American variety show world begins with subduing Jason

After adding the skills, Zhu Mingyao turned his attention to the Inner Landscape Gods under the [Shangqing Huangting Inner Landscape Scripture] list.

The remaining reward points can be used to unlock another item, Body God.

After pondering for a while, he finally activated the [Forehead God Imperial Court] among the Eight Gods of the Upper Realm.

The forehead, also known as the Yintang, is actually the pineal gland in the human body. Activating this divine power is like opening a third eye, which can perceive information that is not normally visible, such as electromagnetic waves and biofields. When combined with the art of observing qi, it can easily gain insight into the enemy's situation, and ordinary enemies will have nowhere to hide.

Having encountered two crises in succession—the Evil Human Skin and the Black-Haired Vampire—Zhu Mingyao felt that his investigative abilities were somewhat lacking, so he made targeted efforts to improve them.

Once the tingling and itching caused by the circulation of true qi under his forehead subsided, he pinched his sword fingers and touched his brow. Then he activated the Qi Observation Technique and tried to look around. The world before him immediately changed, with colorful and varying shades of spiritual light flashing everywhere.

Where the dark light shimmers, there are memorial tablets for the deceased on the offering table and incense altar.

Where the flames rise, there is a Pure Yang True Fire Talisman placed on the altar for nurturing.

The four mythical beasts are clearly visible on the four walls.

Inside the treasure cabinet, the scents of numerous materials were faintly visible.

Satisfied with the power of restraint, Zhu Mingyao rubbed his eyes. The effect was indeed very good, but it was a bit dazzling. He still needed to practice more.

The reward points he received this time were really generous. After upgrading two skills, Zhu Mingyao still had several hundred points left. However, he did not intend to keep them. Instead, he planned to ask his teacher to find a simple divination technique on Maoshan Mountain.

Although the fortune teller's performance in both operations was not entirely successful, there were reasons for it, and she actually provided great convenience, which shows the significance of this kind of skill.

He had long been aware of the importance of foresight, but reward points were hard to come by, and the resources consumed by a superior divination technique might not be much less than those consumed by his main cultivation method. Naturally, he prioritized the latter when weighing the two.

Now that we have "spare money," it's the perfect time to make up for our shortcomings.

but……

He touched his head, pondering with a slight headache.

How am I supposed to tell the old man that the staff he's been refining for twenty or thirty years was broken by me in just over six months...?

I'm going to get called a spendthrift again!

Chapter 166 The Artificial God Project

"Personal possessions are gone, as long as you're safe..."

"...I know what you're talking about. Divination techniques are easy to find. I remember that Senior Brother Shoucheng is good at it. I'll ask him to copy down an easy one and send it over along with his insights."

Zhang Shouzhong's voice came from the other end of the phone.

Contrary to Zhu Mingyao's prior worries, the old man did not fly into a rage at him for damaging the magical artifacts he had passed down. He only gave him a few words of gentle reprimand and then repeated the words of caution to him a hundred times over.

The old man even seemed to understand his current level of cultivation.

"...The sect leader said that, judging by the time, you should be able to refine the spiritual medicine he gave you and advance to the Innate Realm..."

Even though he had already received some information from the sect leader, Zhang Shouzhong couldn't help but sigh with a hint of regret.

How old was I when I first entered the Innate Realm? I must have been thirty, right?

Talented people emerge in every generation; the child has really grown up...

High above the beautiful green mountains thousands of miles away, Zhang Shouzhong sat in a quiet pavilion, gazing at the throngs of tourists and pilgrims on the distant mountain path. He pounded his thigh with emotion and continued giving instructions while looking down at his phone.

"The sect leader is currently in seclusion. If you want to inquire about vampires, you should ask Brother Lai. In short, as I said before, the world is in chaos these days, so safety must always be the top priority..."

After agreeing with the old man and getting his mind at ease, Zhu Mingyao hung up the phone.

He frowned and pondered for a moment, then dialed Bai Ziyuan's number and arranged a time to visit Lai Hengli at the Chamber of Commerce.

In the last incident, he was driven to the brink of death by that monstrous vampire enemy and almost confessed on the spot. Since returning, he has tried to find out about its origins, but to his surprise, he found that neither well-informed newcomers like Bai Ziyuan nor experienced seniors like Zhang Shouzhong knew anything about it.

