Elven cultivators

Nine-tiered Heavenly Tower, Study.

Anton sat behind the long table, gazing at the parchment spread out before him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

That was the cave plan for that ley line node in the Dark Region.

The operation of the City of the Beginning is now basically on track.

The array cluster is operating stably, and the cultivation of new varieties in the plant garden and animal garden is also proceeding in an orderly manner.

Next, he only needs to maintain and improve the formation regularly, without having to devote too much energy to it.

Thus, the plan to build the Dark Territory Cave, which had been shelved until now, was finally put back on the agenda.

Compared to the Primordial City, the planning of this cave dwelling is much simpler.

After all, it doesn't need to function as a cultivation holy land or a resource production base; it only needs to exist as a bridgehead for exploring the Dark Regions.

At best, it provided a safe haven, supplies, and a place to store spoils for the tribesmen who ventured deep underground.

That's it.

Therefore, building this cave dwelling itself did not take too much time.

Anton roughly estimated that it would be completed in two or three years at most.

He was more concerned about something else than building the cave dwelling.

manpower.

The Darklands are harsh environments with complex terrain. They are perpetually dark, with damp and cold air, and are teeming with various underground monsters.

Even with various talismans to improve exploration efficiency and enhance survivability, ordinary elves would still find it difficult to move around there.

Limited field of vision, difficulty in determining direction, and a far less acute sense of danger compared to being on the surface... these are all problems that cannot be completely solved with talismans.

Too many casualties would be a heavy blow to a clan with a small population.

No matter how much you gain from exploring the Darklands, the rewards will be significantly less.

Ideally, a team specifically adapted to the dark environment should be formed to carry out exploration work efficiently.

In this respect, certain races have a unique advantage.

Anton pondered for a moment, then picked up a blank parchment from the table and began to write down the names of the eligible races.

Tide Cave Dwarfs, Scaled Race, Cat People, Stone-Skinned Ones, Halflings...

Although these races live on the surface world, their racial characteristics make them more suited to moving around in the Underdark than other races.

Of course, Anton could also take a more direct approach, which is to directly recruit the native races of the Underdark.

The native races of the Underdark are naturally adapted to the underground environment, an advantage that no surface race can match.

Furthermore, the native races are more familiar with the terrain of the Underdark, understand the distribution of power in the surrounding areas, and know the habits, weaknesses, and activity patterns of other subterranean races.

This is an advantage in intelligence.

However, on the other hand, recruiting local ethnic groups also has many drawbacks that cannot be ignored.

The primary issue is loyalty.

The concept of "loyalty" does not exist in the Underdark.

Alliances, vassalage, and employment relationships among surface races are based on a relatively stable social order and common interests.

But the Underdark operates on a brutal law of survival of the fittest, where betrayal and treachery are the norm.

Perhaps they will now show a submissive attitude and obey your orders out of fear of your strength.

But if they encounter a more powerful enemy, they will not hesitate to betray and abandon you, and turn around and run away.

They might even deliberately lead you into a desperate situation to create an opportunity for themselves to escape.

Recruiting trustworthy native races from the Underdark is no easy task.

"Let's try recruiting races from the surface world first. If that doesn't work, then we can consider the native races of the Underdark."

"Anyway, it will take another two or three years to complete the cave dwelling, so there is enough time to slowly recruit people."

After writing the last word, he put down his pen and lightly touched the paper with his finger.

The parchment folds automatically, its edges tighten, its wings unfold, and in the blink of an eye, it transforms into a graceful paper crane.

It circled above the desk once, as if confirming its direction, then flapped its wings and flew out the window, disappearing in an instant.

After dealing with this matter, Anton's thoughts turned to another.

He had previously conceived of a method to help other peak-level Gold-ranked members of the clan manifest the laws, thereby strengthening the clan's top combat power.

He has been thinking about this for some time now, and he has finally made progress.

The manifestation of laws cannot be forced through brute force, nor can it be catalyzed by elixirs.

The only thing we can do is provide them with an opportunity.

An opportunity that makes it easier for them to grasp the essence of the law.

Anton consulted numerous ancient texts in the Great Dao Jade Slips and sifted through dozens of methods before finally finding what he considered the most suitable solution.

The Enlightenment Stele.

The so-called Enlightenment Stele, as the name suggests, is a stone tablet that carries insights into the laws of nature.

It is not simply a recording tool, but a higher-level medium for inheritance.

Golden Core cultivators use their profound understanding of a certain law, employing their divine sense as a pen and their magical power as ink, to "imprint" it into spiritual materials.

Once the stone tablet is completed, visitors can enter a dreamlike realm by touching it with their spiritual sense.

In the illusion, observers can personally experience the various insights gained by the stone tablet maker during his enlightenment, thereby enhancing their understanding and comprehension of the laws.

That is a form of transmission that far surpasses written or oral tradition.

The reason why Anton was able to overcome the tribulation of inner demons so smoothly when he was condensing his core was largely due to the twenty-three rehearsals of the Inner Demon Induction.

He had "experienced" the various changes of the inner demon tribulation in advance, so that he could deal with it calmly when he actually faced it.

The function of the Enlightenment Stele is similar to that of the Inner Demon Guide.

