I’m a Max-Level Taoist Master, and You’re Throwing Me Into a Rules-Based Horror Game?! - Chapter 153

Chapter 153: Are You Blaming the Road When You’re the One Who Can’t Drive?

When the audience saw Zhang Yangqing about to take action, they could already guess what he was going to do.

After watching so many strange tales, no one would think Zhang Yangqing enjoys doing meaningless things.

What hasn’t appeared in this strange tale yet?

Clearly, it’s the special rewards that no one has found, or perhaps the hidden treasures.

With Zhang Tian Shi’s “steady” approach, he could have ended this long ago.

The reason he hasn’t is precisely because he’s waiting for these things.

In the past, uninformed viewers might have thought Zhang Yangqing was simply enjoying the exotic scenery of the strange tale world.

But now, not just ordinary people and expert panels, but even Ge Lieke is puzzled: what exactly is the special reward for this strange tale?

After all, he just came out of it and didn’t seem to notice any hidden rewards.

Moreover, after carefully reviewing the rules, he found no hints of any hidden rewards.

But after watching Zhang Yangqing’s performance, he felt like slapping himself—turns out, the clues were right there, and he had seen them!

Now, it’s the sixth day in the strange tale world.

It’s Zhang Yangqing’s sixth day enjoying the amusement park, and Goncharov’s second day surviving there.

In just a few more hours, Goncharov can end the scenario and leave.

He’s currently hiding in the warehouse behind the supermarket.

Even though the army of strange plants outside has retreated, he still doesn’t dare to go out.

For ordinary chosen ones, surviving is already simple enough—no need to complicate things.

As for someone like Zhang Yangqing, swaggering out the door like that is something other chosen ones wouldn’t even dare to imagine.

Even Ge Lieke only started taking risks in the last few hours before ending the scenario.

Riding a backup vehicle from the amusement park’s prison management building, Zhang Yangqing arrived in front of a massive structure.

That’s right—it’s the Statue of the Confessing Goddess, which is similar to a prison, or what Zhang Yangqing understands as the Sacrificial Goddess Statue.

On his first day here, Zhang Yangqing had already instructed the prison warden to investigate.

After all, the prison warden is a native of this world and can access a lot of information.

If an ordinary chosen one were to attempt this task—say, Abdul—they would need to gain the prison warden’s favor to obtain intelligence.

That’s the approach ordinary chosen ones take in the strange tale world.

But for Zhang Yangqing, the prison warden is eager to do things for him. In fact, the warden is the one trying to gain Zhang Yangqing’s favor.

Any intelligence Zhang Yangqing needs, the warden will risk everything to collect.

However, the Statue of the Confessing Goddess isn’t exactly a secret in this world.

There are many such statues in the amusement park, but Zhang Yangqing is specifically looking for the one with a sword plunged into the ground.

This goddess statue has both hands resting on the sword hilt, smiling as if she can absolve all sins.

Whatever the case, the clues are here.

Zhang Yangqing still remembers: in the confession hall, several death row inmates threw offerings into the giant pit in front of the Statue of the Confessing Goddess, and then a fierce beast appeared.

This beast was enormous, with powerful limbs and hooves that shook the ground with every step.

It had horns on its head and two sharp, saber-like fangs in its mouth.

Its body was covered in dark green scales, making it look exceptionally imposing.

It was like a ferocious ancient mythical beast, something that only exists in books.

Zhang Yangqing noted these details at the time but didn’t know how to connect them.

Now, he has his little follower and the death row inmates break open the bricks in front of this Statue of the Confessing Goddess, revealing a bottomless pit.

This further confirms his speculation.

Ever since he saw the “Tree of Origin” on the train and heard its story, he was reminded of an ancient legend.

Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a massive ancient tree called the Fusang Tree. This tree reached into the clouds, and by climbing it, one could ascend to heaven—hence it was also called the Divine Tree of Passage.

This tree was also the resting place for the divine bird, the Golden Crow. If this tree were to fall, the Golden Crow would have nowhere to rest and would eventually die of exhaustion.

Once you understand this point and combine it with the rules and intelligence, you can guess the hidden tasks and rewards for this level.

The rules state that chosen ones following the evolution and demolition path have seven days, but by the third day, less than 30% of the people in the amusement park remain.

At this point, chosen ones can end the scenario and leave.

Moreover, if the first attack on the nuclear power plant fails, the defenses there will be strengthened, making a second attempt within seven days impossible.

