Elven cultivators

Beyond the continental shelf, the Whirlpool Islands.

The color of the water here is completely different from other places.

There wasn't a trace of light gray or blue hues; all that could be seen was a deep, somber indigo, unfathomable, as if the shadows of the entire sky had been submerged underwater.

The wind pressed in from a great distance, carrying salty, fishy moisture, and slapped against the bare rocks, producing a continuous, muffled sound. The sound waves bounced back and forth between the rocks, gradually fading into a low whimper.

Daniel waded ashore, his steps uneven.

Water droplets rolled down his deep blue skin and the tips of the whiskers on his back, leaving wet footprints on the surface of the reef.

His shoulder was almost completely crushed by the carcass of a giant sea monster.

The sea monster was covered in grayish-white scales, resembling an eel magnified countless times. Two rows of jagged bony plates protruded from its lower jaw, covered with dense cracks, as if it had been smashed by some blunt object.

Bang!

Daniel tossed the sea monster onto the beach with a dull thud.

Blood seeping from between the scales spread along the intertidal pebbles, staining a patch of shallow water red.

Ezra sat cross-legged on the edge of a flat rock, barefoot, the hem of his grey-blue robe damp at the corners.

He didn't move, but turned his head to look at the sea beast, his eyes lighting up slightly.

"Eel-like whale? This marine mammal has exceptional meat, thick with fat, and when grilled, it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I'm in for a treat tonight."

Daniel glanced at him sideways and said irritably, "You still have the appetite to eat? This is the fourth one today. There are more and more sea monsters roaming around the islands lately, which has seriously affected normal production activities. If this continues, it may trigger a monster tide, and then the entire coastline of the archipelago will be in chaos."

Mentioning this, Ezra's expression turned serious, and he sighed, "What can we do? Solius has become increasingly agitated lately. The sea creatures in the surrounding waters have been frightened away from the deep sea and are seeking refuge near the islands. No matter how many people we have, we can't possibly keep up with them all. We can't just surround the entire sea area, can we?"

Daniel paused for a moment, then bent down and sat on the edge of the reef, asking, "What did the priests say?"

"We're still trying to figure something out." Ezra shook his head. "But I doubt it. If Thorius were so easy to deal with, the Temple would have wiped it out centuries ago. Why would it still be alive now?"

Daniel twitched the corner of his mouth, but said nothing more.

He knew, of course, that Ezra was telling the truth, but the feeling of helplessness still made his chest tighten.

Ezra, not wanting to continue this depressing topic, changed the subject: "I heard there's another argument going on in Parliament."

Daniel's expression darkened: "Those same few tribes again?"

Ezra nodded.

Since the sea race withdrew from the war in the Holy Dragon Mountains, some groups, including the deep sea serpent, sea giant, and fish demon, have been very unwilling, feeling that the council retreated too quickly and disgraced the sea race.

Therefore, the elders of these tribes united and made numerous demands in the council to continue their advance into the Holy Dragon Mountains.

Although the temple and other elders suppressed their actions each time, their underhanded tactics never stopped, which was extremely annoying.

"These troublemaking groups are notoriously warlike. They think we are fully capable of fighting the four major powers squarely, and that we would lose face if we retreated so easily."

"Losing face is better than losing your life." Daniel sneered. "The sea creatures' home ground is in the sea, not in the Holy Dragon Mountains. Sending troops across half a continent will only exhaust them in the end. It's not that they can't see this, it's just that war is more in their interest."

Most sea giants are physically strong but simple-minded, but Daniel is an exception, with a sharper mind than his peers.

It was precisely because of this that he was chosen by the Temple to become one of the elite warriors who had fused with the bloodline of the deep-sea behemoth.

He already looked down on his foolish people, and after becoming a member of the Deep Sea Kin, he no longer considered himself a sea giant, so he could mock his fellow humans without any guilt.

Ezra was aware of this, and shrugged without replying.

Just then, a sharp hiss came from the depths of the sea.

In a mere instant, the sound surged to an almost tearing roar, spreading across the sea in layers, overwhelming all the waves and wind, echoing repeatedly between the islands, causing even the broken seashells on the reefs to tremble slightly.

Ezra suddenly stood up, his gaze fixed on the direction from which the screech had come.

"It's Solius again." He frowned. "That guy's gone berserk again."

Ezra sighed.

