Zhang Lexuan's clear voice cut through the silent camp, carrying undeniable urgency.
"Everyone! Alert immediately! We have a situation!"
Tents rustled as students quickly dressed and rushed out. Huo Yuhao emerged first, golden light flickering in his eyes as his spiritual detection spread toward the distance.
"It's six ink leopards hunting a herd of cloud-treading deer. They're fleeing toward us."
Huo Yuhao quickly relayed what he "saw." "The ink leopard pack has a leader around twenty thousand years old. The cloud-treading deer herd also has one around twenty thousand years, but it seems injured."
He paused, frowning slightly. "That injured ten-thousand-year cloud-treading deer... seems to have deliberately led the trouble here after smelling the ten-thousand-year soul beast feces mixed in our beast-repelling powder."
Vice Dean Cai Mei'er had already taken her position behind everyone, but she didn't issue commands. Clearly, she wanted to see how the students would handle the situation.
As the most experienced present, Zhang Lexuan immediately made her judgment.
"The cloud-treading deer is trying to use us to deal with the ink leopards. What do you think? Fight or not? Or does anyone need soul rings from these beasts?"
Li Yongle immediately raised his hand: "Senior sister, the ink leopard's short-distance speed burst and strong attack characteristics would be perfect for my sixth soul ring."
"Good!" Zhang Lexuan nodded. "Then we fight. Gu La, you watch over Ning Tian and the other six. Be prepared for contingencies."
Gu La nodded calmly: "No problem. Soul beasts under ten thousand years are good practice for them." He clearly had no interest in bullying ordinary thousand-year soul beasts.
Zhang Lexuan began arranging positions and targets for the other inner court students and seniors. Gu La turned to his seven team members.
"Ning Tian, you coordinate from the center, ready to provide enhancements at any moment."
"Wu Feng, Xie Huanyue, you hold the front line. Wu Feng focuses on offense, Xie Huanyue on protection and control."
"Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, restrict the ink leopards' movement speed. Be ready for your martial soul fusion skill at any time."
"Zhou Sichen, use your Book martial soul summons to assist with control and disruption."
"Cao Jinxuan," Gu La looked at the youth with the time-attribute martial soul, "your martial soul doesn't need to be active constantly. Serve as deputy captain. When I'm not here, you command the entire group."
Cao Jinxuan nodded solemnly: "Understood, Captain!"
"Go." With a wave of Gu La's hand, the seven immediately moved to their assigned positions.
He then silently created a faint clone to stay behind as a lookout while his main body disappeared like a ghost.
His target: the core area of the Great Star Dou Forest—the Imperial Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion!
Wang Dong'er had returned to the Great Star Dou Forest, and Gu La remained concerned about potential back-up plans Tang San might have left behind.
He always felt this passive defense wasn't the solution. Since he worried about Tang San splitting Wang Dong'er's divine consciousness and implanting it into the auspicious beast, why not take the initiative, actively complete the "Fate's Guidance," and eliminate this hidden danger completely?
As he moved through the forest, he began sealing away most of his irrelevant memories, leaving only fragments related to cultivation, learning, and some peaceful memories that could be safely shared with the auspicious beast. He carefully removed any content that might cause it to develop longing for human society.
Without deliberate guidance from Tang Wutong's divine consciousness fragments, an auspicious beast that understood its responsibility for the Great Star Dou Forest's fortune would almost never choose to transform into a human form.
Gu La quickly approached the edge of the core area. He could sense the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was deep within, but powerful fierce beast auras lingered around the perimeter. Clearly, Di Tian had strengthened security after his last success.
"The probability of deceiving Di Tian is almost zero..." Gu La pondered, thinking about retreating temporarily and leaving spatial coordinates for future opportunities.
Unexpectedly, deep within the core area, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion—with its body of brilliant gold and lion-like form—seemed to sense something. Defying Scarlet King's attempts to stop it, it suddenly dashed out of the core area and actively released its unique auspicious energy.
Gu La's heart stirred. He stopped in his tracks. "Is this its perception of fate? Sensing my arrival and intentions?"
He decided to stop hiding. Standing quietly in place, he waited.
Soon, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion arrived like a golden streak of light, followed by the anxious Scarlet King.
"Auspicious Beast! Where are you going? It's too dangerous!"
Scarlet King growled, then warily looked at Gu La and the black-robed clone that had somehow appeared beside him. "It's you, human! What do you want?"
The black-robed clone spoke in a low voice: "That question might be better directed at what the Auspicious Beast wants."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion stopped, speaking to Scarlet King: "Scarlet King, I'm not in danger. Don't worry about me. I sensed him coming."
