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

Some of the chosen ones fared even worse, forced to risk hiding in old, rotten burlap sacks used to wrap corpses, filled with putrid liquids and unknown substances, alongside real, potentially dangerous pieces of flesh.

There's also the constant worry that the movers might discover something amiss due to the bumps or inspections, or that the bags themselves might have some kind of fatal curse.

They had to perfectly impersonate inanimate objects, without letting out the slightest breath, without making the slightest movement, and even suppressing their heartbeat and blood flow to the bare minimum.

The entire process is fraught with uncertainty and extreme psychological pressure. The slightest mistake could lead to utter ruin. For most of the chosen ones, this journey is a test.

On Zhang Yangqing's side, the box was not as cramped and stuffy as he had imagined.

It's normal that he had already considered comfort issues.

The box where Zhang Yangqing was hiding was the largest, and its interior had even undergone simple renovations.

The room was lined with soft, dry animal hides, and in the corner were a few spirit fruits, a specialty of the Hidden Clan, that emitted a refreshing aroma and could invigorate the mind, as well as a small bag of dried meat and water that could be stored for a long time.

There was enough space for him to sit cross-legged and even move his hands and feet slightly.

The inner walls of the box were engraved with simple soundproofing and breath-concealing runes to ensure that the movement and aura inside would not leak out.

This isn't a risky smuggling trip; it's more like getting into a comfortable and stable private sedan!

Although the chairman and the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes had smaller boxes, they were padded with soft cushions, and the space was enough for them to maintain a relatively comfortable posture for a long time. The inner walls were also treated with soundproofing and breath-containment.

As instructed by the foreman, the box containing Zhang Yangqing and his group was carefully lifted by the laborers.

These experienced laborers, who regularly moved cargo from dead ships, were exceptionally steady and cautious when carrying it, with even steps and almost no major jolts.

Inside the box, Zhang Yangqing could even leisurely pick up a spiritual fruit, slowly nibble on it, and feel the gentle spiritual energy it contained nourishing his body.

All that could be heard was the heavy, rhythmic footsteps of the laborers and the faint scraping sound of the boxes themselves.

This is the huge advantage brought about by identity, strength, and advance planning.

The laborers carefully carried the crates into the cabin of the "dead ship" that exuded an ominous aura and whose hull was marked with dark red mottled marks. Following instructions, they piled the crates together with other equally eerie cargo and then silently withdrew.

The cabin door slowly closed, and the light dimmed.

The ship seemed to begin to rock slightly, indicating that it was about to set sail.

Feeling the stability beneath him and hearing the faint sounds of flowing water and the muffled thuds of the ship cutting through the waves outside the cabin, Zhang Yangqing knew that the first phase of the plan—boarding the ship—had been successfully completed.

He slowly closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing, while cautiously using a portion of his senses to perceive the environment and fluctuations in the rules inside the dead ship.

Zhang Yangqing could clearly sense that the ship was sailing in a special body of water that was viscous, cold, and filled with deathly silence and resentment.

The normal sound of flowing water outside becomes dull and distorted here, as if countless invisible hands are dragging the bottom of the boat.

Clearly, countless people have died in these rivers.
However, the cabin was not empty.

Shortly after the voyage began, Zhang Yangqing keenly sensed a cold, stiff, lifeless fluctuation, yet containing some strange power of rules, slowly "flowing" into the cargo hold where they were.

That wasn't footsteps; it sounded more like a slippery wriggling motion or a fleeting, suspended movement.

Immediately afterward, Zhang Yangqing felt something gently touch and caress the outside of the box he was in. Like Zhang Yangqing, other veteran Chosen Ones instantly felt an unparalleled sense of oppression—yes, it was the Hidden Mystery!
That's a special being in the world of ghost stories, the most perfect enforcer of the rules!
Any attempt to break the rules may result in their ruthless elimination.

It all comes down to how well the chosen ones can disguise themselves; once something seems amiss, they're basically out of the picture.

Fortunately, the death energy simulated by the Yinming Pearl powder was extremely pure and ancient, far surpassing that of ordinary corpses.

The cold probe lingered outside the box for about a dozen breaths. Seemingly finding nothing amiss, the cold vibration slowly moved away and continued its inspection of the next box.

Zhang Yangqing breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his vigilance did not wane.

He knew that such inspections would likely occur more than once, and that they had to maintain a perfect state of death at all times throughout the voyage, without the slightest slackening.

Time passed slowly in the darkness.

The dead ship seemed to have sailed into a more peculiar area.

The sound of flowing water outside became increasingly eerie, no longer simply dull, but mixed with a kind of noise that sounded like countless people suppressing their sobs, or like metal scraping against rocks.

Even with the soundproofing of the box, one could still faintly feel that unsettling, soul-disturbing fluctuation seeping in.

The swaying of the boat began to become irregular, sometimes gently rocking and sometimes violently swaying, as if it were passing through a dangerous body of water with turbulent currents and numerous reefs.

According to Zhang Yangqing's judgment, the boat should be going against the current, which fits the characteristics of a river flowing upstream.

He also knew that his final destination was not to reach the end of the river and get off the ship normally, but to wait until the ship entered the upstream river, open the box, and try to avoid the hidden eeriness outside and jump out.

Zhang Yangqing slightly opened the box, and a pair of eyes appeared on the dead ship to observe.

The outside was terrifyingly gloomy, and an ominous aura filled the cabin. It wasn't a strange aura, but an ominous one. A strange aura is pollution, while an ominous aura comes from the purest malice and resentment, as if it wanted to drag all living beings into an abyss of eternal suffering.

This made Zhang Yangqing somewhat puzzled. In such a harsh environment, the strange creatures that could live here must be something not to be trifled with.

Just like the hidden monsters that appear from time to time on the ship, they are absolutely difficult to kill.

After checking that there was no one nearby, he rummaged through the box and took it out.

As soon as he came out, Zhang Yangqing could see a blood-red color outside the cabin. It wasn't the sky that was red, but the red of the water reflecting the sky.

Following the pre-prepared markings, as he passed the box where the chairman and the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes were hiding, he lightly tapped his fingers a few times on a specific spot on the box wall, conveying the coded message "come out and meet us."

Seeing the box containing the chairman slowly open, Zhang Yangqing jokingly said, "Come out and see the scenery."

The chairman was puzzled, but when he came out, he found that the scenery was so strange that he would have been terrified if he hadn't been highly skilled in cultivation.

The beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes even felt a churning in her stomach, so fearful and nauseous that she wanted to vomit.

It's not that the River of Reversal is particularly frightening, but its ominous aura has the most powerful negative effect on humans, causing them to instinctively feel uncomfortable.

Just as the three were 'admiring the scenery', a solid footstep sounded around them.

(End of this chapter)