The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

The children, who had been curled up and sleeping soundly inside, were all awakened from their sleep by the clanging of metal, the tearing of the giant net, and the screams of people outside.

Having experienced the terrifying hell of the Black Stone Palace, they were already mentally and physically sensitive.

At this moment, their little bodies trembled, and when they realized that the familiar white figure was gone, they were all a little flustered and at a loss.

"Waaah, where's the Deer God? He's gone!"

"What happened outside?"

"Brother, I'm a little scared."

Where is the White Deer Immortal?

The children, startled awake, all wanted to find the huge white deer shadow. So the older children led the younger ones, shuffling timidly to the doorway, clinging to the door frame and peering out, their terrified eyes searching for the white deer's shadow in the night.

"Go back now!"

Su Yanji suddenly noticed the situation and her heart tightened. She quickly called out to stop them.

But it was too late.

A dark figure suddenly darted out from behind the broken wall on the side.

It was a masked man in black who had just narrowly escaped being entangled by the tree roots.

"Don't move! If you move again, I'll strangle this child!"

The masked man in black roared and held the child tightly in front of him.

The surrounding tree roots and branches suddenly stopped, hovering in mid-air.

Qi Ji stood still, his golden deer-like eyes fixed on the masked man in black, his gaze as cold as ice, filled with murderous intent.

However, the surging golden-green light around him had to be contained.

"You bastard, what are you doing!"

"mean!"

"Put the child down!"

The people around were instantly in an uproar when they saw this.

The bodyguards cursed loudly, and everyone in the martial arts world was furious.

In the martial arts world, no matter what the grudges are, it is the most despicable act to harm a child.

Despite the crowd's angry shouts, the masked man in black didn't care at all and increased the pressure on his hands.

"Mmm—"

The boy's face instantly turned bright red, his mouth opened but he couldn't make a sound, and tears streamed down his cheeks. He was clearly terrified, and his little hands and feet kicked weakly.

The other children were so frightened that they huddled by the door frame, their faces pale, not daring to even cry out.

"Everyone back off! No one is allowed to come any closer, and you can't touch the roots or branches. If you do, this child will die!"

The masked man in black stared madly at the people and trees around him, constantly adjusting the angle while holding the child and shouting warnings.

Seeing this, no one dared to step forward, fearing that the masked man in black would really strangle the boy.

The masked man in black finally fixed his gaze on Qi Ji: "Spirit Beast White Deer, I know you can understand me. If you want this little brat to live, cooperate with me obediently. I don't intend to capture you, I just want your blood. Give me your blood, fill a small bottle, and I'll release him immediately after I sell it to you. Then I'll turn around and leave."

The room fell silent for a moment.

All eyes instinctively fell on Qi Ji.

Su Yanji quickly moved to Qi Ji's side and said in a low voice, "Don't agree to him. Even if you give him blood, he will never release the child. He will only use the hostage to continue to blackmail you."

Qi Ji nodded slightly.

Of course he knew.

If the other party wants to leave safely after taking the blood, they can only continue to threaten the hostage; there is no possibility that they will obediently release the hostage after taking the blood.

Qi Ji had no intention of negotiating with this masked, black-clad scumbag.

The threat the other party posed to him was that his child's life was at stake.

With Qi Ji's [Breath of Life], even if the child were truly suffocated, as long as his soul hadn't dissipated, he could forcefully bring him back to life.

But looking at the boy's face, which was turning purple from holding his breath, and the group of children huddled at the door, trembling all over, he hesitated and did not take direct and forceful action.

These children had just crawled out of the hellish stone sieve and were still in shock.

If one were to face death again, even if one were to survive, the fear etched into one's heart would take an unknown amount of time to heal.

It's best not to scare them if possible.

In that moment of stalemate, a small figure suddenly rushed out.

She was an eight or nine-year-old girl with messy hair and red eyes.

To everyone's surprise, she rammed her head into the masked man in black's waist, clenching her small fists and pounding them against him, crying out in a hoarse voice, "Bad man! Let go of my brother! Let go!"

"court death!"

The masked man in black was furious, never expecting that these greenhorn brats would dare to resist. He kicked them hard with his backhand.

"what!"

The girl flew out like a rag doll, crashed heavily to the ground, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"You bastard!"

