American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

"That's not necessarily true. Watch me perform a magic trick for you!" Zhu Mingyao noticed a key detail on the mural, looked around the cave, took in all the traces, and felt six or seven tenths of a degree of confidence.

He smiled and walked to the deepest part of the stone wall, where a huge bloody handprint, as tall as a person, was deeply embedded. Even after the passage of time, the color remained vivid.

He raised his peachwood staff and pressed it against the handprint, unleashing a barrage of Laozi's divine incantations to dispel all magic. Under such a crude and domineering method of breaking the spell, the hidden magical mechanism was quickly disintegrated.

The stone wall split in two like a retractable gate, revealing a short, thick, black, round stone block.

At the top of the black mound, a rough, ancient, oddly shaped axe is stuck.

The handle, made of an unknown, strange wood, is connected to a purplish-black axe with jagged edges, resembling the scales of some kind of creature. A cold, bluish light flickers across the axe's surface like lightning branches, making it clear at a glance that it is no ordinary object.

The problem is... how do I move it?

The three members of the treasure-hunting team stared at the enormous axe, which was more than two stories tall, and asked the same question.

Chapter 208 Their Reunion

"Legend has it that you witches have magic powers to shrink objects, right?"

Zhu Mingyao blinked his eyes hopefully.

However, the girls simply shrugged and said, "You said it yourself, it's just a legend. Don't apply the stereotypes from fairy tales to reality!"

Madison rolled her eyes and gave him a dirty look. "How did you learn high school physics? Have you forgotten how much energy it takes to change the volume of an object? Maybe we can do it when we become legendary witches, but don't even think about it for now."

Despite being looked down upon by a girl who was a poor student, Zhu Mingyao was not discouraged. Instead, he squatted in front of the axe, pinched his chin, and pretended to be Conan deep in thought.

She's right. Just like the Heavenly Divine Power of the Size-Ruyi, which can only be used when one reaches the Yangshen Loose Immortal realm, similar methods in other systems won't be much lower in level.

But giving up is definitely not an option. Whether based on the original plot or the information obtained from the mural, this weapon is undoubtedly a high-level extraordinary item, with a value almost equal to the total gains from the previous stages.

He glanced back at the carvings on the stone wall:

—After the giant ape defeated a host of monstrous enemies, a winged serpent shrouded in a halo shook off a scale, which transformed into a giant axe and was planted in front of it, clearly as a reward.

As his fingers brushed against the rough, cold axe blade, sparks of dark blue-indigo electricity flew through them. Zhu Mingyao savored the howling power of wind and thunder within.

The wind domain, the water domain, and a portion of the lightning domain with a more yin attribute—if I'm not mistaken, this is a treasure crafted from the scales of Kukulkan, the ruler of wind, rain, and weather, as a reward to the victor. It's roughly the same as a champion's crown, barely bordering on being a low-level sub-divine artifact.

This leads to a better understanding of why the Gigantopithecus race was suspected of being wiped out.

The Aztec pantheon, which evolved from the guardian deities and spirits of various city-states in ancient Mesoamerica, was not a monolithic entity. Legends tell of numerous instances where they appeared to be united but were actually at odds, and even fought each other. In gaming terms, it was a typical group of hairy people!

Compared to most of his perverted companions who enjoyed blood sacrifices, Kukulkan, the feathered serpent god, was a rare and righteous god. Perhaps he could no longer tolerate the group of mentally ill people around him who were indulging in human hearts, blood, and flesh barbecues all day long, so he left this world long before the end of the Dharma era.

With the boss gone, the subordinate divine beasts (the Vajra clan) will surely be relentlessly harassed by their former enemies!

After lamenting the treacherous nature of factional struggles in the workplace, Zhu Mingyao shook his head, rubbed the ox-head bronze talisman hanging at his waist, snapped his fingers, and the Yaksha ghost general who was on guard outside the cave entrance immediately transformed into a streak of yellow light and flew over. With arms crossed, he lifted a cauldron and carried a large axe, swaying as he walked outside. The heavy weight pressed down, leaving deep footprints in the sand and stones.

"With such a large size, can we take it out?" Zoe clutched the space bag embroidered with magic patterns, calculating how much space they could squeeze out.

"Give it a try. When we leave, we can each hold onto a section of it and see if the laws of the secret realm recognize it as personal belongings."

