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

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away from Heilong Mountain.

Inside a manor surrounded by mountains.

Lin.

As one of the oldest awakened families in Linjiang City, the Lin family rose to prominence with its fire-type abilities. After the revival of spiritual energy, it rapidly expanded its influence and showed signs of becoming one of the top families in Linjiang.

The hall was brightly lit.

A group of high-ranking members of the Lin family were sitting around a long table, discussing the strange phenomena at Black Dragon Mountain.

A middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "A blue light soaring into the sky, an extraordinary phenomenon of heaven and earth, this is definitely a top-tier opportunity."

"If we can seize the core resources, we might be able to create a third-tier powerhouse."

Someone nearby frowned: "But the Ninth Bureau has already sealed off the area, and I've heard it's very dangerous."

"Danger?"

An old man sneered.

"The revival of spiritual energy is a matter of life and death. Whoever doesn't risk their life will end up as an ant under someone else's feet."

Just as he finished speaking, the alarm above the hall suddenly blared.

A young tribesman rushed in, his face pale.

"Third Elder, something terrible has happened! Sister Lin Xue's life chip signal has been lost!"

The conference room fell silent.

The red-haired middle-aged man sitting at the head of the table suddenly turned pale.

Lin Xue, a late-stage second-tier awakened being, is also his only daughter.

"What happened?"

The tribesman quickly opened the terminal.

"This is the final transmitted image we just received!"

A holographic projection unfolded, the image shaking violently. In the dark forest, flames roared, and a white tiger covered in blood was howling madly.

Lin Xue's voice was excited: "Quick, it can't hold on much longer! Kill it! This crystal core is worth at least fifty spirit crystals!"

There were two other people beside him. One of them was Zhao Yan, a swordsman from the Linjiang City Loose Cultivator Alliance, who was in the late stage of the second tier.

The other person was Zhou Mingyu, a member of a collateral branch of the Zhou family, who was skilled in archery.

The three were clearly a temporary team, but the next second, the screen suddenly froze.

The wind stopped, and the woods were eerily quiet. A chilling pressure, instilling an instinctive fear, descended instantly.

The camera began to shake violently, and Zhou Mingyu's voice trembled.

"Do you feel like you're being watched by something?"

Lin Xue's face turned pale: "Something's wrong, let's go!"

But it was too late. A chilling, emotionless mental fluctuation suddenly exploded in the scene.

This is my territory.

【When did it become your turn to run wild?】

boom!

The ground suddenly cracked open, and countless black and gold vines burst forth from the soil.

The darkness was so intense that it blotted out the sun, and all the high-ranking members of the Lin family in the hall instantly felt their scalps tingle.

"What is that?"

In the scene, Zhao Yan roars and swings his sword. The sword energy erupts, but is instantly torn apart by the vines. Lin Xue unleashes her full fire power. However, the flames are extinguished by a terrifying pressure the moment they rise.

Immediately afterwards, a black and gold vine pierced through her chest, and the camera jolted violently. Blood gushed from her mouth, and she stared at the sky in terror.

"No...it's impossible..."

In the peripheral vision, a vast expanse of cyan lotus leaves descended, obscuring the sky and the moon, before the screen went completely black.

The hall was deathly silent; everyone's face was ashen. The Lin family patriarch stood frozen in place: "What kind of monster is this?"

No one answered, because they found that even through the video recording, they still felt suffocated. It was as if some unbearable being was looking down on them from the other side of the screen.

Meanwhile, at the Zhou family and the loose cultivator alliance to which Zhao Yan belonged.

Almost simultaneously, they also received the death video, causing an uproar throughout the awakened community in Linjiang City.

A message spread with terrifying speed: In the Black Dragon Mountains, a true master of the forbidden zone, possessing profound wisdom, has been born.

Moreover, it can talk, kill, and even declare its territory.

Late at night, a secretly filmed video was anonymously uploaded to the Awakeners forum by an unknown person.

