Elven cultivators

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Autumn of the year 9370 in the Dawn Calendar.

Primordial City, Nine-Tiered Tower.

Enlightenment Platform.

As the name suggests, this is an area specifically created for comprehending the laws.

Prior to this, the Enlightenment Platform was more of a formality than a practical one, and no one used it at all.

But today, it is about to truly live up to its name.

In the very center of the hall, a three-foot-high stone platform stands quietly.

The stone platform is carved from a single piece of green jade, with a smooth, mirror-like surface and intricate runes engraved along its edges.

A stone tablet, about the height of a person, stands on a stone platform. The tablet is a deep blue-green color, and its surface is as smooth as a mirror. However, fine lines can be faintly seen flowing slowly beneath the stone surface, like the rings of an ancient tree or the ripples of a stream, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.

At this moment, the area around the stone platform was filled with elves.

The three elders, Cedric, Elena, Roman, Eleanor... all the clan's high-ranking members stared intently at the turquoise stone tablet, their expressions varied.

As the clan grew stronger, the leaders rarely gathered together like this anymore, except for a very few important meetings.

Today is an exception.

This was because Anton suddenly informed him that he had found a way to help awaken and manifest the power of the laws.

It should be noted that among the current high-ranking members of the clan, the three elders and Cedric are all at the peak of the Gold rank and are striving towards the Legendary rank.

Elena and Roman, having risen to the Gold rank, also aim to awaken the power of the laws.

Although Eleanor is currently only at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment, she will eventually have to cultivate near-divine methods and comprehend the laws.

Upon hearing the news, they immediately dropped everything and rushed over.

"Chieftain, is this the method you spoke of... that can help us comprehend the laws?"

The Third Elder circled the stone platform, his gaze sweeping over the stele with scrutiny and curiosity.

"This is the Enlightenment Stele."

Anton didn't keep anyone in suspense and immediately explained the principles and functions of the Enlightenment Stele in concise language.

After hearing this, the hall fell silent.

The elves looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock.

Sealing one's own understanding of the laws into a stele for others to observe and comprehend... This method is simply unheard of!

They realized the significance of the Enlightenment Stele almost immediately.

As long as legendary experts continuously infuse their insights into the laws, the Enlightenment Stele can be passed down indefinitely.

If more legendary experts are cultivated through the Enlightenment Stele, more Enlightenment Steles can be forged, thus providing more laws for future generations to comprehend, which in turn can cultivate even more legendary experts... thus forming a virtuous cycle.

As the generations progressed, more and more Enlightenment Steles accumulated, encompassing an ever-expanding range of laws, making it easier for the clansmen to awaken and manifest the power of those laws.

High-level combat power will continue to emerge.

This is not a temporary improvement, but a matter concerning the foundation of the clan for thousands of years.

Thinking of this, the three elders exchanged glances, and each saw an uncontrollable excitement in the other's eyes.

This is clearly another remarkable achievement in enhancing the clan's development potential!

The other elves quickly realized this as well, and their gazes toward Anton became increasingly filled with amazement and reverence.

Anton said calmly, "This Enlightenment Stele seals the understanding of the Wood Element Law. It is more suitable for comprehending the laws of plants, life, and thorns. It is not very effective for comprehending other laws."

"However, I will continue to refine more Enlightenment Steles, encompassing more laws."

The elves all showed joy.

The elder could no longer suppress the smile on his face.

After all, he had awakened the Law of Thorns, and this Enlightenment Stele in front of him was perfect for him.

The same goes for the Third Elder.

What he awakened was the Law of Light, a derivative lower law of nature.

It can draw energy from sunlight and convert it into magic or life force, greatly enhancing combat endurance.

Especially during the day.

It can also release the stored light energy all at once, turning it into a light burst attack.

If we were to pinpoint a connection, the Law of Light is somewhat related to the Law of Plants, and perhaps we can gain some insights from this Enlightenment Stele.

Elena was also eager to try.

She hadn't decided which kind of law she wanted to comprehend, but now that she had the Enlightenment Stele, it seemed she no longer needed to hesitate.

Roman was also somewhat interested.

After condensing her magic to its limit, she asked Anton for a near-divine technique called "Golden Wheel Thunder Body," which she is currently studying.

This is a near-divine technique that combines lightning-based killing with physical enhancement.

Its core concept is "forging wheels with thunder, protecting the body with wheels, thunder is generated as the wheels turn, life goes on endlessly".

The cultivator uses the power of thunder to condense a "golden wheel" within his body, which is suspended in each segment of the spine and deeply integrated with the bones, tendons, and blood.

The Golden Wheel is both the core of lightning power and the source of power for physical enhancement.

When the cycle turns, thunder arises; when thunder arises, the body becomes solid; when the body becomes solid, the cycle turns even faster.

The three elements cycle repeatedly, forming a cohesive whole.

More importantly, this near-divine technique originates from the supernatural power "Nine-Ring Golden Vein Thunder Body," and is a simplified version of the latter.

This means that once she breaks through to the third level of power, she can directly switch to cultivating the Nine-Ring Golden Meridian Thunder Body, saving a lot of effort.

Thunder belongs to the Wood element in the Five Elements theory, and can also be used to comprehend the laws through this Enlightenment Stele.

