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

Wang Jun's scalp tingled instantly. A civilization of alien beasts—if that were true, the situation would be terrifying.

A single powerful beast is not scary, and a group of high-level beasts may not be out of control.

What's truly terrifying is that the alien beasts have begun to learn human language, order, organization, and even the structure of civilization.

In that case, the future will not be a conflict between humans and beasts, but a war between two civilizations.

Zhou Zhenshan remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Being able to speak isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Wang Jun was taken aback: "Director Zhou?"

Zhou Zhenshan looked at the little Jinbao on the screen: "The most terrifying thing is not intelligent life, but life that has intelligence but refuses to communicate."

"The fact that the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone is willing to allow its members to relay messages at least shows that the Azure Lotus Lord has not severed the channels of communication."

"It's warning us, not attacking us."

Upon hearing this, both Wang Jun and Old Ye fell silent.

This is indeed true.

If the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone were to actually make a move, that fourth-tier flying bird could easily destroy the observation point.

But it didn't; it simply dropped a scale, bringing a warning.

Old Ye quickly shifted his attention to the sentence itself.

"There's something dirty underground."

He repeated in a low voice, "This means that the Lord of the Azure Lotus knows what exists beneath Black Dragon Mountain, and that thing is very dangerous."

Wang Jun frowned: "What are the results of the scale test?"

Zhou Zhenshan looked at the staff member next to him.

The staff immediately reported to the supervisor: "The preliminary test results have been sent back."

"That scale was not an ordinary beast scale; it contained an extremely chaotic mental fluctuation."

"The testing personnel experienced mild auditory hallucinations and nausea after observing the person through the isolation box for only three minutes."

"Contact has been suspended."

Wang Jun asked, "What kind of pollution?"

The staff member said, "It's not a biological toxin; it's more like mental pollution. Whether it's a human or a strange animal, contact with it can easily lead to contamination and mental disorder."

Upon hearing this, Elder Ye's expression instantly turned extremely grim. He said in a deep voice, "If there really is a large amount of this kind of thing underground in Black Dragon Mountain, then the Lord of the Azure Lotus's warning is not a threat, but a reminder to us."

Zhou Zhenshan nodded: "Order the Lingnan Branch to suspend active detection at the outer observation stations and only retain the lowest level of passive recording."

"All experiments related to underground fluctuations have been halted. The scale should be immediately sent to headquarters for processing using the highest level of contamination isolation procedures."

Wang Jun nodded immediately: "Yes."

Zhou Zhenshan continued, "Furthermore, the matter of that golden bird being able to talk is classified as top secret and must not be disclosed."

"No one may define the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone as an ordinary beast force."

"From now on, the Qinglian Forbidden Zone Files will be revised again."

......

Meanwhile, the Lingnan Awakeners Academy.

Su Wan soon received the simplified notification as well.

Of course, the specific video of Xiao Jinbao talking was not released to the academy.

However, as a core member of the Linjiang City branch, Su Wan had sufficient authority to see a portion of the content.

When she saw the news that the Azure Lotus Clan could communicate using human language, she was completely stunned.

Suddenly, the image of Lin Qingxue, the girl who survived the Black Dragon Mountain, popped into her mind.

There was also the life energy within her that was extremely similar to the aura of the Azure Lotus.

After a long silence, Su Wan finally raised Lin Qingxue's training level again.

On the other side, in the middle of Heilong Lake.

Chu Zhou was unaware that the Ninth Division had already caused a huge uproar because of Xiao Jinbao's ability to speak.

Of course, even if he knew, he wouldn't care too much.

Because in his view, being able to speak is not unusual.

The reason why Xiao Jinbao can speak human language is simply because he has been by his side for a long time and has been influenced by his mental fluctuations, which is the result of his imitation.

What truly concerned Chu Zhou was Blackwood Snake Valley.

Through the temporary Azure Lotus Mark, he could sense that the Mountain Demon, the Black Tiger King, and Little Golden Treasure were gradually approaching the target area.

The expedition team was not fast.

Instead of rushing blindly, the Black Tiger King cleared away traces along the way and avoided areas of human activity.

This aspect pleased Chu Zhou quite a bit.

Black Tiger King is much more reliable than Shan Kui and Little Jinbao.

Just then, a sudden mental fluctuation came from Xiao Jinbao.

"Master, we're almost at Blackwood Serpent Valley."

"but…"

Chu Zhou's heart skipped a beat: "But what?"

Little Jinbao's tone turned strange: "There seem to be humans there, and they've got their eyes on that black tree too."

Chu Zhou did not give the order immediately, but instead said, "Don't make a move yet, see clearly who they are."

"If it's someone from the Ninth Bureau, stay away; if it's someone from the awakened community..."

"As long as they don't block the way, we don't need to worry about them. But if they dare to steal anything from Blackwood Serpent Valley, we'll wipe them out too."

Little Jinbao chuckled: "Understood, Master."

Outside Blackwood Snake Valley, in the dark and damp forest, a small team of five was quietly passing through the dense woods.

