The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

"Damn it, it's that audacious bastard who dared to ruin my plans!"

The roar was like a thunderclap, and the sure-kill axe blow missed its mark. Yan Lie was so angry that the veins on his neck bulged, and his eyes turned bloodshot as he turned his head sharply to look in the direction of the strange movement in the forest. His fierce aura almost solidified into a physical form.

In that instant of distraction, a cold glint flashed in Qi Ji's eyes, and his entire body instantly exerted force, his antlers striking Yan Lie's heart with the force of thunder.

Yan Lie had just come to his senses and tried to dodge, but it was too late.

With a muffled thud, Qi Ji's antlers hit the target, but the sensation was a bit strange.

"Strange, it doesn't look like normal human skin."

The thought flashed through Qi Ji's mind quickly. Without thinking too much about it, he pushed off the ground with all four hooves and strained his neck.

Yan Lie let out a muffled groan as he was sent flying by the immense force.

He didn't even have time to grab it; it was still stuck beside Qi Ji.

"Bang!"

Yan Lie crashed onto the riverbank in a disheveled state, sending pebbles and dust flying, but he flipped himself up in less than half a second.

Yan Lie's clothes were completely torn at the chest, and two streaks of blood seeped out from the wounds.

Qi Ji was somewhat surprised by this.

Although the other party was injured, the wound was clearly not particularly deep.

"Is this some kind of physical training technique? No wonder it felt off when I pushed against him earlier. This bastard's muscular build has pretty high physical defense."

A hint of regret flashed in Qi Ji's eyes. If it were a normal martial artist, that thrust would have surely pierced Yan Lie's chest and lungs. Who knew that Yan Lie would only suffer a minor injury and bleed?

Yan Lie, who had just stood up, ignored the wound on his chest and didn't even glance at Qi Ji. Instead, he glared angrily into the depths of the woods.

Qi Ji also tilted his head slightly to look over, wanting to see who had helped him just now.

"Hmm! That person isn't...."

A look of surprise flashed across Qi Jilu's deer-like eyes.

Two figures emerged from the forest. The one in the lead wore a green robe and had a Taoist hairstyle. He had a thin face, and Qi Ji recognized him at a glance—it was the Qingyang Taoist master he had met a few times during the flood.

Qi Ji had once remarked on the other party's impressive agility and jumping ability, and in the end, he even handed over the baby to them.

"I didn't expect it to be this old Taoist priest. I remember that Lin Qin spoke to him before, I think his name was Changchunzi." Qi Ji quickly recalled.

The one who just used more than a dozen piercing finger strikes to help Qi Ji out of trouble and pierced through more than ten of Yan Lie's men was Changchunzi.

Beside Changchunzi stood another man, also dressed in a Taoist robe, with a square face and a burly build. He was Changchunzi's junior brother, Xuanmuzi, and it was he who had deflected Yan Lie's double-headed axe.

At this moment, Xuan Muzi's eyes shone brightly as he stared unblinkingly at Qi Ji, muttering to himself. If you listened carefully, you would hear that he was saying things like "So beautiful," "Such a handsome white deer is rare," and "His fur is shiny and he is full of spirit."

His gaze was so intense that Qi Ji inexplicably felt uncomfortable all over.

They weren't driven by greed and malice like the previous people.

But there was an inexplicable awkwardness that made Qi Ji subconsciously take half a step to the side.

"Huh (；¬＿¬), why does this guy look at me like that?"

Qi Ji felt a chill run down his spine for some reason, but he could tell that the two Taoist priests were definitely not after him.

"Junior brother, don't get distracted."

Changchunzi patted Xuanmuzi on the shoulder, then flicked his whisk and fixed his gaze on Yan Lie: "This man is one of the ten most notorious villains in the martial arts world, Yan Lie, the Mountain-Splitting Axe. It is said that he is born with superhuman strength and is skilled in both internal and external cultivation. He is not like an ordinary martial arts master and is very difficult to deal with."

"Don't worry, senior brother, I understand."

Xuan Muzi immediately withdrew his gaze, then drew the peach wood sword from his back and pointed it at Yan Lie with a furious expression.

"Hey, none of the Ten Evils are any good! How dare you attack such a rare and auspicious beast! You are worse than an animal! I, this humble Taoist, will rid the people of this scourge today!"

Before he finished speaking, Xuan Muzi's figure blurred, and he charged forward with his sword.

"To rid the people of a scourge, bah, I mean to beat you to death."

Yan Lie was already burning with anger. Seeing the other party take the initiative to attack, he did not hesitate at all, clenched his fists and went to meet them.

Although he had lost his double-edged axe, his iron fists, honed through decades of rigorous training, were capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, and killing ordinary martial arts masters was a piece of cake for him.

