡¯Connell replied seriously.


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    "These people attacked your soldiers last time, and now they have attacked us. It seems like they want to stop us from going to Hamnata. But how did they know we were going there?" Chen Xu asked curiously. "According to reason, no one has gone to Hamnata except for us."


    "There are also those Americans," Johnson quickly added. "Those Americans also went to Hamnata, maybe they accidentally leaked the information."


    "If that''s the case, then we need to be careful. It seems very dangerous to go to Hamnata this time."


    "Then should we not go?" The prison warden next to them suddenly interjected. "I came here to monitor my property, not fight with others. Fighting should be left up to the military."


    The prison warden thought it would be an easy trip but after being attacked he was already unhappy.


    "What if you guys go and bring back the gold? I only want 30%," he said.


    "But what about all of the gold and gems in Hamnata that we can embezzle without you there?" Chen Xu joked around. "There is so much gold and so many gems there worth millions of pounds sterling or even billions if sold off completely!"


    Upon hearing this, the prison warden carefully calculated in his mind facing such a fortune worth billions of pounds sterling; he felt uneasy leaving these people alone.


    "I''ll come with you guys; I cannot give you a chance at embezzling my gold and gems."


    Chen Xu was speechless upon hearing this.


    ...


    Desert Oasis


    This place is not just a place for water and grass but also a hub for small commodities where many merchants travel far distances here exchanging goods while travelers who wish venture into desert buy camels here as well.


    "Old man, I want all of these..." Chen Xu gestured towards all of the camels before him by drawing a large circle around them. "What''s your price?"


    "One hundred pounds sterling each," the old man replied.


    "Why don''t you just rob him?" The prison warden immediately became angry.


    "Calm down." Chen Xu gave the prison warden a look.


    It is no wonder that the prison warden was so angry; today''s pound sterling is not as worthless as it will be in future times. Today''s pound sterling is still tied to gold, which means people can directly exchange their pounds for gold.


    In this era, 500 pounds can be exchanged for 117.71 ounces of gold, equivalent to $100,000 in later years. The old man''s asking price of one hundred pounds per camel would mean buying a camel with $20,000 USD in later years - more profitable than robbing banks!


    "Sorry, old man but your prices are too high." Chen Xu pulled the prison warden away.


    After walking around once more and returning back again to the same spot he said: "Old man I want all of these camels."


    Chen Xu was quite helpless; this old man¡¯s camels were probably already among the cheapest ones here while others charged even higher prices.


    "These people are simply stealing money!" The prison warden complained indignantly.


    "Don''t worry; we can earn back this money." Chen Xu comforted him. "Think about it when we get to Hamnata where there is gold everywhere waiting for us to take away! At that time every single camel represents gold and sparkling gems worth millions or billions of pounds sterling! Will you still care about these small one hundred-pound notes then?"


    The image of piles upon piles of golden treasures appeared in Johnson¡¯s mind followed by images of being unable to bring all those treasures due to lack of camels causing him great distress making his body tremble uncontrollably: ¡°No way! These treasures belong only to me! They should not be left to rot in Hamnata!"


    "They say capitalists dare to face the gallows for a 300% profit, but do you know how much gold and gems are in Hamnata? It''s not just a 300% profit; it''s three hundred times the profit. For this kind of profit, I am willing to go to hell and consort with death for ten thousand years."


    "Right, I''m willing to go to hell for a 300-fold profit," the prison warden swallowed nervously, filled with excitement. "I''ll give you all this money to use as you please. Just find Hamnata and the legendary treasure."


    "You''re obsessed with wealth," Chen Xu sneered inwardly.


    He bought all of the old man''s camels and enough water and food to form a small caravan.


    "Oh, why do you need so many camels? We only need five," Evelyn immediately asked upon seeing the camels.


    "These camels are all for transporting goods. His Excellency, our prison warden wants to transport all of the gold out of Hamnata. And we also need enough water and food in case we get lucky and encounter a sandstorm in the desert," Chen Xu explained. "Being frugal in the desert is being responsible for one''s own life."


    "Chen Xu did well." O''Connor also saw so many camels and was pleased. "In the desert, being prepared is essential because desert weather changes like a child''s mood swings."


    "I actually think it''s necessary to bring these camels along too. We can''t carry that much gold ourselves but with these camels it will be different..." Johnson agreed as well.


    Seeing everyone else agreeing, Evelyn could only nod her head reluctantly. "Alright then, I''ll listen to you guys. Hopefully this investment won''t be a waste."


    "These investments belong solely to His Excellency, he will take responsibility himself; it has nothing to do with us." Chen Xu chuckled lightly before adding: "By the way, can you help me tie these supplies onto the camel? I can''t handle them alone."


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 Chapter 5：Arrived at Hamnata

    "I hate camels," said the prison warden as he rode on a camel, looking at it with complaints.


    "But this is your property," Chen Xu replied, his legs straddling the camel''s neck and his body leaning against the white board between its humps. He spoke leisurely.


    "Why can you enjoy it while I can''t?" The prison warden saw how comfortable Chen Xu was and complained, "I want that seat of yours."


    Chen Xu''s seat was relatively small, fixed between the camel''s humps. However, the chair back was very long and padded with fur all over to Chen Xu''s neck. It was very comfortable.


    "But I don''t want gold. If you don''t want gold either, I can give it to you." Chen Xu chuckled.


    The sun in the desert gradually set down; the originally scorching weather began to turn cold. Chen Xu put on a coat to resist the upcoming chilliness.


    "Reminder: nights in deserts are very cold; it¡¯s best to wrap yourself up tightly."


    "I hate deserts."


    "You hate gold."


    "I don¡¯t hate gold!" The prison warden glared at Chen Xu angrily. "Whoever dares touch my gold will have to face me!"


    "But I didn''t touch your gold, Your Excellency Warden." Chen Xu shrugged helplessly. "It¡¯s those damn Americans who came for your gold.¡±


    "What American nonsense! One comes and one dies; two come and one pair dies!" The prison warden stared fiercely with killing intent.


    "Well then," said Chen Xu squinting his eyes playfully. "You can go fight those Americans directly if you like."


    "Why?"


    "Because they''re right behind you."


    The prison warden turned around immediately but got scared when he saw them approaching him from behind. ¡°Damn these Americans! Why are there so many people?¡±


    "It¡¯s because they share our same idea," Chen Xu shook his head. "They just think that people are safer, while you think camels are safer."


    "It was clearly your idea." The prison warden glared at Chen Xu and rode towards O''Connor.


    No matter how one looked at it, those Americans were not easy to mess with. Their guns hanging from their waists and cowboy attire made it clear they were ready to fight for their lives.


    "O''Connor, what should we do now?" Evelyn asked softly.


    "Don''t mind them; let''s go our own way," O''Connor replied with his head down.


    "Oh."


    The yellow sand formed a vast desert. Occasionally, the wind blew up sand grains that stung the face. Chen Xu took out a scarf to cover his face.


    As the sun completely set down, darkness enveloped everything; piercing coldness came upon them. Chen Xu instinctively put on another piece of clothing and felt better.


    The desert was silent except for the sound of camel footsteps.


    Chen Xu tied himself with a rope and tied himself together with the chair before lying comfortably on top of it.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "I envy you so much for being so well-prepared," said the prison warden enviously.


    "I protest! Why can you be so comfortable?" Jones complained too.


    "You guys didn''t come to the desert without any preparation did you?" Chen Xu was surprised. "You don¡¯t think that once in the desert means finding Hamunaptra right away?"


    Having watched movies and remembered plotlines, Chen Xu naturally remembered that searching for Hamunaptra required one day and night time; thus he prepared adequately beforehand


    The prison warden blushed then shouted loudly: "I''ve never been to a desert before! How would I know?"


    "Me neither!" Jones echoed him.


    "Really pitiful." Chen Xu shook his head. "But I only prepared one for myself. If you come next time, I''ll prepare for you guys. Sorry about that."


    Although he apologized, there was no sincerity in his words.


    The warden and Johnson had no choice but to accept their fate.


    Time passed slowly, and Chen Xu was awakened by someone while sleeping soundly. He waved his hands unconsciously a few times before waking up from his sleep.


    "Are we here?"


    "We''re already here," O''Connor said calmly. "But those damn Americans followed us."


    "I don''t care about the Americans," Chen Xu said casually. "Hamunaptra can''t be conquered just by having more people."


    As the sun rose, light gradually spread over the earth, and ripples appeared in the air like water. A desolate city stood on top of the desert.


    "Is this Hamunaptra?" Johnson looked at what was happening in front of him with surprise and rubbed his eyes instinctively. "I''m not seeing things; this is really Hamunaptra!"


    "It''s unbelievable how great ancient Egyptian wisdom is." Evelyn opened her mouth wide enough to fit a duck egg inside it.


    "I didn''t believe it either at first," O''Connor said.


    "This is the power of magic." Chen Xu roared in his heart, "This is the power of ancient Egyptian spells! Soon I will have this kind of power - enough to cover up a great city."


    "Let''s go inside."


    "We should go inside first." The American cowboy shouted as he picked up speed on horseback and galloped past them with hoofbeats ringing out loudly.


    "These damn Americans!" O''Connor also felt ambitious when provoked; he whipped his whip against camels'' backsides to drive them forward along with horses through the desert sands racing each other towards their destination.


    "What should we do?" The warden asked helplessly.


    "Of course, we should charge forward." Evelyn patted the camel and stumbled forward.


    "This kind of thing doesn''t suit me." Johnson saw the cowboys and O''Connor fighting and retreated slightly.


    "Let''s go." Chen Xu flicked his whip, hitting the camel''s backside to catch up with them.


    "According to the plot, those guards will come next. Then there will be a fight with Americans and Imhotep''s resurrection."


    "Before Imhotep is resurrected, as long as we follow O''Connor and Evelyn, nothing bad will happen."


    Chen Xu recalled the plot of "The Mummy," looking for an appropriate time to take possession of The Book of Amun-Ra.


    After entering Hamunaptra, Chen Xu found Evelyn and silently followed behind her without saying a word.


    Now was a moment of calm before the storm; he needed to grasp The Book of Amun-Ra before Imhotep was resurrected or else he would have no chance against him.


    "This is the statue of Anubis," Evelyn held up her umbrella. "Anubis'' legs are deep in the ground with cracks inside it where they say that Ra''s golden book is hidden."


    "Why don''t you aim your mirror at sunlight?" Johnson asked while holding out one of their copper mirrors.


    "What use are these bronze mirrors?" O''Connor fixed it in place then ran over asking: "It¡¯s an ancient mirror!"


    "It¡¯s an Egyptian trick; you''ll know when it comes time," corrected Evelyn about what type of mirror they had brought along.


    After setting up their equipment properly, everyone went down below into Hamunaptra - except for some Americans who went off in another direction instead.


    "And then there''s light refraction." After flipping over The Mirror Of Isis (the ancient Egyptian name), using its reflection on sunlight outside to refract the light inside.


    The faint stench in the air stimulated Chen Xu''s nostrils, and his heart was nervous yet excited. He was nervous about the impending danger but excited about obtaining that power within reach.


    "No, I''m wrong." Chen Xu suddenly realized something; he raised his hand and said: "You guys go down first. I won''t be going down."


    He remembered that there were still scarab beetles'' skeletons below where the warden had died on top of them along with American workers who had been melted by acid. In fact, Hamunaptra''s underground was very dangerous - full of traps everywhere. If one wasn''t careful, they would trigger a mechanism and die inside it.


    On the other hand, before Imhotep is resurrected, Hamunaptra''s surface is quite safe; those guards only dare to attack at night and will never confront Americans head-on since they have already suffered from their hands on board their ship.


    As long as he found good cover for himself, he could easily pass through day and night without any problems - especially with those camels brought over which made things even more comfortable for

 Chapter 6：Necronomicon

    As expected by Chen Xu, everything below unfolded just as the movie portrayed without his intervention. The warden couldn''t bear the pain of the scarab beetle eating his heart and ended up headbutting a wall to death, while the Americans were melted by concentrated hydrochloric acid.


    When night fell, the guards who had been following them finally made their move. They wore black robes and rode tall horses charging through the night, throwing torches everywhere and setting tents on fire. It was obvious that they wanted to drive away these Americans and Chen Xu''s group.


    However, these guards clearly underestimated the strength of American cowboys. When they fought back, more than ten bodies were left behind before they retreated.


    Chen Xu hid under a collapsed pillar he had already found earlier. It formed a small nest-like space with many holes in it when supported by other things. He watched coldly from there because he didn''t want to interfere with the plot as he got closer to his target; he feared causing a butterfly effect that would change everything irreversibly for him.


    "The closer I get to my goal, the more cautious I must be," Chen Xu reminded himself silently. "Until I obtain Necronomicon Ex Mortis (The Book of Dead), doing anything is wrong; only doing nothing is right."


    After driving away all guards, three Americans came out along with one man who looked like a doctor or scientist holding something black in his hand - Necronomicon Ex Mortis!


    Chen Xu stared at it intently but knew this wasn''t yet time for action since unlike Evelyn''s curiosity about it earlier on; this doctor obviously knew how precious Necronomicon Ex Mortis was too! If Chen acted now, it would only lead to an all-out conflict between him and those Americans.


    Although this group of Americans would soon perish completely later on anyway, at present they still possessed formidable combat power.


    "Wait a little longer, until Evelyn steals Necronomicon Ex Mortis... that''s the best time," Chen Xu decided.


    The doctor seemed to sense something and turned his head, meeting Chen Xu''s gaze. His hand instinctively tightened around the book as he said, "This is mine."


    "Of course it is yours, Doctor," Chen Xu added silently in his mind. "But soon it will be mine too."


    "Oh, this is wonderful! Look at what we found!" One American shook his bottle triumphantly and said: "Antiques from hundreds of years ago; collectors would pay a fortune for these!"


    "What are our antiques compared to someone who has found a fresh mummy?" Another American sneered.


    "Yes indeed! We can dry out the mummy and use it as firewood!"


    After saying that, all three Americans laughed heartily while O''Connor and Jonathan joined them.


    "All right now, O''Connor." Chen Xu patted him on the shoulder. "There are still many things inside worth finding; don''t bother with them."


    "Yeah! There are still many things left inside unlike some people who get cocky after finding just one thing." O''Connor grumbled resentfully about those Americans'' gains.


    "Look what I''ve found!" Evelyn ran over excitedly holding up beetle shells in her hands. "These are scarab beetles'' bones - carnivorous insects I found in his coffin."


    "These bugs eat corpses and can live for several years; our poor friend was eaten alive when he was still conscious."


    O''Connor glanced at the three Americans before asking: "So someone threw these bugs down there to slowly devour him?"


    "That''s right... very slowly," Evelyn replied calmly.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    "It seems like he wasn''t well-liked if they punished him like this," O''Connor commented while he and Evelyn discussed their unfortunate friend being devoured by scarab beetles without any concern or fear. The other three Americans shuddered at the thought of such a terrifying punishment.


    "In fact, in ancient Egypt, this terrible punishment was called ''worm-eating'' and was the most vicious curse used against heinous criminals. However, I''ve never heard of it being executed," Evelyn said as she exchanged glances with O''Connor before continuing: "It''s said that once someone who has been worm-eaten comes back to life, they will bring ten disasters to Egypt."


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    "It''s just a legend, it''s not believable at all," Chen Xu interrupted them. "What we need to do now is sleep well, rest up and continue digging tomorrow."


    Chen Xu yawned and spread out his bedding on the ground before lying down and drifting off to sleep.


    Evelyn lost interest in discussing scary things after Chen Xu spoke and quickly fell asleep as well. However, like Chen Xu, she was only pretending to be asleep.


    In the middle of the night, Evelyn quietly got up and snuck over to the doctor''s side. She stole his Book of Dead Spells then took the key from Jonathon Carnahan before returning back.


    As soon as he saw what had happened, Chen Xu stood up and said to Evelyn: "Hey Evelyn, according to our agreement, The Book of Dead Spells belongs to me."


    "Well I was just curious," Evelyn replied with a smile.


    "Let''s read it together," said Chen Xu with a slight smile.


    The closer they got towards their goal, the more restless Chen Xu became. He took The Book of Dead Spells from Evelyn¡¯s hands and opened it using the key.


    "You shouldn''t steal from others," O''Connell remarked sourly when he saw how close Chen Xu and Evelyn were getting.


    "This is called borrowing." Even turning her head seemed too much effort for Evelyn at this point in time.


    "Easy come easy go." With that remark made by him casually while memorizing spells inside The Book of Dead Spells , Imhotep was resurrected by accident due to Evy reading aloud one spell without knowing its power .


    "No..."


    The doctor who had been sleeping suddenly woke up with wide eyes staring angrily at Evy saying: "You can''t say those words!"


    Strange sounds echoed through space-time; swarms of locusts flew out from under Hamunaptra¡¯s sands flapping their wings together creating an ear-piercing noise.


    "What''s happening?" Evelyn asked, looking at the swarm of locusts outside as if in a dream.


    "Did something happen?" Jonathan Carnahan rubbed his eyes and woke up from his sleep.


    Chen Xu also woke up from memorizing spells when he saw the swarm of locusts outside. He immediately understood what had happened.


    "I didn''t expect Imhotep to be resurrected," Chen Xu thought regretfully. He had planned to take The Book of Dead Spells away but was too impatient and started memorizing spells on the spot, which led Evy to read aloud one spell that accidentally resurrected Imhotep .


    "It doesn''t matter though; I have The Book of Dead Spells in my hands now and I''ve memorized all the spells inside it. As long as we don''t face Imhotep directly, these small locusts can do nothing against me." Chen Xu thought confidently.


    "Run!" O''Connell pulled Evelyn down below with him while running downstairs.


    The other Americans followed suit, some who were too slow were swarmed by countless locusts covering their bodies before being eaten alive by them .


    "No..."


    Screams filled the air; even those who had conflicts with Chen Xu earlier were attacked by swarms of locusts then devoured alive soon after .


    "Oh God! What have we done?" The doctor looked at the approaching swarm of locusts and finally realized that this trip was a mistake. They would pay for their mistakes themselves ,and consequences caused by errors continued .He is guilty!


    "Apu Nubis, Apu Nubis, Apu Nubis..."


    Chen Xu stared at the surging swarm without changing his expression while holding The Book Of Dead Spells reciting incantations under his breath .


    At dawn time when life began in ancient Egypt people worshipped Anup (the leader of darkness) through books that existed as powerful spells. Every book in that era was the most powerful and terrifying spell, and The Book of Dead Spells had already existed at that time.


    The swarm of locusts turned away from Chen Xu when they were about to touch him like a rock standing in the center of a storm; he was not affected by them .


    "If there are spells inside The Book Of Dead Spells, then Sun Gold Scriptures should contain the true names and words of gods." A cold light flashed through Chen Xu''s eyes.


    In ancient Egyptian legends, The Book Of Dead Spells recorded gorgeous poems praising Ra, ancient Egyptian spells and the true names and words of gods.


    However, after reading through it once just now ,Chen Xu found out that there were only ancient Egyptian spells inside The Book Of Dead Spells without any true names or words of gods. It seemed like this whole book wasn''t complete.


    Thinking back to how effective Sun Gold Scriptures'' resurrection effect was earlier on Imhotep , Chen Xu could almost be certain that the true names and words of gods were hidden within Sun Gold Scriptures . In other words, combining both books would create a truly complete version called "


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 Chapter 7：First Encounter with Imogen

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    In the dark underground, the foul smell once again attacked Chen Xu''s nose, making him uncomfortable.


    This was his second time here. However, the first time he came, he immediately changed his plan and ran back up. The second time required him to go deeper into the underground.


    Hamunaptra was a tomb of Egyptian pharaohs throughout history with various passages and treasures inside. To prevent outsiders from digging here, many traps were set up inside. Unfortunately, the poor prison warden was fascinated by fake gems here and ultimately died under the mouth of scarab beetles.


    Chen Xu placed Necronomicon on the ground and opened his hands to cast magic without relying on its power.


    "Death''s obsession, resurrected living beings in Anubis'' name!"


    Black dust swept up as crimson light emerged from his eyes. Illusory portals opened in the underworld beyond.


    There he sacrificed souls of those who died under locusts to Anubis for underworld power or magic.


    Because it was his first sacrifice at that time, Anubis gave him extra rewards while also being particularly pleased with souls of God-fearing people among them.


    With power obtained from Anubis himself through this ritualistic sacrifice ceremony called "Underworld Resurrection," he could easily cast any death-related spells like summoning undead creatures or spirits since one needed coordinates from there to communicate with it; otherwise summoning would fail.


    Strands of black gas emerged from beneath portal leading into Underworld as ancient patterns gradually filled with blood until they completely covered it before opening wide open revealing a crackling red-black glow within which appeared an anthropomorphic figure holding a steel fork -Anubis- walking out behind it all along with illusory body accompanied by black smoke that had already enveloped entire area where Chen Xu stood unnoticed earlier on arrival down below earth surface level


    "Young priest! You are only one who has communicated with the Underworld in nearly a century."


    Anubis, the god of death in Egyptian mythology, was responsible for guarding the portal to the underworld and protecting bodies of deceased people on earth.


    "Speak your request. Great Anubis will fulfill it."


    "Respected Lord Anubis, I need coordinates from Underworld to cast spells related to summoning dead creatures or spirits," Chen Xu said respectfully.


    He had no choice but to be respectful since he did not know whether this Anubis was really a deity or not. However, Chen Xu could feel his power.


    "Young priest! Welcome you to learn magic related to death and deceased beings. But I must remind you that you cannot harm any souls." Death God Anubis reminded him.


    "Yes, great Lord Anubis!"


    Thinking about responsibilities of Death God Anubis made Chen Xu silent.


    "Well then! Here are coordinates from Underworld." Death God Anubis waved his hand as an imprint appeared within Chen Xu''s soul -the coordinates- which allowed him access into realm beyond life itself where undead creatures resided waiting for their next orders like Imhotep resurrecting Princess Nefertiri back from dead using Book of Amun-Ra centuries ago!


    Everything slowly became illusory until it disappeared before his eyes.


    "In name of Lord Anubis, I summon thee back from death!" With just one finger pointed at ground level below feet height-wise by few inches only; soil began piling up forming small mound-like structure while two hands emerged out pushing aside dirt revealing mummy wrapped in tattered white cloth stained with various colors indicating age and wear-and-tear over time making its movements unsteady as if lacking combat prowess altogetherLove what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    However, Chen Xu didn''t need it for fighting purposes; he only needed it find Evelyn O''Connell instead!


    "Go find Evelyn O''Connell for me!"


    Undead creatures were sensitive to the breath of living beings and could easily sense them within a radius of ten miles. The terrain in Hamunaptra couldn''t stop undead creatures at all.


    When Chen Xu summoned undead creature, Evelyn O''Connell had just escaped from fear.


    "What is that thing?" Evelyn O''Connell patted her chest with small hands calming down her frightened heart. "It''s too scary."


    "Those are locusts. I probably offended some curse," Rick O''Connell picked up a torch and walked quickly while being cautious about his surroundings.


    "It seems like Chen Xu didn''t follow us." Jonathan Carnahan looked around and whispered, "Looks like he may have encountered misfortune as well. Unfortunately, he still hasn''t given me the gold he promised."


    "What gold?" Evelyn O''Connell turned her head to ask.


    "Nothing," Jonathan Carnahan smiled awkwardly.


    "Be careful!" Rick suddenly stopped ahead blocking path for both Evelyn and Jonathan as countless scarab beetles emerged from beneath ground level forming an army-like formation readying themselves for attack!


    "Scarabs!" Evelyn exclaimed as she trembled uncontrollably.


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    "We need to go quickly," O''Connor pushed Evelyn back and retreated while firing his rifle at the scarabs.


    With each shot, he killed a group of scarabs, but there were too many of them. They had formed a black river.


    "Run faster!" O''Connor didn''t struggle anymore and just followed Evelyn in running away.


    Behind the scarabs was a mummy swaying its body as it walked like a candle in the wind that would be extinguished with one blow.


    Chen Xu followed behind the mummy reciting spells continuously with a hint of joy on his face.


    "These are scarabs. Evelyn and Imhotep should be ahead." Chen Xu wasn''t afraid despite seeing so many terrifying creatures. For ordinary people, these scarabs were the most frightening creatures. Once caught by them, they would burrow into their bodies causing excruciating pain. If caught by an army of scarabs, everything except bones inside their bodies would be eaten up by these terrifying insects within moments.


    But Chen Xu was not an ordinary person; possessing magic made him akin to an Egyptian apprentice priest who must learn how to control scarab beetles as part of their training in magic.


    Ah!


    A woman''s scream drew Chen Xu''s attention. "That should be Evelyn''s voice; Imhotep should also be nearby."


    Chen Xu immediately ran towards where the sound came from and saw Evelyn looking terrified with a creature covered in rotten flesh hanging off its bony frame standing not far ahead of her.


    "Imhotep." The moment Chen Xu saw this creature, he knew it was his target for this trip and began chanting spells aloud: "Babatosu Babatosu Babatosu..."


    Green light emanated from Chen Xu''s hand which gradually condensed into a green arrow without needing any aiming or targeting assistance before piercing through Imhotep''s heart area melting him down along with all connected bone fragments and flesh.


    In no time, Imhotep''s body was corroded halfway through. From the outside, he looked like a pitiful mummy with half of his body cut off.


    "You dare to betray me?" Until now, there was still disbelief in Imhotep''s eyes. In ancient Egypt, no priest dared to betray the high priest even if it meant going against Pharaoh''s orders. For apprentice priests and priests alike, the high priest was their god and master.


    Therefore when Chen Xu attacked him, he still felt as though he were dreaming; oh wait! Did mummies dream?


    Sand swept towards Imhotep sticking onto his half-corroded body which quickly regenerated.


    "What an annoying undead ability." Chen Xu muttered under his breath while beckoning Evelyn and O''Connor: "You guys go find the Sun Gold Scripture; only that can kill him."


    "Nope! I can do it too!" Perhaps not wanting to be overshadowed by Chen Xu, O''Connor shouted loudly raising his rifle before firing at Imhotep''s head accurately hitting him causing strong impact force that shattered his skull into pieces. The seemingly indestructible Imhotep immediately fell on the ground dead.


    "See? Even bones that have been decaying for so long are fragile," said O''Connor stubbornly.


    "You cannot kill him," knowing how this story went well enough himself; Chen Xu understood that only the Sun Gold Scripture could completely destroy Imhotep. Attacking him with modern firearms would only temporarily seal off his movements but after a while he would continue resurrecting again.


    "I already killed him," insisted O''Connor firmly.


    Chen Xu didn''t want to argue with O''Connor and just raised his head saying calmly: "Then should we go find the Sun Gold Scripture?"


    "Okay." Without waiting for O''Connor''s response, Evelyn answered instead: "Since the monster is dead let us go find the Sun Gold Scripture."


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 Chapter 8：Find the Sun Gold Sutra

    "The Sun Gold Sutra should be here," Evelyn looked at the statue of Death, "According to legend, there is the Sun Gold Sutra under the feet of Death."


    "So, the Sun Gold Sutra is hidden here?" Chen Xu reached out and touched the bottom of Death''s feet. It was a huge stone sculpture.


    "How can we get the Sun Gold Sutra out?" Chen Xu looked at O''Connor and Jonathan behind him. In the movie, it was O''Connor and Jonathan who took out the Sun Gold Sutra. Therefore, Chen Xu deliberately went around in circles to find Jonathan who was transporting gold.


    "I told you that Imhotep has been killed by me. We don''t need to find any Sun Gold Sutra." O''Connor said impatiently.


    "Even if there is no Imhotep, we still have to find the Sun Gold Sutra. Don''t forget that this is my dream." Evelyn looked hopefully at O''Connor.


    Under Evelyn''s hopeful gaze, O''Connor surrendered and said: "Okay then, what should we do now?"


    "The Sun Gold Sutra should be inside this stone block with some kind of mechanism," Evelyn said as she searched for it... "I found it!"


    "It''s inside this slab! The slab is hollowed out so just dig out the Sun Gold Sutra from inside," Evelyn exclaimed excitedly.


    "Help me!" O''Connor shouted helplessly as he grabbed onto one end of the slab and pulled outward. "I can''t do it alone; I need someone else - Chen Xu come over here."


    Chen Xu hesitated for a moment before placing his Book of Dead on top of a rock and grabbing onto one end of the slab like how O¡¯Connor did while pulling hard outward together with him.


    "Come on! Come on!" Evelyn cheered them on from beside them.


    "That¡¯s strange..." Jonathan¡¯s eyes fell upon the Book of Dead. He grabbed it and asked, "Did you learn magic from this Book of Dead?"


    "Don''t touch my things!" Chen Xu''s face changed when he saw what was happening. He stood up directly and snatched the Book of Dead away from Jonathan, saying: "This thing is mine."


    The Book of Dead was his treasure, and he did not allow anyone to touch it - especially someone like Jonathan who had more failures than successes in life. This person was simply a walking disaster; anything that he touched would unexpectedly disappear.


    "Taking it doesn''t matter." Qiong Nasen sneered and said disdainfully, "This black thing is made of unknown materials. It''s not as precious as the Sun Gold Sutra, which is said to be made entirely of gold."


    "Then you go dig up the Sun Gold Sutra." Chen Xu pointed to the stone slab below and said, "The Sun Gold Sutra made entirely of gold is right there. Go ahead and dig!"


    "Me?" Qiong Nasen pointed at his own nose in disbelief and shouted. After getting a nod from Chen Xu, he couldn''t help but swallow his saliva.


    "This is hard work."


    "There are camels outside that can carry a lot of gold. I don''t need those things. How about it?" Chen Xu tempted him.


    "Don''t lie to me. There are no camels outside; they''ve all been eaten by locusts," Qiong Nasen sneered.


    "I know magic spells. Even small locusts can be controlled by me," Chen Xu lied shamelessly.


    Of course, those camels were dead, killed by locusts'' mouths, but he didn''t care because he had achieved his goal. With the Necromancer''s Black Scripture in hand, he ruled over the desert like controlling his own hands and feet with ease.


    After thinking for a while, Qiong Nasen was still more tempted by gold than anything else and decided to go digging up the scripture after expressing some concerns: "Okay then... You better not cheat me."


    "Of course I won''t cheat you."


    With Chen Xu''s words encouraging him, Qiong Nasen became motivated and rushed forward to grab onto the stone slab with O''Connor so they could pull it outwards together.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    "Oh yeah...Chen Xu? Did you ask me for advice just so you could learn spells from The Necromancer''s Black Scripture?" Evelyn hesitated for a moment and asked.


    "This woman." Chen Xu unexpectedly glanced at Evelyn. She was much more outstanding than he had imagined, as she could still recall his previous actions and guess his intentions even in such a terrifying situation.


    "You could say that or not," Chen Xu organized his words and explained, "I said I wanted to contribute the gorgeous poems recorded in The Necromancer''s Black Scripture to the world. Do you remember?"


    "At that time, I was learning ancient Egyptian with this idea."


    "As for learning spells, it was actually an accident. Have you heard of Chinese Taoists? Taoists are similar to your priests and priests; they''re all the same kind of people."


    "In fact, my father is a Chinese Taoist. I''ve been studying Taoism since I was young... Well, Taoism is similar to your magic; you can think of them as the same thing."


    "Then, I encountered locusts with you all, but at that time I couldn''t run away, so I stayed there and used Taoism. As for these magic spells, I learned them later."


    To be honest, this was a clumsy lie. If someone were to check Chen Xu''s words, the lie would easily be exposed. However, at this moment Evelyn obviously couldn''t check it out so whatever he said was what it was.


    "So you''ve been dabbling in magic for a long time!" Evelyn lowered her head and didn''t know what she was thinking.


    "It''s here." Jones happily shouted as he and O''Connor pulled out a box together and then opened the box and the cloth inside to reveal the Sun Gold Sutra inside.


    "Wow...it really is made of gold." Jones fondled the Sun Gold Sutra lovingly while drooling over the gold.


    Chen Xu''s gaze focused on the Sun Gold Sutra with excitement in his heart.


    This book was exactly like The Book of Undead except for its color.


    "This seems to require a key." Jones couldn''t open the Sun Gold Sutra no matter how hard he tried.


    "The key is in my hand." Chen Xu took out the key from his pocket and threw it to Jones.


