Elven cultivators

"There really is something down there."

Anton's eyes flashed with thought, and he quickly made a decision.

He immediately used the Stone-Moving Technique, his body disappearing into the rock layer like a swimming fish.

The rocks before him receded like ripples on water parted by an invisible force, revealing a narrow passage that could only accommodate one person at a time.

Before long, Anton arrived at the location of the invisible barrier.

Before him lay a metal wall.

The walls are a deep, dark gray with a dull sheen similar to aged silver.

The runes engraved on it are densely packed, layer upon layer, like a giant spider web covering the entire wall.

Perhaps due to the passage of time, most of these runes have become blurred and indistinct, with broken and incomplete lines, and some are even left with only shallow indentations.

If you don't look closely, you can hardly see the original outline.

A flash of sword light.

laugh!

With a soft sound, a slit was cut in the metal wall, just wide enough for one person to enter.

Anton sidestepped through the crevice and fell inside.

What comes into view is a wide corridor.

The air was murky and stagnant, filled with a stench of rust and decay.

That was the smell of oxidized metal and decaying organic matter, indicating that no living person had set foot in this space for a long time.

Anton extended his divine sense forward, but then frowned.

His consciousness was suppressed here.

The divine sense that was originally enough to cover a radius of hundreds of kilometers was compressed to a range of less than fifty meters here.

It's not because of the magic circle.

There may have been some kind of shielding array here before, but now the runes are dim, the energy has long since dissipated, and it has become completely ineffective.

After a brief investigation, Anton quickly discovered that what limited his consciousness was the unknown metal that made up the walls and the ground.

This metal seems to have a natural suppressive effect on mental power, acting like an invisible barrier that tightly binds the spread of divine consciousness to a very small area.

Anton was secretly amazed.

There are many materials that can suppress or isolate spiritual power, but materials that can severely suppress even the spiritual sense of a Golden Core cultivator are extremely rare.

"It seems that this ancient civilization was quite accomplished in alchemy and enchanting."

Anton thought to himself as he continued walking forward.

At the end of the corridor, a heavy alloy door blocked the way.

The gate is about eight meters high and five meters wide, and its surface is covered with dense, blood-red runes.

The rune lines twisted like earthworms, vaguely forming some kind of eerie pattern, like long-dried bloodstains.

Judging from the arrangement of the runes and the traces of energy flow, it is most likely a defensive measure.

If someone attempts to force their way in, the rune will activate and unleash a certain attack.

However, judging from the dim luster and energy fluctuations of these runes, they have clearly been ineffective for a long time.

Too much time has passed; even the most exquisite runes cannot withstand the erosion of time.

The sword flashed again, slicing the metal door into several pieces.

Before the shattered door panel could even hit the ground, Anton swept it away with his sleeve.

Behind the door was a spacious hall, about seven or eight hundred square meters, square and neatly arranged as if it had been measured with a ruler.

Anton's gaze was quickly drawn to the object on the ground.

The six golems lay sprawled on the ground, motionless.

Their appearance is very similar to the previous legendary golem, only much smaller, about two meters tall.

Some of the golems had their chests pierced, exposing broken energy pipes inside.

Some of the golems had their heads shattered, leaving only half a mask.

Some golems had their limbs twisted, as if they had been forcibly broken by some enormous force.

Anton stepped forward and bent down to examine one of the more intact golems.

Materials, construction, energy circuits... every detail is completely different from the mainstream alchemical golem systems he knows.

But with his keen eyesight, he could still roughly judge the strength of these golems.

Conservative estimates suggest that each of them possesses a combat strength at the gold rank.

Without saying a word, Anton rolled up his sleeve and put all the remains of the six golems into his sleeve.

Even though they are damaged, the remains of these golems are still very valuable and worth taking back for research.

At worst, it can be broken down into reusable materials.

After that, Anton began to investigate everywhere.

The layout of the hall is extremely simple.

Apart from the main entrance, the three walls are smooth metal surfaces, without any doors, windows, or passageways. The floor is also as smooth as a mirror, without even a single crack.

His gaze fell on the floor at the far end of the hall.

There is a circular pattern engraved there.

It wasn't just ordinary decoration; it was some kind of magic array.

Anton crouched down and examined it carefully.

The lines of the magic circle were delicate and precise, arranged in a pattern he had never seen before, forming a complex and symmetrical geometric design.

"A teleportation array?"

A guess flashed through Anton's mind.

Judging from the structure of the magic circle and the remaining energy traces, this is very likely a directional teleportation array.

However, the magic array had long since failed and was completely unusable.

After a moment's thought, Anton did not delve further into the matter. Instead, he summoned his sword, which transformed into a sharp streak of light and slashed fiercely down towards the ground.

