American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

Heh, I'm here to vanquish demons and monsters, not to complete the main god's mission or play an endless game. Do you expect me to grind for the protagonist's favor? What's the point of earning side quests?

Let's get the kick-off team going!

If it weren't for the need to see for himself firsthand to avoid any misunderstandings, he would have explained the situation to Professor Maro and the others on his way here.

Now that we've seen the main characters with our own eyes and confirmed that the plot doesn't deviate too much from the original work, what are we waiting for?

Let's finish work early and go home to sleep!

Zhu Mingyao stood in the center of the hall, facing the wide double staircase, staring at the huge and old oil painting in the center of the staircase.

In the picture, an elderly white man, wearing a vest and a stiff-chested shirt decorated with pearl buttons, with an ornate white bow tie, leans on a gold-plated cane and stares ahead. Although the image has become somewhat blurred and faded due to prolonged exposure to the air, one can still vaguely discern the eagle-like and wolf-like look in his face.

Still not coming out, huh? You really think I'm bluffing you? The boy gave a cold, emotionless snort. Fine, let's see how long you can hold out!

He took out two opaque white glass bottles from his pocket, deftly flicked the stoppers with his fingers, and tossed them into the air. As if supported by an invisible hand, the glass bottles floated and swayed in the air, pouring out fine white salt crystals that scattered everywhere. At the same time, he held a staff on the ground with one hand, formed a mudra with the other hand in front of his chest, and chanted the mantra for purifying heaven and earth in a low voice.

As Zhu Mingyao cast his spell, the salt grains on the ground gradually emitted a faint white light, dispelling the gloomy atmosphere that had filled the house since nightfall.

After he finished his actions, the room remained silent and unchanged. The boy kicked the glass bottle, which had fallen to the floor after sprinkling the salt, to a corner of the hall, sighed, glanced at the oil painting, and said in a mocking tone:

"Mr. Corinne, you've really mastered the art of hiding your head like a turtle."

But then again, I almost forgot, you're actually a psychopath who got cheated on by your wife...

Old turtle!

The sarcasm in their words was almost overflowing with malice.

As soon as he finished speaking, a sudden change occurred!

Ah, 55 images have been blocked and won't be released until the day after tomorrow.

Now even the words "正" and "府" are prohibited words...

Chapter 71 The Evil Spirit Appears

With a sharp, scratching sound, the huge oil painting hanging on the central wall of the stair landing began to shake violently, causing even the fine dust remaining in the gaps of the frame to float up.

In the oil painting, large clumps of dark red filth emerge from the elderly man's body, instantly staining him entirely crimson and making his already unkind face appear even more ferocious and ghostly.

The crimson color continued to spread, even beginning to seep from the oil painting, turning into dripping blood that flowed down the stairs.

Immediately afterwards, with a loud bang, as if a giant faucet had been turned on, a large amount of foul-smelling blood gushed out of the painting, like a giant blood python, wrapping around Zhu Mingyao!

"Ha! Is this a knock-off of The Shining? Following in the footsteps of other people's special effects ideas, no wonder your box office flopped."

While uttering these seemingly nonsensical words, Zhu Mingyao's hands moved swiftly. He straightened his peach wood cane, holding it upright in front of him. With the activation of his true energy, the talismans on the cane lit up one by one, emitting a crimson ray of light about an inch long, which met the blood-red giant python head-on!

With a hiss, the surging torrent of blood was cleaved in two by the boy wielding the staff, flowing to Zhu Mingyao's left and right, the force of the surge causing his clothes to flutter wildly.

Zhu Mingyao gripped the staff handle tightly with both hands, and with the infusion of his magic power, the radiance on the staff intensified by three times, condensing into a faint, flickering flame.

He let out a low shout, exhaled and gathered his strength, unleashing a night-fighting technique that swung his peach wood staff into a blur, scattering blood everywhere, yet remaining completely untouched by the blood.

Before the bloodstains could even spill onto the floor, they vanished in a ripple. Zhu Mingyao glanced at them, then spoke in his usual provocative, irritating tone:

"What's the point of using these half-true, half-false, deceptive tricks to fool people, Mr. Corinne? Can't we come up with something more impressive and real?"

He clicked his tongue and pointed his staff at the portrait.

"Look at you, as a man, it's one thing to lack 'real skills,' but your taste is also ridiculously bad. This outfit reeks of nouveau riche; even after a hundred years, it would still stink me over. No wonder your wife risked her life to find a lover to have a child..."

"die--!"

A ghostly howl of extreme rage burst forth from the self-portrait.

Two sharp, black claws emerged from the oil painting, followed by arms, chest, and face, and finally the lower body transformed into a long trail of smoke.

