The portable grandfathers that appear are all problematic.

Chapter 182 The Collective Corruption of the Mystics

Circe, one of the most famous witches of ancient Greece, also has another name in Roman mythology.

“Cersei…Aunt?” You Xiaoniao was obviously also a little sensitive to the famous mythological name. She had no idea that Xue Luding’s elders would give such a strange mythological name, but after a quick confirmation, she found that the person in front of her was indeed her boyfriend’s legal guardian.

The photo on his personal bookshelf couldn't be faked. It showed Xue Daolu with a cold expression, posing with a woman ruffling his hair. In the photo, she looked just like the woman outside, wearing a custom-made suit but insisting on keeping the hand-embroidered Greek laurel branches on the cuffs.

The Xue Dinglu in the photo was only about ten years old at the time.

The strange thing is that, more than ten years have passed, and the aunt's appearance seems to have not changed at all.

However, the moment she opened the door, a hand gripped her chin tightly, and as she prepared to resist, she heard, "Don't move, I mean you no harm."

You Xiaoniao was stunned for a moment. She immediately stopped moving and followed her aunt's lead to take a closer look. Then she heard her aunt say, "He's very ordinary. How did you manage to satisfy that brat who has never looked at anyone properly since he was a child? I don't understand."

Auntie threw her suitcase onto Xue Luding's computer chair as if she were in her own home. She saw the petri dishes in the constant temperature cabinet, and what made her pupils shrink the most was the aura of "cursed blood" in one of the petri dishes!

No, she wasn't mistaken; it smelled like cursed blood! And it wasn't residual cursed blood left over from three thousand years ago, but rather cursed blood that had only been used recently!

Auntie didn't know what expression to make. She frantically savored the taste of the cursed blood, and the strange yet familiar virus...

However, her millennia of self-cultivation kept her calm. She didn't laugh out loud, but put her hand in her pocket and took out a pack of cigarettes. However, her hand kept shaking when she lit the cigarette, as if she had Parkinson's disease.

“Aunt, you…” You Xiaoniao looked at her aunt’s strange behavior. She was about to say that smoking was not allowed in the lab, since some bacteria might just die on the spot if they didn’t like it.

"Sorry, I don't smoke..." Aunt threw the cigarette she had just put in her mouth into the trash can, but at this moment, she seemed to be trying her best to suppress the upward curve of her lips.

"It seems I need to tell you my family story." The aunt looked at her "niece-in-law" with a forced smile, while blood flowed in her hand as if it were a living thing she could control at any moment.

This unscientific scene stunned You Xiaoniao, who stared intently at the fluid blood on her hand.

“I’ve been dealing with the remnants of the Age of Gods and those who try to revive it. This is my destiny with Xiao Xue, and also the connection between us.” She smiled, the blood on her hands seeming alive.

"My Noble Phantasm is called 'False Cursed Blood,' a weakened version of the cursed blood I collected, and its origin dates back more than 3200 years..." She seemed to have no intention of hiding it any longer, and instead looked at the girl in front of her, slowly recounting a history from more than three thousand years ago...

……

“I feel great now, Your Excellency.” The old mystic Austin stretched his body.

For this mystic, his current physical condition was far better than he had imagined. For the first time, he felt a surge of energy through his body, as if he could kill a bull with his bare hands.

If he had possessed the power of Phowa before, he wouldn't have become a mystic; he would have become a physicist long ago. He could have cast a Holy Light spell with his left hand and swung his iron fist with his right hand to deliver a set of Barton elbow strikes.

Xue Dinglu didn't waste any words. He immediately began to make arrangements for the two of them, which had been agreed upon before they transmigrated.

"It's 2027 now, more than a year since your death. Quickly contact the old mystics and get the intelligence and information from this period. Share this information with me in my consciousness space," Xue Dinglu said directly.

The old mystic, who possesses a physical manifestation of fantasy, is able to act independently of Xue's laws. Xue's laws are not even afraid that something will happen to him. Even if he dies, only the physical manifestation of fantasy will disappear, and the old mystic's spirit will still appear in the consciousness space.

