They each picked up several stones nearby and tossed them around according to a mysterious pattern.

Within a few breaths, when they stopped, the massive stone beasts began to ignore them completely as if they were no longer there.

At that moment, one of the two similar young men looked at Xiao Ran with concern.

"Chosen one, are you alright? Are you injured?"

"It’s nothing," the icy girl said. Though her expression remained cold, there was now a faint sacred aura about her. She looked at the two of them with confusion. "The chosen one... are you referring to me? And who are you?"

The two brothers nodded at the same time. One of them spoke, "I am Gou Yumeng, the senior direct disciple of Heaven Seeker Peak of the Celestial Truth Sect. Early-stage Golden Core. Gou Yutong is my twin brother."

"I am Gou Yutong, the second direct disciple of Heaven Seeker Peak of the Celestial Truth Sect. Early-stage Golden Core. Gou Yumeng is my older brother," Gou Yutong added seamlessly as soon as his brother finished speaking.

Xiao Ran blinked her eyes and though her face remained cold and aloof, it softened slightly. "Greetings, fellow Daoists. Could you explain what you mean by the Chosen one?"

"More than a decade ago, the Star Divination Hall of our Celestial Truth Sect foretold through changes in celestial phenomena that at some point in the future, a catastrophic calamity would descend upon this world. Only the one destined by heaven would be able to resolve it..."

The two brothers exchanged a glance and hesitated briefly. Then Gou Yumeng as the elder brother began to explain everything he knew.

Gou Yutong added details from time to time, and before long, Xiao Ran understood the significance of the one destined by heaven.

She also formed a clear hypothesis about why she had been able to be reborn.

...

Above the vast ocean, a pitch black spatial rift flashed open and a figure with a noble aura descended.

Jian Li’s usually cold expression looked somewhat unpleasant.

As someone with a pure fire spiritual root, he naturally disliked water.

After subduing the Vermilion Bird Flame, his aversion to water had only intensified.

Now, standing above the sea, even the spiritual energy within his body felt restless and uncomfortable.

"Xiao Ran... could you truly be the one destined by heaven that our sect has been searching for?"

While suppressing the agitation of the Vermilion Bird Flame, he gazed over the endless sea.

For a brief moment, recalling the words of the two brothers from Heaven Seeker Peak, a trace of confusion appeared in his mind.

...

Above a dense forest near Crimson Dusk City, a black spatial rift appeared.

A figure clad in black and emanating a strong sinister aura stepped out.

He released his divine sense briefly to scan the surroundings, then withdrew it with a hint of disappointment.

"Such pure sinister energy... a formation that can seize everything... the Fate Devouring Array is truly fascinating. But Xiao Ran’s body is also quite interesting and useful to me. Which one should I pursue first?"

...

The spatial rift had swallowed everyone and then scattered them again across different places.

Each person encountered their own fate and opportunities.

Only Xiao Shou who seemed to lack both fortune and destiny emerged from the rift in the most ordinary way.

He appeared above a small stream and fell directly onto the water’s surface.

The moment he touched the water, the effect of the Ripple Transformation Pill was dispelled.

Perhaps due to the overlapping effects of the pills, the transition happened instantly.

To his surprise, the effect of the disguise pill was also dispelled and restoring Xiao Shou’s original appearance.

With no opportunities and no luck, the utterly ordinary Xiao Shou stood by the stream, feeling dejected for quite a while as he reflected on the results of this journey.

Not a single one of his original goals had been accomplished.

Because of his own clumsiness, he had missed many opportunities and he had even personally witnessed the overwhelming fortune of the female lead as she obtained her chance.

The children had not been rescued and he had no idea where they had been taken by the spatial rift.

The Fate Devouring Array had not been destroyed.

Instead, it had been obtained by that white-robed middle-aged cultivator who should have been nothing more than a disposable extra.

Who knew what consequences that would bring in the future? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

As for the miniature Fate Turning Pagoda, its main body had been taken away separately by Jian Li and Zhong Kui.

His only gains were those five magic treasures whose spiritual energy had regressed and might not even be usable, the Celestial Nail, and several dozen ten thousand year old ancient spirit herbs.

Originally, whether it was the Fate Bestowing Array, the Fate Devouring Array, the miniature Fate Turning Pagoda, or even the entire medicinal garden, he had a chance to obtain them all.

He had also had a chance to rescue all the children safely.

But now, everything had ended in failure.

So this really was his fate... a cannon fodder and a useless person who could accomplish nothing.

Even if he managed to escape this time, how long could he keep running?

Sooner or later, he would still end up as cannon fodder for the female lead.

What meaning was there in such a life?

He had once dreamed of establishing a sect that would no longer fear the female lead, the male leads, or the powerful factions surrounding them.

But someone as clumsy as him could never achieve that.

With his mind filled with negativity and self abandonment, a scene suddenly flashed through Xiao Shou’s thoughts.

The moment when the blazing red giant sword clashed with the black bone fan.

The terrifying spiritual storm created by the collision of their energies was even more destructive than an explosion.

That overwhelming power felt as though it could shatter fate itself.

If he could obtain power even greater than that, would he no longer need to be afraid?