The divine dragon hovering above the great lake witnessed the entire battle.
Having witnessed the complete annihilation of its mortal enemy, who had guarded the seal for thousands of years and had been entangled with it for countless ages, it was filled with the ecstatic joy of surviving a catastrophe. At the same time, seeing Wenwu's heaven-defying and domineering methods, it couldn't help but feel a sense of Shocker and fear throughout its body.
It was filled with fear, terrified that Wenwu would turn around and devour and refine it as well!
Without the slightest hesitation, the dragon's enormous body swayed and it swiftly flew to Wenwu's side, meekly lowering its proud dragon head.
Immediately afterwards, a mysterious rune with flowing crimson light slowly emerged on its forehead and floated lightly towards Wenwu's brow.
Wenwu raised an eyebrow, staring at the rune with great confusion, completely unaware of what it was.
Just then, Ying Nan rode her crane swiftly to her side, her eyes filled with deep envy, and explained:
"This is the Heart of the Dragon, and the core medium between the Divine Dragon and the Ta Lo! Once you refine and possess it, you will be able to control the Dragon Power!"
"I see."
Wenwu instantly understood, immediately recalling the original plot.
Isn't this the core power that his adopted son acquired later in life?
With the Heart of the Dragon, that kid could not only fight the original Xu Wenwu head-on, but also control the Ten Rings artifact that had followed Xu Wenwu for a thousand years, making his power extremely impressive.
He raised his hand and gently guided the Heart of the Dragon rune that was floating in front of him into his body.
The moment the rune entered the body, a wondrous connection instantly formed.
He clearly felt an incredibly intimate and resonant connection between himself and the entire Ta Lo Dimension dimension, as well as the dragon in front of him.
At the same time, throughout the entire Ta Lo Dimension, a vast, powerful, and domineering energy surged into the body along some kind of connection rule, slowly merging with one's own Spiritual Power.
Although this dimensional energy did not significantly increase his Spiritual Power, it greatly enriched the profound mysteries of Spiritual Power's origin, raising the level of Spiritual Power rules by a small margin.
"So the purpose of the Heart of the Dragon is to connect this dimension through the medium of the divine dragon, and to draw upon the primordial power of that dimension."
Wenwu observed the changes within his body and gained some insight.
The principle is the same as that of many Mutants superpowers: connecting to unknown energy dimensions.
He also discovered that he could continuously draw upon Dragon Power to cultivate, gradually strengthening his own Spiritual Power foundation.
At the same time, he does not have the drawback that the connection will gradually weaken the longer he is away from the Ta Lo Dimension; he can maintain a permanent connection even if he is on Earth for a long time.
Back then, Ying Li didn't have this ability, which caused her to leave the Ta Lo for too long, resulting in a gradual decline in her strength.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been killed by a few henchmen.
After offering up the Heart of the Dragon, the dragon completely lowered its guard against Wenwu, and a natural sense of closeness arose in its heart.
Wenwu can even clearly perceive its emotions and thoughts.
The dragon slightly shook its head, gesturing for Wenwu to sit on its head, and offered to carry him to the shore.
Wenwu sat down smoothly and rode the divine dragon to the other side.
His gaze swept over Ying Nan, Uncle Guang, and the villagers on the shore, and he said calmly:
"Now that the Dweller-in-Darkness have been completely destroyed, Ta Lo Village is finally at peace and will no longer be troubled by Dweller-in-Darkness. You can live whatever peaceful life you want from now on. If you want to connect to the outside world's network, I can also help you do so."
"Connected to external communications? Is that really true?!"
Uncle Guang's eyes widened instantly.
The Ta Lo is only open to the public on Qingming Festival each year, and is completely isolated from the world with no signal.
For generations, the villagers have lived a monotonous and isolated life, and deep down, everyone yearns for the bustling world outside.
"It's a small matter to me."
Wenwu nodded slightly.
Although the outer moving bamboo forest maze and spatial energy light membrane can block all signals, with his top-notch technology, opening a two-way signal channel is a piece of cake.