The title is only one sentence long.

The master of the forbidden zone in Heilong Mountain has appeared; proceed with caution.

In just ten minutes, the number of clicks exceeded ten million, and the forum completely exploded.

[Holy crap! This is a monster?! You're telling me this is a monster?!]

[Holy crap, a talking beast? It's practically become a spirit!]

[Wait, didn't anyone notice? The one who died was a second-tier Awakened, a second-tier one!]

[Breaking news: Among the dead are members of the Lin family, as well as members of a collateral branch of the Zhou family. The Loose Cultivator Alliance has also lost several experts.]

"Really?"

"Lin Xue from the Lin family? I remember she was in the late stage of the second tier!"

"Damn, is it really dead?"

"I just heard from inside sources that the life support chip has been damaged."

The post quickly went off-topic, and a large number of conspiracy theories began to emerge.

Is it possible that this isn't a mythical beast, but a demon?

"You've been reading too many novels, haven't you? There's already a revival of spiritual energy, so why would monsters appear? Isn't it normal for plants to become spirits?"

I boldly speculate that there are ancient ruins beneath Black Dragon Mountain.

"This blue lotus is definitely a guardian beast. Maybe there's some immortal destiny in the core area. LOL. You go in first and remember to live stream."

Some people even started the ninth round of Yin Yang.

So, did they already know about the ninth inning?

"No wonder I criticized them for stealing my opportunities when the lockdown was implemented. Now that I think about it, maybe they were actually trying to save lives?"

But soon, an anonymous post suddenly appeared on the forum.

Title: Inside News: Qinglian Restricted Area's Danger Level Reassessed

The post contained only a few short sentences.

[The penalty area's master appears to possess complete intelligence.]

[Life Level: Fifth Order or Above.]

[Recommendation: Stay away.]

[To reiterate, do not go to Black Dragon Mountain.]

Below was a blurry photo: In the night sky, a gigantic, phantom-like blue lotus obscured half the sky, while the mountains below looked like ants. The photo was incredibly oppressive, and the comment section was silent for a few seconds.

This caused a complete uproar.

"Holy crap, Tier 5?"

"Aren't there only a handful of Tier 3 cultivators left?"

"What's the point of playing this game?"

"The final boss of the Spirit Resurrection version has spawned ahead of schedule?"

"Won't Linjiang City be gone, will it?"

"Oh no, my home is less than 40 kilometers from Heilong Mountain."

Some people even started moving overnight, and a bunch of posts suddenly appeared on a rental forum.

Urgent rental, price negotiable, can sign tonight.

Looking for a roommate, somewhere away from Heilongshan!

Online question: Is it too late to move to the next city?

But at the same time, another group of people were completely enraged. Because they only saw two words: "opportunity."

On the forum for ordinary awakened individuals, a post quickly became a trending topic.

The greater the danger, the greater the reward. A team is forming outside the Qinglian Forbidden Zone; anyone brave enough to join?

In just half an hour, the number of people who signed up exceeded one hundred. In this era of spiritual revival, there are always people who feel that they will be the lucky ones.

After that night, Black Dragon Mountain was completely transformed. The moonlight faded, but the spiritual energy became several times denser than before. And Chu Zhou finally began to truly build his own power.

In the center of Black Dragon Lake, a cyan-silver demonic lotus floated silently. A massive spiritual fluctuation spread throughout the entire lake area.

Now that he has broken through to the fifth rank, Chu Zhou is no longer satisfied with simply hunting alien beasts.

Because he knew that the true king of the future would not be the most powerful fighter, but the one who controlled a restricted area.

In his previous life, those seventh and eighth-tier demon kings all commanded tens of thousands of exotic beasts. Thinking of this, Chu Zhou issued his will to the entire Black Dragon Lake for the first time.

"From this day forward, this place shall be the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone."

boom!

A surge of mental energy swept out, causing ripples to spread across the lake, and countless fish scattered in panic.