It doesn't directly impart insights, but rather allows observers to "personally experience" the enlightenment process of those who came before.

This experiential transmission is far more likely to trigger a moment of enlightenment in the observer than any written record.

Of course, the Enlightenment Stele is not without its limitations.

First, the alchemist must have a fairly deep understanding of a certain law.

Only in this way can the key points, the underlying mechanisms, and the changes be dissected, sorted out, and reproduced one by one, and completely sealed into the stone tablet.

Secondly, crafting the Enlightenment Stele requires extremely high standards in terms of materials and cultivation level.

The stone tablet itself must be made of spiritual materials.

Spiritual jade, ten-thousand-year-old cold iron, extraterrestrial meteorite crystals... In the world of cultivation, these can all be used as core materials for refining the Enlightenment Stele.

However, on the Dawn Continent, it is necessary to find corresponding alternative materials.

It goes without saying that anything that can replace these materials must be extremely rare and precious.

In terms of cultivation level, the refiner must be at least a Golden Core cultivator.

Only cultivators who successfully condense their inner core can truly touch the threshold of the laws of heaven and earth, and are qualified to seal their own insights into the stele.

Finally, crafting the Enlightenment Stele was extremely mentally and physically demanding.

Using divine sense to create a spiritual space within the stele, and then using magical power to "imprint" one's understanding of the laws into it, the whole process is like building a miniature spiritual temple in the void.

Every detail must be precise; otherwise, at best the stone tablet will be ruined, and at worst the craftsman's mind will be damaged.

Even with Anton's current cultivation level, it would take him several years to refine an Enlightenment Stele.

Moreover, the effects of the Enlightenment Stele are not without limitations.

The insights into the laws sealed within each stone tablet will gradually weaken as the number of times they are viewed increases.

Like ink rubbings, each rubbing fades the ink a little, until it eventually disappears without a trace.

Therefore, Golden Core cultivators need to periodically re-inject their insights into the laws to maintain the effectiveness of the stone tablet.

For this reason, sects in the cultivation world generally strictly control the number of times the Enlightenment Stele can be used, and only a very few geniuses can obtain the precious opportunity to use it.

Secondly, the effects of the Enlightenment Stele vary from person to person.

Different people may have different ways of understanding the same principle.

The principles of water are all-encompassing.

Some people have gleaned the concept of combining strength and gentleness from the "tides".

Some people have gleaned the concepts of solidification and freezing from the word "frost".

Some people have gleaned insights of change and concealment from the "fog".

How much an observer can gain from it, and to what extent they can apply it to other situations, ultimately depends on their own understanding and accumulated knowledge.

Ultimately, the Enlightenment Stele only provides a possible path, not the only answer.

Observers need to forge their own path along this route in order to truly touch the threshold of the rules.

Regardless, the benefits of the Enlightenment Stele for understanding the laws are undeniable.

Even for Anton personally, the process of refining the Enlightenment Stele was a process of re-examining and deepening his understanding of the laws, a profound review of the laws.

Those fleeting flashes of inspiration during daily cultivation, and insights that were too complex to savor during battle, will all be re-examined, refined, and refined in this process, deepening his understanding and perception of the laws.

Kill two birds with one stone.

With this in mind, Anton made up his mind.

He now possesses the two supernatural powers of Northern Darkness True Water and Void One Primordial Life Qi, and his understanding of the laws of water and wood is the most profound, enough to imprint the corresponding law insights into the stele.

As for the other supernatural abilities, namely Yuan Yi Zhen Gang, Liu Ding Shen Huo, Xuan Huang Qin Long Shou, and Da Luo Tian Xiu, they are still being cultivated, and their understanding of the corresponding laws is not yet thorough enough.

Needless to say, Kendo is even more so.

Although he has initially integrated the three paths of killing, extreme, and transformation, his understanding of time and space, cause and effect, and the laws of life and death is still at a very superficial level, far from sufficient to be infused into the Enlightenment Stele.

But it doesn't matter.

It will take about five or six years to refine the two Enlightenment Steles. By then, he will definitely have mastered the remaining supernatural powers.

We can certainly continue to refine new Enlightenment Steles.

"First, refine the Enlightenment Stele of the Wood Element Law."

Anton thought of the Grand Elder, who had the deepest accumulation of knowledge and had awakened the Law of Thorns.

Once the Enlightenment Stele is completed, the Grand Elder will be allowed to observe and learn from it.

If he can gain inspiration from this and successfully manifest the law, the Silver Moon Clan will gain another legendary warrior, greatly increasing their strength.

As Anton was pondering the specific arrangements for the next step, his expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly reached out and grabbed.

The next instant, a paper crane flew through the void and landed steadily in his palm, automatically unfolding into a flat sheet of paper.

He looked down and scanned the area, his gaze slightly narrowed.

This was intelligence compiled and transmitted by the document office. The paper contained only a few lines of text, yet it made his expression turn serious.

"The allied forces have completed their assembly in the Holy Dragon Mountains and are launching an attack on the Annihilation Fortress."

Anton put down the letter and looked north through the window of the Nine Heavens Tower.

Hundreds of thousands of miles away, a war that would determine the fate of the entire continent had begun.