Elven cultivators

Una stepped out from the crowd and looked calmly at the adventurers.

Scarface whirled around, his gaze turning icy as he glared at her: "Who do you think you are? Daring to steal my thunder?"

His companions behind him also turned around, staring intently at Una.

Before Una could speak, Morrick stepped forward and casually added, "We're from the Silvermoon Clan. How about that? Are we qualified to steal your thunder?"

Scarface's expression froze instantly.

The companions behind him also seemed to have been paused, their movements all stopping at once.

The previously eager gazes around them quickly withdrew as if they had been doused with cold water.

The Silvermoon Clan's reputation is now at its zenith in the Eastern Continent.

Even a powerful tribe like the Steelmane was utterly destroyed in just a few days, let alone these adventurers who made a living in the wilderness.

If they really offended the Silver Moon Clan, the other party wouldn't even need to show up in person. As long as they spread the word, many forces would rush to attack them in order to curry favor with the Silver Moon Clan.

"So, it's the lords of the Silver Moon Clan. I'm sorry, I was being rude just now. I apologize to you all, and please don't hold it against me..."

Scarface was decisive. After regaining his senses, he immediately forced a fawning smile and apologized to Una repeatedly, completely abandoning his previous arrogance.

The adventurers around him cast disdainful glances at him, but they knew in their hearts that if they were in the same situation, they would apologize without saying a word.

Unless they no longer want to live in the eastern part of the continent, no one dares to offend the Silvermoon Clan.

Una ignored the scarred man and said to the adventurer with the short sword, "You've seen it yourself. With this, you might not be able to get out of this forest. Instead of wasting your time, you might as well sell it to me."

The adventurers exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment, and then the leader gritted his teeth and nodded: "Alright, we'll sell it to you then, but there's no rush for payment. We'll wait for you at the tavern in the small town twenty miles to the south, and we'll pay you when you come out. We trust the Silvermoon Clan's reputation."

Una took the short sword, her gaze lingered on them for a moment, and she nodded: "Okay."

The adventurers breathed a sigh of relief and left quickly, helping their injured companions.

Una watched them walk away, a hint of admiration creeping into her heart.

Even if you receive the reward at this point, there is still a risk that it will be stolen by someone else.

The risk would be much lower if we waited until we got to town to collect it.

The Silvermoon Clan, being large and powerful, would not covet such a small reward.

The fact that these guys could think of this shows that they are quite quick-witted.

Una looked away and examined the short sword in her hand.

The blade had several small nicks along its edge, but the blade still gleamed coldly, and a dark luster was faintly visible along the spine.

Una took out a gray bead the size of a pigeon egg from her waist and held the sword close to the bead.

This is a talisman specially issued by the clan to the disciples of Taichu City who accept the mission, used to detect the spirit soul.

A faint light quickly appeared inside the bead, like a firefly held in the palm of your hand, flickering on and off.

"It is indeed a spirit." Una put away the bead, her tone certain.

Morrick leaned closer and whispered, "Captain, what do we do next?"

Una looked up at the dark, gaping opening and said without hesitation, "Go in."

Having finally found the source of the Soul Weapon, this is a great opportunity to obtain a large number of contribution points, so naturally we can't miss it.

The others clearly shared the same idea, and upon hearing this, they showed expressions of eager anticipation.

Especially Morric.

He was aiming to accumulate enough contribution points to advance to become a disciple of Taichu City as soon as possible.

This is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity.

"But before we go in, we'll report the situation here to our superiors and gather our manpower."

Una took out a communication talisman from her bosom, infused it with a trace of spiritual energy, and briefly described the situation and location.

After that, she took out a Thousand-Machine Feather.

"Captain," the cat-man boy couldn't help but ask, "Are we really going to call someone? Won't that mean the credit will be shared?"

Una shook her head: "We have already found out the source of the spirit weapon. We have already obtained the greatest credit for this mission, and no one can take it away from us. The rest is to acquire the spirit weapon."

"You all heard what those people said earlier. There are many undead inside, and it's quite dangerous. With our team's strength, going in would be gambling with our lives."

"There's no need for us to take risks. It would be safer to gather more help before going in. We'd be lucky if we could get a bigger share of the credit. If we try to take it all for ourselves, we might end up losing our lives."

Everyone thought about it and agreed.

Their team was able to trace the source of the Soul Weapon purely by luck.

In terms of overall strength alone, they're not actually that powerful; the team doesn't even have a single Silver-rank member, making it very dangerous for them to go in.

Seeing that no one raised any further objections, Una poured spiritual energy into the Thousand Machine Feather.

The feather trembled slightly, then transformed into a streak of light that shot into the sky, exploding into a faint blue halo that slowly dissipated among the clouds.

The bluish halo dissipated among the clouds, like thin ink blown by the wind, instantly merging into the gray sky without leaving a trace.