The mountains and forests trembled, and numerous strange beasts raised their heads, looking towards Black Dragon Lake. The first to respond was naturally Little Golden Treasure. This fellow flapped its wings and soared into the sky, excitedly like a lackey: "Master is the most powerful! In the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone, we'll beat the bad guys!"

Chu Zhou's lips twitched. This little guy's IQ had improved quite a bit, but it was clearly not by much; he was still in the mischievous kid stage.

Well, hopefully this guy will get smarter in the future.

Little Green in the lake was also very happy: "Protect our master, protect the forbidden zone."

Chu Zhou looked at it. The little green plant could no longer be called a water plant. Its whole body was green and jade-like, and its leaves were sharp as knives. It showed a tendency to evolve into a demonic plant.

Chu Zhou pondered for a moment and then said, "From today onwards, you shall be called Qingfeng."

boom!

The spiritual energy surged, and Xiaoqing's entire body shook with excitement.

"Qingfeng, my name is Qingfeng. I like it. Thank you, Master."

Chu Zhou nodded in satisfaction. In the future, this guy would most likely become the commander of his plant army.

Then, Chu Zhou looked at the swarm of bees on the ancient tree, and hundreds of black-striped spirit bees immediately flew out.

It formed a black beehive in the sky.

It was buzzing.

"You will be responsible for patrols and guard duty; from now on, you will be called the Black Vanguard."

The swarm of bees flapped their wings frantically, appearing unusually excited. Chu Zhou could sense that they already regarded him as someone above the queen bee.

Just then, the lakebed suddenly trembled, and a huge black shadow emerged, startling Chu Zhou. It was a giant black fish over three meters long.

Its entire body is covered in scales, and it has two thick, fleshy whiskers growing from its mouth.

It is clearly a new beast that has recently emerged from the spiritual tide.

【Ironclad Black Catfish】

[Peak of Tier 2]

Status: Submission

When this guy came near Chu Zhou, he actually lowered his head and showed a fawning attitude.

"Powerful, follow..."

Chu Zhou was immediately delighted; this was the first aquatic tribe to voluntarily submit to them.

"Alright, from now on you will be the commander of the Black Dragon Lake Guards. I hereby bestow upon you the name Xuanjia."

The giant black catfish became so excited that it thrashed its tail wildly, causing the entire lake to churn.

In just three days, more and more strange beasts were attracted, some for the spiritual energy and others for the fragrance.

Some came because of its reputation, but what pleased Chu Zhou the most was a giant black ape, nearly four meters tall, with arms as thick as tree trunks, capable of smashing rocks with a single punch.

It was originally the overlord of the nearby mountains and forests, but as soon as it entered the lake area, it was hung up and beaten by Chu Zhou with hundreds of vines, and finally knelt down and surrendered with a black eye and swollen face.

Chu Zhou named it Shan Kui, and the black ape excitedly beat its chest. In addition to the black ape, there was also a giant venomous python, its body bluish-black, capable of spewing poisonous mist.

After Chu Zhou subdued it, he named it Qinglin and assigned it to patrol the surrounding mountains and forests. The white tiger was named Baishanjun.

Half a month later, the entire area surrounding Heilong Mountain had completely changed.

Little Golden Treasure leads a patrol of birds in the sky.

On the ground, the Mountain King commands the beast horde, while in the forest, the Azure Scales are responsible for assassinations and vigilance.

In the lake, Xuanjia commands the aquatic creatures; in the heart of the lake, Qingfeng leads the plant army; and Chuzhou sits high in the center of Black Dragon Lake.

He finally looked like the master of the restricted area, and he felt quite satisfied. With these underlings, no more Tom, Dick, or Harry would bother him in the restricted area, otherwise it would be too much trouble.

On the other side, at the headquarters of the Ninth Bureau in Beijing.

As the highest awakened organization in the Great Xia Dynasty, this place gathers the nation's top experts.