They weren't wearing Ninth Bureau uniforms, but rather a mix of combat uniforms.

The leader was a young man in his late twenties, his face filled with excitement and greed. He said, "The information is correct."

"There really are spiritual fruits in Blackwood Serpent Valley. If we can get those three fruits, we'll be rich."

A skinny man next to him swallowed hard: "I've heard there's a snake king inside."

The young man sneered, "What are you afraid of? That snake king hasn't even broken through to the fourth rank yet."

"We have psionic explosives and paralyzing needles. If the plan goes smoothly, we might be able to kill it."

Greed gleamed in their eyes, though they were unaware of it.

High in the treetops, a large golden bird looked down at them.

Little Jinbao's eyes darted around, then he transmitted his voice to the Black Tiger King in the distance: "Black guy, there are humans stealing fruit."

Black Tiger King said coldly, "Wait, let them go in first."

Little Jinbao was taken aback, then his eyes lit up: "You dark-skinned fellow, you're pretty cunning."

The Black Tiger King ignored it and looked toward the Blackwood Snake Valley.

Since humans are willing to help them explore, let them test the waters of that black-scaled python first.

Deep within Blackwood Snake Valley, beside a icy pool.

boom!

A violent explosion echoed through the valley.

The civilian awakened squad finally made their move. They buried two psionic explosives near the Black Soul Fruit tree. As they detonated, large sections of rock crumbled, and shockwaves swept across the surrounding area.

The snakes that had been coiled at the bottom of the pool suddenly erupted, and countless snake shadows emerged from all directions.

The entire valley seemed to come alive.

"Quick, grab the fruit!"

The young man in the lead was beaming with excitement.

They risked their lives to come here for these three Black Soul Fruits. Once they got their hands on them, they could immediately become powerful Awakeners.

However, the next second, the entire icy pool suddenly churned violently.

Boom!

The water in the pool burst open, revealing a huge, ferocious head.

Black-scaled python.

It had already woken up, its cold, vertical pupils staring coldly at everyone.

It was as if I were looking at a few dead people.

"run!"

Someone shouted, and the faces of the group turned deathly pale instantly, but it was too late.

boom!

A snake tail, tens of meters long, swept across, snapping trees and shattering rocks. One awakened being was sucked into a bloody mist before he could even scream.

The remaining few were terrified. They realized that they were not facing any ordinary beast, but a real snake king.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the valley, high in the treetops, Little Jinbao's eyelids twitched.

"Tsk tsk tsk, how pathetic, I knew it would turn out like this."

The Black Tiger King stood up, his tiger eyes turning icy: "That's about enough."

The mountain monster grinned, revealing an excited smile; it had been holding back for a long time.

The next second, the mountain monster smashed through several ancient trees and rushed into the valley, shaking the entire ground. The black-scaled python suddenly raised its head.

It clearly had no idea that an even more terrifying being was lurking nearby.

Roar!

The mountain demon roared and slammed its massive fist down.

Boom!

The snake king's massive body was slammed into the soil, causing the entire valley to tremble violently, and the black-scaled python became completely enraged.

It coiled up frantically, its massive body tightly constricting the mountain demon, its terrifying power constantly shrinking. However, the mountain demon remained unfazed, grabbing the snake's body with its backhand and beginning to swing and smash it wildly.

The two enormous creatures fought their way from the valley to the edge of the icy pool, causing the rock walls to collapse continuously.

Just then, the Black Scale Python suddenly opened its huge mouth and swallowed one of the fruits from the Black Soul Fruit Tree.

boom!

A burst of violent spiritual energy erupted instantly, its aura began to surge, the fleshy tumor on its head split open, and a jet-black horn emerged.

Seeing this scene, the Black Tiger King's expression changed slightly, even though he was only half a step into the fourth rank.

"Be careful!"

However, it was too late. The black-scaled python suddenly spewed out a large cloud of black mist, and the mountain monster was caught off guard, its body corroded and covered in large wounds.

Roar!

The mountain monster roared in pain, its eyes turning red. It grabbed the snake's tail and slammed the entire black-scaled python into the icy pool.

The entire cold pool collapsed completely, and a large amount of pool water overflowed.

A black stone tablet, buried at the bottom of the pool for who knows how many years, was revealed, though it was mostly broken.

It is covered with the marks of time, yet even so, an ancient and desolate aura still emanates from it.

The Black Tiger King's pupils constricted sharply, for it discovered that the roots of the Black Soul Fruit Tree were entirely entwined around the stone tablet.

The black-scaled python was guarding this place not for the fruit trees, but to protect the stone tablet.

Far away at Heilong Lake, Chu Zhou also sensed the appearance of the stone tablet the instant it appeared.

In the underground ancient city, the bi-shaped stone tablet that suppressed the strange rock actually trembled.

Chu Zhou suddenly opened his eyes: "Aura of the same origin?"

His expression turned serious for the first time. Blackwood Serpent Valley.

It is by no means an ordinary sacred site, but an ancient ruin on the same level as the underground ancient city.