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

The sky suddenly went dark.

The chat was silent for a moment, then exploded with comments.

What's going on here?!

[Was Sister Shen really dragged into this?]

To be honest, Sister Shen was way too careless this time. Didn't she say last time that we shouldn't believe anything supernatural? How come she...?

Are these two the same thing? Use your brain, will you?

[The person stopping Sister Shen is Pei Xi! In the supernatural tales, if Sister Shen doesn't listen to Pei Xi, it will trigger a murderous aura!!!]

So what's going on now? What I'm more worried about is, is Sister Shen still alive?

Immediately, all sorts of guesses appeared in the comments section.

Some say Shen Xingzhuo is dead, while others say it's just a supernatural tale trying to create mystery.

As the dispute raged on, a deathly pale face suddenly appeared on the screen, catching everyone off guard.

Then, the view from the sky slowly zoomed out.

Countless rusted iron chains intertwined at the bottom of the well, forming a huge cage.

A woman dressed in a tattered wedding gown was suspended by iron chains in the center of a cage, her limbs being dragged and pulled in a posture that defied human anatomy.

The skin and flesh at the junction had broken apart, held together by only a thin layer of skin.

A cold wind arose out of nowhere, stirring the tattered, torn red silk covering her body.

The gaping wound in her abdomen was exposed to countless eyes.

The edges of the wound were fixed in place by thick iron nails, and wisps of black energy swirled around it before finally wrapping tightly around the chains.

Their shapes gradually emerged.

What's truly chilling is that these black wisps are actually tiny infant spirits.

They were only the size of a palm, and their skin was the same bluish-purple as Pei Xi's.

Rough iron nails pierced their tiny palms, ankles, and lumbar vertebrae, fixing them like specimens to the crisscrossing chains.

Even their eye sockets were reduced to two dark holes.

The creaking sounds echoed continuously in the sky.

The little dolls all turned their heads toward the "bride" in the center of the cage.

I got goosebumps all over...

Is this even something a human being would do? They're just children!!!

What did that woman do wrong? Why can't she find peace even in death?

What on earth is going on here? Torture, imprisonment, and even sacrifice?! I'm about to swear again!

Those who watched the sky were not only horrified, but also filled with deep anger.

Just then, someone finally realized something.

Where is Shen Xingzhuo?

Where did their chosen one go?

Logically speaking, the perspective of the Sky Curtain is that of observing the Chosen Ones in the third person.

Even if someone deliberately tries to scare people by suddenly showing their face, it wouldn't last this long as it has now.

Moreover, there was not a single Chosen One in the picture.

Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, a sudden change occurred: the ethereal voice of an infant echoed through the ghost stories.

"Yingtai is not a woman, so why does she have earring marks on her ears?"

"The mark on the earring has a reason, Brother Liang, why are you so suspicious? There are many temple fairs in the village to thank the gods, and I dress up as Guanyin every year. Brother Liang, you should concentrate on your writing, don't think about your future and your love life..."

The lyrics, plaintive and sorrowful, echoed between the chains.

Until the last sentence fell like a verdict:

"From that day forward... I dared not look at Guanyin."

A bright red light shone from the bottom of the well, and when the red light dissipated, the sound disappeared.

Shen Xingzhuo took the place of the bride, wearing the bright red wedding dress and a red veil covering her head.

Her perspective is different from those who view the sky.

She fell to the bottom of the well and remained there for a full 10 minutes before landing.

Moreover, she was captured as soon as she landed and forced to wear this wedding dress.

When those people saw that she was holding a child in her arms, they suddenly went berserk and locked her and Pei Xi up there.

Is this the start of the "Wedding in My Dreams" storyline?

She looked around and felt a chill in the air; the ghostly aura was almost as strong as that around the Guanyin statue in the ancestral hall.

She had also heard the baby's conversation; it was a classic scene from "The Butterfly Lovers."

But she was certain that the ghost stories she recited had absolutely nothing to do with the young man's infatuation...

Shen Xingzhuo suddenly remembered a sentence in the preface, which said that she had angered the evil spirit because the young Mu Ai had run away from a family worship ceremony.

After a dream one night, she found herself pregnant with nine children.

But this only barely matches what she just experienced.

What is the deeper meaning behind this?

The wedding dress is a typical element of weddings, but being bound by chains makes it seem somewhat related to ghost marriages.

Shen Xingzhu lowered his eyes in deep thought and quickly dismissed the guess.

Because such immoral rituals as ghost marriages require a lot of preparation, such as paper servants, mountains of gold and silver, etc., none of these are available here.

Shen Xingzhu subconsciously wanted to clench her palms, but then remembered that her hands were tightly bound by chains.

Only then did she feel a dull pain in her hands and feet.

Only those who were watching the sky knew that, besides suddenly appearing in the bride's position, Shen Xingzhuo's limbs, like the little girl's, were almost broken.

Help! I really can't watch this anymore.

[Sister Shen, don't move! Our hands and feet are still useful, waaaaaah!]

[Could Captain Guan still send some medicine to Sister Shen? What are we going to do if this continues?]

Guan Shanyue, who was monitoring the sky in real time, was also very worried.

When she almost immediately decided to use her second communication opportunity, she discovered that Shen Xingzhuo had already noticed her condition.

In the ghost story, Shen Xingzhuo directly cursed out loud.

"This is damning! It's trapping living souls at the bottom of a well for eternity!"

"To sever the cycle of reincarnation and bring calamity upon one's own blood relatives... this is utterly despicable!"

With each word he spoke, Shen Xingzhuo could feel a stinging pain emanating from the Baihui point on the top of his head, his limbs, joints, and even the acupoints on his lumbar spine.

She wasn't familiar with this thing, but she knew it was an evil object called the Soul-Locking Nail!

This extremely insidious and evil magical artifact is only effective against corpses and souls.

Shen Xingzhuo rubbed his fingers together, finally confirming that he was now just a soul.

Okay, okay, is this how you play it?

Suddenly, the sound of ghost stories rang out, and this time she even heard a hint of bewitching.

[A Chosen One has been detected trapped in the Crimson Phoenix Soul-Binding Array. This is a 'friendly' reminder.]

The chosen one and their destined one are bound by fate, and can use the secret technique of teleportation to escape.

Shen Xingzhuo was silent for a few seconds, then said in a calm voice, "I've already entered three ghost stories, don't you know anything about me?"

Ghost Story: ? What?

Its voice paused, then it continued reciting its prepared lines.

Her purpose in life is to pave the way for you; it's her destiny, and she'll be happy about it.

"Happy?" Shen Xingzhuo retorted, "Do you believe I can nail you here too, just to make you happy?"

[WARNING: Chosen Ones, please do not make threats without cause!]

Shen Xingzhu sneered, "See? So this is how sore losers are."

When it's its turn, it knows it's a threat.

"In this situation, I would never sacrifice another girl's freedom for my own peace."

Shen Xingzhuo refused completely, then turned her head with difficulty to look in Pei Xi's direction.

"Xi'er...please help your mother, okay?"

Pei Xi looked over, his expression completely different from when he was at the well.

At this moment, his eyes showed heartache, but even more so, they were filled with longing.

"Of course Xi'er can help Mother, but..."

He paused for a moment, his voice a mixture of naivety and greed.

"Mommy's eyes are so beautiful, Mommy, can I have them?"