The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

Qi Ji stood there, listening to the faint groans of pain and the weak whispers of children filling the room, his golden deer eyes surging with anger that was almost overflowing.

He didn't understand what kind of strange petrification method it was.

It's unclear what the purpose of these human traffickers is in conducting these experiments on children.

But one thing Qi Ji knew very clearly was that these human traffickers were even more vicious and ruthless than he had anticipated.

"Hell is empty, the devils are on earth."

Suddenly, a sentence he knew from his previous life flashed through Qi Ji's mind.

His gaze swept over the skinny man huddled in the corner, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and the power of [Thousand Peaks] was unleashed directly from the deer antlers.

"Bang!"

Before the man could even scream, he was instantly torn apart by the energy of the antlers, turning into a cloud of blood mist.

The jade bottle he was clutching tightly shattered at the same time, and the viscous reddish-gray liquid inside spilled onto the ground with a "plop".

The instant the liquid hit the ground, an extremely nauseating, deathly still aura, mixed with twisted life force, exploded out.

A sense of rejection several times stronger than before suddenly appeared in Qi Ji's perception, like countless fine needles piercing his meridians, and the white hair all over his body stood up involuntarily.

"These liquids... I see, that's how it is."

Qi Ji looked at the reddish-gray liquid and instantly understood.

Previously, he couldn't sense it, but now Qi Ji clearly sensed that these liquids were actually blood, and from the blood of "spirit beasts".

However, unlike Qi Ji, this spirit beast's blood not only possesses the basic vitality of a spirit beast, but also carries a strong power of decay and death.

This force is almost the complete opposite of Qi Ji's.

This is also the source of the petrification of these children's bodies.

Reddish-gray blood slowly spread across the stone floor, and a deathly stillness swept through the entire stone chamber.

The children on the bed cried out in unison, as if they had been pricked by a red-hot iron needle, and the petrification on their bodies spread at an accelerated rate.

"Disgusting blood, and you still dare to act so violently? Disappear!"

(╬￣俣)=○

Qi Ji could no longer hold back, and the [Breath of Life] erupted completely without reservation.

"Boom—"

In an instant, Qi Ji's body emitted a huge golden light, and endless light mist surged out from his body, becoming more and more abundant and brighter, forming circles of golden ripples that swept out in all directions.

The pool of reddish-gray remnants of spirit beast blood on the ground, upon contact with this pure and boundless life force, immediately melted and evaporated rapidly, like ice and snow meeting a raging fire, leaving not a trace.

The deathly, fishy stench that Qi Ji found so nauseating and repulsive was completely swept away.

It's like basking in the midday sun in the dead of winter.

It was like falling into a warm spring, and the excruciating pain receded like the tide.

One by one, they slowly opened their eyes, their innocent pupils filled with soft golden light.

In the hazy light, they saw a tall white deer standing in the golden light, its antlers shimmering with a lustrous glow, its whole body radiating a warm aura, like a mythical beast from legend.

"immortal……"

The little boy who was closest to the camera moved his lips slightly, his voice barely audible.

"Did our parents say... that a deity came to save us...?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the petrified bluish-gray on his face and arms began to fade away at a visible speed, revealing the pinkish skin underneath.

The golden ripples of the "Breath of Life" not only swept through this stone chamber, but also swept across the entire mountainside along the corridors, passages, and secret chambers of the underground palace.

At the same time, Qi Ji's thoughts stirred, and the power of [All Trees Paying Homage] spread out in succession.

Countless thick tree roots emerged again from the stone walls, the ground, and the ceiling, meandering and wandering, each one carrying Qi Ji's consciousness.

When the tree roots encountered the stone bed with the child tied up, they cleverly avoided it, without even touching a single rope.

But once it encounters those human traffickers who are scattering and fleeing, the tree roots immediately become sharp as spears, lashing out fiercely with a whistling sound.

Screams echoed throughout the underground palace.

Those palace guards and stewards who usually acted arrogantly and domineeringly had no chance to fight back against the raging Tree of Life.

Either you'll be whipped by tree roots, crash into a rock wall, and break your bones and tendons.

Either they were tightly entangled on the rock face, suffocating from the tightness.

... ... ...

On the other side, the fierce monk grabbed Duan Chi by the back of his collar and ran desperately toward the exit of the underground palace.

They were lucky; Qi Ji landed in a secluded stone chamber area, some distance from their original location, so they didn't crash into him directly.

But the rumbling vibrations behind them, the cracking of tree roots breaking through the rocks, and the screams of their men made their hearts pound and their souls nearly fly away.

Duan Chi kept looking back as he ran.

