American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

Chapter 171 Illusion

Wisps of white mist, like cotton wool, were slowly rolling along the hull when suddenly they were torn apart by an inexplicable force, revealing the smooth deck underneath.

As if someone had carved out a path, a straight trail extended from the bow of the ship all the way to the cabin. The mist was parted in the middle and lingered on both sides, but could not penetrate it even slightly.

The white mist beside the path trembled rhythmically as it approached from afar, as if someone were passing by.

The trembling rhythm stopped at the hatch, and in its place, two large aluminum alloy doors slowly opened inward.

With the air convection between the inside and outside, the surrounding moist white mist couldn't wait to rush into the cabin, vaguely outlining a blurry and dim shadow, as if it wanted to enter as well.

However, at that very moment, a beam of clear, white light suddenly shone down, freezing the shadow in place!

A ripple of air appeared behind the hatch, and Zhu Mingyao's figure emerged.

He formed a Tai Chi mudra with his hands, a slight sneer on his face.

"We've been waiting for you for a long time!"

Above the hatch, a cluster of talismans flickers with light and shadow, with Tai Chi in the center and Bagua arranged in the order of Kan, Li, Zhen, and Dui, guarding the four directions. It is like a demon-revealing mirror, emitting a bright light to suppress the unknown entity below.

That statue was indeed strange!

Zhu Mingyao secretly rejoiced that he had been careful enough, otherwise he would have been fooled.

In the evening, he acted like a curious child, chatting with old Gary about everything under the sun. He wasn't just being a perfect listener; he wanted to find out some information.

After a few cans of beer, and with deliberate prompting, Zhu Mingyao easily extracted the origins of the ship from the tipsy Gary.

—The former ship owners, a husband and wife, died inexplicably together during a voyage, yet their bodies bore no marks.

Most people who make a living by the sea are somewhat superstitious. After the news spread, no one paid any attention to the ship anymore, and it sat in the port for more than ten years, almost to the point of being scrapped.

If other tourists heard this, they would probably just frown and think it was a bit ominous, but Zhu Mingyao recalled the eerie atmosphere during the day and his suspicions were immediately aroused.

There are countless strange and wonderful things in the world. Even Sun Wukong's fiery eyes can sometimes fail him, so it's quite normal for ghosts and monsters to be able to deceive our eyes.

Therefore, he remained vigilant and did not fall asleep, and indeed made a discovery.

But... what is this thing?

Looking at the hazy, indistinct female figure before him, Zhu Mingyao was somewhat unsure of what to do.

With his discerning eye, he could naturally see that the other party's appearance was seven or eight parts similar to the statue on the bow of the ship, but it did not look like an ordinary ghost or monster. It did not have any evil aura, nor did it seem to be a magical creation. Only a damp smell mixed with the smell of the sea wafted over him.

Could it be an ancient spirit? Or perhaps a sea spirit?

Before he could reach a definitive conclusion, things suddenly changed on the other side!

The woman's ethereal form suddenly blurred, and in the blink of an eye, she broke free from the white light's confinement, transforming into a phantom wave of foam that swiftly swept over!

"Ok?"

Zhu Mingyao retreated cautiously, his hands forming a hand seal, and a clear, bright light of warding off evil was released. At the same time, the sword pellet spun rapidly, sending out several silver-white sword energies to slash away.

No matter what your background is, we'll take you down first and then study you slowly.

However, to everyone's surprise, both the mystical light shield and the sword energy attack failed to reach their destination.

The wave of foam seemed to pass straight through the magic's interception, instantly expanding dozens of times in size, encompassing the entire ship...

……

……

water.

There is water everywhere.

The vast expanse of water rippled gently, filling the space and extending outwards to the distant, mist-shrouded horizon.

Zhu Mingyao stood steadily on the water, surrounded by gleaming sword light that resembled dragons and snakes, protecting him in the center.

"What kind of godforsaken place is this?"

He alertly used his supernatural powers to look around, muttering to himself.

Looking into the distance, all you can see is a vast expanse of azure water; there's not a single piece of land, not even a single reef.

The salty, fishy smell that had been lingering around his nose all day told him that this place must be a vast ocean.

I bent down and scooped up a handful; the liquid slipped through my fingers, bringing a slightly cool sensation.

Even though all the information from his five senses indicated this, Zhu Mingyao still dared not believe it. The statue had been able to deceive him during the day, so it was not surprising that it would use the same trick again.

After a moment's thought, he raised his hand and unleashed six points of dark light, which transformed into six ghostly soldiers in the wind, probing in all directions: front, back, left, right, up, and down.

But his efforts were clearly in vain. The remaining ghost soldiers floated out for only about a hundred meters before encountering some invisible obstacle and stopping in mid-air, unable to move forward.

The ghostly soldier that was diving into the sea below seemed to have encountered a whirlpool or undercurrent. A strange suction force pulled it downwards, forcing him to use hand seals to summon it back.

Zhu Mingyao pondered for a moment, then changed his approach, activating the power of [Lung Spirit Haohua]. Wisps of Geng metal evil energy seeped out from the soles of his feet, spreading outwards like a spider web. At the same time, he closed his eyes, concentrated, and focused all his energy on sensing.

A moment later, he opened his eyes with a slight excitement.

It really is an illusion!

The opponent's methods were indeed ingenious, creating an incredibly realistic scene that even involved spatial changes, enough to deceive even his keen senses forged by superior immortal techniques.

However, when he used the additional ability of [Lung God Hao Hua] to perceive metallic objects, he could vaguely sense the large aluminum alloy plates that made up the cabin.

Once the flaws in an illusion are identified, a way to deal with it is found.