    He no longer needed keys since The Book of Undead had come into his hands; there was no reason not to see daylight anymore.


    Jones took over the key, placed it on top of the Sun Gold Sutra, gently twisted it open.


    "This is supposedly The Sun Gold Sutra!" Evelyn could not contain her emotions as she pounced on it and flipped through its pages.


    O''Connor also looked curiously at its text but soon became annoyed: "What language is this? Don''t recognize any of it."


    "This is ancient Egyptian," Evelyn said. "Just like The Book of Undead above. Let me read some."


    "Don''t."


    "Don''t."


    O''Connor''s voice and Chen Xu''s voice sounded at the same time, stopping Evelyn''s thoughts.


    O''Connor looked strangely at Chen Xu and then said to Evelyn: "Don''t you remember that you summoned a monster? If this Sun Gold Sutra resurrects something, it would be bad."


    "My opinion is the same as O''Connor''s," Chen Xu agreed.


    "I second that," Jones also jumped out to agree. "I don''t want to go through that locust experience again."


    "Okay then." Evelyn couldn''t twist their arms so she could only watch silently.


    Chen Xu stared intently at it as he followed along with Evelyn flipping through its pages.


    The so-called Sun Gold Sutra was just like what Chen Xu had imagined; it recorded magnificent hymns praising gods. The first page praised Ra, the second page praised Osiris, the third represented redemption, the fourth recorded the true names of deities, the fifth recorded Anubis'' true words of power, and sixth recorded Thoth (the god of wisdom and moon)¡¯s true words of power. Pages seven and eight were both poems praising Osiris while pages nine through thirty contained secrets about all gods including those who ruled over everything in existence.


    "As expected, just like I imagined - this Sun Gold Sutra records deities'' true names and words of power," thought Chen Xu. He became even more eager to obtain The Sun Gold Sutra.


    However, he understood that it was not the right time yet. If he were to seize the Sun Gold Scripture at this moment, he would offend O''Connor and Evelyn, and might not be able to obtain the Death Bracelet and Judgment Spear later.


    "No, I have to figure out a way to take the Sun Gold Scripture without turning against them," Chen Xu''s gaze fell on Jonson before moving away.


    "We should go after Imhotep once we find the Sun Gold Scripture," Chen Xu said. "Imhotep has been in this world for too long from the underworld. He should be sent back."


    "I told you, I killed that mummy," O''Connor became annoyed when Chen Xu mentioned the mummy again. "How many times do I have to say it?"


    "Nobody can kill Imhotep without relying on the power of the Sun God''s golden book," Chen Xu said word by word. "Cutting off his hands, cutting off his feet, piercing his heart, smashing his head, even throwing him into fire cannot truly eliminate him. The only way to do so is to strip him of his powers with the Sun God''s golden book and send him to hell."


    Ah...


    Screams followed one after another from above, as if a group of people were experiencing a massacre.


    "It should be Imhotep killing people," Chen Xu said in a deep voice.


    Imhotep lost both the Book of Dead and the Sun God''s golden book. It seemed that sacrificing was the only way for him to restore his powers.


    However, as a high priest who worshipped gods and held sacrificial ceremonies, Imhotep must have more experience than Chen Xu in offering dead bodies to Anubis for magic power. He could do it even more ruthlessly and quickly than Chen Xu.


    "If he kills people for sacrifice purposes, he will soon regain his former magical powers or become even stronger." Chen Xu said coldly. "We must stop him before he regains them."


    "Let''s go."


    Chen Xu led the way up.


    "Should we follow?" Jonathan asked.


    Evelyn felt scared when she thought about Imhotep but since she was responsible for releasing him herself, she had no choice but grit her teeth and say: "Let''s go."


    "I''ve killed Imhotep once already; I want to see where else he can find another mummy," O''Connell also went up with them.

 Chapter 9：Searching for Eimotun

    As the screams gradually faded away, Chen Xu realized that something was wrong. He sped up and ran towards the direction of the sound.


    After turning a few corners, he finally arrived at the scene where bodies were lying on the ground with blood flowing irregularly. These corpses were dressed in black robes with strange paint on their faces. They seemed to be members of Pharaoh''s guard who had appeared before. Several of them caught Chen Xu''s attention.


    One body had lost its ears, another its skin, and one even had dried skin still attached to its bones with no trace of flesh or blood inside.


    "The person who did this is Imhotep," said Chen Xu as he bent down and touched the blood on the ground. "Only he would need people''s ears and skin. But judging from how coagulated this blood is, he shouldn''t have gone far."


    Chen Xu opened his Necronomicon and recited an incantation: "Living or dead, seek revenge in Anubis'' name."


    A crimson light covered all these corpses on the ground; under mysterious power they gradually solidified into an elegant blood cat.


    The Blood Cat was said to be a messenger from Hades that could suppress dead souls; any undead creature it encountered would be suppressed after meeting it.


    After walking elegantly across this land, wherever it went left behind a bloody mark.


    "Go ahead then! Seek your revenge! Find whoever killed you!" With a wave of his hand by Chen Xu, Blood Cat meowed once before darting out like lightning.


    "This is magic?" Jones envied him as she spoke: "And you can even turn things into cats?"


    "Just a small spell." Chen Xu modestly replied: "Blood Cats have no attacking power against living creatures; just one hit could kill them easily. However for undead creatures they are very effective."


    "Most importantly," continued Chen Xu while looking at the corpses on the ground, "Blood Cats are very sensitive to dead souls, especially to those who killed them. Their sensitivity far exceeds that of undead creatures towards living beings'' breaths. It can help us find Imhotep."


    "So what should we do now?" O''Connor looked at the strange death of these bodies on the ground and finally believed that his shot had not killed Imhotep.


    "I don''t know either." Evelyn looked at the corpses on the ground and their terrifying deaths; even if she was open-minded, she couldn''t help but feel sad.


    "High Priest?" The bearded man in black robes looked at Chen Xu with suspicion: "Why didn''t you obey Imhotep''s orders?"


    "Why should I obey Imhotep''s orders?" Chen Xu turned his head and looked at him: "Aren''t you Pharaoh''s guard? Shouldn''t you be dealing with Imhotep? Why would you want me to follow his orders or enhance his strength? Or is it because you have betrayed your mission and joined forces with him?"


    "If we had joined forces with him, so many of our brothers wouldn¡¯t have died," said the bearded man excitedly. "From past till present, we''ve been guarding Hamunaptra from letting Imhotep resurrected again. But your arrival has caused us to fail."Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    "Did you intercept our army last time? Did you attack us this time?" O''Connor finally realized what was going on. "All the dead people here are your men?"


    "Yes, we are descendants of Pharaoh''s guards. We have been guarding Hamunaptra for generations to prevent Imhotep from resurrecting and bringing about the end of the world. Anyone who comes to Hamunaptra is our enemy," replied the bearded man firmly.


    "So, just because of that, you can kill people at will?" O''Connor grabbed the bearded man by his collar and said fiercely, "So many people were killed and so much blood was shed."


    "To protect Hamunaptra and prevent Imhotep from resurrecting, I would say yes," calmly replied the bearded man.


    "Alright, both of you." Chen Xu frowned. "It''s already late. Instead of arguing here, we should focus on finding Imhotep and killing him."


    "You haven''t told me why you betrayed Imhotep yet," said the bearded man coldly as he looked at Chen Xu.


    "I don''t like your gaze either, but now we''re allies. I won''t hold a grudge against your eyes anymore," retorted Chen Xu irritably.


    "In addition, why should I obey Imhotep''s orders? I am a free soul who acts according to my own will without being bound by anyone else. Why does little Imhotep have control over me?"


    The bearded man furrowed his brows deeply as he pondered over it.


    In his memory all priests followed High Priest Imhotep¡¯s commands; when High Priest Imhotep abducted Queen Anck-su-Namun and betrayed Pharaoh Ramses II in Thebes all priests died with him too.


    Since then there has been no priest inheritance in Egypt nor any other magical powers associated with them.


    Therefore he couldn¡¯t understand Chen Xu''s thoughts, but not understanding did not mean he could not agree with him. For him, as long as Imhotep could be buried, he could let go of any hatred and even cooperate with O''Connor who had fought against him before.


    "Alright, I believe you. Let''s work together to bury Imhotep," said the bearded man.


    "That is the Book of Amun-Ra." Chen Xu pointed at Evelyn''s hand. "It is a book that can strip Imhotep of his power. As long as we find Imhotep and recite the spell in it, we can strip him of his power and then kill him."


    "But now we can''t find Imhotep."


    "We can leave finding Imhotep to me," said the bearded man calmly. "Pharaoh¡¯s guards are spread throughout Egypt; we can find Imhotep at the fastest speed possible."


    ...


    In the passage, just recovered from death again, Imhotep was extremely angry with novice priest Chen Xu for betraying him.


    "You damn novice priest! You are the first priest to betray High Priest! Your name will forever be nailed into this sarcophagus and your soul will be banished to Hades where you will suffer eternal torment!"


    "Then before that happens I should collect some interest."


    Imhotep suddenly turned around and behind him stood a shabby ghost wearing a red hat carrying a box full of gold - Benny.


    "Oh no!" At this moment Benny also noticed that Imhotep had just resurrected himself; he dropped his gold box and ran away.


    "Can you escape?" Suddenly appearing behind Benny, eyes filled with bloodshot veins staring at him like a cat playing with its prey.


    "No..." Terrified by what was happening Benny took out his cross while continuously chanting: "God bless us all...just like how shepherds protect their sheep..."


    When there was no sign of God wanting to protect this false believer, he switched to a crescent-shaped holy object and then changed it again and again until finally changing it into a hexagonal star-shaped one. This made Imhotep stop in his tracks. It is worth mentioning that this so-called holy object was just like the cross, something you could buy for only one pound.


    "I need your blood as an offering to Anubis, the god of death. I need power strong enough to resist the power of the Book of Amun-Ra," said Imhotep while looking at Benny with his bloodshot eyes.


    "It''s outside, Your Highness." Terrified Benny replied: "Outside there are knights who call themselves Pharaoh¡¯s guards; they say they want to eliminate you. When I went out just now I saw them; hopefully their blood will satisfy you."


    "Satisfy Anubis," corrected Imhotep.


    "Yes, satisfy the great god Anubis," echoed Benny obediently.


    So, those who had successfully contacted Imhotep after meeting with Americans were killed by him and parts of their bodies became part of him while their

 Chapter 10：Disciple Sulaiman

    In the era when technology was just emerging in the 20th century, the sky was blue, the earth was yellow, and Cairo, Egypt was bustling.


    The crowds of people coming and going had no idea that the terrifying high priest had already been resurrected and brought with him the power of the underworld. They were still busy doing their own things for their salaries.


    "You should relax a bit. Since Imhotep hasn''t appeared yet, it proves that he''s afraid. As for world destruction? Come on! It''s now the 20th century. Do you think it''s still ancient times? Guns can kill everything." O''Connell grabbed an apple, wiped it with his clothes, took a bite out of it and handed it to Evelyn. "Do you want some?"


    "Ew! I don''t want your saliva on my apple," Evelyn said disgustedly as she moved away from O''Connell.


    "In reality, this world is beautiful. But Chen Xu promised me gold; don''t go back on your word," Jonathan looked around hoping to buy everything but unfortunately his pockets were empty.


    "The gold is inside Hamunaptra; you just didn''t bring all of them out yourself," Chen Xu casually replied while adding: "And you also brought a bag of gold out yourself."


    In fact, poor Jonathan was once again deceived by Chen Xu because he did not provide him with camels as promised earlier - they were all eaten by locusts outside Hamunaptra.


    When Jonathan found out about this truth later on and went to confront Chen Xu about it - he faced mummies instead. In fact facing any kind of mummy requires courage even if they are tattered or look weak like one does need courage to face such situations which poor Jonathan clearly lacked so he got chased away by mummies summoned by Chen Xu himself only to be mocked by Rick O''Connell and Ardeth Bay for the rest of the day.


    Well, to be honest, Jonathan didn''t really care about this level of mockery.


    Compared with Chen Xu, Evelyn, O''Connell and Jonathan who were all relaxed - Ardeth Bay''s mood was obviously much heavier.


    As an ancient heritage (passed down for three thousand years), he had always kept Imhotep''s terror in his heart. Generations after generations of inheritance had deeply imprinted that era on him so he was worried.


    "We must find Imhotep as soon as possible," Ardeth Bay said again.


    "You''ve already said it three times."


    "And I can''t find Imhotep now. I can only rely on you guards."


    "I hope you can use your power to find Imhotep. I can only give some vague hints."


    "My blood cat has been killed. With Imhotep''s own strength, it is impossible to do anything." Chen Xu stopped and opened his mouth: "To find Imhotep, we must find humans who help him. There are currently two aspects we can search for."


    "One is Americans; those Americans have been to Hamunaptra just like us and they say they have been cursed too. Given how much Americans love life itself, they will definitely help themselves first but also help Imhotep if needed. Oh yeah! O''Connell! Isn''t your friend named Benny suspicious? He seems American."


    "The other one is the servant of the priest. In ancient Egypt, priests had the same rights as pharaohs. They were born nobles, and perhaps they have a force like yours that has been passed down through generations. However, their mission may be to resurrect Imhotep."


    "I know them," said the big beard in a deep voice. "But our people who are arranged among them did not detect any abnormalities."


    "Oh, you guys still play spies," sneered O''Connell. "Last time there was also your spy in our army."


    "No movement in Egypt can escape us," boasted the big beard proudly. "Our guards are all over Egypt and we knew about it when you came here and then gathered together."


    "So Imhotep came out." O''Connell countered.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The big beard was immediately silenced by O''Connell''s words. This was a fact - after three thousand years of inheritance, their mission had finally been broken; Imhotep successfully resurrected himself which was the biggest mockery of their mission and evidence of failure.


    "Enough from both of you! Stop arguing!" Chen Xu became impatient and turned his attention to a child hesitatingly before walking towards him.


    He was about seven years old from an obviously poor family since he wasn''t wrapped in cloth strips like most children at that time.


    "Little friend." Chen Xu bent down with a smile looking at this shy-looking child, "Where are your parents?"


    To him, finding out where this child''s parents were only meant hoping for him to become a priest someday because he saw potential within him.


    "Yes sir." The boy pointed with his hand while Chen Xu followed his gaze seeing two people coming aggressively towards them.


    "Do you want your child to become a priest?" Chen Xu held up The Book Of Dead with both hands trying hard to look holy while saying: "I think he has great potential to become one."


    "Get lost." The boy''s father spat out the word ''get lost'' lightly before taking his child away.


    The mother pulled her child while lecturing him, "Don''t talk to strangers."


    Ha ha...


    This laughter was obviously from those few people who were enjoying their misfortune.


    Chen Xu felt like a crow had just flown over them. It was not a good feeling.


    "If you want him to become a priest, his parents won''t agree," Evelyn stopped laughing and ran over saying: "Priests need circumcision."


    "What is circumcision?" Chen Xu asked in confusion since he only knew about Egyptian mythology and legends but not much about their customs.


    "Circumcision means castration - cutting off little brother," explained the big beard as he walked up. "Since Imhotep''s incident, Pharaoh has decreed that male priests must be circumcised to prevent similar incidents from happening again."


    "I see." Chen Xu suddenly realized, "It seems that Imhotep harmed all the priests."


    "But did I say I am a priest?" Chen Xu raised his head high walking past the big beard with pride. "As a Chinese person, I am actually a Taoist."


    Jonathan and O''Connell stared at Chen Xu dumbfoundedly; they had never seen such an unscrupulous person before.


    After dark, Chen Xu sneaked out of the hotel looking for that boy secretly because for him finding someone with potential to become a priest was important. Compared to ordinary people this young boy would have an easier time becoming one especially since he was still young and malleable which made loyalty easy to cultivate.


    "Dead man! Summon you in Anubis''s name!"


    A mummy responded shakily after being summoned by Chen Xu but without relying on The Book Of Dead¡¯s power it could only summon something of this level because his magic power was too weak.


    If Imhotep''s magical power after being completely resurrected was like a river, then Chen Xu''s magical power at best was just a drop of water.


    Chen Xu closed his eyes and sent the prepared breath into the mummy''s spirit. "Go find that little boy."


    After receiving orders, the mummy shook its body unsteadily and walked forward.


    Following behind it through twists and turns, they finally stopped in front of a tattered tent.


    "The little boy is here?" Chen Xu instructed the mummy to use force to open up the tent before hearing several screams of terror.


    Seeing that summoning worked on them, Chen Xu walked into the tent saying: "I think your child has potential to become a priest so I plan on training him."


    As an outsider from China trying to convince two parents who were biased against him would be difficult for him. Therefore he decided to let facts speak for themselves since there was something more well-known than even mummies in Egypt which could prove his identity - what else but The Great High Priest?


    "Are you really The Great High Priest?" The boy''s father trembled with fear as he spoke.


    Mummies had already been deeply ingr


    "He can be said to be the high priest." Chen Xu put on a smile that he thought was very kind, "Your child has the best talent I have ever seen, so I hope you will hand him over to me and let me cultivate him."


    So far, he had only seen one talented child, of course it was the best.


    "But..." The child''s father hesitated a bit. Although this young priest in front of him looked very powerful (in his eyes, mystery and power were linked), he still didn''t want his child to become a priest.


    Chen Xu could see what he was hesitating about at a glance and decisively said: "We don''t need circumcision as priests. We inherit the ancient Egyptian priesthood from 3,000 years ago."


    "Okay." When he heard that there was no need for circumcision, the child''s father agreed.


    "Child, study hard." The child''s mother also realized that she would soon be separated from her child and burst into tears.


    "It''s not like we''re separating forever. He is just learning how to worship the gods with me," Chen Xu shook his head and said: "You can think of it as sending him off to school."


    Chen Xu squatted down and looked at this little boy whom he had taken an interest in. "What is your name?"


    "My name is Sulaiman," the child answered Chen Xu''s question in his childish voice.


    "Sulaiman, do you want big brother to teach you how to read?" Chen Xu tempted him: "Look over here at this weirdo. After you learn it, you can control him."


    The boy followed where Chen Xu pointed and saw the mummy. He felt scared but curious too. "What is this?"


    "A mummy - an ancient legend about mummies. If you become my student then you can command it," replied Chen Xu.


    "Then I want to become your student."

 Chapter 11：Meteor Shower

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    "It''s pronounced Yatu, which means resurrection. Do you understand?" Evelyn pointed to her notebook.


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    Suleiman looked at Evelyn and then glanced at Chen Xu in the distance, shaking his head. "I don''t understand."


    Upon hearing this, Evelyn shook her head helplessly. "Compared to your teacher, you''re just a fool. And why should I teach a fool like you?"


    Chen Xu picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea, feeling the coolness flow down his throat into his heart. "Because you enjoy being someone else''s teacher."


    Big Beard went to find his comrades to investigate the servants of those priests while O''Connor and Jonson went to find the Americans. As for Evelyn, she was under Chen Xu''s protection.


    For Chen Xu, this was also a rare time for rest and he also took on the responsibility of teaching his apprentice.


    After bringing Suleiman over, Chen Xu taught him ancient Egyptian language because there is a big difference between ancient Egyptian language and modern languages; most magic needs to be completed through ancient Egyptian language so learning it is fundamental.


    However, after teaching him several times, Chen Xu became hopeless as compared with Suleiman''s talent in languages; he was almost as foolish as an idiot when it came to learning ancient Egyptian language - at least in that aspect.


    Afterward, Chen Xu handed Suleiman over to Evelyn while he himself sat aside drinking tea and studying The Golden Sun.


    Chen Xu had to admit that the Sun Gold Sutra was profound and difficult to understand, unlike the Undead Black Sutra which only required reciting its spells to unleash powerful magic. While there were spells in the Sun Gold Sutra as well, they were few and far between, with most of its secrets hidden within its text.


    It wasn''t a cryptogram or a guessing game; it was more like an ancient Chinese legend where true wisdom lay hidden within. You could listen and watch, but how much you could comprehend depended on your own intelligence and opportunities.


    Unfortunately, Chen Xu was only a half-baked priest who knew nothing about what priests should know. Although he had memorized the entire Sun Gold Sutra by heart, he hadn''t comprehended anything beyond the spells that were directly expressed.


    "Are we staying here now?" Evelyn asked again.


    "Of course. Where else do you want to go?" Chen Xu glanced at Evelyn. "Imhotep needs both you as a sacrifice and the Undead Black Sutra to resurrect Ansona. Without either of them, he can hardly bring her back."


    "And it''s safest for us to be together," Chen Xu continued. "With me having both the Undead Black Sutra and the Sun Gold Sutra, I''m capable of defeating Imhotep if he dares come after us."


    "Please note that it''s my Sun Gold Sutra," Evelyn corrected him. "According to our agreement earlier on, it belongs to me."


    "I regret it," said Chen Xu.


    "It doesn''t matter now." Evelyn walked up beside him and snatched away his Sun Gold Sutra savagely. "Can you teach me how to cast magic? I''m very curious about this."


    "Not unless you give me back my Sun Gold Sutra." Chen Xu stated his condition outright.


    "No way!" Evelyn screamed out loud: "You''re not allowed to have any ideas about my Sun Gold Sutra."


    From Chen Xu''s gaze, she could see his desire for the Sun Gold Sutra, and this made her afraid.


    The Book of the Sun is her childhood dream. The reason why she became interested in ancient Egypt is also because of the Book of the Sun. It can be said that the Book of the Sun dominates her past, so she does not allow anyone to touch it. Chen Xu''s desire makes her feel threatened and afraid that she will lose it. Therefore, she has wanted to leave more than once, but unfortunately, O''Connor kept her here.


    Chen Xu shrugged and continued reading, switching from the Book of the Sun to The Black Book of Souls.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    He had already memorized all the spells in The Black Book of Souls, but memorization did not mean he could cast them out. Especially for those large-scale magic spells which required favorable conditions.


    For example, there was a ritual called "The Pharaoh''s Transformation Ceremony," which required a pharaoh''s body and at least twelve priests to perform on his burial day.


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    The so-called burial day is actually a solar eclipse. According to the knowledge in the Book of the Dead, on the day of a solar eclipse, all demons led by their leader Apophis and Set will imprison Ra, the sun god. On this day, all gods in heaven will go to rescue Ra, resulting in no one managing heaven and earth.


    At this time, performing the "Pharaoh Transformation Ceremony" can deceive all gods in heaven and transform a pharaoh into a god - which is what they are considered anyway according to ancient Egyptian mythology. In "The Sacred Chapter," there is proof that Ra was once Pharaoh.


    Of course, besides having twelve priests and observing burial day as basic elements for conducting ceremonies, you also need a pyramid to house the pharaoh''s body along with many materials to assist with the ceremony.


    The more Chen Xu studied spells from The Book of Dead ,the harder it became for him. He felt like he was just a child trying to wield weapons meant for giants; it was too much for him.


    Ah!


    Evelyn''s scream interrupted Chen Xu''s study of The Book of Dead . He saw her standing by the window pointing outside while shouting loudly.


    "What''s going on?" When Chen Xu arrived at the window he was immediately stunned by what was happening outside.


    There were meteor showers everywhere in sky raining down flames upon everything below them. Chen Xu witnessed an Egyptian man being hit by fire rain; his entire body caught fire before turning into ashes after screaming miserably.


    It looked spectacular when seen only through movies but witnessing it firsthand made him realize that this was indeed catastrophic.


    "This is Imhotep¡¯s magic." Chen Xu said grimly. "Imhotep has become even stronger."


    In movies Imhotep could only perform such terrifying magic using power from The Book Of Dead but now without it he still managed such powerful magic which showed how much his magical power had grown.


    "Let''s go, Evelyn. We can''t stay here any longer; we need to do something." Chen Xu called for Evelyn and Suleiman to leave this place.


    Imhotep¡¯s power was becoming stronger and his magic enveloped the entire Egypt. Everywhere one could sense the curse of Imhotep as meteor showers rained down flames upon everything turning them into ashes.


    As they left their hotel dragging two oil cans behind them, Chen Xu immediately saw that the water in a nearby pool had turned red.


    "It''s blood water." Chen Xu dipped his hand in it and sniffed it before recoiling from its stench. "Imhotep has contaminated our water source."


    "This is a disaster?" Evelyn still seemed dazed.


    "Yes, according to legend, one of God''s ten plagues on Egypt was bloodwater," said Chen Xu grimly. "In The Bible, Moses struck the river with his staff and turned it into blood causing fish to die while making the river smell bad so Egyptians couldn''t drink from it."


    However what puzzled him was how come miracles performed by God were now being done by Imhotep? Could it be that what they call ''God'' is actually just a high priest of Egypt?


    Chen Xu remembered that during ancient Egyptian times pharaohs themselves existed as gods - divine beings beyond compare. For example Ra ruled over ancient Egypt for 992 years according to The Golden Book Of Sun . His predecessor was Hefesto .


    Interestingly enough ,in ¡°The Sacred Chapter,¡± there is record of Ra getting angry when people talked about him growing old behind his back so he sent out his eyes to punish those who spoke ill of him.


    From this story ,Chen Xu vaguely guessed that Ra might have been a pharaoh at some point but later became deified which made him become godlike instead.


    Of course,this was only speculation.Chen also guessed that the so-called ''God'' might actually be a high priest who had conflicts with pharaohs at that time and they fought against each other. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why Imhotep was able to perform miracles of God''s punishment on Egypt after escaping from the underworld.


    Or perhaps the so-called ''God'' was just fabricated by high priests in order to fight against deified pharaohs but failed and fled to the far west while using this name as an excuse for their existence.


    Chen Xu carefully recalls the power of "the Lord" manifested in the Bible and finds that most of them can be done by high priests, such as Moses parting the sea. With the help of the Necronomicon, Chen Xuyi can also do it, but not as terrifying as him.


    "If that''s really the case, then it''s too terrifying. If I were to be torn apart by all the believers in the world outside, I''d rather bury all of this deep inside," Chen Xu quickly stopped his thoughts. Although he believed that his speculation was highly likely to be true, knowing just how terrifying religious power could be, he preferred to keep everything buried deep within.


    "What should we do now?" Evelyn also became anxious. "The river has turned into blood and they have no water to drink. They will die soon."


    "We have two options: either find Imhotep and take away his magic or leave Egypt because Imhotep''s power still cannot extend beyond a certain distance," said Chen Xu calmly.


    "The first option requires us to face Imhotep directly. With the Sun Gold Sutra in my hand, I am 90% sure that I can take away Imhotep''s magic, but the problem is finding him."


    "The second option is simple: find a ship and leave Egypt for a neighboring country or go back to Europe altogether. This way we can temporarily avoid these disasters."


    "Let''s go find Imhotep first. If we can''t find him, then we''ll leave Egypt," Evelyn hesitated before speaking up.


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 Chapter 12：Sacrificial ceremony

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    Among them were many children who were being squeezed by the crowd causing them to cry out in pain. But no one paid much attention to them except for harsh criticism or rebuke.


    "It''s all our fault." At first she didn''t realize it until she saw this scene. Evelyn suddenly realized what kind of disaster she had brought upon Egypt. "If it weren''t for us, they wouldn''t have had to leave their homes."


    Originally she just wanted to fulfill her childhood dream of finding the Book of Amun-Ra but now she woke up from that dream realizing what kind of catastrophe she had caused Egypt.


    Looking at the fleeing crowd in front of her made Evelyn feel particularly uncomfortable: "Chen Xu, can we go back and kill Imhotep to end this disaster?"


    If at first Imhotep''s relationship with her was only about being chased or hunted down then now she realized that their relationship was not just about chasing or being chased but more about a demon king wanting to destroy the world while a hero wants to protect it.


    Just like in novels where if a protagonist accidentally releases a demon king then he must either kill or reseal him so as not bring disaster upon others.


    This is responsibility that cannot be shirked away by simply running away since ever since releasing Imhotep from his prison cell; this responsibility has already been set in stone.


    "What do you want to do...?" Chen Xu looked at Evelyn, somewhat understanding what she was thinking.


    "It''s our fault. We should take responsibility." Evelyn said firmly: "Running away is not my style."


    "If that''s what you want..." Chen Xu said indifferently.


    Meteor showers and blood rain didn''t mean much to him since this kind of magic that changes the environment on a large scale was just a small trouble for him. The reason he wanted to leave Egypt was more about protecting Evelyn.


    Protecting Evelyn, maintaining the plot, allowing the Bracelet of Death and Spear of Judgment to appear in the future so they could be taken. Since Evelyn didn''t want to leave Egypt anymore then he would stay with her in Egypt too.


    "Thank you." When she smiled it looked ugly because even though she was sad, she forced herself to smile.


    In her eyes, Chen Xu stayed here for her sake. "If you want to thank me then give me the Book of Amun-Ra," Chen Xu kept an eye on it all the time; this book contained secret names and words of gods as well as secrets about ancient Egyptian deities - The Book of Ra.


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    Evelyn was speechless. She looked deeply at Chen Xu, as if from the moment she met him, he had been a straightforward and eager man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.


    "If you can kill Imhotep and save all of Egypt, I''ll give you the Book of Amun-Ra," Evelyn made a promise with Chen Xu.


    The Book of Amun-Ra belonged to Egypt itself and was the common property of the Egyptian people. Therefore, giving it to the hero who saved Egypt could be considered returning it to its rightful owners.


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    "For her at this moment, the desire to save Egypt has defeated her dreams. She feels guilty and believes that the best way to eliminate guilt is to eradicate its root.


    "Of course," Chen Xu said happily. He had reason to be happy because he had been struggling with how to take the Sun Gold Sutra from Evelyn''s hands without harming their friendship, but happiness came suddenly.


    Anyway, he wanted to eliminate Imhotep. Imhotep was a hidden danger for him, one that could explode at any time and kill him.


    "Let me find Imhotep. But before that, we need to hold a sacrifice," Chen Xu said excitedly.


    Evelyn looked puzzled when she heard this. "What kind of sacrifice?"


    "Of course it''s a sacrifice offered to Anubis, the god of death," Chen Xu casually replied. "It''s impossible for us to find Imhotep with our current strength since he is more proficient in magic than I am. Therefore, we need the power of Anubis."Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "To borrow the power of Anubis requires holding a sacrifice."


    "You''re becoming more mysterious by the day, Chen Xu." Evelyn looked at him with mixed emotions.


    Since obtaining The Book of Dead Souls, Chen Xu had become very mysterious compared to his previous self who was lively and detail-oriented. Now he was like a nervous wizard carrying around a book and followed by a black cat in dark corners muttering curses while holding virgin blood.


    Thinking about virgin blood made Evelyn blush slightly as she shook her head vigorously trying shake off those impure thoughts from her mind.


    "It''s not mysterious at all; it''s just due to different perspectives on viewing the world causing some distance between us," Chen Xu smiled faintly.


    He felt somewhat helpless as if people always held an attitude of respect but kept their distance towards those who were mystical - whether they were priests or wizards or pastors - anyone who truly possessed power would always have a certain distance from ordinary people. Ordinary people either revered or worshipped them, but they would still exclude them and not easily talk to them. Even Evelyn, his new friend, had begun to subtly reject him.


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    Perhaps she didn''t realize it herself, but Chen Xu could feel it. For example, when sleeping, no one wanted to be in the same room with him, even though he was used to sleeping alone.


    "Okay, we should hold the ceremony as soon as possible, but this ceremony may be a bit cruel."


    The cruel ceremony is not really cruel. At least for those who are burned by flames, the so-called cruel ceremony is just a joke.


    When Chen Xu found someone who had been touched by flames and summoned sand to extinguish the fire, this person was still gasping for breath.


    "Kill me." A man whose appearance before death couldn''t be determined whether he was burly or wretched looked at Chen Xu eagerly and hoped that Chen Xu could end his pain.


    "I want you to help me perform a ritual sacrifice to Anubis of Death. If I complete this ritual sacrifice, I may be able to expel this sudden disaster. Are you willing?" Chen Xu squatted down and looked at him. In order to prove his identity again, he had to summon the mummy once more. "I am an Orientalist but also a priest - a true priest who worships gods."


    "I''m willing!"


    Maybe he read it wrong; Chen Xu felt that the person in front of him who was charred all over and unrecognizable was smiling.


    "Well then let''s start performing the ritual now." Chen Xu stood up. "Once completed you will become a hero but destined not recorded in history books; perhaps only existing within some mythological legend."


