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

Meanwhile, on the other side, in the Lingnan Mountains, outside Heilong Mountain, a large number of military vehicles began to retreat.

Searchlights pierced the night, and lines of defense were quickly established as armed personnel continuously withdrew from the mountain pass.

The air was so oppressive it was hard to breathe, especially for those who witnessed the missile bombing; they were still in a daze.

That's an armed helicopter.

As a result, not even a single leaf in the middle of the lake was shattered. Gu Yan sat in the car, his fingers still trembling slightly. The detector screen was completely distorted, but the psionic curve remained.

It was still frighteningly high, and even rising. Gu Yan swallowed hard.

"Captain, it's still getting stronger."

The car was quiet; no one spoke. Lu Cang sat at the front, his trench coat stained with blood, his face terribly grim.

The scene from just now remained etched in his mind.

Thick fog billowed, missiles exploded. Then, in the center of the lake, the enormous demonic lotus unfolded amidst the flames.

Like an ancient life form awakening, especially that final spiritual pressure, even now, makes Lu Cang's scalp tingle.

That wasn't an ordinary beast; it was more like some kind of sentient being.

Just then, the communicator suddenly rang.

"Director Lu, the headquarters' highest-level meeting has commenced."

"Please connect immediately."

Lu Cang said, "Connect."

The next moment, the screen inside the car lit up, and figures appeared in the meeting screen, including an old man in military uniform, a high-ranking official from the Ninth Bureau, and even several superhumans with dangerous auras.

The atmosphere in the entire conference room was extremely oppressive.

In the center of the screen, a video of the bombing was playing. Illuminated by the firelight, the enormous lotus shadow in the middle of the lake appeared and disappeared.

The silence was suffocating; no one spoke in the conference room until, after a long while, an elderly man with gray hair finally spoke.

"Lu Cang, is it confirmed to be a fourth-tier life form?"

Lu Cang's voice was deep: "Confirmed, and it's not an ordinary beast. The target appears to possess advanced mental fluctuations."

The atmosphere in the meeting room changed noticeably after those words were spoken.

A middle-aged military officer frowned: "You mean, it possesses intelligence?"

Lu Cang nodded and said, "At least it knows what territory is, and it didn't actively hunt us down."

In the conference room, someone's expression changed, but soon, a cold voice rang out: "Not launching an attack does not mean there is no threat. Catastrophic life forms must be eliminated in advance."

The speaker was a man in a black uniform. His expression was cold, and his tone was authoritative: "If we wait until it is completely stable, the entire Linjiang will be out of control."

Many people nodded in silence, but Lu Cang suddenly spoke up: "Continuing the attack will come at a great cost. Black Dragon Lake has formed a complete spiritual energy domain. It's not just a single beast there, but an entire forbidden zone. Missiles can no longer counter it. Are we going to have to use nuclear weapons? That would be catastrophic, meaning the entire Linjiang City would have to be abandoned."

The moment those words were spoken, the entire conference room fell silent. In this age of public opinion, a country will generally not use nuclear weapons unless absolutely necessary, unless the situation has become extremely serious.

Thinking of this, everyone felt extremely solemn. The improvement of the strength of China's extraordinary individuals was imminent.

On the other side, Chen Wuji, along with his grandson Chen Ziyang and granddaughter Chen Xueli, killed the python king and took the crystal core after entering the mountain. They originally intended to continue trying their luck in the mountain.

Unexpectedly, I watched the entire process of the country deploying special air force units to bomb Chuzhou with missiles.

The shocking sight of roots piercing and exploding helicopters in the sky is still very frightening.

"Even a third-tier expert would be blasted to pieces by a missile. Just how powerful is this forbidden being in the mountains? Fourth-tier, fifth-tier, or even stronger?"

Chen Wuji was also shocked. He frowned, as everything that was happening before his eyes was beyond his expectations.

Chen Xueli was deeply shaken and asked, "Grandpa, what do we do next?"

Chen Ziyang also looked at Chen Wuji.

"Let's leave here first. Since the country has already mobilized troops, it means that the Ninth Bureau will also have a bigger operation. That old guy Zhou Zhenshan will definitely have a countermeasure. Let's wait and see." After saying that, Chen Wuji turned around and quickly left.

The anomaly has begun, and he doesn't know how far it will go next, but right now the most important thing is to find a safe place to absorb the third-tier alien beast crystal core in his hand and improve his strength.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Heilong Lake, the lake surface returned to calm. Heilong Lake was once again deathly still.

A night breeze swept across the lake, causing the mist to swirl and billow.

In the distant mountains and forests, the flames and the smell of burnt remains from the helicopter crash.

Chu Zhou silently sensed the outside world as his mental domain expanded.

Everything outside the mountains became crystal clear: lines of defense were being established. Armored vehicles, heavy artillery positions, searchlights, and a large influx of human presence were gathering.

Even in the outer sky, unmanned reconnaissance equipment was circling at a distance. The entire Black Dragon Mountain had been targeted. Chu Zhou remained silent for a long time, a sense of heaviness creeping into his mind.

"It was exposed after all."

His original plan was to hide in Heilonghu and develop slowly.

He kept a low profile, acted stealthily, and avoided trouble, waiting until he was completely invincible before making any moves. However, his breakthrough to the fourth tier was so dramatic that even the spiritual phenomena couldn't be concealed.

