As Taran Zhu approached the seal, she felt an overwhelming surge of desire, her heart burning with intense Flame, and she nearly succumbed to its power.
This is the power of Sha.
As the leader of the Shado-Pan and a contemporary martial arts master, Taran Zhu is very familiar with the power of the Sha. It can be said that he has spent his entire life entangled with the power of the Sha.
After all, the Pandaren's Chi originates from the Sha.
With a large group of Jinyu chasing behind him and a nine-headed monster eyeing him menacingly beside him, Taran Zhu instantly came up with a plan.
"Life Cocoon," a signature skill of the Monk, as green Chi enveloped Taran Zhu's entire body.
Thanks to Taran Zhu's incredibly powerful Chi, the Sha power seeped into Chi, and most of the negative emotions were dissipated. He was now able to withstand contact with Taran Zhu.
Taran Zhu rolled on the spot and successfully entered the seal.
The Jinyu pursuers behind him immediately stopped, staring in disbelief at Taran Zhu's figure.
After entering the seal, as they gradually approached the Heart of Darkness, terrifying Sha power attacked from all directions, growing increasingly intense. The Life Cocoon was no longer an effective way to resist it.
In this life-or-death moment, Taran Zhu forced himself to remain conscious and carefully observed the structure of the seal.
At the center of the seal, a huge purple heart beats rhythmically, spewing out streams of eerie purple energy.
The flowing water continuously purified the purple aura, making it gradually fade.
Taran Zhu guessed that the Flowing Water contained some kind of power that could neutralize the evil energy, and perhaps the Flowing Water was the only way out.
Taran Zhu decided to take a gamble and charged forward before the power of the Sha energy could destroy it, his Pandaren feet stepping on the Flowing Water.
The Chi made Taran Zhu as light as a swallow, and with the help of the Flowing Water, she soared into the air again, her desires instantly diminished by more than half.
It worked!
Taran Zhu. Stepping on the Flowing Water, she slowly approached the purple heart sealed within.
"A bear that's annoying has a connection with the Heart of Y'Shaarj? This is outrageous!" Elder Jinxiu of the Jinyu, was so angry that his beard bristled.
Garrosh said sarcastically, "Elder, your prophecy must be wrong. How could Taran Zhu possibly be the destined one?"
Elder Jinxiu hesitated for a long time. "A long time ago, Flowing Water told me that the destined one was an intelligent being with the appearance of a wild beast. Later, the Orcs opened the Dark Portal, and I believed that the destined one was Orcs. Unfortunately, neither you nor Thrall are orcs. Flowing Water would not deceive me. Could it really be Taran Zhu?"
Thrall shook his head, forcing himself to calm down, and unusually shared Garrosh's indignation. "Elder, Taran Zhu is just a lowly Pandaren, food for the Orcs. I've never heard of food being destined for someone."
The Pandaren and the Jinyu live on the land of Pandaria. For thousands of years, they have had constant friction and countless conflicts with each other. Although they are not mortal enemies, they are by no means allies either.
As a Jinyu, the High Elder naturally wouldn't allow the Pandaren to be the chosen ones, immediately disregarding the prophecy of the Flowing Water: "That's right, the Pandaren are just a bunch of trash. Although they have the appearance of beasts, they are not qualified to inherit the Heart of Y'Shaarj. Damn you, Taran Zhu, how dare you ruin my friendship with the Horde!"
With a wave of his hand, the Grand Elder caused the Flowing Water to form a wall, blocking Taran Zhu's path.
Although the Grand Elder could not get close to the seal, he could control the power of the Flowing Water within it.
Taran Zhu overheard their conversation and knew he couldn't back down. With a roar, he unleashed his Fists of Fury, striking the Flowing Water Wall with lightning speed.
The wall of Flowing Water shattered with a crash, Taran Zhu lightly skimmed the water with her toes, flying a great distance once again, about to approach the Heart of Darkness at the center of the seal.
"Break!"