"brute!"

The crowd's expressions changed drastically, and they all took a step forward.

Three figures were faster than everyone else.

Like three wisps of green smoke, they suddenly emerged from the blind spot behind the masked man.

One man's palm strike, sharp as a knife, slashed fiercely at the masked man's shoulder and back.

One person reached out swiftly and caught the falling boy.

The third person spun around and landed, gently scooping up the girl who had fallen to the ground.

"Bang!"

"Click!"

The masked man in black screamed as his shoulder bone was shattered, and he staggered back a few steps.

He turned around in horror: "The Three Elders of Xishan?! What are you doing! We've all followed you all this way for the blood of the white deer, haven't we? Why are you turning on your own people?!"

The ones who made the move were the three white-haired old men who had been watching from the sidelines.

All three were dressed in simple clothes and straw sandals, with stern expressions. They were the famous independent cultivators of the martial arts world, known as the "Three Elders of Xishan." They were not affiliated with any sect or school, but each of them possessed cultivation comparable to top masters in the martial arts world.

"Pah, who said you're one of us?"

The elder at the head of the group rebuked in a deep voice, his white beard fluttering: "The three of us did indeed consider seeking the blood of a spirit beast to prolong our lives, but there is a code of honor in the martial world, and even thieves have their code. Using a child as a hostage is a despicable act that we, the Three Elders of Xishan, would never stoop to, much less associate with scum like you!"

"you........."

The masked man was both shocked and furious, and was about to speak.

laugh--

A sudden whooshing sound arose.

Seven or eight branches, each as thick as a water bucket, pierced through from all directions simultaneously, moving so fast that they were just afterimages.

The masked man in black's pupils contracted sharply as he tried to dodge, but his shoulder bone was shattered and his movements were sluggish, leaving him no chance to escape.

With several muffled thuds, the tree branch pierced through his chest, abdomen, throat, and limbs, pinning him to the air.

"Huh..."

The masked man in black had bulging eyes filled with endless pain and fear of death.

He struggled instinctively for a moment, then fell completely silent.

The tree branch swung the corpse towards the tree root, and then a tree root more than a meter thick wrapped around it and squeezed it, crushing the corpse to pieces, leaving no trace of the bones.

It happened so fast, so quick, that no one could react in time.

The remaining masked men in black, who were still alive and able to move, were terrified. Knowing that their mission had completely failed, they immediately turned to flee.

But Qi Ji had already made his move.

"None of you are leaving here!"

A golden-green light burst forth from Qi Ji, sweeping across the entire area. This aura was full of vitality, but also filled with a terrifying pressure like a landslide or tsunami.

"Boom boom~~~"

The ground shook, and tree roots and branches surged wildly from the ground, from the broken walls, and from the forest, like a huge, all-encompassing net that instantly engulfed the masked men in black who were trying to escape.

Screams rose and fell.

Within moments, these masked men in black were either pierced by tree roots or strangled by branches; none escaped death.

The room was deathly silent.

Those who witnessed the destruction of Blackrock Fortress were alright, though their expressions were solemn.

Those martial artists who had just arrived and had not yet witnessed Qi Ji's actions were all horrified and instinctively took a few steps back.

This is... the legendary eleventh spirit beast, the white deer?

Such power is hardly an auspicious omen; it's downright ferocious!

Su Yanji walked to a corpse, bent down and lifted the mask of a man in black, and searched his body for several items.

Specially designed arrowheads with triangular grooves.

A steel needle as fine as a cow's hair.

A dagger with a hollow hilt, and a small, blood-red leather pouch.

The workmanship is exquisite, and the shape is bizarre, unlike anything from an ordinary martial arts force.

She frowned, momentarily unable to recognize the way it was.

"If I'm not mistaken, these people should be from the Wild Beast Sect."

The leader of the three elders of Xishan walked slowly over, looked down at the arrows on the ground, and said in a deep voice.

"This type of arrow is called the Wilderness Hunting Arrow. It is a unique weapon of a secret squad of the Wilderness Beast Sect. The arrow is hollow and can be poisoned. When it is shot into the body, it can automatically collect blood and seal it in the leather pouch at the end of the arrow. Very few people know about this. I only saw it once by chance many years ago."