Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 412 Guiding Fate, Eye of Destiny

Zhang Lexuan's clear shout rang out in the silent camp, carrying an undeniable sense of urgency:

"Everyone! Be on alert immediately! Something's happening!"

With a rustling sound, the students quickly dressed and rushed out. Huo Yuhao was the first to emerge, his eyes flashing with a pale golden light, and his mental detection instantly spread outwards.

"Six black leopards are chasing a herd of cloud-stepping deer and are fleeing this way."

Huo Yuhao quickly relayed what he had "seen": "There is a leader in the Black Leopard pack that is about 20,000 years old, and there is also a 20,000-year-old Deer in the Cloud-Stepping Deer pack, which seems to be injured."

He paused, his brow furrowing slightly. "That injured ten-thousand-year-old Cloud-Stepping Deer... seems to have smelled the odor of ten-thousand-year-old soul beast excrement mixed in with the beast-repelling powder we scattered, and deliberately lured the trouble here."

Vice Dean Cai Meier was already standing behind the group, but she didn't give any instructions, clearly wanting to see how the students would respond.

As the most experienced person on the scene, Zhang Lexuan immediately made a judgment: "The Cloud-Stepping Deer is trying to use us to deal with the Ink Leopard. What do you think? Should we fight or not? Or, does anyone need the spirit rings of these two kinds of spirit beasts?"

Li Yongle immediately raised his hand: "Senior Sister, the Black Leopard's short-range speed burst and strong attack characteristics are very suitable as my sixth soul ring."

“Okay!” Zhang Lexuan nodded. “Then let’s fight. Gula, you take good care of Ning Tian and the other six, and be responsible for supporting them and dealing with any emergencies.”

Gula nodded calmly: "No problem. Let them practice on the soul beasts under ten thousand years old." He clearly had no interest in bullying ordinary thousand-year-old soul beasts.

Zhang Lexuan then began to arrange the positions and objectives of the other inner court students and senior students. Gula then turned to face her seven teammates.

"Ning Tian, ​​you will provide support from the center and be ready to increase your strength at any time."

"Wu Feng and Xie Huan Yue, you two will hold the front line. Wu Feng will be the main attacker, and Xie Huan Yue will be responsible for protection and control."

"Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, limit the movement speed of the black leopard and be ready to use the Martial Soul Fusion Skill at any time."

"Zhou Sichen, use your Treasure Manual Martial Soul Summoning Art to control and disrupt your opponent."

“Cao Jinxuan,” Gula looked at the young man with the time attribute martial soul, “Your martial soul doesn’t need to be maintained all the time. As the vice captain, you will be in charge of the overall situation when I’m not around.”

Cao Jinxuan nodded solemnly: "Understood, Captain!"

"Go." Gula waved his hand, and the seven immediately set about according to the plan.

He quietly separated a faint clone to stay in place and watch over the situation, while his main body disappeared like a ghost.

His target is the core area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest—the Emperor Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!
When Wang Dong'er returned to the Star Dou Great Forest, Gula remained worried about the possible contingency plans Tang San might have left behind.

He always felt that this passive defense was not a solution. Since he was worried that Tang San would divide Wang Dong'er's consciousness and inject it into the auspicious beast, he might as well take the initiative to complete the "Fate Guidance" and completely eliminate this hidden danger.

As he walked through the forest, he began to seal away most of his irrelevant memories, leaving only some relatively peaceful fragments of memories about cultivation, learning, and some that could be opened to the auspicious beast. He also carefully removed any content that might cause the beast to yearn for human society.

Without the deliberate guidance of Tang Wutong's fragmented consciousness, it would be almost impossible for a mythical beast that understands its responsibility for the destiny of the Star Dou Great Forest to choose to transform into a human.

Gula quickly approached the edge of the core area. He could sense the Three-Eyed Golden Lion deep inside, but there were also faint, powerful beastly auras lingering around him. Clearly, after he succeeded last time, Di Tian had increased his vigilance.

“The possibility of deceiving Di Tian is almost zero…” Gula pondered, intending to retreat temporarily and leave the spatial coordinates to seek another opportunity later.

Unexpectedly, within the core area, the three-eyed golden lion, which was entirely golden and shaped like a small lion, seemed to sense something. Ignoring the Red King's obstruction, it suddenly rushed out of the core area and actively released its unique auspicious aura.

Gula's heart skipped a beat, and he stopped in his tracks: "Is it its perception of fate? Did it sense my arrival and my intentions?"

He decided to stop hiding and stand quietly in place to wait.

Before long, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion rushed forward like a golden streak of light, followed by the anxious Red King.

"Auspicious beast! Where are you going? It's too dangerous!"

The Red King growled, then looked warily at Gura and his clone, who had appeared out of nowhere and was dressed in a black robe that shielded him from detection. "It's you, human! What do you want?"

The black-robed clone spoke in a deep voice: "Perhaps the question should be asked of what the auspicious beast wants to do."