The elder let out a soft utterance, then suddenly stretched out his right hand, his five fingers forming an eagle claw shape, and clenched it tightly.
The nine-headed monster shattered with a crash. It was composed of the power of Flowing Water, and a terrifying torrent of water surged towards Taran Zhu, completely enveloping her.
Taran Zhu sighed. She was so close to that purple heart, but all that remained was regret. She could only surrender.
The Grand Elder abruptly retracted his outstretched right fist, and the Flowing Water enveloped Taran Zhu, returning him to the Grand Elder's side, where it transformed back into a nine-headed monster.
"A mere Pandaren dares to be an enemy of us Jinyu?"
A stream of blue water extended from the elder's arm, forming a sharp blade, ready to Execute Taran Zhu.
"Wait!"
It was Garrosh who spoke up to stop him, coldly saying, "Elder, you must have forgotten that Taran Zhu is a prisoner of our Orcs. You are merely a lowly Jinyu; what right do you have to execute prisoners on behalf of the Orcs?"
The Grand Elder's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty as he hesitated whether to lash out. He ultimately chose to endure it; offending the Orcs for the sake of Taran Zhu wasn't worth it. He clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "I was presumptuous. Please forgive me, Warchief."
Garrosh waved his hand, and several Kor'kron Orcs rushed over and subdued the defenseless Taran Zhu.
Looking at Thrall, whose eyes were darting around, Garrosh said loudly, "Thrall, I remember we had a duel to the death, and you agreed."
Thrall replied calmly, "That's right, I did promise to duel you once I've fused with the power of darkness."
Garrosh snorted coldly, knowing that the High Elder Jinxiu's bottom line would never allow him to kill Thrall, and led his subordinates to rest.
Thrall, finding the encounter uninteresting, and realizing they weren't meant to be, simply bid farewell to the Grand Elder, and the Jinyu didn't try to keep him.
Leaving the Qionghua Palace and breathing in the fresh air on the shore, Thrall asked in a low voice, "Have you done everything I asked you to do?"
Vol'jin, with a shrewd and capable expression, said, "My Savior, it's done. I secretly left a Magic Beacon in the outhouse inside the Qionghua Palace. The Jinyu are backward and ignorant; they couldn't possibly know Dalaran's magic. We just need to find a mage to help us, and we can infiltrate the Qionghua Palace at any time."
Thrall said solemnly, "The Heart of Darkness of Y'Shaarj must not fall into Garrosh's hands, or everything will be over. Vol'jin, do you think that Taran Zhu is truly the destined one?"
Vol'jin smiled slightly, "My Lord Savior, I have observed very carefully. Rather than saying that Taran Zhu is the destined one, it is more accurate to say that Chi is the destined one. As long as one possesses true Chi as abundant as Taran Zhu's, one can approach the Heart of Darkness."
Thrall's eyes darted around, and he said with a grin, "Someone with similar strength to Taran Zhu happens to be someone we know."
"Chen Stormstout." Vol'jin and Thrall exchanged a smile.
At the Qionghua Palace, Garrosh met with Taran Zhu alone.
"Taran Zhu Master Zhu Talan, let's talk."
Taran Zhu lay among the hay, somewhat disheartened. "Warchief Garrosh, I helped you, and this is how you treat me?"
Garrosh said menacingly, "Taran Zhu, I hope you can face your situation squarely. I am now a distinguished guest of the Qionghua Palace, and you are merely my prisoner. If you don't want to die here and be eaten by my men, you'd better cooperate obediently."
Taran Zhu looked at Garrosh's ferocious face, thought for a long time, and finally compromised. "Do you want the Heart of Darkness?"
Garrosh nodded. "You're just a lowly Pandaren. Even if you've fused with the Heart of Darkness and your strength has increased greatly, what good will it do? Thrall won't let you go. He'll accuse you of being a villain who destroyed Azeroth. You can't defend yourself. Even with the combined strength of the Alliance and the Horde, you're doomed. You might as well hand over the Heart of Darkness to me."