    "Evelyn turn around don''t look; Suleiman watch me perform this ritual because maybe someday you''ll need to do it too," said Chen Xu.


    The ritual was both cruel yet not really so because it required voluntary sacrifices from its participants.


    "Anpu! Anpu! Anpu!" cried out solemnly by Chengxu.


    Anpu was the pronunciation of Anubis in ancient Egypt. Calling out to him, Chen Xu could clearly feel the gaze from the underworld.


    "The first cut is dedicated to Osiris, the supreme god of death."


    Chen Xu raised his knife that had already been prepared and slashed it down on the man''s body but unfortunately no blood flowed out.


    The man didn''t make any sound as if this cut hadn''t even touched him.


    "Has his blood dried up?" Chen Xu frowned deeply. "Has he lost all sense of pain? Then will this ritual be successful?"


    Without painful torture from sacrifices, it was uncertain whether or not this ritual would succeed for Death God Anubis required such suffering from its participants.


    "Forget it; we can''t give up now."


    "The second cut is dedicated to Isis, queen of power."


    Chen Xu lifted his butcher knife again and struck at the man''s body. At this point, there was a slight change in the expression on his face.


    Seeing this change, Chen Xu knew that he still felt pain so he immediately began with third strike:


    "The third cut is dedicated to Death God Anubis!"


    A cold wind suddenly blew over them causing Chen Xu''s body to stiffen. His knife fell onto where male heart should have been but couldn''t penetrate through - a carriage accompanied by cold winds came through and passed right through male¡¯s body taking away his soul along with it towards horizon before slowly disappearing into thin air...


    Only Egypt''s most prestigious people could summon Hell Knights like these who were sent by underworlds to guide souls back home after their deaths. In The Mummy movie series'' finale, Imhotep stole Evelyne¡¯s powers which led her husband Rick O¡¯Connell becoming one such knight himself!


    These are enough to prove that the person in front of us is either a direct descendant of the pharaoh or a direct descendant of the high priest, with an extremely noble identity. His status is so noble that even the knights of hell in the underworld would pay him respect.


    "However, can anyone tell me whether I succeeded or failed when my sacrifice died before my ritual was completed?"


    Chen Xu looked up and howled at the sky, tears streaming down his face. He had finally found someone who was not afraid to die and willing to be sacrificed, only for them to die just before he could complete his final strike.


    "You see," Evelyn suddenly said from behind him.


    In front of Chen Xu, a black skull stared at him as if waiting for his request.


    "Please help me find Imhotep," Chen Xu quickly said upon seeing it.


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 Chapter 13：Find Imogen

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    This is a real skull with no flesh on it. The stone eye sockets are filled with red flames, and a series of black smoke floats in the air beneath the skull.


    This is the gatekeeper of the underworld, Anubis'' subordinate. Known as the loyal hound of the underworld, he and Anubis hold the gates of the underworld together to prevent living beings from entering without permission.


    The gatekeeper seems to be quite talkative. While guiding Chen Xu to find Imhotep, he keeps talking: "It''s been a long time since a new priest summoned me. Kid, you''re pretty good."


    "The priesthood has been lost. I''m just an amateur priest." Chen Xu said respectfully and humbly.


    Although this skull in front of him may not be its true form but only projected into this world through some special rules in the underworld, it does not affect Chen Xu''s humility.


    With his possession of Necronomicon, he increasingly understands how powerful those who came before him were on this path - they were like gods compared to him now as if he was still an infant newly born into this world.


    "Not bad at all! Nowadays there are few people who dare speak their minds truthfully anymore; even I have to admire your courage," said the gatekeeper while tapping his head. "To use ''Bronze'' level strength to hunt down someone who was at ''Silver'' level peak during their lifetime and about to enter ''Gold'' level realm requires more courage than most heroes possess."


    "What is ''Bronze'' level? What about ''Silver''? asked Chen Xu solemnly; these names were unfamiliar to him although he guessed that they might relate to power levels.


    As expected when hearing Chen Xu''s question, there was a faint sneer coming from within wind blowing around them: "Ignorance truly is blissful bravery."


    "''Bronze'', ''Iron'', ''Silver'', and ''Gold'' levels are all divisions of power. They belong to the realm of mortals, while ''Legendary,'' ''Epic,'' and ''Mythical'' realms belong to gods."


    "The difference between each level is like heaven and earth. Imhotep had already reached the peak of the Silver level during his lifetime, only one step away from entering the Gold level. I wonder if you still have the courage to face him now that he has escaped from the underworld?"


    For some reason, Chen Xu heard a gloating tone in the gatekeeper''s voice.


    "I''m not afraid," said Chen Xu firmly. "As you said, there is a big gap between me and Imhotep, but it''s not so big that I would give up. He may be powerful, but he''s still just a person - even though he''s an undead one - there must be a way to defeat him; I''ve already found it."


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    Chen Xu snatched the Sun Gold Sutra from Evelyn''s hand. "I know what he''s afraid of, and I know what to do to bury him. So I''m not afraid at all."


    "The Sun Gold Sutra, you''ve done a lot of research." The gatekeeper smacked his lips in disappointment at his failed intimidation.


    "But I don''t know which stage or level your strength has reached," Chen Xu put away the Sun Gold Sutra and transformed from a confident man into a humble one.


    He approached the gatekeeper from the underworld with an almost flattering attitude, not missing any opportunity to learn knowledge or peek into the truth of power.


    "Just entered the ''Golden'' realm," said the gatekeeper.


    "I see." Chen Xu pondered for a moment and had a vague guess in his mind.


    "May I ask, respected gatekeeper, what stage has Anubis, the great god of death reached?"


    "That is within the domain of gods and cannot be peered into by mere mortals like you." The gatekeeper sternly warned and suddenly became irritable. "Are young priests nowadays so bold? You haven''t even reached your peak as a mortal yet but dare to pry into secrets that belong only to gods?"


    "Of course not." Chen Xu shook his head. He was not even close to being the first owner of either Black Book of Souls or Sun Gold Sutra. Even those high priests who owned Black Book of Souls couldn''t ascend as gods with their power alone; therefore, Chen Xu would never be arrogant enough to think otherwise.


    However, something about how seriously this gatekeeper took it made him wonder if there was some taboo surrounding these divine secrets.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    In reality, Chen Xu didn''t believe that divine secrets were taboo; otherwise, why would Sun Gold Sutra still exist? Although he wasn''t entirely sure about its origin nor why it could record divine secrets, the fact that it hadn''t been destroyed throughout history indicated that the secrets recorded in it were not a big deal to gods.


    At least they couldn''t threaten gods; otherwise, they wouldn''t have allowed Sun Gold Sutra to continue existing in this world.


    "Alright, weak priest. Before you step into the ''Golden'' realm, don''t even think about prying into the domain of gods. Don''t even entertain such thoughts; otherwise, hell will be your destination." The gatekeeper warned solemnly.


    "Isn''t the underworld just another name for hell?" Chen Xu asked with confusion.


    In his understanding, underworld and hell were one and the same - where souls of dead people rested. It was just different names for similar places.


    "Foolish." The gatekeeper sneered coldly at Chen Xu''s ignorance. "The underworld is the underworld and hell is hell. They are two different things."


    "The former is a place where deceased rest peacefully while latter is where sinners are punished. Please don¡¯t confuse them."


    "You''re an odd little priest who doesn¡¯t seem to know basic knowledge," he continued disdainfully.


    "I..." Chen Xu blushed slightly but quickly regained composure.


    He recalled from Chinese mythology that Yama''s Court was a place of judgment after death where souls were taken by Black and White Impermanence before being judged by King Yama himself on whether they would reincarnate or go through punishment in one of eighteen levels of Hell. This showed that Underworld and Hell were two distinct places in most mythologies: Hell was usually seen as a place for punishment rather than restful peace except for some sects which had briefly altered myths like Old Testament turning resting place into punishment ground making it less strange overall


    As he walked further inside, it became colder and colder due to aura emanating from Underworld freezing human soul almost unbearable.


    "Poor little priest, I have already found the person you are looking for," said the gatekeeper with a sympathetic look at Chen Xu. "So I wish you good luck, young priest. May you defeat your enemy instead of being sent to the underworld by them."


    The gatekeeper turned into a wisp of black smoke and dissipated in front of Chen Xu, while a cold and eerie feeling spread through him.


    "What a chilling sensation," Chen Xu carefully felt his body and realized that his bodily functions were showing signs of stopping - much more terrifying than what was described in movies.


    But it''s not hard to imagine as Imhotep, who returned from the underworld as a mummy, inevitably carried the breath of the underworld. And in ancient Egypt, the underworld was known for death and coldness."


    Chen Xu was feeling a bit unbearable, and Evelyn and Suleiman behind him were even worse. Under this cold force, their teeth were already chattering, and they hugged themselves with their arms crossed. Obviously, they were already freezing to the extreme.


    "It''s so cold."


    "Yes, teacher, it''s so cold."


    "Hold on."


    Chen Xu could only say that in terms of real power. Imhotep had already recovered almost completely and he would definitely defeat Chen Xu who had only performed one sacrifice if it weren''t for the fact that Chen Xu held the Sun Golden Scripture in his hand. Otherwise Imhotep would have found him long ago.


    He simply didn''t have the ability to change the environment caused by Imhotep.


    "As long as we find Imhotep, we will win." Chen Xu cheered them on. "Don''t forget about Egypt''s disaster and how pitiful those refugees are. If we let Imhotep continue to ravage Egypt like this, then all of Egypt will become a dead land."


    "For Egypt and to make up for our mistakes, let''s go!"


    Chen Xu grabbed both the Undead Black Scripture and Sun Golden Scripture in his hands; he was familiar with the spells inside them so he just needed to hold onto both books to activate their effects.


    Soon they found Imhotep again but at this time there was a big difference between this version of Imhotep compared to Hamunaptra¡¯s version: He had skin and eyes which made him look similar to an ordinary person.


    "You finally came." The hoarse voice of Imhotep rang out. "I''ve been waiting for you - my Evelyn as well as my little priest who betrayed me.¡±


    "How dare you appear before me?" As soon as Chen Xu saw Imhotep he immediately recited a spell from within Sun Golden Scripture: "Ashes returneth unto ashes; dust returneth unto dust. The soul returneth to the great god of death, Anubis."


    After reciting the spell, nothing happened; there were no Hell Knights descending and Imhotep didn''t seem afraid at all. On the contrary, he looked very happy.


    "You fools! If I couldn''t restrain Sun Golden Scripture''s power, would I appear before you? Look around me.¡±


    Chen Xu''s face changed as he began to pay attention to Imhotep¡¯s surroundings.


    The place where Imhotep was located was just an ordinary small hill with nothing but a statue in front of him.


    Wait a minute...the statue! Chen Xu''s gaze fell on the statue and his face immediately darkened.


    It was an ancient Egyptian woman with wings holding a stick in her hand.


    "Nephthys." Chen Xu uttered this name from his mouth.


    "Is this Nephthys?" Evelyn said fearfully.


    "What is Nephthys?" Suleiman curiously looked at Evelyn waiting for her explanation.


    "Nephthys is one of Egypt''s nine pillar gods and protector of the dead. Legend has it that all deceased are protected by her." Evelyn explained: "If it is Nephthys'' idol then Chen Xu may not be able to harm him."


    The appearance of magic had changed Evelyn''s worldview; she no longer believed that there were no gods in this world since magic existed - how could gods be far away?


    "That''s right, it¡¯s Nephthys¡¯ idol. In front of Nephthys'' idol even Death God Anubis'' messenger wouldn¡¯t dare come over here and hurt me.¡± Imhotep laughed heartily.


    "Without Sun Golden Scripture power support you''re not my opponent."


    Imhotep raised both hands up high causing the earth beneath them to shake violently while countless sands emerged between Chen Xu and himself forming into a sandstorm.


    "Die."


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 Chapter 14：Defeat Imhotep

    When the sand was flying all over the sky, Chen Xu finally realized that the gap between him and Imhotep was not only in terms of strength but also in the way they released magic.


    Imhotep could cast spells instantly, while he couldn''t. Although the spell consisted of only a few syllables, it still required time.


    When he was halfway through his incantation, sand had already reached him.


    On Imhotep''s face with bulging sand particles, there was nothing but ferocity.


    "It''s too late."


    Chen Xu looked up at the sea of sand and then got swallowed by it.


    "Evelyn!"


    A scream came from afar. O''Connor looked at Evelyn being engulfed by sand with grief and anger on his face. "Damn you, Imhotep! Go to hell!"


    He and two people beside him were filled with sorrow and indignation. Although he had known Evelyn for less than a few days, he had fallen in love with this girl who had dreams. Now seeing her being swallowed by desert sands and dying soon after made his hatred burst out like flames.


    O''Connor took out his gun and fired repeatedly at Imhotep.


    The sound of gunfire echoed as bullets hit Imhotep several times without effecting any damage on him whatsoever.


    "After burying them, it''s your turn next." Imhotep raised his head fiercely looking at O''Connor, Mustafa Bayoumi Hassan al-Khatib (the bearded man), Jonathan Carnahan running towards them quickly from afar.


    "Hey High Priest," Chen Xu''s voice suddenly sounded from beside which immediately caught Imhotep¡¯s attention.


    Chen Xu jumped out of the sand making faces at Imhotep saying: "You''re no good."


    "You actually survived? How did you escape from a dust storm?" exclaimed an amazed-looking  Imhoptept.


    "I''m not the only one who can control sand, Imhotep." Chen Xu laughed coldly. "The moment the sandstorm hit me, I controlled the sand that touched my body and turned it into a protective shield to block off the sandstorm."


    "Although I''m not as powerful as you are, our essence is the same."


    "Imhotep, you can''t do anything to me."


    Chen Xu held two books in his hands: The Book of Dead and The Book of Amun-Ra. He quickly read a few words from them and summoned sand to wrap around Imhotep restricting his movements.


    "O''Connor, destroy Nefertiti''s statue."


    He had just tested it out; any spell that attempted to harm Nefertiti''s statue would fail in front of it. In other words, he could not break Nefertiti''s statue with magic alone.


    Fortunately, there are more ways to attack in this world than just magic. Both his hands and firearms can break the statue made of white bones.


    "Trying to break the statue? You''re dreaming," Imoton became anxious and spat out locusts towards O''Connor.


    Chen Xu saw this and began reciting spells with a sneer, "Your opponent is me."


    The locusts that were flying towards O''Connor suddenly flew around like headless flies in the air.


    "You dare to be my enemy, little priest. Your soul will definitely be sent to hell by me and endure eternal anger from flames and coldness," Imoton said.


    "You have to send me to hell first. But according to the current situation, you may go there before I do," Chen Xu retorted coldly.


    O''Connor on the other side saw that Chen Xu was holding back Imoton, so he put down his fear and ran towards Nephthys'' statue.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He was too far away from Nephthys'' statue; he couldn''t hit it at all.


    "Foolish." Imoton opened his mouth again and sprayed out a large number of sacred beetles.


    These sacred beetles rushed towards O''Connor like a wave crazily surging forward.


    "The foolish one is you." Chen Xu started reciting spells as well.


    "It''s you who''s right." A glimmer appeared in Imoton''s eyes as they shone on the sand. The sand surrounding him retreated one after another.


    Chen Xu was shocked when he saw this; his heart pounded heavily - it was an alert signal from within himself!


    He kept backing away while pillars of sand spurted up where he had just been standing moments ago!


    "Darn instant magic!" Chen Xu gritted his teeth in frustration.


    Instant magic not only gave an advantage but also prevented others from knowing what kind of spell they were using. True masters could predict the effects of their opponents'' spells based on incantations, but they couldn''t do so with instant magic.


    Imoton looked at Chen Xu and a sneer appeared on his face. "Not bad, but you think that''s enough?"


    Imoton opened his mouth again and spat out sand particles which gathered in the air to form a small sandstorm.


    "Help me!" O''Connor''s voice came from over there just in time.


    "What happened?" Chen Xu turned around only to see O''Connor being chased by sacred beetles everywhere; the surging army was enough to engulf anyone!


    Imoton looked at Chen Xu with a hint of mockery on his face. "Little priest, let me teach you not to be distracted during battle."


    Imoton raised his hand and the tornado mixed with thin yellow sand rolled up Chen Xu inside it.


    The sand particles were small and few, but under the push of the tornado, they rotated rapidly producing considerable damage. The sand flew around him forming one scar after another on his body.


    "Bury yourself!"


    "If you want to bury me, bury yourself first." A gunshot sounded as Nephthys'' statue fell down.


    "How is this possible?" Imoton stopped moving his hands; he stared blankly at Nephthys'' fallen statue which had an eye-catching bullet hole in it.


    "Why did this happen? How could this happen?"


    "Focusing solely on fighting isn''t good - especially when your own life is not entirely within your control - my predecessor," said Chen Xu coldly.


    Just now, while Imotun was completely focused on Chen Xu and O''Connor, the bearded man quietly sneaked up to the statue of Nephthys and shot her.


    "Now, let me send you to hell, my predecessor Imotun," recited Chen Xu with the spell of Sun Gold Sutra.


    "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. May your soul return to the great god of death Anubis."


    A gust of wind blew in as an illusory knight drove a chariot from afar through Imotun''s airspace and took his soul away.


    "No, my soul!" Imotun chased after him and shouted at the Hell Knight in an attempt to retrieve his own soul.


    Watching Imotun''s anxiety, Chen Xu couldn''t help but sigh. To be honest, he still admired Imotun for his love and loyalty towards it. Even though later on his lover Ansu Na was defeated by death and betrayed him.


    But there was no other way. He appreciated Imhotep, but he still had to take action against him because he knew that Imhotep would not let him go with the Book of the Dead and the Book of Amun-Ra. This was a battle between life and death, whoever sympathized first would lose. Perhaps in the future when he could defeat Imhotep without relying on the Book of the Dead, he would release him.


    Imhotep clenched his fists and walked towards Chen Xu angrily. "I want you dead."


    "Farewell."


    "Barbatos, Barbatos, Barbatos..."


    Chen Xu''s hand emitted a green light which gradually condensed into a green arrow.


    "Corrosive Green Arrow!"


    Chen Xu threw out the arrow which hit Imhotep''s chest and pierced through it instantly. The corrosive liquid slowly flowed out from his body corroding it until half of his body disappeared leaving him lying on the ground.


    "Is he dead?" O''Connell ran over panting.


    "He is already dead." The bearded man walked over happily saying: "Chen Xu used the Book of Amun-Ra to take away his power then killed him with magic; he can never come back again."


    "Not necessarily," Chen Xu thought to himself.


    In "The Mummy Returns", the descendants of those who believed in High Priest Imhotep dug him up and successfully resurrected him, so what the bearded man said is incorrect.


    However, he wouldn''t remind the big beard because there was something he needed in The Mummy Returns. He couldn''t modify the plot and had to try his best to let it run as planned, at least until he could fully grasp the situation.


    "What a pity." O''Connell looked at the yellow sand all over the ground with a somewhat disappointed expression. "I shouldn''t have brought her here. It''s my fault."


    "If you have a chance, you won''t go on an adventure again, will you?" Chen Xu looked at O''Connell with great interest.


    In The Mummy Returns and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, O''Connell clearly developed some resistance towards adventures, although it wasn''t too strong.


    This poor man never had a chance to turn this resistance into reality because fate always liked to play tricks on those who thought they could keep their promises - she destroyed other people''s promises in various ways throughout the story.


    "Yes," O''Connor''s expression gradually became cold. "If God gave me a chance to start over, I would decide not to let her continue taking risks. Unfortunately, there is no such opportunity."


    "What about the future?"


    "Here they come." A surprised voice came from the side.


    Jonassen was pulling Evelyn out of the sand sea, with Suleiman''s little hand still below.


    "Evelyn?" O''Connor looked at Evelyn incredulously.


    "O''Connor, you bastard and scoundrel! Why didn''t you come help me? What were you doing just standing there?" Evelyn cursed at O''Connor, but her heart was warmed by his obviously caring words earlier.


    "This bastard and scoundrel actually cares about me in his heart. Damn it, he likes pretending that he doesn''t care."


    "Good." O''Connor ran eagerly to dig up Evelyn.

 Chapter 15：Take away the gold

    Hamnata.


    The exquisite stone pillars prove that there was once glory here, and the broken ones prove that the glory is gone. Chen Xu stood outside Hamnata with Suleiman, looking at the complex expression on his face.


    It was here that he obtained the Necronomicon, came into contact with the magical world, and became a glorious priest; it was also here that he faced danger and buried Imhotep, who used to be his most admired undead priest.


    Dozens of camels were half-kneeling outside Hamnata with bags all over their bodies. "Teacher, is this Hamnata you mentioned?" Suleiman''s immature voice came out. "There are supposed to be large amounts of gold in legendary Hamnata."


    "Do you like gold very much?" Chen Xu suddenly squatted down and looked at his disciple''s immature face seriously. He said word by word: "Remember, gold never has enough power. Only power is the most terrifying existence in this world. With it, everything such as gold jewels or power women will come swarming."


    "I remember," Suleiman''s white face showed a hint of fear. This was still his teacher but for the first time speaking so solemnly to him made him feel scared.


    "Good if you remember." Chen Xu stood up and clapped his hands saying: "Now watch me cast spells."


    Chen Xu took out bone ash from a bag hanging around his waist and sprinkled it out while chanting: "In the name of Anubis - god of death - desert mummies appear!"


    Like zombies, Egyptian mummies have many types; desert mummies are one type mixed with sand and bone ash which gives them stronger speed and strength than ordinary mummies.


    Soon five mummies stood in front of Chen Xu waiting for its command without any iconic bandages on their bodies but instead strange patterns covering them making their faces grimacing like skulls.


    "This is the spell of desert mummies." Chen Xu translated these words into ancient Egyptian and told Suleiman: "Remember, keep this sentence in your heart and form an instinct to recite it without thinking during battles."


    "I will remember," Suleiman clenched his small fist firmly saying: "I won''t let you down, teacher."


    In fact, for Suleiman, magic was just an interesting thing. He couldn''t understand fighting even though he had participated in it before. The reason why he agreed with Chen Xu was simply because he didn''t want to disappoint him. In his little head, Chen Xu had become someone second only to his parents and after their death became his only relative.


    His parents died under Imhotep''s magical power - Imhotep caused disasters in Egypt frequently holding sacrifice ceremonies offering people to Anubis getting unimaginable magic power.


    "Magic is not only used in battles, but also has many applications in daily life," Chen Xu smiled slightly and began to teach, "In fact, in ancient Egypt, magic was considered high technology by ordinary people. It not only represented powerful strength but also represented an improvement in life."


    "You see..." Chen Xu pointed to the mummy. "There is a lot of gold inside the sarcophagus of Hamunaptra, but the two of us cannot carry it all ourselves. We need help."


    "But it''s difficult to control the hearts of ordinary people. If we''re not careful enough, they may rebel against us and cause harm."


    "But mummies are different. They are our most loyal servants and can do anything for us if it''s simple enough."


    "Follow me." Chen Xu said this to the mummy.


    The motionless mummies suddenly moved and followed behind Chen Xu with neat steps.


    "If we directly command them to search for gold jewelry and antiques, they won''t understand because they don''t even know what gold or jewelry means. That''s why we need to guide them."The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Chen Xu came into the space filled with gold jewelry and burial objects without any joy on his face as he looked at all that glittering wealth.


    "Go ahead, pick up these pieces of gold." Chen Xu ordered emotionlessly while looking at Suleiman''s face. He saw Suleiman''s eyes light up before there were no further changes in expression.


    "Gold and jewels are needed by us priests but aren''t necessary because whenever we want more gold or jewels we can take them away easily."


    "The power of priests dominates foolish commoners and nobles alike; this is our power - a great power indeed," said Chen Xu.


    "The power of priests is truly amazing," murmured Suleiman.


    Chen Xu nodded satisfactorily after glancing at him once.


    Leading the mummies outside again, Chen Xu ordered them to pour the gold on the ground. Through this method, he left an impression in their not-so-intelligent brains - just like training a dog to catch a frisbee.


    In terms of intelligence, mummies are nothing compared to dogs. They act purely on instinct and are different from dogs.


    But precisely because they have no intelligence, they can be controlled by desires through magic and become loyal servants of priests.


    Through this method, Chen Xu could easily draw out an instinctive response and make them act accordingly.


    "In fact, in ancient Egypt, mummies were far from being as sacred as they are now. According to the ''Holy Scripture'' in the Sun Gold Sutra, mummies were only pharaohs'' servants in ancient times."


    "To win battles during wars, pharaohs commanded priests to produce large numbers of mummies for deployment on battlefields so that these dead soldiers could fight against heretics," said Chen Xu.


    "Heretics?" Suleiman was confused. His teacher''s description of Egyptian history was different from what he knew, but then again, in the history he knew, there were no mummies that could act.


    "Yes, heretics. Perhaps these heresies are not recorded in current history," said Chen Xu.


    "I have researched your Egyptian history and found that it is vague when describing the ancient Egyptian era. But I can tell you that the Heretic War did exist."


    "At that time, those who left Egypt went all the way to the far west. During this process, some were relentlessly pursued by Pharaohs."


    These were all things Chen Xu had seen in The Golden Sun Scripture. It must be admitted that The Golden Sun Scripture was extremely wonderful; although it seemed to only have a few pages, its knowledge was like stars in the sky.


    Every time he opened it up, Chen Xu felt as if he had experienced a baptism-like feeling. This highest secret scripture of ancient Egypt made him feel inferior as if facing the starry sky.


    And every time he peeked at the secrets of gods, Chen Xu felt like he was desecrating them.


    In fact, Chen Xu wasn''t afraid of this feeling; instead, he was excited because he saw a path from being human to becoming a god. Although this path still remained untouched and shyly refused to reveal itself completely until now - just like an unopened virgin - Chen Xu believed that as long as he persisted with determination and perseverance one day all secrets of gods would be revealed.


    "The so-called master is not really a master; it is a belief system created by humans which should never have existed in first place but eventually enslaves people - this is such a sad joke."


    Suleiman looked at his teacher, feeling scared. He felt like his teacher had gone mad, blaspheming against the gods of the West. If the Westerners found out, he and his teacher would surely be held at gunpoint by the army and sent to the gallows.


    Yet deep down in his heart, there was a sense of joy - a blasphemous joy. Like his teacher, Suleiman''s soul was also that of a great heretic.


    "Alright, let''s not discuss this topic for now," Chen Xu thought Suleiman was still young and instilling these things in him now wouldn''t do much good for his future path.


    "But you should know that we are priests who worship the gods. In front of them, we should remain humble," Chen Xu said sternly.


    Private blasphemy and public blasphemy were two different things; while the former could strengthen one''s own path, the latter was simply asking for death.


    Without equal dialogue with the gods'' power, blaspheming against them would undoubtedly make oneself their sacrifice - just as Imhotep sacrificed Egypt to Anubis.


    "I understand now, Teacher," came Suleiman''s immature voice.


    "Well then... perhaps these matters are too heavy for you right now but you will encounter them eventually."


    "Now what we need to do is move all this gold away."


    "Although this gold and gems aren''t necessary for us they''re better than nothing."


    As Chen Xu taught Suleiman he directed desert mummies to put all of it into camel bags.


    In no time at all those shriveled bags were full with occasional glimmers shining through cracks between stitches.


    "If we go back like this won''t Uncle Jonassen be angry?" Remembering how excited Uncle Jonassen got when he saw gold made shivers run down Suleiman¡¯s spine; he believed that Uncle Jonassen would definitely fight them if he found out.


    "Your Uncle Jonassen won''t be angry because he''s very smart."


    "Well, we should leave now. We can come back for more gold next time if no one finds Hamunaptra," Chen Xu said as they watched it disappear into the sunset.

 Chapter 16：Settle down in Germany

    As expected, Jonassen was really angry when he saw the full amount of gold. His eyes lit up and he rushed forward to embrace the gold.


    However, he was thrown out by a mummy that flew out even faster.


    "I said," Jonassen got up from the ground and rubbed his chest in distress. He had been punched hard by the mummy.


    "You promised me not to take any gold."


    "I did promise you not to take any gold, but since you guys didn''t want to take it away yourselves, I reluctantly took it." Chen Xu looked like he was in a dilemma, which made Jonassen furious.


    "You...!" Jonassen almost bit off his own good tooth. He stared at the gold with longing eyes and wanted to grab all of it immediately. However, there were five mummies behind the camels that made him afraid.


    "Are you not afraid of scaring children if you put these mummies on display in public?"


    "Uncle Jonassen, these mummies are very well-behaved," Suleiman said innocently.


    Jonassen''s face turned green instantly as he shouted at Suleiman: "Shut up! I wasn''t talking about you!"


    "How could you scare Suleiman like this?" Evelyn went over and hugged Suleiman while looking displeased with Jonassen.


    "It was clearly him..."


    Before Jonassen could argue further, Chen Xu interrupted: "There is no one left in this city."


    Ever since disasters such as meteor showers appeared, Cairo has become like an outbreak of plague where people couldn''t wait to leave. Those who didn''t leave died under that natural disaster. There were no longer anyone on the streets except for Chen Xu and his team.


    "It''s our fault." Evelyn looked somewhat gloomy.


    "Okay then let''s change topic." O''Connell stepped forward when he saw everyone getting depressed. "Chen Xu, where are you planning to go now?"


    "Where?" Chen Xu looked a bit puzzled. He really hadn''t thought about where to go. This wasn''t his home; his home was in another world.


    He had always followed Evelyn and her team, so he didn''t need a home for the time being. It wasn''t until their friends were leaving and the banquet was over that he suddenly became confused because he couldn''t find his own home.


    "If you have nowhere else to go, you can come with us to England." O''Connell saw Chen Xu''s expression and understood that he had nowhere else to go.


    In fact, O''Connell had always felt that Chen Xu was very mysterious. They first met at Cairo Prison when Chen Xu behaved very strangely as if he knew everything. Later on, he even transformed into a wizard who helped them defeat Imhotep and rescued Egypt from disaster.


    Until now, O''Connell still didn¡¯t know much about Chen Xu''s past.


    "No thanks, I need to go back," said Chen Xu firmly as his gaze turned resolute. "My house is gone but my country is still there. Wherever there is a place with that name it will be my country."


    Chen Xu''s eyes fell on the distant east where there was nothing but chaos and turmoil among his people of origin. He knew that although they shared no blood relationship with him or any cultural similarities with this world¡¯s easterners whatsoever, they were still connected.


    He felt that he should do something, as he believed that the nation had suffered enough and his abilities could help them emerge from the war.


    "But before that, I will go to Germany," Chen Xu said.


    "Germany?" O''Connor asked.


    "Yes, Germany. I need to deal with this batch of gold," Chen Xu replied.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    The history of this world was similar to the history before he crossed over; there were no significant differences - true history had long been buried in dust.


    In Germany, a historical hero was beginning to rise and take center stage: Hitler. In November 1923, Hitler launched his "March on Berlin" campaign. Today marks only one month since this event took place.


    "Why Germany? Wouldn''t it be better to handle the gold in England?" Johnson jumped up and down excitedly, wishing she could steal the gold immediately.


    "Because Germany needs it," Chen Xu smiled faintly.


    All of the world''s gold was now concentrated in London, so handling this batch of gold there might not fetch a high price. However, things were different in defeated Germany; they urgently needed gold to stabilize their currency if they didn''t want their money becoming worthless paper notes.


    In fact, when Mark depreciated most severely its value was lower than scrap paper. If you walked on the street at that time you would often see someone holding large amounts of Marks trying to buy paper even though printing Marks cost more than an equivalent thickness and length of paper at that time.


    "All right then. I respect your choice but let''s go together; you can leave midway by changing ships."


    "Of course."


    ...


    November in Germany was bleak; war brought too many negative effects upon this country and defeat pushed its people directly into an abyss.They drank heavily ,were dissatisfied with everything,and loudly criticized government officials.The German mark also devalued massively like it did historically.It wasn''t worth more than scrap paper and even wiping your butt with it was considered too harsh.


    In this era, a loaf of bread was worth millions of Marks. The batch of gold that Chen Xu brought with him was worth tens of trillions of Marks.


    This was an insane number; it represented the amount that Deutsche Bank would need to print for years in order to have enough Marks. However, for Chen Xu, Mark''s value clearly could not meet his requirements. Even if all the Junkers were combined together they still couldn''t afford this batch of gold.


