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

The deer with broken antlers ran wildly, blood dripping from its forehead, crashing through large swathes of bushes.

With each step it took, the ground trembled, and dozens of figures were frantically chasing after it.

Some people were carrying long knives, some were carrying modified firearms, and some were leaping over tree trunks, their speed far exceeding that of ordinary people.

"Chase it, don't let it get into the core area, that beast is dying."

The young man in the lead, dressed in a light blue outfit, was beaming with excitement. His name was Gu Changfeng, and he came from the outer sect of the Qingcheng Sect.

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared greedily at the early-stage second-tier deer in front of him.

"Grab it. As long as I get the crystal core, I'll be guaranteed to reach the mid-stage of the second tier."

At this moment, a middle-aged man holding a Bagua staff at the rear of the group suddenly frowned. He came from a small sect in the north called Tieshanmen. He said, "Brother Gu, is it not appropriate to chase further in? The deeper we go into the mountains, the more terrifying the potential dangers become. We should be careful."

He glanced at the increasingly thick fog, lowering his voice slightly, "I have a feeling something's not right. The beasts have been getting stronger and stronger along the way; that mutated black bear we just saw was almost at the second tier."

"After all, Heilong Mountain is a key area under official lockdown. Wouldn't it be dangerous to go further in?"

Upon hearing this, someone nearby immediately sneered. The speaker was a short-haired young man dressed in a black training uniform, with two short knives at his waist.

This man, named Zhao Tiancheng, came from the Zhao family of Lingnan: "What are you afraid of?"

He scoffed and spat, "You don't actually believe what the Ninth Bureau said, do you? Forbidden zones, evil spirits, king-level beasts—it's just to scare ordinary people."

He said, his eyes filled with arrogance, "What's more, this time it's not just ordinary second-tier awakened individuals like us who have come. The real core forces have also joined in."

Upon hearing this, everyone subconsciously looked over. Zhao Tiancheng sneered: "The core disciples of Longhu Mountain, the direct disciples of Bajiquan, and the direct descendants of the Nangong and Ye families."

"There are even a few young members of reclusive martial arts families. It is said that some of them have already reached the late stage of the second tier and are not far from the third tier."

At this point, his tone became even more contemptuous: "If there's any real danger, we'll be the ones who die first; someone above will naturally take the fall."

"What we need to do now is to hunt down the alien beasts and seize the crystal cores first, and take advantage of the fact that the real big shots haven't gone deeper into the area yet."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of those who were initially worried immediately eased considerably.

Upon closer reflection, it seems so; the Heilongshan incident had a significant impact.

The resurgence of spiritual energy, the appearance of exotic beasts, and crystal cores drove almost the entire supernatural community into a frenzy, and not just them.

Martial arts families, local conglomerates, underground forces, and ancient martial arts sects all secretly sent people in.

A rough estimate suggests that there are at least a dozen forces, large and small, that have entered the outer perimeter of Black Dragon Mountain.

The number of people exceeded one hundred, and some of them even brought heavy firepower.

In the eyes of many, this is no longer a dangerous area, but a treasure trove waiting to be mined.

Whoever grabs the most will lead an era.

After the spiritual energy recovers, the first to benefit are not ordinary people, but those who originally practiced traditional Chinese martial arts and ancient martial arts.

Because they discovered that the bottlenecks they had been unable to overcome even after a lifetime of practice were beginning to loosen. The so-called "manifest strength," "hidden strength," and "transforming strength" they had previously referred to were more about controlling the body's power.

However, after the emergence of spiritual energy, some top martial artists were actually able to sense a kind of "qi" within their bodies.

Their strength surged, their senses were enhanced, and their recovery speed increased. Some even shattered boulders with a single punch and leaped several meters.

Many of the older generation of masters were so excited that they were almost frantic.

Because they discovered that things in ancient books that were once considered legends might actually be true.

The so-called Qi cultivation and the so-called extraordinary are not fictions, but rather the result of the revival of heaven and earth after their separation.