The three-eyed golden lion stopped and said to the Crimson King, "Crimson King, I am not in danger, don't worry about me. I sensed his arrival."

The Red King had absolute trust in the auspicious beast's ability to sense its destiny. Upon hearing this, although he remained vigilant, he did not approach and instead kept his eyes fixed on Gula.

The three-eyed golden lion looked at Gula with curiosity in its golden eyes: "You've come to see me?"

Gula nodded directly: "'Fate's Guidance' is a gift from the plane, but also a curse. There will always be people who covet this power. Rather than passively waiting for unknown risks, it's better to actively use it and take control of it yourself."

The three-eyed golden lion suddenly realized that it had indeed had a vague premonition, as if it was about to miss some important opportunity.

It was decisive and immediately said, "Okay! Come on, what do you need to do?"

"Foreheads touching, open your mind." Gula said, taking out the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife, which had been purified but still contained a vast amount of life-giving gold.

Previously, he didn't know how to safely utilize this power, so he could only use it crudely to nourish his qi and blood.

But now, he has a new idea—to learn from Electrolux's method of opening up a second sea of ​​consciousness and use brute force to overcome skill!
It might not have worked before, but now he has the foundation of a God-King level martial soul and the God-King level power of Groudon's clone as a backing. Even if he is not good at precise soul manipulation, he can still achieve his goal with absolute power.

Moreover, the destiny guidance of the Imperial Auspicious Beast itself brings a great boost of luck.

Without hesitation, Gula used the Soul-Devouring Carving Knife to make a small incision between his eyebrows, guiding the surging golden energy of life into his spiritual sea.

Just as this energy was about to backfire, he multitasked, focusing all his efforts on harnessing the power of Groudon's clones.

At the same time, the vertical eye in the center of the three-eyed golden lion's forehead suddenly opened, shooting out a strange golden light that resonated with the wound between Gula's eyebrows.

A mysterious and profound force of destiny, accompanied by the boundless vitality of the living gold, surged wildly within the sea of ​​Gula's spirit.

"It's now!"

With a low shout, Gula, guided by his supreme will and divine power, forcibly opened up a brand new, independent space in the sea of ​​consciousness—the second sea of ​​consciousness!
It also sealed most of the golden energy of living beings and that trace of the power of destiny within it.

Om-!
Just as the Eye of Destiny began to take shape, deep within the Sea of ​​Gula's Spirit, the soul of the ancient tree of life, which had been dormant, seemed to be stimulated by both the power of destiny and the gold of life, and began to sway gently, emitting endless life energy.

This life energy not only stabilized the newly opened Eye of Destiny of Gula, but also fed back a portion of it to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

A wondrous cycle formed between the two, causing a slight tremor in the very fortune of the Star Dou Great Forest. In the distance, Wang Dong'er, who was fighting the Ink Leopard, felt a sudden emptiness in her heart, as if she had lost something important. An indescribable sense of loss welled up within her, and she was almost ambushed by an Ink Leopard.

In the God Realm, Tang San suddenly opened his eyes, his expression changing slightly: "Hmm? My arrangements in the lower realm... went wrong? Little Seven didn't possess the auspicious beast's soul?"

He immediately mobilized the power of the Sea God to check the situation on Douluo Continent, but was blocked by a heavy, ancient power that seemed to carry the endless will of the land.

That is Groudon's power; as the ruler of the earth, it has a natural aversion to the power of the sea.

By the time Tang San switched to the position of the Asura God and forcefully broke through the obstacles, the destiny transfer between Gula and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had already been completed.

A faint vertical line slowly disappeared between Gula's eyebrows, but he could clearly "sense" that an eye had appeared there—the Eye of Fate.

It contains a faint trace of the power of fate, and it has a strange interaction with Celebi's "foresight" ability.

He can now not only see fragments of the short-term future, but also vaguely perceive a person's short-term "fortune" fluctuations and overall destiny trajectory.

At the same time, he naturally mastered two abilities originating from the Eye of Destiny: "Tragedy of Destiny," a mental attack that directly targets the essence of the soul and almost ignores conventional defenses; and "Deprivation of Destiny," which inflicts "misfortune" on the enemy for a short period of time, making them more prone to mistakes and unexpected events.

Gula looked down at the three-eyed golden lion in front of him, which seemed a little tired but had bright eyes, and gently stroked its soft fur: "Thank you, I have gained a lot this time."

The three-eyed golden lion shook its head and muttered, "Stingy..."

The memories of Gula that it saw through the guidance of fate were mostly tedious fragments of learning, cultivation, and life, far less exciting than it had imagined.

Little did it know that this simple yet genuine experience of "humanity" was the most precious gift for this auspicious beast born of nature. However, given its playful and curious nature, it was not yet able to comprehend its profound meaning.

Gula smiled and said no more.

He sensed that the battle in the distant camp seemed to be nearing its end, and then looked at the several powerful auras that were faintly emerging around him. He bid farewell to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion and then disappeared from the spot instantly along with his black-robed clone.