Logically speaking, such a powerful expert should not be unknown, which made him suspect that the other party was one of the legendary high-ranking vampires who had been asleep for hundreds of years.

But Zhu Mingyao instinctively felt that something was off. Although the other party was strong, his movements in the fight were a bit rough. He basically relied on brute force to overpower others. In terms of skill, he was only about the same as Zhu Mingyao. How could he be a seasoned veteran who had lived for hundreds of years?

Just yesterday, the Chamber of Commerce informed him that the authorities had provided corresponding compensation for the personal supplies he had consumed during the rescue operation. In addition, since he is also a certified superhuman advisor, he would receive some additional rewards.

Take this opportunity to go and pick it up, and while you're at it, go and find out more information.

……

……

In the simple and elegant office, there is a plain lacquered wooden round table in the center, with several cushioned boxwood armchairs on the left and right.

A large black leather briefcase was gently lifted and placed on the table.

A hand reached out, erased the hidden rune markings, adjusted the combination lock, and lifted the lid of the box, revealing rows of bottles and jars embedded in grooves.

"Hmph, those bureaucrats in the Special Investigation Bureau are really petty and unwilling to suffer any loss."

With a look of disdain, Lai Hengli picked out a small yellow jade pot about the size of a fist and touched the spiderweb-like cracks on it.

"This Kunyuan Pill is a rare external medicine that can nourish vital energy and strengthen muscles, bones and internal organs. But just by looking at it, you can tell that it is an old product from at least three or four hundred years ago. It has also broken the seal and lost most of its medicinal power. Its current value is probably not even as high as a medicine bottle outside. Yet you dare to use it to pay off a debt."

Zhu Mingyao took out a glass jar of pale green ointment, uncorked the oak stopper engraved with druidic runes in the shape of grass leaves, and smelled the cool, spicy, and pungent aroma.

"They must have been very distressed when they asked for a drop of Soma Divine Wine last time, so they're just throwing together a bunch of random stuff to make do now."

He put down the ointment, then picked up the two vials of shimmering holy water and compared them, saying indifferently.

"If the quality isn't good enough, make up for it with quantity. They reimbursed quite a lot of consumables, which are worth much more than the few bottles of pills I contributed on the spot by the lake."

With the fortune teller as an inside man, getting fake invoices for reimbursement is so satisfying!

Lai Hengli weighed the jade pot in his hand and scoffed disdainfully:

"This little thing is nothing. The demons and monsters they raised suddenly went out of control and almost attacked the human settlement in broad daylight. If we didn't have an important cooperation plan at the moment, I would have squeezed them out of a lot of money."

"Huh?" Zhu Mingyao's ears suddenly perked up. "You mean, that perverted vampire is actually a member of the Federation government?"

"The inside story of this matter is extremely secretive, involving a very disgraceful top-secret plan of the Federation a long time ago. Over the decades, those who knew about it either died of old age or kept silent for life."

Aside from a few of us old guys in charge, nobody in the chamber of commerce knows about this, not even your master. Since you've stumbled upon it, I'll take this opportunity to tell you.”

Lai Hengli dipped his index finger into the teacup, flicked it slightly, and a few crystal-clear water droplets floated in the air. Then, the light suddenly shifted, spread out, and transformed into a water mirror, revealing two figures.

Both figures were young men in their early twenties. One of them was tall and muscular, with wavy black hair, brown eyes, a high nose with distinct features, a resolute expression, and skin that was slightly darker than that of ordinary white people, a healthy light bronze color, seemingly of Southern European descent from the Mediterranean region.

The other one, with black hair and black eyes, medium build, fair skin, and a handsome face that was almost bewitching, had a gentle smile on his face, but his eyes revealed a hint of cold arrogance, as if all living beings in the world were ants except for himself!

Zhu Mingyao had never seen the former, but the latter was the image of that mysterious vampire. Lai Henry's technique was exquisite, and he even perfectly imitated the other party's cold and hypocritical temperament.

"To tell their origins, we have to go back half a century..."

At that time, World War II had just ended and the Third Reich had collapsed. As we all know, their leader was obsessed with mysterious powers throughout his life. After taking power, he not only established a large-scale special department, but also recruited a group of extraordinary people.

Back then, the empire was at the height of its military power, and almost all of Europe was under its control, even the Catholic Church had to avoid its advance.

