Beneath the shade of the trees.
The grass had already been stained deep red.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, lay weakly on the ground. Her two eyes on either side shone with dazzling golden light, while the third eye above them glowed red.
Her gaze remained fixed on the human drawing closer.
For the first time, she felt despair.
"Damn it! Scarlet King, Di Tian, why aren't you here yet?"
"Damn humans!"
"Ah!"
"Roar!"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion roared in defiance, but Duke Lin acted as though he had heard nothing. Wearing a victor's smile, he sped up and lunged toward her.
Di Tian and the others had already been intercepted by the Body Sect's two old fossils and a group of people.
If Di Tian and the others hadn't been absorbing that big white worm and neglecting her, giving these humans an opening...
How could she have fallen into these humans' clutches!
What was so worth absorbing about a maggot?
They had even been ambushed by humans!
Well, now look.
Once she, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, died, the Star Dou Great Forest could forget about its fortune. It could go to hell along with their cultivation!
"Human! Let me go, and I can agree to any conditions you set!"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion spoke fiercely, but her body's constant backward shuffling betrayed the fear in her heart.
Duke Lin looked at her mockingly. By then, he had already flown directly above the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's head.
In his eyes, she was prey already in his grasp, with no bargaining value left whatsoever.
"Hand over your skull. That's the best condition you could offer me!"
"Blame your bad luck. Die!"
His hands formed eagle claws and slammed down, violent fluctuations of Soul Power sweeping his hair backward.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion closed her eyes in resignation.
Perhaps this was simply fate!
Boom!
After the tremendous crash, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion felt no pain. She opened her eyes and discovered that she was unharmed.
She wasn't dead yet!
Instead, the human who had wanted to kill him had been hurled to the ground, knocking down several trees in succession and leaving the ground covered in gouges.
"That was close!"
"Good thing I made it in time."
Cao Yu wiped away his cold sweat.
Another 0.1 seconds or so, and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion would have met her end. His mission would have failed too, and he would have gotten nothing.
But what Cao Yu couldn't understand was how this matter had dragged the Three-Eyed Golden Lion into it.
That shouldn't have happened according to the original plot!
Since he couldn't figure it out, he might as well capture the man and question him.
"Bring him over."
The Shadow Clone tightened his grip, picked the man up like a chick, and tossed him over.
Thud!
Slamming hard into the ground, Duke Lin couldn't help letting out a sharp grunt.
The black-clad man had already injured him badly, and now, after being smashed into the ground like this, he felt as though all his internal organs had shifted out of place.
His whole body felt awful!
Duke Lin used all his strength to open his eyes and asked in a slightly hoarse voice.
"Who are you? Why are you stopping me?"
Although Cao Yu currently looked like a child, he didn't dare underestimate him. After all, anyone with a Douluo-level figure guarding him certainly had no ordinary background.
Moreover, he had sensed Soul Power pressure from the black-clad man even more terrifying than that of the Body Sect's two old fossils.
Could this black-clad man be a Super Douluo too?
Hopefully, that was just my imagination!
Duke Lin glared viciously at everyone. Severely injured, he sat on the ground, powerless to resist.
"I'll ask you a few questions. Answer honestly."
"Are you people from the Heaven Dou Empire?"
"So what if we are! I advise you not to offend us, or else..."
"Or else what? You'll mobilize your entire nation to wipe us out? Heh, ridiculous!"
Cao Yu laughed disdainfully.
"If you really had that much resolve, you would have come to take revenge on our Cao Clan long ago. Would you still be making threats here?"
"You're from the Cao Clan! Which Cao Clan? The one in the Star Luo Empire?"
Duke Lin's pupils contracted, and fear gradually began to surface on his face.
The Cao Clan, a super clan with ten venerable Limit Douluos!
Damn it! How did I run into them here?
According to the Star Luo Imperial Family's explanation, the two princes had been frightened senseless by Ferocious Beasts. How could the Heavenly Soul Royal Family believe that?
So they had investigated in secret.
Only after several days had they finally uncovered the culprits behind it: a force within Star Luo City, the Cao Clan!
They had originally intended to retaliate against the Cao Clan, but as soon as they learned that the clan had ten Limit Douluos, the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family changed its mind.
Yes, they had chickened out!
After all, their Heaven Dou Empire couldn't muster many Titled Douluos. Even with the addition of their nation-protecting State Preceptor Sect, they stood no chance against ten Limit Douluos.
They had also learned that, during the confrontation with the Holy Spirit Cult's Evil Soul Masters, a black-clad man had casually crushed a Titled Douluo to pieces.
The Heaven Dou Empire's high-level combatants weren't even enough to fill the gaps between the Cao Clan's teeth.
So they had planned to hunt the Emperor Auspicious Beast and obtain her skull to treat the two princes.
After all, however terrifying these Ferocious Beasts were, they weren't as frightening as ten Limit Douluos combined.
Du Busi and the others could hold off Beast God Di Tian and his companions, though Duke Lin had no idea how long they could manage it.
"What do you want the Auspicious Beast's skull for?"
Cao Yu asked bluntly.
Duke Lin inwardly cursed his bad luck, then switched to a fawning attitude.
"You must be Young Master Cao. And this elderly gentleman?"
"Don't ask what you shouldn't. Answer the question."
"Yes, yes."
"Weren't the two princes frightened senseless by Ferocious Beasts a while ago? Based on the collective advice of the nation-protecting masters, we decided to hunt the Emperor Auspicious Beast and use her skull to heal the princes."
Duke Lin cursed inwardly. Facing the true culprit, he didn't dare tell the truth and could only trot out the Star Luo Imperial Family's shameless explanation.
Princes, you truly have suffered so terribly!
Unable to avenge them, Duke Lin felt stifled too, but he remained rational. After all, this was a world where strength reigned supreme.
If you were weaker than someone else, you could only obediently lie on the ground and bow in submission.
"The Emperor Auspicious Beast's skull can treat mental illness?"
This touched on a gap in Cao Yu's knowledge. He only knew that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion had eventually become human.
As for what her skull could do, he only remembered vaguely.
"Yes. As long as the Auspicious Beast's skull is implanted into the body, the recipient can gain Spiritual Immunity. Then the two princes will return to normal."
"You were probably also planning to transfer the misfortune onto me!"
Only after his reminder did Cao Yu finally recall the important functions of the Emperor Auspicious Beast's skull.
After all, the Emperor Auspicious Beast's Skull Bone of Destiny came with three skills: Soul Blast, Judgment of Destiny, and Spiritual Immunity.
Spiritual Immunity granted immunity to spiritual attacks. It was an innate defensive ability of the Soul Bone itself, so it might indeed restore them to normal.
Judgment of Destiny, meanwhile, controlled the power of fate, bringing misfortune down upon an opponent.
Wasn't that just another version of... curse magic!
(End of chapter)