Elven cultivators

"The Marked Clan?"

Everyone looked puzzled.

They had never heard of this race.

Wyatt, however, knew some information and explained, "The Markers are also called the Tattooed People or the Branders."

"I heard that they look somewhat similar to elves, with pointed ears, slender figures, and delicate features, but they are shorter and have a grayish complexion."

"The most distinctive feature of the Marked Tribe is their hands. The skin from their fingertips to their wrists is covered with dark blue lines, which they are born with and that gradually spread as they age."

"Because of these patterns, their hands can easily identify various materials and distinguish the subtle differences in texture between different materials that are difficult to detect with the naked eye. As a result, they are very good at creation and invention, and can be said to be natural alchemists and enchanters."

Everyone was even more astonished upon hearing this.

Thor the Stone Golem asked curiously, "Why have I never heard of such a powerful race before?"

Wyatt sighed, "That's exactly what's wrong with it."

"During the era of dragon rule, the dragonborn saw the talent of the Marked race and captured them on a large scale to serve as slaves, exploiting and oppressing them. Those who dared to resist were killed on the spot, to the point that the Marked race was once on the verge of extinction."

"It wasn't until the Dragon Cities in various places were destroyed that these Marked Clan members were liberated. However, their numbers had already been reduced to less than one-tenth. After hearing about this, the clans sent people to the Dragon Cities in various places to recruit the Marked Clan members. It is said that this order was personally issued by Lord Andong."

"Many alchemy workshops in the City of Primordial now employ craftsmen from the Engraving Clan."

Everyone suddenly realized what had happened and felt sympathy for the Marked Clan's plight, which in turn fueled their resentment towards the Dragon Clan.

"The Marked Clan is really pitiful."

"Damn dragons, they're so cruel."

"Fortunately, the dragon race is also on the verge of extinction now."

Wyatt looked at Harrison and returned to the main topic: "You still haven't told me how that Marked Race member became a disciple of the Primordial City?"

Harrison said, "I heard it's because he improved the magic core, greatly increasing energy efficiency, and made a great contribution."

"An improved magic core? That's impressive..."

The cat people marveled.

They knew that the clan was currently expanding its army of Dao soldiers and had a huge demand for magic cores.

At this time, it is perfectly timed to develop a more powerful magic core.

No wonder he was directly promoted to a disciple of Taichu City.

At this moment, Wyatt noticed that Nighteye hadn't uttered a sound from beginning to end.

He turned his head and saw Ye Tong frowning and deep in thought.

"Captain?" Wyatt looked at her in confusion.

Ye Tong snapped out of her daze and suddenly pointed to an open area about twenty meters away, saying, "Damon, dig there."

Damon is Thor the Stone Golem in the party.

Although somewhat bewildered by Night's sudden command, Damon complied, muttering a reply before striding forward and digging his thick forelimbs deep into the ground.

The other team members looked at each other, but watched quietly.

Ye Tong stared at the excavated ground, her eyes flashing.

The "Mysterious Yin Night Tour" she cultivates is a technique based on the ancient water element and the Yin-related Dao.

Taking the meaning of "the mysterious yin nourishes the spirit, and the night travels and transforms into form", it integrates the secrets of the innate yin and yang creation.

According to ancient texts, when one cultivates to a high level, one can travel outside the body at night, perceive the world in a spiritual form, and thus comprehend the mysteries of the laws of heaven and earth.

Of course, she is still far from that level; she hasn't even touched the threshold.

Even so, after practicing the technique, her five senses and intuition would be greatly enhanced at night or in dark environments, becoming several times more acute than before.

From the moment she arrived, she sensed a chilling aura emanating from that place that was more sinister than other areas, which particularly bothered her.

Thor Stone Golems are natural burrowers, able to move freely through rocks.

In a short while, a pit several meters deep was dug into the ground, and rubble was dug out and scattered to the side.

Damon also stopped moving.

"Sir, there's something down there."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then quickly stepped forward, their eyes all turning to the pit.

Under the glow of the fluorescent moss, a grayish-white arm emerged from the rubble, its knuckles curled and stiff as a withered branch.

The skin is covered with a layer of fine, grayish-brown scales, a characteristic of the Bladeclaw Clan.

"Clear away the rubble around here," Night Eyes said in a deep voice.

The Thor Stone Monster quickened its pace, digging up large chunks of rubble and soil, and soon, more limbs emerged from the ground.

One, two, three... a total of thirteen Bladeclaw Clan corpses were buried deep in the pit, piled up and squeezed together like trash that had been carelessly discarded.

A sweet, rotten smell filled the air, mixed with the stench of earth, making one's stomach churn.

The Bladeclaw Clan members in the group had ashen faces.

He recognized the bodies.

They were the clansmen who had recently gone missing.

Although his face was swollen and black, the scales on his body and his equipment were still faintly discernible.

The Bladeclaw Clan member, his face ashen, jumped into the pit and crouched down to examine the corpse.

He soon made a discovery.

"Captain, it must have been the dark elves who did it."

The Bladeclaw Clan pointed to the wounds on the corpse and said.

The wounds had a charred, charcoal-like texture, with fine, hair-like charred cracks spreading outwards.

"Dark elves' enchanted weapons are generally coated with demonic toxins. Wounds caused by such weapons will not have the skin and flesh curl up normally at the edges, but will quickly dry and carbonize, which is what is happening now."

"In addition, the wounds on these corpses are mostly in vital areas, with very few wounds elsewhere. This swift and efficient method is also commonly used by dark elves who are skilled in killing."

The expressions of everyone present immediately became extremely solemn.

As one of the three major races of the Underdark, the Dark Elves, though lacking the bizarre and deadly supernatural abilities of Mind Flayers and Eyeflayers, are natural warriors and assassins, renowned for their cruelty, cunning, and exquisite killing skills, striking fear into the hearts of countless subterranean races.

