Elven cultivators

After making the decision, the group did not delay and immediately headed towards the cave.

The cave entrance appeared even more secluded than from the outside, with jagged rock walls on both sides, and the gravel underfoot crunching softly on the soles of your boots.

The disciple walking in front took out a light source stone and held it in his palm. The soft light barely illuminated the distance of a dozen steps ahead.

The passageway wasn't too narrow, enough for about four people to walk side by side, but the further you went in, the more damp and cold the air became, carrying an indescribable smell.

Before long, a thick layer of grayish-white fog appeared in front of us.

The gray fog lingered and did not dissipate, like a thick curtain hanging down to the ground, completely blocking the way.

The disciple at the front glanced at the footprints on the ground around him and said, "Those adventurers should have all gone in."

As he spoke, he probed the edge of the fog with the tip of his boot, and finding nothing amiss, he stepped inside.

The others exchanged glances and followed suit.

The moment we passed through the fog, our view suddenly opened up.

The light changed from the dim, gloomy atmosphere of the passageway to a grayish-white that fell evenly from above, like a cloudy afternoon.

Everyone instinctively stopped in their tracks.

What appeared before me was a vast and desolate wilderness.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of grayish-white dust, which felt soft and sticky when stepped on, like stepping on mortar that hadn't dried completely.

Broken swords and armor, like carelessly discarded wreckage, were scattered everywhere in sight.

Some were half-buried in the dust, with only a rusted hilt showing.

Some were stuck diagonally in the ground, their blades corroded into jagged fragments.

Fragments of the flag hung from several crooked flagpoles, their colors long faded and the original pattern unrecognizable, leaving only a piece of grayish old cloth, occasionally swaying slightly in the breeze that seemed to come from nowhere.

Most of them were skeletons.

They lay horizontally or on their sides in the dust, some clutching a sword that was only half intact, others curled up beside pieces of armor, as if they hadn't had time to lie flat when they died.

"This...is this another dimension?"

The cat-man boy in the group muttered to himself, his face filled with shock.

The others also looked surprised.

The field before us truly resembled a battlefield that had witnessed countless ages.

"Legend has it that many alternate dimensions are fragments that broke off from the Dawn Continent in ancient times," a disciple suddenly said. "Could this alternate dimension be one of them?"

"Very likely."

"I just don't know which place it originally corresponded to?"

The disciples whispered among themselves, their eyes scanning the field, trying to discern something from the tattered markings and broken armor.

Only when Ivy calmly started walking forward did they stop talking and follow her with serious expressions.

A few of the more clever disciples took out a stack of talismans cut into human shapes from their spatial rings and blew on them.

The talisman flew out and grew larger in the wind. When it landed, it had become a paper figure as tall as a person. After swaying a few times, it walked forward.

Paper doll transport technique.

A type of low-level spell.

Originally intended for helping cultivators carry heavy objects, it's actually quite suitable for scouting in this situation.

A dozen or so paper figures were scattered in a fan shape, walking more than twenty meters ahead of the procession, swaying and probing the way.

The disciples followed in a loose formation, their weapons half-drawn, their eyes fixed on the movements of the paper figures ahead.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the paper figure at the front suddenly stopped, as if it had tripped over something.

The next second, a rusty bone blade cleaved out from below, splitting the paper figure in two from bottom to top.

The shredded paper tumbled through the air before gently drifting back to the ground.

Everyone immediately stopped and looked warily at the figure that was slowly rising from the ground.

It was a skeleton covered in tattered armor, with a faded chainmail hanging on the dark gray skeleton, the gaps filled with dust.

Its helmet was askew on its skull, and its eye sockets were two almost solidified dark spots.

A chilling aura emanated from it, sending shivers down one's spine.

As if a switch had been flipped, a dense series of crackling sounds emanated from the surrounding ground.

One skeleton after another rose from the dust to support their bodies.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of skeletons appeared on the wilderness.

"Is this the undead monster those adventurers were talking about?" Morrick looked the skeleton up and down.

The others also looked at them with scrutiny and curiosity.

This was the first time they had ever seen a real undead monster.