The Second Elder's Wind Feather Escape Technique is the same; wind belongs to the wood element in the Five Elements theory.

Cedric's Mountain-Suppressing Law belongs to the Earth element category, which is incompatible with the Enlightenment Stele, so it cannot be used for the time being.

After that, apart from the Grand Elder who stayed behind to cultivate using the Enlightenment Stele, the other elves all left.

After leaving the Nine Heavens Tower, Anton and Eleanor used their wind manipulation techniques to travel to the Underdark.

Roman followed.

She took out a white feather and blew it upwards.

The feather trembled instantly, broke free from her grasp, and transformed into a wisp of smoke that enveloped her. In a flash, it turned into a white rainbow and flew away, catching up with Anton and Eleanor.

On the way, Anton inquired with Eleanor about the supplies and manpower arrangements in Nine Nether City.

Nine Nether City is the name of that cave dwelling in the Dark Region.

After three years of planning and construction, Jiuyou City was completed at the beginning of the year.

The protective formation that Anton chose for this cave dwelling is called the Nine Nether Cold Abyss Formation.

This formation is adapted to local conditions, drawing upon the cold energy from the earth's underground veins to transform into icy power to weaken the enemy, with a greater emphasis on control and defense.

The name Jiuyou City comes from this.

"In terms of supplies, the allocation has been basically completed."

"The current reserves of these supplies—elixirs, talismans, spirit stones, food, fresh water—are more than enough to last for two or three years, and will be replenished regularly."

"In terms of manpower, I have drawn a full-strength flag squad from the Silvermoon Legion as the main force for future exploration of the Underdark."

"They are currently undergoing acclimatization training in dark areas."

"In addition, based on the list you provided, I sent people out to find races that meet the criteria, and we have finally found two targets recently."

The list Eleanor mentioned refers to the list of surface races that Anton had previously compiled, suitable for activity in the Underdark.

Anton became interested upon hearing this and asked, "Which two?"

"The Scaled Clan and the Cat People."

Anton's eyes flickered, and he nodded slightly.

Among the many races he could think of, these two were ranked relatively high.

The predecessor of the Youlin Clan was the Sea Clan.

It is said that in ancient times, when their ancestors lived in the sea, they were trapped in an underground lake due to geological changes. In order to adapt to the underground environment, they had to evolve many special abilities.

Even after returning to the surface, this ability was still retained.

These abilities include, but are not limited to, the ability to sense the flow direction and biological activity of any underground water in the vicinity through scales.

It has magnetic crystals inside its body, which allows it to accurately locate itself in underground mazes where it has completely lost its sense of direction.

With an extremely slow metabolism, it can survive for up to three months without food, relying on the water seeping from the rock walls.

It can even enter a state of suspended animation to reduce energy consumption.

As a result, the Ghostscale adventurers often take on missions such as underground river exploration and water source surveying, and are quite famous in this field.

As for the cat people, they belong to the feline humanoid race and are born with the characteristics of nocturnal predators.

They are highly skilled climbers, agile, and capable of bursting into extremely fast movements to achieve vertical mobility.

In addition, they possess dark vision and keen perception, enabling them to see clearly in the dark and detect lurking enemies in advance.

In the Underdark, a place with complex terrain and near-three-dimensional space, the cat-people's many abilities make them natural hunters and scouts, more suited to surviving and fighting in this dangerous underground world than most other races.

Anton's mind raced with thoughts, and he gestured for Eleanor to continue.

"After making contact and stating our purpose, both races were happy to become our vassal races and assist us in exploring the Underdark. I have selected some elites from their races to be incorporated into our exploration teams."

"According to the schedule, they should arrive in Jiuyou City today. I will arrange for them to train with the flag team next."

"Would you like to go take a look?"

Anton nodded and was about to speak when Roman interrupted him.

"Anton, I want to be the captain of this exploration team!"

Anton glanced at Roman with surprise, then looked at Eleanor.

The latter helplessly shrugged at him.

Ever since learning that the clan planned to form a main force to explore the Underdark, Roman had been pestering her to be the captain, saying that she was so bored she was practically rusting.

In the end, Eleanor couldn't persuade her otherwise and said that if Anton agreed, she would have no objection.

So as soon as Anton left the Nine Heavens Tower today, she immediately followed and finally seized the opportunity to tell him about it.

After a moment of contemplation, Anton finally nodded under Roman's expectant gaze.

"Alright, the position of captain is now in your hands."

"Yay!"

Roman was overjoyed and instinctively tried to rush over to hug Anton, but Eleanor instinctively pulled him back.

When Roman turned to look at her in confusion, she realized what was happening and coughed lightly, saying, "We're almost at the mining area. Be careful, it won't look good if others see us."

Roman didn't think much of it and agreed with a smile.

Anton didn't notice their subtle actions.

The reason he agreed to let Roman serve as the captain of the exploration team was purely because he considered that only through battle and fighting could Roman, with her personality, comprehend the laws more quickly.

Physical tempering can be rapidly improved with the help of resources and formations, but techniques that approach godhood rely more on personal comprehension. While diligent practice can yield results, they are not significant.

It would be a good thing if Roman could master the Golden Wheel Thunder Body more quickly through combat.

At worst, we can find time to forge another escape-type magical artifact for her, so she can escape in time if things go wrong.