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

Chu Zhou's roots curled up the King Beast Soul-Suppressing Bone. The bone was no bigger than a palm, but its surface was covered with thick mountain patterns, as if it contained thousands of miles of mountains.

Suddenly, the Soul-Suppressing Bone trembled slightly.

hum!

Above Heilong Lake, a fragmented scene appeared, a world completely different from what it is today.

The mountains of Sichuan rise high into the clouds.

A giant bear carrying a mountain range on its back stands before the endless black tide.

Behind it, there are white tigers treading mountains, giant apes carrying peaks, dragons churning rivers, and divine birds soaring through the sky.

Ten thousand beasts formed an array, mountains and rivers served as a shield, but the sky before them was cracked open with one massive portal after another.

After the portal.

Ancient city, sacred mountain, wilderness, and sea are faintly visible.

There were also pairs of cold and unfamiliar eyes watching this world from the other side of the boundary gate.

The afterimage of the Mountain-Splitting Black Bear roared to the sky.

"Our mountains and rivers must not be surrendered, nor must all beasts be sacrificed!"

boom!

As the black tide engulfed the scene, before the afterimages dissipated, a broken voice rang out in Chu Zhou's consciousness.

"The fourth tide is not a spiritual tide, but a gate tide..."

The screen completely collapsed.

The bottom of Heilong Lake fell silent.

After a long silence, Chu Zhou spoke up: "The Gate Tide?"

The crimson stone patterns on the strange rock shimmered, and it said in a deep voice, "In the old days, this world was not unique."

"Some powerful beings open up new worlds, some ancient clans seal off their realms and live in seclusion, and some lineages of strange beasts hide in the layers of mountains and rivers, waiting for the return of spiritual energy."

"After the end of the Dharma, the grotto-heavens will be severed from the mortal world. If the fourth spiritual tide arrives, those grotto-heavens that are attached to this world will find their way back."

Chu Zhou's lotus leaves stirred slightly: "Only a grotto-heaven?"

The strange stone was silent for a moment: "If it's just a cave, it's not a big deal. The real trouble is that when the spiritual tide rises to a certain level, the coordinates of this world will be exposed."

"At that time, the myriad worlds beyond the heavens will also notice this place. Some worlds will send people to trade, and some worlds will send people to rob."

"There are also some worlds that were swallowed up by the Black Tide. They come here not for resources, but to survive."

Chu Zhou looked at the Soul-Suppressing Bone, his expression instantly turning serious: "So, what the Rift-Mountain Black Bear guarded back then were those boundary gates?"

"Indeed." The strange stone's voice was deep: "It was once the king beast of the southwest, guarding not just a bear ridge, but the royal road of all beasts in Sichuan."

"What the Lord of the Abyss fears most is never a particular beast king. What it fears is that all the strange beasts in the world have their own will, their own lands and rivers, and one day a new king will emerge."

Chu Zhoulianye swayed gently and said, "Then I will walk this path again for them."

The strange stone snorted: "Easy for you to say. The Soul-Suppressing Bone left behind by the Rift-Mountain Black Bear wasn't for you to look at."

"This bone can be used to build the Soul-Suppressing Platform for Ten Thousand Beasts, which can suppress the soul, purify the abyss, and protect the beast veins. With it, even if the strange beasts in the Azure Lotus Pact have a seed hidden in their bodies, they will have a better chance of survival."

Chu Zhou tightened his grip: "How do we build it?"

The strange rock remained silent for a moment.

It looked at the King Beast Soul-Suppressing Bone in the roots of Chu Zhou, where scarlet stone patterns slowly flowed.

"The Soul-Suppressing Platform of Ten Thousand Beasts is no ordinary array platform. It is based on the bones of a king beast, the earth's veins, and the will of ten thousand beasts."

"Back when the Black Bear of the Rift Mountain was guarding Sichuan, he once erected a Soul-Suppressing Platform deep in Xiongling."

"Unfortunately, the King Beast later perished, and the Soul-Suppressing Platform was also corrupted by the Lord of the Abyss, which is why it turned into the Sacrifice Abyss Cave."

Chu Zhou asked, "What do you need?"

The strange stone said, "The first of the three items that can suppress the domain is the Ancestral Vein Stone. This item must bear the weight of mountains and stabilize the foundation of the Soul Suppressing Platform. Otherwise, the power of the myriad beasts' wishes will be too mixed, and the slightest conflict will cause the platform to collapse."

"The mountain pattern of the Qinling Taibai ancestral vein, the lineage of the ancient mountain-moving ape, is the most suitable guide for the vein."

Chu Zhou's lotus leaves trembled slightly: "The stone with the pattern of Mount Fuyue?"

"That's right," said the strange stone. "The mountain-patterned stone that the Green-Backed Ape King gave you was no ordinary gift."