These things gave them a feeling somewhat similar to ghostly soldiers, but with an added touch of decay and eeriness.

Before they could observe any further, the undead monsters, wielding bone blades, charged forward with swift steps.

"Make your move," Ivy's clear voice rang out instantly.

Una moved the fastest. With a push of her feet, she moved forward like a shadow, her metal claws tearing through the air and precisely slicing into the neck of the nearest undead monster.

when!

Sparks flew.

The undead monster's neck bone was unexpectedly hard; when the claws collided with the bone, they only left a charred crack and failed to break it in one blow.

The undead monster staggered back half a step after being hit by Una's attack, but then steadied itself and swung its bone blade back at her.

"Watch out! These monsters are Iron-rank!"

Una dodged the bone blade by tilting her head, and at the same time, her second claw followed. This time, she found the right angle, and the claw tip precisely dug into the hole in the undead monster's eye socket.

The next second, the lightning contained in the claws suddenly burst forth, emitting a short crackling sound, completely annihilating the two floating orbs of ghostly light.

The undead monster froze instantly, swayed, and then collapsed into a pile of broken bones, making a dull thud on the dust, before remaining motionless.

Morric followed closely beside Una, swinging the metal rod in a solid arc, striking another undead monster squarely in the chest.

With a muffled thud, the skeleton flew backward, shattering into pieces as it hit the ground, its chest armor already broken.

The two sides quickly descended into a chaotic battle.

Each disciple faced one or two undead monsters and steadily gained the upper hand.

The team members composed of vassal races were equally formidable. Although their individual combat strength was inferior to that of the disciples of Taichu City, they had the advantage of numbers. Two or three of them could barely hold their own against a skeleton.

However, the most eye-catching thing at the scene was Evie's performance.

She didn't use a weapon; she simply made a knife shape with her fingers and slashed it down into the air.

A clear, moonlit blade of light flowed from her fingertips, smoothly sweeping across the dust and piles of bones in front of her.

The shattered armor, bone fragments, withered flags, and dust along the way, upon encountering that beam of light, fell silently to both sides as if cleaved in two by flowing water.

The dozen or so undead monsters blocking the path were not spared either; they were neatly split open from shoulder to hip, their bone surfaces as smooth as if they had been polished.

Splash!

The corpse fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

In just a moment, a large area of ​​the previously densely packed undead monsters became empty.

"That's amazing!"

"What kind of magic is that?"

"Is this the Yin Body...?"

The disciples watched this scene unfold and couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

They had only heard about how outstanding Ivy's talent was before, but this was the first time they had truly witnessed her strength, which was far greater than they had imagined.

The key point is that Ivy has only been cultivating for six or seven years at most.

To have such power in such a short time...

The power of the Taiyin Body far exceeded their comprehension!

Una crushed the skull of an undead monster with a single claw, her eyes glancing subconsciously in Ivy's direction, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside her.

She started cultivating two years earlier than Ivy, but her strength was actually inferior to the latter's.

She knew for sure that she couldn't have taken that attack head-on.

This is the difference in talent.

No matter how hard you try to cultivate, it's difficult to make up for it.

As for Ivy's attack just now, she did know some information about it.

In her spare time, she had heard her teacher mention that Ivy practiced the top-tier cultivation technique, "Taiyin Zhenjie".

That move just now was most likely the core martial skill attached to this technique, "Taiyin Blade Chapter".

After Evie took action, the pressure on everyone present was greatly reduced.

The half-elf girl single-handedly killed more than half of the undead monsters.

In just over ten breaths, the hundreds of undead monsters were wiped out by the group.

Only a few people in the team suffered minor injuries; no one was killed.

After one bottle of medicine, the injury was quickly healed completely.

Taking a breather, the disciples began searching around the battlefield, examining the remains of each skeleton, and turning over scattered armor fragments and weapon remnants.

After searching the area, everyone frowned.

"A bunch of paupers, they have nothing." One disciple kicked the broken sword hilt at his feet, his tone clearly disappointed. "They're all just ordinary weapons."

Another disciple flipped a shield over, threw it back on the ground, and shook his head: "It's not even a magical equipment, let alone a spirit weapon."

