American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

Is this the end?

Madison lay beside him, a youthful curve bulging in his fiery red robes, watching with lingering fear the orange-yellow sparks that flew from the debris striking the defensive spell.

"It should be, that guy is most likely dead..." Zoe patted her ample chest, as if trying to lighten her mood with a few words.

Before she could finish speaking, her clear voice stopped abruptly.

Zhu Mingyao suddenly sensed something was amiss. He glanced at it out of the corner of his eye, and then his expression changed drastically.

Two girls, with strikingly different yet equally youthful and captivating eyes, suddenly emerged from their translucent, worm-like caltrop wires, like puppet strings, pulling the two terrified girls headlong into the black hole!

What happens after Chapter 425?

Changes can happen in the blink of an eye!

Zhu Mingyao subconsciously unfolded his magical artifact. Inside the layers of palaces and pavilions, the gods in the inner scene of the Yellow Court each occupied their altars. The clear auspicious light and mist spun rapidly, generating a powerful attraction that momentarily neutralized the strange force.

However, it was only for a moment. As if a dozen mountains had crashed down at the same time, the imperial steps shattered, the eaves collapsed, and the palace's illusory image instantly crumbled, like a real paper house, torn to pieces in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, this magical artifact of immortality has endless uses. It can gather and disperse as one, and it naturally breaks down into countless golden talismans with vermilion patterns that fly out and weave into crisscrossing chains, as if a large hand is grabbing the girls' bodies.

At this critical moment, the golden chains emitted a dazzling light, like a net from heaven and earth, about to slowly pull them back.

But before Zhu Mingyao could even breathe a sigh of relief, the strange black hole suddenly deformed and expanded, turning into a writhing shadow.

The vast space was like a piece of transparent plastic sheet, which collapsed, folded, and then shattered into pieces at lightning speed.

"grass……!"

He felt an immense, overwhelming force pulling him from the chains. Before he could even utter a curse, he was dragged away like an arrow, becoming sworn brothers with the two unfortunate girls, and vanished into the shadows in an instant.

……

……

The vast, boundless fog gradually receded, and the ashes that had been fluttering down like snowflakes ceased to fall.

The once chaotic sky seemed to have been purified with a water-purifying pill, causing ripples in the layers of space before gradually restoring its clear blue hue. Bright sunlight, like countless golden threads, slanted down, illuminating a dilapidated town that was clearly visible.

In stark contrast to the desolate ruins left by the fierce battle, this place, though dilapidated and dirty with overgrown with withered grass, still maintained a largely intact state. Only the familiar street layout and the lingering acrid smell of coal smoke in the air confirmed that, in a sense, the group had not left the original location.

"Is this the original Centria? What happened? Where have my apprentices gone?"

Her meticulously styled hair fell loosely, and Fiona asked several questions in a row. Her still charming face was extremely gloomy, almost dripping with water.

The sudden turn of events in the final battle proved that the Federation officials had concealed a great deal from their plan. Coupled with the strange disappearance of the two apprentices who were regarded as rising stars, she was in an extremely bad mood at the moment.

"That's right, we also need a complete and detailed explanation!"

Supported by members of the organization, the two Protestant elders and council members also shakily approached, their hands on their still-painful wounds after treatment, and stared angrily at Antonio, the official in charge.

Compared to the few who were deeply involved in the plan, they received only limited prior notice and thus underestimated the enemy, almost losing their lives in the process. If it weren't for the close ties between the various Protestant factions and the federal system, sharing both prosperity and adversity, they probably would have turned against each other on the spot.

"I am extremely sorry, this is all the order from above."

His eyes caught the azure waves of the sea disappearing rapidly into the horizon between the distant peaks and valleys. After estimating the speed of both sides, Antonio wisely abandoned his plan to pursue.

He knew he had really offended someone this time, so his tone and demeanor were extremely sincere:

"We only received Alex's report just before we set off. Due to the tight schedule, the Supreme Council had to make a hasty decision. It was not a deliberate attempt to conceal the information."

Knowing the reasons were far-fetched, but duty called, the young man could only rack his brains to find the right words to clean up the mess left by those greedy bureaucrats.

“Divine beings possess incredibly keen premonitions. The wider the information spreads, the easier it is for word to leak out.” His tone was slightly complicated as he turned to look at the young vampire king beside him, who was rummaging through a huge pile of ashes—the last remnants left behind after the counterfeit divine spear perished alongside its enemy.

