The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

"Oh no, it's that giant black-scaled snake! That beast is still in town!"

The survivors on the roof were startled by the sudden change.

The men who were squatting on the roof ridge, binding the driftwood with hemp rope as instructed by Qi Ji, immediately stopped, and the thick rope in their hands fell with a "thud" onto the wet and slippery tiles.

Everyone froze on the spot, a chill running down their spines, their eyes fixed on the faintly visible black spine in the middle of the flood.

They clutched everything they could get their hands on—broken wooden rafters, rusty nails, even a piece of broken tile—fearing the giant snake might attack again.

On the water, the people who had fallen in immediately used their hands and feet to swim as fast as they could towards the nearby houses.

The icy floodwaters kept pouring into their mouths and noses, choking them and causing them to cough violently, but no one dared to slow down even a fraction of an inch.

Meanwhile, the black-scaled serpent in the water had already chosen its prey.

Its cold, vertical pupils were fixed on the middle-aged man who was at the back. Its massive body twisted underwater with astonishing speed, and in an instant it was behind the man.

"Ah! No, help me!"

The man let out a terrified scream. Under the water, the thick snake's body had already coiled around his waist and abdomen. The man felt his body being bound by a tremendous force underwater, making it impossible for him to swim. His body was being squeezed, and this force was so strong that he could not break free even on land, let alone in the water.

The man waved his arms in vain, his fingernails scratching at the snake scales, but he couldn't even break a skin.

He looked up at the villagers on the rooftops not far away, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins and pleading.

"Please...save me...I don't want to die."

Seeing this, some of the others on the roof turned their faces away, their lips clenched, not because they didn't want to help, but because they simply couldn't.

Some people had tense faces and clenched fists. They wanted to save people and jump into the water to help, but reason told them that it was useless. There might be hope on land, but in this raging flood, the most likely outcome of jumping in was that they would not only fail to save people, but also lose their own lives.

"I don't want to die!"

The man let his arms hang limply, his heart filled with despair.

Just as he was about to be dragged into the water by the giant snake, a white shadow suddenly rushed out from the water.

The speed was as fast as the wind. Before anyone could react or see anything clearly, they heard a muffled bang, accompanied by the shrill hiss of the giant python. The turbid floodwaters exploded, creating waves several meters high.

Qi Ji's antlers, carrying immense force, slammed into the body of the black-scaled serpent in the water.

He had finally managed to rescue these people and was about to complete the final step; how could he let this damned snake ruin his plans?

This is a legendary spiritual spot.

He was willing to endure the trouble of temporarily halting his evolution, and he would absolutely not allow anyone else to interfere.

"You dare commit violence right in front of me, you filthy snake, get off me now!"

Qi Ji let out a powerful deer cry.

The immense impact caused the giant snake's massive body to arch and convulse violently like a whip. The excruciating pain caused it to instantly lose control of its prey, instinctively loosening its grip on the man's body. Its enormous tail thrashed wildly in the water, creating towering waves.

The man was thrown out by the force and crashed into a floating door panel.

He clung tightly to the edge of the wooden plank, coughing up mouthfuls of muddy floodwater. The lingering fear of surviving the ordeal made him tremble uncontrollably.

Having suffered a great loss, the black-scaled serpent dared not linger any longer and turned to flee desperately into the deep water.

It moves extremely fast in the water; with a twist and a sway of its massive body, it leaps more than ten meters away in the blink of an eye.

"Trying to run? No way!"

Although they stopped the snake, there's no guarantee it won't turn around and launch a surprise attack.

To resolve the issue once and for all, Qi Ji felt it was necessary to eliminate the other party first.

With the [Agile Foot] skill combined with keen perception, Qi Ji's four hooves moved swiftly, following the giant snake as it moved across the floodwaters.

Qi Ji was hesitant to jump into the water. Although his physique allowed him to move quite fast in the water, he was probably no match for the giant snake. However, Qi Ji had his own methods.

Looking down and locking onto the giant shadow in the flood, a faint golden-green light quietly appeared on Qi Ji's antlers.

Underwater, the black-scaled serpent thrashed about desperately. It could sense the white animal that had seriously injured it following it on the surface. Although it didn't understand what it was, its survival instinct kept it from stopping for a moment.

Just then, it swam past an old locust tree that was mostly submerged by the flood, and suddenly, the branches of the locust tree, which had been motionless, began to move!

As if the inanimate object had come to life, five or six branches of varying thickness, like giant arms, suddenly snapped together and instantly grabbed the snake's body.

"hiss--!!"

The giant snake let out a terrified hiss and writhed wildly, but the branches seemed to have taken root, tightening their grip and the tough bark digging deep into its scales.

The giant snake had no idea what was going on.

But this did not diminish its fear and anxiety, because Qi Ji had completely caught up.

One could see that the antlers on Qi Ji's head emitted a clearly visible golden-green glow, all of which was naturally his masterpiece.

It is also a magical ability he gained after his evolution, called "All Trees Pay Homage", which allows him to control all living trees within a certain range, making them seem to have their own will and obey his command.

However, this ability has clear limitations; it can only manipulate living trees with roots still in the soil. It cannot affect inanimate objects such as felled timbers or house beams.

Moreover, since Qi Ji has only completed the first stage of evolution and his abilities have not yet been fully awakened, the effective range of [All Trees Pay Homage to the Source] is not large, only an area with a radius of fifteen meters centered on himself.

But it was more than enough to catch the giant snake that was causing him trouble.

Qi Ji was very satisfied with his first use of this ability. He jumped into the floodwaters, and the buoyancy of the water could not shake him at all. He lowered his head, aimed his sharp antlers at the seven-inch vital spot where the giant python was tightly bound by tree branches, and stabbed it in hard again!

"Pfft—"

"hiss!"

The antlers easily pierced the snake's scales and tough muscles, sinking deep into its body, causing the snake to roar in pain and try to break free, but it was held tightly by the branches.

Qi Ji suddenly shook his head.

The antlers, like two gleaming scimitars, tore fiercely into the snake's body.

"Sizzle—"

A sickening tearing sound rang out.

A shockingly large gash appeared instantly on the snake's body, so deep that the bone was visible, almost severing it in half.

Scalding hot snake blood gushed out, quickly staining the surrounding floodwaters red, spreading a large, dazzling scarlet color across the murky water.

The giant snake convulsed violently, its tail weakly slapping the water's surface, splashing up a few last drop of water. Its vertical pupils instantly lost their luster, and its massive body suddenly relaxed.

It didn't even have time to utter a final cry before it fell completely silent.