After Gula left, several terrifying figures quietly appeared, the leader of whom was none other than the Beast God Di Tian.

Zi Ji, who had transformed into a beautiful woman with purple hair, asked, "Di Tian, ​​why didn't you leave those two humans behind? They seemed to have done something to the auspicious beast."

Di Tian's golden dragon eyes gazed in the direction where Gula had disappeared, and he slowly shook his head, his tone solemn:
“I sensed an extremely dangerous aura emanating from that man in black robes…it even made me instinctively wary. I should refrain from making any rash moves for now, lest I alert him.”

The other ferocious beasts were all shocked upon hearing this.

Di Tian is the strongest person on the continent in public, so why would he be wary of a human? They looked in the direction Gula had left, their eyes filled with deep suspicion and vigilance.

Gula quietly left the core area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest and stopped by a secluded stream.

On a whim, he took out a small silver mirror that he always carried with him.

The mirror's smooth surface reflected his handsome face.

He focused his mind and calmed himself, and the faint vertical line between his brows slowly appeared, then opened like a real eye.

It was a deep, mysterious vertical pupil, seemingly containing the flow of stars and the trajectory of destiny—the newly formed Eye of Destiny.

He focused his attention on the Eye of Fate, looking at himself through the mirror.

In the mirror, he saw himself enveloped in a rich and noble purple-gold aura of fortune, the light flowing like auspicious clouds, a symbol of the highest level of luck, "great fortune is coming and unstoppable".

"The fate of the strong is largely in their own hands. My fortune has been blessed by the will of the plane and guided by destiny, so it's naturally not bad." Gula was not surprised by this and muttered to himself.

But when he tried to see deeper, such as to glimpse the specific good or bad fortune in the future, or to explore the cause and effect of certain major events, he found it as if he were looking through a thick fog, blurry and unclear, and unable to see the essence.

"As expected... the power of fate, though wondrous, also has its limitations."

Gula realized, "Just like the auspicious beast Three-Eyed Golden Lion, it possesses the perception of destiny, but it cannot foresee the dangers it will encounter after transforming into human form. It is easily blinded by more powerful beings or complex cause and effect."

He thought about it again and felt a little more at ease: "However, my situation is different from Huo Yuhao's. I was undergoing a complete and mutually voluntary destiny transfer, and my soul was not completely undefended during the process."

"Even a god-king would not be able to forcibly graft and fuse someone else's soul fragments into my soul origin without provoking my fierce resistance. In this way, the possibility of me being deceived or schemed against is greatly reduced."

Considering that Huo Yuhao's development of the Eye of Destiny seemed rather limited in the original novel, Gula speculated:
"It seems that the power of destiny is indeed extremely rare and difficult to replenish. Huo Yuhao, after becoming a god, doesn't seem to have relied on this power much..."

A bold idea surfaced in his mind: "If... I travel to other parallel universes, find the imperial auspicious beasts there, and once again receive the power of destiny, even if I can only obtain a trace of the power of destiny, could I gradually strengthen my own destiny origin like collecting stamps?"

The idea piqued his interest. "It's worth a try. I'll definitely give it a shot when I have the chance."

As for another common mysterious power—the power of faith—Gula shook his head after a moment's thought:

"The power of faith is probably not very useful to the Eye of Destiny. Otherwise, given the vast amount of faith Huo Yuhao gained after establishing the Spirit Pagoda, there would be no reason for him not to strengthen the Eye of Destiny. It seems that these two power systems are not compatible."

Suppressing his thoughts for the time being, Gula withdrew his Eye of Destiny, and the vertical mark between his brows disappeared. He flashed away, returning silently to the vicinity of the camp like a ghost.

At this moment, everyone in the camp had finished their battle with the Black Leopard and the Cloud-Stepping Deer. Li Yongle had successfully absorbed the soul ring of the ten-thousand-year-old Black Leopard and was currently recuperating.

But everyone's attention was clearly not on the battle that had just taken place; instead, they were gathered together, discussing the matter with serious expressions.

"The energy fluctuations coming from the core area just now were very strange..."

"And there was that inexplicable life force and a surge of fortune, it felt like the whole forest had come alive."

"Could it be that some super soul beast has been born? Or that a conflict has broken out between ferocious beasts?"

Experienced Soul Masters like Cai Meier and Zhang Lexuan also frowned.

Cai Meier finally decided, "The situation is unclear, so caution is paramount. Let's set up camp here tonight, increase vigilance, and not go any further for now. We'll see how things go tomorrow."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the original plan to help Huo Yuhao find a soul beast first thing tomorrow morning had to be postponed for the time being.

Gula blended into the group as if he had never left. Listening to the discussion, he showed a hint of "doubt" and "gratitude" on his face, but his heart was calm.

This "minor commotion" caused by him actually gave him more time to observe and reflect.

(End of this chapter)