So why do the rules mention seven days? It’s to tell chosen ones on the evolution and demolition path that if they wait a few more days, there will be hidden rewards.

But whether they dare to wait and claim them depends on the choices of those on this path.

Abdul, for instance, clearly didn’t dare to take such a risk—he preferred to leave as soon as possible.

Every additional day spent here means additional danger.

The reward for the seventh day is naturally obtained after waiting for the Tree of Origin to revive.

There’s a detail here: those strange plants aren’t just killing the humans in this world—they’re “eating” them.

Why are they eating them?

Trees need nutrients to grow. If the Tree of Origin wants to revive, it must accumulate a certain amount of nutrients.

And the Tree of Origin itself is a man-eating tree—a carnivorous, strange tree.

The nutrients it needs are, naturally, humans.

So, by staying in the amusement park a bit longer, once the army of strange plants has eaten enough, they will return and feed the nutrients back to the Tree of Origin, which will then revive.

The fruit that falls from the Tree of Origin is the hidden reward for this level.

At this point, if Goncharov had come out to search, he could have found the Tree of Origin—it’s actually near the amusement park.

But he didn’t even dare to leave the supermarket warehouse, gritting his teeth and waiting for the scenario to end.

Seeing this, Ge Lieke regretted it so much he wanted to kick himself—if only he had waited! Just seven days—it’s not like he couldn’t have waited.

But he’s just being a Monday-morning quarterback, talking big after the fact.

When he was in the strange tale world, there was no way he could have known this.

Because if you choose the survival path, you simply don’t have access to this intelligence or these rules.

The survival path only allows you to obtain basic rewards.

After completing the hidden rewards, there’s the hidden task.

When Zhang Yangqing was in the prison’s confession hall, what he saw was an ancient creature, as if it had stepped out of mythology.

So he thought that this so-called Statue of the Confessing Goddess was actually a sacrificial altar used to summon ancient creatures with offerings.

Is there a chance that the Golden Crow could also be summoned this way?

You just need to find the correct Statue of the Confessing Goddess and try throwing “offerings” into it.

As for where to find these offerings, Zhang Yangqing doesn’t need to bother with that.

He simply tells his snake-eyed little follower and the prison warden, and they will naturally handle this troublesome task for him.

Now, the prison warden is just like Zhang Yangqing’s little follower.

Although he’s puzzled about why Zhang Yangqing wants these things, he doesn’t ask.

Zhang Yangqing’s words are truth—he only needs to execute them.

The snake-eyed little follower, along with dozens of death row inmates, searches the area for “corpses.”

As for whether they’re fresh corpses or old ones, Zhang Yangqing doesn’t bother with the details.

After all, the army of strange plants won’t kill everyone in the amusement park—they’ll leave some behind.

The prison warden is even more straightforward. To please Zhang Yangqing, he directly messages the prison to have a batch of prisoners brought over and thrown into the pit.

They probably don’t need that many offerings, but since the two are desperately throwing them in, Zhang Yangqing doesn’t interfere.

After all the offerings are thrown in, a dazzling light appears between heaven and earth.

With a bird’s cry echoing through the skies, the sun of this world rises.

Both the strange tale world and Blue Star witness this miraculous scene.

In the previous scene, Ge Lieke could still make excuses and stubbornly claim he hadn’t thought of it.

But now, he’s completely speechless—he had no idea about this.

When he was in the prison’s confession hall, he just acted recklessly.

If it weren’t for the help of the mad scientist, he would have died right at the prison entrance.

Even he has to admit how meticulous Zhang Yangqing’s observations in the strange tale world are.

“Sigh, I still underestimated the strange tale world,” Ge Lieke says, having learned a lesson this time.

As the difficulty of the strange tale world increases, many things can no longer be handled by sheer force alone.

So Ge Lieke feels that this strange tale world just wasn’t suitable—it limited his performance.

If Zhang Yangqing knew what he was thinking, he would probably say: “You’re just not good enough, yet you blame the path for being uneven?”

At this moment, inside the strange tale world.

The Golden Crow shines high above, evaporating the dark, strange plants.

The Tree of Origin revives, spring returns to the earth, and all things come back to life.

Most importantly, these steps cannot be reversed. You must wait for the Tree of Origin to revive before summoning the Golden Crow.

Otherwise, if the strange plants are evaporated first, the Tree of Origin won’t get the nutrients it needs to revive, and the Golden Crow will eventually die of exhaustion again.