The two exchanged more than a dozen blows in an instant, their movements incredibly fast, their powerful internal energy and the clanging sounds of their attacks echoing throughout the air.

Yan Lie's skin turned red, and as he punched, he cursed angrily, "You old Taoist priests from the Qingyang Dao Sect, huh? You dare to meddle in my business? If you don't want to die, get lost, or I'll kill you all too."

"Hmph, you dare to kill me? You're spouting nonsense!"

Xuan Muzi twirled the peach wood sword, its blade covered in a layer of light blue true energy.

"You have harmed auspicious beasts and wreaked havoc on the martial world. Everyone has the right to kill you, and I, this humble Taoist, am determined to intervene in your affairs."

"Then go die."

The two unleashed a barrage of powerful moves, their fists and swords clashing repeatedly, much to Qi Ji's astonishment.

This was the second time he had watched a battle between human martial arts masters.

The first time was with Lin Qin and Xue Dao, but those two were clearly not as good as Xuan Mu Zi and Yan Lie at this moment.

Xuan Muzi's peach wood sword looks soft, but with the support of his profound internal energy, it is sharper than ordinary steel swords. Wherever the sword energy sweeps, it even carves deep grooves in the ground. What's more, the sword energy carries a strange breaking force that is specifically designed to counter hard and tangible martial arts.

Yan Lie was initially able to withstand the blows with his bare hands, but after a dozen or so moves, his arm muscles began to ache, and even his bones ached.

Despite his indestructible martial arts skills, he was constantly restrained by the peach wood sword. The more he fought, the more sluggish his movements became, and he was gradually put on the defensive by Xuan Muzi.

"Wow, this Taoist priest has strange eyes and seems unreliable, but he's really good at fighting..." Qi Ji clicked his tongue in amazement.

Just then, Changchunzi slowly walked to Qi Ji's side, his gaze falling on the dagger deeply embedded in Qi Ji's hind leg.

Before Qi Ji could react, Chang Chunzi condensed a wisp of true energy at his fingertips, pinched the end of the dagger between two fingers, and with a slight exertion of his wrist, steadily pulled the dagger out, the movement so light that it caused almost no pain.

"Waaah—"

Qi Ji let out a low groan, noticing Chang Chunzi's movement. He turned his head to look at him, his deer-like eyes blinking brightly. At the same time, he nodded his head slightly up and down to express his gratitude.

As a deer, Qi Ji lacks human hands, and the dagger is embedded in its hind leg, making it extremely difficult to remove. The only way to remove it would be to use the "All Trees Pay Homage" technique to manipulate the vegetation, but the current situation is far too troublesome.

Changchunzi's actions can be considered a help to Qi Ji.

Looking into Qi Ji's bright and intelligent eyes, Chang Chunzi smiled gently: "Young friend Bai Lu, we meet again."

"White Deer... young friend..."

Qi Ji's ears twitched; he thought the title was quite nice.

Changchunzi spoke calmly and sincerely, "My junior brother and I recently visited the black market in Bilin Kingdom and heard that many forces were searching for you. We were quite worried. A few days ago, we happened to get your trail, so we rushed over. Don't be afraid, young friend Bailu, we're here to help you."

Upon hearing this, Qi Jilu's eyes curved slightly.

Finally, God opened his eyes.

Along the way, I've encountered many ill-intentioned scoundrels, but now I'm finally meeting a few genuinely helpful people.

On the other side, the battle situation has become increasingly clear.

Yan Lie was forced to retreat step by step by Xuan Muzi, his exposed muscles were covered in bruises, all caused by the sword energy.

However, his external martial arts skills were truly profound. Although Xuan Muzi had the upper hand, it was difficult for him to completely kill him in a short period of time.

Yan Lie glanced at Changchunzi beside Qi Ji out of the corner of his eye, then at his men lying haphazardly around him. In just a few moments, Changchunzi had silently dealt with all of his dozen or so trusted men.

"Very well, you old fogies of the Qingyang Dao Sect, you just wait!"

Yan Lie gritted his teeth and roared, "I, Yan Lie, will remember this debt. I will go to the Qingyang Dao Sect one day and get it back with interest!"

As he spoke, Yan Lie glared fiercely at Qi Ji, roaring like thunder: "And you, white deer, I'll cut off your head sooner or later and skin off your antlers to keep as a keepsake."

"Stop being so presumptuous!"

Xuan Muzi's face flushed red with anger at Yan Lie's words, and his sword strike suddenly intensified, as he prepared to seize the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

But Yan Lie had no intention of wasting any more time. He reached back and pulled out a few milky-white spheres from his waist, then smashed them hard on the ground!

"boom--"

Several muffled thuds exploded in succession, and thick white smoke instantly billowed out, mixed with a wisp of purple mist...