Watching countless tree roots dance in the golden light, his eyes were filled with heartache and resentment, and his voice trembled: "Five years... This base took five whole years to build! All the tools from the stone sieve, the stockpiled source liquid, and the goods that took so much time to carefully select... It's all gone, all gone now!"

"Stop talking nonsense! You're about to die, and you're still thinking about your goods!"

The fierce monk cursed viciously, increased the pressure on his hands, and practically dragged him forward.

"We can catch more goods if they're gone, but if you lose your life, you can be buried here with those goods. Alright, get out of here by yourself, hurry up and get out of here first."

The two rushed out of the underground palace in a disheveled state. Just as they were about to catch their breath, five sharp gusts of wind came crashing down on them.

"Watch out!" The fierce monk exclaimed in alarm and hurriedly blocked with his staff.

"Clang clang clang clang—"

Five crisp sounds rang out in a row, and the fierce monk was so shocked that he staggered back seven steps, his arm went numb, and his heart sank.

From the shadows ahead, Su Yanji slowly emerged, accompanied by the Five Form Guards who had attacked at the same time, and the little monk Xu Ling standing to the side.

"Lord Duan, it's been a long time."

Su Yanji had a faint smile on his lips, but his eyes were devoid of warmth, filled with disgust and murderous intent.

"I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."

Su Yanji had visited Black Stone Fortress a few years ago and had dealt with Duan Chi several times. At the time, she thought he was just a shrewd and cunning fortress lord who had connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds.

Now that I've seen through this person's true colors, I realize how blind I was back then.

Especially when her gaze fell on the evil monk and she recognized his face as that of the seventh-ranked villain among the Ten Evils, the last bit of doubt in her heart completely vanished.

What good person could be associating with such villains?

Duan Chi's expression changed drastically upon seeing Su Yanji: "President Su? You... what are you doing here?"

Su Yanji had no interest in replying to him. With a flick of her hand, the Five Form Guards beside her immediately launched a second round of attacks.

The five figures intertwined, instantly forming a formation. The light of their blades wove into an impenetrable net, enveloping the two men.

"You ignorant fool, daring to block my way, you're asking for death!"

The fierce monk flew into a rage, wielding his iron cudgel with ferocious speed and powerful shadows, forcefully withstanding the combined attack of the five men.

Xu Ling stood beside Su Yanji, her small face serious. She stared at the fierce monk and gritted her teeth, saying, "This humble monk knows this person. He used to be a disciple of Wanfo Temple. Later, he stole the temple's secret manual and defected. He even killed his fellow disciples who tried to stop him. I never expected that he would now be involved in human trafficking."

Su Yanji said coldly, "A big forest has all kinds of birds. It's not surprising that a few scoundrels come out of a prestigious sect."

"Sigh, if only I were a few years older."

The ethereal spirit clenched his fist, shaking his bald head in annoyance: "That way I could go up and deal with him myself."

Upon hearing this, Su Yanji glanced at Xu Ling.

Judging from the appearance of this little monk, he's at most twelve or thirteen years old, but he speaks with quite a big mouth.

However, being able to follow the spirit beast white deer, he must not be an ordinary child; he is probably a martial arts prodigy.

As Su Yanji was thinking, she suddenly felt the ground beneath her feet tremble slightly.

The golden light inside the underground palace grew stronger and stronger, even penetrating the thick rock layers and casting a faint golden halo on the ground.

Immediately afterwards, the trees in Black Stone Fortress, which were already growing wildly, seemed to be injected with boundless power, and grew even more unrestrainedly, with branches and leaves so thick that they almost submerged the entire fortress in an impenetrable green.

Meanwhile, in the dense forest outside Blackstone Fortress, a woman in black was carrying two children and running at full speed.

She had already run several miles away, completely away from that place of trouble.

But just then, she suddenly stopped and turned her head to look in the direction of Blackstone Fortress.

"Hmm? This feeling...?!"

Under the night sky, the outline of the mountain faintly glowed with a soft golden light.

A pure and vibrant energy, brimming with vitality, spread out from there like a rising tide, gentle yet boundless, seemingly capable of nourishing all things.

The woman in black's pupils contracted sharply, her delicate face filled with disbelief.

"This power... such extraordinary life force... that white deer's spiritual power is actually of this attribute!"

The woman in black had seen all the spirit beasts in the world, but none possessed such pure and vast life force as Qi Ji.

"Aunt Fox..."

The little girl in her arms suddenly spoke weakly, her voice filled with confusion and doubt: "I... don't feel so much pain anymore."

The woman in black looked down and, sure enough, the petrified bluish-gray on the girl's arm had faded a bit, and even her fingertips had regained some color.

She paused, her gaze returning to the direction of Black Stone Fortress. Gritting her teeth, she immediately changed her mind, picked up her two children, and rushed back towards Black Stone Fortress.