    Finally, Chen Xu had to reach an agreement with Deutsche Bank and deposit these gold bars and gems into their treasury as a guarantee for issuing German marks. In fact, it was because of this batch of gold that Germany''s financial system was saved from collapsing completely; otherwise one loaf bread would cost tens or hundreds million marks which meant despair for ordinary people.


    The most interesting thing is that Deutsche Bank once wanted to use this batch of gold as compensation for war reparations owed to England and France in order to relieve its own pressure. The CEO who proposed this idea ended up being turned into a mummy by Chen Xu and thrown at the doorsteps of parliament building.Since then both German politicians and Junkers looked at Chen Xu with awe calling him "the wizard from the East".


    In such an environment, Chen Xu gathered many bankrupt industrialists, organized them to produce and expand externally, gradually forming a secret underground group - the Dark Council. The chairman of this council was Chen Xu himself, a priest known as the propagator of darkness by entrepreneurs.


    In order to support the growth of members in the Dark Council, Chen Xu sold his gems to British nobles for large amounts of pounds and then injected these pounds into the enterprises owned by internal members of the council. He instructed them to seek technology in America and restore/expand production just like how Germany once introduced American capital and technology. However, here it was replaced with Chen Xu''s personal capital.


    It was because of this that some factories in Germany quickly recovered and slowly rose to become the largest enterprises in Germany, including Siemens and BMW, amidst a bleak atmosphere.


    In the tavern, a seductive Jewish girl twisted her hips, attracting many perverts'' drool. Chen Xu hid himself in a secluded corner, drinking heavily.


    His body was completely covered by a large black robe, and his face was also obscured by it.


    "Teacher, the person you are looking for has been found." Suleiman walked into the tavern and immediately walked towards Chen Xu respectfully.


    During this period of time, Suleiman followed Chen Xu around and experienced the training and guidance of those merchants. He had gradually matured.


    "He is now at a meeting. I overheard that they plan to kidnap key officials from Bavaria''s state government."


    "As expected!" A hint of coldness flashed across Chen Xu''s face. Although some German companies were slowly recovering with his support, Germany''s overall environment remained poor. The French invaded most parts of Germany leading to an unprecedented inflation crisis.


    "Do we need to help him?" Suleiman did not forget Chen Xu''s appreciation for this little mustache man so he tried to offer his opinion: "If we take action ourselves, we can ensure the success of his plan." These mortals could not possibly stop their teacher; it was his fanaticism as well as faith.


    "No." Chen Xu shook his head. "His operation cannot succeed; he must fail."


    Anyone familiar with history would have to admit that it was Hitler¡¯s failure during Operation ¡°March on Berlin¡± which led him being imprisoned where he had an opportunity to sort out his thoughts making them clearer while paving way for future power struggles. It can be said that without this period of energy expenditure he would never have been able to form such disciplined Nazi party like what happened historically but rather just remain insignificant.


    "I need to help him, but not here. It''s after he goes to prison."


    Hitler''s rapid development was related to the book he wrote in prison called "My Struggle". The publication of this book allowed millions of Germans to accept his ideas and when he was released from prison, they fell at his feet.


    In history, it was a mysterious force that helped publish this book. Now what Chen Xu needs to do is replace this mysterious force and help him publish it.

 Chapter 17：Hi! Hitler

    Just as recorded in history, Hitler failed. His plan to "march on Berlin" failed and he himself was imprisoned, cut off from the outside world.


    In retrospect, Hitler was quite foolish at that time. He thought that by kidnapping key figures, he could control the military. However, he did not realize that the military could not be controlled by these figures in a democratic system where military power is separate from legislative power. These legislators simply cannot control the military if it does not want to be controlled.


    He paid for his immaturity but this experience also helped him mature and transform a small Nazi party into a super Nazi party with hundreds of thousands of soldiers.


    Chen Xu and Suleiman walked into a small tavern near the prison.


    "Sir, what can I get you?" greeted an enthusiastic Jewish girl.


    "A beer please." Chen Xu took out a pound sterling from his pocket and threw it to her.


    While Germany''s economy collapsed, pound sterling remained strong and widely used around the world even more so than future US dollars. It could even serve as official currency in British colonies. In countries like Germany, it had value beyond its own currency.


    However, Chen Xu only used pounds because he didn''t want to carry around stacks of marks everywhere he went.


    The Jewish girl''s eyes lit up as she quickly put away the pound sterling into her purse before saying nonchalantly: "Please wait."


    She turned back and grabbed a clean glass from behind the beer rack before pouring beer into it. Her expression showed hesitation and struggle but eventually she handed over the beer to Chen Xu while staring at him intently.


    The face value of one pound sterling was only equivalent to 240 pence (in this era one pound equals 240 pence instead of later when one pound equals 100 pence). This price obviously exceeded that of just one glass of beer.


    Chen Xu lowered his head and drank the beer in front of him. Suleiman behind him showed obvious anger, feeling that this Jewish girl was too greedy.


    "You..."


    "Solomon." Chen Xu called his disciple who was about to speak and instructed him to wait at the door to see if any guests were coming.


    Seeing that this gentleman seemed not to pursue the matter of her stolen pounds, the Jewish girl felt justified in treating them as her own tip, even though no one would use pounds as a tip, even just one pound, especially in Germany.


    Humming a song that Chen Xu couldn''t understand, the Jewish girl happily ran away from him. Chen Xu paid no attention.


    Soon Solomon came running over excitedly with a person wearing a black robe behind him.


    "Teacher, this is the sneaky person you mentioned."


    The person in the black robe heard this and turned green under their hidden face. He thought he wasn''t really being sneaky despite dressing mysteriously.


    But he didn''t dare argue because just now this seemingly small boy had performed some kind of mummy summoning technique in front of him and threatened him that if he didn''t obey, he would turn into a mummy.


    God knows although he did not believe in God himself it did not mean that he was not afraid of demons. In his mind right now this young boy was on par with demons themselves.


    "What''s your name?" Chen Xu raised his glass and showed a friendly smile towards the person wearing black robes before him.


    "Schmidt." Schmidt honestly revealed his name.


    "Schmidt huh? Are you here to see Hitler for something?" The smile on Chen Xu''s face grew stronger.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    During this time period, he had been considering who helped Hitler publish "Mein Kampf," including German Nazi Party members and others such as Americans or British people. Considering Imhotep appeared in this world too recently so all movies related to Hitler were reviewed by him again. Finally several conclusions were drawn among which included Schmidt¡¯s name.


    Although many people may be unfamiliar with Schmidt''s name but those who have seen the movie "Captain America" should know about Red Skull, and Schmidt was his name before he injected himself with serum.


    Therefore, when Schmidt revealed his name, Chen Xu confirmed that he was the person in history who helped Hitler publish "Mein Kampf."


    "To help him escape from prison." Schmidt honestly said without any concealment.


    Although he agreed with Hitler''s ideas and believed that only Hitler could save Germany and was willing to sacrifice his life for it. It did not mean that he wanted to go to hell after death.


    In fact, for people who do not believe in God or hell, death is not scary. For noble ideals they can die because they feel that death is also a kind of liberation. But when mythical powers appear suddenly one day they realize that death is not liberation but another beginning of torture so their worldview collapses.


    "Is that so?" Chen Xu shook his red wine glass. Despite taking several sips, the liquid inside remained unchanged. He preferred to feel the intoxicating sensation brought by alcohol.


    "The wine doesn''t intoxicate people; people intoxicate themselves." This situation was probably what this saying meant.


    "Yes," Schmidt answered honestly.


    "But what if I don''t let you save him?" A cold smile appeared on Chen Xu''s lips as he spoke. "Will you resent me?"


    "I wouldn''t dare." Schmidt trembled and fell to the ground in fear. "Schmidt wouldn''t dare to resent the great wizard."


    Chen Xu was surprised by this scene, but then adjusted his plan in his mind - a plan to expand his power.


    "I wonder if you would like to become a servant of the wizard."


    "I would love to." Schmidt knelt down and kissed Chen Xu''s toes, just like how medieval nobles showed absolute loyalty towards royalty.


    Chen Xu suppressed his disgust as he watched Schmidt complete this action, knowing full well what it represented: kissing someone''s toes symbolized absolute loyalty and submission. It was a gesture of humility from lowly individuals towards those who were most noble. This custom existed not only in Western countries but also during ancient Egyptian times when nobles performed such gestures towards priests and pharaohs alike.


    It turned out that many Western customs had similarities with those found in Egypt.


    "Very good, now that you have become my servant, take charge of managing the Dark Council for me," said Chen Xu.


    He would soon leave Germany for China and needed someone to manage the Dark Council on behalf of its members while he was away. Solomon himself was an option, but Chen Xu hoped that Solomon would continue delving deeper into magic and rituals instead of being bogged down by worldly affairs.


    Schmidt presented himself as an excellent candidate since limited information about him indicated exceptional military talent - something which Chen Xu believed would enable Schmidt to manage the Dark Council in his stead.


    "Very well, come with me to see Hitler. I need to offer him some help."


    This was a prison that looked nothing like the one where Chen Xu had arrived when he first crossed over. The iron windows, walls, and clean cells resembled rooms found in small roadside inns - they were probably comfortable to sleep in if one could overcome their psychological barriers.


    Hitler was clearly not someone who could overcome such barriers. He sat on the only bed inside the cell with his hands clasped between his legs and head hung low, looking lost and hopeless.


    For him, as an ambitious person, this is an unacceptable outcome. He is not allowed to see anyone while being imprisoned in the cell, including his followers.


    He can almost imagine what kind of suppression the Nazi Party will face after he leaves. He can also imagine how the party will disintegrate without him. This is an undeniable fact.


    "But he can''t do anything, he''s powerless. If he escapes, his political career will be over. No one will obey the orders of a fugitive."


    "Hey! Hitler!"


    Schmidt led the way and Chen Xu followed closely behind. Soon they bypassed the guards and arrived at Hitler''s cell door. Obviously, Schmidt had already investigated this place.


    Hitler looked up and saw three strangers in black robes, immediately confused.


    As someone who was hands-on with everything, he knew his small party inside out. He could remember every member and call them by name. He was proud of this ability even though it was limited to just remembering names.


    "My name is Chen Xu, leader of the Dark Council," said Chen Xu as he took off his black robe to reveal his true self.


    "The Dark Council? Vampires? Werewolves? Are you kidding me? How could those legendary creatures exist?" exclaimed Hitler.


    "Vampires? Werewolves? Is that how you see the Dark Council?" sneered Chen Xu. "But I guess it can be said that industrial capitalists are vampires since they suck workers'' blood and exploit their surplus value."


    "As for werewolves... let me think... those stubborn guys who dig food from the land are really like werewolves."


    He was referring to Junker aristocrats - ancient nobles who owned land - who were so similar to werewolves: both were old-fashioned, rustic people who shared a common hatred for vampires.


    For Junkers, capitalists lured all farmers on their lands into factories while bankrupting them; before World War I broke out, Germany''s main contradiction focused on capitalists versus Junkers.


    "As for me... I suppose I''m a wizard too."


    Chen Xu chuckled.

 Chapter 18：Come to an end

    Meeting Hitler was not just Chen Xu''s will, but also the entire Dark Society''s. To some extent, his will was the same as that of the Dark Society.


    The former Junkers and capitalists fought each other in Germany, but with Germany''s defeat, their struggle subsided.


    It is simple: interests. No matter how hostile they are to each other, they have one thing in common - they want Germany to be strong.


    Junkers need a strong Germany because they need a large number of slaves and vast tracts of land; capitalists need a strong Germany to develop foreign markets.


    Only a powerful country can support them from behind and open up markets in other countries. This has been proven by future Americans.


    But obviously, today''s Germany cannot satisfy them. The weak Weimar government clearly cannot lead Germany out of its predicament. They allowed France to occupy large areas, causing Junkers to lose their land and capitalists to lose their market and raw material sources.


    This greatly caused dissatisfaction among capitalists and Junkers.


    Do not underestimate the energy of capitalists and Junkers; it is unimaginable how much wealth Junkers have accumulated over thousands of years.


    When they unite together with Chen Xu''s inducement, Hitler enters their vision.


    This small party has a very tough attitude advocating expulsion of Jewish separatist ideas and aggressive foreign policy which satisfies the Dark Society.


    In fact, historically speaking, it was Hitler who led Germany out of its predicament. Regardless of how later generations called him a war maniac or criticized his crimes even Germans calling him an historical sinner could not deny that he single-handedly pulled Germany out from the abyss after its defeat leading towards revival at that time.


    If there had been no subsequent defeat if they had won then Hitler would have been hailed as hero both for German people as well as for world history itself- sometimes heroes differ only slightly from criminals depending on whether you win or lose.


    "Capitalists? Junkers?" Hitler''s eyes lit up.


    Apart from political parties, the biggest power in Germany is probably Junkers and capitalists. As for workers and farmers, in this country with a dictatorship tradition like Germany, the former are exploited by capitalists while the latter are controlled by Junkers.


    The reason why the Weimar government was able to quickly establish itself was due to support from Junkers behind it.


    "Why did you come to me?" Hitler quickly calmed down.


    He was a smart person who easily analyzed their intentions from Chen Xu''s words. However, as a politician, he needed restraint which could bring him unimaginable benefits.


    "It''s simple. We agree with your ideas and believe that you can lead Germany out of its predicament, so we chose you." Chen Xu also didn''t beat around the bush and went straight to the point.


    Hitler''s eyes lit up; his little mustache trembled slightly. "Aren''t you supporting the Weimar government?"


    "Supporting the Weimar government is an idea of short-sighted Junkers who need stable situations but have been disappointed by what they''ve done," said Chen Xu coldly.


    "A country that wants to rise rapidly from defeat needs a tough government instead of just compromising all along because compromise only leads to losing interests while being tough can lead Germany towards revival."


    Future generations proved that it was under Hitler¡¯s leadership when Germany developed its military might; his strong political attitude coupled with his own confidence made Britain unwilling at that time (to change) world order step-by-step retreats leading ultimately towards German resurgence - if there had not been subsequent madness later on.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Hitler''s eyes lit up; he heard for first time someone accepting his political stance and moreover this person seemed very high-ranking. He couldn¡¯t help but get excited: "The weak Weimar government doesn''t understand what toughness means at all. They can''t lead Germany towards revival at all. Compromising all along will only make other countries think we are weak and easy to bully."


    "Hmph, if they had been tough and shown Germany''s last strength, the French would not have dared to occupy our territory and lead us step by step towards the abyss."


    "Brilliant speech." Chen Xu applauded happily. "I''m glad you can see this point, and I''m glad your words are infectious."


    After the trial, Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison but actually only served eight months. During these eight months, he turned all of the prison staff into Nazi members with his excellent speeches.


    Perhaps for those old foxes, German revival and glory were just empty talk. But for young people, these were goals that could make their blood boil and fight for them. That''s why most soldiers in the army are young hot-blooded guys.


    Apart from physical factors, hot-blooded guys are more easily infected and willing to sacrifice themselves.


    "So would you be willing to fight for your words?" Chen Xu smiled. "We will give you support - full support."


    For this Chinese man Chen Xu, whether Germany revives or not has nothing to do with him personally. However, German revival will strengthen the Dark Council and expand its influence over the world; that''s why he found Hitler.


    "What power do you have!" Although Hitler often used ideals to inspire others, he himself was not an easy fanatic. Before talking about practical benefits or drawbacks he wouldn''t easily agree or disagree.


    "Money." Chen Xu lightly uttered these two words from his mouth.


    The power of these two words is so great that they represent a third force in this world besides power and authority - one powerful enough to change everything in it.


    "How much money?" Hitler asked again.


    "Enough money to stabilize Germany''s entire finance system - whether it is gold or silver; pounds sterling or US dollars - we can provide it all."


    In this era where gold serves as currency exchange medium among countries worldwide (unlike later times when even the rich may not be able to exchange for gold), pounds sterling, US dollars, gold and silver can all be converted into each other.


    Hitler fell silent. In any country, private wealth is stronger than that of royalty or government; it''s just that sometimes this money doesn''t see the light of day.


    In fact, Germany''s financial collapse was entirely due to lack of money. The large amount of war reparations had drained the German government''s finances dry. Relying solely on donations from civilians could never stabilize finance - hence such a situation arose.


    If at that time the Junker aristocracy had been willing to fully support the Weimar government, Germany''s situation would not have been so bad now. Thinking about this made Hitler feel a bit resentful towards them - but only a little bit.


    For Hitler, Germany''s financial collapse led to public discontent and gave him an opportunity to step forward and achieve his ambitions. For this reason he could sacrifice temporary benefits.


    "Temporary sacrifice is for a stronger future," Hitler told himself in his heart. He always believed that only he could save Germany, and only he could be the one to do it.


    "Your conditions," Hitler asked again.


    "It''s simple," Chen Xu smiled slightly. "We will support you with money, but it won''t be free. After you take power, we need you to return all the money to us."


    "How?" Hitler couldn''t deny asking.


    "The central bank." Chen Xu uttered these words from his mouth.


    "That''s impossible!" Hitler roared. "I can''t hand over the central bank to you! There is no precedent for this in the world!"


    "The US dollar issuance is private, and only we issue marks with enough gold reserves to back them up."


    "Without gold, your issued marks are just worthless paper."


    In fact, issuing currency was not a very profitable business for banks at that time because they had to prepare a margin deposit which increased as the amount of currency issued increased. Unlike some governments in later years who dared to issue currency without sufficient gold reserves and even issued trillions annually.


    Hitler fell silent; he knew that the country was broke. He also understood that without relying on loans from foreign countries, only these wealthy aristocrats and capitalists could ensure financial stability.


    No one dared touch those damn wealthy aristocrats who had accumulated so much wealth over thousands of years.


    "But what about the people...?"


    "A dictatorship doesn''t need people''s opinions, nor do we need to tell them anything." Chen Xu interrupted Hitler''s words.


    The speed of information dissemination in this era was far less convenient than later times so he could easily cover it up.


    "Then I agree with you." After hesitating for a moment, his desire to realize his ambitions prevailed. Losing control of monetary policy was something unavoidable anyway.


    "Very well." Chen Xu nodded satisfactorily while patting off the dust on his body. "This is Schmidt, my servant. He will assist you in publishing some books about Nazism."


    Hitler was stunned but quickly understood Chen Xu''s intentions and smiled with joy.


    For him now, publishing books and showing them to millions of Germans was the best way to expand his influence and promote his ideology.


    "The German issue has come to an end; next up is China." Chen Xu shook his body slightly, feeling a little excited inside.


    Defeated Germany needed Hitler while China being invaded also needed someone - a great person - to expel the pig-tailed savages and white pigs.


    "And that person can only be him!"

 Chapter 19：Honor belongs to the gods, and strength belongs to me

    It was the winter of 1923, and the sea was calm. The clear sky and lazy sun made people want to sleep.


    Chen Xu sat on the ship with slightly narrowed eyes, focusing his attention on the Sun Gold Sutra in front of him. Unlike the Necromancer''s Black Scripture, the Sun Gold Sutra did not have much power, but it contained almost infinite knowledge.


    If the Necromancer''s Black Scripture contained power, then what was inside the Sun Gold Sutra was knowledge that controlled that power. Through these two books, Chen Xu had become more adept at controlling his own internal strength. He was no longer just an apprentice priest facing Imhotep; he was about to enter into "Black Iron" territory.


    Every time he watched the Sun Gold Sutra, Chen Xu saw different content. Each time he watched it, he felt like his knowledge was expanding infinitely. Even with his brain resembling a computer due to crossing over from another world, he couldn''t absorb all this knowledge at once. When he got tired or exhausted from watching it for too long without rest breaks in between sessions ,he would take a break; otherwise that unlimited amount of information would destroy everything.


    "I establish my kingdom in emptiness and operate rules together with my god."


    Suddenly a text appeared before Chen Xu''s eyes out of nowhere causing him to feel immediately exhausted.


    "I can''t rest...I can''t rest," he reminded himself.


    Each time Chen Xu watched something new appeared within its pages which gave him a premonition: if he missed any part of it now then there might be no chance later on down-the-line when needed most!


    "The kingdom of death is mine - our fantasy world will be our playground covering everything from past present future."


    With a sudden burst of energy followed by laughter tinged with blood spilling forth from his mouth onto white skin ashen face looking back up at the sky, Chen Xu finally couldn''t take it anymore.


    "The kingdom of death should refer to the underworld, and my country is the one ruled by Ra," he said with a smile. "There was once a saying that all Egyptian gods were extensions of Ra; it seems this statement has some basis in fact."


    "What does his next sentence mean? Could the fantasy world be referring to our own?" Chen Xu thought as he felt like his head was about to explode. His brain cells had been damaged due to exhaustion from overthinking things too much.


    Rubbing his temples, Chen Xu decided to give up on trying to decipher what these words meant for now even though he had a premonition that they might have something important related directly back towards him personally later down-the-line.


    The intuition of someone with power is different from that of an ordinary person - their intuition is almost always accurate and can predict future events with great precision.


    "Teacher." Sulaiman looked worriedly at his teacher but didn''t dare approach him any closer than three meters away since Chen Xu had previously warned him not do so while watching Sun Gold Sutra.


    "I''m fine." Rubbing his temple with one hand while holding both books together (Sun Gold Sutra & Necromancer''s Black Scripture) in another hand stacked atop each other vertically between fingers tips then thumb tip below them respectively before asking: "Where are we now?"


    "We''re in the East China Sea and will soon be landing in Shanghai," Sulaiman replied respectfully.


    "Shanghai?" Chen Xu''s gaze fell on the sea not far away, looking somewhat dazed. At this time in history, although Qing Dynasty rule had already fallen apart leaving behind remnants of its evil deeds yet unresolved still lingering around within society today; Sun Yat-sen may have risen up as leader but clearly did not know how best save China being influenced heavily by Japan instead who were already expanding their own ambitions.


    "Since this world is a movie world, then the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor should also exist."


    "It''s time to awaken them. This country needs a new king, and I will awaken him."


    Chen Xu''s gaze became firm as he thought about his dream and ambition. He had to wake up the Dragon Emperor and use his army to sweep across China, wiping out all those with braids or white skin pigs along with Japanese people.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    "Haha... laughter echoed, along with some chattering voices that instantly dampened Chen Xu''s mood.


    "Go ask them what they''re saying," Chen Xu whispered.


    In this world, the benefits brought by crossing over required him to learn ancient Egyptian, French, German and other languages of mainstream countries in the future. However, he deliberately did not learn two languages: Japanese and Korean. The former was unnecessary in his eyes while the latter was also deemed unnecessary.


    The chattering voices just now were indeed Japanese spoken by a group of ronin wearing hemp clothes and straw sandals.


    "Yes, teacher." Sulaiman respectfully answered before strutting over - Chen Xu had told him to be humble when facing his teacher but proud when dealing with others as he should always remember that he was a noble priest among nobles.


    Chen Xu closed his eyes to let his brain rest temporarily for better recovery of strength. He didn''t know how long it took until he was awakened by more chattering sounds. When he looked up, Sulaiman was arguing with two Japanese people which caused the commotion earlier.


    "Sulaiman," Chen Xu called out.


    Sulaiman immediately left the two Japanese people behind and ran over to stand beside Chen Xu obediently while those two laughed at their victory.


    "What''s going on?" Chen Xu narrowed his eyes at the two Japanese people who showed no remorse despite being guilty according to history since they would launch brutal invasions against China soon enough causing various horrific massacres events.


    He couldn''t tell which one participated in which war or massacre so all he could do is destroy their country and eradicate their race if necessary.


    "They said Chinese are all sick men from East Asia and we Egyptians are slaves too so I..."


    "Shut up!" Chen Xu suddenly shouted causing Sulaiman to tremble where he stood waiting for punishment from his teacher while those two became even more pleased. They continued to speak in Japanese that Chen Xu couldn''t understand while laughing non-stop.


    "Remember, when someone insults you, your response should not be argument but..." Black mist emerged from under Chen Xu''s feet and beetles crawled out of it towards the two Japanese people.


    Summoning sacred beetles was a low-level magic that could summon carnivorous scarabs to devour all living creatures seen leaving only bones behind.


    "Kill them."


    The sacred beetles gradually engulfed the two Japanese people who screamed before suddenly disappearing leaving behind piles of bones.


    Hearing their screams, people on deck rushed over to see what happened and were frightened by the still present sacred beetles screaming one after another.


    "Remember, you are a priest. Insulting you is equivalent to insulting the gods which makes those who insult them heretics. Heretics need to be devoured by sacred beetles with their souls sent into eternal torment in hell."


    Chen Xu waved his hand causing the sacred beetles to disperse while a cold wind blew past them.


    "In the name of Anubis, sacrifice these souls before us for power from beyond."


    A faint red light slowly covered the bones of both Japanese people as an unknown force flowed through Chen Xu''s body then subsided back into silence.


    "Sulaiman, you have disappointed me."


    "Yes, teacher, I was wrong." Sulaiman lowered his head and waited for the punishment that Chen Xu was about to give.


    "Do you know where you went wrong?" Chen Xu didn''t lay a hand on him, just stood there looking at him. "I have high expectations of you. You are my first disciple. In the future, you will inherit my power and knowledge and continue the responsibility of passing down the priesthood of ancient Egypt."


    "Teacher," Sulaiman''s head hung low with tears rolling down his face.


    "Tell me where you went wrong!" Chen Xu suddenly shouted.


    "I was wrong not to take action against them," Sulaiman said loudly. "They insulted my glory as a priest, but as a priest myself, I did not punish them. This is blasphemy."


    "That''s right," Chen Xu said sternly. "Priests represent the gods; we are their spokespersons in this world. Insulting us is insulting the gods themselves, so we must punish anyone who dares to insult them."


    "Even if that person is a pharaoh or even someone from the most noble bloodline, they must be punished."


    "This is our pride as priests."


    "I understand." Chen Xu''s expression softened slightly. "You have a kind nature and don''t like to use violence easily, but you should know that this world doesn''t only exist for kindness alone. If no one protects those who are kind-hearted, they too will fall into corruption."


    "And we priests should replace the gods in nurturing all living beings by protecting good people and punishing evil ones. The Japanese people - this foolish race - naturally carry genes of sin within their blood; they shouldn''t exist in this world."


    Sulaiman felt chills run through him as he firmly remembered his teacher''s words.


    "So we should eliminate them and clear out all trash from this world."


    "Yes teacher! I understand now. From now on, when I see Japanese people, I will sacrifice them to the god of death Anubis," Sulaiman vowed.


    "That''s right. As cleaners of trash, we should also receive offerings." Chen Xu smiled slightly.


    As a priest, his connection with the gods was very close. It was almost impossible for him to advance through his own strength alone; therefore sacrificing others was a good choice.


    But sacrifices required dead bodies. If he were to massacre other people on a large scale in this world, he would inevitably become an enemy of the entire world and some hidden old monsters might not sit idly by - he didn''t believe that there was only one remaining power like ancient Egypt in this world. Not to mention that woman who protected the tomb of the Dragon Emperor; she was definitely still alive and probably a monster herself.


    Relying on war as a means of sacrifice was undoubtedly an excellent solution. The Second World War and massacring Japanese people were all ways to gain power. He suddenly remembered a saying: "Glory belongs to the gods while power belongs to me."

 Chapter 20：Mysterious Woman

    It was a calm journey. After displaying his magical powers on the ship, Chen Xu intimidated everyone else. They looked at him with fearful eyes and avoided him like a snake.


    Chen Xu enjoyed the peace and quiet, constantly reading the Sun Gold Sutra. However, he regretted that the sentence never appeared again.


    After disembarking, Chen Xu used a small spell to erase passengers'' memories of him. He became like a shadow - no one had seen or remembered him.


    "Where are we going now, teacher?" Sulaiman asked as he looked at this bustling city with confusion.


    Cairo was poor and dirty; Berlin was desolate and filled with despair. Shanghai, on the other hand, was prosperous and lively with people coming and going everywhere.


    "London is probably similar," Sulaiman thought to himself.


    "We need to find somewhere to stay first."


    Even priests get tired - Chen Xu''s energy wasn''t infinite. Deciphering the Sun Gold Sutra consumed too many brain cells for him so he urgently needed somewhere to rest properly.


    However, since Chen Xu wasn''t familiar with Shanghai yet, he let Sulaiman find someone who seemed like a fashionable Chinese person as their guide.


    Whether it was before or after time travel, he was unfamiliar with this city known as "the Magic Capital".


    "Are you here for sightseeing or something else?" The guide seemed talkative and started chatting non-stop when they met Chen Xu.


    His pronunciation of syllables differed slightly from modern times but Chen Xu could still understand what he said somewhat reluctantlyly .


    "Just doing something." replied Chen Xu


    What he wanted to do was liberate this land from foreign hands and return it to China''s nationhood descendants of Yan Huang


    "I don''t know what you''re doing? Investing in factories or trading? It''s great investing in factories nowadays; many foreigners are doing it." The guide said excitedly, continuing to talk non-stop.


    "I suggest you start a match factory. The foreign match market is huge and always in short supply. If you start production, you can make money as soon as it''s launched - it''s definitely profitable."


    "And I happen to know of a match factory that is about to switch over to producing foreign matches. If you''re interested, we can negotiate the deal."


    "To be honest, if his family hadn''t had some problems, he wouldn''t have sold such a lucrative business like the match factory. It''s really a big pie."


    "It must be a trap." Chen Xu sneered inwardly and interrupted him,"Okay, we just want to find an inn and rest for now since we''ve just disembarked from the ship and are tired."


    "Oh okay." Upon hearing that Chen Xu wasn''t interested in the match factory idea, the guide became somewhat distracted.


    He led Chen Xu to an inn where they stayed for the night before taking their money and leaving without any intention of staying on as their guide.


    "Teacher, did I choose the wrong person?" Sulaiman felt embarrassed seeing how that guide acted.


    "It''s alright; none of us are familiar with this place so encountering something like this is normal." Chen Xu guessed that person was probably not really a guide but rather someone who worked for foreigners temporarily.


    "I''ll take a rest first." Chen Xu sat cross-legged with the Sun Golden Scripture placed between his legs.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He valued the Sun Golden Scripture more and more. Compared to the power of the Undead Black Scripture, the knowledge contained in the Sun Golden Scripture seemed infinitely vast. The more he read it, the smaller he felt, like an ant standing in the center of the universe, observing endless stars.


    So he became even more eager for knowledge. He wanted to fill his brain with knowledge and use his infinite mind to fill up infinite knowledge. Even if it was as vast as the universe, he would store it all in his mind.


    When Sulaiman saw that his teacher was resting, he waited for a while but found it boring and quietly left.


    After leaving the room and hotel, walking on streets filled with people coming and going made him feel happy. He had never seen so many people or such clean streets before. Seeing so many people with skin color similar to his teacher''s made him dizzy for a moment; he couldn''t help but get lost among them after a while.


    He became anxious because when he was young, he always stayed close to his parents'' side or near his teacher even when doing things outside. Now that he couldn''t find his teacher anymore, he worried that if they missed each other upon waking up from their nap later on then maybe anger or scolding would follow from either party.


    Chen Xu is very strict with him because he sees him as his heir and wants to train him. Once he makes a mistake or even performs poorly, Chen Xu will scold and punish him. He either uses a stick to hit his palms or hits his head with a book, which hurts.


    "What are you doing here, little kid?" A woman in ancient Chinese clothing asked.


    "I''m not a little kid." Sulaiman disliked the title, although it was true.


    "As a priest who worships the gods, we don''t have an age difference."


    "Priest." The woman''s beautiful eyes rippled. "Can you tell me what kind of priest you are?"


    "What!" Sulaiman''s eyes flashed with caution.


    "I''m asking what kind of priest you are!" The woman''s voice struck directly at Sulaiman''s soul. In confusion, Sulaiman revealed his origin: "I am an ancient Egyptian priest responsible for worshiping the gods."


    "Why did your ancient Egyptian priests come to China?" The woman became more puzzled.


    "I came with my master," Sulaiman said drowsily. "My teacher said that he wanted to find someone in China to end the current situation."


    "Who is he looking for?" The woman felt uneasy recently and had a premonition that something was going to happen. So she came to Shanghai and met this strange foreigner.