Zhu Mingyao maintained his senses on the metal floor, disregarding the distorted and clouded perceptions of his senses, and retreated inch by inch toward the deck.

Even the most powerful illusions have a limited range. Once you're out of that effective range and your normal perception returns, breaking through from the outside is much more efficient than fighting haphazardly inside. You also don't have to worry about accidentally hurting Gary and the others who are just a wall away.

The force that caused all this seemed unwilling to give up. The moment he stepped onto the cabin door, the calm water suddenly surged with huge waves, and the azure seawater turned into deep black, as if it had been moved from the shallow sea to the deep ocean. Moreover, a wild and violent aura emanated from underwater!

"Crash!"

Amidst a tremendous roar, tentacles as thick as thousand-year-old trees emerged from the waves, their flesh-colored suckers, each the size of a washbasin, opening and closing disgustingly, revealing sharp, file-like protrusions inside.

The tentacles swung wildly, bringing with them a fierce gust of wind, and slammed down hard on Zhu Mingyao!

At this level of illusion, the realm exists between reality and illusion. If one mistakes the illusion for reality, one will still die!

Faced with the attack that was both real and illusory, Zhu Mingyao remained calm and composed, showing no intention of dodging. He simply clasped his hands together, channeling all the true qi within his Huangting inner realm into the [Forehead Divine Emperor Court].

As he activated his inner energy cultivation technique, a radiant light flashed between his brows, as if a golden vertical pupil had sprouted from them!

Under the illumination of the Heavenly Eye of the Forehead, the menacing and ferocious tentacles revealed their true form, becoming sluggish and distorted, and finally manifesting as large, loose waves of foam that gently patted his body before collapsing.

The next second, Zhu Mingyao stepped out of the scene change, and the familiar deck appeared before his eyes.

He turned around and chuckled, his body swaying as he lightly rose into the air, and slapped down on the goddess statue at the bow of the ship!

Chapter 172 Ring

Zhu Mingyao's palm shimmered with five-colored light, with wisps of lightning appearing and disappearing, perfectly covering the figurehead of the goddess ship.

Although he had not specifically practiced any thunder magic, with the five elements already formed in his chest, he could still easily use a common technique like the Five Thunder Palm.

Contrary to his expectations, when he struck down with his palm, neither any mysterious force appeared to obstruct him, nor did any ghostly spirits wail.

Only a dreamlike, unknown wave rippled out, drifting from the open cabin back onto the statue.

With a sharp glance, Zhu Mingyao noticed that the shimmering water at the hem of the white wooden statue's robe briefly appeared and then disappeared, followed by the bursting of a few delicate bubbles.

"Ah, Gary, help me..."

"let me out……"

Before he could continue his inspection, he heard the incoherent murmurs of Gary's family coming from the cabin behind him.

He turned around and checked them over, and found that everyone, regardless of age, had distorted faces and were gesturing wildly, trapped in a deep nightmare, clearly affected by the illusion they had just experienced.

Seeing their increasingly rapid breathing and bulging veins, Zhu Mingyao suddenly realized that the former ship owner and his wife had probably been scared to death in their sleep in the same way.

He softly recited a calming and tranquilizing mantra, his ten fingers forming a lotus mudra.

"Auspicious light shines in the room, and the body is bathed in light."

Evil dares not disturb, and the soul finds peace.

The power of the incantation transformed into a faint, gentle mist that soothed everyone, causing them to drift off into a sweet sleep.

After finishing the cleanup work, Zhu Mingyao strolled back to the bow of the ship and looked at the statue with a troubled expression.

The thing hidden inside was so well concealed that he couldn't find any clues about it.

If there's really no other way, I'll just have to try breaking it down little by little and crumbling it up. I'll give Gary some money later, consider it a purchase...

"Ok?"

He suddenly remembered an interesting idea, his eyes darted around and he gave a wicked smile. With one hand pressed against the wooden carving, he continuously poured his true qi and magical power into it, while with the other hand, he drew wisps of mysterious light talismans with his fingers together, and began to refine the figurehead as a magical artifact.

You're well hidden, aren't you? We can't find you, can we?

Come on, let me refine you into a magical artifact, and see if you can still hide.

The powerful inner landscape of the Yellow Court circulates and flows, seeping into every fiber of the wood inside the statue, gradually filling it and expelling all foreign energy it comes into contact with.

Under this brutal invasion, which resembled a restoration movement, the unknown entity hidden in the wood carving could no longer hide.

Accompanied by a strange tremor, a small ball of yellow light rolled out from an unknown space on the statue's head.

Zhu Mingyao channeled his inner energy, forming a large hand that he intended to catch.

The large hand swept across but missed; the yellow light passed by without any obstruction, like a phantom.

With a soft "plop," the yellow light plunged straight into the sea.

Now that he had discovered it, how could Zhu Mingyao give up this suspected treasure as a trophy? He leaped into the air, activated the [Mysterious Nether Water Escape] technique, and a pale blue spiritual light enveloped his body before he submerged into the sea.

The harbor where the sailboat was moored was shallow water near the shore, with the deepest part only six or seven meters deep. He touched the seabed in the blink of an eye.

The bright, radiant light shone from outside, awakening the creatures slumbering in the crevices of the reef.

Several orange and white clownfish wagged their tails and quickly scurried away, while a stone crab squeezed itself a third deeper into the coral pile.

After the little creatures dispersed, Zhu Mingyao shifted his gaze and, without much effort, locked onto his target.

An antique bronze ring, adorned with hemp-like patterns, lies quietly on a piece of dark coral reef.

Although nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first glance, this thing could deceive one's senses and could switch between reality and illusion, clearly indicating that it was no ordinary object.