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

Just as Chu Zhou was about to continue devouring, the system notification sounded again: "Ding, high-level corrupted will detected."

"Unknown mental residue detected. Continuing to consume it will lead to contamination and erosion. It is recommended to purify it before absorption."

Chu Zhou was also somewhat surprised. It seemed that this must be the so-called strange power. The old man in the strange rock looked like a lewd old man.

Aren't there evil cultivators in novels? Their cultivation methods are all crooked, but these are no problem for Chu Zhou.

As the system notification faded, countless blurry phantoms emerged from the depths of that black-gold energy.

There were armored warriors, ancient priests, and even a large number of kneeling figures with distorted faces, crazed expressions, and silent roars, filled with ferocity.

Upon seeing this, the strange rock sneered: "What, are you scared? Do you think your power is something an ant like you can easily devour?"

"Keep inhaling, keep inhaling, and these remnants of will will enter your mental sea, and then you will become like those monsters outside, completely losing your mind."

However, Chu Zhou remained completely unperturbed. He was too lazy to pay attention to this idiot and directly commanded, "System, purify."

boom!

A beam of azure light instantly enveloped his entire body, and the black phantoms let out a shrill scream before vanishing into thin air in the blink of an eye.

The strange rock froze, its giant crimson eyes widening in disbelief: "What? This is impossible!"

Chu Zhou ignored it, and thousands of green roots plunged into the crack again, devouring everything in their path.

"Ding!"

"Evolution Point +3000"

"Evolution Points +3000..."

The strange stone was nearly driven mad with anger, and he cursed, "Damn it, that's my very essence! Stop it!"

Chu Zhou laughed: "You won't need it anyway, it's shameful to waste it."

With a deafening roar, the strange rocks trembled violently, and the entire underground ancient city shook.

At the same time, a deep, muffled roar came from the depths of the underground river. Chu Zhou's expression shifted; something was approaching.

Xuanjia's expression changed slightly, and he said, "Master, something has arrived."

As soon as it finished speaking, the surface of the underground river churned and a huge creature burst out of the water.

It is over thirty meters long, covered in jet-black scales, and has a head like a giant catfish.

Its abdomen was covered with distorted human faces, each one emitting a silent wail.

The aura of a fourth-order expert swept across the entire ancient city, causing Xuanjia's pupils to shrink sharply.

"Fourth tier!"

The strange rock suddenly let out a sinister laugh: "Lotus Demon, you don't really think I have no backup plan, do you?"

"This is the gatekeeper beast that I have nurtured for hundreds of years. Since you enjoy stealing my power so much, then let it keep you company and have some fun."

Chu Zhou's true body is not yet able to truly enter the ancient city; what has entered so far is merely his spiritual clone.

The beings within the strange rocks understood this, which is why they were so fearless.

Roar!

The giant black-scaled catfish let out a deafening roar, its massive body crashing directly into the Xuanjia armor. The Xuanjia armor roared in anger, its enormous tortoise-like body charging head-on.

boom!

The two giant beasts collided, causing the underground river to surge with towering waves. Xuanjia was knocked back dozens of meters on the spot, and a crack appeared on its shell.

But the giant black-scaled catfish was also badly injured; its head was smashed open and covered in blood.

"Master, I'll deal with it."

The Xuanjia's eyes blazed with fighting spirit. Having followed Chu Zhou for so long, this was the first time it had encountered a truly evenly matched opponent.

Chu Zhou nodded without objecting. The future of this world is uncertain, and it would be good if Xuanjia could grow up quickly.

Upon receiving Chu Zhou's signal, Xuanjia's fighting spirit surged, and it roared as it charged directly at the giant black-scaled catfish.

boom!

A great battle erupted instantly, with the giant catfish controlling the black water.

The Xuanjia armored creature controlled the waters, and the two forces clashed violently, turning the entire underground river into a battlefield. As the Xuanjia armored creatures sustained more and more injuries, the two forces continued to fight.

However, its aura grew stronger and stronger.

Finally, after a head-on collision, a roar suddenly came from within the Xuanjia armor.

boom!

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged wildly, and the ancient runes on the tortoise shell lit up one after another, with an aura far surpassing the previous one soaring into the sky.

At the fourth rank, Xuanjia finally broke through.

At the same time, a system notification sounded.

"Ding, congratulations host, your companion Xuanjia has broken through to the fourth level and awakened the talent, Water Suppression Domain."

boom!

The water within a radius of several thousand meters instantly froze, and the expression of the giant black-scaled catfish changed drastically. It suddenly realized that it could no longer manipulate the surrounding river water.

"town!"