With the support of a powerful nation, they scoured far and wide for rare treasures to study in secret, and in the process, they actually produced several remarkable results.

But when the country was defeated and its people perished, and the Allied forces stormed Berlin, most of these gains were seized by the Federation and the Red Alliance…

Lai Hengli picked up his teacup and began to speak.

"In dividing the spoils of war, the Federation plundered a considerable amount of experimental data. Other than that, there was one extremely important and also extremely arrogant plan, called..."

—Man-made gods!

I found a great book, "My Undead Is Not Right," which is also in the fantasy genre. You should check it out if you're looking for something to read.

Chapter 167 Steel and Night

Henry Lai took a sip of tea to moisten his throat before recounting the secrets of that year.

"At that time, among the world's major powers, the Federation had the shortest history of establishment and the weakest foundation in the field of the extraordinary. After obtaining this batch of data and several related sacred objects, the upper echelons were greatly encouraged and treated it as a treasure. They immediately mobilized their resources to begin the experiment!"

"Those two are the results of the experiment, right? But it doesn't look like it was completely successful, does it?"

Zhu Mingyao asked, guessing. It was obvious that if the enemy's strength had already reached the divine realm, he would have been beaten into a pancake on the spot, and there would be no chance of escape.

"Indeed, in any power system, the ability to create life is at an extremely high level. This is why the ability to manipulate creation is ranked first among the Thirty-Six Methods of Xuanmen Tiangang."

It is conceivable that creating an ordinary individual is already extremely difficult, let alone creating a god!

Even though the federal government spent over a decade, pouring countless resources and effort into the project, and undertaking many shocking and morally reprehensible acts, the experiment still failed more than halfway. They failed to create a true human god, but only obtained two beings with partial divine characteristics.

--baby."

Henry Lai pointed to the two human figures in the water mirror.

"【Iron】Antonio!"

[Night] Alex!

The former involves selecting suitable individuals from among tens of thousands of immigrants from Southern Europe. It is said that their hidden bloodline can be traced back to the ancient Greek pantheon of the Holy Mountain gods, the lineage of Hercules. The Federation infuses them with the divine blood remaining in a sacred artifact from an ancient Greek temple, hoping to bring that famous mythological hero back to life.

The latter, on the other hand, involves collecting the blood of hundreds of vampires from over a dozen clans, piecing it together, extracting the essence using the Third Reich's black magic equipment, and then adding it to create an embryo through artificial insemination.

During his growth, the experimenters continuously fed him the blood of powerful creatures, attempting to use this method to reverse-engineer and combine them to recreate the god-like power of the previous three generations of vampires.

These two are powerful, hidden cards of the federal government, rarely used rashly, so virtually no one knows about them.

At this point, Henry Lai's expression became more serious.

"As you know, our Chamber of Commerce has many different lineages and a diverse range of schools of thought. Among them, several are skilled in invoking gods and divine intervention. When we were conducting experiments, the Federation exchanged some information about divine arts with us, and that's how I learned a little about the inside story."

“That Antonio is fine. He was an upright person since childhood. After activating his divine blood, he seems to have become more courageous and bold due to the influence of his bloodline. He has bravely saved people in several major supernatural crises that the Federation has encountered. As long as you don’t commit any crimes, you don’t have to worry about him attacking you.”

"As for this Alex, we need to be extra careful. He is an orphan, grew up in a laboratory environment, and was born from vampire secrets and black magic rituals. He has absorbed many vampire soul fragments, making him mentally unstable, cunning, and treacherous. He treats others like dirt, just like you see. He might go crazy at any time. If you see him, stay as far away as possible."

Zhu Mingyao said, feeling frustrated:

"So all my magical artifacts were just thrown away for nothing?"

“With me here, how could we let them get away with this?” Henry Lai sneered.

"My own vicious dog almost hurt someone, so there has to be an explanation, at least enough compensation."

"In addition..." He turned his head and smiled, looking him up and down.

"Brother Zhang was showing off to me, saying that your cultivation has improved by leaps and bounds recently, and you've advanced to the Innate Realm. Seeing this today, it's indeed true. It seems we've found a suitable candidate..."

Henry stroked his mustache and gave the instructions seriously:

"Stay in Los Angeles for now and don't wander around. There's something I need you to handle soon!"

Seeing that Zhu Mingyao seemed confused, he added a few more words: