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

Zhang Yangqing listened quietly, the mountain breeze ruffling the hair on his forehead.

He looked at the woman before him. She had experienced betrayal, exploitation, and hatred, but she had also felt small but real warmth. In the end, after taking revenge, she chose this path for herself.

It's not exactly lofty or great; it's even a bit pragmatic with a touch of helplessness, but it's the path she's forged step by step.

He nodded, his voice steady and clear: "The Tao follows nature, and all streams flow to their source. If you can see your own heart clearly and follow the path you have chosen, that is your Tao. If you seek benevolence and attain it, your heart will be at peace, and you will have no regrets."

These words carried a hint of Taoist detachment and certainty, as if they were commenting, yet also as if they were agreeing.

Upon hearing this, the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes was slightly taken aback, and then a ripple appeared in her eyes. She gently repeated what Zhang Yangqing had said, a subtle light flashing in her eyes.

At that moment, she seemed to have realized something.

Her aura paused slightly, and then an indescribable sense of clarity emanated from her body.

It is not a powerful energy fluctuation, but a kind of relaxation and clarity at the level of mind and spirit.

Her once alluring and shrewd peach blossom eyes were now slightly unfocused, as if her gaze had pierced through the blood-red mist before her and seen something more essential.

She stood quietly in place, her breathing becoming long and even, and she entered a wonderful state of meditation, seemingly temporarily shutting off her perception of the outside world.

This made Zhang Yangqing cover his forehead, thinking to himself: As expected, those who can make it to this place are all the chosen ones of the land. Their comprehension is amazing. They can even have a sudden enlightenment.
Of course, the prerequisite for enlightenment is that the person has absolute admiration and trust in Zhang Yangqing.

If Zhang Yangqing were someone with very low cultivation, the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes wouldn't believe him, and no matter what she said, she wouldn't have an epiphany.

To put it bluntly, if Zhang Yangqing were to fart, many powerful individuals would probably try to understand what kind of secret it is.

The sudden change was noticed even by the chairman, who had been distracted by the movements behind him.

He turned around abruptly, looking at the faint yet strange aura emanating from the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes, a look of surprise and uncertainty on his face.

He took two steps closer, examined her carefully, then looked at Zhang Yangqing, who had a calm expression, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong with her?"

He had witnessed the state of enlightenment experienced by cultivators and knew that the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes was almost completely unguarded against the outside world at this moment.

Zhang Yangqing waved his hand casually, his gaze still fixed on the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes, and said lightly, "It's nothing. My knot in my heart has loosened, and my mind has become clear. It's like I've removed one of my shackles."

"Shackles?" The chairman pondered the word, somewhat puzzled.

Zhang Yangqing suddenly turned his gaze to him, his eyes calm yet seemingly able to pierce through one's heart: "Don't you want to untie it?"

The chairman was taken aback by the question, then habitually puffed out his chest and smiled confidently: "Me? What shackles do I have? I'm doing great now, my strength has increased, and I can do things that even the old chairman couldn't do before. I can't imagine how comfortable I am!"

Zhang Yangqing looked at him, a faint smile playing on his lips. His voice was calm and unhurried, yet each word was clear: "From a young age, you've longed for recognition, for being the center of attention, for being seen by everyone as the perfect heir, a powerful guardian. It seems that half of your life is about living up to the expectations others have for you. This is your shackle."

"You!" The chairman's smile froze instantly, as if someone had suddenly stabbed the most hidden corner of his heart. His face turned red and white, and he opened his mouth to refute, but found that his throat was a little dry.

Zhang Yangqing didn't give him a chance to organize his thoughts and continued, "You're afraid that if you really let go of these shackles, you'll lose yourself and won't know what you should live for or how to live. Actually, it's very simple: do what you truly want to do, not what you think you should do or what others think you should do. Be true to yourself, and that's enough."

The chairman fell completely silent, his brows furrowed and his eyes darting around, clearly Zhang Yangqing's words had stirred up a storm in his heart.

Just as the chairman was in shock and deep in thought, a sudden change occurred!