    Yes, a strange foreigner - in her eyes, foreigners all looked alike with one nose, two eyes and two ears just like ordinary Chinese people. But this foreigner had wailing spirits around him as well as spiritual light protecting him; some mysterious force surrounded and protected him.


    "He must have gotten this power from his teacher!" From the words of this foreign little boy, she heard that he had a teacher. Thinking about that power, she felt it was possible that it came from his teacher.


    "I don''t know," Suleiman shook his head, his eyes lost in thought. "My teacher never told me. He only said that this was a great figure and once he resurrected, the foreigners who enslaved the descendants of Yan and Huang on Chinese soil would be destroyed."


    "Emperor Qin Shi Huang."


    "Please do not use confusing spells on my disciple. It will harm his soul."


    The densely packed sacred beetles crawled on the ground, scaring away all pedestrians on the road. In an instant, only Chen Xu, Suleiman and this mysterious woman remained on the street.


    The beetle swarm surrounded the mysterious woman like a black wave, squeaking.


    "Teacher!" At this point, Suleiman also reacted with a red face. "I''m sorry..."


    "No need to say more." Chen Xu''s expression wasn''t good either. "Madam, using such means against a child...don''t you feel ashamed?"


    "If you want to play with magic tricks then I''ll play with you."


    Chen Xu alternated between two scriptures in his hand - Sun Gold Scripture at the bottom and Undead Black Scripture at the top - while opening up Undead Black Scripture where magical power surged towards it endlessly through radiation from its text.


    The sacred beetles received Chen Xu''s command immediately and swarmed over like a dense black wave from all directions towards the mysterious woman.


    "I have no ill intentions towards you," said the mysterious woman incessantly despite being opposed by Chen Xu.


    "No matter whether or not you have ill intentions; your actions are facts! Hmph! If my disciple stagnates in spiritual cultivation because of this incident then I won''t let you go!"


    For a priest, spirituality is very important as there can be no setbacks in spiritual cultivation; otherwise one may lose control of their power eventually becoming monsters controlled by their own strength.


    Without any hesitation or pause whatsoever,the black wave rushed towards the mysterious woman. She had no choice but to fight back.


    She drew out a sharp sword and swung it repeatedly at the black sacred beetles, with its blade flashing everywhere, picking up each beetle one by one.


    "If this is all the power you have then your death is already certain." Chen Xu forced her to use magic spells.


    This woman looked exactly like in the movie he watched; he recognized her at first glance. They were destined to be opponents but not necessarily unable to cooperate.


    However, before that, he wanted to see how strong she was.


    "Don''t disappoint me."

 Chapter 21：Winning over their hearts

    In the end, he still failed to achieve his goal. After discovering that the sacred beetle couldn''t be killed, the mysterious woman chose to leave. Her decisiveness left Chen Xu with no chance to persuade her and only regret.


    In fact, even before crossing over, Chen Xu was not a good student. He had no interest in mainstream science such as physics and chemistry and performed poorly in those subjects.


    On the contrary, he was very interested in myths and legends from various countries. Even when studying English, his goal was based on this - many people who study myths and legends use English to record their research.


    It is precisely because of this interest that after crossing over, he did not panic but instead accepted this result calmly and began learning magic.


    He was also quite interested in Chinese Taoism and wanted to learn it.


    The appearance of this woman undoubtedly gave him a glimpse of hope for Taoism. So regardless of right or wrong, he acted directly for Taoism. Unfortunately...


    "Tell me what happened." Chen Xu stood with his hands behind his back as Solomon defended himself.


    "It''s like this..." Solomon told Chen Xu about coming out to see things because he couldn''t stand loneliness.


    "Look at me." Chen Xu coldly shouted as he swapped the positions of Sun Gold Sutra and Undead Black Sutra while opening Sun Gold Sutra. "Meditate quietly and contemplate; observe carefully; This is Sun Gold Sutra."


    Solomon looked at Sun Gold Sutra excitedly. This was Teacher''s treasure that never left her side even when sleeping within reach by hand! One can imagine how much these two books meant to Chen Xu!


    However today they were shown to him by Chen Xu himself which made Solomon feel an unparalleled sense of honor - just like a god descending from heaven personally blessing him! Such joy could not be expressed in words!


    "Don''t get excited; keep calm and contemplate yourself." Chen Xu sternly ordered.


    If it weren''t for Solomon being controlled by that mysterious woman, if his mind wasn''t likely to crack, Chen Xu wouldn''t have borrowed the power of Sun Gold Sutra to temper his spirit.


    Infinite knowledge is also an infinite impact. If one can''t bear it, they are just a fool. This is a supreme practice and also a supreme experience.


    Solomon quickly sat down without caring about the dust on the ground. He looked at Sun Gold Sutra and immediately saw a picture - a picture of gods! Countless words jumped in his mind as he heard the murmurs of gods playing in his brain!


    This was not teaching; this was torture! When countless voices and endless knowledge descended into his mind, Solomon felt tortured.


    His head throbbed with pain; His soul collapsed; Only one voice remained deep within him - Why did my teacher want to harm me?


    Seeing that things were not going well, Chen Xu immediately shouted loudly: "Meditate quietly and contemplate; don¡¯t think about other messy things or absorb all knowledge indiscriminately. You must learn self-control."


    Self-control is essential because while delicious food may be enjoyable, eating too much will make you sick. Knowledge is no different - pouring unlimited knowledge together will cause even gods to suffer mental breakdowns.


    Chen Xu understands this, which is why he can watch it again and again. Every time he watches it, he sees a part of the ocean of knowledge recorded in the Sun Golden Scripture, or perhaps just a drop of water. With time passing by, he will eventually see the entire sea.


    Chen Xu''s voice was magical, infused into Sulaiman''s soul, interrupting his thirst for knowledge. After that, Sulaiman adjusted the pace of absorbing knowledge and began to slowly absorb it.


    After a while, someone came on the street. They were police officers who had obviously come after receiving a report from someone else.


    However, these people did not dare to approach because of the scarab beetle hovering near Chen Xu seemed terrifying.


    "The people over there, you have been surrounded..."


    Puchi!


    Chen Xu laughed out loud. He didn''t know if the police could cross time and space or not but he had an illusion of crossing time and space - the TV before crossing and reality after crossing coincided amazingly at least in that sentence "The people over there, you have been surrounded...".This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "Okay." Chen Xu saw Sulaiman breathing naturally so he closed the Sun Gold Sutra and summoned back the scarab beetle.


    Black mist rose under his feet as countless scarab beetles crawled back and disappeared in an instant.


    Sulaiman looked at Chen Xu with some admiration then stood behind him.


    "Are you guys police?"


    Suddenly Chen Xu''s voice became magical again.


    "Well then please forget about what happened today."


    Memory cleansing is similar to hypnosis but hypnosis requires cooperation from others and also needs to persuade them through language whereas he only needed a small magic spell to wipe away these ordinary people''s memories.


    "But those civilians might be troublesome." Chen Xu pondered for a moment.


    Those civilians all saw him using magic so they might spread this incident outside. With Chinese gossip levels being what they are it would become big news within a day or two


    "Let me do this." Chen waved his hand as black spiritual light covered every policeman modifying their memory,


    "Just now three American actors were filming here with props like those scarabs and swords. What everyone saw was just a movie. To prevent the plot from being leaked, you need to suppress this matter with all your might."


    People are forgetful. Even if they have personally experienced something, as long as there are no scars left behind, they will slowly forget it over time. He believed that with the excuse of making a movie he could easily control these comments within a certain range.


    "Okay, let''s go back." Chen Xu waved his hand again and collected the black spiritual light. After they left, the dumbfounded police officers returned to their original state.


    "What just happened? Why are we standing here?"


    Due to the vastness of human memory, modifying memories inevitably conflicts with previous memories. Only those who are highly skilled can seamlessly modify memories.


    "It seems like we were escorting a film crew here." Another police officer thought carefully and answered.


    He felt something was strange because he hadn''t heard of any film crew coming here for shooting before. However, memories cannot be faked. He couldn''t figure it out and gave up thinking about it.


    "Oh yeah, those extras seemed scared away. They might spread rumors everywhere."


    "I spit on them! Those guys are afraid even of some props; they''re cowards that disgrace our Chinese people."


    "Let''s go handle this so that filming doesn''t turn into rumors. It''ll be troublesome if it spreads all over since those American big shots seem important."


    The police officers had no idea that their memories had been tampered with by Chen Xu. They spoke incoherently according to modified memories without realizing that what they said wasn''t what they wanted or used to say.


    "Because I modified their memory, there is still a conflict in logic which shows my immaturity," Chen Xu said as a sacred beetle crawled onto his palm and transmitted images seen by its eyes to him.


    "A true master at modifying memory will make sure the new memory perfectly integrates with the old one without causing personality conflicts. However, this requires an in-depth understanding of a person''s past memory which is too much work for little gain."


    "Teacher," Sulaiman looked at Chen Xu expectantly, "Can I see Sun Gold Sutra again?"


    "You want to see it?" A smile appeared on Chen Xu''s face.


    In fact, he was quite conflicted. He wanted Sulaiman to spread his wings and fly high, but he was also reluctant to let him go.


    He was like a parent who wanted their child to experience the world outside but couldn''t bear to let them go.


    "Yes." Sulaiman nodded firmly. "I feel my soul is stronger than ever before, as if everything is within my grasp."


    "Everything is within your grasp?" Chen Xu''s expression became even more strange.


    He remembered having the same feeling when he first read Sun Gold Sutra which almost led to his downfall when facing Imhotep. Since then, he had escaped from the feeling of being in control and returned to himself.


    Unexpectedly, his disciple followed in his footsteps which made him both gratified and regretful.


    "Yes, I feel that everything is under my control - the sun, moon, stars, all things in heaven and earth follow rules that I can use at any time," Sulaiman said confidently.


    "Then show me by destroying this city easily," Chen Xu said with confidence. However soon after muttering some words under his breaths; Sulaiman''s face turned pale.


    "What happened? Why did it turn out like this? Didn''t I have control over everything? Wasn''t I a supreme deity? How could something like this happen?"


    He kept murmuring while shaking uncontrollably with disbelief as he looked at an unchanged world ahead of him asking repeatedly: "Teacher why am I like this?"


    "Exactly!" Chen Xu pitifully looked at Sulaiman. He understood this feeling - seeing infinite knowledge and thinking he was the smartest person in the world; mastering the secrets of gods and thinking he could rival them. However, he forgot that although knowledge is important, it needs power to match it. Moreover, what they saw was only a small part of the vast sea of knowledge, which could only be considered as a tiny drop.


    "Still not awake." Chen Xu''s voice carried magic and directly hit Sulaiman''s soul.


    In an instant, Sulaiman woke up from his arrogance.


    In fact, when he watched the Sun Golden Sutra and was filled with endless knowledge, he committed seven sins - pride.


    But now he realized that those knowledges were just illusions - intangible and non-existent. To interfere with existence by non-existence or to interfere with being by nothingness is unrealistic for him now.


    Understanding this point naturally eliminated his pride. His soul would also become more stable than being impacted by unlimited knowledge training alone.


    Subduing one''s heart is strength. In Shaolin Temple there is a martial art called "Prajna Palm", which records: if you are restless all night long with your thoughts flying around wildly in your mind, how can you subdue them? The first priority is to practice Prajna Palm internal skills."


    This refers to subduing one''s inner thoughts. And Sulaiman has subdued his arrogance.


    In fact, whether it¡¯s Eastern or Western practices of cultivating strength involves spirituality ¨C different paths lead to the same destination.


    "Okay Sulaiman£¬now you realize your lack of power and your soul returns to perfection¡£However£¬you cannot indulge yourself£¬otherwise original sin will invade your soul again."


    "Yes teacher£¬I remember."Sulaiman said respectfully.

 chapter 22：Firm belief

    "Some humans are good at blaming me for their own misdeeds, trying to push all the blame onto me as if they themselves are innocent, pure and noble. Let me tell you, don''t try to deceive yourself and others. Join me in hell!" - Satan''s proclamation (Revelation)


    Chen Xu looked at the mysterious woman who suddenly appeared in his hotel with a playful gaze, shamelessly scanning her body before retracting his seemingly hot gaze and saying: "You just ran away but now you''re here. I''m curious."


    "We''re not enemies; more accurately speaking, we should be of the same kind," said the mysterious woman.


    "The same kind?" Chen Xu''s gaze became even more playful as he revealed a strange smile.


    "Yes." The mysterious woman found Chen Xu''s behavior strange but continued: "I sensed power from your disciple that is different from ordinary people; it is the power possessed by those who practice like us."


    "I practice ancient Egyptian magic." Chen Xu did not hide his intentions and directly stated his goal: "I came here to resurrect Qin Shihuang. I think you will stop me."


    This woman was Zi Yuan from "The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor". Chen Xu recognized her at first glance because she looked exactly like she did in the movie.


    "Why do you want to resurrect Qin Shihuang?" Zi Yuan asked calmly. "Give me a reason. You should understand that once Qin Shihuang is resurrected, it will bring about doomsday for the entire world."


    "As expected," Chen Xu laughed when he saw Zi Yuan''s reaction; he knew his guess was correct.


    In the movie, Zi Yuan had no anger towards Qin Shihuang''s resurrection; on the contrary, she hoped that after he was revived, he would be killed completely.


    "I hope Qin Shihuang can be resurrected because China needs him," said Chen Xu after a moment of contemplation, revealing his thoughts: "The Qing Dynasty has already been overthrown, but the organization for its restoration is still active. It''s not just the Manchus; there are also many so-called old and young remnants who are attempting to restore it."


    "Foreigners ride on our heads and defecate and urinate on us without any respect. The various dictatorial warlords fight each other viciously while being cruel to their own people and subservient to foreigners."


    "The Japanese sharpen their knives towards pigs and sheep in the east."


    "I want this land of China to break free from such a situation. We need a hero."


    "And this hero can only be Qin Shihuang."


    "So you came looking for Qin Shihuang?" Zi Yuan sat cross-legged in front of Chen Xu. "But you should understand that he was a tyrant."


    "Whether he was a tyrant or not has nothing to do with me," said Chen Xu as he also sat cross-legged, closing his eyes and entering into an extraordinary state: "Chinese people need a hero to lead them in rebellion, and during this process, necessary bloodshed and sacrifice will pave the way for better times in the future."


    Everyone had to admit that this era was one of China''s biggest nightmares, second only to the periods when foreign invaders entered during the end of Song dynasty/start of Yuan dynasty or at the end/beginning of Ming/Qing dynasties.


    "You don''t care about all those lives lost?" Zi Yuan lamented sorrowfully. "Qin Shihuang was a tyrant; how many years did they die building The Great Wall? How many people died because of wars he started? And yet you still want him resurrected so that he can live forever?"


    "I don''t care how many people died; it concerns our Chinese nation - descendants of Yan Huang - we can fight amongst ourselves, but we absolutely cannot allow foreigners to attack us," Chen Xu''s eyes sparkled with determination. "My mind is made up; anyone who tries to stop me will be


    "I know your background, Ziyuan. You are an ancient witch, immortal and powerful. But I am not afraid of you. I offer sacrifices to the gods, and my power is just as pure as yours."


    The greatest benefit of offering sacrifices to the gods is the incomparably pure power it provides. This immense yet pure power can be infused into anyone''s body through sacrifice. There are almost no level restrictions - sacrificing a world''s creatures could directly break through into legendary or epic realms.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Although Ziyuan has been practicing for thousands of years, she seems to have reached her limit in terms of progress. Unless she encounters some fortuitous opportunity, it would be difficult for her to advance further through her own efforts alone. This is also why she has been practicing for thousands of years but still cannot compare with Qin Shihuang."


    There are checkpoints on the road for toll collection; similarly, there are also checkpoints in one''s spiritual journey for toll collection. In the Eastern Heavenly Path, merit is collected as payment, while in the Western gods'' realm, sacrifices are offered. However, those who practice cultivation have their own way of breaking through these checkpoints without accumulating merit or offering sacrifices to the gods. They rely solely on their own strength to forcefully break through and open up these checkpoints.


    Some succeed and continue smoothly with their cultivation at an incredible speed until they encounter the next checkpoint. Others fail and struggle to find a way past it.


    "I admit defeat," said Ziyuan humbly. "I have never witnessed nor heard of your power before since you''re Chinese and should be aware of Emperor Qin Shi Huang''s tyranny and his resurrection which has brought disaster upon our people."


    "But this disaster has already happened," argued Chen Xu firmly. "I want to put an end to it even if it means causing another disaster. Foreigners may have destroyed our hearts but not our spirit as we refuse to become slaves or let them turn us from a civilized ancient nation into slaves."


    "I''ve planned a massive war in the West that will involve most countries - this war will be China''s chance for resurgence."


    "Huaxia must rise, but not under the leadership of Qin Shihuang," said Ziyuan slowly and deliberately. "When Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, what did he do? He burned books and buried Confucian scholars alive, enforced harsh laws..."


    "Wrong." Chen Xu interrupted Ziyuan. "Burning books and burying Confucian scholars was necessary."


    Indeed, in that era, Confucianism was pure and good. But later on, after it became the only accepted ideology, it became corrupt and hindered China''s progress.


    Chen Xu didn''t know what kind of world technology would develop into in the future or whether it would lead to a collapse of society at its peak. However, he knew that if technology had developed earlier than his time period then Chinese people wouldn''t have suffered such humiliation.


    As for Confucianism being responsible for this downfall - naturally Chen Xu hated them.


    "The various schools of thought should debate with each other to determine who is right instead of abandoning all other ideas just because they don''t align with so-called ''Confucian'' values. This is wrong; it''s reversing history."


    Chen Xu spoke passionately: "You''ve lived for thousands of years and seen everything there is to see in this world - don''t you understand how things work? When a dynasty rises up from nothingness its people suffer; when a dynasty falls apart its people suffer even more."


    "If everyone suffers anyway then why not make their suffering brief? Only Qin Shihuang had the ability to expel invaders quickly while restoring peace with minimal pain inflicted upon his subjects."


    "He alone could accomplish this feat - no one else in the entire world could do what he did!"


    "We need a hero! The Chinese people need a hero! And that hero can only be Qin Shihuang!"


    Chen Xu transformed into an intellectual giant as he shouted out his anger towards this era.


    People of this time period had no idea what kind of disaster was about to befall them. Nor did they know how much future generations would despise the atrocities committed during their time.


    They were ignorant, but Chen Xu knew better. He understood that in the future, the Chinese nation and its descendants would have to endure unimaginable hardships.


    When a country prospers or falls apart, it is everyone''s responsibility. Since Chen Xu had arrived in this era he was determined to change its course - even if it meant sacrificing himself for the cause.


    "I don''t understand," Ziyuan said quietly. She couldn''t comprehend why Chen Xu held such beliefs and wanted to change them.


    "This world will give birth to heroes who belong here," she continued optimistically while pointing at people below who were striving for their dreams. "They are all great heroes."


    "Heroes?" Chen Xu sneered; history has proven that those people weren''t enough to save China from ruin. They fought each other over territory while ignoring impending danger.


    "Yes, there were indeed heroes after the Japanese invasion, but they only acted after Japan had caused harm. He wants to nip danger in the bud."


    "Our perspectives are separated by an entire era. You can''t convince me and I can''t convince you either."


    "Regardless, I will awaken Qin Shihuang and his army, flatten all the mountains weighing down on us Chinese people, and return them a clean and free sky."


    Chen Xu said firmly. His ideas could not be changed by anyone in this era.


    "But..." Zi Yuan tried one last effort. She listed all the harsh laws and evil deeds during the Qin Dynasty with hopes of changing Chen Xu''s mind.


    "Strict laws are necessary. True citizens won''t steal or oppress others; good officials won''t embezzle money. However, he is indeed out of touch with his time."


    Zi Yuan was delighted as she thought she had changed Chen Xu''s mind but before she could speak again, he interrupted her: "But I will persuade him."


    "He is a tyrant - King Qin himself - who thinks he is supreme and smarter than anyone else. He cannot accept your opinions."


    "It doesn''t matter; many people think they are supreme and smarter than everyone else throughout history''s founding emperors like Li Shimin or Zhu Yuanzhang were no different from him," replied Chen Xu.


    "As long as he expels foreign invaders, restores our land, I can tolerate all his flaws to help him eliminate those sinners."

 Chapter 23：The Invitation of the Godslayer

    Chen Xu and Zi Yuan parted ways, but Chen Xu knew that they had an understanding between them. Their understanding would last until the resurrection of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. After his resurrection, their understanding would no longer exist.


    "However, before that happens, I need to guard against Zi Yuan''s assassination attempts," Chen Xu thought to himself.


    He had watched the movie and knew that Zi Yuan had made a sword to kill Emperor Qin Shi Huang. She could use this sword to kill him and prevent his resurrection.


    "But I won''t let you kill Emperor Qin Shi Huang."


    He needed to plan carefully before taking action. He reviewed the plot of "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" in his mind and narrowed his eyes.


    Zi Yuan had a daughter who was also immortal after drinking from the Fountain of Youth. However, compared with her mother, she was clearly not a witch and was just an inexperienced young girl who hadn''t gained any combat experience despite living for thousands of years - it was unbelievable.


    "Xiao Lin is not a concern but we still need to be cautious and not give her any chance."


    Countless scarab beetles emerged from underfoot through hidden drainage measures as they searched for Zi Yuan.


    These scarab beetles were summoned by him naturally bearing his mark; he could easily attach his will onto them making them into extensions of himself acting as additional eyes on site monitoring every move made by Zi Yuan so as not give her or anyone else any opportunity to assassinate Emperor Qin Shi Huang.


    Shanghai''s sewers were dirty with numerous twists and turns which can confuse those unfamiliar with its layout; however there were many scarab beetles available at hand which allowed easy access throughout these sewers while extending their reach across various locations via underground tunnels without drawing attention from others since people often mistook these creatures for dung beetles due their similar appearance being part of same species. However, scarab beetles were carnivorous and their meat-eating habits were terrifying - even more so than African cannibal ants; they were one of the main tools used by priests in ancient Egypt and also a symbol of their power.


    Most importantly, their mouths were very hard and could easily gnaw through wooden boards or similar materials when commanded to do so. Of course, they didn''t like eating wood unless ordered to do so.


    Soon enough, Chen Xu found Zi Yuan''s location. They were in what appeared to be a large courtyard that was decorated with an antique style.


    "You need to follow that person and watch him find Emperor Qin Shi Huang. When you have the chance, kill Emperor Qin Shi Huang for your father''s revenge."


    "But be careful; his heart is as hard as iron and he is an extreme Chinese nationalist who treats his own people kindly but cruelly towards foreigners."


    "If necessary, you can beg for mercy. I believe he won''t harm you."


    "Mother, is he really that powerful?" Xiao Lin asked Zi Yuan - her daughter born from her relationship with the general who was also immortal after drinking from the Fountain of Youth.


    Chen Xu attached his will onto the scarab beetle which allowed him to eavesdrop on all their conversations.


    "This woman sees right through me," Chen Xu sneered coldly.


    He treated foreigners like pigs or dogs while treating Japanese people worse than criminals; however, he treated his fellow countrymen equally regardless of status or background.


    But Zi Yuan made a mistake in saying that he was merciful because instead he was strict just like how Buddha had both compassion and wrath within him; likewise Chen Xu possessed such qualities too.


    Chinese people are kind-hearted individuals whom if left alone would not cause any trouble but if provoked then it would result in them fighting back without hesitation against those who oppress them unjustly.


    Goodness versus evilness isn''t independent but rather complementary to each other. Evil people can have good intentions while kind-hearted individuals also possess the means to kill just like how yin and yang complement each other.


    "But do you think that this is enough for you to use me? Wrong, very wrong! I won''t let myself be used by you; instead, it will be the opposite - you''ll be used by me," Chen Xu muttered as he stopped monitoring Zi Yuan and focused on studying the Sun Golden Sutra.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Translated


    He never misses any opportunity to improve his knowledge. His brain is like a pond, constantly absorbing drops of knowledge from the vast sea of information, strengthening himself. He firmly believes that one day he will uncover all secrets, but before that day comes, he needs diligence and good time management.


    "Sacrifice is the only way to reach God. It''s not about sacrificing for God, it''s about sacrificing for oneself."


    The Sun Gold Scripture always reveals secrets of the gods which makes Chen Xu less devout towards them even though he was not originally a faithful believer in Egyptian gods.


    "When sacrifices disappear, so do the gods."


    The inexplicable text describes bold facts that make Chen Xu feel suffocated.


    He can almost feel a fierce god staring at him with an evil look and ready to slaughter him at any moment despite it being just an illusion.


    "The path from man to god has never been smooth sailing. Blasphemy is only primitive - Moses."


    Moses! Chen Xu''s heart beats faster as he wonders who Moses is - a great sage who led slaves out of Egypt in "Exodus" and was considered its protagonist.


    He was the first person to sense and believe in God and spread His name while performing miracles such as parting the Red Sea through divine intervention.


    In Eastern novels, the first pope often represents God Himself whether by divine manifestation or transformation from human form into deity. Moses could be called the first pope because he spread God''s name, radiance and brought believers along with Him.


    "Why does The Sun Gold Scripture record Moses'' quotes? And why are they so blasphemous?"


    Chen Xu feels his speculation may be wrong or perhaps mythological legends have misled him; however, as he gets closer to truth danger looms ahead since armed conflict marks only beginning whereas slaughtering by deities signifies finality.


    Closing The Sun Gold Scripture book causes sweat on his forehead. He realizes he has been sweating profusely without noticing.


    "Teacher, are you okay?" Solomon looks at his teacher with concern.


    Chen Xu''s face was covered in sweat just now and the drops fell on the bed, soaking it which made him worried and scared.


    "I''m fine." Chen Xu waves his hand while looking at The Sun Gold Scripture book feeling a mixture of fear and hope that he cannot explain.


    "Sacrifice? Sacrificing oneself to become a god? What kind of nonsense is this?"


    "But if Moses said this quote, then why not give it a try?"


    A thought pops up in Chen Xu''s mind which scares him even more. Although he does not believe in Egyptian gods nor have necessary faith towards them, reverence always exists within him for all deities and great powers. However, such awe never stops him from moving forward; instead, it motivates him to surpass himself.


    "Moses? I''ll walk your path too and see if what you said is true. Ha ha! I''ve never been a coward."


    Chen Xu opens The Sun Gold Scripture book again but this time sees new knowledge:


    "The gods are fragile beings who remain trapped by powerful pursuers on their plane of existence unable to break free or create kingdoms in voids."


    "This is their decline but our fortune as successors who will join us on the road to slay these gods."


    "No need for reverence or fear since the gods are not omnipotent."


    Looking at The Sun Gold Scripture book causes an enormous wave inside Chen Xu''s heart.


    "Could it be that this isn''t written by the gods themselves but rather by those who killed them?"


    According to Egyptian mythology, the Book of the Dead should consist of both the Golden Sun Book and the Black Book of the Dead. They contain spells, incantations, and true names and words of gods. However, it seems that only the Black Book is accurate as it contains a large number of ancient Egyptian spells and incantations. On the other hand, contrary to its description, the Golden Sun Book does not record true names and words of gods but instead instigates those who hold it to walk on a path towards deicide.


    "Weakness is original sin; strength is glory; deicide is greatness. Come on newcomers! Let''s embark together on this great and glorious path."


    Chen Xu closed then reopened The Golden Sun Book again. As expected, its contents changed once more.


    "I am Moses. Those who believe in me, love me and follow my path will receive my protection. You and I have agreed upon ten commandments which we must abide by."


    Ten Commandments! Chen Xu''s heart was like a stormy sea that could not be calmed.


    The Ten Commandments were an agreement between God and man - an agreement shared by both God himself as well as Western ancestors - where they promised never to abandon each other: people would trust in God while He would protect them forevermore.


    Even The Ten Commandments appeared here! My guess was right yet wrong at the same time.


    God left Egypt but Moses wasn''t just His messenger; he was God Himself - high priest, deicide perpetrator- someone who wanted to become a god by killing one!


    He stole faith for himself; he sacrificed himself; he led slaves out from Egypt seeking new land where they could rest easy with their covenant together.


    Thinking about how many people believed in Him later made Chen Xu wipe his sweat away.


    It was clear that all Egyptian gods had disappeared while God prospered under Moses'' leadership. So, would he still let newcomers walk the same path as him?


    Cutting off the road ahead and leaving no way out for others was something Chen Xu never minded doing with his malicious speculations about people. And this Moses - or God Himself - was within that range of suspicion.


    What puzzled him though was if Moses was God, then who is Jesus? Historically speaking, this guy stole God''s faith! Before Jesus appeared, there wasn''t even a symbol for God but after He came along, it became equivalent to hanging a cross with His image on it. No matter how you look at it, this is not an ingenious theft.


    "Could it be that like me he too is a newcomer and deicide perpetrator? Moreover, did he kill God and replace Moses?"

 Chapter 24：Dragon Emperors Tomb

    The tomb of the Dragon Emperor is eerie and terrifying.


    To prevent grave robbers and malicious individuals from causing damage, the tomb is filled with numerous traps that teach anyone who enters a profound lesson.


    Chen Xu had seen movies about these traps before, but he didn''t know how they were distributed without the original design plans.


    Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!


    Countless black scarab beetles poured out like a tide from the black mist beneath Chen Xu''s feet, crawling in all directions.


    "Is there danger?" Sulaiman looked around warily.


    "Don''t worry," Chen Xu reassured his disciple. "I''m just using these scarabs to test for traps."


    Ancient traps couldn''t be endless; as long as one was willing to risk their life, they could eventually fill them all. He wasn''t worried about whether this would cause the entire tomb to collapse or not.


    Emperor Qin Shi Huang was no ordinary person; he was a powerful cultivator with boundless magical abilities. According to descriptions in movies, his powers were based on the Five Elements'' mutual generation and restraint theory - limitless magic power indeed!


    How could such an individual fail to foresee what lay ahead? If he hadn''t foreseen it, how could he have hidden himself inside a mummy or come into contact with water from an eternal spring?


    The art of Chinese divination was vast and profound; compared to Western prophecy techniques, it was equally formidable. It must be that Emperor Qin Shi Huang foresaw everything and made those arrangements accordingly.


    However, fate is mysterious; even divination can never predict everything. Therefore, Chen Xu didn''t believe that Emperor Qin Shi Huang would set up enough traps capable of destroying the entire tomb just so that he could destroy himself too easily.


    Don¡¯t forget: constructing this tomb began during his lifetime!


    Therefore, Chen Xu recklessly used scarab beetles to trigger the traps, setting off all of them before entering.


    "I am flesh and blood, extremely fragile. I must have a vanguard."


    Under Chen Xu''s command, the scarab beetles piled up as high as he was - in terms of weight, they were about the same.


    "Go ahead and clear out any traps in front of me."


    Traps such as arrows, flying discs, pits, flames and broken stones erupted one after another under the scarabs'' triggering until they had exhausted themselves. It could be said that there was now a smooth path throughout the entire tomb.


    "I didn''t expect it to take so long." Chen Xu''s body shook slightly; his face turned pale.


    Even with amplification from the Necromantic Black Scripture, summoning scarab beetles for this long had been somewhat difficult for him. The pile of dead beetle bodies on the ground directly proved how terrifying these traps were.


    "Teacher, are you okay?" Sulaiman looked at his teacher worriedly.


    "I''m fine," Chen Xu shook his head. "I just overused my magic power and need to rest for a bit."


    Chen Xu sat cross-legged and entered into a half-asleep state between meditation and wakefulness.


    What is meditation? Its essence is sleeping. When people sleep without distractions or worries on their minds it doesn''t help cultivate oneself; therefore if one wants to meditate effectively then they should enter into a half-asleep state.


    Expelling distracting thoughts and calming the mind is an effective way to rest and rejuvenate the spirit.


    In ancient China, there were similar meditation techniques passed down through various practices. Among them, Chen Tuan''s "Hibernating Dragon" technique was one of the most outstanding.


    "Hibernation" refers to animals'' winter sleep, while a "hibernating dragon" is a sleeping dragon that breathes out spiritual energy between breaths. Its strength naturally increases during this time, and upon waking up, it feels refreshed and invigorated. This is such a free-spirited cultivation technique.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Inwardly hibernate like a dragon in its lair; outwardly remain calm as if nothing has happened. Keep your abilities hidden deep within yourself; breathe deeply in silence. Rest high above the clouds with no one understanding you."