Scarlet King had absolute trust in the Auspicious Beast's fate perception ability. Though still wary, he no longer advanced, keeping a tight watch on Gu La instead.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's golden eyes looked curiously at Gu La: "You came to find me?"
Gu La nodded directly: "'Fate's Guidance' is a blessing granted by the plane, but also a curse. Someone will always covet this power. Rather than passively waiting for unknown risks, it's better to use it proactively, keeping it in your own hands."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion suddenly understood. It had indeed felt a vague sense that it was about to miss an important opportunity.
With decisive character, it immediately said: "Good! Do it. How?"
"Press your forehead against mine, open your spiritual power." As Gu La spoke, he took out the purified but still potent Life Gold-infused Ominous Soul Devouring Knife.
Before, he didn't know how to safely utilize this power, only crudely using it to nourish his blood essence.
But now, he had a new idea—borrowing Electrolux's technique of opening a secondary spiritual sea, using force to achieve finesse!
This might not have worked before, but now with his God King-level martial soul foundation and the God King-level power of his Groudon clone as backup, he could achieve his goal through absolute power even without skill in delicate soul operations.
Moreover, the Imperial Auspicious Beast's Fate's Guidance itself would bring tremendous luck enhancement.
Without hesitation, Gu La used the Ominous Soul Devouring Knife to make a small cut on his forehead, guiding the surging Life Gold energy into his spiritual sea.
At the moment this energy was about to backlash, he split his focus, fully activating Groudon clone's power.
Simultaneously, 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 on Gu La's forehead.
A mysterious fate power, accompanied by the vast life force of Life Gold, surged wildly within Gu La's spiritual sea.
"Now!"
Gu La shouted, using supreme will and divine power as guidance to forcibly open a completely new, independent space within his spiritual sea—the second spiritual sea!
He sealed most of the Life Gold energy and that trace of fate power within it.
Buzz—!
At the moment the Eye of Fate first took shape, deep within Gu La's spiritual sea, the Life Ancient Tree spirit soul that had been dormant seemed stimulated by both the fate power and Life Gold. It gently swayed, emitting boundless life energy.
This life energy not only stabilized Gu La's newly opened Eye of Fate but also fed back some to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
A miraculous cycle formed between them, causing the entire Great Star Dou Forest's fortune to tremble slightly.
In the distance, Wang Dong'er, fighting the ink leopards, suddenly felt an emptiness in her heart, as if she had lost something important. An indescribable sense of loss washed over her, nearly causing her to be ambushed by an ink leopard.
In the Divine Realm, Tang San suddenly opened his eyes, his expression changing: "Hmm? My arrangements in the lower realm... something's wrong? Xiao Qi didn't occupy the Auspicious Beast's soul?"
He immediately mobilized his Sea God divine power to check the situation on the Douluo Continent, but was blocked by a heavy, ancient power that seemed to carry the will of a desolate land.
That was Groudon's power. As the Master of the Earth, it naturally repelled oceanic forces.
By the time Tang San switched to his Asura God position and forcibly penetrated the barrier, Gu La and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's Fate's Guidance was already complete.
On Gu La's forehead, a fine vertical mark slowly faded, but he could clearly "feel" an eye had formed there—the Eye of Fate.
It contained a trace of weak fate power, and strangely resonated with his Celebi's "Future Sight" ability.
He could now not only see short-term future fragments but could even vaguely sense a person's short-term "fortune" fluctuations and their overall fate trajectory.
Simultaneously, he naturally mastered two abilities originating from the Eye of Fate: "Fate's Sorrow," a spiritual attack that directly struck the soul's essence, nearly ignoring conventional defenses. And "Fate Deprivation," temporarily bestowing "bad luck" on enemies, making them more prone to mistakes and accidents.
Gu La looked down at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion before him, which seemed somewhat tired but had bright eyes. Gently stroking its soft fur, he said.
"Thank you. I gained a lot this time."
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shook its head, muttering: "Cheapskate..."
During Fate's Guidance, the memories of Gu La it had seen were mostly boring fragments of studying, cultivation, and daily life—far less exciting than it had imagined.
It didn't realize that this plain yet authentic "human nature" experience was the most precious gift for an auspicious beast born of heaven and earth. But with its playful, curious nature, it couldn't yet understand the deeper meaning.
Gu La smiled, saying nothing more.
Sensing the battle at the distant camp was nearing its end, and seeing several powerful auras faintly appearing around him, he bid farewell to the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Together with his black-robed clone, he instantly vanished from the spot.
After Gu La left, several terrifying figures silently appeared, led by the Beast God Di Tian.
Zi Ji, transformed into a beautiful purple-haired woman, asked: "Di Tian, why didn't we stop those two humans just now? They seemed to have done something to the Auspicious Beast."
Di Tian's golden dragon eyes gazed toward where Gu La had disappeared, slowly shaking his head, his tone grave.
"On that black-robed person, I sensed an extremely dangerous aura... one that instinctively makes me wary. Don't act rashly for now, lest we startle the snake instead of catching it."
The other fierce beasts were shocked upon hearing this.
Di Tian was the strongest being openly acknowledged on the continent, yet he felt wary of a human? They looked toward where Gu La had departed, their gazes filled with deep suspicion and caution.
Gu La quietly distanced himself from the Great Star Dou Forest's core area, stopping beside a secluded stream.
With a thought, he took out a small silver mirror he carried.
The smooth surface reflected his handsome face.
Focusing his mind, the fine vertical mark on his forehead slowly appeared, then opened like a real eye.
It was a deep, mysterious vertical pupil that seemed to contain swirling star rivers and fate trajectories—the newly formed Eye of Fate.
Concentrating on the Eye of Fate, he looked at himself through the mirror.
In the reflection, he saw himself enveloped in rich, noble purple-gold fortune light, flowing like auspicious clouds—a symbol of top-tier fortune representing "great luck and unstoppable momentum."
"A strong person's fate can largely be self-determined. My fortune has been blessed by the Plane's will and Fate's Guidance, so of course it's not lacking." Gu La wasn't surprised by this. He murmured to himself.
But when he tried to see deeper—like peering into specific auspicious or inauspicious events in the near future, or exploring the causal threads of major events—he found it as if viewing through thick fog. Blurry and unclear, difficult to penetrate to the essence.
"Sure enough... Though fate's power is wondrous, it has its limitations."
Gu La understood in his heart. "Like the Auspicious Beast Three-Eyed Golden Lion, it has fate perception but cannot foresee the dangers it will encounter after transforming. It can be easily blinded by stronger beings or complex causality."
He thought about it and felt somewhat reassured: "However, my situation differs from Huo Yuhao's. I underwent complete, mutually voluntary Fate's Guidance. My soul wasn't completely defenseless during the process."
"I believe even a God King couldn't forcibly graft and fuse another person's soul fragments into my soul origin without triggering my fierce resistance. This greatly reduces the possibility of me being blinded or schemed against."
Recalling that Huo Yuhao's development of the Eye of Fate seemed quite limited in the original story, Gu La speculated.
"Apparently fate power is indeed extremely rare and difficult to replenish or grow. Even after Huo Yuhao became a god, he didn't seem to rely much on this power..."
A bold thought flashed in his mind: "What if... I travel to other parallel timelines, find the Imperial Auspicious Beasts there, and perform Fate's Guidance again? Even if I could only obtain a trace of fate power each time, could I slowly strengthen my own fate origin like collecting stamps?"
This idea intrigued him. "Worth trying. When I get the chance, I must test it."
As for another common mysterious power—faith power—Gu La considered it briefly and shook his head.
"Faith power probably isn't very useful for the Eye of Fate. Otherwise, with the massive faith Huo Yuhao would gain after establishing the Spirit Pagoda, he would have reason to strengthen his Eye of Fate. It seems these two power systems aren't compatible."
Setting aside various thoughts, Gu La retracted his Eye of Fate. The vertical mark on his forehead disappeared. His figure flashed, silently returning to the camp area like a ghost.
By now, the camp's occupants had finished their battle with the ink leopards and cloud-treading deer. Li Yongle had successfully absorbed the soul ring from the ten-thousand-year ink leopard and was now meditating.
But everyone's attention clearly wasn't on the recent battle. They had gathered together, discussing with grave expressions.
"The energy fluctuations from the core area just now were so strange..."
"And that inexplicable life energy and fortune tremor—it felt like the entire forest suddenly 'came alive.'"
"Could it be the birth of some super soul beast? Or a conflict between fierce beasts?"
Even experienced soul masters like Cai Mei'er and Zhang Lexuan frowned deeply.
"The situation is unclear. Caution is best. We'll camp here tonight, strengthen our vigilance, and temporarily avoid going deeper. We'll see how things are tomorrow", Cai Mei'er finally decided.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Their original plan to help Huo Yuhao find a soul beast first thing tomorrow would have to be postponed.
Gu La naturally rejoined the group as if he had never left, listening to everyone's discussion. His face appropriately showed "confusion" and "gravity," while his heart remained completely calm.
This "small disturbance" he had caused gave him more time to observe and think.
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