Eternal Villain: I can enslave Reality!

While the dark-haired woman appeared as if she didn't care about anything in the world, Xu Shan had already opened the black book.

What greeted his sight at the first page slightly surprised him. It wasn't a blank page or a page on which someone had written their wishes. Instead, it was something quite different.

There were indeed certain words on the first page. However, those words appeared really special. The characters were unique, and Xu Shan was certain he hadn't seen such characters like that before in his life. The strange characters also appeared to have a life of their own!

He didn't know why, but even though he had never seen such weird characters in his life, he was able to understand them perfectly!

The combination of these unknown characters made up multiple sentences that described something akin to the rules of the mysterious book.

One of the rules was as he had read in his father's journal! It was that no wish could change the outcome or the cost associated with the previous wish.

Another rule was that there were some rare wishes that couldn't be granted if they went against the natural laws of the universe.

For example, wishes that asked for the destruction of the entire universe or such couldn't be granted since, no matter what, no one could afford an equivalent exchange for that. Those wishes had astronomical costs which were impossible for anyone to afford.

It was all about an equal exchange! No one knew where the book came from. However, it was undeniable that it was an existence that transcended the laws of the universe...

One after another, Xu Shan went through all the rules. After reading the rules, he understood that the Book couldn't really be blamed either.

The book clearly mentioned how dangerous it could be and how the aftermath was hard to handle if one wasn't careful. Despite that, his father's first wish was already big enough without a single care in the world.

Even though he didn't want to blame his father for his greed, he also couldn't blame the book entirely. It was the job of the devil to lure the human. It was the fault of the humans if they were swayed even after knowing everything.

Xu Shan clenched his fists. He was on the verge of exploding with unwillingness and anger. He couldn't really blame anyone for their family's misery at all. His father also paid the price already...

Only he knew how he managed to calm his shaking heart. The book was the greatest blessing that one could ever hope for. However, it was also a curse.

After reading the rules, he turned the page to check what the other users of the book had wished for. However, what surprised him was that the other pages were completely blank! It was as if all the previous wishes written in the book were erased.

He didn't know if it was because no one was allowed to read the others' wishes or if the book erased them when the previous owners died.

He glanced in the direction of the dark-haired woman, wondering if he should ask her. However, after noticing her sitting silently with her eyes closed, he swallowed his words and didn't ask.

It didn't matter how the book was used in the past. What mattered was how he was going to use it now!

For now, he closed the book and sent it back to his storage ring, leaving this matter for later. For now, he had another problem to handle. He didn't know just what kind of a world this was since he had no memories of the person he possessed.

What was worse was that he had a Saintess in his captivity, and he didn't have much time to deal with the matter.

After thinking for some time, he finally turned his attention to the dark-haired woman.

"What is your name?"

The woman opened her eyes, which looked calm like the sea without a single chaotic wave.

"I never needed a name. However, throughout the years, I've been called by various names. For me, a name is insignificant."

Xu Shan frowned but remained composed. "Are you the Spirit of the Book?" 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔

A beautiful smile blossomed on the dark-haired woman's face, making her look as if she was an existence that transcended the limits of what humans called beauty...

"You don't need to know what I am. You should instead be concerned about how you're going to deal with the trouble you're in." As she spoke, she casually glanced at the woman on the bed.

Understanding her meaning, Xu Shan let out a sigh. "Couldn't you have sent me to this body a few days earlier? You pushed me straight into this volcano, and now you're asking me how I'm going to swim and get out?"

Even though he looked somewhat frustrated and defeated, he had no intention of giving up.

After five years, he finally gained this opportunity thanks to his father's sacrifice. No Saintess could take this opportunity from him.

"What do you think are the chances that the Celestial Palace can really locate her to this place?"

"A hundred percent." The dark-haired woman answered within any delay as if it was a matter of fact. "You're lucky they don't know she'd been kidnapped."

Xu Shan scratched the back of his head. He still had no idea what kind of force the Celestial Palace or the Eternal Dynasty was. However, it was clear that no one wanted this conflict.

"It would've been better if I had the memories of this guy. At least, I wouldn't be this ignorant."

"Why don't you wish for his memories? You might even wish to possess all the knowledge in this world? The book will certainly grant that, given that you are willing to pay the price."

Xu Shan didn't know if the dark-haired woman was serious or just teasing him. However, what she said did make sense. He didn't want all the knowledge in the world as he didn't even want to think about the kind of price he would've had to pay.

However, the memories of the third prince were certainly an option! It wasn't something too extraordinary, so the price shouldn't have been much. However, he knew it was risky.