Therefore, Black Dragon Mountain, a place rich in spiritual energy and teeming with exotic beasts, is seen not as danger, but as an opportunity by many martial artists.

Thick fog rolled around the perimeter of Black Dragon Lake. Deep in the mountains, chaos reigned. A bloodied red deer staggered out of the woods, its once proud eyes now filled with terror.

Behind it, several mutated wild boars, black bears, and even the once dominant second-tier giant wolf king were all fleeing in disarray.

Behind them came a large number of Awakened Ones who were pursuing them, gunshots, explosions, and excited shouts all mixed together.

"Quick, don't let them get away! The crystal cores of these second-tier alien beasts are enough to make us rich."

Gu Changfeng charged forward, knife in hand, his eyes burning with rage. Zhao Tiancheng laughed loudly, "See that? What did you mean by 'forbidden zone' in the ninth round? And what happened?"

"They're just a bunch of beasts. Today, I'm going to use Black Dragon Mountain as a resource farm."

Many people around were excited. As they ventured deeper into the area, they had already hunted down numerous strange beasts, and their strength was subtly improving.

Some of the bolder ones have even started fantasizing about using the crystal core to break through their cultivation level and then soaring to great heights after returning home.

However, at that moment, all the strange beasts suddenly stopped, including the deer with the broken antler. They seemed to have reached some invisible boundary, and no matter how the humans chased after them, they dared not take another step forward.

Their beastly eyes were filled with fear, even awe.

The air suddenly fell silent. Gu Changfeng frowned: "What's going on?"

The next second, the ground shook violently.

In the center of Black Dragon Lake, a gigantic blue lotus flower gradually appeared in what was originally an empty lake, radiating a divine emerald light.

Under the sunlight, it exudes an inviolable aura of power.

hum!

A powerful spiritual wave swept out, causing the giant blue lotus rooted in the lake's bottom cave to sway slightly.

Chu Zhou opened his consciousness and sensed that a large number of strange beasts were fleeing, while dense human presence was recklessly intruding into the mountains and forests.

They hunted, plundered, and even fought their way to the outskirts of Black Dragon Lake.

Chu Zhou's face instantly darkened: "How dare you! It seems the lesson from last time wasn't enough. You actually dare to come to my house and cause trouble again?"

Chu Zhou was furious. He had only been in seclusion for a few days, and people were already raiding his doorstep. It seemed that the shock to the country was still not enough, and these people had to be dealt with.

At this moment, deep within the ancient well, the chains trembled, and that ancient, deep voice rang out once more.

"Kill them, sacrifice them to me. These humans are just right to be sacrifices."

The voice carried a clear seductive tone: "Sacrifice them, and I will grant you even greater power."

Chu Zhou's lips twitched, and he thought to himself, "Do you really think I'm just a wage earner? Constantly nagging me about KPIs."

However, Chu Zhou didn't refuse, because these people had already crossed the line. The area around Black Dragon Lake was his true core region.

Not to mention, the tiger, the deer, and many other strange beasts that depended on him were all forced to his doorstep.

If we retreat any further, we'll have to retreat to the lakeside.

Chu Zhou's gaze was icy: "Deal with these people first. Once I advance to the fifth rank, I'll slowly study you."

However, before he could give the order, a mental wave filled with anger suddenly came: "Master, you don't need to deal with these humans. Leave them to me."

A giant golden shadow suddenly leaped out of the mist. Little Jinbao was now over seven meters long, with golden fur standing on end like steel needles, and its eyes flashing with ferocity.

The third-tier pressure spread out with a roar, clearly enraged. Many of those beasts were its recently acquired underlings, and now they were being chased and beaten? Naturally, it could not tolerate this.

Beside them, the air trembled violently, and a dark shadow swept across the sky. A black and gold queen bee, nearly the size of a car, appeared, its wings flapping, and thousands of mutated venomous bees swarmed around it.

