Elven cultivators

Autumn of the year 9406 in the Dawn Calendar.

A sudden piece of news, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirred up ripples across the Eldron Plains and the Green Highlands.

The Silvermoon Clan, which rules these two vast territories, suddenly announced a surprising decision:

From this day forward, the clan will officially accept half-elves and grant them the treatment of a vassal race.

Any half-elf who is willing to come and seek refuge, no matter where they come from, can find a place to live in the Eldron Plains or the Green Highlands.

This declaration did not actually cause much of a stir in Eldron Plains and Green Highlands.

After all, the people here are used to the Silvermoon Clan's unexpected actions from time to time.

From accepting large numbers of beast-born demi-humans, to allowing vassal races to become disciples of the Primordial City, and now opening its doors to half-elves...

To many, this was just another of the many astonishing feats of the Silvermoon Clan.

They've already accepted beast-like subhuman races like cat-people and dog-people, so adding another half-elf doesn't seem like such a groundbreaking event.

However, when this declaration was spread to more distant places through the Silvermoon Clan's trade network that spanned most of the Dawn Continent, the reaction it triggered far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Most racial factions reacted differently to this.

They either didn't understand, they mocked, or they watched coldly.

After all, the half-elf race, a hybrid race, has always had an awkward position on the Dawn Continent, and they don't have outstanding talents.

The elves do not recognize them, the humans regard them as playthings, and the dwarves and orcs do not want to have anything to do with them.

In most people's eyes, the Silvermoon Clan's move was nothing more than asking for trouble.

However, they only grumbled about it in private and did not comment much on the Silvermoon Clan's actions.

Only those powers that relied heavily on the slave trade for income reacted much more violently.

Half-elves have always been highly sought after in the slave market.

They are exquisitely beautiful, gentle in nature, and live much longer than ordinary humans, making them the favorite playthings of the powerful and wealthy.

This declaration by the Silvermoon Clan is tantamount to cutting off their source of income.

In a short time, many forces secretly colluded, attempting to unite and put pressure on the Silvermoon Clan.

They exchanged information and discussed countermeasures through various channels, and some even proposed to organize a coalition army to teach this arrogant elven clan a lesson.

However, these connections quickly fizzled out.

The Silvermoon Clan is not a pushover.

The formidable military power that rules over two major regions is enough to make any force think twice before taking action.

Moreover, behind the Silvermoon Clan stands the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint.

The peak of his legendary strength, coupled with the formidable reputation he has accumulated over the past two decades on the subspace battlefield, is enough to dispel any inappropriate thoughts that most people might have.

Those forces that had initially clamored to teach the Silvermoon Clan a lesson soon fell silent.

It was as if the previous uproar was just a farce.

Of course, it's also possible that they suppressed their dissatisfaction, hiding it in the shadows and waiting for the right opportunity.

In stark contrast to the reactions of these forces were the half-elves scattered throughout the continent.

The Silvermoon Clan's declaration was like a ray of light in the darkness for them.

Many of them have been on the run since birth. They migrate from one place to another, never having a place they can call "home".

Neither recognized by the elves nor accepted by human society, they could only survive in the cracks, walking on thin ice.

And then there are the slave-hunting teams, like hyenas that have caught the scent of blood, constantly searching for their tracks.

Their living space is getting narrower and narrower, as if the whole world is pushing them into the abyss.

Now, finally someone has extended a helping hand to them.

After the news spread, the half-elf communities across the continent were almost simultaneously in an uproar.

Those half-elves who had long hidden in remote valleys, deep swamps, and abandoned mines began to emerge from their hiding places and start migrating eastward across the continent.

In the days that followed, half-elves began to appear on roads throughout the continent.

They traveled in groups of three or five, or alone, with their families in tow, carrying tattered bundles, braving the scorching sun and wind and rain, all heading in the same direction.

The migrating crowds gradually converged, like countless small streams flowing from all over the continent, eventually forming an undeniable torrent that surged eastward across the continent.

……

The Primordial Spirit Realm, the Nine Heavens Tower.

The puppet workshop's doors were tightly shut, shutting out all the noise and commotion from the outside world.

Anton stood in the center of the workshop, his gaze fixed on the banner that floated silently in the air in front of him.

The banner was entirely black, made of neither silk nor hemp, with faint dark red patterns visible on its surface, like dried bloodstains, appearing and disappearing in the dim light.

Thick, grayish-white mist swirled around the banners, rising and falling like the slow breathing of a living thing.

Anton raised his hand and pressed down lightly.

Magical power surged from his palm like a tide, flowing into the Soul Gathering Banner.

The dark red patterns on the flag suddenly lit up, like a lit fuse, and the light spread outwards along the patterns, enveloping the entire banner in an eerie scarlet glow.