Under Zhu Mingyao's relentless and insidious personal attacks, Hugh Coryne's vengeful spirit finally couldn't bear it any longer and emerged from its hiding place. His thought process, dominated by obsession and negative energy, now resonated with only one thought.

— Tear this wretched, foul-mouthed little mage to pieces and throw him into the fireplace to burn to ashes, just like he tormented those child laborers back then!

Finally out! Zhu Mingyao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His performance just now was not for nothing. He kept provoking Corinne's undead by seizing on her sore spot, just to provoke her and make her show herself as soon as possible.

This kind of earthbound spirit, which has become powerful, has become one with the manor buildings. If it insists on remaining hidden, Zhu Mingyao's current methods would only allow him to spend a lot of time setting up rituals to force it out, which would inevitably cause some damage to the manor buildings in the process.

In that case, the local town government would definitely fight him to the death! They're counting on this lifeline to save their finances.

Nothing used to be as convenient and fast as it is now.

As for the principle of "a gentleman does not speak ill of others," Zhu Mingyao said that he had no psychological burden about cursing this guy so harshly.

He's a very good person with high moral character, and he always feels deep sympathy for middle-aged and elderly men who are unable to perform sexually, leading to their wives having affairs.

If you're not feeling well, go find Zhang Xilai to eat. What's the point of tricking child laborers into killing them and then burning the bodies to cover it up?

Since you've done something so despicable, don't blame me for stabbing you in the heart twice first, and then beating you to a pulp!

Remember, perverts have no human rights!

The fully manifested earthbound spirit's upper body alone, resembling an inky black cloud, was two to three meters tall, while its lower body was a wispy, smoky tail. The rage on its face made it look ten times more twisted and ferocious than when it was alive.

With a sharp screech, Corinne's ghost swooped down, its two ghostly claws suddenly growing larger as it lunged straight at Zhu Mingyao.

Well done!

Zhu Mingyao swayed to avoid the enemy's attack, then flicked his left hand, sending five golden auras tracing faint white paths through the air before shooting towards the opponent's chest.

After mastering the Lung Palace Divine Technique, Zhu Mingyao not only developed a sword aura, but also could control the golden evil energy to fight enemies with every move. However, at this distance, the evil energy he unleashed could only scratch the skin of some people, and might not even draw much blood.

However, this is under the premise of targeting living people. For ghosts whose souls are not protected by a physical body, these few strands of golden evil energy containing Taoist magic are no different from steel nails that can penetrate to the bone. Although they are not fatal, they can still make them feel uncomfortable for a while.

Zhu Mingyao didn't expect this little trick to work; he was just using it to create some restraint.

Somewhat unexpectedly, facing the incoming spell, Corinne's spirit neither dodged nor evaded, allowing the five thin white wisps, each about the length of a chopstick, to enter his chest. Then, with a soft "poof," his entire body exploded into a large cloud of black mist, which quickly dissipated.

Ok?

It's a scam!

This guy shouldn't be this weak.

Zhu Mingyao knew his own situation well. That burst of golden evil energy was just a test and definitely didn't have such power. He was on high alert. He put his strength into his feet and slid back more than two meters away. He hurriedly threw out a burnt yellow talisman he was holding before it was fully activated.

The talisman flew out of his hand, transforming into a light blue streak of lightning that swept across his face. The hair-thin arcs of electricity instantly enveloped most of the area in front of the boy, enveloping a suddenly appearing snake-like shadow within them!

The next moment, the shadow suddenly accelerated, smashing through the blocking lightning with an extremely brutal and ferocious manner, like a venomous snake eager to devour its prey, stabbing at Zhu Mingyao's face!

The shadow was extremely fast, and if it suddenly attacked without warning, it would be quite dangerous. But now that it had been exposed, it posed no threat to Zhu Mingyao. He flicked his cane in his right hand and blocked the shadow in front of his chest.

The moment the staff made contact with the shadow, Zhu Mingyao felt a tremendous force carrying an eerie aura, almost knocking the peach staff out of his hand. His expression changed, and he used his free left hand to grab the end of the staff and brace it, thus blocking it.

He took a half step back, using his staff to deflect the force and draw a semicircle, scattering the shadow far away before he could focus his gaze.

The shadow was about the thickness of an arm, made entirely of solid black smoke, with its forked end like a snake's tongue, and its root extending from the mouth of a phantom, enormous ghost head.

That's clearly the tongue of that dead soul!

55 images have been blocked and will probably be released tomorrow. I'll check then, and if it still doesn't work, I'll resend one.

Chapter 72 also allows you to apply buffs to the enemy.

"hehe."

Staring at the souls of the dead emerging from the void, Zhu Mingyao let out a disdainful sneer.

"You damned ghost, you've actually managed to grow such a long tongue. Is this to make up for the regret of lacking 'real skills' as a man in your previous life?"