The Xuanjia roared, and its huge forelimbs slammed down. With a thud, the black-scaled giant catfish was sent flying by a single claw and crashed into the riverbed, its entire body sinking into the rock strata.

Immediately afterwards, the second claw, the third claw, boom boom boom, as the Xuanjia continued to strike, blood stained the entire underground river red.

In the end, the Xuanjia bit off the giant catfish's head, and the fourth-tier corrupted behemoth perished.

A fist-sized black crystal core was directly broken open and extracted by the Xuanjia armor, and the system notification appeared again.

It handed the black crystal core directly to Chu Zhou.

"Ding! Pollutant crystal nucleus detected. Purify and absorb?"

The crystal core of the fourth-order catfish contained a source of pollution, and unexpectedly, the system could also purify it. Chu Zhou didn't waste any words and directly chose to purify it.

As the command was given, with the help of the system, the black mist on the surface of the crystal core gradually dissipated, eventually transforming into a pure blue crystal core.

"Ding!"

"Evolution Points +80000!"

"Gained Ability: Blackwater Resistance".

Chu Zhou was very satisfied with this attribute: Blackwater Resistance. This ability may seem insignificant, but it is extremely important in this underground ancient city.

Because this place is permeated with that eerie pollution, especially the black water in the underground river.

Without resistance, even ordinary fourth-tier beasts would likely be affected if they stayed here for too long.

Chu Zhou looked at Xuanjia. After breaking through to the fourth rank, the tortoise shell of Xuanjia had obviously changed.

The tortoise shell, originally a deep blue-green color, now has streaks of dark black water patterns. These patterns resemble naturally formed runes, exuding a heavy, ancient, and steady aura.

Xuanjia lowered his head and said respectfully, "Thank you, Master."

Chu Zhou glanced at it and said, "This is your own opportunity. This underground ancient city cannot be explored any further for the time being."

Xuanjia was taken aback, somewhat puzzled: "Master, aren't you going any further in?"

Chu Zhou gazed into the depths of the ancient city, where darkness was as deep as an abyss, and even with his spiritual power, he could not see through it all.

Not to mention the strange rock suppressed by the Bixie, and the unknown things deeper inside. Although I am now in the mid-stage of the fifth rank, my physical body cannot enter here; I can only send a spiritual projection.

Rushing in would be unwise. Chu Zhou was never afraid of taking risks, but he wouldn't be foolish enough to throw his life away.

"I'll check back on the situation after I reach level six."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the strange stone immediately mocked, "What, scared now? Weren't you so arrogant just now? Keep going in."

"I'd like to see just how much guts you, Lotus Demon, really have."

Chu Zhou didn't even glance at it: "I'm telling you, you stupid rock, your provocation is too low-level, it won't work on me, don't waste your energy."

"The more you want me to go in, the more dangerous it is inside, so I'm not going in."

The strange rock fell silent. After a long while, it gritted its teeth and said, "Lotus Demon, you truly deserve to die."

Chu Zhou laughed: "You've said this many times, but unfortunately you can't get out of it."

The strange rock broke through the defenses again, and the entire rock shook violently, causing the chains on the bishi statue to rattle loudly.

But the next second, an ancient rune lit up between the brows of the stone statue, and a suppressive force crashed down.

The crimson giant eye on the surface of the strange rock closed slightly, and the voice became weak.

"Damn bishi, damn seal."

Chu Zhou watched this scene with a thoughtful look in his eyes. The secrets of this underground ancient city were far greater than he had imagined.

But now is not the time to delve deeper. He gave the order directly: "Xuanjia, from today onwards, you will guard the underground river. No polluting creatures are allowed to enter Black Dragon Lake."

Xuanjia replied in a deep voice, "Yes!"

Chu Zhou's main body emitted a mental fluctuation, directly commanding, "Qingfeng."

Qingfeng respectfully said, "Master."

Chu Zhou said, "Extend your roots to the lake's bottom entrance. I want to establish a second line of defense outside the underground river."

Qingfeng replied, "Yes, sir."

As soon as it finished speaking, countless green vines burrowed into the ground outside Black Dragon Lake, spreading along the cracks in the lakebed, and the dense roots quickly covered the entrance to the underground river.

At the same time, Chu Zhou also sent out some roots to penetrate near the stone wall, in case any polluted creatures emerge from the underground ancient city again.

He could sense it immediately. After doing all this, Chu Zhou's mental projection began to fade before he left.

He glanced at the strange, dark rock and said, "Old thing, take good care of it. I'll take advantage of you again next time I come."

Because it was sealed and suppressed by the Bixi, the strange stone was very weak at this moment, but upon hearing Chu Zhou's words...

The strange rock continued to shake violently. This was utterly shameless. Once it broke the seal, this demonic lotus must be uprooted.