"It carries the aura of the Taibai ancestral lineage and the bloodline and will of the Mountain-Moving Ancient Ape lineage."

"Using it as a guide will not harm the ancestral veins of the Qinling Mountains, but the Green-backed Ape King still needs to lend out a wisp of the Mountain-Bearing Pattern."

Chu Zhou nodded: "The second item?"

The strange rock looked towards Tokyo Bay in the Zhenyuan Emperor's Seal: "The bones of the Zhenchao are the mountains as the base, and the water is the vein of the platform."

"Black Dragon Lake is a water-based burrow. Without a sufficiently powerful object to suppress the tides, the Soul-Suppressing Platform can only protect land-based beasts, not their sea-dwelling companions."

"When the Azure Sea Dragon Whale King transformed, it shed a section of the Tide-Suppressing Whale Bone. That section of whale bone carries the tidal will that it used to guard Tokyo Bay. If it is willing to take it out, it can connect the Soul-Suppressing Platform to the sea area."

Chu Zhou said, "The Dragon Whale Association is willing."

The strange stone snorted, "Of course that big fish is willing. It cares about you more than its own life."

Chu Zhoulian swayed gently: "Is my beloved concubine jealous?"

The strange stone stiffened: "Get lost."

Chu Zhou smiled and asked, "And the third one?"

The strange stone said in a deep voice, "The Queen Bee's Spirit Essence, the Soul Suppressing Platform suppresses the souls of strange beasts, not just the Black Tide."

"Different beasts have different bloodlines and different races, and are born with instinctive conflicts. Tigers and wolves, bears and apes, birds and aquatic beasts—if there is no life force that can encompass all living beings, once the Soul Suppressing Platform is activated, it will become another formation that forcibly enslaves all beasts."

Chu Zhou understood.

The queen bee, Golden Bud, leads the colony not through intimidation, but through territorial control of the hive and shared life.

The Queen Bee's Essence is just the right ingredient to harmonize the Soul-Suppressing Platform of Ten Thousand Beasts.

The strange stone continued, "The Queen Bee's Essence cannot be forcibly obtained; it is something nurtured by the Queen Bee using the honey of a hundred flowers, the essence of the hive, and her own spiritual energy."

"If it is willing to give, it is willingly so. If you take it by force in the name of the master, the moment the Soul Suppressing Platform was erected, it went against the Green Lotus Pact you spoke of."

Chu Zhou remained silent for a moment.

Then, his roots landed on the imperial seal: "I will not take it by force."

The strange rock glanced at him, its patterns shimmering: "There's one last step."

Chu Zhou asked, "The power of the will of all beasts?"

"Not bad." The strange stone's voice was unusually serious: "The King Beast Soul-Suppressing Bone, the Ancestral Vein Stone, the Tide-Suppressing Whale Bone, and the Queen Bee's Spiritual Marrow can only give the Soul-Suppressing Platform a physical body."

"What truly awakens it is the power of will. At that time, you will need to speak to all the mythical beasts that uphold the covenant of the Azure Lotus."

"They can lend a wisp of their will, or they can refuse; no one can make the decision for them."

Chu Zhou looked towards Black Dragon Mountain.

There, Bai Shanjun lay on the rocks, Xiao Jinbao perched on the edge of a lotus leaf, and the Snowfield Wolf King led his pack to stand on the lake shore.

Further afield, in the Qinling Mountains, Sichuan, Changbai Mountain, Nanjiang River, and Tokyo Bay, there are all strange beasts willing to keep the promise of the Azure Lotus.

The strange stone said, "Once the Soul-Suppressing Platform of Ten Thousand Beasts is completed, if the Guardian Beasts are invaded by the Abyss Seed, you will be able to use the Soul-Suppressing Platform to suppress the Black Tide."

"But similarly, once the Soul-Suppressing Platform is destroyed, the backlash will also fall on all the strange beasts that lent their willpower."

Chu Zhou's lotus leaves trembled slightly: "Therefore, it will become a thorn in the side of the Lord of Abyss Eclipse."

Strange Stone said, "Not only the Lord of the Abyss, but also the Holy Covenant Sect, the remnants of the Spirit Hunter Society, and some ancient clans of small worlds may not be willing to see strange beasts have their own path."

Chu Zhou smiled, somewhat unconcerned: "Then let them come."

Strange Stone sneered, "You've got quite the nerve."

Chu Zhou's roots curled up the King Beast's Soul-Suppressing Bone and sank directly into the deepest part of Black Dragon Lake: "Suppressing Abyss Spirit, send messages to Qinling, Tokyo Bay, and Changbai Mountain."

[Command received from master.]

hum!

Three streaks of black and gold light crossed the mountains and rivers.

Chu Zhou's voice reached the ears of the Green-Backed Ape King, the Azure Sea Dragon Whale King, and the Golden Bud Bee King.