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

A hint of seriousness flashed in Chu Zhou's eyes. He knew very well that Xuanjia wasn't the type to make a fuss.

The fact that it was specifically mentioned indicates that the underground river is anything but simple.

"Take me there to have a look."

As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of blue light appeared on the lake surface, and a thick root detached from the lake bottom, transforming into a blue phantom that landed on the back of the Xuanjia armor.

Now that we've reached the fifth tier...

Chu Zhou was already able to project a portion of his consciousness outwards. Although it was not as powerful as his main body, it was sufficient for exploration.

Xuanjia nodded, and its massive body sank to the bottom of the lake.

The icy lake water parted to both sides, and soon we arrived at the deepest part of Black Dragon Lake, proceeding along the familiar underground waterway.

The further down you go, the dimmer the light becomes, but the more intense the spiritual energy in the air grows.

Half an hour later, the Xuanjia stopped, and a pitch-black underground river appeared in front of it.

The river is tens of meters wide, and the water is as black as ink, resembling a giant black python sleeping underground.

Just then, the surface of the water suddenly burst open. A strange fish, over three meters long, leaped out.

Its body was covered in black scales, and it had two fleshy whiskers growing on its forehead. Its scarlet eyes were full of savagery.

The moment they saw the Xuanjia armor, they launched an attack.

"court death."

Xuanjia raised its forelimbs and slammed down with its claws, instantly turning the strange fish into a bloody mist. At the same time, the surrounding water began to churn violently, and pairs of scarlet eyes lit up.

Chu Zhou frowned: "These things have no intelligence."

He could sense that although these strange fish were at the first or even second level of strength, their mental fluctuations were extremely chaotic, unlike normal beasts.

"Keep moving forward."

As Xuanjia advanced, it was constantly attacked by strange fish along the way, and even a black snake with four legs, but it was easily suppressed.

After another ten minutes or so, a huge stone wall suddenly appeared in front of them.

Xuanjia stopped in his tracks: "Master, this is the place."

Looking up, Chu Zhou discovered that the stone wall was covered with densely packed ancient patterns. Although the patterns were incomplete, some of their content could still be discerned.

The first picture shows countless people kneeling on the ground, while a magnificent ancient city stands underground.

In the second picture, the sky cracks open, and a huge meteorite burning with black flames falls.

The third picture shows the entire ancient city beginning to collapse, with large numbers of people frantically fleeing for their lives.

The fourth image shows a giant beast carrying a stone tablet, suppressing the entrance to the abyss.

The fifth picture is incomplete, but two ancient characters can be clearly seen on it: "镇封" (Zhenfeng).

Upon seeing this, Chu Zhou's eyes narrowed. The giant beast on the stone tablet was exactly the same as the Bixi stone statue in the underground cave temple.

This indicates that there must be a connection between the two, and just then, a low rumble suddenly came from behind the stone wall.

A rumbling sound filled the air, and the entire underground river trembled.

Xuanjia's expression changed slightly, and he called out, "Master."

Chu Zhou looked in the direction of the energy fluctuations.

A huge crack appeared in the stone wall ahead, and an extremely cold aura rushed out.

Beyond the crevice lay a vast underground space. Countless dilapidated buildings lay collapsed in the darkness.

Stone bridges, palaces, squares, statues—they stretch as far as the eye can see; this is an ancient underground city buried by time.

Chu Zhou's pupils contracted slightly. He hadn't expected that there would be an ancient city beneath Black Dragon Lake, and that the energy contained within this ancient city was incredibly surging.

In the very center of the ancient city, a stone statue of a bishi (a type of ancient Chinese tortoise shell) several hundred meters high lies quietly.

The stone tablet was long broken, yet it still exuded a chilling aura of power.

Right beneath the Bixi stone statue, a huge, pitch-black, strange rock is quietly embedded in the ground, and that rock is hundreds of meters high.

The surface is covered with blood-red patterns.

From within that stone came a vibration like a heartbeat; with each vibration, the entire underground ancient city would tremble slightly.

Chu Zhou's gaze suddenly froze, because he realized that the strange rock was the true source of the power of the temple's stone well.

It is also the source of power of Black Dragon Lake. Countless black chains extend from the body of the Bixi and tightly wrap around the strange rocks.

It was suppressing something, and that was the moment Chu Zhou appeared.

On the surface of the strange rock, a huge scarlet eye slowly opened.

at the same time.

That familiar yet chilling voice rang out once more.

"You lotus demon are quite interesting. I didn't expect you to be able to find this place."

The sound echoed throughout the underground ancient city, filled with an ancient, weathered, and chilling atmosphere.

"I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Xuanjia's entire tortoise shell tensed instantly. Chu Zhou didn't say anything, but just quietly looked at the dark, strange stone.

A giant, scarlet eye hovered over the surface of the strange rock, seemingly watching him across endless ages.

The entire underground ancient city was deathly silent; the air seemed to have frozen.

After a long while, Chu Zhou finally spoke: "Have you been waiting for me for a long time? It seems you knew I would come."

He had tricked this guy countless times, and the other party must hate him to the bone. However, since his physical body hadn't come here, even if his consciousness was shattered, Chu Zhou didn't care.

Upon hearing this, the strange rock let out a hoarse and eerie laugh. "Heh heh, interesting, truly interesting. I have lived for countless years and seen countless beings, but I have never seen a being like you."