Well, the sea creatures in the surrounding waters are probably going to get restless again.

He had seen similar situations countless times during this period.

I really hope that the priests and elders of the council can get rid of this scourge as soon as possible and restore peace to the Whirlpool Islands.

……

Above the sea, the clouds churned.

The storm surged in from all directions, churning into a huge, slowly rotating vortex in the center of the sky.

Thunderclaps burst forth between the folds of the vortex, each flash illuminating the inner layers of clouds in a translucent purplish-white light before plunging back into darkness in the next instant.

Anton hovered on the edge of the storm, his moon-white robe remaining motionless amidst the swirling gales around him.

The protective aura emanating from his body acted like an invisible shield, keeping out the surrounding gale and stray electric arcs.

He calmly gazed at the eye of the storm, his divine sense spreading out silently as he sensed the pulse of energy.

"Very strong wind element energy."

Anton nodded secretly.

The storm area in the whirlpool did not disappoint him.

The concentration of wind elemental energy here is even higher than in the area where the Tree of Eternity is located.

Of course, this does not mean that the former is better than the latter.

Although the concentration of wind element energy here is high, the energy nature is extremely turbulent and violent, making it difficult to absorb.

In contrast, the energy in the Tree of Eternity region is much gentler and more suitable for regular cultivation.

However, Anton did not intend to absorb the energy here; he only wanted to use the special environment here to open up the elemental origin plane rift, so it didn't matter to him.

Pulling his thoughts back, Anton sank and disappeared into the sea.

The water pressure around him rose rapidly, but it could not shake the protective aura around him. The seawater was pushed aside by an invisible force, revealing a channel several feet wide.

The deeper you go, the faster the light narrows, changing from dark blue to inky blue, and finally into pure darkness.

But Anton didn't need to use his eyes to see; his divine sense spread outwards like mercury, revealing the trajectory of every ocean current and the shape of every mountain ridge within hundreds of kilometers.

Before long, Anton found what he was looking for.

The seabed abruptly reveals scorched black bulges, crisscrossed with fractures like a spider web, from which scalding, turbid hydrothermal fluid seeps, churning in the cold seawater into thick white columns of mist, like a wound cracked open in the earth.

This is a dense network of submarine volcanoes.

Multiple active volcanoes are arranged in a row, with only a few hundred meters between them. Each one spews out hot mineral torrents, heating the surrounding seawater to near boiling point.

The heat and water pressure here form a delicate balance, intense enough yet not out of control.

Anton hovered above the edge of one of the volcanoes, his divine sense continuing to extend downwards, passing through hydrothermal vents and rock layers, touching the flow of the earth's energy veins.

A moment later, he withdrew his divine sense, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Within a radius of tens of kilometers in the sea, the concentrations of the four elements—water, fire, earth, and wind—are far higher than normal, fully meeting the criteria for opening fissures in the original planes of the elements.

Moreover, the distribution of the four factors is quite balanced, with none of them being too prominent. This means that there is no need to make too much reconciliation, and the difficulty will be lower than expected.

Now all that's missing is the gold energy.

Anton's divine sense continued to scan the surroundings.

The seabed contains an astonishing amount of mineral resources rich in key metals. As long as a metal vein is found, the concentration of metal energy can be increased using array formations to make up for the imbalance of the five elements.

Under his divine sense scan, Anton indeed discovered many metal veins.

However, most of them are ordinary metal veins, with very few rare metals.

Suddenly, Anton let out a low exclamation.

In his divine sense, the metal element energy in one location far exceeded that in other places.

He moved swiftly and immediately rushed in that direction.

The closer you get to that spot, the higher the concentration of metal element energy in the seawater.

The geological structure fed back by divine sense was becoming increasingly dense, with a significantly higher content of ferromagnetic minerals.

Soon, Anton arrived at his destination. He used his divine sense to probe deep into the rock strata along the fracture surfaces, scanning the ore bodies that had been squeezed into lens shapes by geological movements. He quickly made more specific discoveries.

In the core layer of the vein, a peculiar metallic ore is embedded in the cavernous fissures. Its texture is as dense as obsidian, and its surface has a restrained dark blue luster. Occasionally, fine, hair-like silver-white lines meander along the natural fissures of the mineral surface, like some kind of solidified lightning trace.

Sinking Star Thunder Iron.

