Reborn as a lotus, she initially refuses to hand it over to the state.

But this is not enough. It seems that we still need to evolve quickly, otherwise we will only be devoured if we encounter a higher-level being.

With this in mind, Chu Zhou calmed down and devoted himself to absorbing and refining spiritual energy.

Meanwhile, deep in the mountains several kilometers away from Heilong Lake.

The trees swayed as a massive white tiger, its body covered in blood, darted through the forest at astonishing speed. Fear still lingered in its eyes.

What was in that lake just now was terrifying. It wasn't some kind of elixir at all, but a monster that could kill.

Especially with those water blades flying everywhere, the black bear didn't even have a chance to fight back before its head flew off.

"roar!"

The white tiger roared in a low voice, dispelling the fear in my heart.

It wanted to replenish its energy, and its gaze fell on the hillside ahead, where a group of newly mutated wild deer were drinking water.

Their size has increased significantly, and two of them have even reached the first rank.

The white tiger's eyes instantly turned cold; it was fleeing for its life, but it was also injured and needed to recover.

The next second, the tiger pounced. A wild deer didn't even have time to scream before its neck was snapped in two.

Blood splattered as the white tiger tore and devoured the prey with near-madness.

It vaguely sensed that these mutated flesh and blood could make it stronger. Especially when it thought of the demonic lotus in the lake, a hint of resentment and greed resurfaced in its eyes.

If we can't beat them now, we can go back sooner or later when we become stronger.

After killing a few wild deer, the tiger was still not satisfied. It ran and roamed through the mountains and forests, looking for any animal that could replenish its energy to hunt.

On the outskirts of Heilong Mountain, an off-road vehicle is parked beside a muddy mountain road.

The car door opened, and three figures carrying equipment stepped out: "My God, how did this mountain suddenly change like this?"

A young man wearing glasses looked around and couldn't help but swallow hard. The trees were noticeably thicker.

The air was excessively humid; even the weeds were almost knee-high. The young man was Zhou Hao, twenty-four years old, a graduate student from Linjiang University in Linjiang City. He majored in ecology and was his professor's most valued student.

Beside her stood a girl wearing a white sports jacket, with fair skin and delicate features. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she appeared to be about twenty-one or twenty-two years old.

Her name is Lin Qingxue.

A student from the Biology Department of Linjiang University, and also a member of her professor's research group, looked towards the mountains and forests, her tone clearly worried: "Professor Zhao, perhaps we shouldn't go in?"

"Weren't the news reports all about the unusual lunar phenomena a while back?"

"And didn't you notice that something is clearly wrong in these mountains?"

"The trees are growing too fast."

"The birdsong doesn't sound right either."

The more she talked, the more uneasy she felt, especially about the global moon palace phantom that had recently appeared, which still gave her the creeps.

The internet has exploded. Some say it's a resurgence of spiritual energy. Others say it's the end of the world. There are even secretly filmed videos claiming that animals in the mountains have started attacking people.

Zhou Hao, a little intimidated, quietly echoed, "Yes, teacher."

"I just saw on the forum that someone has gone missing in the nearby mountains."

"Should we wait for official confirmation?"

As a result, an elderly man in his sixties next to him frowned.

The old man had half-white hair, but his back was very straight, and his eyes held a stubbornness unique to scholars.

Zhao Guoan is a professor at the Institute of Ecology, Linjiang University, and a leading authority in the field of plant ecology in China.

This trip into the mountains is to complete an urgent scientific research project on changes in the forest.

Zhao Guoan said in a deep voice, "It's precisely because it's abnormal that we need to go in."

"When have researchers ever been afraid of danger?"

"Following the recent lunar anomaly, ecological data across the country has shown abnormalities."

"Plants are growing wildly, the air is changing, and the magnetic field is fluctuating."

"If this is some kind of global ecological disaster."

"First-hand information is more important than life itself."

Zhou Hao's lips twitched. "Teacher, what's the point of researching if you're dead?"

Lin Qingxue was somewhat helpless. She knew this old professor too well; once he made up his mind about something, nothing could change it.

Zhao Guoan has begun inspecting the equipment: drones, soil collectors, and recorders.

Without leaving a single item behind, he said without turning his head, "Qingxue, Zhou Hao, if you're scared, you can wait in the car."

"I'll go in by myself, an old man."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qingxue said, "Teacher, it's more dangerous for you to go into the mountains alone."

Zhou Hao quickly shook his head: "Never mind, I'll go with you."

"If something really happens, we can still take care of you."

Lin Qingxue sighed and could only stuff the bear spray into her bag.

"Alright, but it's agreed that we'll only keep records from the outside, and retreat immediately if anything seems amiss."

Zhao Guoan smiled and agreed verbally, but he didn't take it seriously at all, because just now, he was on the drone's thermal imaging map.

An extremely unusual location was discovered: Black Dragon Lake exhibited abnormally high levels of life activity.

The surrounding vegetation density is even several times that of other areas.

"If I'm not mistaken, there must be something there."

After quickly tidying up their gear, the three of them officially entered the mountains.

At first, everything seemed normal. But the changes in the mountains were far more dramatic than they had imagined.

The trees have grown wildly; shrubs that were originally less than two meters tall are now almost as tall as an adult's shoulder.

The ground was covered with damp, lush wild grass, and the air was filled with an indescribable coolness. Just breathing it was invigorating.

As Zhou Hao walked, he couldn't help but mutter, "This is way too exaggerated."

