Chapter 23: The Tome of Darkness

“This house... is rather strange!”

Walking into the house and descending to the basement, Old Wang’s eyes immediately fell on a poster. It was a “Ghost Rider” poster, featuring Johnny Blaze, the fiery Johnny, Robbie’s predecessor. He was the one who passed the Spirit of Vengeance to Robbie (according to Marvel’s official lore).

Not far away, a shield was hanging on the wall. Captain America’s shield—a replica, made of aluminum alloy.

“It seems the owner of this house has something to do with Ghost Rider, and is also a fan of Captain America?” Old Wang nodded. All of America is a fan of the Captain, even Egghead and Robbie.

The Darkhold was hidden here; chances are, the house’s owner stashed it away. That makes things interesting.

Could the Darkhold be connected to Johnny Blaze? Or perhaps to the Spirit of Vengeance itself? Hmm, I’ll have to find a time to ask the Spirit. Not sure if it’s willing to talk... Convincing it is clearly impossible. Defeating it? That’s not possible right now either...

“We found it here.”

Lucy drifted to the center of the house, noticing the disturbed earth on the ground, her expression complicated. “Joseph really did come...”

She was somewhat sad. Joseph was her husband, and their relationship had been good. But ever since he got the Darkhold, things changed; Joseph wouldn’t touch her anymore, nor would he let her touch the Darkhold. It was as if the Darkhold had become his wife!

Can it share your bed, or accompany you in wild escapades? This book is truly a disaster! Yet it’s such a treasure—how I long to have it! If only I could obtain it, nothing else would matter. Eli wouldn’t matter, Joseph wouldn’t matter. Let them rot in prison or become vegetables if they wish.

But alas, I can’t get it!

Lucy looked at Old Wang, her eyes full of resentment.

Old Wang ignored her. He stretched out his left hand, pressed down, then grabbed.

Dust billowed.

A cloth package flew into his hand.

He opened it, revealing a book.

It was thick, about the size of an Oxford dictionary. Its cover was black, encircled by unknown runes, with a line of text above:

Darkhold.

“This book... the magical energy is intense!”

Ordinary people wouldn’t notice, but Old Wang could. He sensed that within this book, there was an incredibly powerful magic sealed—at least “Chronicle of Dark Secrets” level, possibly even stronger, though it still fell short compared to the Book of Medivh he snatched from Kel’Thuzad.

The Darkhold had quite a history.

It was believed to be the source of all dark magic, containing records of many very powerful spells. Legend says that billions of years ago, an ancient god named Chthon was pursued and fled to other dimensions; before escaping, he wrote all his misdeeds and spells onto indestructible parchment, what was called the “Chthon Scrolls.”

Later, these parchments were bound together, becoming the Darkhold.

Clearly, this book’s material wasn’t parchment, and had nothing to do with the Chthon Scrolls, so its value couldn’t match them, nor was it certain if all the knowledge was complete.

That’s the difference between a pirated and an original edition.

No one knows who actually created this book. Whoever or whatever did it, their power must be somewhere between Reggie Wintercold and Medivh—a rather broad range...

Every page was magically protected, making the book very hard to destroy. More importantly, these spells influenced people, causing them to fall into corruption, to desperately want to possess it, to protect it rather than destroy it.

Just look at the group around him.

Lucy’s new ghost friends aside, each looked like lechers locked up for decades; upon seeing the Darkhold, they acted as if gazing at a peerless beauty—if they weren’t powerless before him, they would have pounced long ago.

This was Sky’s first time seeing the Darkhold; the influence wasn’t strong, but her eyes were locked onto it, unwilling to look away.

Robbie, on the other hand, showed no reaction—not because he was exceptional, but because the Spirit of Vengeance inside him was exceptional. It feared nothing from this book, but neither did it like it.

The Spirit of Vengeance, who had barely escaped the Dark Dimension, hated anything related to darkness, except itself.

As for Old Wang—no need to even mention.

Panda folk were naturally cheerful and optimistic, with strong resistance to spiritual and mental corruption.

Old Wang had personally destroyed the seven Sha demons of Pandaria, and the heart of the ancient god Y’Shaarj. The demon lords skilled at manipulating minds—he’d killed enough to fill a squad. A mere magic book? What’s there to fear!

He opened it directly.

Blank pages.

“An unwritten book?”

Having recently read many fantasy novels with Old Wang, Sky immediately thought of a plot from those stories: “Only those with fate can see the words?”

This book and I are fated... Old Wang placed his hand upon it.

Beautiful Chinese characters appeared—not in Song or Kai styles, but in the trendy JingLei font popular before his first transmigration, which he liked...

Yes, Chinese characters.

The book’s enchantment allowed it to peer into the reader’s mind, similar to a priest’s “Mind Steal,” presenting the contents in the reader’s native language.

If Robbie were reading, it would be pure American English.

“Quite clever,” Old Wang laughed, scanning a few lines.

Then he decisively gave up.

He recognized every character, and even most of the mathematical symbols, but together they were utterly incomprehensible. Not just him—if you brought the world’s most brilliant scientists, such as Tony Stark, Hank Pym, Bruce Banner, or Princess Shuri, they wouldn’t figure out even a small part after years of study.

Only a select few could truly understand it: the Dark Dimension’s top bosses, like Dormammu, the Spirit of Vengeance, Mephisto; or the universe’s greatest sorcerers, like the Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One.

It was, after all, a book of magic!

While science and magic are related, low science and high magic don’t intersect. Earth’s scientific level was still somewhat lacking.

Old Wang didn’t mind.

Understanding it didn’t matter.

Lucy and her companions had studied it for countless years; surely they’d managed to comprehend parts, and that was enough.

As for now?

The Darkhold vanished, entering the Heart of Azeroth, appearing before the young lady.

...

...

Somewhere, in a hidden, secret location.

Daniel Whitehall was holding a meeting. He tapped the table: “We must retrieve Box 084. Whatever was taken from me must be taken back!”

The others dared not speak.

After the boss had replaced his organs with those of the female Inhuman, he’d grown younger—and even more gloomy and terrifying.

We want Box 084 too, but it’s not that easy. Our high-level S.H.I.E.L.D. moles couldn’t get near it; so many people guard it tightly, and only those with Level 10 clearance can access it.

Currently, the only person in S.H.I.E.L.D. with Level 10 clearance is Director Fury...

A phone rang.

Whitehall glanced at his phone, frowning.

Why would “Clairvoyant” risk calling him?

He had finally managed Level 8 clearance; his identity was extremely important. Did Clairvoyant want to expose him?

“Hello.”

Whitehall waved his hand; everyone called out “Hail Hydra!” and left, then he answered the phone.

A deep voice spoke.

“Whitehall, let’s make a deal.”

“The Darkhold has appeared!”