American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

A series of textbook-perfect, cruel black magic spells were performed in detail before his eyes.

Furthermore, it is clear that the caster was not trying to kill the enemy quickly, but rather deliberately torturing and killing them.

Under normal circumstances, this outstanding young man from the Protestant evangelical church would probably stand on the moral high ground of doctrine, showing contempt for such cruel acts, and then quote a few famous sayings from the Bible to demonstrate his own devout faith.

But when faced with an absolute difference in strength...

To silently murmur a few words in one's heart is enough to repay the few drops of holy power bestowed upon one by God.

"Mr. Michael... Your magical skills are truly breathtaking. You are indeed worthy of being called the Black Prince. I'm sure the title of the next head wizard of the House of Sorcerers is already yours."

Looking at the handsome young man beside her with shoulder-length black hair and holding a staff.

The young battle priest offered insincere compliments.

The black-haired wizard, whom he called Michael, tilted his head indifferently and gave a strange smile.

"I mean... as soon as we entered the secret realm, so many troublesome yet interesting toys came up to us. I don't know if it's a good omen or a bad omen."

After saying that, he didn't wait for the other person's response and continued walking forward, pushing aside the large ferns.

Deep within Michael's unseen pupils, a tiny, detailed ouroboros was slowly rotating.

……

……

Time seems to pass independently of the outside world in this secret realm.

It was nearly midnight when the group entered, but it was only early afternoon there.

The sun still hangs in the sky, but it clearly has a sense of etherealness. It is probably either sunlight from the outside world intercepted by a secret method, or it is simply a manifestation of the laws within the secret realm.

Zhu Mingyao glanced sideways at the blonde little witch on the flying carpet beside him, who kept touching her belt, and gave a helpless, wry smile.

"Don't act like you have PTSD. I only borrowed your belts last time to escape, I'm not some kind of pervert!"

He patted the magic bag and reassured them with confidence.

"Don't worry, don't worry, you've learned your lesson. This time I've prepared plenty of materials for casting the [Dragon Transformation Spell]. Even in an emergency, I won't need to pull someone's belt off..."

"Hey! Shut up! Do you really have to discuss this kind of thing with a lady?"

A magnificent flying carpet and a blue grass dragon floated across the rippling sea, casting a trail of shadows.

Where the sea meets the sky, a vast expanse of land emerges, followed by a large island with rolling hills and boundless rainforest. There appear to be some man-made structures on one corner of the shore.

"We've arrived!" Seeing their target in sight, the three of them perked up and activated their magical artifacts to increase their flight speed.

But as they got closer to land, the magical artifacts beneath them moved slower and slower, eventually coming to an almost complete stop. A strange force arose out of nowhere, as if an invisible hand was pulling them straight down.

Left with no other choice, the three of them packed up their equipment and used their unique skills to cross the water and reach the island.

"Flying doesn't seem to be allowed here."

Zoe frowned slightly, flicked her finger, and a wind sprite with transparent, dragonfly-like wings leaped out of the void and peered upwards.

Just like the others had encountered, the small elemental creature became stuck in the mud at a height of a dozen meters, and no matter how loudly it flapped its wings, it could not advance any further.

Zhu Mingyao lightly touched the ground with his toes, and several ghostly soldiers stirred up a gust of wind, slightly lifting him up with the help of his feet, making him float up and circle around in a large circle, allowing him to experience it for himself.

"It's not simply a ban on takeoffs..." He organized his thoughts and explained earnestly.

"It should be described as a kind of height and speed restriction, mainly targeting the effects of spells. If you're moving purely by physical strength, the impact is relatively small, and also..."

Zhu Mingyao pointed towards the jungle and said solemnly, "The further we go in, the slower our magic power will circulate, and our physical strength will also be greatly depleted. If there is a sudden danger, it will be easy to not be able to react in time. For safety's sake, I suggest we explore the situation on the outer perimeter first."

Upon hearing his words, the girls' expressions turned somewhat unpleasant. The rules here were quite unfriendly to the two typical mages.

"It's nothing. Don't forget, our mission lasts for three days, and we've only just begun. Let's find a place to insert the spatial locator and explore in more detail."

Besides, gathering as much information as possible was one of the original goals. I'll lead the way, and you guys record the map!

After a flash of spiritual light, which bestowed upon them a bunch of auxiliary spells such as Agility and Swiftness, Zhu Mingyao took out an ebony compass and began to practice his rudimentary feng shui skills. He stumbled and struggled to discern the earth's veins, and following the direction of the spiritual energy, led the two towards the building they had just seen.

……

From the sky, even though the island can be described as huge, it is at most a few dozen miles in circumference.