The gray-white mist swirling around the banner seemed to be drawn by some invisible force, and began to converge towards the center of the banner.

The mist surged, compressed, and solidified, like boiling soup, gradually outlining human figures.

The limbs, torso, head... the outlines became clearer and the lines more distinct.

As the last wisp of mist was incorporated into the outline, the crimson light abruptly vanished.

One by one, human-shaped phantoms silently drifted out from the banners.

Their bodies were translucent grayish-white, like the condensation of moonlight mist, but unlike the elusive nature of ordinary souls, they appeared quite solid, as if compressed to the extreme by some kind of force.

They were dressed in standard gray-black armor, with layers of armor plates like scales, and faint dark red patterns flowing along the edges, as if dried blood had been branded deep into the armor.

The helmet covered his face, revealing only two eerie green spots around his eye sockets, which flickered slightly in the darkness like two inextinguishable will-o'-the-wisps.

They held various weapons in their hands.

Long swords, short swords, spears, crossbows... a variety of weapons, yet all gleaming with a cold, eerie light.

The entire line of ghostly soldiers remained silent, hovering quietly in mid-air without making a sound. Only a chilling aura emanated from them, causing the temperature in the workshop to drop several degrees.

Anton's gaze lingered on the ghost soldiers for a moment before he nodded in satisfaction.

Although it took a lot of effort, the ghost soldiers were finally brought back to life.

"Next, we can try to forge a ghost-level Yin weapon."

Anton pondered to himself.

Even ghost soldiers have a system of ranks.

The lowest level is the Wandering Soul level, which corresponds to a Qi Refining stage cultivator, with combat power ranging from the upper Black Iron rank to the Silver rank.

The Yin Soldiers he is currently crafting belong to this tier.

Above that is the Fiery Ghost level, corresponding to Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, whose combat power is comparable to that of Gold-rank warriors.

The higher-ranking Ghost General corresponds to a Golden Core cultivator.

Above that, there are Ghost King level beings.

But that's beyond what Anton can currently refine.

In fact, with the materials he currently has, he can only forge ghost-level Yin soldiers at most.

Ghost general-level Yin soldiers cannot be forged yet due to a lack of suitable core materials.

"High-quality Yin-attribute materials imbued with the aura of death are still extremely rare."

Anton suddenly remembered the Netherworld Plane.

That place should be able to find a large amount of materials suitable for refining ghost general-level or even ghost king-level Yin soldiers.

Shaking his head, Anton brought his wandering thoughts back to reality.

His purpose in creating the Yin Soldiers was to prepare for the attack on the Crimson Blood Fertile Land.

The ghost-level and vengeful ghost-level Yin soldiers are more than enough to deal with those underground races.

Gathering his thoughts, Anton collected all the ghostly soldiers in the room into the Soul-Gathering Banner.

He then compiled the methods for refining wandering ghost soldiers into a book, intending to publish it to the Chengshi Hall later for his disciples to refine.

As for the ghost-level Yin soldiers, once he has compiled the refining method, he will hand them over to Eleanor for refining.

After all, those disciples struggled to even forge the Five Camps of Divine Weapons, so expecting them to forge Gold-rank Yin Soldiers was asking too much of them.

After that, Anton had to leave Taichu City again.

After cultivating for about a year under the Tree of Eternity using the dimensional rift of the wind element, he has successfully integrated the wood element law into the initial embryo of the true seal.

After that, he went to the Netherworld Trench without stopping, and opened up a rift in the water elemental plane deep in the trench. It took him a little over a year to successfully use the power of the water element to integrate the water law into the true seal embryo.

At this point, three of the Five Elements principles have been incorporated, with only the Fire and Metal principles remaining.

Anton had already thought of several suitable locations for opening up the primordial plane of fire element.

Next, he plans to check each one individually and resolve the issue of integrating the Fire Element Law on the spot.

Then, the principles of metal element are incorporated.

It's worth mentioning that the more than one hundred dragons that Anton had previously spared have already established a nest deep in the Nether Trench and settled down successfully.

The environment there is harsh; the seawater is icy cold and the water pressure is high enough to crush steel. However, for the thick-skinned dragons, it is not yet impossible to survive there.

At most, the living environment is a bit harsh.

During this period, there were also dragons who could not bear the life of being kept in captivity and tried to escape the Nether Trench.

As soon as they left the trench area, they were captured by the guardian deities who had stayed there and killed on the spot.

After several failed attempts, the dragons finally gave up their illusions and obediently settled down in the Nether Trench.

Every year, the Silvermoon Clan sends people to the Nether Trench to collect materials that the dragons "voluntarily" hand over.

Dragon scales, dragon blood, dragon skin... these materials, which are priceless in the outside world, have now become one of the stable sources of income for the Silvermoon Clan.

Thanks to this, the dragons got a real taste of what it was like to be exploited by the various races back then.