Chapter 307: Ta Lo and Avalon
The situation was both awkward and coincidental.
As grandmasters who cultivated the power of the divine dragon, their souls were secretly collected by the Dwellers in Darkness behind the seal using interdimensional means.
Although they couldn't be used to break through the gate, and perhaps even reinforced the seal, the Dwellers in Darkness used them as energy to breed their avatars.
It was preparing for both scenarios: tempting outsiders to attack the seal from the outside while secretly increasing the number of avatars, attempting to break the seal.
If the outsiders succeeded, like Wenwu, the large number of avatars could quickly seize enough souls to restore its peak power.
But its plan was completely ruined.
With Oaks, a druid skilled in soul magic, those avatars, except for the initial few, were completely wiped out before they could seize any souls.
And the most recent soul of a divine dragon grandmaster it had obtained in the past ten years belonged to Yingli.
So, to some extent, Wenwu... really didn't choose the wrong place.
Yingli's soul was indeed behind the seal.
But her role was to incubate Soul Eaters, and her soul imprint was already in jeopardy.
If Oaks hadn't actively entered and stabilized her, it wouldn't be long before her soul would be depleted like the others.
When Oaks discovered the only intact soul imprint, he found its aura very familiar.
Both Shang-Chi and Xialing carried the aura originating from this soul.
Therefore, the identity of this soul was revealed.
This soul was fragile, and apart from the soul imprint carrying memories, its own power had been almost completely drained.
Oaks used soul magic to stabilize it again and confirmed her identity before bringing her out, only to witness Wenwu's self-sacrifice.
"This..."
After listening to Oaks's explanation, the dazed Wenwu's pale face quickly turned red, as if he had taken a potent tonic, and he regained a completely new vitality!
"Yingli's soul is still here! Hahaha... this is true..."
He excitedly knelt down and his hands were trembling. He was unable to believe it and wanted to touch that dazzling soul light:
"I never expected... I never expected it! Heaven has favored me... No!"
He licked his lips, shook his head vigorously, and banged his head heavily in front of Oaks:
"Thank you very much, Chairman Oaks, for reuniting my family!"
"Dad!"
Although Shang-Chi and Xialing were excited, they didn't rush to help their father. Instead, they also knelt down solemnly and bowed deeply to Oaks:
"Thank you very much, Chairman, for reuniting our family!"
"Well... with you two like this, I feel a bit embarrassed."
Although Oaks was somewhat helpless, he didn't try to stop them.
Because he could bear this kneeling and bowing.
"Please get up. The matter is not over yet. You wouldn't want her to exist in soul form forever, would you?"
Oaks's words brought the father and children back to their senses. Shang-Chi and Xialing quickly helped Wenwu stand up, and the latter anxiously muttered to himself:
"Damn! I should have thought of it... Although that monster lured me here, it didn't tell me how to resurrect Yingli's soul!"
Although it was originally a scam, with Oaks's intervention, Wenwu finally achieved his desire and regained his wife's soul.
But now, she was just a fragile soul.
"Chairman Oaks! Do you have a solution? You must have a solution, right?"
Wenwu began to address Oaks respectfully, which was the first time he, as an ancient monster, had done so.
Even when facing Sorcerer Supreme, he could use the line "I have eaten more salt than you have eaten rice"...
"There is indeed a solution, but it's not possible right now. I can't create an entirely blank body out of thin air to house the soul.
We need to return to the outside world. There is an interesting technology that may be helpful."
A green light appeared in Oaks's hand as he activated nature magic, sealing Yingli's soul within an energy crystal resembling jade.
"Take her with you. Her soul power has been almost depleted, but the soul imprint carrying memories is intact. In the seal, her soul can continue to be nurtured.
Once we have a revival plan in place, she will be able to awaken."
Oaks looked at the excited faces of the father and children, and with a serious expression, he advised:
"But as a druid, I generally do not actively do things that violate the laws of nature...
But this situation is special, so I will make an exception.
As for the price, Master Wenwu, you... and she, cannot continue to exist in the world."
He emphasized once again:
"In the outside world, Wenwu, the leader of the Ten Rings, is already dead!"
"I understand..."
Wenwu sighed, nodded, and solemnly promised:
"If Yingli can be revived, I will take her into seclusion and never meddle in worldly affairs again—growing old together with her is what I desire."
He looked at his children, who had complex and silent expressions, and smiled:
"Shang-Chi, Xialing, you have grown up and can have your own lives.
Just come back to visit during the New Year every year."
"Yes, Father!"
...
Before Divine Dragon could take the father and children back to the village, Oaks personally explained the cause and effect to the Ta Lo villagers.
Upon learning that her sister's soul was indeed behind the gate, Yingnan's expression became extremely colorful.
