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When the sky dims like dusk, the earth ignites in flames.
A towering mountain pierced the clouds, surrounded by searing fire as if the world were ending in a volcanic eruption.
Waves of flames twisted and curled, carving themselves like ancient runes into the mountain's rocky surface, watching over the land for miles.
This mountain was called the Undying Flame Peak. For a thousand miles in every direction, not a single human lived here. Only fire blazed endlessly, burning forever.
Deep within the mountain, molten lava flowed like rivers. At the center of it all stood a massive egg, about a hundred meters tall, resting in a sea of lava. Dark energy coiled around its shell, its shape not yet fully formed, but a vague silhouette could already be seen.
A gentle breeze continuously circled the egg, constantly feeding it power.
No one knew how long it would take before it finally hatched.
Suddenly, the air rippled. A tear in space appeared, and a glowing spirit slipped into the egg.
The spirit merged with it, causing the giant egg to shudder slightly, then return to its long slumber.
Time passed. Years slipped by.
No one knew how many ages had gone by, until one day, the egg began to tremble violently. It looked like it was about to break free of its shell and be born into the world.
Right then, a wisp of dark mist floated down in front of the egg and slowly took the form of a humanoid figure. Its lips moved, as if whispering secrets no one else could hear, before vanishing into thin air.
All around the world—in the sky, the earth's core, the depths of the ocean, the heart of a storm, within a thundercloud, the meeting point of mountain ranges, even in the center of the moon—eight dark shadows appeared.
When the shadows vanished, eight differently-colored eggs in each of those places simultaneously stopped shaking, quietly absorbing the energy of the world around them.
Back in the lava chamber, the hundred-meter egg had fully taken shape.
Etched into its shell were the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac.
Inside the egg, a pair of blood-red eyes suddenly opened. They were filled with confusion and uncertainty.
The body within the egg was fully formed now. With just a single thought, it could shatter its shell and be born.
But outside, a black mist was swirling constantly, as if trying to delay its hatching.
"My name is Shendu… or the Dark Lord?!""Wait—did I just transmigrate?!"
The voice inside the egg whispered in shock. His dazed eyes quickly sharpened.
These were eyes that saw through everything. He scanned the lava-covered inner shell around him, lost deep in thought.
"So I've been reborn into the ancient demon era of Jackie Chan Adventures!""And not just any demon—I'm the Fire Demon, Shendu! One of the eight Demon Lords tied to the Bagua elemental runes!""I even have seven siblings who'll be born along with me!"
His thoughts raced. A gleam of clarity sparkled in his eyes.
According to Jackie Chan Adventures lore, during the rule of the Eight Demon Sorcerers, eight immortal sages emerged to fight them off and seal them in the Demon Netherworld.
Those eight sages were based on the legendary Ba Xian—the Eight Immortals—like Lü Dongbin and Iron-Crutch Li.
Shendu's knowledge came from the memories embedded in the black mist—that mysterious force had passed on everything to him.
He and the other demon lords were primordial beings in this world, practically born favored by the universe itself.
Immortal and unkillable, once their powers grew strong enough, they'd reach the pinnacle of existence.
Though they hadn't been born yet, this ancient world already had humans—and plenty of demons too.
It was an age of chaos: demons roamed free, humans cried out in suffering, and countless lives perished.
The black mist's eight beloved "sons"—the Demon Lords—would eventually end the chaos, rule the world… only to be sealed away by the eight "sons" of the positive energy force—those Eight Immortals.
Thinking about this, Shendu couldn't help but feel a chill. His destined future… was to be sealed by Lü Dongbin himself, sword in hand, cast into the Demon Netherworld.
He sighed bitterly. In his past life, he'd been cast away by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—and when he opened his eyes, boom, he was in Jackie Chan Adventures.
But being reborn as a Demon Lord… was that a blessing or a curse?
He knew from the original show that the Demon Netherworld drained both the power and intelligence of its prisoners.
It was a dull, colorless place where only the eight demons existed.
Over time, their strength and wisdom would be worn away by the Eight Immortals' seals.
That's why when the Sky Demon, Hsi Wu, escaped through the women's bathroom Demon Gate, all he could do was fly.
He didn't even remember how to control the weather anymore. Jade—with just the Rabbit Talisman—could go toe-to-toe with him!
His power had been completely stripped by the Demon Netherworld.
Only a few Demon Lords kept their edge—Shendu the Fire Demon, Tso Lan the Moon Demon, and Bai Tza the Water Demon.
Shendu had the advantage of existing as a statue in the human world for centuries. That kept him from being drained further.
The other two were still strong—Bai Tza could summon massive tidal formations, and Tso Lan controlled the entire moon the moment he returned.
As for the others… well, it's a sad story.
Po Kong showed up and was instantly sealed again—never even got to show her earth powers.
Xiao Feng just blew wind. His only shining moment was stopping Shendu's Rabbit Talisman from moving forward.
Tchang Zu had some flash with dual thunderbolts in hand, blasting energy everywhere—maybe close to Valmont's peak with the Dragon Talisman.
Dai Gui? All he did was dig. Guy had no brains left.
Now that Shendu had become one of them, he couldn't help but sigh at how tragic his "siblings" had it.
"Am I really gonna end up as a statue too, stuck in Section 13 for eternity?!"
He only remembered the modern-day timeline of Jackie Chan Adventures, not this ancient era of the Demon Lords.
Right now, he was just an unborn Fire Demon Lord, quietly absorbing the dark mist's gift of power from the world around him.
He had to wait for the perfect time to be born—ideally, when the war between immortals and demons breaks out—so he could be way stronger than his original self in the show.
Then maybe… just maybe… he could beat Lü Dongbin. Hell, maybe even defeat all eight Immortals.
As long as his power overwhelmed everyone else's, Shendu refused to believe anyone could seal him away again.
The Eight Demon Lords were the black mist's chosen ones. As long as he could survive the peak of positive energy, when the dark mist made its comeback, Shendu could roam freely across the Jackie Chan Adventures world.
"Come on, dear Mother Black Mist, send me more of that sweet, sweet power."
Shendu closed his eyes. With a single thought, the hundred-meter egg absorbed the black mist's energy even faster—drawing strength not just from it, but also from the molten lava beneath.
That shadowy humanoid figure who whispered earlier?
That was the black mist—the dark force of balance in this world, the opposite of the positive energy.
It didn't have a true form—just mist.
But now that humans existed, it had started taking on a more human-like shape.
"....."