Ta Lo and Avalon

Things were just that awkward and coincidental.

Grandmasters who cultivated Dragon Force had their souls secretly collected by the Soul Eater beyond the Seal Gate after death, using a cross-dimensional method due to the same-origin power on the gate.

Though those souls could not be used to breach the gate—perhaps they would even reinforce the seal—the Soul Eater used them as energy to breed offspring.

It had been making preparations on two fronts: tempting outsiders to break the seal from the outside while secretly increasing the number of offspring, hoping to burst through the seal.

If the people outside succeeded, as Wenwu had nearly done, the vast number of offspring could immediately seize enough souls for it to quickly return to its peak.

But its careful plans had been utterly ruined.

With Oaks, a Druid proficient in Soul Magic, present, those offspring were completely wiped out before they could seize any souls, aside from the first few.

And over the past decade, the most recent Dragon Force grandmaster soul it had acquired belonged to Yingli.

So, in a sense, Wenwu… had not come to the wrong place after all.

Yingli’s soul really was behind the Seal Gate.

But its purpose had been to incubate the Soul Eater’s offspring, and even its soul imprint had reached a precarious state.

If Oaks had not taken the initiative to enter, before long, she would have been drained dry like the other souls.

When Oaks found the only soul cluster whose soul imprint remained intact, he recognized its aura.

Both Shaun and Xialing carried traces originating from that soul.

Thus, the identity of that soul was obvious.

That soul was very weak. Apart from the soul imprint carrying its memories, the soul itself had been drained of all power.

Oaks used Soul Magic to stabilize it again and confirm her identity. Only then did he bring her out, just in time to witness Wenwu attempting to take his own life.

"This…"

After hearing Oaks’s explanation, Wenwu’s blank expression rapidly flushed crimson. It was as though he had swallowed some miraculous tonic, bursting forth with renewed vitality!

"Yingli’s soul is still here! Hahaha… It’s real…"

He fell to his knees in excitement, his hands trembling as he dared not believe he could touch that dazzling soul light.

"I never thought… I never thought it possible! Heaven has favored me… No!"

His lips trembled as he slammed his forehead to the ground before Oaks.

"President Lin, thank you beyond measure for reuniting my family!"

"Father!"

Though Shaun and Xialing were excited, they did not go to help their father up. Instead, they too solemnly dropped to their knees and bowed deeply to Oaks.

"Thank you beyond measure, president, for reuniting our family!"

"Sigh… You’re making me embarrassed."

Though Oaks felt somewhat helpless, he did not try to stop them.

Because he deserved this bow.

"Get up. This isn’t over yet. You don’t intend for her to remain in soul form forever, do you?"

Oaks’s words brought the father and his children back to their senses. Shaun and Xialing hurriedly helped Wenwu to his feet, while he anxiously muttered to himself.

"Damn it! I should have realized… That monster lured me here, but never told me how to revive Yingli’s soul!"

Although it had originally been a scam, with Oaks’s intervention, Wenwu had finally gotten his wish and recovered his wife’s soul.

But now, she was only a fragile soul.

"President Lin! Do you have a way? You must have a way, right?"

Wenwu had begun addressing Oaks respectfully. For an old monster who had lived for a thousand years, this was an unprecedented first.

Even when facing the Sorcerer Supreme, he could still act superior and say, "I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice"…

"There is indeed a solution, but not yet. I cannot create a blank body out of thin air to house a soul.

"We need to return to the outside world. There is an interesting technology that may be able to help."

Emerald Light appeared in Oaks’s hand. Nature Magic activated, sealing Yingli’s soul within an energy crystal resembling jade.

"Take her with you. Her soul power has been completely drained, but the imprint carrying her memories remains intact. Within the seal, her soul can be continuously nourished.

"Once we determine a revival plan, she can awaken."

Looking at the wildly excited faces of the father and his children, Oaks gave them a serious reminder.

"However, as a Druid, I generally do not take the initiative to do things that violate the laws of nature…

"But this time is special, so I will make an exception.

"As the price, Boss, you… and she can no longer appear in the world."

He emphasized it again.

"Outside, Wenwu, leader of the Ten Rings, is already dead!"

"I understand…"

Wenwu sighed and nodded, making a solemn promise.

"If Yingli can be revived, I will take her into seclusion and never involve myself in worldly affairs again—growing old slowly with her is all I have ever wanted."

He looked at his children, whose expressions were complicated as they remained silent, and smiled.

"Shaun, Xialing, you have grown up. You can have lives of your own.

"Just come back to visit during the New Year each year."

"Yes, Father!"

Before asking Shenron to take the father and his children back to the village, Oaks personally explained the entire sequence of events to the people of Ta Lo Village.

When Yingnan learned that her sister’s soul really had been beyond the gate, her expression was indescribably vivid.