But now that someone actually walks around it, they will find that its size has been greatly underestimated.

When you look closely, you might even think that the description of "island" is a fallacy.

Because there is absolutely no other island in the world with so many strange landforms squeezed together: rivers and waterfalls, swamps and deserts, lush jungles, deep canyons, and all sorts of natural landscapes with different formation conditions, all blended together without any conflict. This is not a terrain environment that an ordinary island could contain.

At first glance, this hidden realm looks like a scaled-down model of an island. It might even give you the illusion that you could lift that towering mountain with a flick of your fingers or leap across a vast swamp with a slight hop.

But when visitors actually enter, they find that they have not become Graves, stranded in Lilliput, but rather, like a drop of water entering the ocean, they have perfectly blended into this boundless jungle.

The three of them walked along the coastline. On one side was the vast ocean with its churning waves, while on the other side, lush vegetation stretched as far as the eye could see. Tall American cypress and camphor trees stood side by side, their blue-green canopies catching most of the rain. Various shrubs, taller than a person, occupied the middle layer of space, while agave and Mexican ironwood stretched out their thick leaves below, trying to capture the sunlight that leaked through the gaps. Close to the ground was the home of ferns and fungi.

Because the sunlight was blocked in batches by the layers upon layers of plant army, the humidity in the air increased greatly, and a faint mist lingered.

Even just passing by the edge, without actually being inside, one can still feel an eerie chill, mixed with the sounds of birdsong and beast howls, reminding visitors from the outside world of the dangerous nature hidden beneath the calm exterior.

Chapter 196 Attack

"As expected of the legendary Aztec gods' palace on earth, it is truly a treasure trove. If we could just uproot this Mexican golden sandalwood tree, we could at least exchange it for half a suburban villa!"

Zhu Mingyao stopped in front of a towering tree that took two or three people to encircle, marveling at it.

He stroked the rough tree trunk, then flicked his finger, causing the dry, dead bark to crack open, and the pale red berries on the branches fell to the ground, revealing the delicate texture underneath that shimmered with a metallic pale yellow light.

Mexican golden sandalwood, known as baccoti in Aztec, meaning "giant mouth," is said to absorb gold and silver elements from the soil and is a famous and precious wood on the market.

Under the nurturing influence of the abundant spirituality of this secluded place, the timber merchants' advertising boasts have become a reality.

Zhu Mingyao could clearly sense that the original wood fiber texture had indeed been infiltrated with some metal energy, forming a marvelous structure. It had transformed from a simple mortal luxury item into an entry-level spiritual material. Such a large piece could easily fetch a hundred thousand federal gold coins.

His gaze shifted, and similar precious tree species such as Queen Wood and Mahogany were everywhere. Under the influence of the laws of the secret realm, they not only grew to a much larger size than their counterparts outside, but also possessed a trace of spirituality.

After roughly estimating the value, Zhu Mingyao felt an urge to transform into Bald Qiang (a character from Journey to the West) and charge forward with an axe.

"Ugh……"

He regretfully pinched the silk pouch at his waist. It was a pity that the pouch could only hold so much space; otherwise, he could have switched to lumberjacking on the spot and made a fortune.

Beside them, the twin witches were all smiles, carrying a specially made glass specimen box. They used magic to preserve the strange plants and animals they had collected along the way, categorizing them and preparing to hand them over to the organization for cultivation.

Although they were two academically challenged novices, they came from wealthy families and had received a good education. They were intelligent and had a good business sense, and they knew very well how much potential profit a large number of rare new species could bring.

Seeing Madison fiery red berry twirling between her fingers with the curious expression of a child, Zhu Mingyao's mind stirred. Remembering something, he quickly reminded her:

"The rules of the secret realm of Teotihuacan are not yet fully understood. Everyone should not rashly consume the plants, animals, or water here. If you want to try it, wait until you get out. Do you remember Persephone's experience in the story?"

Persephone is the Greek goddess of spring and the wife of Hades. Legend has it that when she was abducted by Hades to the underworld, she was tricked into eating pomegranate seeds from the underworld, which prevented her from leaving to return to the world of the living.

【Teotihuacan】is also a secret realm built by the ancient gods, and it must have its own unique hidden rules. Although no abnormalities have been found in the resources here so far, Zhu Mingyao still thinks it is best to be careful.

As extraordinary beings with legitimate lineages, studying various myths is a required course, and the girls are naturally very familiar with this story.

Hearing what he said, she found it very reasonable. The little witch suppressed her impulse and put the spirit fruit that matched her attributes back into the specimen box.

"Hmm, be careful, it looks like someone's coming!"

