American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

Corinne's evil spirit trembled uncontrollably, its body steaming with black energy, as if someone had pressed the pause button, freezing on the spot, with even its long, shadowy tongue suspended in mid-air, unable to move.

Unlike the shards of porcelain that pierced through illusory bodies and fell to the ground, crystal-clear water droplets clung to the verdant pine branches, slowly sliding down the surface of Coren's smoky, malevolent form, as if he were still a living, breathing human being.

Originally, as ghosts that had lost their physical bodies, these things should have been meaningless, at most evoking distant memories in Hugh Corinne's heart, allowing him to savor the chill of being caught in the rain in his previous life, instead of rendering him temporarily immobile as he is now.

If it weren't for that boy opposite them who was moving his lips and forming hand seals!

The Art of Purification!

Originating from the rituals performed by the ancient Chinese people to ward off evil!

The original meaning refers to the ancient people holding a sacrificial ceremony by the water on the Shangsi Festival in spring each year to wash away dirt and eliminate misfortune.

In the hands of shamans, this evolved into rituals that used fragrant herbs and pure water to exorcise evil spirits and purify people of darkness.

According to conventional principles, this kind of ritual only has the power of purification and blessing, and has no harm to the living. But it can't help it now that the person on the other side is dead!

For evil spirits filled with malevolent energy, this purifying power that can wash away evil and dispel gloom becomes like a spell to immobilize the dead.

What's even better is that the [Purification Ritual] is a purification and blessing spell with very little fluctuation in spiritual energy when cast, unlike those powerful offensive spells that easily arouse the enemy's vigilance. And indeed, it was only when the spell was about to hit that Corinne's evil spirit realized that it had been hit.

In a way, we should thank the town officials who manage this manor. Perhaps because of their tight finances, in order to save money, they replaced the various flowers that should have been placed in the vase with clean water with some randomly picked pine and cypress branches. This perfunctory behavior just happened to meet the requirements of the ritual of purification with herbs and clean water in the "Purification Ritual".

Without these materials, Zhu Mingyao would not have been able to cast spells instantly.

However, this was not a targeted method. In the blink of an eye, the green pine branches hanging on the evil spirit's body quickly turned black and rotted, being corroded by evil power and falling as specks of mud. This spell could only trap it for a short while.

However, in the heat of battle, this amount of time is more than enough.

The next second, more than a dozen talismans flew out from Zhu Mingyao's sleeve, transforming into golden blades and crimson flames, lightning and arcs, which simultaneously struck the evil spirit!

New author, new book! Thank you all for adding it to your collections. Click to read more.

Chapter 73 Faked death?

A flurry of colorful lights flashed, instantly engulfing the tall, menacing ghostly figure of the evil spirit.

Even the entire space in front of the hall staircase where the evil spirit was located was turned into a chaotic mass of light and shadow by the rampaging spiritual energy particles!

Fortunately, the talismans Zhu Mingyao threw out were prepared in advance, specifically to suppress spirits and ghosts, and would hardly cause any physical damage. Otherwise, the entire luxurious staircase would probably have been smashed to pieces.

Without even bothering to examine his own battle results, Zhu Mingyao changed his hand seals, focused his mind and energy on the magic talisman, and a beam of clear light rose from his head, transforming into a huge illusory sword that slashed towards the chaotic light and shadow.

Take a lenient view of the enemy, and assume there's only smoke and no real damage!

Even if the damage is excessive, I'll still finish off the enemy first!

This [Shangqing Soul-Slaying Sword] is a superior Taoist technique of the Maoshan Shangqing sect, specifically designed to subdue evil spirits and vengeful ghosts. In the incident a few days ago when Zhu Mingyao was exorcising the curse on Christine, he used this move to severely injure the vengeful spirit that was the old gypsy lady, Lady Ganos.

With diligent practice these past few days (using cheat codes), Zhu Mingyao's cultivation has improved considerably. The speed at which this spell is activated is now three times faster than before, and it can now be used in face-to-face combat.

The sword light flashed like lightning, cutting through the chaotic light and shadow in two without any hindrance, revealing Hugh Corinne's evil spirit within.

Compared to before, the evil spirit now looked much more miserable. The black smoke that had enveloped its entire body had almost completely disappeared, and its spiritual body had been shattered by various exorcising talismans. Small fragments occasionally fell off its body and dissipated.

Even more striking was the massive sword wound piercing through his chest, the wound shimmering with a hazy light, constantly tearing at the evil spirit's ghostly body.

This combination of blows clearly dealt a heavy blow to the evil spirit. Its face, which had become much more illusory, shifted in expression, and it opened its mouth wide as if to say something.

However, the young Xuanmen cultivator opposite him had no intention of listening to his nonsense. He simply raised his hand, and a long, vermilion rope, as thick as a chopstick, flew out. It twisted and turned several times, binding the evil spirit tightly. The red rope, which was gradually tightening, emitted wisps of red light, silencing Hugh Corrian's words.

