The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

"The group of people I encountered before were right; there are quite a few humans searching for me in these mountains."

Qi Ji leaped among the towering ancient trees, thanks to the [Spirit Foot] skill and his amazing jumping ability, he moved through the canopy as if walking on flat ground.

Along the way, he had encountered three or four search teams, all of them consisting of three or four people, carrying knives and sticks, parting the bushes, looking around as they walked, and searching very carefully.

Just then, I heard a rustling sound of weeds being parted from below.

Qi Jiluo steadied himself on a thick, horizontal branch and glanced down at it.

The four walked side by side, each holding either a ring-pommel sword or a thick wooden stick. The blades and stick tips constantly parted the vines and weeds along the roadside, their eyes scanning the surrounding trees without paying any attention to the canopy above their heads.

Qi Ji had no interest in these people. He gathered his strength in his limbs and leaped toward another large tree diagonally in front of him.

The jump was quite large; the branches trembled violently from his kick, causing the leaves to rustle and fall in a shower.

The man on the far left of the line twitched his ears and instinctively turned his head sharply to look.

But in the end, it was a step too late.

Wherever his gaze swept, all that remained were still violently shaking branches and fallen leaves; there was not a trace of any living creature.

"Old Qin, what's wrong?" His companion frowned and stopped.

The man named Lao Qin scratched his head, looking puzzled. "That tree made quite a commotion just now. I thought something was squatting on it."

"What could it be? Mountain monkeys, or maybe squirrels."

The other person scoffed, his tone tinged with impatience: "Could it be the auspicious white deer we're looking for? Enough talk, let's search. Several factions are offering bounties on the white deer, and the rewards are incredibly high. If we catch it and sell it to just one of them, we'll be set for life. Everything else is irrelevant, don't worry about it."

Old Qin thought about it and realized it made sense. There were plenty of wild animals in the mountains; what were the chances of accidentally running into a target, especially one that could climb trees?

Without further thought, they withdrew their gaze and continued their search.

... ... ...

Qi Ji nimbly leaped over more than two hundred trees before finally landing back on the ground from the canopy.

The further he went, the less frequently he encountered search teams. By this time, Qi Ji hadn't encountered any human search teams for quite some time, and he judged that there probably weren't many people searching this area.

A soft rumbling sound came from my empty stomach.

I'm hungry again.

With his stomach empty, Qi Ji was no longer keen on continuing his journey.

He bent down and nestled among the grass, his tongue swirling around to scoop up plump, tender blades of grass into his mouth, and began to eat heartily.

After a good half hour, I felt full and a clear notification sounded in my mind.

[Spirit Points +1]

"Phew~~~~ That feels so good~~"

Qi Ji breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that this was one of the advantages of being a herbivore. As long as you were in the mountains and forests, there was food everywhere. When you were hungry, you could eat whatever you wanted, like a buffet.

Those carnivores would have to struggle to hunt and fight when they're hungry, and they might not even succeed. Unlike him, he can fill his stomach just by looking down.

After walking about a hundred steps along the clearing in the woods, a clear stream came into view, its waters flowing gently and so clear that the bottom could be seen.

After eating, I want to drink something.

Qi Ji walked to the riverbank, lowered his head and brought it close to the water. The slightly cool river water entered his mouth, relieving the dryness after a large amount of grass had been planted in his stomach.

Qi Ji's attention was completely focused on the cool river water, and he was completely unaware that a pair of eyes were staring intently at him from the dense canopy of trees a few hundred meters away on the upstream bank, their eyes filled with barely suppressed ecstasy.

"It's a white deer, an auspicious white deer."

This man was a scout in Chi Lan's search team. He had been searching the mountains for a long time, and his feet were blistered. He was thirsty and wanted to go to the river to drink some water and rest. Unexpectedly, he was so lucky that he ran into his target.

With its pure white, jade-like antlers and a size comparable to a large horse, what else could it be but the legendary auspicious white deer?

His heart was pounding. He didn't dare to delay for a moment. He reached back and pulled a copper signal tube from his waist, then pulled the rope at the bottom.

