Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 166 Guardian, Dark Gold Terror Claw
The forest erupted. Gula roughly located the center of the primary Spirit Ascension Platform and stopped moving. The domain expanded automatically, and the vines killed the spirit beasts, drawing in spiritual energy.

He squatted on the treetop, blowing dandelions. The fluffy seeds, carrying his exhaled soul power, transformed into countless pale, sharp blades, their unparalleled sword intent unstoppable.

The twelve swooping lightning falcons had no time to turn around before they were shredded into a rain of blood by the pale blades, which then transformed into orbs of spiritual energy and flew toward Gula.

The ground began to tremble, and flowers bloomed within a radius of a thousand meters. Gula leaped into the air, riding on the waves of flowers, while in the distance, twenty thousand-year-old armored rhinoceroses were surrounded by the forest.

The armored rhinoceroses formed a charging formation, only to be swallowed up by the frantically proliferating sea of ​​carnivorous flowers. Their steel-like armor sizzled in the corrosive slime. Suddenly, the leading rhinoceros king stood upright, slamming his foot into the ground and shattering the carnivorous flowers. A beam of destructive light shot out from his jet-black horn.

"That's more like it!"

Gula spread his arms and leaned back, the beam of destruction grazing his head and piercing a three-meter-diameter hole in the forest behind him.

"Boundless Forest and Sea - A Feast of Strangulation".

The entire forest came to life. The Ghost Vine Soul Beast tore open the ground, scattering parasitic seeds and dragging the Rhinoceros King down while it was hanging upside down.

The branches of the emerald banyan tree twisted into spiral spears, piercing the steel skulls of thirteen rhinoceroses. Most terrifying of all were the killer willows swaying in the wind, each leaf transforming into a spinning blade, slicing the beasts into countless chunks of flesh.

When Gula landed lightly back on the ground, his white shirt was spotless. But the area within a thousand meters had become a dead zone, with no animal-type soul beasts surviving. Two thousand-year-old plant soul beasts stood guard on either side, their vines spreading out and guiding spiritual energy back to Gula.

Gula suddenly turned his head to look eastward, where a faint tremor came from. The rampage had attracted the king of the primary spirit ascension platform, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

A hundred-year-old soul beast created using external soul bones can rival the destructive power of a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast. It is responsible for preventing soul masters from passing through checkpoints and entering the intermediate spirit ascension platform.

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear saw Gura and the surrounding active forest and let out a threatening howl. Its innate nature as the king of the forest made it realize that Gura was not to be trifled with.

Gula looked at the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and wondered to himself, "Do I need to use the Dark Gold Terrorclaw?"

"If the Flameheart Armor and the Battle Armor are fused, I'll be lacking a suitable weapon. The Dark Gold Terrorclaw would be a good fit for Groudon."

As for the consequences of fusing soul bones, given his status as a core disciple of Gula and a direct disciple of the deputy tower master, the Spirit Pagoda could only accept this messy situation in the end. Just like when Tang Wulin joined Shrek Academy after fusing soul bones, the Spirit Pagoda could only swallow its bitter pill.

"Well, you can't say that. Compared to giving it to Tang Wulin, giving it to me is more like internal consumption."

Having made his decision, Gula saw the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear hesitate and reached out. The Emerald Banyan Tree proactively broke off a branch shaped like a longsword, which Gula gripped tightly, his sword intent soaring.

He teleported instantly to the side of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and thrust out a sword with what appeared to be a light touch but was actually as swift as a shooting star.

Wu Changkong nodded inwardly. Gula was extremely talented. After a few months of instruction, Gula had mastered the basic swordsmanship and was gradually developing his own understanding of it.

……

The boy's slender figure was reflected in the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's pupils, and a dark gold light suddenly emerged from beneath its dark gold fur as its soul power was released.

When the tip of Gula's jade sword was only half an inch away from Xiong Tong, the sword's light was blocked, and five claw marks that tore apart the sword intent suddenly appeared.

"Fuck-"

With a sickening metallic clang, the jade sword shattered. Gula used the force to leap and flip, the century-old ironwood where she had stood was severed in half by the aftershocks of the claw-like wind, the break as smooth as a mirror.