Zhu Mingyao let his thoughts wander. Anyway, I'm a Pixiu (a mythical creature in Chinese mythology), once I get my hands on something good, I don't want to easily let it go.

Having acquired a magical artifact sufficient to serve as the ultimate foundation for a small to medium-sized organization, the three were all quite satisfied. If it weren't for the fact that the exploration period hadn't ended yet, they would have already been thinking of heading back home.

Just as he stepped out of the cave, he suddenly raised his hand to signal the two to stop. He then turned his head to listen, and his heightened hearing after advancing to the Innate Realm allowed him to catch a sound carried by the wind.

"...I told you, I'm a professional at finding bones! There's a strong aura of skeletal evil here; many powerful creatures must have perished here..."

Hearing the familiar, slick tone, Zhu Mingyao's face lit up with joy. He channeled his inner energy and shouted loudly, responding in kind:

"Ah, of course, your nose has always been the most sensitive. You can smell bones from 800 miles away. Even the stray dogs around your house would admit defeat."

"What kind of demon dares to slander my Jade-Faced Little Azure Dragon of the West Coast? Could you be that pathetic fledgling who has just lost his virginity?!"

……

……

While some were celebrating their reunion with witty banter, two other groups on the island were "celebrating" their reunion in a different way...

Well, not in a very pleasant way.

"puff!"

He slowly pulled his staff from the other's chest, casually flicking away a string of scarlet blood beads. The handsome black-haired wizard even had the leisure to take out a handkerchief to wipe it off, as if he hadn't just been stained with fresh, hot blood, but with a speck of dust.

"Michael...why...?"

Blood quickly soaked through the thick layer of withered leaves. The young sorcerer, slumped on the ground, feeling his life rapidly slipping away, used his last breath to ask his once familiar companion in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to complete the exploration and gather information about the secret realm, but things have changed."

The incompetence of those ancient gods far exceeded my expectations. A treasure vault without an owner was placed before me, its lock teetering on the verge of collapse—it was truly unbearable!

Michael's lips twitched down, and he made a helpless expression.

"Although the lock is broken, it's still hanging there. In order to break it open, you'll have to make an effort to sacrifice your souls and lend me a hand."

"You...you, you're definitely not...you are...who are you..."

His vision blurred, but his mind cleared up as if in a final burst of energy. The young sorcerer opened his mouth wide with all his might, exhaling the flash of inspiration that had crossed his mind along with his last breath, and then fell silent.

A shadowy figure silently appeared, swallowed the corpse whole, and transformed into a dark snake that slithered into Michael's palm. He licked his lips with satisfaction and turned his gaze to the priest knight kneeling beside him, his face filled with terror and despair.

"Heretical... demon... you will never, ever take my soul..."

His innate senses as a priest allowed him to vaguely perceive the enemy's true identity after hearing his companion's dying words. Trembling, he reached out and grabbed the cross-shaped longsword that had been knocked to the ground during the battle.

The silver-white sword tip trembled violently. The weapon, which he usually handled with ease, now felt like a heavy burden. Even so, the knight mustered his courage and prepared to launch the last charge of his life!

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God..."

A faint halo of holiness bloomed, just enough to dispel some of the fear in my heart, before it was instantly crushed into dust by the mountain of evil power.

There was no malicious fetish of playing cat and mouse. The black-haired sorcerer cleanly and swiftly crushed the prey's resistance. He exhaled a turbid breath, which condensed and transformed into a semi-transparent scimitar, which he raised high.

At that moment, something unexpected happened!

Ugh, so tired ("▔▔) I still have a leave slip to use at the end of the month.

Chapter 209 Travelers in the Snow

The weapon, with its exaggerated arc, floated above the priest-knight's head, about to strike down in the next second!

At that moment, Michael's eyes suddenly froze, as if he had been momentarily distracted, and the movement of his magic scimitar also paused.

Have the opportunity!

In the blink of an eye, the blond young knight lived up to his name as an elite, displaying exceptional combat skills.

He pushed off with his feet, his body quickly leaning back, and he uttered a prayer in rapid succession:

May Saint Mary's Day protect me and make my journey smooth!

As the blessings echoed, a small, pure white spinning rod emerged from the hidden compartment of the knight's belt, unfurling and extending. The threads instantly crisscrossed, transforming into a large net of white light, like a road, beneath him, causing ripples to spread across the surrounding space.

Named after the patron saint of roads and travelers, the effects of this magical item are self-evident!