Like a dark cloud of death, the queen bee's voice was icy: "Master, leave these intruders to me."

Chu Zhou was stunned for a moment. Good heavens, he hadn't given the order yet.

His own men have already volunteered for battle?

Chu Zhou's consciousness stirred slightly, and on the lake's surface, a giant blue lotus swayed, and a cold mental wave issued an instruction: "Granted."

The next second, Little Jinbao was so excited he almost exploded: "Great! Finally, we can get to these humans!"

Its wings suddenly spread out, and its body, which was originally only a little over a meter long, expanded wildly under the burst of spiritual energy.

Three meters, five meters, seven meters, in just a few seconds.

A giant golden bird with a wingspan of over ten meters burst out of the mist.

Its feathers were as if cast in gold, with edges gleaming with a cold metallic sheen. Its claws were as thick as steel hooks, and most terrifying of all were its eyes.

Cold, brutal, and exuding the oppressive aura of a apex predator.

The pressure of the third tier descended suddenly, causing Gu Changfeng and the others who were chasing the alien beast to subconsciously look up.

The next second, everyone turned deathly pale.

"bird?"

Holy crap!

"What the hell is this monster?!"

Some people's voices even changed tone because the thing was so big.

It blotted out the sky, like a fighter jet diving at low altitude.

"Retreat!" Gu Changfeng's hair stood on end, his body instinctively issuing a frantic warning, but it was already too late.

Boo!

A sharp bird's cry instantly tore through the forest. Many weaker Awakened Ones felt their heads explode.

With his eardrums bleeding and his vision going black, Little Jinbao suddenly swooped down, so fast that only a golden afterimage remained.

An awakened individual had just raised his gun.

puff!

The person was pierced through by the sharp claws, and the corpse was pulled into the air like a torn sack.

Then, it was casually torn in two, and blood splattered from the sky.

[A subordinate killed one early-stage Tier 2 human Awakener, gaining +1500 Evolution Points]

Chu Zhou's eyes lit up slightly. He hadn't expected that he could also gain evolution points by killing a human Awakened One. This was quite interesting.

At the same time, the queen bee also moved, and a dark cloud descended, with thousands of poisonous bees enveloping the mountains and forests like a dark cloud.

Puff puff!

Poison needles rained down like a storm, and the dozen or so Awakened Ones who were running at the back screamed in agony. Some had their faces rotting, some had their necks pierced, and others had their bodies turn black as they collapsed and convulsed.

The scene was like a slaughterhouse. These mutated bees were all at the mid-to-late stage of the first tier. They seemed to be low-level, but thousands of mutated bees were terrifying. Who could possibly fight against them?

"Run! Damn it, this isn't a resource point. The Ninth Bureau was right, there really are Tier 3 beasts here!"

Zhao Tiancheng completely broke down, his previous arrogance vanished, and he roared as he fled.

"Where are the people from Longhu Mountain? Where are the people from Bajiquan?"

"Help!"

Of the hundreds of awakened beings, more than half were killed or injured in the blink of an eye, and many sect disciples tried to escape as quickly as possible.

Chu Zhou's face was grim; he wouldn't let all of these people escape.

With a thought, dozens of thick vines burst forth from the ground, like giant pythons, and launched an attack on these awakened humans.

puff!

An awakened being was pierced through the chest on the spot, his body hanging directly in the air. The huge roots emitted a black-gold light, and then the awakened being's body was instantly devoured.

Completely wiped out.

"Terrifying, forbidden, run! There are other monsters here, and that video is real!" The middle-aged man from the Iron Mountain Sect looked terrified. He turned his internal energy to the left, transforming into a blur as he quickly fled the area.

He was very excited when he first entered the mountain, after all, he had killed three mutated second-tier demon wolves and obtained three demon wolf crystal cores.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, his strength will inevitably break through from the late stage of Tier 1 to the early stage of Tier 2, or even stronger.

But right now he was in no mood for that at all. He was terrified after witnessing other sects' second-tier disciples being instantly pierced through the chest.

