Strange, green flames ignited without notice and ran a circle around the eleven expedition members, lingering for what seemed like forever.
The flames lit up every one of the twenty crosses that had been placed on the land, illuminating the near pitch-black graveyard.
This time, Blake wasn't the only one who could see it; the whole team had their eyes as wide as saucers, petrified by what was happening in front of their very eyes.
Immediately, terror coursed through their veins as their hairs stood on end
The team members who had been continuously taunting Blake were caught off guard by this horrifying phenomenon. At the sight of the streaks of fire, their lips quivered and their legs trembled.
Strange...
This scene was seriously way too strange!
As per common sense, flames could only be ignited when heat came into contact with combustibles.
However, these crosses were completely made of silver, and there wasn't a single drop of oil on them. How had the flames ignited themselves out of nothing?
Moreover, the land around them was also barren, and there weren't any combustibles to be found nearby.
So, how had this fire magically appeared?
Furthermore... They weren't blue nor yellow flames, but green?
No, it wasn't just that!
These green flames emitted little to no heat! Instead, cold air could be felt emanating from them.
Gulp...
Some of the members of the expedition team could not help but swallow cautiously. Then, to give themselves a reality check, they took out a random shred of paper from their pockets and threw it at the flames.
As soon as the paper came into contact with the flames, the hungry flames engulfed it. In the end, the paper disintegrated into thin air.
This flame could ignite paper!
Aghast by the sight of this, everyone stared with vigilance.
They couldn't help but recall what Blake had said to them before: "The Yin Qi is increasing. You have to leave quickly, or your life will be in danger!"
Could it be that... What that kid had said was true?
They unanimously turned their heads toward Blake.
To their surprise, there was also a strange phenomenon taking place around him!
They noticed that as the ghostly fire raged around them, the cross that Blake had inserted into the ground could not stop trembling, and eventually extracted itself from the ground!
It encircled Blake as it levitated toward him and rose upward, spinning rapidly as it went.
This brought about a swivelling cyclone around him, acting as if it was his personal shield.
Under the moonlight, the winds surrounding Blake seemed to glow with a faint blue light.
This scene gave the expedition members the shock of their lives!
This kid's cross was really strange!
Could it... really ward off evil spirits?
...
John Jones felt a chill run down his spine as he watched the strange green flames around him.
Could it be that this place... was really haunted?
He felt as if his heart had stopped in its tracks as he intuitively felt the presence of a pair of strange eyes watching him from behind.
However, he was a person who had gone through life and death experiences in the past after all. This was not enough to weigh him down.
After the initial fear, he forced himself to be calm. He began to string words together in his mind, playing out different scenarios in his head to come up with a plausible explanation for what had just happened.
After all, the livestream was still going on. He dared not admit that his crosses were counterfeit in front of thousands of people...
However, when he looked at the livestream controls, he was stunned. He had not expected to find an influx of positive comments.
"F*ck! Captain John's cross is way too awesome! How did this green flame come about? I didn't notice it at all!"
"Is this the power of a 700-year-old ancient relic? As expected of a cross that has received blessings from more than twenty priests... its power is out of this world!"
"What a bargain! Captain John, your cross is a bargain! Such a magical artifact would be considered cheap even if priced at 100000 dollars!"
"Is this what actual magic is? Captain John, please forgive me for having doubts about the authenticity of your crosses... I didn't expect this magic array to be so powerful!"
"..."
The viewers in the livestream were completely going berserk with excitement at this point.
People were spamming their exclamations into their comments, showing their exhilaration as they were struck with disbelief upon witnessing what was occurring.
They all believed that John's crosses were responsible for this unexplainable phenomenon!
It never did cross their mind that this could have possibly been a sign of a dangerous, otherworldly attack.
...
As for John Jones himself, he was confused and could not react until seconds later.
Then, he gathered himself and decided to make the best of this situation before it spun out of control.
He lifted his head and smiled nervously.
"That's right, everyone. You have laudable observational skills.
"Those strange flames you have just witnessed are a part of my formation.
"Their function is to purify the surrounding Yin qi.
"Didn't young Blake mention previously that the Yin qi was brewing?
"These crosses of mine have detected that there was indeed something suspicious about this place, which is why the flames were released."
Captain John spoke with his hands placed on his hips, confident and poised.
After listening to this explanation, the audience once again came to a sudden realization of the situation, which further encouraged their reactions and greediness for the cross.
A tycoon even decided to bid in the comments section, offering to pay 200000 dollars for each cross, in the hopes of winning John's favour to claim all of the thirty crosses.
The others responded one after another, and the comments fell into a cross-buying craze.
As John observed the comments suggesting ever-growing price offers, John Jones' face broke out into a smile again.
The dread that had initially been creeping into his heart because of the unnatural occurrences had completely dissipated once he laid eyes on the large bidding figures.
Honestly, he even subconsciously believed in the nonsense that he spewed out of his own mouth.
He did partially believe that those twenty burning flames had really been summoned by his crosses!
He turned and explained this to the ten teammates surrounding him.
Hearing Captain John's persuasive account, they were still slightly unconvinced and skeptical.
However, seeing that John wasn't at all flustered, they gradually cooled off and regained their composure.
At this very moment, Blake felt the cross protecting him start to shake uncontrollably.
Even the light blue barrier formed by the cross had begun to gradually crumble.
His spiritual consciousness began to fade as he lowered his head to check the time on his watch...
Midnight.
Not good!
The ghostly aura beneath the tomb began to surge!
Blake switched to the Yin Eye. Through this eye, the entire world distorted into criss-cross lines, including the huge tomb he had checked before.
Moments later, these lines began to undulate rhythmically!
It was as if his entire view had come to life, trembling violently.
In the next moment, Blake saw the twenty crosses in John's possession crack and break into pieces!
The flames left the broken crosses, coming together to form a huge round ball of green fire.