"Fortunately, they underestimated Alex's... loyalty to the Federation. That's what allowed our ambush to succeed."

"Although we failed to completely eliminate those guys, we at least achieved the basic strategic objectives." A calm voice interrupted, and a pale-faced, handsome vampire lifted a shadow from the ashes, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Although the Fallen Saints who were originally the target of capture have disappeared, this item also contains the secret of the immortality of gods. Those old guys should be trembling with excitement, right?"

His words drew everyone's attention, and a variety of gazes, each with a different emotion, fell upon his hands.

The shadows gradually dissipated like mist, revealing an object that was pointed at the top and wider at the bottom, roughly oval in shape.

The translucent, dark red amber-like shell is adorned with intricately inlaid snake-scale patterns, exuding an ancient and mysterious beauty.

"That's... a snake egg?" someone guessed uncertainly.

"It must be destroyed! I can sense the remnants of the King of Ten Thousand Serpents; a wisp of its spirit is still clinging to life within it!" Granny Eileen, who was staggering along with her heavily injured body, spoke with unwavering determination.

Several deacons from the Catholic Church stepped forward, seemingly wanting to take it, but a long, slender arm stretched out, blocking their way with an unyielding air.

A cold glint flashed in Alex's obsidian-like eyes.

“I say, esteemed servants of the gods, aren’t you overstepping your bounds a bit? These are precious spoils of war belonging to the Federation. Before we came, we were instructed that if we obtain any items related to divinity and immortality, we must carefully collect and study them.”

Seeing a dispute about to erupt, Antonio quickly stepped in to smooth things over. He dialed the communicator, whispered a few words, and then earnestly and gently reassured the church members:

"Valak's soul has deteriorated to an extreme degree, and it would be difficult to recover even after hundreds of years. Under the seal of the research base, it is no different from being dead. Please do not ruin the relationship between us over such a trivial matter."

He looked around, his expression a mixture of earnestness and authority, and continued:

"We will remember your sacrifices and contributions in this operation, and we will certainly provide you with a reward that satisfies everyone. Please rest assured. There are still remnants of the enemy at large, and the subsequent pursuit and elimination will still depend on your strong support..."

At this time, the leaders of various organizations also received secret communications one after another. A large number of major interests, such as opening up mission areas, ceding spheres of influence, and mining and investing in extraordinary resources, were readily agreed upon by the powerful figures behind the scenes. Under the carrot-and-stick tactics of the other party, even the most stubborn church members silently shut their mouths.

But not everyone was satisfied with the result. Fiona glared at him angrily, casting various detection spells one after another.

"Hey! Please answer the question from the beginning: where have my apprentices gone?"

"Let me answer this question..." Lai Hengli had been frowning and silent since earlier, his compass spinning endlessly, the pointer made of Yuan Magnetic Divine Iron trembling back and forth.

"They must have been dragged into another dimension, and..."

His dark eyebrows twitched, and his eyes shone brightly. "That so-called holder of the Holy Mark should not be dead either!"

Chapter 426 New Gods and Old Gods

"how is this possible?"

Fiona's hair twitched, and she reflexively raised a question.

"With so many of us attacking, even a complete [Crown Rank] demigod wouldn't be able to survive, let alone her life force fluctuations have indeed disappeared. I've already confirmed this with a divination spell."

“Wait, unless…” Her eyes suddenly sharpened as she considered a possibility from her mastery of extraordinary secret techniques.

That's not her... or rather, not the complete her!

"That's all I wanted to say."

A point of light and shadow emerged, extending in all directions, like opening a square newspaper. The full-body images of two girls stood side by side, their colors vibrant and their faces lifelike.

The two girls were about eleven or twelve years old, with sweet faces and well-behaved manners. They were identical in both figure and appearance, and looked exactly like twins.

What's strange is that their clothing styles are quite different. One is wearing fashionable cashmere children's clothing that has been popular in recent years, with cartoon hair clips; while the other is wearing an outdated black and white cotton school uniform and old-fashioned round-toed shoes.

Although they stand side by side, the two seem to be from different eras, as if they were decades apart.