"What a… twist of fate."

She sighed, then bowed deeply to Oaks.

"President Lin, thank you beyond measure for saving my sister and giving her the chance to reunite with her family!"

"Thank you, President Lin, for all you have done for Ta Lo. From today onward, you shall be an elder of Ta Lo!"

With a solemn expression, she bowed again.

"Greetings, Elder Lin!"

"Greetings, Elder Lin!"

The villagers of Ta Lo spoke in unison and bowed deeply!

"Uh… Please rise. As for being an elder…"

Just as Oaks wanted to decline, Yingnan hurriedly whispered.

"Elder Lin, please do not refuse. You deserve this, and the Great Guardian permits it.

"You need not spend any effort managing anything. You only need to enjoy an elder’s privileges!"

"No management duties… Then all right."

Oaks could only nod in agreement. No matter what, being an elder of Ta Lo was a much higher status than being an ally of Ta Lo.

That made him one of their own!

"The Soul Eater has been eliminated, and Ta Lo has been freed from its duty as guardians for thousands of years."

Guangbo also stepped forward. The old man, who had disliked every outsider he met, was now utterly respectful toward Oaks.

"Should Elder Lin ever have need, I will personally lead the warriors of Ta Lo to your side!"

"You’re too kind, Guangbo…"

Oaks smiled, then suddenly paused slightly.

"Now that the matter has been resolved, Shaun will restrain the Ten Rings members. There is something I would like to discuss with the two of you regarding the Ta Lo Realm.

"The Guardian Dragon will also take part, so shall we go to the lakeside?"

Yingnan and Guangbo exchanged glances and nodded.

"Elder Lin, please!"

At the lakeside, the Guardian Dragon emerged from the water. After Yingnan and Guangbo respectfully saluted him, they looked toward Oaks.

Oaks cleared his throat, thought for a moment, then opened with something that startled them both.

"Actually, I also possess a Pocket Space—one like the Ta Lo Realm!"

"What?!"

Guangbo caught the word Oaks had used.

"Possess?"

"That’s right." Oaks nodded seriously. "Possess. I have complete control over that Pocket Space, what you call a realm space."

"No wonder you feel so unusual to me!"

The Guardian Dragon’s soul voice rang out, and Yingnan and Guangbo hurriedly listened attentively.

"Thousands of years ago, control of Ta Lo rested in the hands of the Four Divine Beasts. But ever since the other three sacrificed themselves, even I have no longer possessed complete control.

"The people of Ta Lo who possess my power can control the Space Passage to some extent, but only that much. It cannot be compared to when all four of us joined forces at our peak."

"So that’s how it is…"

Oaks fell into thought. Was that why the other three Divine Beasts could damage the dimensional passage and reinforce the entire realm space?

In addition to being powerful enough, they had also possessed most of the spatial control.

The Four Divine Beasts—Qilin, Shenron, Phoenix, and the Nine-Tailed Fox—represented the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind. Now only Shenron remained to support everything alone.

"My Pocket Space also has a Nature Demigod, and his true body is a tree…"

Yingnan and Guangbo wore strange expressions, while the Guardian Dragon widened his golden eyes in surprise.

"A tree? A plant Demi-God?"

"Yes, and I am currently trying to replicate ecosystem data…"

After explaining the Life Sanctuary Project to the confused two humans and one dragon, Oaks pointed toward the sky.

"Ta Lo is an extremely rare independent space capable of self-circulation, so I want to use its environmental data as a reference to increase my project’s chances of success."

"Then how do you intend to do that?"

Yingnan was relatively younger and roughly understood what Oaks meant. She asked curiously.

"Are you going to use instruments to scan all of Ta Lo?"

"No. I want to open a Space Passage between Ta Lo and my Avalon. That way, when I am here, Malorne can help me collect environmental data from the entire space."

Oaks looked at the two humans and one dragon.

"Avalon is the headquarters of our Benevolence Society. This would also allow both sides to interact with each other. What do the three of you think?"

"…"

Yingnan and Guangbo exchanged glances. They were not opposed to it; if anything, they were looking forward to it.

Ta Lo was large, but now that they had laid down their responsibilities as guardians, who would not want to see other worlds?

Besides, Oaks was now an elder of Ta Lo, and Avalon was truly a place for their own people!

But the decision was not theirs to make.

"We shall abide by the Great Guardian’s decision!"

The Guardian Dragon blinked. His enormous head nodded lightly, sending waves rippling across the water.

"I agree… I can hardly wait to meet Malorne!"

He had guarded this place alone for four thousand years. All the companions he could speak and chat with had died in battle, and he could not communicate with the people of Ta Lo. If it had been Osk, he would probably have gone mad from boredom by now.

So the Guardian Dragon also wanted to see the outside world!

"Good. I’ll make some preparations, then open the passage!"