Several strands of translucent psychic spider silk extended from between Zoe's fingers, carrying a message from afar. Because her psychic senses were suppressed by a mysterious force, she had been using this to probe and investigate, and was the first to discover the situation.

Before the warning had even finished, Zhu Mingyao caught a rustling sound in his ears, as if something was rapidly approaching by parting the grass and trees, but when he looked around, the scenery appeared normal.

He alertly touched his forehead, a golden light flashed like an eye, and suddenly raised the peach staff in his hand.

"Watch out, the enemy can turn invisible!"

Six thick, clear force fields rose up like walls, piecing together to form a small fortress that perfectly blocked all the rain of arrows that suddenly appeared from all directions.

"Quick reaction, huh?" Zhu Mingyao glanced at the blonde, haughty girl beside him who was making a hand seal, and praised her with a hint of surprise. He then casually cast an armor spell, adding another layer of defense to the outside of his hand.

“Of course! Last time I came back from Lake Victoria, I had some really hard training with my tutor!” Madison raised his head, his little face full of pride, like a little cat with its tail wagging.

"Ah, a snake! A spider! A centipede!"

Her cool demeanor lasted less than three seconds before she was terrified by the swarms of poisonous creatures of all sizes crawling out of the bushes, causing her to jump up and down in a panic, screaming in terror.

Although the colorful snakes and insects were small, they moved quickly. In just a few breaths, they formed a thick layer around the force field fortress, their venomous fangs and mouthparts snapping and biting, making the two little girls feel nauseous.

"You witches set up huge cauldrons to brew potions every day, what kind of snakes, insects, and rodents haven't you put in them? Don't make a fuss, hurry up and get started!"

While joking, Zhu Mingyao slammed his peachwood staff heavily on the ground, causing a ring of azure ripples to vibrate. The surrounding weeds and vines seemed to come alive, swirling wildly and pulling out the small, thin figures from their invisible state.

They were a group of barbarians with long hair, wearing grass skirts and animal skins, with thin and wiry figures and fierce and ferocious faces. Their dark bodies and faces were covered with tattoos of runes painted in bone-white pigment, and they held various simple weapons such as stone and bone javelins, knives, and darts.

At this moment, they were shouting incomprehensible gibberish while frantically throwing weapons and launching an attack.

Among them were even several old natives wearing colorful feathered crowns and hanging white bone amulets, who brandished skull short staffs and shot out dark rays of light full of dark power at the three of them.

"Hmph! I... I didn't react in time. They were just a bunch of bugs. I killed more of them myself in Potions class than you've ever seen!"

As near-professionals who frequently deal with such things, the two girls were initially startled, but quickly recovered and began their rampage.

Madison clasped her hands together, and a thick, blazing pillar of flame swayed from side to side. As she moved, it drew a huge circle of fire outside the defensive position, burning the venomous snakes and insects until they sizzled and screamed. In an instant, most of them turned into lumps of black charcoal, and the survivors were roasted half-cooked, writhing and dying on the ground.

The pungent, acrid stench mixed with a strange, fishy aroma permeated the air, enough to make anyone vomit their dinner if not for the strong walls separating the air.

As for the thrown bone spears, they stuck to a faintly visible energy spider web in the air before they even touched the force field wall.

The pale purple net swelled and undulated, carrying hundreds of sharp weapons that hung overhead, almost wiping out the attacking enemies.

The psionic silk shimmered with magical light as Zoe activated a powerful paralysis spell, preparing to capture the prisoner alive for a thorough interrogation.

These guys in front of me are obviously native inhabitants living in the secret realm. There's no point in killing them. It's more cost-effective to use both soft and hard tactics to extract information.

However, when she extended her magic, she hit nothing. The aura within the other party was obscure and ethereal. Rather than a living person, it was more like a piece of wood or a stone. The paralysis curse could not be applied.

While she was momentarily stunned, several old tribesmen who looked like shaman priests quickly chanted incantations and together summoned a three-meter-long obsidian giant blade. They first tore through the tough spider web to rescue their tribesmen, and then turned around and slashed fiercely at the three of them!

Chapter 197 The Prayer

"Kara!"

The strangely shaped giant blade, shimmering with dark, ghostly light, was deeply embedded within the force field wall. The protruding, ink-black blades on its two sides vibrated and spun like a chainsaw, tearing at the surrounding spiritual light, causing it to flicker and the structure of the defensive spell to appear as if it were about to collapse at any moment.

"What the hell is this thing?" The blonde witch's expression hardened, and she raised her hand to unleash a large fireball.

Zhu Mingyao quickly reached out to stop them. At such close range, even if the group had protective techniques to avoid being splashed, they still had to inhale the pungent, hot steam.