"There were unusual phenomena at the moon palace not long ago, and now the plants are growing like this?"

Lin Qingxue was increasingly alarmed as she looked at it: "This is not scientific."

"Even with hormone injections, it's impossible to achieve this quickly."

Zhao Guoan became more and more excited as he looked at the photos, the old man taking pictures along the way with his notebook in hand.

He would squat down to take samples from time to time, and even dig soil with a small shovel. He excitedly said, "I didn't expect these leaves to have thickened, and their cell activity to have increased abnormally. The soil contains unknown active energy."

"Incredible, truly incredible."

His eyes practically lit up, like he'd discovered a new continent.

Just then, the bushes next to them suddenly shook violently.

The three of them stopped in their tracks, and Zhou Hao's face instantly turned pale: "Wh...what is that?"

The next second, a gray wolf, nearly the size of an adult dog, suddenly darted out, but unlike ordinary wolves.

Its fur had a grayish-black metallic sheen, its fangs protruded, its eyes were scarlet, and its shoulder height was nearly 1.5 meters.

There was still blood at the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating that he had just eaten.

"Awooo!" the gray wolf growled, its eyes revealing a clear desire to attack.

Lin Qingxue's expression changed drastically: "A wolf? No, how come it's so big?"

Zhou Hao panicked and threw his backpack aside, grabbing a hunting rifle for self-defense from the side. They were worried about wild animals before they went into the mountains.

Protective equipment had been requested in advance. Zhao Guoan's expression changed instantly: "Be careful!"

The gray wolf suddenly pounced, moving with incredible speed. A gunshot rang out. Zhou Hao pulled the trigger almost with his eyes closed.

The bullet struck the gray wolf directly in the chest, but what was truly chilling was...

The gray wolf wasn't dead; its body was just knocked to the side. A large patch of flesh and blood exploded from its chest, yet it still roared and charged forward.

Holy crap!

Zhou Hao's scalp tingled: "What the hell kind of monster is this?"

Lin Qingxue also raised her gun and fired. The second shot hit the wolf's head accurately, and the gray wolf finally let out a miserable howl and crashed heavily to the ground.

His body twitched a few times, then went completely still. All three of them began to breathe rapidly. Their backs were covered in cold sweat.

Zhou Hao's legs went weak: "I almost got killed. An ordinary wolf would have died long ago if it were shot, right?"

Zhao Guoan suddenly rushed over. As if he had seen a treasure, he squatted down next to the wolf carcass.

"Wait, don't touch it!" He quickly put on gloves and took out the testing equipment. He scanned the gray wolf's carcass.

A few seconds later, the instrument suddenly emitted a rapid alarm sound, and the values ​​jumped wildly. Zhao Guoan's pupils contracted sharply: "High-energy reaction, how is this possible?"

He quickly cut open the gray wolf's skin and discovered that a faint silvery glow remained within the flesh. There was even a faint trace of warmth.

Zhou Hao swallowed hard. "Teacher, why does this thing look like a mythical beast from a novel?"

Zhao Guoan was silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, his voice trembled slightly: "Perhaps the speculations about the revival of spiritual energy online are not necessarily false."

Lin Qingxue was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Zhao Guoan said, "This animal has clearly undergone evolution at the life level."

"And the energy within it might be absorbed."

"It could even cause changes in humanity."

Zhou Hao's eyes widened instantly: "Awakened superpowers?"

Zhao Guoan nodded: "Theoretically possible."

The air suddenly became quiet.

The three exchanged a glance, their breathing becoming heavy, if they could truly awaken.

What does that mean? The rules of the world have changed.

Just as Zhou Hao hesitated, he said, "How about we take it back and study it?"

Zhao Guoan said, "We can start with a small-scale experiment."

Lin Qingxue was completely bewildered: "Teacher, you don't want to eat it, do you?"

Zhao Guoan nodded earnestly: "Scientific research always needs someone to try it out."

"If the world truly changes, we cannot fall behind."

Zhou Hao was dumbfounded; the teacher was truly insane.

Suddenly, a piercing scream came from deep within the woods ahead.

"Aww!"

The sound was extremely piercing, and the three of them instinctively looked over. Several hundred meters away, they saw a mutated lynx, nearly the size of a wild boar, frantically tearing apart another mutated wild dog.

Blood splattered, and the sound of bones being crushed was clearly audible. The scene was so bloody it was chilling.

Zhou Hao swallowed hard: "Is it eating its own kind?"

But the next second, something even more terrifying happened. After the lynx had swallowed a large amount of flesh and blood, its body suddenly began to convulse violently.

My whole body was swollen, and it felt like something was wriggling wildly beneath my skin.

"Roar!" it roared, its body growing larger and larger.

The bones cracked and popped, the claws visibly grew longer, and the eyes turned completely blood red.

Lin Qingxue's face turned pale: "It...it's mutating?"

Zhao Guoan's pupils contracted: "It should be absorbing energy."

But the next second, before the three could react, a muffled thud was heard, and the lynx's body exploded, blood and flesh splattering everywhere. The tree trunk was covered with bits of flesh and internal organs, and a strong smell of blood filled the air.

The three of them froze on the spot, their faces turning deathly pale. Zhou Hao's legs went weak: "Holy crap, eating too much can cause it to explode?"

Zhao Guoan broke out in a cold sweat; he had almost wanted to try wolf meat just now.

Lin Qingxue's voice trembled: "Teacher, shouldn't we go back now?"