Rules of the Strange: I Became a God in a Bizarre World Through Taoist Arts

Pei Jinyu gasped in surprise, a deep sense of horror etched in her eyes.

Her hands unconsciously scratched her lower back repeatedly, trying to relieve the tingling, ant-like itching along her spine.

"Oh?"

"Mother, have you sensed anything amiss?"

Shen Xingzhuo revealed a hint of doubt at just the right moment, and his hand movements stiffened slightly.

"The sample size is still insufficient..."

Shen Xingzhuo gritted his teeth and continued to extract Qi from Pei Jinyu's body.

Pei Jinyu trembled with pain as she breathed, her hands gripping Shen Xingzhuo's sleeve tightly.

"Um……"

"I feel, I feel, how I feel right now..."

Pei Jinyu's consciousness was somewhat scattered, and her eyes could not focus.

She looked at Shen Xingzhuo with empty eyes...

"Just like when I was at the bottom of the well, I saw... I saw Liu Jin taking advantage of my destiny to commit evil deeds in the Pei family!"

Pei Jinyu shook her head vigorously.

"We can't let him succeed again! Absolutely not!"

Shen Xingzhuo's expression froze for a moment, then she responded softly.

To her surprise, Pei Jinyu's condition did not improve after she stopped the "absorbing Qi" technique.

Just as she finished saying that last sentence, "Absolutely not," the hand that was gripping Shen Xingzhuo's clothes fell limply to her side.

"mother!"

Shen Xingzhuo called out urgently.

"How could this happen..."

She held Pei Jinyu tightly in her arms, but felt Pei Jinyu's body temperature gradually cooling down.

Shen Xingzhuo's mind went completely blank for once.

She pursed her chapped lips, and her calm voice rang out again in the ancestral hall—

"May your mind and eyes be clear, and may you see the true form! So be it!"

A soft golden light simultaneously shone in Shen Xingzhuo's eyes and heart.

When the mind's eye is opened, one sees only illusion.

Just then, a cool breeze blew into the ancestral hall.

The mess and ashes on the ground swirled and gradually formed a vortex.

A black line, identical to the one on Liu Jin's body, rose from the vortex.

The black lines were densely tangled into a tight knot.

But in Shen Xingzhuo's eyes, at the center of this dark line was a dark purple gem.

She almost instantly concluded that the gemstone was the destiny of Pei Jinyu, which Liu Jin had stolen with the Red Phoenix Soul-Binding Array.

"If I take it out, will my mother be saved?" Shen Xingzhu murmured.

Her gaze was fixed on the black line.

Suddenly, Madam Pei stepped forward and reached inside to grab the contents.

But as soon as her hand approached, it was burned by the eerie energy emanating from the black line.

The entire arm turned pitch black at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"The mighty gods of the eight directions make me naturally..."

"puff--"

Shen Xingzhuo was halfway through reciting the purification incantation when a mouthful of blood gushed from her mouth.

The crimson blood fell to the ground, appearing extremely glaring in the darkness.

……

Aside from the strange tales, those watching the sky were now in a panic.

This was the first time they had seen Shen Xingzhuo fail in Xuanmen magic.

However, because Guan Shanyue had forcefully driven away those who were pessimistic, the comments section was now full of concern for Shen Xingzhuo.

Guan Shanyue, who had been keeping a close eye on the Sky Curtain and the Information Warehouse, also noticed this.

Her thoughts quickly returned to her earlier conversation with Shen Xingzhuo about "spiritual energy".

Guan Shanyue's expression grew increasingly serious. He immediately took two steps back, sealed off the information warehouse, and summoned Assistant Xu.

"Notify all city defense special operations teams that all reconstruction work on the ruins is to cease immediately!"