I've done some simple experiments, and Xue's law won't mislead you in this regard.

"No problem, sir. Where will you be investigating?" he asked casually. The two of them were now planning to go out together and search for clues separately.

“The FBI, CIA, and the Secret Service.” Xue Dinglu made no attempt to hide his target. He looked towards Boston in the distance and said, “This is where we can get intelligence the fastest. Of course, information about the occultists’ inner workings will still be left to you.”

"Understood, mission accomplished!" The old mystic smiled as he arrived at the familiar world and Salem town, which had been completely reduced to ruins. The streets were deathly quiet, and there was no trace of the ancient plant, Zijera, to be seen.

But it doesn't matter, he can quickly reconnect with his old friends through occult means.

After discovering that his article had drawn a warning from the FBI, Xue immediately sought out the source of the intelligence. For him, peeking at the intelligence of those special agents was as easy as entering his own backyard, and thanks to the intervention of the mystic Austin, he had an even simpler method.

"Hypnosis," a technique whose name may sound a bit unconventional, but whose effect is to completely put ordinary people to sleep.

If a Japanese high school student were to acquire this technique, the only use they could think of would be to initiate certain 18+ scenes through hypnosis.

Just like how stopping time for several hours is only used by some people for things like doing groin, while a vampire stopping time for five seconds thinks about ruling the world.

In Xue Dinglu's hands, hypnosis was...

"In a deep sleep!" In the next instant, everyone in the entire hidden Secret Service branch fell into a deep, infant-like sleep, as if time had stood still.

Xue Dinglu swaggered into the Secret Service, when suddenly the AI ​​seemed to detect him as an unknown person and issued an alarm.

"Sleep!" The AI ​​was taken aback, then went into a shutdown state.

Hypnosis in the fairy tale world can even hypnotize artificial intelligence and electronic devices! Just like in the fairy tale world, the Smurfs can fall asleep. This is why Xue's Law wants to get some magic from old Watson. They can always come up with some new tricks for themselves.

……

Meanwhile, the old mystic immediately found his old friend through their internal communication channels.

That was a special ritual performed by mystics; by changing just one of the nodes, he could naturally find those old friends he had contacted before.

Now, he even felt like he was returning home in glory. After all, he was completely different from his old friends who played magic tricks. He had learned the Holy Light spell and had further applied it in the hands of "that person".

Holy Light Cutting, and derivatives of the Specium Ray.

He is now confident that he can call himself a "magician" instead of the mystic he was before.

But he never forgot the knowledge and rituals of the occult. Before becoming a magician, he thought that if he learned magic, even a dog wouldn't bother with the occult.

But after truly becoming a mage, he became more open-minded. As long as he could achieve his goal, what difference did it make whether it was mysticism or magic? Just like that person's magical skill had reached the level of creating things out of thin air, but he still didn't despise the power of mysticism.

Soon, a mystic arrived at the place where he was transmitting the signal.

Even among occult families, Itzhak Hohenheim was one of the most renowned occultists. His family possessed two versatile occult rituals: "sacrifice" and "living corpse walkers," making them a truly prestigious clan.

In short, for such a person, participating in the Salem ritual of these wild mystics is already an honor. For him, as long as he returns to the Age of Gods, he can immediately complete the reincarnation and breakthrough just like the magicians of the Age of Gods.

Unlike Austen himself, most of his occult rituals required impromptu arrangements at specific times, and his exclusive rituals also required extremely demanding conditions.

But it doesn't matter, I'm a magician now.

"Austin, you actually didn't die in that Salem incident?" The important figure, Hohenheim, carrying a large bundle, said with a sinister air.

“I’m truly sorry, Lord Hohenheim. I was saved by ‘that person’ and even given a new life. Now I want to know what exactly happened in the entire occult community after the Salem incident. Is there any information you can share? I will offer you a spell that you cannot refuse as payment.” Austin spoke to this former great figure with the same gentlemanly manner.

“Hmph, ‘that person’? Little Austin, perhaps you’re the one who’s like a frog in a well, unaware of how vast the world is. The era of mysticism is long gone.” Hohenheim chuckled, a laugh that made Austin very uncomfortable.

"The age of mysticism is over?" Austin pondered the question repeatedly, his brow furrowed. He immediately realized something, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. He asked, "What is Brinton's relationship with you?"

Brington, the mastermind behind the Salem incident, who ultimately rejuvenated and killed his own conspirator, will never forget this man.

"Heh, how dare you address the master by his name..." Hohenheim chuckled sinisterly. The next moment, countless twisted branches appeared on his body. He stood tall and elegant, and even though his body was covered by the mutated vegetation, he still exuded a calm and composed aura. However, the mycelium emerging from his pupils twisted into branches, as if triggering an uncanny valley, causing Austin to immediately retreat.

“You…” Austin could hardly believe his eyes. This senior had actually transplanted Zigela into him.

“So you know absolutely nothing, mysticism? What a load of rubbish!” Hohenheim then opened his large bundle, revealing two sleeping infants inside. “Let me show you the ‘magic’ of the new era, you traitor to your parents.”

"The Reincarnation of the Evil Spirit - Wendigo!"

The baby was twisted, gradually wrapped in the branches of the Zijera, and then turned into a twisted American monster.

Such a shocking scene unfolded before Austin's eyes, and he couldn't believe that the old mystic could do something so cruel.

“What on earth happened between you? And what do you value life for?” Austin roared.

And, has your entire occult circle sided with Brinton?! Are you willing to transform yourselves into this inhuman, ghostly form for power?

The holy light in his hand seemed to roar, and he sensed that the evil opposite him was worth fighting.

Chapter 183: Are you alright?

Austin never expected that when he simply contacted the mystics he knew before, he would receive a corrupt senior with several babies and who had summoned terrifying monsters.

Wendigos, twisted monsters resembling humanoid moose, are widely known among Native Americans and subsequent colonists. They wear moose skulls, have antlers over a meter long, are tall and robust with strong muscles, and every step they take carries a heavy sense of oppression, as if the earth itself trembles.

But what chilled Austin even more was that this Wendigo wasn't a real monster, but an evil spirit "resurrected" through the scavenging properties of Zijella.

This makes it covered in twisted branches and vines, adorning its antlers and body, like a vengeful spirit that has been buried in this land.

“See that? Mystic? Hahaha, what is mysticism to us now? Watch closely, we have become magicians, and we can even bring the evil spirits of our imaginations back to life in this colonized land!” Hohenheim’s pupils, which seemed to grow branches, stared intently at Austin.

The branches on his body began to grow rapidly, and he had completely become a "vegetative state" person.

Austin knew that the branches of the Zigera could be transplanted into the human body without any rejection reaction. The human body would perfectly integrate with the branches of the Zigera, thus creating a "magical organ" that humans could also possess.

However, those "vegetative state" patients all met tragic ends. They were either completely taken over and devoured by the branches of the Zijera, turning into a tree growing on the ground, or they completely lost themselves, becoming immortal walking corpses.

Even Qi Jiela's research on "divine tree reincarnation" was only because those trees would forcibly occupy the body of a corpse, completely taking over the corpse from the inside, and then forming a puppet controlled by the plant.

Just like cordyceps and zombie ants in nature, these are examples of fungi manipulating animal corpses to make them move, and these are all within Austin's understanding.

But what he couldn't understand now was why the other side was able to summon a native American monster after sacrificing two lives. This was no longer within the realm of mysticism; it was more like magic!

However, having personally experienced magic, Austin, who could now barely be called a second-tier mage, knew that the Wendigo opposite him had almost no magical power in his body, meaning that it was just an evil spirit manipulated by Zijra.

This is not magic at all!

And at this moment, after learning about the Holy Light, Austin fully understood that the so-called mystics could no longer be called "human" at heart.

They have become twisted individuals who are purely pursuing "magic," willing to do anything for it, no matter what form they take or what price they have to pay. As long as they can master "magic," they can bear any price and it is all worth it.