Zhu Mingyao doesn't have the bad habit of listening to the enemy's nonsense during battle. Even if you want to show a defeat CG, you have to wait until I finish fighting first!

"Respected young gentleman, I apologize for my rudeness just now..." Corinne forced a fawning smile onto his ugly face, enduring the burning sensation from the Vermilion Binding Rope.

"If you have come for money, I kept several fine paintings in a secret room in my study during my lifetime. I still admire them often after my death, and they are well preserved and have not been discovered by outsiders to this day. Please allow me to beg for your forgiveness..."

"If I hadn't come with those people today, what were you planning to do?" Zhu Mingyao interrupted the evil spirit's pleas for mercy and asked calmly.

"That Ms. Anna from earlier, isn't she the descendant of your wife's illegitimate child?"

Seemingly having its inner wounds reopened, the evil spirit's face twisted, and its voice suddenly rose in a high-pitched voice: "I want her to willingly offer up her soul. This is what her ancestors owe me. Shouldn't they?"

Ha! Zhu Mingyao shook his head with an "I knew it" expression, not wanting to waste any more words with this guy. He channeled his true energy through his lung meridians, and a faint white light emanated from his mouth. He was about to unleash a lung-golden sword energy to kill this scum, no, this ghost scum!

As if sensing impending doom, the evil spirit let out a venomous howl, and thick, malevolent energy surged from its body. Its semi-transparent body, formed from black mist, trembled violently a few times before rapidly expanding like an inflating balloon.

"Then let's die together!"

Sensing the surge in the enemy's aura, Zhu Mingyao dared not be careless. He leaped backward with a light touch of his toes, and at the same time, he waved his peach wood staff, creating an invisible magical barrier in front of him.

The next moment, with a loud "bang!", Corinne's evil spirit exploded, and the intense evil energy transformed into a pale black wave that surged wildly in all directions.

The shockwave swept past, abruptly extinguishing the flames in the fireplace and leaving only wisps of smoke. The fruit on the plate on the nearby table instantly rotted into a lump of black sludge, emitting a disgusting stench.

The dust on the ground, walls, and ceiling was stirred up by the blast wave, and for a moment the hall was filled with a thick fog, with only a gray haze in sight.

A moment later, the aftershocks of the shockwave gradually disappeared, and the dust settled in the hall.

Zhu Mingyao frowned and took a few deep breaths before he could suppress the frustration in his chest. The burst of negative energy just now was really fierce. Fortunately, he was quick to avoid the attack, and the magic barrier he set up offset most of the remaining force. The remaining evil energy was no longer a concern. Even so, he still felt nauseous.

A faint crackling sound rang out, and on the wall in the center of the staircase, Hugh Corinne's oil painting quickly faded, yellowed, and cracked, seemingly indicating the owner's utter demise.

Zhu Mingyao cautiously stepped forward, reached out and picked up a piece of the shattered cinnabar rope, his eyes flickering as if deep in thought.

Turning back, Zhu Mingyao pulled over a relatively intact chair, sat down to rest for a moment, and looked at the now chaotic hall, secretly feeling fortunate.

In the battle just now, I mostly used spells that targeted spirits. The final wave of negative energy from the evil spirit only harmed living beings. The damage to the surrounding environment was not too serious. Otherwise, I would have had a hard time explaining it to the town's officials and would have inevitably caused some trouble.

We need to come up with a reason... We'll just say we were robbed, and then I'll use my demolition skills to fight them off. Yes, that's what we'll say. Anyway, the tables and chairs in the hall are just ordinary modern furniture, not antiques. Let Professor Maro negotiate with the management; at worst, we can waive the exorcism fee.

But before that...

Zhu Mingyao stood up and muttered to himself, "That guy said he hid some valuables in the secret room, I wonder if it's true or not... The entrance is in the study on the second floor, right?"

As he spoke, he swung his peach wood cane and walked toward the stairs.

Just as he reached the halfway point, he suddenly turned around with a burst of strength in his waist and legs, and with lightning speed, he struck the two black stone doors embedded in the wall next to him with his staff!

The staff struck the stone gate with such force that the tip of the staff sank in half an inch.

The black stone gate is decorated with reliefs depicting a group of spirits struggling in hell, and Zhu Mingyao's staff strikes one of the skeletal demons on the head.

Crack...crack! Accompanied by a faint cracking sound, a look of terror appeared in the eyes of the stone demon, just like a living person. Black smoke seeped from its body, transforming into an ugly demon face.

"You...how did you know?"

The voice of Hugh Coren's evil spirit rang out again, this time filled with genuine panic.

"How do I know you're not dead? Guess!" Zhu Mingyao said with a mocking expression.

Nonsense! The system didn't even send a notification, of course it knows you're not dead!

Besides, from the very beginning, I felt that you faked your death in the original movie.

Whether in the movie or in the battle just now, this evil spirit has shown extraordinary strength. Not to mention Professor Marlow and his group in the original work, even a team of fully armed federal police would be overwhelmed!