Una noticed that Ivy's brows were slightly furrowed, as if she was thinking about something, and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Ivy glanced at her and pondered, "Logically speaking, a place like this, which gathers a large number of undead creatures, should have a strong yin energy, but I haven't sensed even a trace of yin energy along the way."

Yin energy, also known as death energy in the Dawn Continent.

Only after being reminded by Ivy did Una belatedly realize what was happening.

Indeed, although the air in this wilderness was damp and cold, it was very clean, without a trace of death. This was definitely not a naturally formed condition.

That being said, we've already come this far, we can't just turn back because of this little anomaly.

The group quickly regrouped and continued advancing along the plains, but with even greater caution than before.

The dust gradually thickened underfoot, and the broken flagpoles and armor fragments along the way became increasingly dense.

At the same time, the number of adventurers' corpses also increased.

Corpses covered in wounds lay scattered on the ground.

Judging from the wound marks, the time of death was not long ago.

After encountering the corpse again, Evie suddenly spoke up: "Something's not right."

Una paused slightly, then subconsciously asked, "Something's not right?"

Ivy glanced at the corpses on the ground and said, "The positions of these corpses are a bit strange."

Everyone stared intently, then recalled the corpses they had seen along the way, and quickly realized what had happened.

"The postures of those corpses... all looked like they were caught and killed while trying to escape."

"The key point is that they escaped in the opposite direction from the entrance, which is very unusual."

"Like a herd of wild animals being driven away..."

The group exchanged glances, their faces showing surprise and uncertainty.

With so few clues, they could only suppress their doubts for the time being and continue on their way.

The further they went, the more corpses they encountered.

Before long, the view ahead finally changed.

On the gray horizon, a blurry outline slowly rises.

At first, it was just a shadow resembling a raised hill, but as the distance closed, its outline became more and more distinct—like a mountain.

Immediately, a disciple took out a paper crane, extended his index finger and drew half a circle in the air. A wisp of azure spiritual light, as thin as a hair, rose from his fingertip and disappeared into the paper crane.

The next second, the paper crane came to life, gently flapped its wings, and flew toward the outline of the mountain.

Not long after, the disciple seemed to sense something and casually waved his hand. Countless water droplets appeared out of thin air and quickly condensed into a water curtain half a person's height.

The image, viewed from above, clearly presents the entire mountain range to the viewer.

Everyone was stunned.

That was indeed a mountain.

But the entire mountain is made up of countless bones.

Layers of grayish-white bone fragments piled up along the ridge to the top, like a skeletal remains piled up by wind and sand for countless years.

And among the gaps between those bones, there were all sorts of weapons.

Longswords, battle axes, short spears, steel knives, halberds... from the foot of the mountain to the ridge, there were so many that it was dazzling, like a tomb made of swords and bones.

At this very moment, hundreds of adventurers are climbing up the ridge.

Their figures moved among the piles of bones, sometimes crouching down to search for weapons hidden between the bones, and sometimes fighting against undead monsters that emerged from the piles of bones.

Every now and then, someone would pull a perfectly intact weapon from the skeleton, raise it high, and shout something excitedly.

"What is that?" The cat-man boy asked, his face filled with shock.

Una's eyes lit up: "Who cares what it is, as long as we're sure there's a spirit weapon on it."

Everyone realized what was happening, and their faces lit up with joy. They quickly quickened their pace and headed towards Bone Mountain.

Upon approaching Bone Mountain, they did not linger and immediately began climbing upwards.

From time to time, undead monsters emerged from the piles of bones on both sides of the ridge and attacked them.

Most of them were the same kind of armored, bladed skeletons as before, with the occasional larger ones, but none of them could stop their advance.

As the Qi Dao cultivator with the highest cultivation level present, Ivy's perception of spirit weapons was more acute than that of the others.

She doesn't need to examine each weapon individually; as long as they are within a certain range, she can clearly discern the direction of the spiritual fluctuations.

As she passed a depression in a pile of bones, she suddenly slowed down and her gaze fell on a sword hilt buried between bone fragments and dust.