Zhang Yangqing has completed everything the chosen ones could do, delivering the most perfect answer sheet.

It’s no exaggeration to call him a textbook-level clears.

Some stubborn viewers and superhumans from major forces might think they could do the same.

But when it’s their turn to enter, they always say they weren’t in top form.

They might not admit it verbally, but everyone knows this Dragon Nation’s Heavenly Master is ridiculously strong.

The reputation of the Daoist tradition, thanks to Zhang Yangqing’s exceptional performance alone, has taken root in the hearts of everyone on Blue Star.

Inside the strange tale world, the people here think they’re dreaming when they see the sun.

The snake-eyed little follower stares wide-eyed at the sun, almost blinded by its light.

Because since he was born, he’s only read about the sun in books—he never thought it actually existed.

Everyone nearby shares the same incredulous expression.

This world hasn’t seen the sun for a long time.

Almost everyone around kneels and worships Zhang Yangqing, treating him like a deity.

It’s no exaggeration to say they regard him as a god sent to save their world.

Some even believe he’s a divine emissary from heaven.

Zhang Yangqing isn’t the type to feign humility. If they want to worship him, he won’t stop them.

But once they’ve had their fill of worship, it’s time to move on to the next stage.

Soon, everyone arrives at this kilometers-high Tree of Origin.

Its branches and leaves are lush, blocking out the sky and sun.

When the Golden Crow landed on this tree, it truly became as dark as night.

The moment Zhang Yangqing arrived, a multicolored “mysterious fruit” fell.

This seemed to be a special reward from the Rulebound World.

Zhang Yangqing took a glance at it after picking it up, then tossed it to his little follower.

This time, the snake-eyed follower accepted it gladly. Since the boss is practically a god now, whatever he gives me is a divine blessing. How could I defy a god’s order? I’ll take it!

Others nearby were green with envy, but there was nothing they could do. The snake-eyed follower was Zhang Yangqing’s most loyal underling—who else would he give it to?

This item belonged to Zhang Yangqing in the first place, and he didn’t need to care about anyone else’s feelings when deciding who to give it to.

Watching the snake-eyed follower grow stronger bit by bit, Zhang Yangqing nodded in satisfaction.

After he left, if this instance of the Rulebound World still existed, the snake-eyed follower would become its new god.

With the eerie plants gone, the park needed rebuilding, and humanity needed to develop.

The snake-eyed follower, with his supreme power, would reign here.

This was Zhang Yangqing’s final gift to his follower.

As the snake-eyed follower himself would say: Stick with the boss, and you’re guaranteed to reap the rewards!

Since Goncharov had already left the instance, all the participants’ ratings appeared as soon as Zhang Yangqing concluded his run.

There was no doubt that Gletko received a shameful S-rank rating.

He had survived until the end and even managed to kill an eight-star eerie plant warrior.

His performance earlier may have been lackluster, but an S-rank was still within reach.

Why was getting an S-rank considered shameful for him?

Because aside from him, the only others who received an S-rank were Goncharov from the Bear Nation and Lenny from the Football Nation.

A superhuman, and a cardinal of the Church at that, ending up with the same rating as two ordinary people—wasn’t that humiliating?

What made Gletko even more upset was that Abdulle, the participant from the Turban Nation, received an SS-rank, one tier higher than his.

As a superhuman, he had nowhere to hide his face.

As for the Dragon Nation’s Celestial Master’s rating, he didn’t even dare to ask.

Because everyone knew that this guy had maxed out all the rewards—how could his rating possibly be low?

It’s safe to say that the Rulebound World’s rating system used Zhang Yangqing’s score as the benchmark for perfection.

A five-S-rank rating undoubtedly appeared before everyone’s eyes.

The audience in the Dragon Nation was naturally overjoyed.

They all felt that Zhang Yangqing was just too steady—so steady that you couldn’t even imagine how he could lose.

So steady that other top-tier superhumans couldn’t even save face enough to challenge him.

After Zhang Yangqing emerged, he didn’t even bother to check his rating.

To him, getting a perfect score was just… normal, right?

But more importantly, his senior brother had already prepared his favorite meal.

At a time like this, ratings didn’t matter—letting the food go cold would be the real shame.

“Eat more vegetables. I’ve been watching you these past few days in the Rulebound World—all you had was meat and junk food.”

Su Muyu fussed over him like an elder scolding a child for an unbalanced diet.