"call out--"

A sharp, piercing sound shot straight into the sky.

"Panglong"

The next second, a bright red firework exploded in the sky, still very conspicuous in the bright daylight, and could be clearly seen within a radius of several kilometers.

"!"

In various parts of the mountains and forests, the search teams looked up almost simultaneously.

The people of the Red Kingdom were all taken aback when they saw the red fireworks.

This is the signal set by their leader, Chilan; a white deer has been spotted!

Without further ado, each team immediately changed direction and sprinted frantically toward the location where the fireworks were going off.

One person from each team was immediately dispatched to rush to the main force's location to notify their leader, Chilan.

The other search teams, who did not belong to the Red Kingdom, looked up at the firework, hesitated for only two or three seconds, and then rushed over there.

Nobody's a fool.

Most of the groups in this mountain came for the auspicious white deer. What else could the signal for taking off at this time be but the discovery of the white deer?

Even if it wasn't one of our own people who put it there, we might still be able to get a share if we went over there.

Humans saw the fireworks, and Qi Ji, who was relatively close, naturally saw them as well.

Qi Ji looked in the direction of the signal and met the gaze of the person in the woods upstream who hadn't had time to look away.

"There's someone here too? I was careless."

Qi Ji was speechless.

These people are spread out too far; they're guarding every nook and cranny. I wish I hadn't come to this river to drink water.

The thought flashed through Qi Ji's mind, but he didn't rush over to deal with the scout. After all, the signal had already been sent out, and killing him wouldn't make a difference. Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, quite a few humans should already be heading towards this location.

Qi Ji wasted no time and turned to dash into the dense forest behind him.

When the man saw the white deer run into the forest, he instinctively rushed over.

But how could he outrun Qi Ji? Besides, he was already hundreds of meters away from Qi Ji. By the time he arrived at the spot where Qi Ji had just been drinking water, Qi Ji had already vanished.

The scout sighed, panting, "Forget it, we're not going to chase it anymore. That white deer is too fast. Let's leave it to fate. Hopefully, General Chilan will make it in time."

... ... ...

Qi Ji ran wildly through the woods for several hundred meters. Just as he was about to turn ahead, the bushes opposite him suddenly rustled, and three figures leaped out, blocking the middle of the road.

All three were dressed in tanned leather armor and held long swords. As soon as they saw Qi Ji, their eyes lit up and their faces showed undisguised excitement.

"Haha, we're lucky! We found it! It's a white deer, an auspicious beast!"

"Finally, we've found our target!"

"You beast, don't run! Come with us obediently, and we'll spare your life!"

The three men shouted as they rushed over, trying to surround and capture Qi Ji.

"Get out of here!"

Qi Ji's eyes were cold. Instead of slowing down and turning, he lowered his head, aimed his hard antlers at the front, and pushed off with his hind legs, increasing his speed even further as he charged straight ahead.

Its momentum was like that of a wild bull charging forward, or a speeding heavy vehicle, carrying an unstoppable force.

The excitement on the three people's faces froze instantly, followed by a look of horror.

Qi Ji was too fast; they couldn't dodge him at all!

"Bang--!"

The dull thuds of impact echoed repeatedly.

The three of them were like bowling pins, flying backward before they could even finish a scream.

The person standing in the very center was the first to be hit, his chest slammed hard by the antlers, his body curled up like a shrimp, his leather armor shattered on the spot, a hideous gash was torn open in his chest, his lungs were severely damaged, and blood spurted out from his chest when he landed, his body twitched twice and then fell silent.

The two people on either side were also hit by the aftershock and thrown more than ten meters away, crashing heavily into the tree trunk, the sound of bones breaking clearly audible.

"Pfft!"

One of them struggled to prop himself up, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with horror.

The rumors were indeed true... This auspicious white deer is indeed incredibly strong!

He gritted his teeth, his hands trembling as he pulled a signal tube from his pocket and used his last bit of strength to pull the rope.

"call out--"

"Panglong"

Another streak of light shot into the sky, and the second firework exploded with a bang above the mountains and forests.