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

Chu Zhou glanced at the system panel and was happy, but he hadn't had time to study the new ability in detail yet.

A strange feeling slowly spread from the depths of my consciousness.

"Is this perception?"

A more mysterious ability than the touch of roots.

Centered on Chu Zhou, the entire surrounding waters seemed to form a blurry map in his mind.

The direction of the water flow, the floating silt, the darting fish. Even the location of the lakebed—which parts are rich in spiritual energy, and which are cold and desolate.

They could all be vaguely sensed.

"Is this the perception of spiritual water?" Chu Zhou was slightly shocked. The second level was indeed on a completely different level from the first level.

Previously, he had only relied on roots to hunt.

Now, the entire 30-meter radius of the lake has practically become his eyes. No movement, no matter how small, can escape his notice.

At the same time, the spiritual energy released during the breakthrough also began to spread in all directions.

Some ordinary aquatic plants at the bottom of the lake have begun to change.

The leaves became brighter and the color richer. Even some withered plants regained their vitality.

The once cold and desolate lakebed now seemed to possess a faint spiritual aura. Chu Zhou was taken aback.

"I've broken through; my own spiritual energy can now feed back into my surroundings?"

This was an unexpected delight. Just then, an extremely faint fluctuation came from not far away.

The fluctuations were weak, intermittent, and even somewhat blurry.

But Chu Zhou was certain that he had sensed it.

"Um?"

Chu Zhou's spirits lifted instantly. He scanned the area and was surprised to find that it was neither a fish nor any other creature.

Or is it a plant?

That's right, it was a plant. Less than five meters away from him, a slender aquatic plant, half a meter tall, was swaying gently in the silt.

The grass blades are slender and light blue, and look quite ordinary.

However, this very thing is transmitting some kind of subtle fluctuation.

The feeling was very strange, like a newborn child, innocent, pure, yet intimate.

Chu Zhou tried to extend his consciousness over,

A vague emotion suddenly came through.

"Happy, close."

There's a subtle hint of ingratiation in it, like a small animal seeing its owner.

"Are you saying hello to me?"

Chu Zhou was somewhat surprised. As soon as he sent out this thought, the small water plant swayed gently, its leaves tilting slightly towards Chu Zhou.

"Holy crap?"

Chu Zhou was completely dumbfounded. He had just broken through to the second stage, and now the plant next to him had become sentient?

To be precise, it's probably because the spiritual energy I released during my breakthrough nurtured the nearby plants and gave them some intelligence.

Thinking of this, Chu Zhou instantly became interested.

Plant-type mythical beasts were extremely rare in my previous life because awakening spiritual plants was extremely difficult. The vast majority of them were plants.

Even after the mutation, it will only grow bigger and more dangerous.

Those that can truly develop intelligence are extremely rare, let alone those that clearly have a natural affinity for you.

Chu Zhou tried to continue communicating: "Can you understand me?"

After a moment of silence, the water plant swayed gently.

Then, a vague emotion came again.

"Happy, fond, close."

And that was it. Well, Chu Zhou understood. It seems that newly sentient plants have an IQ of about zero.

It can only express simple emotions, but even so.

Chu Zhou was secretly delighted. This guy had potential; maybe he could be trained to be his subordinate in the future.

Thinking of this, Chu Zhou even tried to release a little spiritual fragrance.

The next second, the little water plant swayed even more enthusiastically, its leaves almost touching the ground, its mood clearly becoming lively, as if it were being coquettish.

"They're quite close to me."

Chu Zhou couldn't help but laugh. In his previous life, he was an orphan with no relatives. Later, he became a Federation soldier to protect humanity, and he had very few friends.

In the depths of these endless mountains, it's not bad to have this guy to keep me company and relieve my boredom, just as he was researching the spiritual fragrance's abilities.

A sharp, piercing cry suddenly rang out above the lake.

"Chirp!"

The voice was filled with terror, and Chu Zhou was also puzzled. He quickly extended his consciousness and used the spiritual water to sense the surface of the lake.

