In the endless Green Field Forest, the Temple of heroes hung high, and a towering monument made of countless white skulls stood like a high tower.
The flesh and blood of the owners of these skulls were swallowed by the temple of heroes , and their souls were imprisoned by the temple of heroes .
From its behavior, this miraculous creation, born from Kalon's unexpected inspiration, could be called an evil artifact.
The exterior of the Temple of heroes was dyed crimson, appearing particularly scarlet when silent.
The hall had only one floor, but it was tall and wide enough. Sixteen white jade pillars at the entrance supported a dome gradually covered with countless war murals, but now the once jade-like white pillars were slowly being inscribed with the countless souls of the fallen.
These imprisoned souls would forever be exploited and driven by the Holy Church, and even the summons of the Styx, the place where souls returned in the depths of the endless world, were blocked.
Normally, these souls served as attendants to the heroic spirits of warriors who were loyal enough to True Dragon.
During battle, they would transform into various musical instruments, played by loyal souls to produce stirring melodies, bestowing True Dragon's blessings and the heroic spirits' enhancements upon the warriors under True Dragon's command.
The quiet hall at this moment was like a palace belonging to some evil god residing on earth, situated by the banks of a deep, tranquil river.
As it continuously devoured the bones of enemies, it grew larger, and the internal space also expanded due to the Heaven-supporting pillar formed from the Tree of Life's core and the spatial properties of the space bag made from the original Titanoboa's stomach.
At this moment, the interior of the hall had begun to feature overlapping and vast, deep spaces.
Kalon and the other True Dragons rested in the deepest core space of this Temple of heroes. This was the area where the Tree of Life's core was located, and also the origin point for the expansion of the Temple of heroes's internal space.
The other few True Dragon lay sprawled around, and the gigantic pillar formed from the Tree of Life's core, standing between heaven and earth, emitted a faint glow, illuminating the figures of the surrounding few True Dragon in exquisite detail.
The True Dragons in the Dragon clan, due to their excellent diet, gradually increasing wealth, and the growth and enrichment from various resources and experiences, were far more developed than ordinary Chromatic Dragons at this time.
This was the advantage of a True Dragon lord. In fact, those Chromatic Dragons who ate dirt and wandered were often underdeveloped.
Now, facing any True Dragon of the same age in the Dragon clan, they would be easily crushed in terms of strength and size. The True Dragon's might of these young True Dragons could even cause some True Dragon of the same age to fall into deterrence.
The Black Dragon Rosani at this moment was like a large black cat sleeping with its beloved toy, its long tail and limbs forming a semicircle, embracing the giant pillar formed from the Tree of Life's core in its arms.
However, because the Tree of Life's core was too massive, the Black Dragon Rosani appeared as if it was clinging to the pillar. Although the Black Dragon Rosani's current size had grown to eleven meters, among its age group, this Black Dragon was undoubtedly a strong one.
Even in deep sleep, this Black Dragon did not forget to stick out its tongue, occasionally licking the Tree of Life's core, and even gnawing on the Tree of Life's core with its fangs.
However, the Tree of Life's core was no longer an ordinary inanimate object; the Black True Dragon's unconscious actions could not harm it at all.
After being refined into a magical artifact by an Ancient Magician, it possessed extremely mysterious abilities, and even Kalon could not fully grasp the fundamental capabilities of the Tree of Life's core now.
The last fundamental trace of Netis's soul, rescued by Kalon, had already fallen into a deep slumber. This was the price Kalon paid to rescue Netis.
Netis needed to use most of its soul to offset the threat of the descendant of the Desolate God, only then could Kalon act to annihilate the opponent's body and obliterate the opponent's soul.
It was as if Netis and the descendant of the primordial God perished together, but fortunately, the last fundamental trace of the soul could be preserved.
Kalon's massive red body had also grown to over sixteen meters at this time. For a young True Dragon, the concept of sixteen meters was like a fantasy.