Zhu Mingyao's words were sarcastic and veiled, but inwardly he felt a chill.

In modern Western mysticism, common ghosts are classified into five levels according to their strength: wandering spirits, ghosts, vengeful spirits, evil spirits, and malevolent spirits.

Ghosts below the level of vengeful spirits can only harm people with their own evil energy. Even if they can use some tricks such as ghost walls or illusions, they are just crude tricks to block out the five senses. Healthy adults with strong blood and energy can avoid most of the harm as long as their minds are strong enough.

The fact that he possesses near-telekinetic abilities and can create a force field-like effect indicates that Hugh Corinn's spirit has at least reached the level of an "evil spirit".

No, it's probably more than that. Zhu Mingyao glanced discreetly at the long, strange tongue that was moving nimbly in the air like a snake's forked tongue.

Ordinary evil spirits couldn't deliver such an attack. After cultivating, my essence was abundant and my physical body was much stronger. Although I couldn't compare to a professional martial arts cultivator, my arms were still at least three or four hundred kilograms strong. Just now, I almost failed to block the long tongue's sudden attack. While it was partly due to my momentary carelessness in not using my full strength, it also showed that the opponent's strength was extraordinary.

Ghosts and spirits of the evil spirit level or above often possess special abilities, such as various curses, eerie winds and fires, or strange organs like the long tongue of a snake in front of us.

In the Xuanmen (mystical arts), such ghosts that have transformed and developed innate supernatural powers can already be called ghost generals or ghost commanders!

Faced with Zhu Mingyao's provocative mockery, which was exactly the same as before, Hugh Corinne's evil spirit did not fly into a rage as before. Instead, the face composed of black smoke lost some of its madness and gained more cunning and resentment.

It seems that much of his previous outburst of rage was feigned; his current sinister and cunning demeanor is his true nature.

"Damn Eastern wizard, I hope you can still laugh like this when I extract and devour your soul!" the evil spirit Corinne said, his cold and sinister voice hissing like a venomous snake.

Before he could finish speaking, a long, shadowy tongue, like a snake's forked tongue, lashed out with a sharp sonic boom, leaving blurry afterimages in the air, and struck Zhu Mingyao head-on.

The boy was already on guard, wary of the long tongue's sudden attack. He dared not be careless and gripped his staff with both hands, concentrating intently as he parried and blocked, executing a Tai Chi sword technique to make his defense impenetrable.

The Shadow Tongue was extremely fast and powerful. Each time it clashed with the staff, a strange energy emanated from it, causing the auspicious flames rising from the peach wood staff to flicker and dim, seemingly eroding the magical artifact.

Compared to magical artifacts, Yin soldiers, as spiritual entities, are more susceptible to interference from foreign energies. Seeing this, Zhu Mingyao dared not release them to assist him rashly.

This can't go on like this!

Zhu Mingyao's mind raced. He realized that he was not skilled in martial arts. He had only learned a few Tai Chi and sword techniques to train his body. Faced with such a storm of attacks, he would surely lose if he held out for too long.

The strange, long tongue was pressing too hard; although he had made some arrangements in secret, he couldn't free up his hands to launch them for the time being.

This creature is extremely cunning, attacking from afar with its long tongue while keeping its main body far away and refusing to get close. At this distance, the methods I have prepared may not be effective.

Just then, the long, shadowy tongue that he had brushed aside with his staff still hadn't lost its strength. It swept across the mouth of a large vase by the wall, sending a bunch of green pine branches flying everywhere. The vase tumbled to the ground with a clang, spilling its contents all over the floor.

Zhu Mingyao's eyes lit up, and he made up his mind. He wobbled and slipped, pretending to be exhausted, and fought his way back to the entrance of the hall.

"Trying to escape now? Too late!" The evil spirit let out a muffled, sinister laugh. With a thought, the two large doors leading to the outside closed shut on their own.

Seeing no hope of retreat, the boy, while fending off the pursuit of the shadowy tongue, kicked nearby chairs, sofas, and other household items at the enemy, seemingly trying to find an opening to counterattack.

The evil spirit chuckled, its long, shadowy tongue tearing through the air with a series of sharp cracks, like a razor-sharp steel whip that cleanly and decisively pulverized anything that attacked it.

Suddenly, leather and sponge flew everywhere, making the hall seem as if a heavy snow had fallen.

Zhu Mingyao continued moving, flicking his wrist again, and with a clever twist of his staff, he lifted another large vase filled with pine and cypress branches and tossed it to the opposite side.

Without a second thought, Corin manipulated his long tongue and casually slashed it, shattering the slowly flying vase in mid-air. The shards of porcelain mixed with clear water and emerald green pine branches rained down, completely enveloping the vase.

The next moment, a furious roar was heard!