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear stood upright and roared to the sky, the sound waves causing trees within a hundred meters to tremble and leaves to fall.

"All Things Under Heaven: A Thousand Leaves Prison!"

Gula lightly touched a fallen leaf with his toes, and the seed of murderous intent sprouted instantly as his soul power was injected. Ten thousand metallic, dark green willow leaves suddenly curled back, like billions of boomerangs woven into a bronze cage.

The emerald banyan tree in the sky projected its branches and aerial roots, and Gula's spiritual power extended, imbuing each wooden spear with sword intent.

A brilliant will remains steadfast, with only one thought driving everything in its path!
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's right paw glowed with a dark gold light, and five ferocious gaps were torn open before the cage could be closed. However, seemingly endless willow leaves quickly filled the gaps, and the cage was successfully constructed.

Thirteen emerald-colored chakras suddenly rose from the ground, guarded by the ghost vines at the center of the emerald banyan tree.

Just as the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was about to swing its claws, its feet were suddenly entangled by parasitic seeds, which frantically drained its soul power.

The alluring poisonous flower emitted pollen, and when it swung its claws to tear apart the vines on its lower body, it lost 30-40% of its strength. Gula swung its sword again, accurately stabbing its vulnerable throat.

During the battle, Gula still had the energy to think, "The plants from the Spirit Ascension Platform can't be taken out. After we get out, we need to ask our teacher for some plant seeds to cultivate a trace of soul power. Using the Ghost Vine as a medium, we can absorb the opponent's soul power and generate soul beasts during the battle. We can use battle to sustain our battles and eventually raise a plant army."

"Roar!"

With a single sword thrust into its throat, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear let out its first painful roar, its throat bursting with blood. The Emerald Wooden Sword was mixed with highly poisonous pollen, paralyzing pollen, and hypnotic pollen—plant attacks have limited power and are generally weak, so this wasn't something Gula deliberately did dirty.

Gula's pupils suddenly contracted, and in the instant he teleported away from his original spot, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear swung out its Dark Gold Terrorclaws repeatedly, its upper limbs making a metallic clang as they were strangled by the willow leaves.

But it only attacked and did not defend, letting blood drip down its arm, staining large patches of willow leaves red, and forcefully broke through the thousand-leaf cage, determined to perish together with Gula.

The claw strike, sharp enough to cut through iron like mud, cleaved the afterimage in half. Gula appeared three hundred meters away on a treetop, half an inch of his bangs sharply shaved off, and drops of crimson blood dripped down his chin.

"It really is tough and thick-skinned. Also, this is definitely not the strength of a hundred-year-old soul beast. The Spirit Pagoda must have secretly strengthened it to save face. Damn it, they even betrayed their own people!"

Gula gritted his teeth and hardened his heart, deciding to stop using the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear for practice.

The two thousand-year-old soul beasts, the Killer Willow and the Emerald Banyan Tree, suddenly exploded into a sky full of fluorescent light, creating an empty space within a ten-meter radius. Amidst the mournful howl of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, they breathed their last and transformed into claw-shaped soul bones that floated in the spiritual energy cluster.

When the turbulence subsided, Gula had already teleported nearby, put away the Dark Gold Terrorclaw, and sat cross-legged on the ground, seemingly recovering his soul power, but in reality, he was fusing with the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's right palm bone.

The soul bone melted into a dark golden liquid. The violent soul power had just entered the body when it was suppressed and contained by the vast soul power of Sherabi's martial soul state, which subdued all things, and quickly merged with Gura.

Gula silently pondered: "The improvement from a hundred-year-old soul bone is limited, and my physical strength has only increased slightly. Moreover, compared to violent combat, I still prefer to be a dashing swordsman. Is it possible to forge the Dark Gold Terror Claw into a weapon that can be upgraded?"

He lacked knowledge of soul tools, but he felt that becoming a level nine soul master wouldn't be enough, so he decided to become a level ten or twelfth soul master, which would surely allow him to achieve his goal.

(End of this chapter)