Humans not only came looking for us, but they also immediately launched a missile barrage.

This means that, starting today, he has been placed on the official danger list.

Chu Zhou was well aware that although he was strong now, he was not strong enough to ignore the entire country.

One missile failed, what about the next? More advanced weapons, or an encirclement by superhumans?

Even something more outrageous? Development must be accelerated.

Chu Zhou quickly regained his composure.

"First, expand territory."

"Second, establish a defense system."

Third, train subordinates.

He can't do everything himself.

As the number of enemies increases, Black Dragon Lake must establish its own power.

With this in mind, Chu Zhou's mental energy swept across the entire lake.

The next second, he was suddenly stunned. The spiritual energy fluctuations by the lake had become stronger.

at the same time.

On the lake shore, a small aquatic plant that was originally trembling suddenly burst out with a dazzling blue light.

"Master, help! I feel like I'm going to split open!" Xiao Qing shook herself frantically.

next second.

boom!

A surge of rich spiritual energy rushed in, and the grass blades, which were originally only half a meter long, began to grow wildly.

One meter, three meters, ten meters, vines and aquatic plants spread wildly along the lake shore, and a bluish-green light covered the entire area.

A moment later, a huge, green aquatic plant, more than ten meters tall, stretched out.

The leaves are like jade, with flowing blue veins on the surface.

Dozens of vines swayed slowly in the air, each one as agile as a long whip.

Most strangely, a faint green poisonous fog was faintly permeating the air.

[Family evolution complete]

【Qingling Waterweed King】

[Level: Early Stage of Tier 3]

[Abilities: Binding and restraining, poison paralysis, water manipulation]

Xiaoqing froze for a few seconds, then let out an excited scream.

"Wow, Master, Master, I've gotten bigger!"

Chu Zhou was speechless. Wasn't there something wrong with what you were saying? But then he discovered that Xiao Qing's strength had actually reached the mid-stage of the third tier.

He was very happy. The increased strength of his entourage meant that he would no longer be fighting alone.

Before he could react, the next second, on the treetops by the lake, Little Jinbao, who had been curled up in a ball, suddenly bristled with feathers.

"I'm getting hot too!"

boom!

Golden spiritual energy surged into the sky, and its body rapidly grew larger. Its feathers transformed into a dazzling gold, with sharp spiritual patterns appearing along their edges.

Its wingspan reached nearly five meters, and its pupils turned a brilliant gold.

A clear, melodious chirp echoed through the mountains and forests.

brush!

It gently flapped its wings. Dozens of golden wind blades sliced ​​through the distant forest, creating sharp sonic booms in the air.

[Family evolution complete]

【Golden Feathered Sparrow King】

[Level: Mid-Tier 3]

[Abilities: High-altitude reconnaissance, wind blade cutting, airspace attack]

Little Jinbao looked down at himself and was immediately overjoyed.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"If anyone dares to bomb their master again, I'll pluck all the feathers off their planes first."

Chu Zhou's eye twitched. "You're just a bird, why are you thinking about aerial combat all the time?" But upon closer inspection, Chu Zhou was still somewhat pleased.

Little Jinbao has reached the mid-stage of Tier 3 and has mastered wind-based abilities, so he should be able to put up a fight against ordinary helicopters.

The strange changes in Little Golden Treasure weren't over yet. Just then, a large swarm of black-striped spirit bees suddenly stirred in the crevices of the rocks by the lake.

The swarm of bees simultaneously burst forth with divine light.

Its body size rapidly increased, its tail stinger became jet black and sharp, and when its wings vibrated, it made a sound similar to the friction of blades.

There were at least a thousand of them, flying up in dense swarms, which was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

[Swarm evolution complete]

【Lingfeng Poisonous Bee Queen】

[Level: Late Stage 2]

[Abilities: Group attack, poison paralysis, rapid kill]

More importantly, they seem to have developed a simple wisdom. The largest queen bee actually flew to the lakeside and lowered her head, as if she were submitting to Chu Zhou.

Chu Zhou was excited when he saw the swarm of bees. Although the queen bee was only at the late stage of the second tier, she was still no match for the strength of the other bee clans.

Each spirit bee is roughly at the early stage of the second tier. Just how strong are these thousands of spirit bees?

Chu Zhou felt a surge of excitement at the thought of facing another human attack.

What pleased him was that more and more animals around Heilong Lake were beginning to develop intelligence, and the monkey troop had learned to patrol.

The lynx hid in the shadows, the fox provided early warning, the wild deer acted as sentinels, and even a few gray wolves began to patrol the mountain path.

They were no longer just ordinary animals. Under Chu Zhou's command, they gradually began to develop discipline, and the entire Black Dragon Lake began to form its own power.

As Chu Zhou watched all this, his originally heavy mood finally eased slightly.

Humans have discovered him, and the future will inevitably be turbulent. Since we can't avoid it, let's turn Black Dragon Lake into a true forbidden zone.

Anyone who dares to come in will have to pay the price.

With this thought in mind, Chu Zhou spread his mental will, and a cold command resounded throughout the entire mountain forest.

"From today onwards, Black Dragon Lake is off-limits to all human beings."

Under the powerful mental pressure from Chu Zhou, countless beasts bowed their heads simultaneously, and the entire forest was filled with submission.