"Humph!"

The opportunity was fleeting. The terrifying enemy, regaining his senses, snorted coldly, his eyes flickered, and his scimitar suddenly accelerated, turning into a streak of afterimages as it slashed down.

In the face of life and death, the knight's on-the-spot reaction was perfect. He tried his best to gather the remaining holy light on his body, and turned the ivory-handled cross sword in his hand upside down, holding it close to his left shoulder. Instead of dodging, he took the initiative to meet the blade.

"Clang!" A sickening metallic clang rang out.

The blade, imbued with powerful evil energy, easily pierced through the hastily applied [Shield of Devotion]. Pressing down, the longsword slammed heavily onto the hard silver-gray shoulder armor, smashing it to pieces and also causing the knight's arm to be torn open. Amidst the splattering blood, the knight fell backward, landing precisely in the white light net there.

Despite being severely injured, the priest-knight's face was full of joy.

—That's exactly what he wanted!

The moment the two made contact, the knight's body instantly became ethereal and vanished without a trace along with the net of light!

"Sigh..." Michael clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction as he watched the cooked duck escape at the last second.

"The main body really knows how to pick its time to send messages. Oh well, let that guy be used as bait to find other prey. I'll just watch the show outside for now."

His eyes were fixed on the sky, as if piercing through the barrier of space and looking into the unknown distance.

"I'm leaving this to you. Go ahead and play with your prey. If you do well, I'll turn you into a familiar. After all, snakes and lizards are reptiles, hehe..."

Casual words drifted by, followed by a thick, dark mist that rose up. A hideous head, as large as a house, slowly emerged, with a faint, black ouroboros mark on its forehead.

The forked tongue, covered in fleshy thorns, hissed and flicked, discerning the scent. The massive figure shuddered and then vanished without a trace, leaving only the rustling of jungle branches, parting left and right as if some unseen thing was gradually disappearing into the distance.

……

……

The sky was covered with thick, leaden clouds, and the icy north wind was getting stronger. Clumps of fluffy snowflakes rolled into balls and eagerly fell to the ground, indicating that a heavy snowfall was imminent.

Stella sat on a wooden bench in the airport waiting room, propping her forehead with one hand, staring blankly out the glass window at the runway with a troubled expression. The last flight had taken off from there ten minutes earlier, carrying local residents fleeing the polar night to the warm and bright south.

"What bad luck! There was a car accident halfway there. And that snowplow, what's with all the dedication? Couldn't they have waited until the snow started falling before heading out?"

Now, things are really messed up. The flight is delayed, and my beloved Ford Explorer is stuck in a snowdrift several kilometers away, unable to move. I estimate I'll be stuck there for at least ten days to two weeks.

—The towing companies all ran away and went on vacation during the polar night.

"Click!" The rows of fluorescent lights overhead went out one by one, and several staff members at Elizabeth Airport gathered their belongings and waved to her.

"I'm sorry, Miss Stella, the flights for this month have ended, the airport is about to close, and we won't be able to meet again until after the polar night."

With a wry smile, Stella greeted the familiar manager, dragged her suitcase, and pushed open the door. Without the protection of the air conditioning, the icy air immediately filled her lungs.

Suddenly she felt a chill on her forehead. Glancing out of the corner of her eye, she saw countless flying jade fragments falling from the sky, creating a unique sense of desolation and loneliness against the backdrop of the completely darkened heavens.

Stella wallowed in self-pity for a while, then listlessly walked towards the parking lot. Her only option now was to go back and endure the long polar night.

Fortunately, the snowplow driver knew he was in the wrong and lent her an old car; otherwise, she would have had to spend the rest of the night in the airport waiting room before her boyfriend, Ibrahim, picked her up. The makeshift airport consisted of just a few single-story buildings, which weren't very warm...

On the quiet highway, two pale yellow beams of light swept across the night, illuminating the falling blossoms.

The increasingly dense snowflakes almost completely obscured the view, forcing Stella to widen her eyes and lean closer to the front window, carefully reducing her speed.

This old Chevrolet was at least a decade old, and the car's air conditioning was very unreliable. She exhaled a puff of white mist and pulled up the hood of her down jacket in frustration.

As evening approached and the "long night" was about to begin, the people in the nearby settlements had all returned home early. As far as the eye could see, the world was vast and desolate, and she was the only one traveling alone in her car.

Hmm? There seems to be one more person?