And at this time, Kalon had only entered the juvenile stage for about three years. This young Red Dragon still had a sufficiently long juvenile development period, and no one knew what this Red Dragon would look like after completing its full juvenile period; Kalon didn't know either.
Kalon only knew that he seemed to have become the big one among True Dragon. The current Red Dragon, due to its special accessory brain lobe cluster and the channels providing sufficient output for the abundant magic power reserves far exceeding other True Dragon, no longer needed his will to drive his body.
His body, without his conscious will, was already spontaneously breeding and proliferating more body tissues and nerve organs similar to basic blood vessels and magic power transmission cores, causing his body to be more robust than ordinary Red Dragon.
The Red Dragon's head also became wider, and his three pairs of thick True Dragon horns were like gnarled ancient trees growing on his head, yet possessing extraordinary sharpness.
Kalon was now lying next to the Black Dragon Rosani, like a small red mountain. Although the Black Dragon's flesh and blood body was growing fuller day by day, in front of the muscular Red Dragon, it still looked more like a scrawny, black mud loach.
Although Kalon's main brain consciousness had entered a state of rest at this time, a trace of consciousness remained active under the spontaneous operation of the accessory brain lobe cluster.
This trace of consciousness felt the resonant convergence of the Red Dragon's massive body's radiant psionic energy and the Tree of Life's core.
Kalon's psionic energy permeated the Tree of Life's core, and it was this miraculous energy, diffused by the Tree of Life's core, that granted the ability for the fallen heroic souls to persist.
Kalon continuously explored the application of his abilities in his sleep, and also experienced the various manifestations of the Tree of Life's space-creating abilities through the resonance of the Tree of Life's core. The ceaselessly operating accessory brain lobe cluster also recorded this information and data at all times.
It could be said that this Red Dragon was constantly learning and studying the true operational laws of the world, even in its dreams.
Although the Red Dragon's current abilities were insufficient to fully comprehend them, at some point in the future, this accumulated knowledge would transform into a ladder to the heavens. This was the foundation, and also the underlying strength.
Kalon himself had never imagined that he, now a True Dragon with the ability to lie flat, would be thousands of times more diligent than when he previously lacked such qualifications.
But Kalon, from the actions of those Ancient Magicians and the words of Squinty-eyed mage, the Red Dragon, with his overly rich associative abilities, already had a worst and best guess.
This guess also incorporated some things that the former White Tower Magician Lapers told the Red Dragon. Perhaps those mad Ancient Magician were not annihilated overnight because they wanted to research gods, but because these mad Magician caused an even bigger mess.
A mess that required all the powerful gods residing above the Astral Plane, who regarded the erosion of infinite ages as a gentle breeze, to personally intervene and clean up!
The night passed quickly, and Kalon's main sleeping consciousness awoke from its rest. He was disturbed by the noise outside the Temple of heroes.
Stepping over the other True Dragon who were still sleeping in, Kalon, amidst the praise of the heroic spirits, walked out of the Temple of Heroes .
The morning forest was filled with damp, dense fog, and within the mist, a massive, strange creature wandered.
Many Gnoll Warriors confronted this strange creature from a distance, not launching an attack rashly.
This strange creature had long limbs and a neck like a giraffe, and its head was also shaped like a giraffe's skull, but its mouth was like a bird's beak.
Its entire body's flesh and blood seemed to have dried up, and it had no fur, only a thin layer of red skin covering its emaciated body. There were obvious concave indentations at the joints of its bones.
And on both sides of its head, above its eye sockets, grew horns like dry, slender branches, and on its neck also grew horny tissue like dry branches.
Kalon's accessory brain lobe cluster was fully searching its heritage and knowledge, but it could not find any records or information about this strange creature.
However, Kalon also knew that even the Dragon Gods possessed unknown knowledge, let alone the heritage of True Dragon.
He noticed that this strange creature seemed to only wander within the dense fog and dared not step out of it, nor did it show any hostility towards Kalon's group.
Kalon naturally would not actively attack it. Maintaining a cautious attitude towards all unknowns was the most fundamental principle for survival in this endless world.