Anton immediately recognized the origin of the ore, feeling both surprised and delighted.

Stardust Iron is a very precious and rare metal.

It only forms in special strata near submarine volcanoes, and during its formation, it naturally absorbs the lightning energy from above the sea surface, thus creating natural lightning patterns on the surface of the ore. Its texture is rare and highly sought after.

More importantly, Starfall Iron is an excellent material for crafting fantasy-grade magical items.

Although it's not exactly a core ingredient, the fact that it can be used to craft fantasy-grade magical items is enough to make any alchemist or enchanter's heart flutter.

Even Anton was no exception.

After all, fantasy-level magical items are roughly equivalent to spiritual artifacts in the cultivation system.

This means that the Sunken Star Thunder Iron can be used as the core material for refining high-grade Xuan weapons.

After achieving the Nascent Soul stage, crafting profound artifacts was no longer a challenge for Anton.

What limits the production of mystical artifacts is actually the materials.

With enough materials, Anton can forge twenty to thirty Xuan artifacts a year, greatly alleviating the equipment needs of the clan's high-level combat forces.

But that's a matter for the future.

What delighted him even more now was the astonishingly high concentration of gold energy here.

As long as a moderately sized metal-element energy-gathering array is set up to gather the metal-element spiritual energy dissipating from the entire mine, it will be enough to meet his metal-element energy needs for cultivation.

The appearance of the Chenxing Thunder Iron Ore Vein greatly reduced the difficulty of setting up the formation.

However, after his initial joy, Anton did not immediately begin making arrangements. Instead, he focused his spiritual sense and continued to explore along the edge of the mine, a hint of doubt rising in his mind.

The Whirlpool Islands are the territory of the sea creatures.

They couldn't possibly be unaware of the existence of this sunken star thunder iron ore vein, nor could they be unaware of its value.

But they let the vein remain there without mining it.

This doesn't make any sense at all.

If it were an ordinary metal ore vein, the sea creatures might give up because the cost of deep-sea mining would exceed the returns. However, rare mineral deposits like the Sunken Star Thunder Iron provide a continuous stream of profits, so the sea creatures cannot remain indifferent.

Unless... there is some factor that forces them to give up this place.

Anton went through his memories, trying to recall if there were any dangerous factors in the whirlpool area at this point in time.

In the era of the Warring States period, the presence of the Sea Clan was far less significant than that of the other four major powers.

Anton didn't have much information about the sea creatures, and for a while, he had no clue what to do.

Just then, a thought suddenly struck him.

The next instant, the light of the Xuanjin sword suddenly leaped out from his chest, rushing forward like a meteor.

The dazzling golden light illuminated the surrounding sea and reflected the thick tentacles that were whipping towards them.

The whiskers were as thick as millstones, translucent, and covered with a layer of flowing, faint fluorescent light, like a solidified mist.

Despite being surrounded by seawater, it swept in without making the slightest noise, moving silently through the ocean currents like a ghost, heading straight for Andong's face.

In the instant the sword light and the tentacles intersected, the blade pierced through them, as if cutting through a thick fog, passing through almost without resistance.

The whisker paused only slightly before continuing to lash out at Anton, striking the protective aura around his body.

A silent shockwave spread outward from the point of impact, pushing the surrounding seawater outward for hundreds of meters, forming a huge cavity that quickly closed under pressure.

Anton's body swayed slightly, and he withstood the blow unscathed.

The terrifying power contained in its tentacles, enough to easily crush even the most powerful legends, could not shake the protective aura in the slightest.

At the same time, Anton also clearly felt that the sword light had little effect on the tentacles.

It's like trying to cut water with a knife—a futile effort.

"A virtual being...?"

Anton raised an eyebrow, and in a flash, he had already devised a solution.

With a slight thought, the golden edge on the sword's surface instantly faded, replaced by a surging six-colored halo.

An invisible, scorching heat instantly spread out, causing the surrounding seawater to evaporate into fine white bubbles.

hum!

The sword light, infused with the essence of the Six Ding Divine Fire, slashed out once more.

This time, the sword light cleanly and decisively severed the tentacles.

The severed tentacles flew far away, the fractured surface resembling a layer of ice that had been burned through, constantly disintegrating and evaporating at the edges, and in the blink of an eye turning into fine particles that dissipated into the seawater.

