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

It must be said that for most of the chosen ones, these rules came at a really bad time.

Many of the chosen ones even started cursing. The overseers were urging them to go to the mining area, and now you're showing up the rules? How are we supposed to remember them, let alone analyze them?

Zhang Yangqing didn't think too much about it. As he followed the supervisor, he pondered what hints were in the rules.

First, there's rule 1, which is quite intriguing. The rule states that if a miner's eyes flash green, it's highly likely they've "hit the jackpot" and found a treasure.

That's the normal understanding, but the abnormal part comes later: what does it mean that "what you want may not be what you need"?
What is something I want, but don't need?
According to Zhang Yangqing's understanding, what he might want is cultivation ore, but there are many types of ore, some of which are suitable for cultivation and some are not, which is to say, it's a matter of needing or not needing.

Having just arrived, Zhang Yangqing didn't know much about the local minerals, so this was all he could think of.

Since this strange tale is set in the Nine Netherworld, Zhang Yangqing must have been in the Undying Mountain from the previous strange tale, getting some information from the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes.

Although she spoke at length last time, her remarks were rather vague, mostly consisting of her personal experiences.

I wonder if the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes has returned in this timeline. If we find her, what should we do? That's also a problem.

In the Undying Mountain, Zhang Yangqing set a death mark on the regional boss, Peach Blossom Eyes Beauty. At the time, he only controlled her and did not pose any further threat to her.

Of course, if we don't consider making her suffer while picking the fruit, then there is indeed no harm.

But Zhang Yangqing wasn't naive. What if she found out he had created a "smurf account" and tried to mess with him after he treated her like that on Undying Mountain?
Even setting aside fighting and killing, she could easily create a death mark.

In this world, beauties with peach blossom eyes are top-tier powerhouses.

Zhang Yangqing could only take it one step at a time.

Next is Rule 2, which is also a rule that emphasizes thinking.

The rule mentions a crucial point: "A healthy mouse will not bite you unless provoked. If a mouse attacks you, it means something is wrong with you."

If the chosen one isn't paying attention, it's easy to misread.

The text above states that if a mouse attacks on its own initiative, it's not that the mouse is the problem, but rather that the chosen one itself is the problem.

According to Zhang Yangqing's understanding, he could place a rat nearby. The underground world was dangerous, and there might be pollutants or toxic gases. When the pollution and toxins reached a certain level, the rat would sense it and attack the Chosen One.

The chosen one then needs to find a way to leave this area, or find an antidote, or even bite off a rat's ear to detoxify.

Of course, unless absolutely necessary, the Chosen Ones don't need to bite the rats. After all, in the miner's line of work, having rats is a guarantee; if all the rats die, the miners are basically dead too.

This is why many miners would rather go hungry than eat rats.

The Bronze Clan would at least give them some food, since they had to work, but they couldn't be fed to their hearts' content, for fear that they would run away.

Rule 3 and Rule 5 mention two types of creatures that appear in the mine: spiders and bats.

Literally, spiders are dangerous, while bat nests are relatively safe.

The pitfalls here are huge, especially rule 5.

The sign said, "You can try to find caves or crevices where bats used to live; you're safe there for now." This is a huge pit. Perhaps the Chosen One thought from this sentence that the bats posed no danger?

That would be a huge mistake; it would be practically the same as death.

The rules only state that places where bats have lived are safe, but that doesn't mean the bats themselves are safe.

To put it another way, bats are terrifying, and the places they remember can scare away some dangers.

If we understand it this way, wouldn't we be able to figure out where the pit is?
If a chosen one sees a bat and stupidly goes over to it, they're basically doomed.

Thinking about this, Zhang Yangqing felt that the rules of this strange world at the beginning were already outrageous. He had already discovered so many pitfalls. Who knew how many dangers would remain when they actually reached the seventh mining area?

Rules 4, 6, and 7 are all rules that warn the chosen ones. At first glance, they don't seem to have as many pitfalls as the previous ones, so Zhang Yangqing glanced at them without giving them much thought.

What he cares about most is rule 8.

[Rule 8: Deep within certain veins of Mine Area 7 lie things that do not belong to this world. Curiosity may bring opportunities, but it may also bring utter destruction. Proceed with caution.]

"What do you mean by something that doesn't belong to this world?" Zhang Yangqing murmured to himself, his thoughts racing.

Could it be something from outer space? Some kind of extremely rare mineral? Or perhaps a creation from another dimension?

He recalled the ancient legends about this world that the beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes had mentioned intermittently: this world had experienced a catastrophe, and there was a powerful "savior" who was said to have destroyed the rampaging demons.

But for some unknown reason, this ultimately led to the widespread arrival of strange tales throughout the world, a massive resurgence of the bizarre, and a frantic compression of the living space for humans and other intelligent races, ultimately forcing them to huddle deep underground and eke out a living.

According to the woman with almond-shaped eyes, the savior "disappeared" after accomplishing a great feat or causing a disaster.

The definition of "disappearance" is vague. It could mean dying in battle, being consumed by pollution, or "leaving this world."
Thinking of this, a glint flashed in Zhang Yangqing's eyes.

"Does the 'things that don't belong to this world' mentioned in Rule 8 refer to the items left behind by that savior? Treasures left for future generations, or things he failed to take with him when he 'left' and buried here?"

This deduction made his heart beat slightly faster.

"If that savior is also a 'chosen one' from another world, then this inference makes even more sense!"

The more Zhang Yangqing thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Something from another world, buried here by a former savior, may be worth far more than you can imagine!
It may contain immense power, or it may record crucial knowledge; otherwise, how could he be a savior?
It might even hold the secret to traveling between different worlds or dimensions!

If that's the case, we have to find this thing no matter what, even if the risk is extremely high.

This clue may be the key to his departure from the Nine Netherworld and even to accessing secrets at a higher level.

Zhang Yangqing's consideration was that the 'hidden quests' in this world didn't necessarily have to be done at the Undying Mountain; perhaps they were other quests as well.

We can't just wait for the Undying Mountain quest to appear, can we? If there isn't one, we can just open the dungeon ourselves. (End of Chapter)