"This... is truly ironic."
She sighed and then bowed deeply to Oaks:
"Thank you very much, Chairman Oaks, for rescuing my sister and giving her a chance to reunite with her family!"
"Thanks to Chairman Oaks for the contributions made to Ta Lo. From today onwards, you shall be our Ta Lo Elder!"
She bowed solemnly again:
"I pay my respects to Elder Oaks!"
"I pay my respects to Elder Oaks!"
The Ta Lo villagers all bowed in unison!
"Uh... please rise, Elder and all that..."
Oaks wanted to decline, but Yingnan urgently whispered:
"Elder Oaks, please do not decline. This is what you deserve, and it is allowed by the Great Protector.
You don't need to manage anything, just enjoy the privileges of an elder!"
"I don't have to manage anything... Well, alright then."
Oaks nodded and agreed. After all, being an elder of Ta Lo was much higher in status than being an ally of Ta Lo.
They are now part of the same group!
"The Dwellers in Darkness have been eradicated, and Ta Lo is freed from its role as guardian after thousands of years."
Guang Bo also approached. This old man who found fault with everyone from the outside world now showed great respect to Oaks:
"Elder Oaks, if you have any needs, I will personally lead the Ta Lo warriors!"
"Uncle Guang, there's no need to be so formal..."
Oaks smiled and paused for a moment:
"Now that the matter is resolved, Shang-Chi will manage the Ten Rings members. I have something to discuss with the two of you regarding this Ta Lo realm.
The Great Protector will also participate, so how about we go to the lakeside?"
Yingnan and Guang Bo exchanged glances and nodded:
"Elder Oaks, please!"
...
At the lakeside, after the Great Protector emerged from the water and received solemn bows from Yingnan and Guang Bo, it turned its gaze towards Oaks.
Oaks cleared his throat, thought for a moment, and startled the two with his opening statement:
"In fact, I also have a pocket dimension... similar to Ta Lo's realm!"
"What?!"
Guang Bo noticed Oaks's choice of words:
"You have it?"
"That's right," Oaks nodded solemnly, "I 'have' it. I have complete control over that pocket dimension, which you call a realm."
"No wonder you felt so special to me!"
The soul voice of the Great Protector resounded, and Yingnan and Guang Bo listened intently.
"Thousands of years ago, the control of Ta Lo was in the hands of the Four Divine Beasts. But since the sacrifice of the three, even I lost complete control.
Ta Lo individuals with my power can control the spatial channels to some extent, but that's as far as it goes. It's incomparable to the time when the four of us joined forces during our heyday."
"I see..."
Oaks pondered, so that's why the other three Divine Beasts could destroy the dimensional channels and reinforce the entire realm space. It was because they were strong enough and also had the majority of the control over the space.
The Four Divine Beasts were the Qilin, Divine Dragon, Phoenix, and Nine-Tailed Fox, representing the attributes of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind. Now, only Divine Dragon remained, supporting it alone.
"In my pocket dimension, there is also a nature demigod whose true form is a tree..."
Yingnan and Guang Bo's expressions became peculiar, while the Great Protector widened its golden eyes in surprise:
"A tree? A plant demigod?"
"Yes, and I'm currently trying to replicate the data of an ecosystem..."
Oaks briefly explained the "Life Sanctuary Project" to the bewildered trio. Then, he pointed to the sky:
"Ta Lo is an extremely rare and self-sustaining independent space. So, I want to use the natural environment data from Ta Lo as a reference to increase the success rate of my plan."
"How do you plan to do that?"
Yingnan, being relatively younger, understood Oaks's intention to some extent and curiously asked:
"Do you want to use instruments to scan the entire Ta Lo?"
"No, I want to open a spatial channel between Ta Lo and my Avalon. That way, when I'm here, Malorn can help me obtain the environmental data of the entire space."
Oaks looked at the trio:
"Avalon is the headquarters of our Benevolence Society. This way, we can also communicate with each other. What do you think?"
"..."
Yingnan and Guang Bo exchanged glances. They were not opposed to it; in fact, they were somewhat excited.
Although Ta Lo was vast, and now that they were relieved of their duties as guardians, who wouldn't want to see other worlds? Besides, Oaks was now an elder of Ta Lo, and Avalon was truly "a place of one's own people"!
But their opinions didn't matter.
"Let the Great Protector decide!"
The Great Protector blinked its eyes and nodded lightly, creating ripples in the water:
"I agree... I can't wait to meet Malorn!"
The Great Protector had been alone here for four thousand years, all the companions who could talk and chat had perished, and it had no way to communicate with the Ta Lo people. If it were Oaks, he would probably have gone crazy from boredom.
So, the Great Protector also wanted to see the outside world!
"Very well, I'll make some preparations and open the channel!"
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