Lu Jun shook his head just let nature take its course.
He had the White Tiger Pendant on him, along with the Water Avoiding Bead. According to the original story, the small wooden fish repelled Mo Fan, so it was probably impossible for him to obtain it.
The sea surface was calm and undisturbed. Everyone relaxed, leaning curiously against the ship's railing, peering down at the ocean floor. Before long, the massive shadow beneath the water slowly sank and disappeared into the depths.
The sea had returned to its original deep blue.
After this little episode passed, the National Team members began to talk among themselves, clearly finding it all quite wondrous. Jiang Shaoxu glanced at Lu Jun, looking like she wanted to say something but ultimately held back.
Lu Jun pretended not to notice, inwardly smirking hook, line, and sinker. This was a tactic known as "playing hard to get." He had deliberately brought up the matter of the Totem Beast to lure Jiang Shaoxu, this brother-obsessed girl, into voluntarily offering information.
Cough cough cough, Jiang Shaoxu, you wouldn't want your brother's hard work to go to waste, would you?
He shook off the random thoughts in his head. Damn, Japan really was a cursed place just approaching its sea territory already triggered some form of mutation.
After a while, the National Team caught sight of a black strip of coastline in the distance. The harbor looked bustling and prosperous. They were no longer alone on the open sea and started encountering many fishing boats.
As the ship docked, Lu Jun stepped onto solid ground, feeling a surge of emotion. The sea had been incredibly calm all along the journey who would've thought that four or five years later, it would be riddled with crises?
However, that was also due to the Japanese Sea Battle Fortress, acting as the first island chain's barrier, firmly blocking the Eastern Sea Monster Empire.
Very soon, this group of outstanding young people, who stood out like cranes among chickens and clearly did not fit in with the local residents, attracted the attention of several harbor coast guards, who approached to question them.
Lu Jun, however, didn't feel like getting tangled up with the coast guards. He secretly released a Psychic spell. His eyes flickered with transparent radiance as silent waves spread outward, enveloping the nearby group.
The light on their bodies seemed to dim slightly, and their presence sharply decreased.
At the same time, two fishermen nearby suddenly got into a heated argument, shouting furiously at each other.
The coast guards, halfway over, suddenly looked dazed as if they had forgotten what they were supposed to do. Seeing the commotion, they veered off, frowning as they stepped forward to stop the two quarreling fishermen.
Lu Jun, being an Advanced-level Psychic Mage, easily distorted the perception of ordinary people and manipulated their emotions.
None of the National Team members noticed what had happened their mental realms were too underdeveloped.
They just felt relieved that, even though they didn't have proper documentation, they had somehow managed to slip through customs unscathed.
After leaving the port, the group couldn't check into any hotels in the city of Kumano due to lacking identification. They were forced to stay in a temple on a seaside mountain for a few days.
The monks there, moved by their incense donations, temporarily agreed to take them in.
The temple was called Yanming Temple, very much in the standard Japanese style. A stone torii gate stood at the mountain's base, and a marble staircase led straight up the slope.
The temple itself was quiet and cold, with few worshippers and even fewer monks.
Lu Jun led the group into the temple to settle down. When he turned around, he noticed that Mo Fan had disappeared again who knew when he'd slipped away or where he had run off to fool around?
Seeing this, Guan Yu muttered in dissatisfaction, "He always acts on his own, way too self-centered."
Lu Jun wholeheartedly agreed. He hadn't minded when they were just teammates, but now that he was managing the entire team, Mo Fan's kind of personality was definitely a thorn in his side.
Being the team captain was no easy task. If not for the fact that the captain got the largest share of the National Team's resource allocation, he'd have quit already.
He gazed thoughtfully at the temple in the darkness—this was where the Totem Artifact [Wooden Fish] of Baxa was sealed.
However, due to the Wooden Fish being without a spirit for too long, it had been overtaken by a sinister entity formed by accident, becoming a tool for evil.
Truth be told, Japanese aesthetics did have a certain underworld vibe. The evil spirit in Yanming Temple was one example, and the [Twin Guard Pavilion] in Osaka, their next destination, was no different.
That place was said to be the birthplace of the Red Demon the origin of demons.
Upon entering the temple, the National Team, worn out from travel, each found a dorm to rest in.
Lu Jun quietly surveyed the aura of Yanming Temple. A subtle psychic curse filled the air—one that even Mages specializing in Curse or Psychic Elements wouldn't be able to detect.
Just like Ai Jiangtu and Jiang Shaoxu, who were completely unaware.
Time slowly passed.
In the middle of the night, Lu Jun was suddenly awakened by the noisy voices of his teammates.
He rushed over and saw Zhao Manyan, with his golden-dyed hair, collapsed straight on the ground. Fortunately, Li Kai reacted quickly and caught him. Everyone scrambled to lay Old Zhao flat on the bed.
The team's Healing Mage, Nanrong Ni, stepped forward to examine him and lightly shook her head. "No signs of poisoning. His spirit has completely shut down. The cold body isn't a problem; the key issue is with his soul, and I'm powerless there."
Guan Yu said irritably, "What the hell happened? Where did Zhao Manyan pick up some filthy thing?"
"Wait a sec," Jiang Yu scanned the twelve people around him and suddenly asked in shock, "Where's Mo Fan?"
Lu Jun looked around. In the original timeline, Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu had gone down the mountain together. But now, Jiang Shaoxu had been so unsettled by the information he'd revealed about the Totems that she had no mind to mess around with any man.
Mo Fan should've returned soon. He had probably run into the evil monk spirit named [Narahara Sora], along with the enslaved ghost girl, Miyata.
Sure enough, Mo Fan appeared at the doorway and casually said, "What's everyone doing up? What happened?"
All eyes instantly locked onto Mo Fan. Guan Yu cursed loudly, "Where the hell have you been? Zhao Manyan's down!"
Hearing this, Mo Fan rushed to the bedside and looked in shock at the stiff Zhao Manyan. He suddenly recalled what Narahara Sora had said, along with the ghost girl Miyata's question about his name, and his expression twisted in anger.
"Sh*t… don't tell me that monk was telling the truth?"
The others were confused and quickly pressed him for answers.
With a grim face, Mo Fan said, "I ran into a ghost girl. She asked me for a name, and I told her Zhao Manyan's. Then that monk warned me said she was a soul-collecting ghost."
Upon hearing this, the female team member Jiang Shaoxu broke out in goosebumps and spat, "There's no such wicked ghost in this world—only monsters!"
Jiang Yu gave a thumbs-up and said, "Good lord, Zhao Manyan is truly blessed to have you as a friend. Must've stepped in crap eight lifetimes in a row."
Beside him, Ai Jiangtu fell into thought and then said, "Where there's smoke, there's fire. Legends exist for a reason. Why don't the two of us go find that Miyata girl and ask her directly?"
The others agreed and looked toward Lu Jun, waiting for his decision.
Lu Jun pondered. He knew that Mo Fan had been misled by the evil monk spirit. Miyata was just a scapegoat a fake illusion.
In fact, ever since entering Yanming Temple, he'd been using his psychic sense to search for the evil spirit. Unfortunately, Narahara Sora hid himself extremely well and left no trace.
But now things had taken a turn. The evil spirit had finally made a move, and where it passed, traces would remain. Old Zhao was now the perfect anchor.
"No need. I have a way to drag out the mastermind behind this."
With confidence, Lu Jun said, "Soul-calling through name-speaking is actually a form of curse magic. Let me use Zhao Manyan's body as a medium to reverse-curse the enemy. I won't be able to move during the process, so I'll have to rely on you all to guard me."
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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