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

At this moment, Zhang Yangqing's heart was still pounding erratically, and his temples were throbbing with pain—the remnants of the shock his soul had suffered.

Catching his breath, Zhang Yangqing began to observe his surroundings and gather intelligence, as was his usual practice.

He found himself lying on a hard, damp, uneven surface.

Beneath me were cold rocks, which hurt terribly.

The gaze slowly focused.

It was dark, extremely dark!
The only source of light came from an oil lamp in a far corner of a high wall, which seemed ready to go out at any moment.

The dim, flickering light barely illuminated a small area, making the distance seem even more profound and dark.

The air was murky and filled with a strong smell of earth, rust, and mildew, as well as an indescribable stench, as if something was slowly rotting.

With each breath, you can feel fine dust particles entering your nasal cavity, making you want to cough.

Zhang Yangqing tried to move his arm, but heard a dull metallic scraping sound.

He looked down and saw that his wrists were bound with heavy, rough, rusty iron shackles, connected by an equally heavy iron chain.

The skin on my wrists has lost its original color due to long-term friction and dirt buildup, and is covered with dark red stains and tiny scabs.

The fingers were thin and bony, with protruding joints, twisted and deformed nails, and covered with black dirt. Some nails even had an unhealthy grayish-purple color.

It could be said that this body was terribly weak, but as a top cultivator, one cannot judge a book by its cover.

In other words, the fact that this body is still alive despite being tortured like this shows that its physical strength is extremely powerful and its foundation is terrifying.

Otherwise, the wounds on his body would have killed him many times over.

Zhang Yangqing moved his legs again, and the same metallic scraping sound came from his ankles, which were also locked in heavy shackles, restricting his range of movement.

Every slight movement not only brings the sound of chains and a feeling of stiffness in the body, but also triggers a lingering, needle-like pain in the head.

The feeling was as if something cold and foreign had been forcibly stuffed into the depths of his mind, and was now subtly haunting him as his consciousness moved, trying to interfere with his thoughts, and even had a faint urge to "control" his body's instincts.

Zhang Yangqing immediately focused his mind and forcibly suppressed the discomfort.

He propped himself up, looked around, and continued to gather intelligence.

This is a simple, dirty, and extremely oppressive prison cell.

The space is cramped, with three sides consisting of rough, carved rock walls covered in slippery moss, and one side consisting of a gate made of thick iron bars.

The passageway outside the fence was equally dark, stretching into the unknown depths of darkness.

Besides him, several other figures were lying haphazardly in the cell.

They were also dressed in tattered miner's clothes, shackled, motionless, their fate unknown.

Some people were lying face down, some were curled up in a corner, their breathing so faint it was almost inaudible, or they weren't breathing at all.

The deathly aura permeating the air emanated partly from them.

His gaze shifted to the cell opposite.

Behind the fence was an impenetrable darkness, beyond the reach of the distant oil lamp's light.

However, in that darkness, something seemed to be slowly wriggling, making an extremely faint, teeth-grinding friction sound, like bones rubbing against stone, or like a slippery object crawling.

Occasionally, a low, hoarse whimper or sigh, inhuman in sound, would drift from the depths of darkness, fleeting and making one wonder if it was just an illusion. Further away, at the end of the passage or around a corner, came the rhythmic, heavy footsteps of guards in heavy leather boots on patrol.

The footsteps were neither hurried nor slow, carrying a mechanical indifference; each step seemed to strike the heart.

This body possesses an instinctive fear; it seems this body is very afraid of the guards.

Nearby, in a damp corner, there was a rustling sound, and a few small eyes flashed by in the shadows, accompanied by an unpleasant gnawing sound; it was probably rats.

But these rats seemed to be larger than usual, and their movements were more stealthy and agile.

The entire environment—the light, the smell, the sound, the touch—everything combined to create a scene of oppression, despair, and unknown terror.

This is no ordinary mine, but the entrance to a veritable "endless abyss," a prison shrouded in darkness, pain, and bizarre rules.

Zhang Yangqing's current identity is that of a miner trapped in the depths of this hell, his fate uncertain.

From the very beginning, it's a cage in a desperate situation.

Perhaps the other chosen ones were already in despair from the start, feeling that they had a slim chance of survival.

But all Zhang Yangqing could think to himself was: Damn, this feels so familiar!

This wasn't the first time he'd been imprisoned, but this time, some clues seemed to be vaguely appearing in his mind.

He remembered that in the previous supernatural tale world, after entering the Undying Mountain area, he had encountered a beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes who claimed to be from the "Nine Netherworld".

That woman was quite powerful. According to her, the Nine Netherworld was a terrifying world full of endless oppression and death, where human life was as worthless as grass, and the lowest level of life was worse than ants.

She herself was sold by her family to work as a miner, digging for a special kind of ore in the dark and gloomy mines.

She was lucky enough to secretly hide some rare ores she had obtained while mining. Relying on the power of the ores, she slowly cultivated and was able to escape her suffering, but she was also relentlessly hunted down.

According to her description, humans and other weak intelligent races in that world could only eke out a living deep underground.

Because the ground and the sky are ruled by bizarre creatures so powerful that they inspire despair, sunlight and fresh air are luxuries and legends.

Zhang Yangqing still remembered this.

Moreover, the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes mentioned that because they lived in extremely harsh, resource-scarce, radiation-filled, or polluted environments for many years, the low-level miners who were able to survive in that world generally possessed a special physical constitution.

They appear thin and withered, but their physical strength is extraordinary, and their recovery ability and vitality are extremely tenacious.

This is roughly the same as the condition of my current body?
He was emaciated, yet he lived tenaciously, and one could even sense that he was not weak at heart.

Zhang Yangqing's mind raced: Could this be the 'Nine Netherworld'?
The world that woman from a mining background lived in?

If this is indeed the place, then this world must have some connection with the Undying Mountain, or it may be a so-called related copy.

If this can be confirmed, then the primary goal is no longer simply to clear this 'Endless Abyss' instance, but to try to find the entrance or clues to the Undying Mountain in this world.

Once you reach the Immortal Mountain, you might be able to uncover some of the secrets you missed during your last fleeting glimpse.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yangqing did not feel depressed because of his desperate situation; instead, a faint sense of anticipation welled up in his heart.

For him, the unknown and danger often meant fun and opportunity.

Just as he was lost in thought, a cold, sticky hand with unusually large, calloused knuckles unexpectedly landed on his shoulder! (End of Chapter)