I, the number one master of metaphysics, have achieved legendary status in the entertainment industr

The reporter wanted to ask more questions, but Lu Fan had already changed the subject and started to introduce the studio's first project plan.

The open day took place in a subtle atmosphere.

There was neither the awkward silence I had anticipated, nor any dramatic conflict. It was just like a typical studio opening event, with all the usual procedures followed and most of the expected attendees present.

But everyone could feel an invisible tension in the air.

It was like the calm before a storm.

……

At 8:30 p.m., the open day was drawing to a close.

Most of the media and guests had already left, leaving only a few staff members doing the final cleanup.

After seeing off the last guest, Lu Fan turned and returned to the exhibition hall.

Boss Han hadn't left yet; he was standing in front of the jade pendant display case, staring intently at the jade.

"Old Han." Lu Fan walked over.

Boss Han turned to look at him, his gaze sharp: "Kid, tell me the truth—is there a chance something will happen tonight?"

Lu Fan smiled and said, "What's meant to happen will happen. Don't worry, Mr. Han, it won't affect your building."

"I'm not worried about my building," Boss Han waved his hand and lowered his voice. "I know Zhou Li. Since she's determined to mess with you, she won't just resort to online flame wars. She definitely has something else up her sleeve tonight."

"I know," Lu Fan nodded, "That's why I asked you to come and oversee things."

Boss Han stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned, revealing a set of teeth stained yellow by smoking: "Fine, you've got guts. I, Old Han, will see how you break this trap."

The voice just fell.

Without warning, all the lights in the exhibition hall went out.

The entire twelfth floor was plunged into darkness.

The city lights outside the window shone in, barely outlining the shapes of objects.

"What's going on?" a staff member exclaimed.

"Power outage?" another voice said. "Let me check the circuit breaker..."

"No need to look." Lu Fan's voice rang out in the darkness, unusually calm. "It's not a power outage."

Almost as soon as he finished speaking.

In the center of the exhibition hall, the glass display case holding the jade pendant suddenly made a slight "click" sound.

Immediately afterwards, a faint, dark red light slowly seeped out from the crack in the jade pendant.

The light was faint, but it appeared exceptionally dazzling in the absolute darkness.

Like an ominous eye slowly opening.

Boss Han gasped, "This is...!"

Lu Fan stood in the darkness, looking at the red light, a cold smile curving his lips.

"The formation has been activated."

"Their last resort has arrived."

The red light in the darkness grew stronger.

The jade pendant seemed to come alive; the dark red at the crack pulsed like a vein, casting an eerie glow on the entire glass display case.

The temperature inside the exhibition hall plummeted; despite it being early summer, it felt like falling into an ice cave.

"What... what is this?" A young staff member asked, his voice trembling, and he instinctively took a step back.

Even the seasoned and knowledgeable Boss Han's expression changed. He stared at the red light and whispered to Lu Fan, "Kid, this thing...something's not right."

"Something's not right." Lu Fan stood still, his gaze fixed on the red light. "This is the activation of the 'Blood Guiding Array.' They tampered with my jade pendant, taking advantage of the crowd tonight to try and trigger a backlash from my blood essence, making me look bad on the spot, or even... causing me to get into trouble."

"Can it be broken?" Boss Han asked bluntly.

"Yes," Lu Fan said, taking out a palm-sized black cloth bag from the inside pocket of his suit. The bag looked unremarkable, like it was made of coarse linen, with intricate cloud and thunder patterns embroidered on its surface in dark gold thread.

He bit the tip of his right index finger, drawing out a drop of bright red blood, and then gently smeared the blood onto the rune in the center of the cloth bag.

"Buzz—"

A very low tremor came from the bag, as if something was awakening inside.

Almost simultaneously, the red light on the jade pendant suddenly surged, like a venomous snake that had been stimulated, becoming dazzling!

"Watch out!" Boss Han instinctively tried to pull Lu Fan back.

Lu Fan stepped forward, made a strange hand seal with his left hand, raised the cloth bag above his head with his right hand, and quickly recited a series of obscure syllables.

The sound was not loud, but it had a peculiar rhythm, each syllable seemingly heavy, striking the dark air.

As he chanted, the golden cloud and thunder pattern on the face of the bag began to flow slowly, like a living golden stream, meandering across the coarse linen. Meanwhile, the bloodstain of Lu Fan in the center of the bag spread rapidly like an ink droplet in water, staining the entire bag with a dark red glow.

"When the heavens are clear and the earth is at peace, yin and yang naturally become clear. Evil spirits, drawing blood, will return to their original form—break!"

With a final low shout, Lu Fan hurled the cloth bag toward the jade pendant with his right hand!

The bag didn't fly out; instead, it hovered three inches in front of his palm, spinning around.

As it spun, the golden patterns on the bag's face shone brightly, and the flowing runes detached from the bag, transforming into tiny golden chains that flew into the display case!

The golden chain struck the glass display case without making a sound, but like water seeping into sand, it penetrated the glass without any hindrance, heading straight for the jade pendant inside that shimmered with red light!

"bite--"

A crisp, clear sound, like the striking of a jade chime, echoed through the darkness.

The red light on the jade pendant flickered violently a few times, like a balloon punctured by a needle, and then—suddenly went out!

The entire exhibition hall was plunged back into complete darkness, with only the faint light of the city outside the window filtering in.

But the jade pendant changed.

The once warm and lustrous bluish-white jade now has dense, spiderweb-like dark red lines appearing on its surface! These lines spread outwards from the original crack, resembling porcelain about to shatter.

Even more bizarrely, a dark red liquid was slowly flowing within the fine lines, emitting a faint fishy smell.

"This is..." Boss Han squinted his eyes.

"The Blood-Attracting Array has been broken." Lu Fan put away the cloth bag, his voice devoid of emotion. "They wanted to use my blood essence to activate the array, but they didn't expect that I had sealed a 'Reverse Blood Curse' in the jade pendant beforehand. Now the array is backfiring, and these blood patterns will connect with the energy they used when setting up the array and flow back."

He paused, then added, "If the person who sets up the formation isn't skilled enough, or if the formation's core isn't stable enough, the backlash... will be enough to give them a hard time."

As if to prove his words.

The dark red blood-red patterns on the jade pendant suddenly lit up for a moment, then quickly dimmed and finally disappeared completely. The jade pendant returned to its original appearance, and even the initial fine crack seemed to have faded somewhat.

The jade itself appears more lustrous and translucent than before, with a subtle inner radiance.

"Is that... all?" a staff member asked uncertainly.