Its crimson giant eyes darted around, staring at Chu Zhou, and it said greedily, "A mere green lotus has actually grown to the fifth rank in such a short time. If it were in that era, it would be enough to be called a prodigy."

Chu Zhou remained calm: "So?"

The strange rock remained silent for a moment, then spoke in a seductive voice, "Release me, and I can make you the true king of this land. What Qinling Mountains, what Kunlun Mountains, what East Sea? Before me, they are nothing but ants."

"Once you break the seal, I will bestow upon you unparalleled fortune. Sixth rank, seventh rank, or even higher."

"Those so-called masters of the forbidden zones will all kneel at your feet in the future."

If it were someone else, they might be tempted by the strange rock, but Chu Zhou's expression remained unchanged. He knew all too well what kind of person this old monster was.

If we really release it, I'll probably be the first one to die. Chu Zhou said, "Keep making this up."

The giant crimson eye on the strange rock clearly couldn't hold back anymore upon hearing this; it hadn't expected Chu Zhou to say something like that.

Chu Zhou said, "Last time you said that sacrificing 100,000 lives could help me break through to the fourth rank. And I did break through."

"Last time you said that sacrificing a million lives could help me break through to the fifth rank, but I still broke through. I did it on my own, not because of you."

The strange rock was completely enraged. The blood-red patterns on its surface writhed wildly, and its giant crimson eyes stared at Chu Zhou. It cursed loudly, "Bullshit, Lotus Demon! Stop pretending to be innocent after getting the benefits here. If I hadn't been suppressed here for countless years, my original power would have been leaking away."

"Do you think you, a mere ordinary blue lotus, could have grown to where you are today so quickly?"

Rumble!

As His voice rang out, the entire underground ancient city trembled, and the surrounding dilapidated palaces continued to shed rubble. Xuanjia was so frightened that he shrank back.

This was the first time it had ever seen the monster so enraged. The strange rock continued to roar: "How long has it been since the spiritual energy has recovered? While others are still struggling at the second or third tier, you have already stepped into the fifth tier. If it weren't for the primordial spiritual energy that I have released, how would you have broken through?"

"You think that spiritual energy is naturally generated by heaven and earth? That is my power, my power!"

The sound grew louder and louder, and the entire underground space rumbled continuously. After listening, Chu Zhou nodded and said with a smile, "That makes some sense."

The strange stone was momentarily stunned, not expecting Chu Zhou to admit it. Just when he thought Chu Zhou would be very grateful, Chu Zhou said, "But I absorbed it through my own ability, is there a problem?"

The strange rock was completely dumbfounded.

Xuanjia was also shocked. "Holy crap, that makes so much sense! I can't refute what my master said."

The strange stone nearly exploded with anger: "That's my power!"

Chu Zhou said, "You can't use it anyway, and it's been leaking out for so many years. I'll help you recycle it. In a sense, I'm also helping you reduce waste."

The strange rock fell completely silent. It had lived for countless millennia. This was the first time it had encountered such a shameless creature, one that even made some sense. It was so angry that it couldn't speak for a long time.

After a long while, the strange stone finally said through gritted teeth, "Lotus Demon. I'll kill you sooner or later."

Chu Zhou laughed: "Come out first, then we'll talk."

boom!

Suddenly, the strange rock erupted with a terrifying aura, countless chains tightened simultaneously, and the runes on the bixie statue lit up instantly, indicating that the seal was automatically suppressing it.

Just then, Chu Zhou noticed that the strange stone was angry.

A tiny crack appeared on the surface.

From within the crevice, a wisp of extremely pure black-gold energy slowly emanated.

The moment that energy appeared, the system also issued a notification: "Ding, high-quality primordial energy detected."

Chu Zhou's eyes lit up instantly, while a bad premonition suddenly rose in Guai Shi's heart: "What do you want to do?"

Chu Zhou didn't speak, but thousands of green roots shot out instantly, directly piercing the crack, leaving the strange rock stunned.

"Wait, stop! That's not for you!"

Unfortunately, it was too late. Boom! A massive amount of black-gold energy surged wildly into Chu Zhou's body through the roots.

At this moment, system notification sounds kept ringing out:

"Ding! Evolution Points +5000!"

"Ding! Evolution Points +5000!"

……

In just a few breaths, Chu Zhou's evolution points increased by tens of thousands. Chu Zhou himself was astonished. This efficiency was dozens of times faster than his usual cultivation. The strange stone trembled violently with anger.

"You bastard, Lotus Demon, stop right there! That's the source of my power that I've painstakingly accumulated!"

Chu Zhou became happier and happier as he inhaled the spiritual energy, even having time to comment, "Not bad, the quality is much higher than the previous spiritual energy."

The strange stone nearly coughed up blood, and just as Chu Zhou was frantically absorbing the energy, the system interface reappeared:

[Host: Chu Zhou]

[Race: Innate Azure Lotus (Growth Stage)]

[Realm Level: Peak of Early Stage 5]

[Domain: Azure Lotus Domain (100 km)]

[Family Members: Mountain Demon, Black Armor, Green Blade, Little Golden Treasure, Black Tiger King]

[Abilities: Mental control, life blessing, consciousness projection, resonance with all trees, root entanglement]

[Current evolution points: 1260000/5000000]

Seeing the surge in evolution points, Chu Zhou was shocked. It seemed that at this rate, it wouldn't be long before he would be able to reach the threshold of the sixth rank.