The legend begins with becoming a white deer.

As the morning light pierced through the treetops, the raging snowstorm that had been raging all night finally subsided.

The heavy snowfall was reduced to fine, scattered snowflakes.

The chill in the wind had mostly dissipated.

The entire mountain forest was bathed in the serene, snowy light.

Amidst the snow-covered slopes, a hemispherical snowdrift, roughly the size of a normal house, lies quietly, its surface covered with a smooth and thick layer of snow, appearing at first glance no different from a natural snow hill.

"Crunch"

Suddenly, one side of the snowdrift flipped outward, pushed open by a force from the inside out. As the snow tumbled down, a figure dressed entirely in white leaped out and landed steadily on the snow.

It was Qi Ji.

He shook the snow off his fur, opened his mouth and let out a long yawn, his deer eyes still showing a hint of sleepiness.

Turning to look at the snow cave behind me, I saw a whole herd of sika deer huddled inside. Most of them had already woken up and were rubbing against each other, while a few fawns were still fast asleep, nestled beside their mothers.

"Those guys were incredibly noisy last night."

Qi Ji felt rather helpless.

Ever since he told the deer herd last night that there was plenty of food under the snow, the deer have been restless, taking turns digging in the snow and nibbling on the plants underneath. The crunching sounds kept going on all night, and even though he had good self-control, he couldn't sleep soundly.

Just then, several fawns hopped and skipped out of the snow cave.

"Yo"

"Yo"

"Yo"

The tender hooves crunched softly in the deep snow. The snow was up to their calves, and the little guys stumbled along. After only a few steps, the one in front slipped, curled up, and fell flat on its face, burying its head in the snow for a long time.

A very soft hum escaped Qi Ji's throat, like a laugh.

He walked slowly over, bent down, and gently touched the fawn's back with his warm antlers.

The fawn shuddered and quickly lifted its head from the snow, its nose and cheeks covered in snowflakes.

It looked up at Qi Ji, its dark deer eyes still holding an instinctive awe, but it was no longer as fearful and timid as it had been when they first met last night, and dared to look him directly in the eye.

Clearly, Qi Ji's actions last night in guiding them to dig in the snow for food had finally put these little guys at ease.

"Yo"

Qi Ji called out softly to it in a calm tone, indicating that it was time to say goodbye to the little guy and that it was leaving.

Qi Ji never intended to travel with this herd of sika deer for long.

Although he belongs to the same species as deer, he has long since transcended the mortal realm and evolved into a white jade spirit deer. His only path forward is to continuously grow stronger until he is strong enough to deter all those who covet him from making any rash moves.

Staying with the deer herd is not only not beneficial to one's own growth, but may also bring disaster upon oneself and drag down these ordinary creatures.

Perhaps one day in the future he will choose to live among a tribe, but certainly not now.

Thinking of this, Qi Ji stopped and turned to walk away towards the edge of the forest.

The fawn in the snow didn't understand what he meant. It just tilted its head and watched the white figure walk further and further away. Its little hooves subconsciously lifted, as if it wanted to follow.

Just then, a long call came from inside the snow cave. The fawn paused, immediately turned around, and hopped back into the snow cave, disappearing under its mother's belly.

Before long, the entire herd of deer woke up.

They didn't find Qi Ji around, and although a hint of doubt flashed in their eyes, their survival instinct quickly overwhelmed that thought.

The deer lowered their heads and used their hooves to dig through the surface snow, uncovering the dry grass and lichen buried underneath.

Several male deer lowered their heads and used their branch-like antlers as shovels to quickly sweep away the snow.

This area was specially selected by Qi Ji. Under the snow covering an area of ​​more than 100 meters in radius, there are extremely rich understory plants. As long as the deer herds are diligent in foraging every day, they will have more than enough time to survive this cold winter.

... ... ...

On the other side, Qi Ji wandered aimlessly through the mountains and forests.

As the snowstorm subsided, the woods gradually became lively again.

The snow hare darted between its snow nests.

A red fox, dragging its tail, lingered at the edge of the forest.

A herd of wild boars rooted through the snow, searching for roots and stems.

Lynxes also lay on tree branches, coldly watching their passing prey.

One of the lynxes was extremely bold. Seeing that Qi Ji was alone and had snow-white fur unlike that of ordinary deer, it underestimated his strength and suddenly pounced down from the tree trunk, aiming straight for the back of Qi Ji's neck.

In just a moment, the lynx crashed heavily onto the snow and fell silent.

Qi Ji didn't even stop walking. He just shook his antlers and continued forward. Before long, several foxes that smelled blood cautiously surrounded him and got a free meal.

Following this path, Qi Ji emerged from the continuous mountainous region in just a few days.

As night fell, he stood on a high slope and could see the outline of the mountains in the distance.

It was a small town nestled at the foot of the mountain. In the twilight, lights shone from the town, carrying the warmth of everyday life.

"Let's go take a look."

Qi Ji hesitated for a moment on the slope, but finally took a step and walked towards the town.

Although many human forces had coveted him and wanted to capture him, Qi Ji did not decide to completely avoid crowds because of this.

Qi Ji knew very well that only by being kind to others and accumulating enough legendary spiritual points could he unlock the next evolution.

He will eventually continue down this path.

The town was surrounded by a rammed earth wall, about four meters high, which was an insurmountable barrier for ordinary wild animals, but in Qi Ji's eyes it was useless.

Instead of going through the main gate, he went around to the side of the town where there was no one around and leaned against a wall. With a slight push from his hind legs, he leaped lightly and silently over the earthen wall.

Qi Ji was slightly taken aback the moment he landed.

The place where he landed happened to be a small stable.

A dozen or so horses were resting in their pen when they heard the noise and turned around. Their eyes widened in surprise and confusion as they stared at the snow-white creature that was neither horse nor deer, wondering how it had climbed over the wall.

"Whisper"

One of the more lively horses poked its head out of the wooden fence, its nose twitching, as if trying to get closer to smell Qi Ji's scent, seemingly very interested in him.

"Yo"

Qi Ji called out softly to it as a greeting.

The horses in the stable neighed a few times, as if in response.

Qi Ji didn't linger. After getting his bearings, he walked out on his own.

For him, the mere walls were no obstacle at all. Not to mention that he possessed the [Spirit Foot] skill, his jumping ability alone meant that walls made by ordinary human buildings could not confine him.

He took a few steps, and behind him he could still hear the neighing of the horse that had poked its head out, one neigh after another, faintly revealing a hint of reluctance.

Qi Ji didn't turn around and walked straight onto the town's street.

The streets were quite deserted at night. Many bright red ornaments hung under the eaves on both sides of the road, swaying gently in the wind, creating a lively atmosphere, but there were hardly any pedestrians on the street.

Qi Ji was hesitating about which way to go when he suddenly heard a lot of noisy voices and laughter coming from a building not far ahead, a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Qi Ji paused slightly, then, with a hint of curiosity, slowly walked towards the direction from which the light and sound came...