Kalon simply ordered his subordinate warriors to keep away from that strange creature, because with the Red Dragon's appearance, these warriors who wanted to prove themselves were already eager to make a move and launch an attack.
Only Dragonborn Wolf Sahar, leading the tall Imperial Guard, still stood below the Holy Church, meticulously guarding True Dragon's resting place, without any intention of making a show.
As the sun gradually rose and the mist in the forest dispersed, the strange creature also quietly vanished from Kalon's sight with the dissipating mist. Kalon couldn't even detect what ability this creature used to leave.
Kalon flapped his wings and descended, landing among a group of Magicians. These Magicians were also discussing that strange creature, even using magic crystals to record its appearance. Evidently, these Magician also didn't know the origin of this peculiar creature.
Upon seeing the Red Dragon's arrival, these Magicians couldn't help but bow slightly in respect. The current power and actions of this Red Dragon had made these arrogant Magicians cast aside their ingrained prejudices.
In the eyes of these Magician, the heroes in the Temple of heroes, suspended high in the air, were already equivalent to the Red Dragon's fanatical believers. According to this development, it wouldn't be surprising for this Red Dragon to ascend to the Divine Throne in this manner in the future.
After all, the tens of thousands of people in the Dragon Clans Territory now, if they all became followers of this Red Dragon, would be enough to elevate a True Dragon to a god of Weak Divine Power.
But this was just the beginning. Under the Red Dragon's development, the potential of the Dragon Clans Territory had only just begun to manifest. Perhaps in the future, the Dragon Clans Territory would also become one of the targets coveted by many gods in the heavens.
However, they did not understand the Red Dragon's thoughts. Although becoming a god purely through the power of faith was powerful enough in Kalon's eyes, it also had its limitations. Kalonhad not decided to take this path, only considering it as one of the alternative options.
Just like the Dragon's own path to godhood, the True Dragon of Consecration was also just one of this Red Dragon's alternative options. Speaking of the True Dragon's path to godhood, Kalon had gained a vague understanding of some methods on this path during his exploration and research over this period.
Resisting the influence of innate nature brought by inheritance and bloodline is one of the conditions for becoming a god. Those True Dragon who fully expressed their innate True Dragon nature were also the most ordinary True Dragon, with extremely limited potential.
The few True Dragon who became gods did so because they were naturally powerful, not because they became powerful by becoming gods. Even Tiamat, the Chromatic Dragon Queen who became a god, was unable to completely eliminate the influence of greed in her bloodline and divine duties. This shows how stringent this condition is for True Dragon.
True Dragons must discard the greed for treasures and various influences from their bloodline before devouring the treasures they collect, only then can they proceed to the next step of the ascension ritual.
This condition was very difficult for Kalon, because Kalon could only control his desires and prevent them from affecting his clear will, not because he had no desires.
On the contrary, the stronger Kalon's will was, the stronger his desires were. Possessing absolute free will was his strongest desire.
"Hsiusir, get ready. Our next step will be to explore the ruins left by the Ancient Magician Scholar," Kalon said to Squinty-eyed Mage Hsiusir.
After several months of combat, even though the morale of Kalon's warriors remained high, Kalon, having achieved initial results, needed to let these warriors rest for a period.
He was not like other True Dragon, who treated their subordinates as consumables. These warriors were now capable of becoming the elite foundation for establishing a kingdom.
As long as these warriors were dispersed into the expanded combat groups in certain proportions, many brave warriors could be quickly trained, just like officers.
War-hardened warriors would also bring their style and will into the expanding combat groups. Kalon only needed to provide a little training to establish an army several times the size of the current combat group's warriors.
Therefore, Kalon planned to leave these warriors to manage this base and take turns returning to Ekania Main Plane for rest, while he and the Magician would take the Imperial Guard to explore the ruins left by the Ancient Magician.
It also gave the Elf tribes of this world ample time to react, either choosing to submit or choosing to unite.
