I am a full-level celestial master, you let me enter the strange talk of rules?

Zhang Yangqing nodded slightly. When he first arrived, his purple eyes were also observing the village.

He noticed some unusual details: on the exterior walls of many houses, there were markings he had never seen before, consisting of twisted lines and strange symbols, which seemed to contain some kind of faint energy fluctuations;
Under some eaves or in the shadows of walls, there are some dried, strangely shaped plant bones or small creature skeletons hanging or placed, like some kind of sacrificial or protective items;
Further away, the edge of the village was still shrouded in a light, seemingly eternal mist, a stark contrast to the relatively clear view inside the village.

Zhang Yangqing immediately sensed that the "ingredients" here were quite complex.

Because there's something called atmosphere. For example, a group of top students are chatting, and one of them keeps mumbling and can't get a word in edgewise, and his demeanor seems different from the other top students.

Even if he tries to imitate, if you can still tell something is wrong, then he is most likely a mediocre student who has infiltrated the circle of academic elites.

This is it; although the village's style is gloomy in this mist, there's something different about it.

It's as if some of the houses are inhabited by people who aren't the original inhabitants of this Immortal Mountain.

These guys were deliberately imitating, but Li Chen still noticed something.

For example, special symbols near some houses are probably the work done by outsiders who have infiltrated the area. They could be considered a defensive barrier or informants.

These are things that do not exist in this world of the Undying Mountain, and they are also the clues to the Chosen One.

Zhang Yangqing remembered that when he came here, there were two outsiders who had committed suicide together in the mist, as well as many creatures that had been corrupted into strange pseudo-humans, and perhaps those creatures were also outsiders.

Doesn't that mean that outsiders passed through this place before, and their destination was also this place?

If they can't go back, or if they have some reason to want to stay, finding a place to live becomes a necessary choice.

The wilderness of the Undying Mountain is very dangerous; no one knows what powerful and strange creatures roam there.

Infiltrating the village was the best option.

Based on this logic, Zhang Yangqing deduced that among these hundred or so households, there must be outsiders.

Following this line of thought, we need to consider two rules.

[Rule 8: There are many trapped outsiders in Undying Mountain who want to escape; they are in danger.]

[Rule 9: The Undying Mountain is home to many native inhabitants who enjoy trading with outsiders but will never give them what they want.]

Based on the available intelligence, Zhang Yangqing analyzed that outsiders must meet certain conditions to leave, perhaps by 'killing' other outsiders. Here, we can refer to the rules of the area where the mountain patrol envoy is located.

As long as the rules remain the same, then for these outsiders trapped in the Undying Mountain, the prey will be new outsiders.

Of course, Zhang Yangqing was not certain about this; it was just his bold guess.

But only he could guess this place at a glance.

We'll probably only know the specifics after we get in touch with them.

Based on Rule 9, it can be inferred that the natives of the Undying Mountain are relatively friendly to 'outsiders', but Zhang Yangqing, like the other Chosen Ones, will not approach the natives as an outsider.

Because once they discover you're an outsider, they'll trigger other rules, so don't expect to get any clues from them.

I never imagined that the chosen ones here would be played by the natives for a long time.

Just like the corpses of the indigenous people at the very beginning of the dock. Just as Zhang Yangqing was about to continue thinking, the chairman's voice rang out: "What are you standing there for? Let's go."

Zhang Yangqing then said, "Okay."

Following their previously agreed-upon "main storyline," the two decided to first follow the boy with the single white eye home.

This person definitely has a secret, and there are certain clues about them.

After agreeing on a time and place to meet again with the other children at the village entrance, the three ran off in different directions.

The boy with the single white eye led Zhang Yangqing and the chairman through several quiet alleys to a relatively secluded house on the edge of the village.

This house looks more dilapidated than the others; some of the stones on the exterior walls have weathered, and the wooden door also looks very old.

But the area in front of the door was kept very clean, and there were even a few plants with inconspicuous little white flowers growing in discarded clay pots on the windowsill.

Others might not recognize their value, but Zhang Yangqing and the chairman knew that these unassuming little white flowers, though they couldn't identify what they were, were definitely rare treasures, something that simply didn't exist in their plane of existence.

So naturally, many 'side quests' came to mind for Zhang Yangqing.

Many households in this village have these items. These items must have special effects. To obtain them, you need to 'trade' or 'complete a task'.

This is something that the Chosen One would naturally think of.

The things in the village are definitely useful, but whether they can be used is another matter.

After all, we'll be entering the Ship of Life and Death, searching for the Tree of Immortality, and going to the Lake of Oblivion. How can we manage without preparation?

Given Zhang Yangqing's steady personality, even if he doesn't need it, it's always good to have it on him.

"Mom! I'm back!" The boy with one white eye pushed open the half-closed wooden door and shouted excitedly.

The room was dimly lit and simply furnished, but it was also very tidy.

A woman dressed in a faded coarse cloth dress was sitting on a low wooden stool with her back to the door, seemingly busy at the stove. Hearing the sound, she slowly turned around.

She looked young, but her face was pale, and she had a weak feeling from a long illness. At that moment, she was covering her mouth with a handkerchief and letting out a few suppressed coughs.

However, unlike the boy with the peculiar single white eye, the woman's eyes were perfectly normal, a warm, dark brown, though her gaze carried a lingering weariness and worry.

Seeing her son return, her eyes lit up with joy. She quickly stood up, ignoring her cough, and rushed forward to hug the boy with one eye, her voice choked with emotion: "You're finally back! I was so worried about you!"

Although she appeared frail, Zhang Yangqing and the chairman could clearly sense that the energy fluctuations emanating from this woman were not weak; in fact, they could be described as quite solid.

This confirmed their suspicions: the native inhabitants of this world have a very high minimum level of strength; even seemingly ordinary women and children may possess considerable power.

However, she seemed to have some hidden ailment or had overexerted herself, which is why she appeared so weak.

The boy with the single white eye snuggled against his mother, then excitedly pointed to Zhang Yangqing and the chairman behind him, saying, "Mom, these two uncles saved me and even led me back through the patrol envoy's territory! They're amazing!" (End of Chapter)