Chi Chi!

The metal floor cracked open with a neat fissure, revealing the dark space beneath.

A stale, musty air gushed out from the crack, carrying an even stronger rusty smell than the previous layer.

Anton jumped down.

Below is a much larger space, at least five times larger than the previous one.

Inside are hundreds of stone chambers, their doors tightly shut, silent as a tomb.

Anton examined each of the stone chambers and found that most of them were furnished very simply, resembling dormitories or similar living quarters.

"Is this floor a residential area...?"

Anton understood.

This floor is clearly the living area for the base personnel.

Judging from the number and layout of the stone chambers, this base once housed a considerable number of people.

At least four or five hundred people.

He continued walking and soon discovered an even larger room.

The ceiling here is almost twice as high as that of a normal stone chamber, and the space is spacious. Empty metal bookshelves stand in front of the two walls, extending from the ground to the ceiling.

The bookshelves are spaced very far apart, enough for multiple people to walk through at the same time.

"library?"

Anton glanced at the empty bookshelves and shook his head slightly.

There were no books on the bookshelf, not even a scrap of paper.

However, more than a dozen damaged golems were discovered along the way.

Without any hesitation, Anton rolled up his sleeves and pocketed them all.

After exploring the entire floor, he used the same trick again, breaking through the metal floor to reach the next floor.

This floor is still more spacious than the floor above.

The stone chambers inside are no longer simply living spaces, but have been transformed into various functional areas.

Unfortunately, without exception, they were all completely empty.

Anton broke through the metal base plate again, but this time what was exposed underneath was a thick layer of rock.

"That's it."

Anton's eyes flickered slightly.

Judging from the building's layout and functional zoning, this should be a large-scale experimental base.

The uppermost cave is probably one of the functional buildings of the experimental base, specifically used to cultivate Blood Soul Crystal Clusters.

Or more accurately, it is used to "harvest" life energy and transform it into Blood Soul Crystals, a resource that is easy to store and use.

That legendary golem was a guardian protecting the cave and preventing outsiders from entering.

The three lower levels are the entrance area, residential area, and experimental area, which together form the main body of the base.

The scattered golem remains on each floor, along with the deadly damage they bore, indicated that a battle had taken place here.

As for who the two sides were and what they were fighting for, Anton had no idea.

The only thing he was certain of was that the owner of this experimental base had either left or perished, abandoning everything here in the depths of the Dark Territory, until he discovered it today.

"Unfortunately, we didn't find anything of value."

Anton looked around and shook his head slightly.

Although the expedition yielded a considerable amount of golem remains, it failed to find any truly valuable documents, data, or complete experimental records.

However, it can't be said that they returned empty-handed.

The Blood Soul Crystal Cluster was the greatest reward.

With this, the problem of cultivation resources for clan power cultivators can be greatly alleviated.

That legendary golem is also of great research value.

If we can analyze its structural principles, it might provide some inspiration for the forging of Daoist weapons.

In addition, the unique metallic materials that make up this experimental base are also extremely valuable and can be used to refine equipment or build facilities.

However, Anton did not immediately dismantle the base to take away the materials.

We can explore it slowly when we have more time later.

……

Outside the cave, basin

The surviving subterranean creatures were disarmed and gathered in an open area in the center of the basin, where they were guarded by the elves.

They all hung their heads dejectedly, curled up on the ground, and looked extremely listless.

The blood-red barrier's effect of draining life force was too domineering. Even though the barrier only lasted for less than half an hour, it still severely damaged their vitality.

In contrast, the elven army was in much better condition.

With the regenerative and calming potions in place, and after the crimson barrier dissipated and they drank several more bottles of potions, they have now recovered about 70-80% of their fighting strength.

They are more than capable of guarding these listless subterranean creatures.

Not to mention, the terrifying power that An Dong displayed when he suppressed the legendary golem and crushed Gusto and the leader of the rock beast demon had long since crushed the last bit of resistance of these underground creatures.

At this moment, they were crouching on the ground, not even having the courage to look up and meet the eyes of the elven soldiers, let alone rise up in resistance.

When Anton emerged from the cave, Roman was directing his soldiers to take stock of the battle damage. Upon seeing him come out, Roman immediately came to greet him.

"Anton, what's the situation inside?"

"We've found something interesting. We'll talk about it when we get back." Anton didn't explain further. "Leave one team to guard the cave, and the rest of you go back to the city to rest. Take all these prisoners back to Nine Nether City and make them slaves."

"clear."

Roman responded decisively, turned to the soldiers, and began to make arrangements.

Anton didn't linger any longer; he transformed into a streak of light and soared into the sky, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

He was in a hurry to go back and study the legendary golem.