The next second, he froze. In the sky, a huge golden figure was circling at high speed.

Its wingspan is nearly three meters, and its feathers are dark gold.

Its claws were sharp, and its eagle eyes were frighteningly sharp.

The strangest thing was that it was surrounded by a faint golden aura, and it flew at an astonishing speed, causing the tree canopy to shake violently in the strong wind.

"A golden eagle?"

Chu Zhou was startled.

This thing has clearly mutated; judging by its rank, it's definitely not low. At this moment, the golden eagle is chasing a little sparrow.

The little sparrow was seriously injured; its feathers were disheveled, its wings were clearly injured, and blood was dripping down its wings.

Its flight path was erratic and erratic, and it occasionally let out desperate cries.

However, the golden eagle behind it showed no sign of rushing to kill it. Instead, it deliberately slowed down, occasionally accelerating as it swooped down.

Sometimes it would suddenly flap its wings, creating a gust of wind that sent the little sparrows tumbling about. It was like a cat playing with a mouse, full of playful mockery.

Chu Zhou actually saw obvious human emotions in the eyes of that golden eagle.

Playful, arrogant, and smug, like a hunter high above, deliberately enjoying the desperate struggle of its prey.

"It seems this beast has developed intelligence?" Chu Zhou's heart sank. Perhaps it was because of his rebirth, but the changes in this world seemed to have occurred earlier than expected.

At this moment, the sparrow finally couldn't hold on any longer, flapped its wings, and fell towards the lake.

It crashed directly into the shallow water near the lake, its feathers soaked, its tiny body struggling and crying out in despair.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

High in the sky, the golden eagle slowly circled down, its sharp eagle eyes full of mockery, and it even proudly raised its head.

As if admiring its prey, Chu Zhou instantly recalled memories of his past life. In the later stages of the spiritual energy revival, a terrifying being had appeared.

Known as the Golden Feather Demon King, he roamed the Lingnan Mountains, slaughtering countless martial artists. His sharp claws could easily tear apart armored vehicles.

With a flap of its wings, it unleashed a hurricane hundreds of meters high, and it is said that it later even reached the King level. Countless powerful humans have died at its hands.

And that guy seems to be a mutated version of the Golden Eagle, thinking of this.

Chu Zhou's heart skipped a beat: "Could it be such a coincidence?"

Just as he was hesitating whether to get involved, a sudden change occurred, and the golden eagle abruptly stopped.

Turning around, it actually looked at Chu Zhou. At that moment, the golden eagle's eyes changed, revealing an extreme greed, befitting a second-tier flying beast.

Its senses far surpass those of ordinary creatures, so it naturally noticed the enchanting lotus radiating spiritual energy in the center of the lake immediately.

It's absolutely a treasure; eating it might even help you advance further!

"Hey!"

It let out an excited cry, and the golden eagle suddenly flapped its wings, its huge body swooping down at an astonishing speed.

A fierce wind swept across the lake, causing waves to surge. Sharp eagle claws gleamed coldly, their target aimed directly at the Chu boat.

It clearly intends to uproot Chu Zhou completely.

"Grass!"

Chu Zhou instantly bristled: "I haven't caused you any trouble, and you're still holding a grudge against me?"

He didn't want to cause trouble, but now, this hairy beast actually thinks he's a panacea, and that plants have no temper.

Moreover, this is a lake, our home ground.

[Target Detected: Mutant Golden Eagle]

[Level: Tier 2]

[Danger Level: High]

[Talent Ability: Wind Blade]

[Recommendation: Proceed with caution]

Caution? Chu Zhou sneered, his roots already covering the bottom of the lake.

Now that he has broken through to the second tier, his hunting domain extends to a radius of thirty meters.

"Get down here!" Chu Zhou shouted.

The next instant, the entire lake surface suddenly exploded, and hundreds of bluish-black roots burst out of the water like venomous pythons, shooting wildly from the bottom of the lake, covering the sky and the earth, and fiercely wrapping around the swooping golden eagle.