Henry Lai displayed images depicting the evolution of illusions, and said solemnly:

"According to the information, Alessa, the true form of the Fallen One, split her soul once every ten years or so, stowed away and was born in the outside world. Then, she worked with others to break the seal of Centria, which caused this crisis."

“And this…” He pointed to the image of a girl dressed in fashionable children’s clothing.

"It was Alessa's clone, Christopher Sharon, who was born in the outside world after that soul split!"

Fiona looked enlightened. "You mean... we only eliminated Sharon?"

"No, I think the exact opposite. The one who died should be Alessa, the original self!"

Although her physical wounds had been treated urgently, mental exhaustion was unavoidable. Granny Eileen forced herself to stay alert and discern the lingering scent, capturing tiny specks of black and white light intertwined between her fingers.

"Without any trace of the [Purity] Holy Mark, she must have used the intense battle as a cover to transfer the core primordial seed to her clone, while she herself faked her death in battle."

She exclaimed from the bottom of her heart, "What a clever plan! It allows us to escape at the same time and get rid of Valak and his gang's control."

"Wouldn't my apprentices who got involved be in great danger?" Fiona stamped her foot impatiently, her brows furrowed with worry.

“Personally, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about,” Sister Irene said gently.

"Perhaps to mislead us or for other reasons, Alessa has kept most of her magic in her main body. The power of her clones can only suppress the two little girls at most. With the addition of that little Eastern child, the odds of victory or defeat will probably be reversed."

"What we need to do now is locate the hidden space as soon as possible and rescue them..."

A flurry of rescue preparations were underway, but to those who were uninvolved, the day's events were already considered over.

"As instructed by my superiors, the spoils must be delivered to the [Forest Villa] as soon as possible. I won't keep you company any longer." Alex's indifferent gaze swept over the busy crowd, finally settling on the distant sky that was about to be dyed red by the setting sun.

Despite having known each other for a long time, due to their vastly different strengths and temperaments, Antonio and the young vampire king were not particularly close. Antonio, busy with the aftermath, only exchanged a few casual words before watching him disappear into the air.

As he left, the lingering tension of battle in the air was quickly swallowed up by the busy and tense new atmosphere around him.

Only in the distant high heavens, the wings of bats, as black as night, gently fluttered, casting a glance of enigmatic meaning.

……

The Appalachian Mountains are located in the northeast of the Federation, spanning thousands of kilometers from the western coastal mountains that run parallel to the Pacific Ocean. Even with the strength of an extraordinary expert, it is not something that can be reached in an instant.

A barely perceptible shadow pierced through the clouds and fog, blending into the approaching night.

A vast expanse of cumulonimbus clouds stretched across the desolate landscape ahead, with flashes of lightning intermittently appearing, like bright blue and white dragons piercing the sky. The smell of ozone released from the air permeated the air, and the intense electromagnetic field it emitted interfered with all electronic devices and mental detection.

The shadow silently disappeared into the clouds, and then stopped.

The capsule-like objects were quietly crushed, and a thick, oily, golden-orange liquid seeped in along the mysterious, scale-like patterns.

The dark red stone egg trembled slightly, as if waking from a deep sleep, and made a lazy burp-like sound.

"Hmm... This fresh divine power has no rotten smell at all. No matter how many times I've tasted it, it always tastes delicious to me," the strange voice, neither male nor female, chuckled, sounding quite satisfied.

"That's all. I only managed to get it by chance," Alex's thoughts came indifferently.

"Your lovely female subordinate has really done a great job in bringing such an important clue. Her name is Emilia, right? You should have been gentler when you drained her blood."

"I took this huge risk not to listen to your nonsense and opinions, so just get to the conclusion."

"Hehe, don't be in such a hurry, my dear friend. Please allow me to praise your acting skills first. Now those corrupt bureaucrats should completely consider you one of their own. They might even introduce you to a noble human woman for a marriage alliance. Anyway, they shouldn't have any aversion to the bloodline of high-ranking vampires..."

“If you still insist on spouting nonsense, I think handing over the Soul Serpent Egg honestly is a good option. When they learn that the [Serpent's Authority] has the ability to molt and regenerate, I believe they won't give you another chance to be resurrected!” Alex expressed his impatience through his actions.

“Impatient junior, you are too young and have not yet learned the composure of the immortals. We have endless time to plan things, like now… Alright.”

Sensing the other party's chilling malice, the Serpent Demon God promptly changed his tune.