Chapter 247
Su Quan raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "Scared?"
Ying Li shook her head. "I'm not afraid, I just don't understand. You—you're not like the other people who come here, so eager to get into the Ta Lo."
Su Quan shrugged. "Most people who want to get into Ta Lo are probably encouraged by the Soul Eater and want to release it, right?"
"It's not these people who are anxious, it's the Soul Eaters!"
"You know about Soul Eaters?" Ying Li was surprised, and at the same time, she became even more curious about him.
"I know a lot more than that." Su Quan smiled. "Wait for me here, I'll be right back."
Just as Ying Li was about to speak, Su Quan vanished in a flash.
About half an hour later, after visiting the bamboo house, Ying Li, who was sitting at the stone table, suddenly heard a whooshing sound.
"I'm back."
Su Quan placed the exquisite food box on the table, smiled, opened it, and took out the food items one by one.
"Try it and see how it tastes. By the way, you don't have any dietary restrictions, do you?"
Ying Li shook her head subconsciously. "No, I eat everything."
"That's fine!"
Su Quan handed the chopsticks to Ying Li and sat down opposite her.
Holding the chopsticks, Ying Li was a little confused, feeling like something was off...
Ying Li has always been reluctant to engage with anyone who wants to learn about Ta Lo and has refused to make any contact with them.
But when it came to Su Quan, she broke her own principles!
There are many reasons.
First, he possesses the Dragon Power; second, he was not bewitched by the Soul Eater; and finally, he's very handsome!
Well, okay, it has nothing to do with whether someone is handsome or not. Ying Li won't treat people differently because of their looks, at least not before they get to know each other!
The real reason is that Su Quan had no ill intentions. He neither arrogantly tried to defeat him with all his might, nor did he forcefully interrogate him about Ta Lo, nor did he force him to bring him into the world of Ta Lo.
Under these circumstances, Ying Li naturally couldn't continue to be aloof and ignore him.
Moreover, she is now the gatekeeper of the Ta Lo entrance; she can neither leave this place nor expel Su Quan from here.
Also, she wanted to figure out why Su Quan had the Dragon Power and why he seemed to know so much about the things in Taro Village.
Looking at Ying Li, who was eating silently, Su Quan asked with a smile, "How does it taste?"
"Very good, thank you," Ying Li said softly.
Su Quan casually asked, "Between you and your sister, who's more capable?"
"You know Ying Nan?" Ying Li looked at Su Quan in surprise.
Su Quan hummed in agreement, then continued noncommittally, "Does Ying Nan also possess the Dragon Power? Are there many people in your village who possess the Dragon Power?"
Ying Li asked, "Why are you asking this?"
Su Quan thought for a moment, then asked, seemingly unrelated, "If I completely eliminate the Soul Eater, will your village listen to me?"
"Impossible!"
"When you say 'impossible,' do you mean I can't completely eliminate the Soul Eater, or do you mean...?"
"You can't completely eliminate the Soul Eaters!"
Ying Li said seriously, "Although you are more powerful than me and your methods are quite unique, you don't understand the Soul Eaters, nor do you understand our Taro Village."
"Ta Lo has existed for over four thousand years. We are the guardians of the Dark Door, sworn to protect this land and your home from the demons trapped behind it."
"The territory of Ta Lo extends beyond the coastline of our village, and our city surpasses any city in your universe."
"For thousands of years, all the people lived in peace and prosperity, until they were attacked by the Dark Residents, who led their armies to devour every soul they passed by."
"Every killing makes them stronger."
"After destroying our largest city, they marched into your universe to carry out their Carnage once again."
"The Ta Lo's leader sent out his most powerful warriors to stop the Teleportation Portals from reaching your world, but our ancestors were no match for them."
"Until the Guardians joined the war and turned the tide. Together they fought to drive the army of the Dark Residents into the Dark Door."
"Since then, our people have guarded this gate. The guardian's magic has given us strength and dragon scales to forge weapons to fight against the Dark Residents."
The guardian is the dragon.
Demons, Dark Residents, are Soul Eater and their minions.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Taro Village in the movie may seem small in size and population; it was rebuilt after the war.
