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

Returning to the original world, this is the familiar edge of the endless, slumbering mountains shrouded in gray fog.

Struggling out of the distorted portal at the bottom of the River of Oblivion, Zhang Yangqing felt a slight return of vitality the moment his feet touched solid ground.

It seems that after escaping the eerie suppression of the Undying Mountain Realm, the body's last potential was unleashed, allowing him to barely stand and walk on his own.

His cultivation level has been reduced to a very low level, thus avoiding the conditions for triggering divine punishment.

But even the chairman could see that this was just a last gasp, a final struggle before the lamp ran out of fuel.

Zhang Yangqing's aura was still so weak as to be almost non-existent. The dark gray death aura that was faintly visible under his skin had not dissipated. Although his eyes had returned to purple, they were dull and lifeless, filled with an aura of exhaustion and decay.

The two men made a brief stop at the makeshift camp at the rendezvous point before immediately returning to Malek headquarters.

The atmosphere was tense and silent the whole way.

Returning to the familiar and bustling city, we entered the Marek headquarters building.

The shrewd man and the woman in the cheongsam both showed undisguised shock and worry when they saw Zhang Yangqing's appearance.

In fact, along the way, they repeatedly wanted to go up and ask about the situation, but seeing the chairman's gloomy and solemn face and Zhang Yangqing's weak and unapproachable state, they swallowed their words.

During a rare, brief moment of solitude with only the three of them, the chairman had to attend to urgent matters. The shrewd man finally couldn't resist asking in a low voice, "Boss, you..."

Zhang Yangqing raised his hand, interrupting him.

He leaned back in the soft chair, his gaze somewhat unfocused as he watched the city lights rushing past the window. His voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, yet it carried an unprecedented seriousness: "You must carefully navigate the path ahead and be extremely cautious."

This abrupt and unrelated statement left the shrewd man and the woman in the cheongsam looking at each other in bewilderment, casting an ominous shadow over their hearts.

But they knew that Zhang Yangqing was their leader, the one who gave them their current status and everything, and they had absolute trust and loyalty to Zhang Yangqing.

There must be a deeper meaning behind the boss's words.

The two nodded solemnly, engraving these words firmly in their hearts.

When the chairman appeared, Zhang Yangqing went with him back to the top floor of the Malek headquarters building, a special floor with the highest authority.

The other members of the entourage dispersed, some to report on the progress of the investigation into the Endless Sleeping Mountains, although that was not the focus this time, and others to rest and deal with backlogged matters.

Only Zhang Yangqing and the chairman walked in the empty, cold corridor, which was filled with the faint smell of disinfectant.

The footsteps echoed in the silence, sounding exceptionally clear.

The chairman couldn't hold back any longer. He stopped and turned around, looking at Zhang Yangqing's figure, who seemed ready to collapse at any moment but still forced himself to move forward. His voice trembled with suppressed anxiety:

"What exactly are you trying to do? Is your body really beyond help? The company has the best medical team, the most advanced gene repair technology, and ancient potions unearthed from various ruins. We can definitely do it."

Zhang Yangqing did not answer, but continued walking slowly, his gaze casually sweeping over the closed rooms with different functions on both sides of the corridor.

Finally, he stopped in front of an empty suite next to the chairman's office.

"From now on, I'll rest here, okay?" Zhang Yangqing reached out and pushed open the heavy alloy door, his voice calm.

This was a spacious suite, its decor simple and cold, consistent with Marek's usual high-tech style. It was fully equipped, but lacked a sense of home. The chairman nodded hurriedly, "No problem! Of course, no problem! This room has always been reserved for you! What do you need? The highest-level medical pod? Life-sustaining resources? Or perhaps the Immortal Tree Fruit right now? I'll have it prepared immediately!"

He rushed forward, his eyes brimming with worry, as if he were even more afraid of losing Zhang Yangqing than Zhang Yangqing himself.

Zhang Yangqing shook his head, ignoring the chairman's anxiety.

He entered the room and took out a series of strange items engraved with intricate sealing runes from his equipment. These were all obtained from the Hidden Clan branch.

There were shimmering, glowing crystals, metal pillars wrapped in chains, and scrolls painted with twisted patterns.
He began to arrange these props in various corners of the room, on the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and even in the void, according to a certain pattern.

As each sealing item was activated, layers of invisible but powerful energy barriers and rule constraints were generated and superimposed within the room, completely isolating and sealing the suite.

It was like a meticulously crafted, impregnable cage, or perhaps a tomb.

After doing all this, Zhang Yangqing seemed to have exhausted his last bit of strength. His body swayed slightly before he slowly turned around and looked at the chairman, who had been standing at the door with a face full of confusion and worry.

"I need you to do something for me." Zhang Yangqing's voice was even weaker, but his eyes were unusually clear.

“Tell me! As long as I can do it!” the chairman said without hesitation.

Zhang Yangqing's gaze swept over the layers of seals in the room, finally settling on the chairman's face. His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable resolve:

“My body’s origin has been burned out, my holy essence has shattered, and my lifespan has been exhausted. Even if I eat the fruit of the immortal tree and forcibly inject a huge amount of life force, there may be unpredictable dangers. For example, my mind may be eroded and assimilated by the ancient and strange will contained in the fruit, or I may completely become some kind of irrational, purely strange creature that only knows how to destroy.”

"Impossible! I will cure you! I will do everything in my power! I will never let you become like that! What can't we at Malek do?!" The chairman's voice was almost a shout.

That kind of care is genuine and heartfelt; it's a friendship forged through shared life and death.

He had never been more panicked and uneasy than he was now.

Even on the day he killed the old chairman, he didn't feel this sense of loss.

Perhaps someone has become an indispensable part of his life.

Zhang Yangqing did not refute again, but slowly and with great difficulty moved his feet to the large and cold sofa in the center of the room and sat down slowly.

Sitting down seemed to remove his last source of support.

He leaned back on the sofa, his entire being rapidly "decaying" at a visible pace.

The eyes, which were already dim, were now rapidly losing their light and going out, as if a candle had burned out its last bit of oil and was about to fall into eternal darkness.

On my face and hands, all the exposed skin began to show fine, cracked lines, like broken porcelain. These lines quickly expanded and deepened, and even small, grayish-black skin flakes began to fall off like weathered plaster.

He exuded an aura of despair, as if he were on the verge of death and decaying.

The chairman was terrified and rushed forward to help him, but Zhang Yangqing stopped him with a look.

Zhang Yangqing, however, spoke with an unusually calm, even somewhat reminiscent tone: "Do you remember the woman who teamed up with us in the Undying Mountain? She asked why her world had become that hell on earth?" (End of Chapter)