By then, Kalon would not need to wage war everywhere, but rather conduct targeted clean-ups to stabilize the situation in this world.
Kalon now had this confidence. Even if it was just him and the Magician with the Imperial Guard, it was not something any random Elf tribe could resist.
Ultimately, Kalon left the Black Dragon Rosani and a portion of the miscellaneous combat group led by Barbarian leader Gibb to garrison the camp. The Temple of heroes would also become the foundation for guarding the camp, along with a number of Kobold auxiliary soldiers.
And with the help of the Tree of Life, these warriors and the Black Dragon Rosani were not worried about being ambushed by daring Elf. The rest of the warriors and True Dragon returned to Ekania Main Plane for rest and to transport the spoils of war back to the territory.
Kalon, along with the Magician and two hundred Imperial Guard led by Wolf Saha, embarked on the path of exploration.
The journey was peaceful, and not a single lurking Elf appeared.
In fact, several small Elf tribes that Kalon and his group encountered on the way even voluntarily opened their camp gates, allowing these warriors to enter and rest.
They were clearly intimidated by the previous battle. Although the Elfs in these tribes disliked or even detested the True Dragon and their group, they had no choice but to set aside their hostility and prejudice and welcome the True Dragon's arrival.
Only the Tree of Life, though not every Tree of Life possessed intelligence, all these Tree of Life possessed simple spirituality.
Upon learning that they would not have to worry about destruction if they submitted, these Tree of Life instead welcomed the True Dragon's rewards, swaying their branches and leaves as if they were dancing.
In the eyes of these Trees of Life, who only sought survival and growth, the True Dragon were undoubtedly powerful beings more suited to be their guardians. After being unable to refuse, the instincts of these Tree of Life led them to make a more advantageous choice.
Kalon's massive body stood before this Tree of Life, which was only about ten meters tall, and his ferocious face softened.
He looked at the Elf Great Elder and several Elf Druid kneeling on the ground in submission, and deliberately lowered his voice, saying, "You have made the right choice. Go, follow my warriors. My warriors will lead you to where you should go."
"There, your Tree of Life will grow vigorously, and your tribe will flourish and become strong. As the first Elf to pledge loyalty to me, you will receive my praise and will equally enjoy all the rights of free citizens within my territory!"
"We obey your great will, Lord True Dragon!" The Elfs, their faces somewhat bitter, returned to pack their bags under the Elder's lead. Facing an unknown future, these Elf inevitably felt worried.
Only this Tree of Life expressed its joyful mood by swaying its branches and leaves.
As a magical creature, it could sense the complete laws from another world that the True Dragon possessed, which was beneficial for the growth of these Tree of Life.
Although migration would cause these Trees of Life to experience some loss in the short term, the limitations on these small Tree of Life were not many.
They only needed to carefully pass through the planar portal, lest their growing branches be swept away by the spatial-temporal currents outside the planar portal.
As Imperial Guard left one by one, Kalon and his group had already accepted the voluntary allegiance of six small Elf tribes before reaching their destination.
Kalon relocated all the Elf from these small tribes to Ekania Main Plane to supplement the territory's population. As for the other large tribes, they were likely still observing.
Kalon was not in a hurry, because they had already reached their destination, facing the ruins left by the Ancient Magician.
This was a vast ruin, but what was most striking was not the ruins left by the Magician, but the World Tree that had been neatly cut down.
Only a ten-meter-high trunk of this World Tree remained in place, but the entire severed flat surface had a diameter of two miles.
Like the base of a huge flattened mountain, the dry bark of the tree trunk was also rough and rugged, like mountain rock.
Kalon and the Magician were observing the remaining body of the World Tree when Netis, who had been in a deep sleep, finally woke up.
Netis's awakened soul seemed to have been replenished with power and became active.
He spoke from under the Red Dragon's scales: "Go north, Kalon, beside the World Tree's body. There's a miraculous thing there, perhaps you'll be interested. Those Magicians settled here because of it, and I was also born because of it."