After doing all this, Una found a rock not far from the cave entrance, sat down, and waited patiently.

The others sat down next to her, weapons in their hands, glancing around every now and then.

Those adventurers didn't have such patience. Upon learning that the magical equipment they had been dreaming of was behind the cave, they couldn't wait to enter.

The more people went in, the more afraid others were of being beaten to it, so they gritted their teeth and followed.

Before long, the once crowded open space became much quieter.

Only Una and her group remained, along with a few hesitant adventure teams.

Time passed slowly.

After a while, a soft rustling sound of fabric brushing against the branches and leaves suddenly came from the woods.

Two young disciples dressed in green robes emerged from the bushes.

Their gazes swept around the room and quickly settled on Una.

As Roman's only disciple, the dog-woman was quite famous in the Primordial City.

Many of her disciples recognized her.

The two who came were no exception.

"Senior Sister Una, was it you who released the Thousand Machine Feathers?" The disciple walking in front looked surprised. "What happened?"

Una didn't keep anyone in suspense and immediately gave a brief account of what had happened.

Upon hearing this, both disciples showed joy on their faces.

They had also gone out on a mission involving spirit weapons, but unfortunately they hadn't found any clues. They didn't expect Una to make a discovery so quickly.

"Senior Sister Una, we'll remember this favor. If you ever need our help in the future, just let us know."

The two disciples thanked Una.

Una accepted the gratitude without any hesitation.

Over time, people gradually arrived.

There was a disciple of the Primordial City who was all alone.

Some came in groups of two or three.

There are also those who, like Una, lead a vassal race.

Upon learning about the Soul Weapon from Una, the disciples of Taichu City were overjoyed and expressed their gratitude to Una.

After all, this is a great opportunity to earn a lot of contribution points.

In less than an hour, more than twenty disciples of the Primordial City and more than sixty members of vassal races had gathered on the open ground.

Seeing this, Una was about to speak when her expression suddenly changed, and she turned to look to her right.

A slender figure gracefully emerged from the woods.

She was a half-elf girl wearing a blue robe, with a cool and aloof demeanor.

Her steps were light, leaving almost no noticeable sound on the fallen leaves. The dark patterns on the hem of her robe slid slightly across the ground as she walked, like a thin layer of water spreading across a shallow beach.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tree canopy, falling on the tips of her silver-gray hair, but it didn't linger for long, as if it had been gently pushed away by something cool and detached.

Upon seeing the newcomer's figure and face, many disciples gasped in surprise.

"It's Evie."

"Is she around here too?"

"What a coincidence."

Una opened her eyes wide and looked at the half-elf girl.

So she was Ivy.

That girl with the Yin constitution, widely recognized as the most talented among the disciples.

Una had heard of Ivy's name many times, but this was the first time she had seen her in person, so she couldn't help but look her over with curiosity.

On the other side, Morric's gaze fell on Evie, a complex expression on his face.

After many years, the half-elf girl had changed even more than expected.

That sense of detachment that was there before is still there, but it has become more restrained and subtle, like the thin ice on a river in winter, with bottomless deep water underneath.

She appeared even more ethereal and otherworldly, like the bright moonlight, making it difficult for anyone to look directly at her for too long.

Morric subconsciously looked away, lowered his head and pretended to organize the talismans in his hand, his fingertips repeatedly rubbing the edge of the paper a few times.

Ivy glanced around at the disciples of the Primordial City present, her gaze lingering on Morrick for a moment before turning to Una and speaking in a clear, crisp voice:

"Before I came, Senior Sister Flora contacted me, saying that the clan had already sent people over, but the Iron Hill Kingdom is far from the Primordial Spirit Realm, and it will take some time for the reinforcements to arrive. She told us to wait and see."

The group looked at each other in bewilderment, and soon someone spoke up.

"Many adventurers have already gone in before us. If we wait for reinforcements to arrive before going in, there probably won't even be any soup left."

"Yes, we already have quite a few people, so it's good to go in and check the situation first."

The surrounding disciples echoed his sentiments.

Unlike Una and Ivy, who either have powerful connections or are highly regarded by superiors, they have to rely on their own efforts to accumulate most of their cultivation resources, and they don't have many opportunities to earn a lot of contribution points on a daily basis.

Since it's a rare opportunity, I naturally don't want to miss it.

Una then said, "I also think we can go in and take a look first."

If Evie hadn't shown up, she would have hesitated a bit.

But since Ivy is here, there's nothing to hesitate about.

Others may not know, but Una is certain that a disciple with such outstanding talent as Ivy must carry a life-saving trump card when she goes out to train.

After all, the higher-ups wouldn't let such a promising talent be wasted outside.

With Evie around, they shouldn't have to worry about encountering any insurmountable crises.

Seeing that everyone agreed, Ivy did not object and nodded calmly.

"Then let's go in first."