Escape. As long as I escape from here, I will never go exploring those forbidden deep mountains again, no matter what.

All I need to do now is practice diligently, and I believe I will become stronger.

Just as the middle-aged man was thinking about these things, a disciple of the Iron Mountain Sect suddenly exclaimed from behind: "Old Chen, watch out behind you!"

Hearing his disciple's exclamation, the middle-aged man also felt a chill run down his spine.

Just as he was about to dodge, a cold light suddenly shot out from behind.

The middle-aged man was startled. He looked down and saw a sharp dagger piercing through his abdomen from his lower back.

Blood instantly stained his clothes. His pupils contracted sharply, and he turned his head in disbelief. Behind him stood Zhao Tiancheng.

To be precise, it was Gu Changfeng and Zhao Tiancheng.

Gu Changfeng had returned at some point, a cold smile on his face, and kicked the middle-aged man in the back.

The middle-aged man staggered and fell to the ground, blood gushing from his wounds.

"You surnamed Gu..." He gripped the Bagua staff tightly, his eyes bloodshot, his voice trembling, "Are you insane? Why did you ambush me?"

In the distance, the swarm of bees blotted out the sky, and Little Goldfish relentlessly swooped down to slaughter the bees, their screams echoing through the mountains and forests.

Gu Changfeng simply wiped the blood off the knife indifferently.

"crazy?"

He scoffed, "You don't really think I'd run away with a burden, do you?"

The middle-aged man stared intently at him, veins bulging on his forehead: "We've been working together to kill these strange beasts, and you actually attacked me from behind?"

Zhao Tiancheng stood to the side, his expression indifferent, even somewhat mocking: "Old man, face reality. Who doesn't want to live these days?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the approaching, terrifying roots and said with a cold laugh, "Someone has to stay behind to cover our retreat."

The middle-aged man's chest heaved violently, his anger almost overwhelming his reason.

"Why me?"

Gu Changfeng looked down at him, his eyes full of contempt: "Why?" He smiled, but his smile was icy cold: "Because your Iron Mountain Sect is a small sect."

"Useless, you don't deserve to live. After the spiritual energy recovers, resources will be limited, and the weak should die anyway."

Gu Changfeng squatted down, patted the middle-aged man on the shoulder, and said mockingly, "You don't really think that a third-rate sect like yours can compete with forces like Longhu Mountain, Bajiquan, and the Nangong family for opportunities, do you?"

"Stop dreaming. People like you are just wasting crystal cores by living."

Zhao Tiancheng said, "In the era of evolution, waste should be eliminated. Leaving you here to buy time is a way to make the last bit of value you have."

"you…"

The middle-aged man was trembling with rage, his eyes bloodshot, but the next second, the sky suddenly darkened.

A vast shadow of death loomed over the land.

Hundreds of mutated venomous bees, attracted by the smell of blood, swooped down in this direction.

In the distance, Little Golden Treasure flapped its wings, stirring up a gust of wind, and its golden pupils locked onto the spot.

Gu Changfeng's expression changed drastically: "Run!"

He turned and fled, and Zhao Tiancheng's scalp tingled. He burst into full speed and rushed towards the mountains.

Just as they had taken a few steps, a burst of maniacal laughter rang out behind them.

The middle-aged man, covered in blood, stood up, using his Bagua staff for support.

He stared intently at Gu Changfeng's retreating figure, his eyes filled with extreme resentment.

"Gu Changfeng, I'll drag you down with me when I die!"

boom!

He suddenly unleashed his spiritual energy and blood, and his speed increased dramatically.

She lunged at Gu Changfeng and grabbed his waist tightly.

"You fucking want to die!"

Gu Changfeng's expression changed drastically, and he punched the man in the face. But the middle-aged man refused to let go, blood gushing from the corner of his mouth, yet he grinned savagely.

"Run! Didn't you look down on small sects? Today, we'll die together!"