Therefore, the plot in the movie where it repeatedly fails to attack and is finally led to the stone gate by a group of ordinary people and sucked into hell seems extremely absurd and ridiculous.

There are no plot-driven deaths designed by brainless screenwriters in real life!

I received a message from the backend that I've actually made it into the second round of recommendations! The first round ended half a month ago... I thought I was going to have to release it without any promotion.

Fantasy genre is clearly not doing well; even a newbie like me managed to get a recommendation.

Chapter 74 Punishment! My dear friend!

According to Zhu Mingyao, if a reasonable explanation must be found for the movie's ending, then the following conditions must be met.

First, this evil spirit is actually a weakling who only knows how to scare people. In the original story, all the living statues in the room were illusions, so the repeated attacks were all in vain.

Second, those two large black stone doors decorating the wall are extraordinary treasures; evil spirits and ghosts will be automatically sucked in as soon as they come into contact with them.

Third, Corinne's evil spirit was a brainless idiot who had been entrenched in the manor for over a hundred years without realizing that the stone gate could kill him. Therefore, he was easily lured to the stone gate and killed.

Of these points, only the first one is somewhat plausible; the latter two are utter nonsense.

The stone gate was originally his main target for this trip. He had examined it carefully when he entered. Apart from a faint, hidden yin energy, like a funerary object just dug out of an ancient tomb, it did not have the spiritual light that a magic artifact should have. Instead, it was somewhat similar to the oil painting where the evil spirit resided.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. Although the town is a bit remote, it's not some barren wasteland where people rarely go.

The Golden State area is one of the most prosperous regions in the Federation, and there are quite a few extraordinary individuals active among the people. With such large stone doors standing right in the living room, if it were something truly extraordinary, the chances of no one in the industry discovering it over the years are extremely slim.

Besides, Corin's evil spirits have been dead for over a hundred years. If this stone gate could really suck it in in one go, how could it have been allowed to roam freely until now?

Judging from the evil spirit's behavior, it is not a fool at all, but rather a person with a high level of intelligence. It knows how to keep a low profile, never harms people, can set traps in battle, and even rationally begs for mercy after failing.

Among the generally brainless undead creatures, this level of intelligence is at least that of a top-tier university student. How could he be so foolish as to be killed by a few ordinary people?

After synthesizing a series of information, Zhu Mingyao made a bold guess: the evil spirit of Corin at the end of the original plot may not have died at all. The whole thing about manipulating various living sculptures to hunt him down and finally being led to the gates of Blackrock to perish together with the protagonist Anna was probably all a show that he directed and acted out himself!

Having harbored such suspicions, Zhu Mingyao had been secretly on guard since the start of the battle.

He pinned the evil spirit down with his staff in one hand, preventing it from transforming and escaping, and with the other hand, he picked up a strand of crimson yarn from the head of the stone demon and grinned.

"Mr. Corinne, do you know that in the far northeast of Asia, there is a precious magical plant called Ginseng Doll?"

In stark contrast to his previous irritating and sarcastic tone, Zhu Mingyao spoke earnestly.

"When this magical plant is discovered by a gatherer, it will sneak underground and escape when the gatherer is not paying attention. Experienced gatherers will tie a red rope with magic to it, so that no matter where it escapes, the red rope that is sticking out above the ground will serve as a guiding sign."

The evil spirit suddenly realized what was happening and cried out in frustration, "You cast a similar tracking spell on that rope just now!"

Zhu Mingyao chuckled. Since he suspected that Corinne's evil spirit in the original story was just faking his death, he naturally had to prepare some methods to verify it, and he did indeed make some progress.

This stone gate, like the portrait, is probably this guy's usual hiding place. It was severely injured and its breath was weak. If I hadn't been suspicious beforehand, I would have almost been fooled by it.

"I've answered your question, now please answer one of mine," Zhu Mingyao said seriously.

"What do you mean by getting Miss Anna to willingly offer up her soul?"

Seeing the evil spirit's eyes flicker, the boy immediately channeled his inner energy, and the evil-dispelling light on his staff shone brightly, causing it to wail incessantly.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk! My original plan was to use a series of hints to make her believe that the souls of those dead little devils were guiding her to discover the secret of that year, and that she could destroy me by standing in front of this stone door and willingly sacrificing herself. But in reality, it was a sacrificial ritual, offering up pure souls that willingly sacrificed themselves to me…”

The evil spirit's words suddenly stopped, and its blurry, ghostly face struggled and shifted in expression.

A tremendous sense of crisis suddenly surged from the depths of Zhu Mingyao's heart!

Without a second thought, he decisively let go and retreated, simultaneously exhaling a three-foot-long, sword-like white mist from his mouth, intending to kill the evil spirit on the spot.

Just as the sword energy was about to fall, the evil spirit's ghostly face rapidly collapsed and condensed, transforming into a dark shadow that rushed straight towards them. The shadow had a mouth, eyes, and scales, and was clearly a dark serpent shimmering with an eerie light!

The sword energy slashed downwards, while the black snake surged upwards; the two completely different forces collided instantly.