The other tentacle suddenly retracted, leaving a wisp of six-colored flame at the break point. It burned silently in the deep sea for several breaths before gradually going out.

A sharp screech came from afar.

Even though it was deep in the sea, the sound penetrated through layers of water and reached Anton's ears clearly, carrying obvious anger and irritability.

Anton did not pursue, but instead unleashed his full divine sense outwards.

This time, he finally "saw" the attacker in full.

It was a huge jellyfish-like creature.

Its canopy is a translucent pale blue, with fine, tassel-like folds extending along its edges. Its diameter covers almost the entire surrounding sea area, like a cloud hanging upside down in the ocean current.

Thousands of tentacles of varying lengths, some stretching for kilometers, hang down beneath the canopy, swaying gently in the ocean currents.

Inside its body, faint grayish-white clumps are visible, like scattered dark spots, which greatly ruin the eerie beauty of the body and instead exude an ominous aura.

"This is.……"

Anton's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly recalled some intelligence about the Great Whirlpool Sea.

During the era of the Warring States period, a Saint-level jellyfish monster once existed in the Great Whirlpool Sea.

This monster has an extremely unique body structure, existing between matter and elements. Most physical attacks will pass directly through its body, while energy attacks will be absorbed and transformed by its body, thus repairing its own damage.

Therefore, although it only has the strength of the Saintly Realm, it is very difficult to kill.

Even the most powerful saints would find it extremely troublesome to encounter.

Anton remembered that the law this monster mastered was a fantasy-type law called [Shadow Abyss].

This law's properties allow it to blend into the shadows of the deep sea, concealing its aura and magical fluctuations, moving silently, with almost no means of detection capable of locking onto its whereabouts.

That's why it was able to approach Anton silently, only being detected by Anton at the moment of its attack.

In other words, the sword cultivator's reaction and attack speed were fast enough that other saints would probably not have time to react before being successfully ambushed.

Because of this monster's elusive abilities, the Tide Temple named it Thorius the "Deep Sea Ghost".

Anton finally understood why the sea creatures ignored the Starfall Thunder Iron Ore Vein.

With a 'guardian' like Thorius around, mining veins is incredibly difficult.

Unless the sea creatures are willing to send a divine being, or at least two top-tier warriors at the peak of sainthood, to be stationed here, it is simply impossible to operate peacefully in this sea area.

Coming to his senses, Anton summoned the sword light back to his side, slowly spoke, and used his magic power to condense his voice and transmit it out.

"I have no ill intentions. I am just looking for a suitable place to cultivate. I will not encroach on your territory or disturb your life. If you are willing to let me stay here, I can pay the corresponding price."

Saint-level monsters generally possess considerable intelligence, and most can communicate with each other.

Anton planned to try to communicate first. If they could achieve their goals peacefully and create a win-win situation, that would be ideal.

As he finished speaking, the sea fell silent for a moment.

The next instant, Thorius let out an even sharper screech, and thousands of tentacles lashed out at him with tremendous force.

It was obvious that [Deep Sea Ghost] rejected his offer.

Anton sighed softly and said nothing more.

The sword light beside him suddenly split. One thousand and twenty-four beams of dark gold sword light spread out, like a flowing metallic storm, illuminating the surrounding sea as if it were daytime.

After his Nascent Soul realm was completely stabilized, Anton's technique of splitting and combining light also broke through, and the number of sword lights doubled.

The sword light met the overwhelming, closing tentacles, erupting in a series of dense, almost overlapping collisions. Flames, golden light, and deep blue fluorescence splashed and sparked, blooming into fleeting arcs of light in the darkness.

Anyone else would probably find Thorius quite troublesome.

Whether it's the immunity to physical attacks due to the ethereal nature or the energy absorption properties of the Shadow Abyss Law, both are enough to give most Saints a headache.

Ironically, the thing that Anton fears least is ethereal beings.

He has plenty of methods to deal with ethereal creatures.

For example, the Six Ding Divine Fire.

Sword light, enveloped in a six-colored halo, slashed at the tentacles from all directions.

The tentacles began to disintegrate and vaporize the moment they came into contact with the flames, and the rate of erosion even exceeded the limits of Thorius's self-repair.

From the very beginning of the battle, Anton gained a firm advantage.

First courtesy, then force.

Since you refuse to communicate properly, then we'll beat you until you do.