I've also recently started a new translation, please check it out and show your support! Douluo: AFKing to Become a God
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Gu La closed his eyes, feeling the surging vitality coursing through his body. The spirit soul of the Golden Ancient Tree stretched its branches within his spiritual sea, each golden leaf shimmering with star-like radiance.
The vines hanging from the meditation room's domed ceiling suddenly moved without wind, their emerald fluorescence dancing between the leaves as if paying homage to the newly born Child of Nature.
He raised his right hand, and a golden-green aura formed by the essence of the Golden Ancient Tree swirled in his palm. It drew out the seeds of the sacrificed immortal herbs, ready to be planted and sprouted at any moment.
"Thank you, Elder Tree."
Gu La expressed his gratitude sincerely. Although this meant he would need to find another spirit soul for his first martial soul, if it could truly help the Golden Ancient Tree evolve into the World Tree, what were seven immortal herbs?
He could traverse time and space endlessly; resources were the least of his concerns!
If seven plant-type ferocious beasts weren't enough, then seventy? Seven hundred!
Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor had evolved into the Chaos Blue Silver Emperor. Gu La refused to believe that the Golden Ancient Tree, with a better foundation and higher essence, couldn't evolve into the World Tree.
"No need for thanks. With the Seed of Life as the catalyst and the Seven Deadly Beasts as the foundation of the array, you will surpass me."
The Elder Tree's withered fingers traced an esoteric path in the air, as if reminiscing or envisioning the future.
Gu La let out a low grunt, feeling something deep within his soul break free. Seven shadows were imprinted on the branches of the Golden Ancient Tree, leaving behind their unique marks.
"Remember, beware of the Sea God."
The Elder Tree revealed clear signs of exhaustion, offering one final warning before slowly dissipating within the meditation room.
The surrounding fluctuations in time and space grew dense once more. Unwilling to miss this unique opportunity for meditation, Gu La channeled the power of time and space within the void. Gradually, tiny temporal vortices twisted into spiral-shaped bands of light, enveloping the youth in a misty haze of emerald green.
A month passed in this manner.
Suddenly, the meditation room trembled violently. The sound of ancient trees growing echoed in Gu La's ears. The gnarled roots of the Golden Ancient Tree pierced through the void, manifesting a vast tree network that covered his entire spiritual sea.
Gu La's pupils contracted, and faint golden life essence seeped from his pores. Beneath his skin, wooden patterns identical to those of the Golden Ancient Tree began to emerge.
The third soul ring automatically floated into view. Its golden-green halo was now adorned with threads of silver, resembling stars scattered across the night sky. Countless projections of plant seeds poured down like a galactic cascade.
Under the coordination of the Golden Ancient Tree's core, an unprecedented genetic recombination and hybridization began. Numerous rare plants grew wildly within the ring's space, forming a miniature ecological forest.
Deep within the soul ring, the Golden Ancient Tree emitted an ancient sigh. A tender bud quietly sprouted at the top of its canopy, rearranging and combining the genetic sequences of the seven immortal herb beasts.
The speed of the temporal vortex abruptly increased. When Gu La opened his eyes again, his wristwatch showed that only thirty days had passed in the outside world, but he felt as though he had experienced an entire cycle of spring, summer, autumn, and winter within the crevices of time and space.
As he opened his palm, the force of 200,000 kilograms compressed the air into a sonic boom. The life energy overflowing from his fingertips caused the meditation room floor to instantly become covered in Blue Silver Grass.
He clenched his fist, staring at his pale skin. Who could have guessed that beneath it lay the power to shatter mountains and split stones? "If I throw a punch, even a Title Douluo wouldn't be able to withstand it without using defensive soul skills!"
He had absorbed about twenty percent of the Golden Ancient Tree's energy and an additional ten percent of its essence.
His soul power had only increased by two ranks, but his physical strength had been greatly enhanced by the contributions of numerous plants. He could now easily handle two more hundred-thousand-year soul rings.
Unclenching his fist, Gu La placed his hand over the pulsating Seed of Life in his chest. This represented not just an identity but also the genetic library of Douluo Star's natural world—a priceless treasure for both him and the Golden Ancient Tree.
He summoned his Celebi martial soul and shifted his focus: "Next are the changes in my soul skills. After reaching the hundred-thousand-year mark, each soul ring still contains one soul skill, but their quality has increased several-fold."
"Especially now that my spiritual power has reached the peak of the Spirit Abyss Realm. I've gained a deeper understanding of time-space power. If I traverse time and space again, I can now endure the temporal turbulence for a few extra seconds."
"The spirit soul of the Golden Ancient Tree has completely merged with me, becoming inseparable. If it weren't for the fact that I haven't yet reached godhood, my third martial soul might already have emerged. In this process, my soul skills have also undergone a transformation…"
Gu La carefully sensed his soul rings, absorbing the information on his new soul skills.
"Boundless Forest Sea Domain: The domain's expansion speed and plant growth rate have increased tenfold. It can now produce five avatars of similar plant types to serve as generals, helping maintain the domain and guard the five cardinal directions."
Gu La reflected deeply, realizing that this wasn't yet the limit of his first soul skill. The sacrifices of the seven immortal herb beasts, combined with the Seed of Life, had made him a true Child of Nature.
At the same time, the spirit soul of the Golden Ancient Tree, sharing Gu La's status as the Child of Nature and drawing from his divine beast essence, had reciprocally strengthened his soul skills.
If this evolution continued, his future Celebi soul rings would become infinitely versatile divine techniques, perfectly aligned with the authority of forests and nature.
Gu La took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart.
"So this is the authority of the Child of Nature? Truly formidable. And I'm not just the Child of Nature—I'm also the Forest God."
Gu La shook his head vigorously. The Elder Tree's warning before he dissipated echoed in his ears. If Tang San returned with a group of gods, his current abilities would be insufficient. He still had a long way to go.
Calmly settling his mind, Gu La continued to sense his soul skills.
"Second soul skill: Myriad Manifestations."
"It remains a mental-type soul skill, but it has gained offensive capabilities beyond being a simple illusion. While enemies are lost in the labyrinth, it drains their vitality and spiritual power to replenish my own."
"The labyrinth has been enhanced with greater disorientation in both space and time, making it at least ten times more difficult than before!"
"With my spiritual power at the peak of the Spirit Abyss Realm, even a late-stage Spirit Domain practitioner wouldn't be able to break free immediately when targeted by Myriad Manifestations."
It was worth noting that cultivating spiritual power was notoriously difficult. On the continent, no more than a handful of individuals possessed Spirit Source-level spiritual power.
"In other words, I can restrain even a Limit Douluo for a second?"
Gu La was momentarily stunned. Had he really become this strong?
Was this cheat too overpowered?
"No!"
Gu La shook his head. Compared to someone born as a Dragon God, his small advantage was nothing.
Others trained with God Kings at the level of Soul Kings, while he was still fretting over controlling mortals for a few seconds. His vision wasn't broad enough.
Strictly speaking, in the Pokémon world, Groudon was a Tier 1 god, while Celebi's Forest God was only a Tier 2 god. The balance achieved in Gu La's case was due to Celebi's exceptionally complete essence.
Now, with the addition of the Child of Nature identity and the Golden Ancient Tree spirit soul, the potential of his dual martial souls had truly reached equilibrium.
"Two Tier 1 god bloodlines compared to two God King bloodlines—there's still much training to be done."
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