Thirty floors underground, the operations command center.

A giant holographic screen floated in mid-air, constantly updating spiritual energy data from all over the country.

Suddenly, a red alert popped up.

[Linjiang City, Qinglian Forbidden Zone.]

[Danger Level: S]

[The Lord of the Forbidden Zone is suspected to be a fifth-tier life form.]

The atmosphere inside the meeting room instantly became tense.

A middle-aged general in military uniform stared at the screen with a furrowed brow.

"It's been three days, and the bureau chief still hasn't come out of seclusion?"

A staff member next to him shook his head.

No news.

The middle-aged general fell silent. As one of the nation's top combat forces, Zhou Zhenshan had been in seclusion for seven days, and no one knew what was happening inside.

Just then, the conference room door opened.

An elderly man dressed in a general's uniform walked in.

Three gold stars shone brightly on his epaulets, and the entire conference room immediately stood up upon seeing the old man.

"Old Master Ye!"

The middle-aged man also stood up.

"Mr. Ye, what brings you here?"

The old man waved his hand, his gaze falling on the information about the Qinglian Forbidden Zone: "I've come to see Black Dragon Mountain."

The middle-aged man gave a wry smile: "The situation is not optimistic. The latest assessment indicates that the Lord of the Forbidden Zone is at least at the fifth level. If it gets out of control, the entire Linjiang City will be in danger."

The old man didn't speak, but instead smiled slightly. The middle-aged man was taken aback: "Old Ye, is the bureau chief about to emerge from seclusion?"

The old man glanced at him: "What, you guessed it?"

The man's breathing quickened: "Could it be that the bureau chief has broken through to the fourth level?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the conference room suddenly fell silent. The old man was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.

"Fourth tier?"

"Wang Jun, you underestimate Zhou Zhenshan too much."

Wang Jun's pupils constricted sharply, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't it fourth-tier?"

An excitement flashed in the old man's eyes, and his voice was deep and powerful: "It's the fifth rank."

boom!

These words were like a thunderclap, and everyone in the conference room stood up.

"What?!"

"Fifth tier?"

"Is the bureau chief about to break through to the fifth rank?"

"Really?"

Everyone was breathing rapidly.

It should be noted that this is currently the world's most publicly known fighting force.

However, the peak of the third tier and the fourth tier are just legends.

And Zhou Zhenshan has actually started to break through to the fifth rank?

The old man gazed into the deepest part of the headquarters.

An atmosphere of terror was rising there.

The spiritual energy in the sky even formed a huge vortex.

"Fifty years ago, when spiritual energy first revived, Zhenshan was among the first awakeners. He has been suppressing his cultivation level all these years, just to wait for the world to fully recover."

Everyone thought that the spiritual energy revival had only recently begun, but in fact, there were already some signs of the spiritual energy revival as early as the Republican era and the late Qing Dynasty.

Human martial arts practitioners, though they can train their strength to break through limits, can never truly enter the legendary realm.

In recent years, with the continuous development of technology and the continuous improvement of martial arts, a special forces unit was handling a special incident in the Zhongnan Mountain area by chance.

While apprehending a group of tomb raiders, they accidentally stumbled upon an ancient tomb with a large crack at its base. In the incident, nineteen out of the twenty-man special forces team perished.

Zhou Zhenshan was the only survivor.

Later, as time went by, Zhou Zhenshan also displayed some extraordinary abilities, namely after he broke into that ancient land.

His previously stagnant martial arts skills suddenly broke through; he entered the Transformation Realm at the age of thirty, reached the Embracing the Elixir Realm at the age of forty, and broke through the Gang Realm at the age of fifty.

He suppressed his cultivation level and did not break through.

At this moment, the old man's eyes were full of anticipation. He said, "If he succeeds, he will become the first fifth-order awakener of the Great Xia Dynasty, and also the first national-level powerhouse of human civilization."