The exposed part of the sword hilt was no more than two fingers long, covered in rust, almost blending into the surrounding bone. If you didn't look closely, you wouldn't notice it at all.

Without hesitation, Ivy moved her right hand slightly, and a semi-transparent flowing sleeve floated out from her cuff, wrapped around the sword hilt, and then pulled back into her palm.

Evie stared intently, a very faint smile appearing between her brows and eyes.

"It is indeed a spirit weapon."

Seeing the harvest in her hands, the disciples were invigorated, and their morale soared even higher.

During the subsequent climb, the group gradually unearthed several weapons imbued with spiritual energy from among the bones and skeletal remains.

The adventurers in the vicinity quickly noticed the presence of this group.

As they unearthed piece after piece of "magical equipment," many people were consumed with envy.

"What's wrong with these guys? How can they locate magical equipment so accurately?"

"They must have some way of locating magical equipment... Should we take it?"

"Don't be foolish. Didn't you see there are elves and half-elves among those guys? If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"

This reminder made many adventurers realize that the diverse group included a number of elves and half-elves.

As everyone knows, the simultaneous appearance and cooperation of elves and half-elves in the eastern part of the continent can only mean one thing.

That is, they all come from the Silvermoon Clan.

Realizing this, the adventurers who had been itching to go on a mission silently withdrew their gazes, no longer daring to entertain any further thoughts.

Ivy and her group paid no attention to the stares of their surroundings, focusing all their attention on searching for the Soul Weapon.

The team fought their way uphill, gradually approaching the summit.

Just then, Ivy suddenly stopped moving and slightly raised her hand.

The others immediately stopped and looked over warily.

At the top of the mountain is a relatively flat platform of skeletons.

On the ground covered with skeletons and broken armor, a hundred or so weapons were scattered among the bones and dust.

Swords, knives, battle axes, halberds, spears… each with its own unique shape, yet all exuding a serene spiritual energy.

However, everyone ignored the spirit weapons and focused their attention on the very center of the weapons.

A burly figure stood there quietly.

It was much larger than any undead monster they had encountered before, with a thick skeleton covered by a layer of almost intact dark armor.

In his hand he held a broadsword that matched his size, its blade as thick as a board, radiating spiritual energy far exceeding that of any previous spirit weapon.

The helmet covered most of its face, revealing only the area around its eye sockets, where two pale flames flickered slightly.

Just by standing there, the oppressive aura emanating from this undead monster caused all the disciples to unconsciously tense their backs.

At least a gold-rank undead creature!

The dozens of adventurer corpses scattered around the undead monster also indirectly confirmed its danger.

The first few dozen adventurers to reach the summit stopped a few dozen meters away, their eyes greedily sweeping over the spirit weapons, but they hesitated to go forward, intimidated by the oppressive aura of the undead monsters.

The undead monster simply stood still and did not launch an attack.

The two sides were locked in a strange stalemate.

Una took a half step closer to Ivy and said in a low voice, "Should we make a move? Gold-ranked opponents are not easy to deal with."

Although there are no Gold-rank experts in the team, if Ivy takes action, and everyone joins forces, they have a good chance of defeating a low-Gold-rank undead monster.

What's truly frightening is that this undead monster's strength is more than just that of a lower-tier gold-rank monster.

If it's the rise of gold, or even the peak of gold, then things will get very tricky.

Evie did not answer immediately.

Her gaze lingered on the undead monster for a moment, as if she were judging something.

After a moment, she withdrew her gaze, looked around at the disciples, and asked, "Has anyone practiced formations?"

These words came suddenly, but the disciples reacted quickly, with more than half of them standing up.

Most disciples of Taichu City will learn about formations once their cultivation level reaches the required standard.

It's not about setting up formations, but rather about combat formations.

Disciples who frequently travel outside often practice several formations in combination, in preparation for any eventuality.

"Who knows the Seven Stars Falling Fate Formation?" Ivy asked again.

Only twelve disciples stepped forward this time.

Ivy glanced around and quickly selected the six people with the highest cultivation levels. She gave them brief and concise instructions: "The rest of you, stay back and be on guard. You six, form a formation with me and kill that undead monster."