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

Zhang Yangqing also glanced in that direction, his brows twitching almost imperceptibly.

He sensed that there were indeed two life forms, but they were unexpectedly weak.

They were roughly at the level of someone who had just entered the realm of cultivation. In this Undying Mountain, even the lowest-level strange creatures on the outskirts were stronger than them.

How could someone so weak manage to avoid numerous dangers and sneak up to the area near the mountain peak, guarded by a semi-saint peak BOSS? This is the biggest illogical thing in itself.

Just then, there was a sudden movement in the shadowy area!
Suddenly, one of the figures hurled a dark, fist-sized object at incredible speed toward the ground in front of Zhang Yangqing and the other two.

The object exploded upon landing!
"puff!"

A muffled thud, not an explosion, but a burst of thick, viscous, grayish smoke that instantly expanded!

The smoke not only spread rapidly, obscuring visibility, but also emitted an indescribable, pungent stench, a mixture of rotting swamp and some kind of irritating mineral.

More importantly, the smoke seemed to contain some kind of special energy that could interfere with or even isolate mental perception and energy detection to a certain extent. Being in it would blur one's sense of direction and distance, and also had a slightly psychedelic effect that made one feel dizzy.

Clearly, this is a carefully prepared escape tool!

At the same time, the moment the smoke burst open, the two figures, like startled rabbits, did not hesitate at all. They burst out with a speed completely different from when they were hiding, and turned around to flee for their lives towards the more complex area of ​​strange rocks and the deeper fog they had come from!
They looked like they wished their parents had two more legs, and didn't even dare to turn their heads.

Clearly, in their eyes, these three beings who could descend from the mountain peak and make the guardian BOSS either die or "play dead" were absolutely terrifyingly powerful!
Even the woman who looks the weakest and whose breathing is unsteady could crush them with ease!

If you don’t run, are you waiting to die?

Upon seeing this, the chairman's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he almost instinctively set off to give chase!
In his view, it was no coincidence that these two sneaky and unscrupulous individuals appeared in such a place.

Now that they've run away, who knows if they'll go to get reinforcements? Or secretly sabotage things?
What if they remember the three of them's appearances and we run into them in other places later? Wouldn't that be troublesome?
"Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots to prevent future troubles" is one of the principles that Zhang Yangqing had subtly taught him in his previous way of doing things. Especially in this dangerous and strange secret realm, one cannot be soft-hearted towards any potential threat!
He had barely moved when an arm landed firmly on his shoulder.

It's Zhang Yangqing.

The chairman turned around in surprise, only to see Zhang Yangqing shake his head at him, his gaze calmly sweeping over the direction in which the two had quickly disappeared into the mist and strange rocks.

He glanced at the dissipating smoke that still emitted a foul odor and interfering energy, and said indifferently, "Never mind."

"But..." The chairman was somewhat unwilling and also somewhat confused.

Zhang Yangqing interrupted him, his tone carrying a hint of unfathomable depth: "We've already got the stuff. It's better to avoid trouble. Wasting time here might trigger other rules of the Undying Mountain or attract something even more troublesome. These two are not even worth it, they're not even ants."

Upon hearing this, the chairman took a deep breath, suppressing his murderous intent and doubts. Zhang Yangqing was right; the primary task at hand was to leave safely with the Immortal Tree Fruit, and creating unnecessary complications would indeed be unwise.

He nodded and refocused his attention on the way down the mountain.

The three ignored the two who had fled, quickly crossed the mountain pass, and continued down the mountain along the path they had come from.

On the other side, the two figures running for their lives ran wildly for more than ten minutes through the complex, rugged, and treacherous mountains.

They only slowed down when they could no longer sense any pursuers behind them and had moved far away from that unsettling mountain pass area.

The slightly shorter figure behind was already out of breath, his lungs burning with pain. He leaned against a cold rock and gasped, "B-Big brother, wait for me! How far have we run? Those killers are long gone!"

Upon hearing this, the tall figure running ahead slowed down slightly, but still looked back warily, listened intently for a while, and only stopped completely after confirming that it was truly safe.

He was also breathing rapidly, his chest heaving violently, but the fear in his eyes had faded considerably, replaced by a sense of relief at surviving a disaster and a deep sense of lingering dread.

The underling finally caught up, collapsed on the ground, panting and complaining, "Boss, you were way too cautious! You already threw out the 'Morphin-Inducing Pill,' and you still ran this far? My legs are about to break!"

The tall figure in front, the one called "Big Brother," kicked his underling in an annoyed tone. Although his voice was still hoarse, he had regained his composure.
"Be cautious? If we weren't cautious, we would have become snacks for some monster in these mountains long ago! This is the Undying Mountain! Those bone fragments you saw on the way, weren't they ten or a hundred times stronger than us when they were alive?"
Even something that looks like a harmless child might be more dangerous than you and me combined! Better safe than sorry—that's a survival principle my boss always taught me!

When he spoke of "the boss," his tone involuntarily revealed a heartfelt admiration and longing, as if the boss were an insurmountable peak and a guiding light in his life.

But then he frowned, a hint of confusion appearing on his face beneath the hood: "However, those three people just now..."

"What's wrong, brother? Is something the problem?" the younger brother asked curiously.

He stroked his chin, recalling the fleeting glimpse he had just witnessed, especially the man standing in the middle—the calmest yet the one who instilled the most inexplicable pressure in him:
"I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just feel like the guy in the middle looks so unfamiliar. I'm sure I've never seen him before, but the way he looked at me and the way he stood there gave me a strange sense of familiarity."

He shook his head, trying to grasp that elusive feeling, but he couldn't find any concrete clues.

Perhaps it's just my imagination? After all, it's normal for perceptions to be distorted in such a tense and dangerous environment.

He subconsciously raised his head and looked in the direction where Zhang Yangqing and the other two had left, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through the thick fog and mountains.

Beneath the shadow of the hood, a pair of cold, cunning, dark gold snake eyes with vertically shaped pupils flashed by in the dim light, captivating the eye.

Actually, the reason Zhang Yangqing stopped the chairman from pursuing the matter, besides not wanting to cause any further trouble, was also for another reason he vaguely sensed but didn't voice. (End of Chapter)