    Chen Xu fell into a half-asleep state during his meditation practice where his mind became empty and peaceful while his spirit grew stronger with each inhale and exhale surrounded by white mist.


    After some time had passed, Chen Xu woke up from his meditation practice feeling amazed at how universal Eastern and Western cultivation techniques are alike.


    The essence of cultivation lies in both physical strength and mental fortitude - sacrificing oneself to absorb spiritual energy from nature or elements all come down to harnessing universal energies present throughout our universe. Cultivating inner peace follows suit by conquering personal demons that plague our minds.


    Although different methods may be used for cultivating these skills along different paths towards enlightenment ultimately lead us back to the same source: The Great Dao itself.


    "How long have I been asleep?"


    "It''s already been one day," said Sulaiman respectfully but with dry lips as he licked them unconsciously when speaking due to dehydration caused by not drinking water or eating rice for an entire day just so he could watch over Chen Xu without leaving him alone even once!


    Upon hearing this news, Chen Xu was surprised and remembered a legend about Peng Zu who lived for 800 years. When he was born, there were auspicious signs of red light in the sky. At that time, Chen Tuan happened to be sleeping... when he woke up from his nap and asked around about Peng Zu''s whereabouts only to find out that he had been dead for over two hundred years already! Chen Tuan sighed: "I knew this child couldn''t survive."


    "You''ve been watching over me for a day?" Chen Xu asked again.


    "Yes," Sulaiman replied.


    "Silly boy." Moved by Sulaiman''s dedication despite being just a child, Chen Xu said softly: "Don''t do this next time."


    "But it''s dangerous here," argued Sulaiman. "As your disciple, I must protect you from harm at all costs!"


    "Sulaiman..." Before showing any softness towards him yet still feeling touched by his loyalty as an apprentice even though they have only known each other briefly so far - suddenly hardened his heart with these words: "From now on, I will give you hellish training. Be prepared."


    Sulaiman turned pale upon hearing those words since he didn''t know what kind of training awaited him but the name alone made him feel scared like an icy wind blowing through his soul making him shiver uncontrollably.


    "Follow me," beckoned Chen Xu as they set off together to find Qin Shi Huang''s resting place within the tomb where his sacred beetle roamed freely throughout its chambers knowing everything inside out.


    After walking for about ten minutes or so, they arrived at a coffin surrounded by hundreds of terracotta warriors guarding it fiercely with their imposing presence.


    Chen Xu knew that these people were once living soldiers who had been cursed into becoming mummies after death according to ancient Chinese burial customs which included burying concubines and palace maids alongside emperors.


    "These are mummies, right?" Sulaiman asked with wide eyes as he sensed a similar aura emanating from these terracotta warriors like the ones he felt around the mummies earlier.


    "It''s not a mummy, it''s a terracotta warrior," corrected Chen Xu. "A mummy is a body that has been preserved through special means after being killed and then moves with the call of the high priest."


    "These terracotta warriors were once living people, elite soldiers in their lifetime, but they became like this because of magic."


    "If we consider their life form, they are similar to vampires."


    Vampires are cursed by God and neither live nor die; Terracotta warriors are transformed by witches and neither live nor die.


    Both are essentially cursed by magic, but the difference is that the curse on vampires comes from God while the curse on Terracotta warriors comes from witches. The gap in strength between those who cast curses results in Terracotta warriors being weaker than vampires.


    Vampires! Suleiman shuddered fiercely. In the eyes of most Westerners, there is a negative perception towards vampires due to influence from Catholicism (some words cannot be used here so I''m using this instead). As Egypt was also under British colonial rule at that time, it naturally fell under Catholic influence which made them fearful of vampires.


    "Don''t be afraid," Chen Xu said angrily. "We''re priests, not ordinary people. Even fear demons can''t invade our minds."


    His voice carried magical power and infused into Suleiman''s soul shaking his heart.


    In an instant, Suleiman''s fear dissipated. His previous knowledge had caused him to experience cognitive barriers or what we call knowledge obstacles.


    Knowledge obstacles refer to inherent impressions formed by one¡¯s cognition about the world which sometimes may be incorrect or untrue. These barriers hinder one¡¯s accumulation of knowledge and understanding of the world around us; generally speaking -the more you know- ,the more these barriers exist.


    Only when breaking through these obstacles can erroneous perceptions be discarded for truth.


    However just like original sin demons -knowledge obstacles are the same, they arise and disappear with our souls.


    "You just fell into the fear of original sin. It seems that your soul is not yet mature," Chen Xu also sighed. Others often say that teaching disciples can be learned through practice, he now feels this way too.


    Every time a disciple overcomes their original sin demon, he feels his own soul has progressed further because while teaching his disciples, he is also sorting out his own knowledge and honing his spirit.


    "Don''t apologize, just work hard," Chen Xu''s attitude softened. "Remember, original sin arises and disappears with your soul; it invades you at all times."


    Western original sins and Eastern demons are the same thing -they are garbage derived from our souls- internal demons.


    "Yes teacher." Suleiman''s gaze became firm again.


    Through each experience, his soul becomes more steadfast even though it hasn''t transformed yet but it isn''t far off either.


    "Very good." Chen Xu nodded in satisfaction.


    "Let''s leave here now; I''ve probably found Qin Shihuang''s body." A faint red glow covered everything around him as he felt that unique aura.


    "Now what we need to do is get the fountain of youth water from those guys'' hands and awaken Qin Shihuang."

 Chapter 25：The water of the Fountain of Youth

    Those guys refer to the warlords who found and resurrected Qin Shihuang.


    Like the Pharaoh''s Royal Guard in The Mummy Returns and the Priestly Descendants in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, they are ancient forces that have been passed down for thousands of years, dedicated to reviving Qin Shihuang and letting him rule the world again.


    And they have the Fountain of Youth water in their hands.


    The Northwest Army camp is very strict, showing different atmospheres everywhere. It is obviously a very elite army.


    But this is useless for Chen Xu. He just used a small spell to conceal his figure and easily broke in.


    This is not modern times where there are various rigorous monitoring methods such as infrared and ultraviolet rays. Now it only relies on eyesight, which is easily deceived by humans.


    A scarab crawled under Chen Xu''s feet and squeaked. He reached out his hand, grabbed it, and watched what it saw at the same time.


    "We''re here." Chen Xu trembled slightly and quickly walked towards the central campsite.


    "Who are you?" The warlord general inside noticed that his tent was lifted up by someone with wind blowing in immediately woke up from sleepiness.


    Chen Xu was discovered but did not continue to hide. He cancelled his magic spell and appeared in front of General Warlord. "Hand over the Fountain of Youth water."


    "What are you talking about? I don''t understand," said General Warlord when he suddenly saw Chen Xu appear before him; he had never heard of such means before.


    "If you don''t hand over Fountain of Youth water then don''t blame me." A cold light flashed through Chen Xu''s eyes as countless scarabs swarmed from all directions surrounding General Warlord inside them.


    "These treasures are my sacred beetles raised by me; they like eating meat. In just 1 to 3 seconds, they can eat all the flesh and blood of a person, leaving only bones."


    "If you don''t hand over Fountain of Youth water then your fate will be just a pile of white bones."


    General Warlord''s face was frightened. Chen Xu''s words made him even more afraid. His eyes flickered continuously but eventually he lowered his head and threw out the Fountain of Youth water from his pocket.


    Chen Xu took the spring water and carefully examined it.


    It is like a huge blue diamond wrapped in nine golden snakes. Although these small snakes still have vitality, they are obviously in deep sleep.


    "Next is the blood of pure-hearted people." Chen Xu''s gaze turned cold.


    In movies, Evelyn is considered as one such pure-hearted person; however, Chen Xu knows that there is another person who also has a pure heart - Zi Yuan and her daughter Xiao Lin.


    In the original work, Zi Yuan and her daughter Xiao Lin were also immortal people who had used Fountain of Youth water. Obviously, they opened this gemstone and took out the Fountain of Youth inside it.


    Chen Xu closed his eyes tightly and tried to sense where Zi Yuan was located. After a while he found her location.


    "Suleiman (Solomon), let''s go," said Chen Xu calling Suleiman to leave General Warlord¡¯s tent.


    Zi Yuan suddenly felt uneasy while monitoring Qin Shihuang¡¯s tomb at an inn. She became anxious all over herself.


    "What on earth could make me feel so uneasy? It must be something serious."


    "Mother what happened?" Sensing her mother''s uneasiness sensitively, Xiao Lin quickly asked aloud.


    "Nothing!" Zi Yuan shook her head not wanting to infect her nervousness onto her daughter.


    "It has been long since we last met, Zi Yuan." Chen Xu walked towards Zi Yuan with a smile on his face.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "It''s you, Chen Xu?" Zi Yuan''s heart sank and finally understood the source of her uneasiness.


    This person who claimed to be a priest of various gods was unfathomable to her. She was also very cautious about him.


    "Yes, it''s me." Chen Xu smiled and said, "I''m here for your blood - the blood of pure-hearted people."


    "How do you know that I have pure-hearted blood?" Zi Yuan had a bad feeling in her heart. "Have you found Qin Shihuang and Fountain of Youth water?"


    "You''ve seen it yourself; why ask me?" Chen Xu sneered.


    Zi Yuan has always been outside; he knew this. He had always used scarabs to monitor them. Even if Zi Yuan is meticulous in thinking, she cannot think that he would use scarabs to monitor them.


    Chen Xu remembered a sentence: Even if you are as cunning as a ghost, you still have to drink my foot-washing water (meaning even if someone is very clever they will eventually make mistakes). But here ''my'' should be replaced with ''our''.


    "You monitored me?" Zi Yuan


    "East and West take different paths, so naturally their methods are different. If Chen Xu hadn''t been monitoring Zi Yuan closely, he probably wouldn''t have discovered the malicious curse she had placed on him.


    When Zi Yuan saw that Chen Xu had exposed her methods, she didn''t hide it. She threw a wooden puppet from her large sleeve.


    The puppet was made of wood with Chen Xu''s name written on it and covered in talismans.


    "Now that you know my methods," said Zi Yuan boldly, "you should also understand that I can curse you at any time." Her words contained coercion.


    "This curse is called the doll curse or ''stabbing little people'' in folklore. But since I don''t have your birthdate and time, I had to lock onto you by planting my breath on you."


    "As soon as I explode this silver needle on the puppet''s head, I can directly curse you."


    Zi Yuan took out a silver needle and threatened Chen Xu theatrically.


    "You can try," sneered Chen Xu even more coldly than before.


    Stabbing little people is witchcraft widely spread among common folk and considered one of the most vicious forms of witchcraft.


    Although this method was cruel, there were ways for Chen Xu to deal with it. While Eastern and Western techniques differ, they could still be effective against each other.


    Without hesitation, Zi Yuan picked up the puppet from the ground and stabbed its head several times until Chen Xu screamed in agony before his body turned into sand scattered all over the floor.


    "What happened?" Zi Yuan was shocked by what she saw before her eyes. She thought stabbing little people would cause instant death without damaging his body; why did he turn into sand?


    "It''s simple: your breath has been transferred to my sand clone." The grains of sand gathered together again to form another figure of Chen Xu. "I must admit that witchcraft is strange indeed; it''s hard to defend against."


    This was only one of his clones. While the human body is made of flesh and blood, which cannot withstand being stabbed by needles, sand is lifeless matter that can be pierced countless times without harm.


    "It''s just a clone," Zi Yuan said with an unpleasant expression on her face. Her first attempt at using witchcraft had failed, dealing a blow to her confidence.


    "My real body is coming; I''m here now for the pure-blooded person." Chen Xu looked at Xiao Lin.


    Zi Yuan quickly stood in front of Xiao Lin and blocked Chen Xu''s gaze. "You can come after me if you want; my daughter is innocent."


    "Innocent? You and your daughter both wanted to kill Qin Shi Huang; that''s what I heard," Chen Xu shook his head as he took a step forward. "I''ve said before: Qin Shi Huang is a hero who can save China today. I need him and his terracotta army."


    "I won''t let anyone ruin my plan."


    "If you and your daughter remain stubborn, don''t blame me for showing no mercy."


    "It''s not just you who knows witchcraft; my curse isn''t any less powerful than yours." Chen Xu threatened, "This is the final ultimatum."


    "You could give up hatred altogether," Chen Xu softened his voice. "You''re immortal beings who have lived for two thousand years already - shouldn''t all those feelings of love or hate be forgotten by now? Two thousand years should be enough time to erase even the slightest bit of resentment from back then."


    "Even if Qin Shi Huang doesn''t kill him, you still won''t be able to stay with him because you''re a priestess who never dies while he has limited lifespan as an ordinary man."


    "I have the Fountain of Youth water," Zi Yuan said bitterly. "Qin Shi Huang promised me that he would let me be with my lover, but in the end, he cruelly executed him by dismemberment."


    "But you also cursed him and his army to become mummies. Do you know how much sand business that caused?" Chen Xu said sternly. "He was unkind, and you were unjust; but those soldiers were innocent yet buried alive with him."


    "Alright, I don''t want to get involved in your disputes anymore. But I''ve already resurrected Qin Shi Huang and will protect him. If you think you can defeat me and our alliance against you, then go ahead and try."


    Chen Xu stood with his hands behind his back, and suddenly transformed into a divine being from the heavens, exuding an aura of godliness. From within his sandy palms emerged the Necromantic Black Scripture.


    Zi Yuan''s face changed as she grabbed her daughter Xiaolin''s hand and said, "Let''s go."


    "Leaving so soon? Leave some blood behind," Chen Xu suddenly grabbed at them. The sand flew everywhere, revealing a mummy that chased after them at lightning speed.


    "I need your blood to open the Fountain of Youth. Whether it''s yours or your daughter''s, I want it," Chen Xu demanded.


    He opened his mouth wide and turned the entire desert into his face as he lunged towards Zi Yuan, attempting to devour everything in sight.


    "If you want my blood, take it!" Zi Yuan bit her finger and flung a drop of fresh blood backwards.


    Chen Xu closed his mouth and swallowed the blood into the sand particles before saying, "I''ll spare you this time. But if your blood can''t open the Fountain of Youth then don''t blame me for going after your daughter."


    "We''re going back."

 Chapter 26：Resurrection! Qin Shi Huang

    "Finally, the time has come to resurrect Qin Shihuang," Chen Xu exclaimed excitedly in front of the Terracotta Warriors.


    He was so excited that Gu Lan''s calm mind had already been shattered.


    "Teacher, didn''t you say we should control our minds and stay calm?" Suleiman reminded his teacher discreetly.


    "You''re right." Chen Xu gathered his thoughts and suppressed all the excitement in his heart. "As practitioners, we shouldn''t be too happy or sad. It can easily disrupt our spiritual cultivation and invite external demons."


    In fact, positive emotions like excitement and joy are not inner demons; they are just emotions derived from the soul. However, these emotions are vulnerable to external demon invasion. If one is not careful enough, they will fall into a dangerous battlefield where their soul is contested by external demons. Therefore, practitioners must always maintain absolute tranquility of mind instead of being overly emotional.


    Buddha once reached a state called Nirvana: "All things are impermanent; those who live must die. Those who do not live cannot die; this extinction is ultimate bliss."


    In physical practice it means neither birth nor death - if there is no birth then how can there be death? In spiritual practice it means severing all desires and passions so that no evil thought arises within us.


    This is an extremely high level of attainment where one becomes Buddha with no original sin or inner demons while Satan does not approach them at all.


    Of course, Chen Xu could never reach such a state but he remained vigilant at all times to prevent external demon invasions by staying calm.


    "What are external demons?" Suleiman asked curiously as he knew what internal demons were since Chen Xu had told him before that they referred to negative emotions which were garbage for the soul and should be discarded.


    "External demons refer to any outside forces that can shake your soul causing it to regress," Chen Xu explained. "They can be demons from other realms, hellish creatures or even Eastern monsters and Western dragons that affect your soul."


    "Remember when you were tempted by that woman Zi Yuan? To you, she was an external demon who disrupted your spiritual cultivation," Chen Xu continued.


    "So everything outside is considered an external demon?" Suleiman asked with some confusion.


    "Yes and no," Chen Xu replied. "External forces are not just external demons; they can also lead you to the path of spiritual cultivation like me - I am not an external demon but a guide who leads you on the path of spiritual practice."


    "I understand." Sulaiman nodded as if he understood but not really.


    "Now it''s time to fulfill my dream," Chen Xu ignored the coffin and walked towards the carriage, finding the terracotta warrior.


    "Damn it, let''s open the Fountain of Youth." Chen Xu took out the Fountain of Youth and spat a drop of blood onto it.


    The hibernating little golden snake began to move around and fell from Chen Xu''s hand. At the same time, blue light radiated from the water in the Fountain of Youth like a pure lotus flower blooming, revealing its true form.


    "This is the Fountain of Youth?" Sulaiman stood behind Chen Xu enviously.


    "Yes, this is indeed it. But don''t envy us because there are other ways for people like us to extend our lives. The water from this fountain is not necessary for us."


    The Necromancer¡¯s Black Scripture recorded various spells for immortality but they required great sacrifices and often turned people into monsters that were neither human nor ghostly.


    Chen Xu dropped some water from the Fountain of Youth on top of one terracotta warrior which immediately absorbed it with its blue glow spreading throughout its body.


    "Rise again, Great Emperor Qin Shi Huang! Return from death and sweep away all obstacles in China!"This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Crack! Crack!


    The mud covering up each terracotta warrior broke apart as a figure emerged within them. Red flames burned inside them like molten lava.


    Chen Xu stepped back with his disciple while keeping their distance from Qin Shi Huang who had been resurrected so that he could lead his army across The Great Wall to defeat braided pigs, white pigs and Japanese pigs instead being killed by him here as an enemy before achieving victory in battle.


    "At last I have returned," said Qin Shi Huang returning with raging fire reigning over everything; standing before him was overwhelming oppression felt by Chen Xu who even heard faint dragon roars.


    "So this is the emperor''s aura? It is truly extraordinary," Chen Xu was shocked.


    He had long heard that those in high positions possessed a certain aura, and as the highest emperor, he had an imperial aura. Those with weak minds would submit directly to it while its strength depended on national power.


    Qin Shi Huang unified six states becoming China''s first ancient emperor; his country was so powerful, his majesty so terrifying and his aura so majestic.


    "Who are you?" Qin Shi Huang looked down at Chen Xu with overwhelming pressure emanating from him.


    Chen Xu couldn''t bear this pressure; he felt like his mind was being ravaged by a storm but he refused to surrender even if it meant death.


    "I am Chen Xu, the one who awakened you. Your Majesty, I hope you can lead your army to sweep across all corners of the world and wipe out those braided pigs, white pigs and Japanese pigs who oppress us."


    "My powers have not fully recovered yet due to insufficient water from The Fountain of Youth," Qin Shi Huang¡¯s imposing manner receded as he stood between heaven and earth where everything around him became dimly lit.


    "I can help you find the fountain of youth." The pressure on Chen Xu''s mind disappeared, and he took a deep breath. He understood that there was still a big gap between him and Qin Shihuang in terms of spiritual level.


    "You...you actually know where the fountain of youth is?" Qin Shihuang was also surprised.


    "It''s in Shangri-La," Chen Xu said firmly.


    "Take me to Shangri-La to find the fountain of youth, and I will reward you," Qin Shihuang said as he reached out his hand, revealing a pearl in his palm.


    "I bestow upon you the method of cultivation - Primordial Five Elements Technique."


    Chen Xu was overjoyed at these words. He never thought about any rewards for helping Qin Shihuang. What he wanted was for Qin Shihuang to lead an army to conquer China''s oppressors and fulfill his dream. And now, Qin Shihuang had given him a method of cultivation; how could he not be happy?


    He had always been interested in Chinese methods of cultivation since he was Chinese himself. Moreover, the reason why he did not kill Zi Yuan was because she possessed a celestial book. Now that his wish had come true, naturally he felt elated.


    Qin Shi Huang saw Chen Xu''s happiness and satisfaction with what he gave him; it pleased him greatly. At first glance, Qin Shi Huang knew that Chen Xu was like himself - someone who practiced cultivation with high levels of attainment - making him an excellent assistant for conquering all under heaven. Therefore, using Primordial Five Elements Technique as bait to win people over showed how adept this emperor played politics which ordinary people couldn''t match up against.


    "Tyrant! Die!" A voice exclaimed followed by a figure holding onto a dagger charging towards them both.


    "It¡¯s you again! I told you before if you interfere with my plan to revive Qin Shihuang, I won''t show any mercy." Chen Xu turned around and the flying sand obscured Xiao Lin''s vision.


    "Tyrant killed my father. He is my enemy, and today I will kill him."


    Xiao Lin ignored the sand hitting her body as she continued to charge forward.


    "Foolish," Chen Xu waved his hand, and the sand rolled up like a wave engulfing Xiao Lin. He then transformed himself into grains of sand blending in with them.


    "Neither you nor I are wrong. You want revenge by killing Tyrant who murdered your father, but I also have my reasons for doing what I do. There is no right or wrong between us."


    "I didn''t intend to kill you at first, but you kept plotting against me behind my back time after time again; now that you''ve broken through the monitoring of Saint Beetle it¡¯s too dangerous to let you go."


    The image transmitted from Saint Beetle showed mother and daughter eating in their hotel room while Xiao Lin was here proving that they had already cracked Saint Beetle''s surveillance system and deceived Chen Xu which was too risky.


    "But your mother is right; we have no grievances or grudges against each other since we share the same bloodline. It pains me to kill someone like yourself."


    Chen Xu spoke, but his words were not transmitted at all. The swirling yellow sand blocked the sight of Qin Shihuang even more.


    "Dangerous, but I can''t say it out loud. So I''ll give you one more chance."


    A scarab crawled on the sand, with grains forming a staircase leading to Xiaolin at the top.


    In a blink of an eye, the scarab crawled into Xiaolin''s body and wriggled its way to his heart.


    "If there is another time, if there is another time, the scarab will eat your heart directly."


    "Don''t think that immortality makes you great. I have a hundred curses to kill you."


    "Go away and don''t be foolish again. This is your last chance."


    The massive amount of sand formed an airborne desert that threw her out. If she didn''t have the protection of sand, this blow alone would have been enough to kill her.


    "If you still don''t know what''s good for you, even if it means giving up my heavenly book, I will kill you all so as not to let you ruin my plan."


    The scarab was both a threat and surveillance tool. Although Ziyuan could break its monitoring ability, as long as it was on Xiaolin''s body he could use it to lock onto his location.

 Chapter 27：Pre-natal Five Elements Method

    When Chen Xu brought Qin Shihuang to Shangri-La, he was immediately stunned by the temple with ancient Egyptian style.


    "Could it be that in ancient times, Chinese monks and Egyptian priests had exchanges?"


    But thinking about it, there seemed to be some possibility. This was not the world before crossing. Due to the low level of technological development in the world before crossing, there was almost no communication between each other.


    However, cultivators and priests in this world were not ordinary people. They naturally had means to travel between two places.


    "You stay here and I will find the Fountain of Youth myself." Qin Shihuang''s majestic gaze swept across Chen Xu without resistance.


    "Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Xu bowed slightly and withdrew.


    "Teacher." After Chen Xu came out, Suleiman immediately greeted him and pointed his finger at a snow mountain baboon surrounded by a group of scarab beetles beside him.


    These baboons were larger than those needed because they lived on snow-capped mountains so they had more hair and thicker skin.


    "How do we deal with these things?"


    As soon as Chen Xu arrived, he used scarab beetles to subdue these snow mountain baboons and then threw them over to Suleiman.


    At first he was excited. Living in Egypt, he had never seen such white monkeys before. But soon he regretted it because these snow mountain baboons were all restless and kept barking loudly.


    "I heard that snow mountain baboon meat is very nourishing?" Looking at this group of snow mountain baboons intentionally swallowing saliva," What do you think? Suleiman."


    Suleiman had never seen a snow mountain baboon but whatever his teacher said was what it is so he nodded approvingly," It is said that it is very nourishing."


    When those snow mountain baboons heard that Chen Xu wanted to eat them one after another they were scared and quiet.


    They were not ordinary baboons, they had wisdom. So when the scarab beetles attacked them, they did not dare to fight back.


    Seeing them like this, Chen Xu continued to scare them," First of all, we should peel off the skin of these snow mountain baboons while they are still alive. The kind that is bloody."


    "Then put the blood-stained baboon skin in the snow on the mountain and rub it until it''s clean without a trace of blood."


    "As for blood, after it cools down and solidifies into lumps, you can eat it directly just like chicken blood."


    "As for baboon meat, you can stir-fry it with chili peppers. It tastes spicy and delicious like chicken meat."


    Chen Xu frightened those baboons with his words about eating meat and drinking blood.


    Suddenly he smelled an unpleasant odor and pinched his nose," You guys are really timid."


    "Forget it. You guys have two choices: one is to follow me honestly as my subordinates. I will train you and take care of you without mistreating you."


    "The other choice is that you will be eaten by these scarab beetles."


    Chen Xu no longer frightened those snow mountain baboons but stated his conditions directly.


    Ao! Ao! Ao!


    The snow mountain baboons howled loudly one after another before falling on their knees indicating submission.


    "Very good Suleiman, settle these snow mountain baboons."


    Pa! Pa! Pa!


    Footsteps sounded and Qin Shihuang appeared in front of Chen Xu.


    At this moment, Qin Shihuang was no longer a terracotta warrior. He was a person, a completely resurrected person.


    "You have done well, I reward you." Qin Shihuang was in a good mood and passed on the innate Five Elements technique to Chen Xu as promised.


    Chen Xu felt a red light passing through him and his mind gained much knowledge.


    After sorting it out with some thought, he understood what these things were talking about.


    The innate Five Elements technique used the principle of mutual generation and mutual restraint between the five elements to strengthen oneself. Once mastered, its power would be boundless.


    "Gold, wood, water, fire and earth; they form an internal cycle within the body."


    Chen Xu did not immediately practice the innate Five Elements technique but closed his eyes to carefully analyze the knowledge inside it.


    Water is gentle and nourishes all things. It is the source of life and mother of all things. With water comes life; without water there can be no existence of life at all.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    It is everything''s origin as well as civilization''s source. At first humans depended on water for survival because only with water could people live on Earth.


    Great Qin had Water Virtue so that¡¯s why Qin Shihuang started practicing from Water element first. Water gives birth to Wood so that became his second focus after mastering Water element since using Wood generated by Water saves time & effort compared to other methods.


    "I practiced Water first," said Qin Shihuang raising his hand while rotating a blue ball of water emitting infinite vitality around it.


    "Water can give birth to everything which makes practicing it easier than others followed by Wood which generates Fire then Earth then Gold before finally returning back into generating more Water."


    "The power generated from mastering these five elements has no end."


    "It is with this power that I conquered the six kingdoms and established an everlasting empire."


    For Qin Shihuang, the concept of an everlasting empire might be exaggerated but it was definitely not something anyone could challenge him on.


    He established a centralized system and proposed the title "Emperor"; he unified writing, making it a foundation for all ethnic groups in China which has been used till today; he abolished feudalism and created counties as well as prefectures which became standard management models after unification of China; he created prime ministers, military departments, household departments etc., lasting thousands of years.


    He unified language, currency and measurement systems greatly facilitating domestic commerce & cultural exchange. He made roads parallel to each other so that they were equidistant from one another thus building Qin''s direct road which facilitated domestic transportation greatly.


    He built Lingqu Canal strengthening control over Pearl River Basin ensuring its permanent inclusion within Chinese territory.


    He built Dujiangyan Irrigation System changing Sichuan¡¯s poor planting environment benefiting people even now.


    He built The Great Wall serving as an important defense line against northern nomadic tribes becoming a long-term national border;


    He expanded territories by conquering southern Yue bringing Fujian, Zhejiang & Guangdong into Chinese territory.


    By defeating Xiongnu in the north he regained Hexi Corridor region permanently including it within Chinese territory. This laid down basic framework for centralization of multi-ethnic country like China.


    Zhengguo Canal was also constructed where Western Jingshui flows eastward into Luo River covering more than 300 miles transforming over 40 thousand hectares of saline-alkali land making Guanzhong area rich quickly.


    This is him - Emperor Qin Shihuang who surpassed any emperor throughout history such as Kangxi who boasted about himself. Even if given five hundred more years to live up to his name nobody would surpass even one hair on his body.


    "Your Majesty''s achievements will last for a thousand years." Chen Xu said respectfully.


    The Great Wall was an absolute tyranny at the time, causing people to live in misery. However, in later generations, it became a symbol of China and made great contributions to resisting nomadic tribes for successive dynasties. Like the Grand Canal excavated by Emperor Yang Guang, it has everlasting benefits.


    "I will protect your practice."


    "Thank you, Your Majesty."


    Fortunately, during the Qin Dynasty only large-scale celebrations required kneeling and bowing; it was not necessary in daily life.


    Chen Xu sat cross-legged and operated the innate Five Elements method to absorb water from nature.


    Scientifically speaking, this is called water molecules; magically speaking, this is called water element; Eastern philosophy calls it water energy. No matter what it''s called though, it remains unchanged.


    Strands of water energy were absorbed into Chen Xu''s body and transformed his physique by combining with his body structure and enhancing its flexibility.


    Vaguely he felt a connection between himself and the water of heaven and earth. He clearly sensed that every breath he took brought forth surging waters.


    However, his understanding of water differed somewhat from that of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.


    He believed that water not only nourished all things but also served as both civilization¡¯s source of life as well as destruction - capable of nurturing or drowning people while giving birth or destroying civilizations respectively.


    When God destroyed the world with a flood ¨C this principle was demonstrated through action.


    "All things have yin-yang balance including Water."


    "When Water rages out-of-control,it can destroy everything; when Water is gentle,it can nurture everything."


    "This is not just about Water''s characteristics but also about all things'' characteristics."


    By observing one thing we understand many others: Chen Xu looked at Water which allowed him to see Heaven-Earth principles more clearly than before due to accumulated knowledge rather than wisdom alone - simply because he stood on higher ground.


    Newton said, "I stand on the shoulders of giants." He was right. All knowledge is accumulated and it''s impossible to build a tall building without laying a solid foundation. Chen Xu studied hard day and night, read Sun Jinjing repeatedly, peered into the secrets of gods, absorbed vast amounts of knowledge from the ocean of information available to him - now was his time to put that learning into practice.


    "Water for destruction." Chen Xu interlocked his hands and formed an imprint ¨C this was a handprint; it controlled water; it controlled both nourishing water as well as destructive water.


    Black Water appeared and fell onto the ground immediately melting ice layers while dissolving earth beneath them.


    This wasn''t ordinary water but rather world-destroying Water capable of destroying everything including ice layers and landmasses alike.


    "Black Water?" Emperor Qin Shi Huang narrowed his eyes slightly. His own Water was blue in color - majestic enough to contain all things which allowed him to sweep across eight wildernesses flattening everything in its path by relying on this sea-like body of water containing all things within itself.


    However, Chen Xu''s Water differed greatly because it didn''t contain everything but instead destroyed everything. He had a premonition that if this kind of Water became like floodwaters then feathers would not float atop its surface since all living creatures would be dissolved away with nothing left behind.


    "In Eastern philosophy there is Weak-Water which doesn¡¯t allow feathers to float atop its surface even though three thousand rivers flow into it; my type of Water is called World-Destroying-Water which also doesn''t allow feathers to float atop its surface yet contains every living creature upon whom it rains down causing flesh-to-dissolve-and-bones-to-disappear leaving nothing behind."


    Chen Xu shouted loudly revealing his cultivation method: practitioners should not keep their methods secret but rather spread their teachings so they can absorb others'' teachings and improve their own.


    "Your path will ultimately lead to your own destruction."


    "I am not on a path of destruction but rather one of World-Destroying-Water." Chen Xu replied, "Western cultivation methods involve rules such as creation, destruction, and world-ending. These are all rules which govern everything in existence - even life itself.


    "All things exist according to these rules; they live or die by them ¨C this is the Way."


    "Even in the East there is yin-yang balance; good-evil balance; right-wrong balance; immortal-demon balance - how can there be no birth-death balance?"


    "The Western barbarians have their small paths while Easterners have theirs." Chen Xu defended himself again: "We absorb what''s good and discard what''s bad. The paths taken by our predecessors represent knowledge upon which we stand so that we may walk our own paths until we reach its end."


    "Your way is weak."