“Senior brother, it’s not that I didn’t want to eat vegetables—there just weren’t any there!”

Zhang Yangqing was on the verge of tears. Was I supposed to grab one of those eerie plants and start munching?

Those plants were all dark and weird—who knows if they were even edible?

After the meal, Zhang Yangqing felt completely refreshed. Nothing beat the taste of home.

Normally, he would’ve gone back to rest, but this time, he looked at Su Muyu and said, “Senior brother, you have something to tell me, don’t you?”

Zhang Yangqing’s sharpness surprised Su Muyu. He had no idea how Zhang Yangqing had figured it out.

But it was true—he did have something to discuss.

Actually, it was simple: whenever Senior Brother personally cooked, it usually meant he had something to say.

And every time Zhang Yangqing tasted his cooking, he knew something was up.

Senior Brother’s knife skills were exceptional—uniform slices, delicate and smooth textures—easy to recognize.

That was the默契 (tacit understanding) between the two brothers.

Since they were fellow disciples, Su Muyu didn’t beat around the bush. “Many factions are constantly strengthening their core members and recruiting disciples. I know you don’t like trouble—I can handle recruiting, but you need to make time to guide the junior disciples.”

Su Muyu’s meaning was clear: You’re incredibly strong. Why not teach others?

If you could train Zhang Xuanjing to be at Gletko’s level, or even higher, he could enter the Rulebound World, and you could rest more.

Besides, if you ever needed help in the future, Zhang Xuanjing could step up.

Actually, this was something Zhang Xuanjing and Su Muyu had discussed beforehand, with Su Muyu being the one to bring it up to Zhang Yangqing.

It wasn’t an exaggeration when Su Muyu praised Zhang Yangqing—if Zhang Xuanjing could learn even a tenth of what Zhang Yangqing knew, he’d be dominating the Rulebound World.

Though when it came to intelligence, that needed some work too.

In the Rulebound World, IQ was a crucial factor.

But everything Su Muyu did was for Zhang Yangqing’s benefit.

After all, Zhang Yangqing was the Celestial Master—it didn’t look good for him to do nothing all day.

It was just that Su Muyu, seeing how young he was, tended to indulge him.

As for Senior Brother’s suggestion, Zhang Yangqing was fully on board.

“No problem. Once Junior Brother Xuanjing has time, I can teach him.”

Zhang Yangqing agreed readily, but Su Muyu rolled his eyes and said,

“You don’t need to wait for him to have time—you’re the only one on Dragon Tiger Mountain who’s ever busy.”

Right now, Zhang Xuanjing and the other junior disciples were waiting outside for Zhang Yangqing.

Since the Rulebound World had just ended and a new one hadn’t started yet,

This was the perfect chance for these fellow disciples to learn something from Zhang Yangqing.

Even just a few tips could be incredibly valuable.

And Zhang Xuanjing had been itching for this opportunity.

Stepping outside and seeing the eager group of several dozen fellow disciples, Zhang Yangqing nodded.

Senior Brother was right—training them would make his life easier too.

No need for motivational speeches—everyone headed to Dragon Tiger Mountain’s training grounds.

Surrounded by dense forests and brimming with spiritual energy, it was the perfect place for cultivation.

“Celestial Master, what should I do?”

Zhang Xuanjing couldn’t wait to ask Zhang Yangqing how to get stronger.

“Same as always—attack me directly. I need to see where your weaknesses are before I can tell you what to do.”

Zhang Yangqing spoke seriously. When it came to training, he didn’t joke around.

Telling you how to train might not even work.

Only by fighting can I see your flaws.

This was the method passed down through generations at Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Incidentally, back in the day, the previous Celestial Master had Zhang Yangqing and Su Muyu spar, then pointed out Zhang Yangqing’s shortcomings and taught him how to improve.

As for why the previous Celestial Master didn’t spar with Zhang Yangqing himself,

It was because he could see that Zhang Yangqing’s cultivation speed was too fast, and he was a combat prodigy.

The previous Celestial Master was already in his twilight years—if he somehow lost to his own disciple, how could he ever live it down?

So he had Su Muyu act as the training partner.

That was when Su Muyu realized just how absurd his junior brother was.

Today, Dragon Tiger Mountain wasn’t accepting any visitors. The back mountain was reserved for the fellow disciples.

Aside from those on duty, almost everyone else gathered around the training grounds to watch Zhang Yangqing and Zhang Xuanjing spar.