A seemingly normal rock wall covered in dark red moss suddenly began to writhe as if alive, and a blurry, eerie creature, somewhere between solid and shadow, burst out from it!
It has no fixed shape, like a condensed malice, with a large mouth full of spiraling sharp teeth splitting open at the front. It moved silently yet as fast as lightning toward the nearest target, which was the chairman who had lost his composure!
A chilling, decaying aura, carrying a strong sense of spiritual corruption, instantly enveloped the chairman.

His hair stood on end. Although his thoughts were still in a state of confusion, his fighting instincts immediately alerted him, and his internal energy was about to burst forth in response. However, in his haste, his movements were inevitably a beat too slow!

Just a split second before that ferocious mouth was about to touch the chairman's protective energy.

A long, steady hand, seemingly imbued with boundless power, appeared out of thin air in front of that gaping maw of sharp teeth. There was no earth-shattering display, no dazzling light.

Zhang Yangqing had somehow appeared in front of the chairman, and with a casual reach, he accurately grasped the core of the strange creature's body.

The creature struggled frantically, its shadowy body twisting and expanding, trying to erode and devour the hand. But all its malice and energy melted away silently the moment it touched Zhang Yangqing's palm, like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun.

"Noisy."

Zhang Yangqing uttered two words indifferently, then casually flicked his wrist.

puff!

A faint, almost inaudible thud.

The bizarre creature that the chairman felt was a strong threat was like a bubble that was instantly crushed and shattered by an invisible force. It didn't even have time to utter a wail before it turned into the finest black dust, drifting away without a trace.

The whole process was so fast it felt like an illusion.

If it weren't for the faint, chilly aura still lingering in the air, the chairman would almost have thought that the attack was just his imagination.

Zhang Yangqing casually swatted away a fly, and even stretched out his arm with a leisurely air, the bones making a soft, crisp sound.

He glanced back at the chairman, who was still in shock and lingering fear, and said calmly, "Think it over carefully. This might be helpful when you come into contact with the Immortal Tree later."

Zhang Yangqing has never revealed the rules of the Immortal Tree, but they are indeed intriguing.

His gaze swept across the thicker, blood-red mist ahead, which seemed to harbor countless dangers, and he continued, "The aura ahead is different. You expended a lot of energy earlier, so take a rest and adjust your condition."

Upon hearing this, the chairman felt a deep sense of exhaustion wash over him.

The previous journey, clearing the way and dealing with various attacks, may have seemed easy, but the mental and physical strain was real.

He nodded, no longer trying to be brave, and silently walked to a relatively flat rock to sit down and regulate his breathing. However, Zhang Yangqing's words about shackles kept echoing in his mind, and he was unable to calm down.

Zhang Yangqing walked at the front with his hands behind his back.

His steps remained composed, yet his aura seemed to be separated from the treacherous surroundings by an invisible barrier.

As he had predicted, the strange creatures that appeared on the journey ahead were far more powerful, bizarre, and aggressive than anything he had encountered before.

There were worms that crawled out of the ground with pale white faces all over their bodies; there were translucent ghosts that floated in the air and emitted bewitching sounds; and there were even shadow beasts that could briefly manipulate local space to create chaotic cracks.

But these dangers, which would plunge most of the chosen ones into a fierce battle or even their demise, seemed to be insignificant scenery in front of Zhang Yangqing.

He might flick his fingertips, instantly killing his opponent with a wisp of sword energy refined to its extreme, or he might slightly move his eyes, crushing the ghost with an invisible spiritual pressure.

As for the shadow beast that could create spatial rifts, he was even more straightforward and brutal. He stepped directly into that chaotic space, pressed his palm down, and smoothed out the disordered space with absolutely stable power, while also shattering the shadow beast hidden within into dust.

The journey was quite leisurely.

The chairman, who was following behind, was mesmerized and gained a more intuitive understanding of the gap in strength. At the same time, he focused more on digesting Zhang Yangqing's guidance and tried to break free from the shackles in his heart.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the terrain ahead suddenly became treacherous, revealing a huge mountain pass that looked as if it had been cleaved open by a giant axe.

On either side of the mountain pass, there is a narrow, winding path leading upwards, hidden in a thick, impenetrable crimson mist.

At the starting points of these two paths, each lies a colossal, awe-inspiring creature! (End of Chapter)