    "You''re wrong Your Majesty. There are no high or low ways nor strong or weak ones because strength lies within power whereas the Way does not."

 Chapter 28：Resurrection

    The towering snow-capped mountains, the heavy snowflakes dancing in the air, and the galloping wax elephants on the grassland.


    Chen Xu and Emperor Qin Shi Huang sat on top of the snowy mountain. In the distance were white-haired monkeys from Snow Mountain and Sulayman.


    Emperor Qin Shi Huang had long hair draped over his shoulders, wearing a black robe that wrapped around his body.


    At this moment, he was not an emperor but rather a cultivator, a madman with wild gestures.


    When it comes to Emperor Qin Shi Huang, many people praise him as one of history''s greatest emperors. However, few know that he was actually a cultivator who pursued immortality.


    In this world, he was also a great cultivator who understood how to use different elements to create powerful spells and magic.


    "Water gives birth to wood. What is wood? Wood is life; it is nourished by water and grows into all living things. Everything starts with water before there can be wood."


    "Wood gives birth to fire. What is fire? Fire represents anger; it is nature''s anger. At first lightning strikes wood creating fire which symbolizes destruction -the end of old life- while at the same time representing new beginnings since fire arises from destroyed trees giving rise to new ones."


    "I call upon Earth for war! This war will be fought with fire -a spark igniting flames- leading to destruction of old dynasties while birthing new ones."


    "Fire gives birth to earth. What is earth? It represents stability; it represents humanity itself because N¨¹wa created humans using earth as her medium for creation."


    "Earth gives birth to metal. What is metal? Metal represents swords and weapons used in warfare: expansionism through power struggles where might makes right! I cast nine tripods so that I may collect all swords under heaven forging them into something supreme lasting for eternity."


    Emperor Qin Shi Huang spoke of his path to Chen Xu, revealing everything without reservation.


    Chen Xu listened intently, sometimes applauding or exclaiming in admiration while other times pondering deeply or feeling melancholic.


    His own path was different from Emperor Qin Shi Huang''s. However, the two men corroborated each other by discarding what was wrong and absorbing what was good to perfect their respective paths.


    Human power is limited while the Dao is infinite. Pursuing the infinite with finite strength is difficult; therefore, cultivators support one another by discussing their insights and verifying them together as they pursue the great Dao.


    This isn''t about abandoning one''s own path nor pursuing someone else''s but rather learning and accommodating others'' perspectives.


    "My water isn''t ordinary water; it''s world-destroying water that annihilates all things! It doesn''t represent life nor does it tolerate anything -it only destroys!"


    "My fire isn''t ordinary fire either; it represents civilization. At first people used fire to cook food which provided nutrition for brain development leading to civilization''s birth. Therefore this fire represents civilization itself: its mother."


    "My wood isn''t ordinary wood either; it represents killing intent -wood absorbs nutrients from earth developing into a tree that devours all living things."


    "My earth isn''t ordinary earth either; it represents deathly soil where deceased individuals rest peacefully under its protection."


    "My metal isn¡¯t just any metal but immortal gold buried underground for thousands of years without decay.¡±


    Chen Xu also explained his own path where he displayed five elements between his fingers: gold, wood, water, fire and earth representing respectively immortal gold, devouring wood, world-destroying water ,civilization¡¯s flame and deathly soil .


    "Your way of cultivation walks an unconventional path," said Emperor Qin Shi Huang observing Chen Xu¡¯s essence of Five Elements at a glance.


    The Five Elements give rise to each other creating an endless cycle of life and death. Only then can one possess boundless magical power. Although Chen Xu''s path wasn''t orthodox, it was still close to the right way; however, his Five Elements didn¡¯t give rise nor conquer each other but deviated from their inherent characteristics by adding unique properties.


    This isn''t the right way but rather a side door or unorthodox method.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "There are three thousand paths in cultivation with eight hundred being unconventional methods. Who says that these unconventional methods aren''t part of the great Dao?"


    "Are you willing to verify our paths together?" asked Emperor Qin Shi Huang.


    "I couldn''t ask for more," replied Chen Xu as they extended their hands and palms met, mutually sensing each other''s path without reservation.


    Chen Xu felt like he had entered a world full of smoke and fire while half asleep and half awake.


    He ascended to the throne at thirteen years old with ambitious goals; he conquered six kingdoms at thirty-nine years old before ascending to emperorship himself.


    He called upon Earth for war killing countless people only for unifying China under his rule; he built The Great Wall so that future generations could benefit from


    Chen Xu shuddered and exclaimed how lucky he was.


    The life of Qin Shihuang was so brilliant that he became obsessed with it. If not for the voice of Qin Shihuang crossing a thousand years, he would have been immersed in it and turned into dust along with history.


    "I have collected ten thousand methods and, together with many fellow practitioners, intend to find a way out of the paths left by our predecessors to create a path to heaven. This is the innate Five Elements method."


    "Who would have thought that there are such exquisite spells in the Western lands? By sacrificing oneself, one can become a god. If I had this wonderful method back then, why bother searching for the elixir of immortality? I could just cultivate my divine path and unify the world."


    Chen Xu felt ashamed. If Qin Shihuang had obtained this kind of wonderful method earlier, relying on the land of Daqin and sending troops westward to conquer the world would not be an impossible task. At that time, all those Egyptian gods and masters would probably be crushed by Daqin''s military might.


    "It''s a pity that we only found this wonderful method after thousands of years; too late."


    "In fact, it''s not too late, Your Majesty." Chen Xu confirmed their understanding of Taoism with Qin Shihuang which was equivalent to colliding memories but also added a sense of intimacy between them.


    Both were descendants from China (Huaxia) - Yan Huang offspring - flowing through their veins was similar bloodline making their identities close-knit.


    "The world today is about to erupt into war; we can collect souls during war as sacrifices for ourselves which may lead us towards becoming gods."


    "Moreover, both Eastern and Western methods have their own mysteries: immortality lies in West while longevity lies in East; Western gods versus Eastern immortal beings - each has its own mystery."


    "But no matter how mysterious it is, the number of those who achieve the status of gods and immortals is small. Japan claims to have eight million gods, but in Chen Xu''s eyes, this is nonsense.


    Are gods like ordinary people? They are not so common. Counting the famous deities in history does not exceed three digits. Similarly, counting the immortals in Eastern history does not exceed three digits either.


    As for the heavenly soldiers and generals in myths and legends, they are just nonsense in Chen Xu''s eyes.


    If there were so many immortals, cultivators would have no need to pursue them.


    As for the fairy world and god realm, they are even more nonsensical. If immortals were everywhere as if cabbages on a farm field...


    Without corresponding spiritual cultivation, immortals at best are just powerful cultivators who can turn into ashes without needing thousands of years.


    "But before that, Your Majesty should sweep away all opposition within our borders and restore order to our land."


    "I have such intentions."


    Emperor Qin Shi Huang withdrew his flesh palm and took a step forward. His clothes changed into armor as he declared: "My army will once again return to this land under heaven; wherever my troops go shall be where all subjects submit."


    ...


    "Awaken!"


    Qin Shi Huang drew his long sword and shouted loudly.


    The earth collapsed with sinkholes appearing as an army of terracotta warriors emerged from underground with great momentum.


    These were terracotta warriors - an army that swept across six kingdoms back then - now resurrected today after a thousand years following Emperor Qin Shi Huang once again sweeping across all corners of China establishing an everlasting foundation for generations to come.


    This was their mission; this was their destiny since becoming Emperor Qin Shi Huang''s army from that moment on meant being destined for greatness already set forth by fate itself.


    "You awaken now amidst chaos and suffering of the world..."


    "I shall reclaim the world, restore order to it..."


    "Those who follow me will prosper; those who oppose me will perish."


    As Emperor Qin Shi Huang summoned his terracotta army, Zi Yuan was also summoning laborers.


    "Open the door to the past and release cursed souls..."


    "In the name of our ancestors, we shall walk on a righteous path..."


    "My daughter and I gave up eternal life to bear this curse for all living beings so they can be free from physical torment."


    "Gather in anger against evil. Follow heaven''s way and execute its punishment."


    "Heaven''s will cannot be defied. Unite as one against evil, seek revenge for grievances suffered, regain our former dignity."


    Underneath The Great Wall lay buried bones of unjustly killed souls. Under Zi Yuan''s incantations, these ancient dead were reanimated with renewed vigor.


    These people died as laborers forced into building The Great Wall; they were slaves who perished under it using their flesh and blood to construct it while resisting foreign invaders.


    This was merit; this was fault; this was virtue; this was sin - intertwined together where no one could distinguish right from wrong or good from bad. But their resentment remained below ground until today when called upon by Zi Yuan to vent their anger.


    The earth shook violently with skeletons rising again as Emperor Qin Shi Huang attempted crossing over The Great Wall encountering his first obstacle.


    "This is fate but also destiny. However today I shall defy fate." Chen Xu stood beside Emperor Qin Shi Huang holding onto Necronomicon tightly trembling in fear.


    Resurrected dead soldiers that should have been destroyed a thousand years ago now returned once more through terracotta warriors'' bodies violating fate itself disrupting yin-yang balance thus deserving punishment yet how could he watch them suffer? He must defy fate!


    "With my lifespan and magic power offered as sacrifice unto great Anubis, I hereby bestow upon you the blessing of immortality curse..."

 Chapter 29：The Way of Sacrifice

    His strength and lifespan were drained away. He was no longer a priest, but an ordinary old man who would fall to the ground with a gust of wind.


    "Teacher, are you okay?" Suleiman hurried over to support Chen Xu.


    "I''m fine." Chen Xu shook his head.


    He didn''t have enough power to bless so many terracotta warriors and horses, even with the help of the Necronomicon''s power. So he sacrificed himself, sacrificing his own strength and lifespan in exchange for the power of Anubis, the god of death. With his help, he blessed the terracotta warriors and horses and cast an immortal curse upon them.


    "Your Majesty, I have already blessed your terracotta warriors and horses with an immortal curse. From now on they will be invincible and unbreakable; they are truly an army that cannot die. They can sweep across all under heaven."


    The immortal curse protected their souls so that physical decay did not affect their continued existence. In ancient Egypt, this spell was used to protect pharaohs'' souls by turning them into mummies that could not die. Now Chen Xu used it to bless the terracotta warriors and turn them into immortal ones.


    Modern weapons could destroy regular terracotta warriors at best; without immortality they were only slightly stronger than laborers. But with this spell cast upon them, these armies became truly terrifying forces that made people tremble in fear.


    "Why do you do this?" Qin Shihuang looked at this young man who had recently discussed philosophy with him somewhat puzzledly.


    Yes - in Qin Shihuang''s eyes Chen Xu was still just a boy who hadn''t grown up yet.


    "Just because of my dream." The people of this era did not know that soon there would be a brutal war against Japan looming ahead; but he knew it well enough to want to stop it. The best way to do so was to kill all the Japanese and eliminate future troubles, for which he was willing to pay any price.


    "And I have not lost anything."


    Chen Xu turned his head and looked at Suleiman, his disciple. He asked in a deep voice: "Suleiman, are you willing to sacrifice me?"


    Sacrifice - only gods could enjoy sacrifices; sacrificing oneself meant treating oneself as a god. This was both a great power and an act of blasphemy.


    Without hesitation, Suleiman replied: "Teacher is my deity."


    The ancient Egyptians had long since disappeared; Suleiman was not a pure-blooded Egyptian either. For him, the Egyptian gods were just myths and legends that he neither believed nor feared even after becoming a priest. So when Chen Xu asked him to sacrifice himself, he readily agreed.


    "Very well." Chen Xu handed over the Necronomicon. "It belongs to you now."


    "This is the Necronomicon." Suleiman was shocked. "Teacher, how can this be?"


    "Why not?" Chen Xu spoke slowly.


    He didn''t need power anymore; with sacrifice he would never lack strength again. Therefore the Necronomicon wasn''t as important to him anymore; what he really needed was knowledge - knowledge that could reveal everything''s essence.


    "Listen, Sulaiman," said Chen Xu. "Strength is not the only way to the great path, and it can''t even be considered a way."


    "The world is a sea of suffering, strength is the boat, knowledge is the one who controls the boat. When people cross the sea of suffering and reach shore, they must abandon their boats. Do you understand?"


    Chen Xu was afraid that Sulaiman would become obsessed with power and forget about the true meaning of Tao and pursuing its origin.


    "Yes," replied Sulaiman resolutely.


    "What are your plans for the future?" asked Qin Shihuang.


    "To worship oneself is to worship all gods. I am all gods, and all gods are me," smiled Chen Xu faintly.


    "What about your innate Five Elements technique? Have you refined it yet?" Qin Shihuang frowned; this was his first time frowning since he had been resurrected.


    "Of course I have to refine it." Chen Xu said: "The innate Five Elements technique is my foundation; naturally I have to refine it to perfection."


    Understanding the innate Five Elements technique alone isn''t enough for perfection; one also needs strength and resources. Strength is like a boat while resources are materials used in building boats - only when combined can a sturdy ship be built.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Even after crossing over from sea of suffering into enlightenment, there will still be times where one needs a boat when re-entering that same sea again.


    The Sun Gold Scripture fell into his hand as golden light shone brilliantly around him.


    "My knowledge accumulates like small pools of water but someday it will accumulate into an ocean."


    "Knowledge increases in tandem with strength until we surpass both suffering seas and worldly matters together with gods and immortals alike - sharing eternity while seeking proof on our journey towards Tao."


    "I too shall follow this path of worshiping oneself. What do you think?"


    Two thousand years ago, Qin Shihuang collected books from all over the world and studied Tao with a group of cultivators, searching for the path to immortality. At that time, he looked down on the West and believed their ways were barbaric and insignificant.


    However, today he realized that there is also wisdom in Western philosophy; with eight hundred different paths available, one can still seek proof towards Tao. Thus his heart was moved.


    "All methods are just branches," Chen Xu smiled faintly. "On our journey towards enlightenment we are fellow seekers of Tao - why should there be any ''can'' or ''cannot''?"


    "Can you share your insights on worshiping oneself?" asked Qin Shihuang.


    "I have none," replied Qin Shihuang shaking his head. "The path of self-worship is something I''ve never seen nor heard before; I''m completely lost." After pausing for a moment, he continued: "You''re my senior on this path of worshiping oneself; I''ll follow in your footsteps."


    He wanted to honor Chen Xu as his senior and follow him along the same path - like a disciple following their master''s lead.


    However, in the world of cultivation, the one who has achieved success is the teacher. Qin Shihuang''s approach is not a matter of losing face or not. In Chinese mythology and legends, Ran Deng Dao Ren should have been on equal footing with Yuan Shi Tian Zun but chose to become his disciple at Yu Xu Palace. This is the reason.


    "The way of sacrifice, I am ahead of you. But in terms of innate Five Elements Dafa, you are ahead of me. We can address each other as fellow cultivators."


    After all, Qin Shihuang was an emperor with an extremely noble status. How could Chen Xu dare to be his imperial tutor? Moreover, according to "Han Shu: Jiao Si Zhi", when Qin changed Zhou dynasty it was during the time of Water Element Deity. In ancient times Duke Wen went hunting and caught a black dragon which was considered auspicious for water deity.


    The Black Dragon represents killing and emperors'' supreme power; how could Chen Xu dare to be his teacher?


    "Fellow cultivator?" Qin Shihuang frowned again but then relaxed and said: "Alright then."


    Chen Xu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.


    Dealing with such an eternal overlord like Qin Shihuang was really exhausting because any slight mistake would offend him resulting in being attacked by soldiers and losing all their cultivation progress.


    "However, before that happens we need to deal with these workers." Chen Xu pointed at the workers rushing towards them shouting for violence and murder saying: "Zi Yuan violated fate by summoning souls back into this world causing chaos between yin and yang; this method cannot last long."


    To be precise both Terracotta Warriors and Workers were products that violated fate by disrupting yin-yang balance but since Qin Shi Huang was an eternal emperor whose imperial aura had yet dissipated so Terracotta Warriors could exist for a long time.


    But Ziyuan was different. She sacrificed herself and her daughter''s eternal life in exchange for the temporary existence of the migrant workers, but this method could not last forever. Once the sacrifice time passed, they would turn into ashes.


    "My army is invincible. Even if these migrant workers come back to life, what can they do against me?" Qin Shihuang was arrogant and looked down on the migrant workers. However, he did have the capital to be so domineering. The six kingdoms were once powerful with many talented people, but ultimately they were all conquered by him one by one. Such a hegemon would not fear mere migrant workers.


    If Chen Sheng and Wu Guang had rebelled during Qin Shihuang''s reign, they would probably have fallen apart instantly.


    The army that swept across the six kingdoms was absolutely elite.


    "However, this world is no longer like it was thousands of years ago." Chen Xu said: "You may have felt it too - there is something called technology that has emerged in this world which can easily attack enemies from hundreds of meters away."


    "Firearms are sharper than swords and crossbows; Terracotta Warriors cannot withstand firearms."


    "Firearms?" Qin Shihuang frowned slightly. He certainly felt changes in the world but still remained unfamiliar with it. One thing he could confirm though was that his ambition for an everlasting empire might not be realized after all.


    "I returned today having gained eternal life; my dynasty will never fall," said Qin Shihuang confidently.


    "Don''t underestimate this world," Chen Xu suddenly poured cold water on Qin Shi Huang: "Only when you know yourself and your enemy well can you win every battle. Your arrogance stems from ignorance about your enemy''s background - it is a sin."


    Chen Xu didn''t elaborate much on original sin because it involved cultivation which required considerable explanation time to make sense to Qin Shihuang.


    "This world has gone through many dynasties..." Chen Xu briefly recounted the events that had taken place in China, and hesitated for a moment before saying: "The Japanese have ambitions to invade us. Their desire to conquer China will not die; I have already foreseen that they will start the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and cause all kinds of atrocities."


    "But what about Western prophecy?" Qin Shihuang asked.


    Their mutual confirmation of each other''s Dao mainly relied on understanding their respective interpretations of it. The cultivation methods were put aside because human memory was too vast - it was impossible to watch everything within a short period of time.


    In Chen Xu''s understanding of Western magic, there were records about divination techniques but he didn''t know the specific cultivation method for this technique.


    "Yes," Chen Xu pretended to use divination techniques and revealed all the terrible things caused by Japan after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War. This made Qin Shihuang furious with anger as he roared repeatedly: "How dare you!"


    After calmly finishing his words, Chen Xu asked back: "Does Your Majesty think that such a nation which causes such horrific tragedies against our Chinese people and descendants still deserves to exist?"


    "Annihilate Japan." Qin Shihuang uttered these four words lightly.


    Chen Xu smiled: "Your Majesty is sacrificing yourself anyway, why not use these Japanese people''s flesh and souls as offerings? How does that sound?"


    "Good."

 Chapter 30：The Defeat of Zi Yuan

    "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" tells the story of Qin Shihuang being cursed by a witch and turned into a terracotta warrior, only to be resurrected by O''Connell''s son after thousands of years and involved in a great war.


    In this war, Qin Shihuang''s army of terracotta warriors was defeated by the group of bones before them.


    Chen Xu always found it funny that Qin Shihuang''s elite army could be defeated by these bones forced to build the Great Wall. In fact, Chen Xu did not think that these bones were weak at all. On the contrary, he thought they were very powerful. However, wars cannot be changed by individual strength alone; wars require command and formation. In the movie, those resurrected bones rushed forward without any formation or strategy.


    But now he is here. He has advanced "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" plot without Evelyn and O''Connell''s intervention. Qin Shihuang has become even more powerful with his undying curse spell cast on his army of terracotta warriors who have become even more formidable with their new immortality feature.


    So when two forces collide head-on, Chen Xu still jokes with Qin Shihuang as if nothing can threaten them.


    "My armies are unparalleled in this world," said Qin Shihuang just like Chen Xu who also didn''t take those bones seriously.


    "I have cast spells on your armies using Anubis'' divine power to protect their souls from disappearing."


    "As long as they are not killed by anti-magic weapons or powers that can completely destroy souls, even if they turn into dust and ashes, their souls will return to earth for resurrection." Although Chen Xu had white hair all over his head but he was still full of energy.


    "As soon as Your Majesty defeats these skeletons," continued Chen Xu confidently," you can cross over The Great Wall and kill those who have oppressed our Chinese nation, the descendants of Yan Huang. We will use their flesh and souls to worship ourselves and the gods."


    "But before that," Qin Shihuang said with concern, "you should practice the innate Five Elements method. Your innate Five Elements method is even more esoteric than mine, so it won''t be easy to cultivate."


    The authentic innate Five Elements method only requires collecting gold, wood, water, fire and earth elements from nature for cultivation. However this is just a basic level.


    Emperor Qin Shi Huang''s innate Five Elements method incorporated his unique characteristics. His water element was associated with the virtue of water, so he built the Lingqu Canal to divert water.


    His fire element represented the flames of war and the replacement of old dynasties with new ones. Therefore, he unified six states and established the Great Qin dynasty.


    His wood element symbolized life, while his earth element represented solidity and carried civilization. Thus, he standardized writing and passed on culture for eternal life and endless civilization.


    His soldiers wielded swords as a symbol of their mightiness. He gathered all swords in the world under his rule and cast twelve bronze statues to enhance his supreme authority.


    This was his path - deviating from orthodox Five Elements theory by incorporating some characteristic changes into it.


    Chen Xu went even further by completely abandoning orthodox Five Elements theory in favor of extreme characteristic changes. If Emperor Qin Shi Huang''s path could be compared to an unorthodox one, then Chen Xu''s would be considered heretical.


    The destruction caused by water, civilization brought about by fire, consumption through wood, death embodied in earth, immortality achieved through metal - these departures from orthodox Five Elements made it difficult for them to coalesce into tangible forms.


    "I know," Chen Xu smiled knowingly. He understood where he stood on this path and how to proceed: To condense gold-wood-water-fire-earth elements required him to start with destruction, civilization-building, consumption-through-wood-death-and-immortality.


    One of the terracotta warriors had its head chopped off by a skeleton. Before it could find another opponent, its own opponent gave it a fatal blow. However, the opponent''s head flew back from the ground and continued to search for its next target as if nothing had happened.


    "How terrifying these terracotta warriors are." Zi Yuan gazed at the army of terracotta warriors and realized that she had underestimated them.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Although she was the one who cursed these soldiers to become terracotta warriors in the first place, so much time has passed since then that they have become even more frightening than before.


    "Mother, what should we do now?" Xiao Lin asked anxiously.


    The battlefield in front of them was not favorable for them. The summoned skeletons were unable to stop Emperor Qin Shi Huang''s army of terracotta warriors. Soon enough, this defensive line would be broken through.


    "We''ll have to take matters into our own hands. Whether or not we succeed depends on this moment," Zi Yuan gritted her teeth. "Do you resent me for depriving you of your eternal life?"


    "No, Mother," Xiao Lin shook her head. "In order to avenge Father, I am willing to sacrifice my life."


    Instinctively, Xiao Lin touched her chest where there was a scarab beetle ready to take her life at any moment. But she wasn''t worried about dying; as long as she could avenge her father and kill Emperor Qin Shi Huang, she was willing to pay any price.


    "Very well then! Today mother and daughter will seek revenge for your father and settle this thousand-year-old grudge." Zi Yuan took out a dagger and handed it over to Xiao Lin. "I will face Emperor Qin Shi Huang head-on while you attack him from behind. We must kill him."


    This dagger had been painstakingly refined by Zi Yuan over thousands of years with not only her blood but also Emperor Qin Shi Huang''s aura on it. It was the same dagger that he had used to kill her.


    Today, she would use this dagger to kill Emperor Qin Shi Huang and fulfill her thousand-year-old wish.


    "A thousand years of hatred will finally be avenged."


    Zi Yuan laughed heartily as she charged out, bypassing the battlefield and heading straight for Emperor Qin Shi Huang.


    "Zi Yuan?" Emperor Qin Shi Huang''s gaze narrowed. He murmured, "You''ve finally come."


    Unusually, a hint of tenderness flashed in his eyes.


    "This woman..." Chen Xu''s face darkened. He knew Zi Yuan had arrived since the moment the laborer appeared. But now he was too weak to command his scarab beetles anymore.


    "Suleiman, cast a spell to control Xiao Lin," Chen Xu said solemnly.


    "Yes, teacher." Suleiman opened the Book of Necromancy and began reciting incantations according to what Chen Xu had taught him before.


    "Aphton... Aphton... Aphton..."


    "Suleiman''s voice was like a curse, crossing the distance and ringing in Xiaolin''s ears.


    Xiaolin, who was hiding behind, trembled and walked out involuntarily. After a moment, she realized what had happened and showed a horrified expression on her face.


    "No, I can''t be controlled." Xiaolin felt fear deep down but resisted even more. "I want revenge. I want revenge."


    "Daughter!" Ziyuan saw her daughter suddenly come out and didn''t understand what was going on yet when she saw the strange expression on her daughter''s face. Being proficient in spells herself, she immediately understood that someone was controlling her daughter while her daughter was resisting the spell.


    She couldn''t care less about fighting against Qin Shihuang; she needed to go back to help her daughter with magic.


    "Ziyuan, don''t you want to see your old friend?" Qin Shihuang strode towards Ziyuan ignoring the battle around them. "Don''t you hate me? Why won¡¯t you meet me?"


    "I certainly hate you as a tyrant! You betrayed my trust and killed my husband! I wish I could cut you into pieces!" Ziyuan looked at Qin Shihuang fiercely then turned away to look at her own daughter. "But today I''ll spare your life."


    "Your daughter will not be harmed," said Qin Shihuang. "I won¡¯t let anyone kill her."


    "Why should anyone believe someone who betrays their word?" Ziyuan didn¡¯t believe him at all.


    "I promised that you wouldn¡¯t leave; even if it means death for both of us," said Qin Shihuang calmly as he drew his sword named Lulu which is four feet long with an extremely sharp edge - one of his two swords that Bai Qi died under years ago.


    "Dream on!"


    "My vengeance is not complete yet; I cannot die." Xiaolin felt her strength being drained away. The sound of "Appleton, Appleton" kept ringing in her ears and constantly shaking her mind. If it weren''t for a strong will supporting her, she would have been controlled.


    "Teacher, she resisted the spell," said Suleiman as he put down the Book of Necromancy and looked at Chen Xu helplessly.


    "You have a shallow understanding of spells; you can¡¯t unleash your own power or that of the Book of Necromancy." Chen Xu scolded him then ordered: "Let the scarab beetle release its toxin."


    The scarab beetle had been living with corpses for years and had absorbed some toxicity but it was too weak to be effective.


    "Yes!" Suleiman raised the Book of Necromancy again and recited a spell.


    The scarab beetle dormant inside Xiaolin''s body was awakened by the spell.


    Xiaolin saw that she had been discovered but didn''t care about her plan anymore. She ran towards them but screamed in pain halfway through before falling to the ground.


    "Xiaolin!" Ziyuan couldn''t care less about killing Qin Shihuang now; she needed to find her daughter. "If you want to kill me, do it!"


    "I won¡¯t kill you," said Qin Shihuang as he put away Lulu. "But I''ll do what I did thousands of years ago."


    "Dream on." Ziyuan sneered then rushed over to pick up Xiaolin who clearly showed signs of poisoning.


    "I want this bastard dead." Qin Shihuang walked over with long strides while drawing his sword again. "Everything between you two must be destroyed."


    Ziyuan blocked Qin Shihuang''s way with her sword saying: "I can''t kill you today because fate doesn¡¯t allow me revenge yet my daughter cannot die here."


    "You''re ridiculous blaming fate," laughed Qin Shihuang. "You followed me before and could have had wealth and power but instead, you tangled with a commoner. You''re not worth it. Today, if you are willing to become my concubine again, I can spare your daughter."


    "You will betray your word."


    "You have no choice," said Qin Shihuang calmly. "A thousand years ago, you chose to curse me; today, you need to make a new choice and complete the cycle of reincarnation."


    Ziyuan hesitated for a moment as her heart was in turmoil.


    "Save my daughter''s life and I''ll be your concubine again."


    "Good." Qin Shihuang turned around and walked back up the high platform saying: "Cure your daughter¡¯s poison then send one of your disciples to kill that bastard - root out the problem."

 Chapter 31：Sacrifice ritual

    "I want revenge."


    Xiaolin fell to the ground, in a sorry state, his delicate face filled with hatred.


    "How could you, a beautiful lady, become a thief!"


    A sigh came leisurely.


    "Are you here to assassinate me? Qin Shihuang is indeed untrustworthy." Xiaolin''s face was full of despair. "A thousand years ago, he betrayed and dismembered my father; today, he betrays again and kills me. My poor mother''s painstaking efforts have been in vain."


    "I''m not here to assassinate you." Chen Xu''s old body was tired. Even though he was supported by Sulaiman, he still looked exhausted. This was a manifestation of his lack of energy.


    "I''m just here to invite you as an observer."


    "Observer!" Xiaolin breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that Chen Xu wasn''t there to kill him.


    "Yes, it''s for the sacrifice - my sacrifice - which requires someone to witness it. Originally it should have been Qin Shihuang himself but now it will be you."


    Sacrifice is important because it represents Chen Xu taking the first step from being human to becoming divine. According to tradition, someone needs to observe this event for no other reason than custom.


    "Okay then I''ll go watch." Xiaolin said towards Chen Xu.


    "Let''s go then."


    Then Sulaiman helped Chen Xu up while behind them followed Xiaolin and further back were 500 terracotta warriors and horses.


    Ahead lay a county town with nothing special except two missionaries who believed in Catholicism along with several hundred soldiers who would serve as test subjects for the sharpness of the terracotta warriors'' blades against modern firearms.


    "You guys are ridiculous! Your shoddy terracotta warriors can''t even stand up against modern firearms," Xiaolin mocked at Chen Xu and the others. "And you, old man, are already like this but still want to fight? Aren''t you afraid of losing your life?"


    "These firearms can''t harm me." Chen Xu said calmly.


    The county town was dilapidated and even with Chen Xu''s eyesight he could only see roughly. Since his lifespan had been drained away, his vision had become blurred beyond his control.


    He didn''t feel it at the time when he joked around with Qin Shihuang about rumors but now that he came out for a walk, he realized how much damage it caused him.


    "The first sacrifice must be held no matter what." Chen Xu thought to himself.


    "Teacher, we''re here." Sulaiman said respectfully.


    He understood the condition of his teacher''s body so spoke louder than usual.


    "Let''s begin then." Chen Xu said.


    The five hundred terracotta warriors behind seemed to have received orders and marched out in an orderly manner.


    Meanwhile, the county town on the opposite side also discovered the enemy at this moment. The melodious sound of bells kept ringing.


    In a short while, the five hundred terracotta warriors arrived under the city wall, and sporadic gunshots followed. The bullets hit the bodies of the terracotta warriors, leaving holes in their bodies and causing debris to fly everywhere. However, soon after, these holes on their bodies healed by themselves.


    Due to late hours, those above couldn''t see what was happening below clearly; they only knew that someone was attacking the city. Continuous battles made most soldiers develop a sense of vigilance.


    "You guys are ridiculous for not even bringing siege equipment," Lin ridiculed from behind.


    "We don''t need siege equipment." Although it''s not modern times yet and there is some atmosphere from later generations present here as well, walls still exist. But does he really need siege equipment?


    "Let me go."


    "Oh!" Suleiman exclaimed upon hearing this and released Chen Xu.


    Chen Xu opened his hands wide with heaven and earth embraced within them; gold-wood-water-fire-earth Five Elements beads were rotating inside his embrace. However, these Five Elements beads were somewhat illusory without any radiance or light.


    "Control Earth." Chen Xu murmured softly.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Although Gold-Wood-Water-Fire-Earth innate Five Elements Great Law had deviated from orthodoxy after undergoing changes in its nature added by him which belonged to heterodox teachings now instead but since he obtained Qin Shihuang''s Dao technique so temporarily changing its characteristics was still easily achievable for him.


    A section of city wall groaned before collapsing instantly burying unlucky ones beneath it while lucky ones who managed to dodge got killed by Terracotta Warriors afterwards.


    Upon seeing this scene Chen Xu''s slightly intoxicated gaze became focused, "Terracotta Warriors are ultimately lifeless objects that can win any battle on the battlefield. However..."


    "But this is also good. When we get to Japan, there''s no need to hold back."


