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

"How can he be human?!"

Overwhelmed with surprise, Shen Xingzhu blurted out her name.

When her blade touched his physical form earlier, she thought she had killed a monster of the same species as Pei Jinyu.

After all, the bizarre forms she had seen in ghost stories were all different—

There are only severed finger remains, puppets, phantoms like ghosts, and NPCs like Pei Jinyu who have been appointed as core figures.

So Shen Xingzhuo didn't think much of it at the time.

Can!!!

The ghost story actually tricked her in this matter.

Unlike before, when they used strange occurrences to eliminate the chosen one who was impersonating Liu Jin.

There is a world of difference between having a well-prepared plan and suddenly facing the corpse of a chosen one.

Shen Xingzhuo frowned, beginning to doubt the very premise of the ghost story.

She originally thought that the essence of ghost stories was a strange and eerie realm.

The reason why different storylines can be generated, besides the control of the demon behind the scenes, is fundamentally due to the resentment carried in the eerie energy that forms the eerie realm.

When countless obsessions intertwine and become unclear, that is when the murderous intent in the ghost story is at its strongest.

……

The previously appearing chosen ones can be understood as ghost stories that bring new people into the realm of the supernatural, just like her, but in different roles.

It's like the Colosseum in ancient Rome.

Whether it's her or the chosen one in the same ghost story, they are both "scenery" to be seen in the arena.

Although cruel, it was the reality she had always accepted.

Until now, the appearance of this chosen one, who plays the role of the lamplighter, has shattered her preconceived notions.

If even the chosen ones can become bizarre creatures from ghost stories...

Shen Xingzhuo suddenly shivered.

But as she thought about it, she realized that the person in front of her had actually been dead for more than a day.

He died in a ghost story...

The body itself had no wounds.

The three souls and seven spirits have departed, leaving only a manipulated shell...

This distinction is important.

If the Chosen One becomes a ghost after death, it means there is no essential difference between the Chosen One and the ghost—so whether she herself is human or ghost is unclear.

But if it's just a corpse being used as a prop... then she's still alive; it's just that the ghost story is desecrating the dead.

The horror of the former lies in the collapse of identity.

The latter is terrifying because it has no bottom line when it comes to ghost stories.

She prefers the latter.

Ghost tales won't just be a lantern bearer.

It will dig out all the chosen ones who died in the ghost stories and turn them into its pawns.

She had seen clearance records from other countries in Tianxia Kingdom's database, and none of those records ever contained a case of "the dead Chosen One turning into a monster".

Therefore, this is just a tentative exploration of the ghost story.

A test of her psychological defenses.

Shen Xingzhuo took a deep breath and sheathed the long sword.

"Let's go."

Pei Jinyu was taken aback: "Where to?"

"Hall of ancestral hall on the back mountain".

"But that person..."

"He's not human."

Shen Xingzhuo's tone was very calm.

"He's not anymore. He's a prop in ghost stories. Like the jars Liu Jin smashed."

Pei Jinyu's face paled for a moment.

Shen Xingzhuo didn't say anything more, and strode forward.

She didn't look at the severed hand again.

But she knew that from now on, she would remember this butterfly mark.

Remember this dead man who was desecrated by ghost stories.

Then—get out alive.

Tell everyone the truth about the ghost stories for him.