"Besides that, I can provide you with all the necessary living supplies and resupply from the outside world free of charge."
His tone shifted, his expression turning serious and solemn. "But you must uphold the bottom line: you are absolutely forbidden from revealing the existence of the Ta Lo to anyone outside."
"Don't worry! We'll absolutely keep quiet!"
Uncle Guang immediately patted his chest and solemnly guaranteed, his attitude extremely sincere, "You helped us eradicate a thousand-year-old scourge, and you have also been recognized as the master of the divine Dragon Heart. Now you are the leader of our Ta Lo! We will all obey your words!"
Ying Nan nodded emphatically in agreement.
After a moment of silence, Ying Nan couldn't resist her curiosity and asked, "By the way, Wenwu, where are Ying Li's two children? Why didn't they come to the Ta Lo with you? I've been wanting to see them."
He was killed by the enemy.
When Wenwu said this, his expression remained completely calm, and his tone was indifferent, as if he were recounting a trivial matter.
What?! The child is dead?!
Ying Nan shuddered, her face turning deathly pale.
Her younger sister Ying Li, died tragically, and now she has also lost her two young children. This devastating news has left her heartbroken.
She gritted her teeth, her eyes red and trembling as she pressed, "How could you die? What happened?"
Wenwu's tone remained calm. "They hated me. They hated that I caused their mother's tragic death, and they hated that I raised them as assassins from a young age. After they grew up, they all insisted on leaving me, and finally, their whereabouts were exposed, and they were found and killed by my enemies."
He naturally wouldn't admit that he killed them, and he felt no regret whatsoever. He had no regrets about killing these two ungrateful wretches.
"You..."
Ying Nan's chest heaved violently, his anger rising to the top of his head, and he wished he could curse out loud on the spot.
Looking at the unfathomable strength of the civil and military Wenwu before her, she forcibly suppressed all her anger, her eyes red, and she desperately held back her tears. In the end, she could only turn away with a heart full of sorrow.
Uncle Guang, who was standing to the side, also sighed heavily, his face full of regret.
I felt genuinely sorry and saddened for Ying Li and her two children who died tragically, but there was nothing I could do.
Wenwu didn't care at all what they were thinking.
He sat cross-legged on the spot, carefully contemplating all the gains he had made from devouring the Dweller-in-Darkness.
First, he perfectly inherited the Dweller-in-Darkness King's soul-devouring ability.
From now on, he can devour the souls of living beings and maximize the effects of soul energy without any waste.
In addition, his physical body was also improved, his basic strength increased by about 20%, and the divinity within him was also nourished and strengthened.
Over the next few days, Wenwu temporarily left the Ta Lo and contacted Clarice, asking her to lead a group to transport a large amount of supplies and equipment into the secret realm.
Clarice was overjoyed when she first saw the lush green mountains and clear waters, the fairyland scenery, and all sorts of rare and magical ancient beasts in the Ta Lo. She enjoyed herself there for more than ten days before she was reluctant to leave.
Seeing Wenwu and Clarice behaving intimately and ambiguously, Ying Nan felt a pang of sorrow and couldn't help but feel grief for her tragically deceased sister Ying Li.
During the time he spent traveling with Clarice, Wenwu also thoroughly explored the entire terrain of the Ta Lo Dimension.
This small world has no sun, moon, or stars rotating; the light of heaven and earth emanates from the world itself, and it is an independent giant continental plate.
Its territory is roughly the same size as Earth's, and it also possesses vast oceans and expansive landmasses.
In ancient times, this place was an incredibly prosperous and vast world, teeming with life and rich in cultural heritage.
Until the Dweller-in-Darkness Beasts launched a massive invasion, the entire world was ravaged and devoured, and vast swathes of land were destroyed.
Now, of all the continents in this entire dimension, only the land where Shenlong Lake and Ta Lo Village are located remains intact.
In addition, countless ruins of ancient cities are scattered throughout the land, bearing the marks of time.