More importantly, dark elves live in family units and never act alone when they appear.

"It seems there are dark elves active in this area."

Night Eyes broke the silence and made a decisive decision.

"Wyatt, use the communication talisman to report this to your superiors immediately."

"Yes, Captain." Wyatt immediately took out a communication talisman.

Ye Tong glanced at the others and said in a deep voice, "Pack your things and prepare to return to Nine Nether City."

No one objected.

Dark elves are not easy opponents.

Their small squad is fine against a small number of dark elves, but if they encounter a large enemy force, they'll probably be wiped out here.

The group began to collect the corpses of the Bladeclaw Clan, wrapping the remains and storing them in their dimensional bags, preparing to take them back for burial.

A moment later, the group set off again, retracing their steps.

Not far away, Ye Tong suddenly stopped and snapped her fingers.

A wisp of cold air shot out from his fingertips, as thin as a hair, silently disappearing into the shadow of a recessed corner of a rock wall ahead.

A muffled groan suddenly came from the shadows, followed by a figure staggering out of the shadows.

Wyatt and the others were startled and quickly raised their weapons to look. By the light emitted by the surrounding glowing moss, they could quickly make out the face of the figure.

She has a slender and shapely figure with curves, and her skin is dark gray.

Her long, silver-white hair was tied into a neat ponytail. Her face was exquisite but cold and hard like an ice sculpture. Her pointed ears peeked out from between her hair, and there were several small silver rings on the edge of her earlobes.

What is most striking are her eyes, with pupils that gleam with a dark red sheen, like two embers about to go out in the darkness, radiating a dangerous and eerie light.

Dark Elf!

Wyatt and the others' expressions changed, completely unaware that an enemy was lurking right next to them.

They didn't notice anything unusual along the way. If their captain hadn't intervened, they probably wouldn't have been able to react until the dark elves launched their attack.

The consequences of that would be unimaginable.

At that moment, the dark elf was kneeling on one knee on the ground.

Her lips were purple, her teeth were grinding together, and her body was trembling uncontrollably from the cold, but she stubbornly refused to collapse. She just stared intently at Ye Tong, her eyes filled with horror and disbelief.

She didn't understand why her disguise had been seen through.

Ye Tong chuckled inwardly.

To deceive her five senses, you'd need to be at the Gold level.

How dare a Black Iron rank cultivator hide his head and tail in front of her?

The Xuan Yin refers to extreme Yin and cold; those who are affected feel as if they have fallen into an ice cave, their Qi and blood stagnate, and this dark elf will not be able to get up for a while.

"Don't let your guard down, there's more than one lurking." Nightshade's voice interrupted everyone's shock. "Be careful."

Before the words were finished, several sharp whooshing sounds suddenly rang out in the darkness.

Five figures emerged simultaneously from the shadows in different directions, rushing towards the group with astonishing speed.

The battle erupted in an instant.

Ye Tong suddenly took a step forward, her figure instantly becoming elusive like flowing water, leaving behind blurry afterimages in the darkness.

Water Shadow Step.

This is the core movement technique of "Xuan Yin Ye You Pian", which is derived from the idea that "water has no constant shape and shadow has no fixed trace".

When in operation, its form is like a reflection in a stream; it seems to be there, but when you reach out to grab it, you find nothing.

The dark elf's blade came swiftly, but missed its target, piercing through the afterimage. The hollow touch of the sword tip made her heart skip a beat, and she decisively dodged to the side.

But it was too late. Nightshade had already closed in, his five fingers forming a claw, reaching for the Dark Elf's throat.

The cat-girl's hands were covered with a pair of five-fingered claw gloves.

This is a Yin-attribute magical artifact that she specially exchanged, and it is very suitable for the "Mysterious Yin Night Tour Chapter".

The sudden flash of cold light in her vision caused the dark elf's pupils to shrink sharply. She instinctively leaned back, barely avoiding the fatal blow, but could not dodge the second attack that followed.

Night's Eye transformed its claws into a palm, striking the dark elf in the chest.

The chilling aura of the Xuan Yin Finger penetrated his body, and the dark elf let out a muffled groan, his movements suddenly freezing, before he fell heavily to the ground.

Before she could catch her breath, Ye Tong had already reached out with lightning speed and torn her throat apart.

Blood spurted out in an instant.

In just over ten breaths, a mid-tier Dark Elf fell to the ground and died.

The other four dark elves witnessed this scene, and their hearts sank.

The strength of these people in front of me is unexpectedly formidable.

Leaving aside the cunning cat-woman girl, the others are equally powerful.

They are well-equipped, each wearing at least one piece of luminous magical gear, and they also use a type of magical scroll never seen before, making them very difficult to deal with.

After a brief exchange of glances, the remaining four dark elves quickly reached a tacit understanding.

withdraw.

They exerted their strength simultaneously, forcing back their respective opponents, and then disappeared into the darkness without looking back, their speed astonishing.

As for their companion lying motionless on the ground, they didn't even glance at him.

Cold-blooded and resolute.

This is the survival rule ingrained in the bones of the dark elves.

To them, companions who have lost their fighting ability are a burden and have no value whatsoever.

If you have to give up something, then give it up!

Night Eyes stopped her companion from giving chase.

"Don't chase after them. Dark elves are very cunning. Who knows what traps they might set ahead, or what dangerous places they might lead us to?"

She paused, her gaze sweeping over everyone. "We've only just set foot in this area, and we're unfamiliar with the place and its people, so it's best to be cautious."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Night Eyes then looked at the dark elf on the ground and gave a deep command:

"Tie her up and take her back to be dealt with by the higher-ups."