The Ta Lo City, which existed thousands of years ago, could very well be considered superior to all other cities!
Just like in the movie, Wenwu led the Ten Rings Gang to attack Ta Lo, but the scale doesn't look quite the same.
The Ten Rings Gang was also rebuilt, so they're pretty much on par!
The dragon is very powerful; it can bestow upon the Dragon Power and scales, instantly transforming qualified individuals into warriors with extraordinary power and equipment.
However, the Soul Eater is even stronger!
According to Ying Li, the Dark Residents are the small monsters created by the Soul Eaters. Their numbers are countless, and ordinary attacks and weapons cannot harm them at all.
Only dragon scale weapons can damage them.
As long as they get close to you, they can absorb your soul and then feed it to the Soul Eater to enhance Soul Eater power.
This absorption is different from Soul Out; in this case, the soul transforms into a multicolored ball of light and cannot control itself.
The more souls Soul Eater devours, the stronger it becomes. Even the dragon is no match for it, as it can even devour the dragon's soul.
"I've heard one theory about Soul Eaters," Su Quan said.
Ying Li asked in surprise, "What do you mean?"
"The Soul Eater, also known as the Dark Dweller or the Lord of Fear, is a demon from a higher dimension, or a dark god."
"What you see of it now is its reduced form."
"It feeds on souls and fear; the more souls and fears it devours, the more powerful it becomes."
"It existed before our universe was born."
"It once caused the silence of Atlantis and the split of the Eternals. After being sealed away, it would infiltrate people's dreams, tempting and encouraging them to commit suicide in order to gain immortality. These people who commit suicide will become its servants, that is, the Dark Residents, to obtain more souls for it."
Su Quan's statement comes from the comic book setting. Although the Soul Eater in the movie does not seem to show the characteristic of feeding on fear, it has just escaped and its strength has not yet recovered.
Once it has devoured too many souls and regained its strength, it may very well be able to devour fear.
The Lord of Fear is also a cousin of the Nightmare Lord.
Both brothers are villains in Doctor Strange's comics, especially the Nightmare Lord, who is very well-known!
Ying Li pondered for a moment, then shook her head and said, "I haven't heard of this claim before, but many of the circumstances are very similar to, or even identical to, what we know."
Su Quan compared the performances of the dragon and the Soul Eater in the movie with the performance of the Ten Rings.
This also leads to the thought that Soul Eaters might exist in Zombie Universe.
An unproven possibility has emerged...
If the Soul Eater is truly the Lord of Fear, a dark god from a higher dimension, then this world, the Zombie world, and all other worlds that might contain it, are all within it.
They must all be clones!
These high-dimensional dark gods are basically Multiverse- level beings, like Dormammu, born and existing in independent dimensions.
They should all be unique.
Otherwise, each world's Soul Eater would be an independent Lord of Fear, and with the strength of the Dragon and Taro Village, they shouldn't be able to seal it away.
Although the Ten Rings are a divine artifact of unknown origin, they cannot be easily destroyed.
"Getting back to the point, let's return to the question from earlier. If I really eliminate the Soul Eater, will you listen to me?" Su Quan steered the conversation back on track.
Ying Li hesitated for a moment. "If you can eliminate the Soul Eater, we will be very grateful to you, after all, you have allowed us to end our mission of thousands of years."
"But I'll listen to you—I don't know, it depends on what you want to do and what you want to achieve!"
Under a clear blue sky, the bamboo grove rustles in the breeze.
Bamboo house, stream.
Sunlight streamed down, bamboo leaves danced in the air, and Su Quan and Ying Li exchanged graceful glances.
The exchange was intense, yet there was no sense of anger. Instead, the glances exchanged as they passed each other conveyed a feeling of tacit understanding and mutual respect.
Although he had expressed his desire to eliminate the Soul Eaters and take over Taro Village, Su Quan did not put it into action immediately.
There are several reasons.
First, he hoped to win over the people of Taro Village to his side in a peaceful and voluntary manner.
They possess the Dragon Power and are equipped with dragon scales, yet they can endure loneliness and risk their lives to protect this place.