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

The next moment, an ancient scene appeared deep in his consciousness.

In the darkness, a huge moon hangs in the sky.

The land of Kyushu trembled continuously, mountains stretched, rivers changed course, and countless ancient spiritual veins revived from underground.

Deep within those spiritual veins, ancient sealed lands are gradually reviving.

The scene flashed by in an instant.

Chu Zhou suddenly came to his senses, and four fragments of text on the stone tablet entered his consciousness.

[The moon palace's shadow falls, the land expands across the nine provinces, ancient veins reopen, and the seal is about to collapse.]

Chu Zhou was shaken. The Moon Palace, the expansion of the Nine Provinces, the reopening of the ancient veins, and the impending collapse of the seal—these words almost explained what was about to happen in the future.

The second cataclysmic event probably occurred earlier than he remembered.

The broken stele in Blackwood Snake Valley is clearly related to the sealing system of the underground ancient city of Black Dragon Lake.

This suggests that there are more than one similar sealed ancient site; such things may be hidden underground throughout the entire Kyushu.

Thinking of this, Chu Zhou felt a real sense of urgency for the first time.

The strength of a mid-stage fifth rank is still not enough, far from enough.

If the seal collapses and all those strange things underground are resurrected, not only humans, but even the current Black Dragon Mountain might not be able to protect itself.

"Seal off the stone tablet."

Chu Zhou's voice was cold: "No strange beasts are allowed to approach, nor are any humans allowed to get close. From this day forward, Blackwood Serpent Valley will be designated as the first outer outpost of Black Dragon Mountain."

As soon as the words were spoken, a system notification sounded.

"Ding! Ancient seal node detected: Blackwood Serpent Valley. Currently too far away to be directly incorporated into the core of Black Dragon Mountain Forbidden Zone."

"Should we establish a temporary outpost?"

Chu Zhou did not hesitate: "Establish."

"Ding! Temporary outer outpost of Blackwood Serpent Valley successfully established."

"Outpost effect: Slowly provides evolution points, improving the efficiency of western expansion in Black Dragon Mountain."

Current stronghold level: one star.

"Current Guardian: Black Tiger King"

Chu Zhou looked at the prompt, but felt little joy, because the information brought by the broken stele was too heavy.

At the same time, three awakened civilians who had escaped from Blackwood Snake Valley stumbled and rushed out of the mountains and forests.

They were covered in blood, their faces pale. The young man in the lead ran while looking back, his eyes filled with fear.

He would never forget the giant ape, the black tiger, and the golden bird that could speak human language.

I will never forget those words: From this day forward, Blackwood Snake Valley belongs to Black Dragon Mountain.

Once this news gets out, the entire Lingnan region will be shaken, because it means that the Qinglian Forbidden Zone is no longer just guarding Heilong Mountain; it has begun to expand outwards.

Linjiang City, Xicheng District.

In a secluded underground market, the lights were dim and the crowds were bustling.

Since the resurgence of spiritual energy, similar places have begun to quietly appear.

There were vendors selling exotic beast meat, spiritual herbs, and various cultivation methods of dubious authenticity. Some even specialized in reselling intelligence about the outskirts of the restricted area.

However, these places have always been severely cracked down on by the Ninth Intendant and are usually kept very well hidden.

But today, the entire underground market has been thrown into complete chaos because of the three awakened individuals who escaped in a sorry state.

"Something's happened in Blackwood Serpent Valley!"

"The demon king of the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone has been defeated!"

"I saw it with my own eyes: a giant ape, a black tiger, and a talking golden bird."

The young man in the lead was pale and his voice was trembling. At first, many people around him did not believe it.

Someone sneered, "A talking bird? Do you think we're stupid?"

"Exactly, I believe that strange beasts have intelligence, but it's too far-fetched that they can speak human language."

"You didn't fail to steal the Spirit Fruit and were scared mad by the Snake King, did you?"

The young man in the lead blushed, gritted his teeth, and pulled out his phone: "I have a video!"

His fingers were trembling as he clicked on a blurry video.

The valley is in chaos in the footage.

Although the distance was far, the camera was shaking violently.

But you can still see a huge giant ape swinging and beating the black-scaled python wildly.

Beside them, a black tiger tore open the snake king's flesh, while a golden afterimage flashed across the sky.

At the end of the video, a boastful voice can still be faintly heard.

"Blackwood Serpent Valley, from this day forward, belongs to Black Dragon Mountain."

The underground market fell silent instantly, and everyone's expression changed. No one had expected that this was actually true.

A talking golden bird.

The Demon King of Black Dragon Mountain embarks on an expedition to Blackwood Snake Valley.

Either of these two pieces of news, if they were to spread, would be enough to ignite the entire Awakened community in Linjiang City.

Moreover, the two pieces of news overlapped.

Someone swallowed hard and whispered, "Hasn't Black Dragon Mountain always stayed hidden?"

Why did they suddenly attack Blackwood Serpent Valley?

A middle-aged man standing nearby said with a serious expression, "Can't you see that?"

"In the past, Heilongshan only guarded its own territory."

"Things are different now; the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone has started vying for resources."

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts sank.

Because everyone knows what that means.

A restricted area hidden in the mountains and a restricted area that actively expands are two completely different concepts.

Just as everyone was discussing it.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the entrance to the underground market.

Immediately afterwards, a group of people in black uniforms rushed in.

"Ninth inning, everyone stay still!"

The entire underground market was thrown into chaos. Some people tried to run away, but as soon as they reached the exit, they were tackled to the ground by two members of the Ninth Bureau.

The one leading them was Su Wan.

Her face was icy, her gaze sweeping across the entire room: "Who returned from Blackwood Serpent Valley?"

The three survivors turned pale instantly, and within ten minutes, they were taken away.

Ninth Bureau Branch of Linjiang City.

Inside the interrogation room.

The three survivors sat in chairs, trembling.

Su Wan projected the phone video onto the screen and played it repeatedly. The picture was blurry, but it was enough to make a few things clear.

First, the Snake King of Blackwood Snake Valley is dead.

Secondly, it was indeed the Black Dragon Mountain Demon King who made the move.

Third, the golden bird did indeed use human language again.

Su Wan took a deep breath. She suddenly realized that the changes in the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone were happening faster than they had imagined.

Lu Cang, sitting next to him, also looked displeased.

"This is no longer an ordinary battle between strange beasts, and they even know how to use human awakened beings to explore the way. The intelligence of the strange beasts in Black Dragon Mountain is too terrifying."

Su Wan nodded: "Captain Lu, judging from these circumstances, it is clear that this was a premeditated operation, and it is inextricably linked to that being in the Azure Lotus Forbidden Zone of Black Dragon Mountain."

Lu Cang fell silent.

This is no longer something he can decide.

Su Wan looked at the three survivors and asked coldly, "What exactly happened in Blackwood Serpent Valley?"

The young leader no longer dared to hide it.

He recounted in detail how they heard about the Black Soul Fruit, how they secretly entered the Blackwood Snake Valley, how they were attacked by the Black Scale Python, and how they witnessed the Black Dragon Mountain Demon King's attack.

By the end, his voice was trembling with emotion: "We really didn't know that Heilongshan had its eyes on that place too."

"That big golden bird said that Blackwood Serpent Valley will belong to Black Dragon Mountain from now on, and that anyone who goes there again will die."