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

Chu Zhou's consciousness swept across the entire restricted area. After the massacre, the mountains and forests had returned to deathly silence.

From the depths of the mist, the occasional low growl of a strange beast echoed, and the air reeked of blood. Broken trees, overturned earth, and shattered weapons lay scattered on the ground.

As for the body?

Almost nothing was visible; most of it had been devoured by the bees or dragged underground by the black and gold vines, turning into nutrients. The entire perimeter of Black Dragon Lake resembled a giant beast that had just finished feeding.

Chu Zhou fell silent. This battle had yielded far greater rewards than he had anticipated. Almost all of the hundreds of Awakened Ones were dead, including quite a few at the second tier.

The evolution points contributed by these people have reached an astonishing number.

The system notification is still flashing wildly.

[Evolution Point +900]

[Evolution Point +1300]

[Evolution Point +700]

[Current evolution progress: 91%...94%...96%...]

Chu Zhou's gaze sharpened slightly: "Just a little bit more."

He was somewhat excited as he realized that reaching the fifth rank would be a new level of life.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar yet extremely powerful aura appeared on the outskirts of Black Dragon Mountain.

hum!

The air vibrated as a figure sped across the rocky terrain.

The newcomer wore a gray robe and had half-white hair and beard, but his speed was astonishing; each step he took covered more than ten meters.

Even more terrifying was that a pale white aura was swirling around him.

The leaves along the way were shattered by the shock. And behind him, several figures followed quickly.

"quick!"

"The spiritual energy ahead has suddenly surged; those who went in first are probably in trouble."

The old man in the gray robe looked solemn.

His name is Han Jianguo, a core elder of the previous generation of the Bajiquan Sect, at the peak of the second tier and half-step into the third tier. He is also one of the true powerhouses who entered Black Dragon Mountain this time.

They were initially observing from the outside. But just now, a large number of life fluctuations suddenly erupted and disappeared from the direction of Black Dragon Lake.

Immediately afterwards, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to converge like a vortex.

This strange phenomenon could only mean one thing: a terrifying life form is about to break through. Thinking of this, Han Zhenshan's heart sank.

"This is troublesome. Hopefully, it's not the worst-case scenario."

At the same time, in the center of the lake, Chu Zhou also sensed a new presence, with the blue lotus swaying.

"Huh? Someone else dares to come?"

He scanned the area with his senses and quickly detected several significantly stronger human auras. These were far superior to those of Gu Changfeng and the other weaklings. Some were even approaching the third rank. Chu Zhou wasn't angry; instead, he smiled.

"Perfect timing, the last bit of evolution points I needed has come to me on its own."

hum!

The next second, a massive mental fluctuation spread out.

"Little Jinbao, Queen Bee, come back, everyone! A big fish is coming!"

Little Jinbao, who had been patrolling the hunting grounds, suddenly brightened up: "Master, are they stronger humans?"

The queen bee also stopped hunting, and countless poisonous bees regrouped into a black storm. Chu Zhou said calmly, "Don't let a single one of these escape."

Little Jinbao and the queen bee were also very excited; these humans wanted to keep coming up to deliver food.

Meanwhile, amidst the billowing mist, a group of several figures were speeding along the outskirts of Black Dragon Mountain.

Han Jianguo stepped over the rocks, his gray robe fluttering in the wind, a pale white aura swirling around him, and each time he stepped on the rocks, they made a slight cracking sound.

The people behind him were also powerful figures from various factions. There was a core disciple of the Bajiquan sect, a retainer of a noble family, and a middle-aged martial artist carrying a long spear.

At this moment, everyone's expression was grim, because the further they went, the stronger the stench of blood became in the air.

It was so thick it was nauseating. Suddenly, Han Jianguo stopped in his tracks.

"stop."

The people behind them stopped instinctively. A disciple of the Bajiquan sect was about to speak when his face suddenly turned pale.

Because the road ahead was blocked. To be precise, it was flattened by some terrifying force, stretching for tens of meters.

Trees were snapped in half, and the ground was riddled with deep craters. It looked like it had just been bombed by missiles; blood was everywhere.

There were also severed limbs; a severed arm hung from a tree branch, gnawed down to the bone. Not far away, a human head lay half-buried in the soil, its eyes wide open, as if it had seen something extremely horrifying before it died.

The air fell silent instantly, and someone couldn't help but swallow.

"What...what happened here? Wasn't it supposed to be just the outer perimeter?"

Han Jianguo didn't speak, but his face was gloomy. He squatted down and reached out to touch the ground.

The soil was still warm, and even the blood had not completely congealed.

This indicates that the battle had just ended.

The next second, his pupils suddenly contracted as he discovered a blood-stained token in the mud: the Eight Extremes Sect Outer Gate Steward's Token.

Han Jianguo's breath caught in his throat; he recognized it. It was the identity token of a second-tier deacon from their Eight Extremes Sect.

What about people?

The body was gone. Suddenly, a cry of alarm came from the side: "Elder Han, over here!"

The group rushed over. Beside a giant tree, they saw a terrifying claw mark.

It runs from top to bottom through the entire tree, more than half a meter deep, as if it were torn apart by some kind of giant bird of prey.

Even more terrifying, there were several huge claw marks on the ground. Each one was nearly half a meter long.

It resembled the remains of some kind of bird magnified countless times. Upon witnessing this scene, a member of a prominent family's revered elder's voice trembled.

"This...it must be at least a third-tier beast, right?"

No one answered, because everyone realized the seriousness of the problem.

What does being at the third rank mean? It means that even Han Jianguo, who is only halfway to the third rank, is not guaranteed to win.

Just then, a spear-wielding warrior crouched down, looked at the muddy ground, and his expression changed drastically: "Wait, there's something else here."

When everyone looked down, they saw that the ground was covered with countless tiny holes.

It looked like it had been pierced by a torrential downpour, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't rain at all. Instead, it was the marks left by some kind of sharp, poisonous needle that had forcefully pierced through the soil.

The tree trunk beside it was covered with black thorns, and the bark was already rotten and black, emitting a foul stench. A disciple had just touched the tree trunk.

laugh!

His palm corroded instantly, and he screamed in agony, hastily retreating.

"poison!"

Han Jianguo finally spoke, his voice extremely low.

"There is definitely more than one Tier 3 beast here; there are at least two Tier 3 beasts."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned pale. They had initially thought it was just someone who had trespassed into the restricted area and been attacked by a strange beast.

But now it seems that it was not an attack at all.

It was a one-sided massacre.

Han Jianguo looked up, gazing deeper into the mist, for reasons unknown.

At that moment, he felt extremely uneasy. It was as if something was watching them from behind the mist.

"We can't go any deeper."

Han Jianguo said in a deep voice, "Withdraw immediately..."

However, before he could finish speaking, the sky suddenly darkened, and a large shadow loomed over them.

Immediately afterwards, a cold and mocking mental wave rang out from above.

"withdraw?"

"The master said, once you're here, you're not leaving."

Upon seeing what was above them, Han Jianguo and the others all changed their expressions.