Having figured this out, cold sweat kept breaking out on Austin's forehead. If he hadn't met that person, hadn't mastered the Holy Light, or even learned the advanced path of the Holy Light in the tokusatsu drama, he wouldn't have been able to obtain a broad road that was completely open to him.

When faced with such an evil sacrifice that invokes evil spirits, can one still maintain humanity?

From the moment he began to doubt himself, he realized that he was very likely not to refuse.

However, possessing the Holy Light, this purest energy requires unparalleled perseverance and sacrifice to control, so he had to force himself to adapt to the Holy Light so that he could understand the mystics of the past as an observer...

How ugly!

It is described as dirty, ugly, and even despicable.

Just to kill him, two vibrant lives were sacrificed at will. The two infants seemed to have just had their umbilical cords cut, and they hadn't even opened their eyes to see the world before they left this world!

What the hell do you people value human life?!

Anger surged within the old mystic, and the crimson power of holy light erupted from him like a volcano about to erupt.

“Hohenheim, I originally wanted to pass on my little bit of experience on the path of magic to my old friends, but now I realize I was wrong, terribly wrong. Our pursuit of magic has gone down the wrong path. Look at yourself now, what have you become? Do you still have any sense of honor for the Hohenheim family in your heart?”

"Ha, glory? My mastery of magic is the true glory!" The other party paid no attention to Austin's words. The next moment, Wendigo swung his claws as if creating a sonic boom.

"Then I'll show you the true power of magic. And those dirty spells you've been playing with don't even deserve to be called magic!" Holy light shone in Austin's hand, and as it spun, it transformed into a disc-shaped cutting blade resembling a chainsaw.

At this moment, both the evil spirit Wendigo and the mystic Hohenheim on the other side were stunned. It wasn't a ritual or a trick; it was pure energy—this was magic! True magic, the magic of light!

Why, why is the guy on the other side so lucky to have obtained real magic!

Hohenheim touched his face the next moment, but he couldn't even touch his own features, because his features were all twisted and growing branches. For him, the so-called features had become another form of receiving information from the outside world.

This fueled his jealousy. Why was it that while they both wielded magic, the other person could stand in the light like a normal person, while he had to crawl like a maggot to obtain even the most insignificant power?

This jealousy immediately turned into anger, and Wendigo charged at Austin.

As Austin looked at the terrifying monster originating from the Americas, a smirk appeared on his face.

The Hohenheim family, a prestigious lineage among mystics, was once something he could only look up to, even being called the "strongest mystical family." But now, a pitiful, thick barrier has risen between them, and they are no longer on the same level.

But I will be the strongest after I master magic.

It's now a battle between the greatest mystic in history and a newly risen magician.

Furthermore, his opponents are not only the mystic in a vegetative state, but also the unknown evil spirit Wendigo. If it's one against two, it will be a bit tricky.

“However, I will win.” Austin smiled triumphantly and said decisively, “Senior Hohenheim, I will show you true magic. Don’t worry, it won’t waste your time.”

He laughed and delivered his pre-battle trash talk.

……

2 minutes later……

The figure was sent flying, sliding for nearly a hundred meters across the forest floor. The ground seemed to crack open, riddled with deep craters from the battle, until the figure finally came to a stop after crashing into a tree.

Austin felt like his whole body was falling apart. If it weren't for the unexpected resilience of his body, he felt that he would have been cut in half at the waist.

Even if he wasn't cut in half at the waist, he couldn't feel his lower body anymore; his spine must have been broken...

I'm so sorry for embarrassing myself as a mage...

Austin looked at the grinning Hohenheim in the distance, and the incredibly terrifying Wendigo. Just now, they had fought, but he had sensed something was wrong the moment they clashed.

Why is this monster so strong?

This was the only thing he could think about.

Then he could only desperately use his body to dodge and weave, trying to catch his breath, but this only lasted for less than two minutes.

"You certainly didn't waste too much of my time, Austin." The old man opposite him smiled sinisterly. He hadn't expected Austin, a mage, to be so...weak...

Having never fought between mages before, they had absolutely no reference points.