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

Zhang Yangqing is undoubtedly the fastest among the chosen ones to reach the summit of Undying Mountain from its foot.

Other chosen ones cannot force their way through like Zhang Yangqing; the obstacles along the way could cost them their lives.

Apart from Zhang Yangqing, the fastest person would take four days to reach the summit.

When Zhang Yangqing and his group passed through the final barrier of mist and stepped onto the relatively flat area on the mountaintop, which was covered with ancient and mysterious patterns, they found...

What they saw left the three people present, and even the countless viewers outside the giant screen in the Dragon Kingdom, momentarily stunned and shocked.

a tree.

A colossal tree, defying description and seemingly existing since time immemorial, stands silently at the heart of the mountain peak.

It is not tall in the usual sense, but rather a concrete representation of connection and support.

The tree trunk, thicker than anyone could imagine, resembles a pillar supporting the sky, displaying a color as deep as the night sky, yet seemingly containing endless starlight.

The bark is not rough, but smooth like the oldest chalcedony, naturally engraved with countless intricate patterns that seem to record the rules of the universe's birth and death, with a faint light pulsating deep within the patterns.

The enormous canopy was not lush with branches and leaves, but rather extended upwards in an almost conceptual way, disappearing into the chaotic and distorted sky above, which seemed to connect different dimensions of time and space.

Countless tiny points of light, blurry images, and even distorted runes, like stars and dust drawn to the tree canopy, slowly floated, rotated, and died within the area surrounding the canopy.

It is not a physical entity, but rather a manifestation of rules and energy.

The energy, so dense it was almost liquefied and imbued with boundless vitality and ancient aura, formed a pale golden mist visible to the naked eye, which rippled slowly around the giant tree like breath.

Within the luminous mist, there are illusory figures flickering as if time and space are out of balance. These could be fragments of an ancient battlefield, illusions of a glorious civilization, or simply pure energy tides.

Approaching it, a sense of awe and insignificance, stemming from the instinct of life, arises spontaneously.

It was as if what they were facing was not a tree, but the remains of some living, sleeping, and extremely high-ranking ancient deity, or a part of the rules of the world itself.

This is the final destination of the River of Reversal, the ultimate target fought over by countless strange creatures and living beings: the Tree of Immortality.

A dozen or so fruits hang among the branches of the immortal tree, which resemble sculpted jade.

The fruits were about the size of a fist, and they were fresh and plump, with a bright red color, like those just taken from a heart.

They are not still, but beating rhythmically, slowly and powerfully, like a real heart.

Each pulse spreads out a barely perceptible ripple of pale red, merging with the surrounding pale golden mist, exuding an alluring yet incredibly dangerous vitality.

The chairman and the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes were completely stunned by the scene before them. They couldn't help but breathe softly, their eyes filled with amazement, longing, and deep awe.

Is this the legendary fruit of the immortal tree? Just by getting close, I can feel that my nearly depleted lifespan is starting to stir slightly!
However, Zhang Yangqing's gaze calmly swept over the pulsating crimson fruits, and a key rule he had once acquired clearly surfaced in his mind:
[Rule 4: At the mountain's summit dwells the Immortal Tree, its fruit a deep crimson like blood. Eating it grants 'life,' but each fruit requires a most precious memory as a sacrifice. Remember, only humans may touch the fruit of the Immortal Tree.]

Is it only humans who can touch it? Is the price of ingestion the most precious memory?
His gaze shifted to his side, where he was gazing infatuated at the beautiful woman with peach-blossom eyes who bore the fruit of the immortal tree.

“Those in front are the fruits of the Immortal Tree,” Zhang Yangqing said, his calm voice breaking the silence of the mountaintop.

Upon hearing this, the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes suddenly brightened up, her eyes filled with barely suppressed excitement.

For her, who cultivated through the Blood Burning Technique, longevity was the thing she desired most. But Zhang Yangqing's next words instantly snapped her, and the chairman beside her, out of their shock, as if they had been doused with ice water.

Zhang Yangqing looked at her, his tone completely flat, as if stating a given fact: "You need to pick three. I can tell you clearly that picking them will come at a price and may involve unknown dangers. You can choose to refuse."

He paused, then added in a low but undeniably cold voice: "But if you refuse, I will kill you."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere on the mountaintop, which had been filled with an ancient and sacred aura, instantly froze, plunging into a suffocating silence.

The chairman's look of amazement vanished instantly. His gaze toward the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes lost all its previous ease and teasing, leaving only pure, calculated indifference and an undisguised chilling killing intent.

The energy within his body began to flow silently, preparing him to strike and kill at any moment.

He may like to show off and boast in his daily life, but he is never ambiguous on important issues.

He and Zhang Yangqing went through all sorts of hardships to bring this woman here, certainly not to be good people.

Teammates are for situations where you need to take risks and figure out the rules, right?

Otherwise, why should we share the final rewards?

Especially given that Zhang Yangqing had clearly warned of the costs and dangers involved.

The excitement on the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes quickly faded as Zhang Yangqing spoke.

She showed no surprise, anger, or resentment at being betrayed.

Instead, she took a deep breath of the vibrant air at the mountaintop, her eyes becoming unusually firm, and she even gave Zhang Yangqing a grateful smile.

Her voice was clear and steady as she said, "Thank you, elder brother, for giving me this opportunity. My lifespan is coming to an end, and I don't have much time left anyway, so I have nothing to fear."

Her composure and decisiveness slightly eased the cold killing intent in the chairman's eyes, but his vigilance did not relax.

The three of them carefully observed the force field floating around the Undying Tree and the wandering light and shadow for a while longer. After confirming that they did not find any obvious or actively aggressive danger, Zhang Yangqing nodded to the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes.

Without the slightest hesitation, the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes strode towards the giant tree that seemed to connect heaven and earth.

The closer one gets to the Tree of Immortality, the denser the pale golden mist becomes, and the more active the energy becomes.

She felt as if each step she took was on some kind of soft and elastic "membrane," and the pressure around her was gradually increasing. Countless tiny specks of light brushed over her body as if they were alive, bringing a slightly tingling sensation.

Finally, she reached the tree and could reach out and touch the lowest branches.

On the branches, the blood-red, slightly pulsating fruits were within reach, their life force almost causing her frail body to let out an instinctive cry of longing.

She gritted her teeth, stretched out her slightly trembling hand, carefully avoiding the subtle light and shadows around the fruit, and grasped the stem of the first fruit, which was as smooth as jade, yet seemed to have the elasticity of flesh and blood.

The instant her fingers touched the fruit stem.

"Pfft!" (End of Chapter)