They hoped to learn something—even just a move or two would be a huge gain.

Most importantly, they might even receive pointers from the Celestial Master himself.

Though it was called a spar, Zhang Yangqing only defended, letting Zhang Xuanjing attack.

This made sense—if Zhang Yangqing wanted to attack, Zhang Xuanjing wouldn’t even have a chance to move.

This was just about teaching a junior disciple how to cultivate.

The sound of spiritual energy collisions echoed through the forest. Many felt that Zhang Xuanjing had improved rapidly lately, almost like a different person compared to just a few days ago.

Even Su Muyu marveled at Zhang Xuanjing’s exceptional talent.

But even so, he couldn’t even touch the hem of Zhang Yangqing’s robe.

It just showed how powerful Zhang Yangqing truly was.

After about ten minutes, Zhang Yangqing called for a stop.

Zhang Xuanjing asked, puzzled, “Celestial Master, did you see where I need improvement?”

Zhang Yangqing waved his hand. “When I tell you to fight, fight with all your strength. Don’t hold back. Are you afraid you’ll kill me?”

The watching fellow disciples: “…”

This wasn’t Zhang Yangqing being arrogant—he knew Zhang Xuanjing had skill, but he was still far behind.

Basically, he was provoking Zhang Xuanjing: You’re fighting me, and you’re still holding back?

I’m not boasting, but if you can so much as scratch me, I’ll hand over the Celestial Master title to you!

I mean it!

I’m here to teach you. If you hold back, how am I supposed to teach?

Hearing this, Zhang Xuanjing just nodded without another word.

But then, the fellow disciples nearby instinctively stepped back, afraid of getting caught in the spiritual energy waves from the fight.

For a moment, heavenly thunder struck the ground, and the roar of energy collisions reverberated throughout Dragon Tiger Mountain.

Anyone unaware might’ve thought some mighty figure was undergoing a tribulation.

This time, Zhang Xuanjing didn’t hold back—he went all out, even using weapons.

He unleashed everything: Golden Light curse, Palm Lightning, Five Thunder Dharma, Green Duckweed Sword Technique—every move aimed to kill.

His strikes were ruthless, his angles tricky, terrifying even the watching senior disciples.

This pleased Zhang Yangqing—it seemed Zhang Xuanjing had some real skill.

But in the end, Zhang Yangqing hadn’t even broken a sweat. He hadn’t moved an inch from his spot.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xuanjing was gasping for breath, collapsed on the ground.

Only by going all out did he realize just how insurmountable the Daoist leader truly was.

At this point, Zhang Yangqing walked over and helped him up.

After thanking him, Zhang Xuanjing asked urgently, “Celestial Master, did you see where I need improvement?”

Zhang Yangqing thought for a moment and said, “Your issue isn’t exactly hard, but it’s not simple either. Unless you encounter a great opportunity, you won’t be able to break through your limits.”

As one of the previous Celestial Master’s chosen successors and a disciple trained by him, Zhang Xuanjing had solid fundamentals. But to break through his limits, he needed greater enlightenment—the kind that comes from life-and-death experiences.

True growth comes from facing certain death.

Every cultivator who undergoes life-and-death trials can break through their limits.

Zhang Xuanjing asked earnestly, “Please, Celestial Master, guide me. Where can I find such an opportunity?”

To improve his cultivation, he was deadly serious!

Opportunities like this were elusive—sometimes, you might never encounter one in a lifetime.

Zhang Yangqing, calm and composed with his hands tucked in his robes, said, “Am I not the greatest opportunity you could ever encounter?”

In Zhang Yangqing’s view, if you need life-and-death experience, just come to me—no need to go somewhere troublesome.

Because I can end you anytime!

You seek the Dao? I am the Dao!

If you ask Heaven, I am Heaven!

The sudden burst of sheer audacity left all the fellow disciples stunned.

They thought, The Celestial Master truly possesses an arrogance that transcends the world!

The fellow disciples around the training grounds began sharing their takeaways from the day:

“When it comes to showing off, I only acknowledge the Celestial Master. Anyone else just makes me cringe!”

“In the art of showing off, if there’s one dan (unit) in this world, the Celestial Master takes twelve dou, and everyone else owes two dou!”

“Before I could even react, the Celestial Master had already finished flexing!”

“Good grief, after watching the Celestial Master and Senior Brother Xuanjing spar for so long, I didn’t learn any Daoist techniques—but I filled two whole notebooks with show-off techniques!”