    After a while, the screams grew louder and were often accompanied by cries of alarm which made Chen Xu feel somewhat annoyed. "Alright, those people are probably scared now; we can go in."


    Terracotta warriors couldn''t distinguish between good and evil or who was an enemy or civilian; they only knew how to act according to orders and couldn''t accept overly complex commands.


    Chen Xu ordered the terracotta warriors to gather all the civilians in this county together and then commanded them again to surround two missionaries from the church.


    When he heard that these missionaries kept reciting ''God bless'' in English while praying for God continuously, he couldn''t help but laugh.


    "Soon your souls will fall into depravity and become a part of me," he told both missionaries in English before watching their fearful expressions as he burst out laughing.


    Dead bodies lay on the ground with two missionaries standing amidst them surrounded by terracotta warriors outside while civilians stood at outermost periphery looking anxious one after another without distinction between peasants, workers, gentry or scholars causing Chen Xu let out a sigh.


    The Terracotta Warriors, the great army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang that swept across six kingdoms, became a synonym for fear at this moment. They were like Egyptian mummies - people liked and were curious about them when they were dead objects, but once they really appeared, people only felt fear.


    The Terracotta Warriors are even more unbearable than mummies. Mummies often appear in myths and legends, but the Terracotta Warriors have much less fame.


    "Let''s begin."


    Chen Xu walked up lightly and looked indifferently at the corpses on the ground and two trembling missionaries.


    "Teacher, what should I call you?" Suleiman asked respectfully.


    "Lord," Chen Xu said coldly. The first deity slayer was Moses, followed by Jesus. He was the third one. Perhaps there were other deity slayers mixed in between them, but losers didn''t need to be remembered.


    They all used "Lord" as their name while walking in this world. Why couldn''t he?


    Suleiman shuddered and opened the Necronomicon. Interestingly enough, it seemed that both missionaries understood their fate next and began to pray too.


    "Praise you, great Lord..."


    "Our Father who art in heaven..."


    Suleiman''s prayer merged with those of the missionaries''.


    Crimson light emerged from nothingness; it seemed that some rule deep within had been triggered by this sacrifice ceremony to form a power projection.


    "The sun and moon revolve because of You; Hades exists because of You..."


    "...deliver us from evil for Yours is kingdom power glory forever."


    The crimson light grew restless; it seemed impatient.


    "Amen!"


    "Amen!"


    After finishing their prayers, crimson light gradually covered all corpses before expanding outwards.


    Seeing such a strange scene unfold before him instinctively made Suleiman scream along with everyone else outside: wailing or crying out of fear or sorrow, tears and urine flying everywhere.


    In an instant, a mysterious power connected with Chen Xu. It rushed into his body in a wild manner like a thief without the owner''s consent.


    Chen Xu leaped up; his body quickly regained its youthfulness. His skin was flawless and even more radiant than before. Strength returned to his body too.


    The bodies of the two missionaries were covered by red light as they screamed repeatedly, calling out their Lord''s name but to no avail.


    Their bodies weakened until they turned into piles of bones in the blink of an eye; their souls were also digested by the red light and entered Chen Xu''s body.


    Suleiman saw this scene before him - fear, envy, but mostly joy.


    This was his first sacrifice ceremony; he knew that it had been completed successfully.


    "Power!" Chen Xu shouted towards the sky loudly.


    The power sacrificed for himself was much stronger and messier than what Death God Anubis gave back. This power wasn''t as gentle or controllable as Anubis'' feedback at all; instead, it was very violent and uncontrollable.


    Chen Xu tried hard to gather this power together but still felt like he would burst any moment.


    This feeling is not wonderful.


    The powerful force repeatedly impacted his mind, and he felt like he needed to vent. He had been suppressing himself for too long and urgently needed to release it.


    But he understood that he couldn''t vent, nor could he submit to this feeling. This power was also a foreign demon to him.


    "The sting dragon is silent yet has sound; every word spoken resonates in the heart. The spirit is silent yet the energy is dark; even though the sting dragon sleeps, it can still awaken."


    Gradually, Chen Xu relaxed his control over the power and sank into a half-asleep state of mind.


    He allowed this surge of power to rage on as much as it wanted, but remained unmoved no matter how hard it tried.


    Unconsciously, Chen Xu recited a line from Jiuyang Divine Art: "Let him be strong if he wants; gentle breeze caresses mountain peaks. Let him be arrogant if he wants; bright moon shines upon rivers."


    This power was like a gentle breeze while his mind was like a mountain peak - no matter how strong the wind blew, it could not topple the peak.


    His mind fell silent with no thoughts arising. No matter how fierce external demons were stirred up by internal demons they were all illusory.


    Gradually, the power subsided and outside red light condensed into an illusory hexagonal crystal in Chen Xu''s mind - blood-red and eerie-looking.


    "Teacher." Suleiman looked at his teacher cautiously.


    "I''m fine," Chen Xu suddenly opened his eyes. "You did well during today''s ceremony but I don''t have any feedback for you right now. Do you resent me?"


    "Disciple doesn''t resent you," Suleiman quickly replied. "It was my teacher who led me through this magical world''s door - disciple hasn''t even had time to express gratitude so how could I resent my teacher?"


    After a pause, Suleiman added: "My teacher, my god."


    "Very good," Chen Xu nodded in satisfaction. His gaze swept around and unconsciously all the people outside - regardless of their social status or occupation - knelt down out of fear, unease, piety or hope.


    Clearly, Chen Xu''s performance just now had made them worship him as if he were a deity statue in a temple.

 Chapter 32：Energy Core

    Power pulsates as Chen Xu throws a punch, accompanied by water that covers his fist in black. The air crackles and pops upon impact.


    Another punch follows, like an angry deity wielding a sharp golden blade that tears through the air with a whistling sound.


    He stands still, emanating an aura of death. A cold wind blows past him, akin to entering the depths of hell and instilling fear and panic.


    "Ha!" Chen Xu roars thunderously, sounding like the wrathful Thunder God himself as the earth trembles beneath him.


    He extends his hand and green seeds fall to the ground. Trees sprout from them instantly, their roots nourished by bones while the earth serves as their mother. Leaves rustle on branches that grow at lightning speed until they resemble flickering candles in mid-air.


    In another instant, they transform into green dots of light that merge into his body, strengthening him further.


    "As expected," murmurs Chen Xu softly. "To achieve my goal with Devouring Wood requires consuming more materials - wood or soil or even bones."


    The Qin Dynasty is associated with Water Elementals; hence Emperor Qin Shi Huang focused on cultivating water first since it nurtures wood which fuels fire; fire creates ash which becomes soil; soil produces metal which can be melted down for water again - all five elements are interdependent and cyclical without end.


    However, Chen''s five elements do not interact this way nor do they counteract each other: each element exists independently so there is no difference between focusing on one over another - shortcuts have been cut off entirely.


    "How terrifying," thinks Xiao Lin inwardly.


    Chen''s performance just now made her feel like she was witnessing something divine for the first time ever. His strength also chilled her to her core as she couldn''t help but feel indignant: if such powerful cultivators serve under Emperor Qin Shi Huang then when will she ever be able to seek revenge?


    Chen Xu is unaware of Xiao Lin''s thoughts, nor would he care. At this moment, he is fully immersed in comprehending the illusory hexagonal crystal within his mind.


    Blood-red and strange, this was Chen Xu''s first impression upon seeing the illusory hexagonal crystal.


    Magic spewed out, harmonizing with the mana within him. The two were like brothers, loving and close.


    His mind sank into the illusory hexahedron. In an instant, he understood that this thing was called an energy core.


    Like a magic core for beasts or a golden pill or infant for Taoists, it was an energy body and also where all of his mana resided. However, it wasn''t as advanced as a golden pill or infant.


    It was like what scientists in later generations said: most life on Earth is carbon-based life forms but can humans and monkeys be considered one species?


    Energy surged out; it was red mixed with black. Chen Xu could even feel twisted emotions such as fear and anger within it.


    These were emotions from the sacrificed person before they died - their flesh, soul - all turned into power to form this illusory hexagonal crystal.


    If Chen Xu were a Western demon king or Eastern devil head, he would be happy about this. He might even have secret methods to extract these emotions to refine treasures or simply eat them up.


    But he wasn''t one of those beings. Although "The Black Book of Undead Magic" recorded spells that utilized twisted emotions, clearly using them wasn''t optimistic at all. At least after searching through his entire mind space, he couldn''t find any way to separate these twisted emotions from himself.


    "No wonder when society developed into civilization stages; these sacrificial practices were abandoned not only because people didn''t want them but perhaps even gods didn''t want them either. Maybe only demons in hell would be willing to sacrifice," thought Chen Xu.


    However, I don''t have a better solution. Choosing to sacrifice is the only way to accumulate strength in the early stages. As for these distorted emotions, we''ll find a way to deal with them later."


    Opening his eyes, Chen Xu''s pupils flashed red and the noisy crowd immediately quieted down.


    "I am the Heavenly Emperor."


    Chen Xu was hypnotizing them. In the West, there is a nicer name for it called "suggestion".


    To suggest humanity is actually to hypnotize them. However, those who are hypnotized are ignorant and consider this as suggestion while worshiping their master without knowing whether it''s their own idea or an imposed one.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Compared to before, Chen Xu''s power has become stronger and his ability to hypnotize has become more terrifying.


    "I am supreme."


    There is no need to consider conflicts with their original memories because time will erase everything. Those with strong willpower can find themselves and reject imposed memories. However, those without strong willpower will be enslaved by hypnosis forever.


    But even after being hypnotized, they are still themselves because human thoughts change constantly every second. The me of next second is still me now and so was the me of last second; even if my thoughts change my essence remains unchanged.


    For those who were hypnotized, Chen Xu''s hypnosis was like a fire at home - both were demons from outside.


    "I am the Eastern Heavenly Emperor, Buddha from Tianzhu (India), Western God; I incarnate into billions of gods and Buddhas that appear everywhere."


    Even Chen Xu had to admit that Christianity had great influence all over the world making it almost impossible for him to form a heretical cult against it.


    However Jesus pointed him in one direction: since he couldn''t fight against Christianity why not just steal its followers? If Jesus could take over as Son of God then why couldn''t he replace Jesus himself?


    He not only wanted to take away Jesus'' faith, but also the faith of Allah, Buddha and immortals. He wanted to be the only supreme being.


    Therefore, he didn''t change his name or call upon other gods'' names. He didn''t even have the idea of creating a sect.


    After playing tricks in the name of gods, Chen Xu found it boring and walked out alone.


    Suleiman followed him quickly when he saw this.


    When Xiaolin saw them, she hesitated for a moment before running in the opposite direction.


    Chen Xu ignored her and never thought about intercepting Xiaolin at all.


    Xiaolin''s mother Ziyuan was someone close to Chen Xu. Whether Qin Shihuang loved or hated her and wanted to torture her, she was undoubtedly by his side. Killing Xiaolin would bring Ziyuan''s hatred upon him. All Ziyuan needed to do was whisper something into Qin Shihuang''s ear and make him regret it. Throughout history, countless ministers and generals had fallen before women; although Chen Xu wasn''t under Qin Shihuang''s command, there was no need for him to offend her either.


    "Teacher, Emperor Qin ordered us to intercept Xiaolin. Are you sure you want to let her go? What if Emperor Qin finds out?" Suleiman asked worriedly.


    Qin Shihuang is an emperor who will be remembered throughout history; therefore in his eyes he is "Emperor".


    "It doesn''t matter," Chen Xu smiled slightly. "This isn''t Great Qin so he won''t know anything about it anyway. Worst case scenario I''ll just tell him we couldn''t catch up with her - after all you''re still just a child."


    As expected when he returned home later on and Qin Shihuang asked about chasing down Xiaolin , Chen Xu replied that they hadn¡¯t caught up with her yet . Although disappointed with the result, Qin Shihuang didn''t blame them and only asked about the results of the sacrifice.


    "Offering sacrifices to oneself is offering sacrifices to the gods. I have roughly figured it out," Chen Xu explained his insights, "Sacrifice is a rule between heaven and earth. After you hold a sacrifice, the rules of heaven and earth will bring down power, which combines with the power generated by the sacrifice to form an energy core."


    Then, Chen Xu went on to describe the energy core: "It''s an illusory six-sided crystal similar to golden pills and infant spirits."


    "It''s so amazing." Qin Shihuang was moved. "The West has such wonderful methods. Your theory of combining Eastern and Western practices is indeed correct."


    "Wonderful methods are just auxiliary means, like knives and swords. Can you say whether they are good or evil?"


    "Those who can be used by me are all good; those who cannot be used by me are all bad."


    "What is cultivation for? Nothing but immortality and eternal life. As long as we walk towards that end goal on any path available, does it matter?"


    Just like in later generations where there were national highways and expressways - do expressways always mean high speed? Sometimes expressways get congested while sometimes national highways get congested too. There''s no need to stick only to one road; switching between them would be much faster.


    "That makes sense." Qin Shihuang nodded his head. "But I still hope that you can show off your skills."


    "Of course." Chen Xu also became excited. He was currently in the bronze realm and had not yet crossed over into black iron territory but he felt that his accumulation had reached its peak - he was just one step away from breaking through naturally when enough energy accumulated in his body.


    "Sacred beetle!" Chen Xu stomped his foot as black mist rose up from under him with sacred beetles crawling out densely packed within it.


    "My dear Daoist," Qin Shihuang chuckled and breathed out flames.


    The flames swept over the sacred beetles, leaving behind a pile of corpses. The number of sacred beetles was insignificant in front of the flames.


    "Your Majesty has great skills." Chen Xu laughed. In movies, Qin Shihuang most commonly used this fire; it was hard to imagine him without it.


    "Skills are just auxiliary means," Qin Shihuang humorously returned Chen Xu''s words that he often said. "If you only have these kinds of skills, then I won''t be polite."


    "Let His Majesty know that I also have means." Chen Xu laughed heartily and his whole body turned into sand, flying in the air.


    There are many spells related to the desert in the Necromancer''s Black Book. Transforming into a desert is just one of the more common spells, but its power lies not in being ordinary, but in who uses it.


    "Transformation? I have it too." Qin Shihuang''s body shook and he instantly transformed into a terrifying black dragon.


    Completely black with water vapor wrapped around it, its scales were ferocious and chilling. Its tail swayed and struck against stone pillars, shattering them instantly. The most terrifying thing was that it had three heads, each spewing out water, fire or gold respectively with an imposing aura.


    "His Majesty''s Xuan Water Black Dragon Body is indeed powerful." The sand gathered together to form Chen Xu''s face which was only a face.


    Qin Shihuang''s Xuan Water Black Dragon Body was different from what was shown in movies. In movies, dragons look more like Western three-headed dragons while Xuan Water Black Dragon Body looks exactly like Eastern divine dragons.


    Its mouth looked like a horse¡¯s; eyes looked like crabs''; whiskers resembled goats''; horns were similar to deer¡¯s; ears looked like cows¡¯; mane resembled lions¡¯; scales were akin to carps''; body appeared as snakes'' while claws seemed eagle-like. Its long body swayed as if riding on clouds and mist.


    "I am a true dragon," Qin Shihuang thundered with his voice.

 Chapter 33：The Seal of the Realm

    "heeee!"


    "heeee!"


    Two voices sounded at the same time, and invisible shock waves erupted in mid-air.


    Chen Xu took a few steps back and suffered a small loss in his confrontation with Qin Shihuang.


    "Your strength is still inferior to mine." The big dragon eyes of Qin Shihuang were flashing with laughter.


    "The length of Your Majesty''s cultivation time is not something that Chen Xu can compare to." Chen Xu counterattacked without hesitation.


    He had only been practicing for a few days, while Qin Shihuang had been practicing for many days. There was simply no comparison between the two.


    "Cultivation does not distinguish between first and last; those who achieve it are teachers." Qin Shihuang said, his voice like rolling thunder.


    The original meaning of "Cultivation does not distinguish between first and last; those who achieve it are teachers" referred to realm rather than strength. However, now that it was being interpreted by Qin Shihuang in this way made Chen Xu feel somewhat depressed. But he was also right - your enemies won''t spare you just because you''ve only practiced for a few years.


    "Yes, but Your Majesty underestimates me too much." Chen Xu waved his hand and sand rolled up from Sulaiman''s Necronomicon. "This is an ancient treasure passed down by Egyptian priests for thousands of years. It is an artifact that has existed since the era of gods."


    Chen Xu divided the world into two eras: one was the age when gods directly ruled the world - an era when Olympian gods, Egyptian gods, Norse gods descended upon earth known as the Age of Gods; The other era was called Human Era where humans held power after all deities left Earth- which is where Chen Xu currently resides."


    The term "artifact" refers to tools used by gods, such as a cup, a book or a chair. As long as it is related to the gods, it can be considered an artifact. However, some artifacts are just for show while others possess great power. Imagine being chosen by the gods and used as a weapon; how could its power be insignificant?


    Among all artifacts, the Necronomicon stands out as one of the best. Chen Xu has some guesses about its origin.


    During ancient Egypt''s time under Ra''s rule in the distant era of gods, there was a witch named Isis who was already feared by humans at that time and had been given the title of goddess. But she grew tired of being just an earthly goddess and wanted to become one among heavenly ones alongside other deities.


    She came up with a way to achieve godhood: controlling Ra.


    To force him into revealing his true name so that she could control him and get what she wanted from him, she found his saliva and casted spells on it until they turned into venomous snakes which were placed along Ra''s patrol route in Egypt.


    As expected, Ra fell victim to her trap; he suffered greatly from this evil spell but Isis was too powerful for even someone like Ra who naturally mastered all spells couldn''t break free from her curse without seeking help from other gods.


    At this moment when Isis arrived pretendingly concerned about what happened to him asking: "Father God, what happened?"


    Ra told her that he had been bitten by a snake which made him feel hotter than fire yet colder than water; his limbs trembled uncontrollably making everything appear blurry before his eyes.


    Isis cunningly said: "Father God , tell me your name because only those who say their own names can survive."


    The ending of the story is that Isis became one of the nine pillars gods in Egypt, ruling over magic. Unfortunately, Ra never revealed his true name from beginning to end.


    It''s worth mentioning that after this incident, Ra withdrew from the mortal realm and returned to the realm of gods. He no longer appeared as a saint among humans.


    Most of the spells in Egypt actually originated from Isis, although it was Ra who spread them to humans at first.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Divine artifact? Let me see what kind of wonders Western divine artifacts have." One of Qin Shihuang''s dragon heads opened its mouth and spewed out a large amount of water like dozens of water taps together. Not only was there a large quantity but also powerful momentum.


    "If so, let Your Majesty witness the power of this divine artifact." Chen Xu walked out from within sand with Sand Sparkle holding onto his feet and lifting him up into mid-air until he was eye-to-eye with Qin Shihuang.


    "The Great Desert."


    The earth began spewing yellow sand while tornadoes formed out-of-nowhere, picking up massive amounts of sand which blocked off all water sources creating an impenetrable barrier.


    When water touched yellow sand it scattered everywhere before being swallowed by desert sands in an instant as if sponges were absorbing moisture.


    "It seems Your Majesty''s magical powers are not enough," Chen Xu laughed heartily. "If that is your level then I should be your teacher."


    Chen Xu repeated Qin Shihuang¡¯s words back to him: ¡°You haven¡¯t tried your best yet.¡±


    All three dragon heads on Qin Shihuang simultaneously sprayed water causing Chen Xu¡¯s pressure to increase significantly.


    This wasn''t modern times where there was plenty more sand available; unlike deserts where every change made would greatly consume Chen Xu''s magical powers here due to natural advantages he held since birth


    "Since Your Majesty has done his best then I cannot hold back either."


    The energy core was pulsating, and the illusory hexagonal crystal ejected a large amount of magic that spread throughout his body.


    "Desert Tornado."


    Boundless gales swept up sand, wind borrowing sand momentum while sand borrowed wind power. In an instant it submerged the black dragon spitting out water even though it was in mid-spit.


    "Haha." Chen Xu laughed so hard he had to cover his stomach and gasp for air. "Your Majesty is actually in such a sorry state."


    "Just wait and see," Qin Shihuang glared fiercely at Chen Xu with all three heads opening their mouths together.


    Gold, water, fire; three of the five elements gathered under the dragon''s mouth.


    "No way! Your Majesty you''re really going all out!" Chen Xu was shocked and quickly summoned strong winds using sand as a shield in front of him.


    The weapon used by Emperor Qin Shi Huang was called the Five Elements Cannon, which was made up of gold, wood, water, fire and earth. It was similar to modern cannons but its power was vastly different.


    Although Emperor Qin Shi Huang only had three elements - gold, water and fire - their power would have been enough to turn Chen Xu into ashes.


    A cold sweat dripped down his temple as a sense of crisis filled his mind.


    "Your Majesty, we are just discussing philosophy here. There''s no need for life or death battles," regretted Chen Xu after realizing he had joked too far with the emperor.


    He had forgotten that although they addressed each other as friends in Daoism tradition, Emperor Qin Shi Huang was still an emperor and a great conqueror who possessed immense killing power.


    Wouldn''t it be foolish to provoke him?


    "I''m just joking too," said Emperor Qin Shi Huang as he retracted the Five Elements Cannon back into himself and slowly transformed back into human form.


    His black armor looked menacing while his face remained cold and stern. "Your magic is indeed unique and your artifacts have given you much strength."


    "If not for The Book of Necromancy Black Magic," replied Chen Xu humbly as he handed it back to Solomon.


    "But external objects are always external objects; once they''re used up they should be discarded. Otherwise relying on them will only create obstacles."


    Dependency obstacle refers to depending on something so much that one cannot function without it; whether it''s material possessions or people such as children depending on their fathers or swordsmen depending on their swords. Only when one breaks free from this dependency can one advance further spiritually.


    Chen Xu gave The Book of Necromancy Black Magic to Solomon not only because he wanted to train him but also because he wanted to break free from this dependency obstacle himself.


    External objects were merely tools for him: use them when needed but discard them when not. Just like The Book of Necromancy Black Magic, it was no longer useful to him so he threw it away; but the Sun Gold Scripture contained infinite knowledge so he kept it.


    One day when he had absorbed all the knowledge in the Sun Gold Scripture, he would throw that away too.


    "You''re right. But cultivators still need magical artifacts to overcome various tribulations," nodded Emperor Qin Shi Huang before shaking his head again. "In ancient times, cultivators faced many tribulations that were beyond human endurance and thus they developed methods for crafting magical artifacts."


    "For cultivators, magical artifacts are their protection against calamities and disasters. With a magical artifact, one can gain a great advantage in battle."


    "That''s true," agreed Chen Xu.


    In Investiture of the Gods, disciples could kill their masters with powerful magical artifacts regardless of strength differences - such was its importance.


    Chen Xu had fought Imhotep using The Book of Necromancy Black Magic for quite some time and understood how important these objects were; however, he wasn''t planning on relying on it because it didn''t belong to him.


    Throughout history there have been many owners of The Book of Necromancy Black Magic who eventually left or died proving that Chen Xu wasn''t its true owner either - sooner or later he would leave as well whether early or late made no difference.


    "But real magical artifacts should be condensed by oneself only then will they truly belong to you."


    "I need to retrieve my own artifact," said Emperor Qin Shi Huang softly as four words escaped his lips: "The Heirloom Seal."


    "What magic weapon?" Chen Xu asked curiously.


    In the movie, Qin Shihuang didn''t have any magic weapons.


    "The Imperial Seal!" Qin Shihuang gently uttered four words from his mouth.

 Chapter 34：Madness.

    Since the Warring States period, Beijing has had the atmosphere of a capital city. After experiencing the Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as later periods, it is truly a capital city of six dynasties.


    Chen Xu came to the capital for the first time. Unfortunately, at this time, there was no longer that kind of atmosphere in future generations. It felt desolate; in fact, not only in the capital but also anywhere he went except Shanghai.


    "I am Paul."


    As soon as Chen Xu entered the city, a German greeted him immediately.


    "I am the curator of the German Museum. From today on you are our staff at The German Museum."


    "Okay!" Chen Xu nodded. Paul was contacted by Schmidt to assist him in finding The Seal of State.


    The Seal of State was carved from peerless jade "He Shi Bi" after Qin Shihuang unified six countries with eight characters written on it: "Receiving mandate from heaven and longevity". It is a symbol of legitimacy throughout history.


    However few people know that this seal was also an artifact refined by Qin Shihuang using special treasures made from Daqin''s national fortune with its original intention being used to suppress Daqin and make it last forever.


    Unexpectedly just after its completion The Seal became cursed into terracotta warriors by Ziyuan''s witchcraft curse.


    "I have found out where The Seal Of State is located specifically; it is inside The Palace Museum." Paul said again.


    "Okay!" Chen Xu nodded without saying much else.


    Seeing that Chen Xu didn''t want to talk anymore Paul did not continue discussing either but secretly speculated which warlord he might be in his heart instead.


    In fact although Germany now approaches collapse they are still considered powerful country through Chinese eyes so Germans here have privileges and can only be commanded by those big warlords.


    "Are you from The German Museum?" Three men in military uniforms walked towards them.


    "Yes." Paul went up to negotiate. "We are from The German Museum and have come to visit China''s Seal of State."


    Three men in military uniforms, one of them took out a black and white photo from his bag and compared it to Paul. He nodded and said, "You are Mr. Paul, the curator of the German Museum. But who are these two with you?"


    "They are staff members of the German Museum who came with me to visit the Imperial Seal," explained Paul.


    "No, the order above is for you alone to visit the Imperial Seal. No other people are allowed," said one of the military men.


    In this era of warlords, there were forces supported by Japan, Russia, and Britain but none by Germany.


    Germany had already withdrawn its influence from China after losing World War I. In reality, it was unlikely for them to protect their interests.


    These military men did not belong to any warlord faction and seemed to have no respect for Germans.


    Normally Chen Xu would be pleased that there was such a fearless army towards foreigners but he wasn''t happy now.


    "We want to see the Imperial Seal," Chen Xu''s eyes flashed red as he hypnotized them.


    The three military men were dazed for a moment before nodding their heads saying: "Okay, please follow me."


    "How did they suddenly change their minds?" asked Paul in surprise.


    The military men who just refused entry now granted access; it was too sudden a change.


    "Could it be that this person in front of us is someone important?" speculated Paul inwardly. In his mind only an important figure could make these soldiers change so quickly.


    Under guidance from three military men they arrived at museum which Chen Xu knew nothing about what museums looked like in future times but he knew this museum was luxurious since it was located within palace grounds itself as an exhibit piece.


    "The Imperial Seal is inside but Miss Xie is currently viewing it."


    "Miss Xie?" Chen Xu vaguely guessed how they were stopped earlier on.


    "Weren''t others forbidden entry?" A pleasant female voice came from inside, getting closer.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    A woman in military uniform walked out followed by a burly man in black military uniform. She was an outstanding beauty and also a soldier.


    Some people are naturally resistant to hypnosis due to their strong mental power, making it difficult for ordinary hypnotic methods to work on them. Others have a strong will and are simply not susceptible to hypnosis.


    However, soldiers who have experienced the horrors of war possess an exceptional level of willpower. Having been through battles and baptized in blood, they not only possess unwavering determination but also carry a sense of killing intent. If an ordinary hypnotist were to attempt to hypnotize such individuals, not only would they fail but their own abilities would also decline.


    But Chen Xu is different. With his combination of hypnosis and magic, he can easily overcome resistance from even regular soldiers. Only those who have fought countless battles and killed so many that they''ve become crazed demons cannot be hypnotized by him.


    However, the burly man standing before him doesn''t seem like someone who has gone mad from killing.


    It''s important to note that many soldiers who go overboard with killing on the battlefield end up suppressing their urge to kill after leaving it behind; however, some eventually lose control and become violent killers at any provocation - these types are truly terrifying.


    "Hypnotize me?" Thunder''s mouth twisted into a terrifying smile as he spoke: "Back when General brought in a master hypnotist for my treatment...he ended up going insane himself! Hahaha..."


    "Only now do you look like a madman." Chen Xu also smiled, but unlike the terrifying smile of thunder, his smile was gentle and refreshing. "Come on, let me touch you."


    Chen Xu''s voice was like a spell that penetrated Thunder''s mind without regard for Thunder''s own will and directly pierced his soul.


    In an instant, Chen Xu suffered a backlash from the evil spirit, with endless illusions enveloping him.


    This is slaughter; this is the slaughter of the battlefield. Blood and fire raged while shells flew everywhere. If an ordinary person were caught in such a situation, they would probably be scared out of their wits.


    The hypnotist back then accidentally suffered from these evil spirits during hypnosis and went crazy thinking he was still on the battlefield.


    "Small illusions can''t harm me," Chen Xu sneered. However, he did not rush to dispel the illusion but instead strolled around on the battlefield.


    This is an illusion as well as Thunder''s spiritual projection. It represents what he has experienced before. Through these illusions, Chen Xu can understand his soul better and find opportunities to subdue him.


    Yes, Chen Xu had taken notice of him - this man who could punch through thin air with just one fist possessed terrifying strength that allowed him to reach such heights through regular training alone; he was truly a genius among geniuses!


    Those special forces soldiers in later generations would probably be killed within seconds if they fought against him!


    Shells hit his body but passed right through it; knives stabbed into his body but also passed right through it; people collided with him but again passed right through it - everything that touched him simply passed straight through!


    This is just an illusion - unreal things cannot attack reality at least not for Thunder anyway.


    The scene changed from bloody battlefields to laboratories: white walls surrounded by white iron cages where dozens of military personnel attacked each other like madmen, having killed many people on the battlefield and driven themselves insane. Now they were gathered together in a cage like gladiators.


    A man in a white coat recorded data while several men in military uniforms stood outside looking imposing.


    "Kill each other; whoever wins gets to leave."


    With this command, the Shura killing field was opened: roars of anger, sounds of fists hitting flesh, coughing up blood - these elite killing machines from the military began to slaughter each other.


    After who knows how long, almost everyone inside had died except for two people still fighting with their bare fists without any defense.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    Two burly soldiers collided with each other fiercely, and one of them fell to the ground with a loud bang. The winner was Thunder.


    "It''s like raising gu, the winner is the Gu King, and this Gu King is Thunder!"


    The scene changed again. Thunder raised his fist, blood splattered everywhere, and there were corpses lying on the ground including soldiers in military uniforms and white coats as well as those dignified men in uniform.


    The scene disappeared, and Chen Xu returned to reality.


    "What happened to you?" The woman in military uniform asked coldly.


    "You actually hypnotized me." Thunder''s face changed suddenly. "You are more powerful than those hypnotists."


    After coming down from the battlefield, he had sought many hypnotists for treatment but they all failed miserably. They either became insane or suffered from mental illness which made no one dare to help him treat himself anymore.


    "Your mind is sick." Chen Xu smiled slightly.


    "You know it!"


    If it were an ordinary person who was told by Chen Xu like that would definitely get angry but Thunder knew himself very well; he really had a problem with his mind just like other crazy soldiers who couldn''t adapt to such life after retiring from service. He always lost control of his anger easily and killed people at any slight dissatisfaction - slapping over or punching through someone until death occurred frequently.


    So he became a bodyguard killing anyone who dissatisfied him so as to vent out his anger inside him.


    "You should control yourself." Chen Xu''s voice carried magic power while continuing hypnosis on Thunder: "If you can''t control your heart then you will become evil."


    "Come on look at my hand." Chen Xu shook her hand in front of thunder¡¯s eyes


    "Do you want to hypnotize me? It''s not that easy!" A terrifying smile appeared on Thunder¡¯s face; he wanted to kill someone.


    "Why do you always succumb to the desires in your heart?" Chen Xu sighed and withdrew her hand, shouting loudly: "Zha!"


    Thunder was shocked by the sudden thunderbolt that exploded beside him. Although Chen Xu didn''t intend to use violence at first, Thunder''s non-cooperation forced her to use extreme means.


    "Come on follow my rhythm." She clapped her hands rhythmically.


    Thunder was stunned by Chen Xu¡¯s ¡®zha¡¯ sound and then followed his teacher''s rhythm instinctively.


    "What are you doing?" The woman in military uniform saw something wrong and also took action.


    "Don''t interfere with my teacher." Suleiman blocked the way of the woman in military uniform, chanting spells. Black mist rose up from it, densely packed sacred beetles crawled out of it which were similar to what Chen Xu had done.