Elven cultivators

In the Dawn Continent, when people mention the most powerful sea race force, they often think of the Tide Temple first.

The Temple of Tides can be considered synonymous with the sea creatures.

In reality, what the public calls the Temple of Tides refers to the racial aggregate centered around the Temple of Tides in the Great Whirlpool Sea.

The true Tide Temple is the spiritual and power core of this aggregate.

Within the temple, the supreme ruler is the Holy Maiden, who is the common spiritual leader of the sea creatures.

Below the saintess, there is also a high priesthood.

The High Priests, composed of high-ranking priests, is the core administrative body of the temple.

They are primarily responsible for specific religious duties, such as presiding over large-scale ceremonies, interpreting prophecies, managing the temple's knowledge base, and adjudicating disputes among sea creatures.

Next down is the Knights Templar.

Its members are all deep-sea creatures, and without exception, they are all "elite modified warriors" of the sea race. They are selected from various tribes by the high priests of the Tide Temple and modified to be the most loyal guardians of the temple.

Outside the temple is the Tide Council, a permanent body responsible for coordinating and managing the affairs of the various sea tribes.

Council seats are usually held by the chieftain of the most powerful sea tribe, with at most one additional candidate saintess, and all council seats are filled by elders.

The main functions of the Tide Council are to negotiate and formulate major decisions applicable to the entire Great Whirlpool Ocean, such as declaring war on foreign countries, large-scale resource allocation, and migration route planning. It also serves as a communication bridge between the Temple and various local tribes, conveying the Temple's orders and transmitting the tribes' voices to the Temple.

At the very bottom level, there are naturally the numerous tribes in the Great Whirlpool Sea.

Compared to the other four major powers, the Tide Temple has the most loose structure.

It has multiple power centers within itself, making it difficult to reach a consensus. Many major decisions require lengthy negotiations and compromises before they can be implemented.

The governance efficiency is extremely low.

This is also why sea creatures are not so determined in their wars on land.

Under such a system, sea creatures can easily reach a consensus to defend their homeland, but it is difficult for them to sustain a land war that is hundreds of thousands of miles away for a long time.

As Anton traveled, he recalled the information about the Tide Temple and gradually formed a plan in his mind.

Before long, the group arrived at the Tide Temple located on the seabed.

Its main body is a huge architectural complex embedded in an underwater mountain range, with walls made of whole pieces of deep-sea coral rock, and the surface covered with a layer of smooth stone that has been polished over a long period of time.

Large crystal windows, like fish scales, are inlaid on the walls, with moonshine shells embedded at the edges, emitting a soft, ethereal blue light that envelops the entire temple in a tranquil and solemn atmosphere.

Several towers extend outward from the main hall, their bodies spiraling upwards with their spires reaching close to the sea surface. At the base of each tower is a long, sloping corridor connecting to the main hall, stretching out in all directions of the underwater mountain range like the tentacles of an octopus.

Bathed in a deep blue glow, the entire temple presents a layered, rhythmic feel, possessing both the solemnity of religious architecture and the fluidity unique to marine life.

Anton turned his gaze away from the building and followed Celine through a wide archway into the temple.

The sea creatures they encountered along the way all turned their heads, their gazes lingering on Anton for a long time.

The appearance of an elf in the Tide Temple was already enough to attract attention.

Not to mention that he was accompanied by a candidate saintess and two highly respected elders.

After passing through three corridors, Zane and Domick stopped in front of a stone door, nodded to Celine and Anton, and then turned and left.

Celine stopped at the door, stepped aside to gesture for Anton to go first, and said in a soft voice, "Her Highness the Holy Maiden is inside the hall."

Anton pushed open the door and entered.

In the very center of the hall, a figure stood quietly in front of a stone wall, his back to him.

Even without seeing his face, Anton could still sense the calm and serene aura emanating from him.

She simply stood there, and she gave off a feeling of ancient and profound ocean.

Hearing the noise, she turned around and looked at him, a faint smile appearing in her eyes that had been weathered by time.

"Your Excellency Andon has come from afar; the temple has failed to greet you properly."

The voice was very soft, like the whispering tide, which made people relax unconsciously.

"Your Highness, you are too kind. It is I who have disturbed you." Anton nodded in acknowledgment.

Anton showed sufficient respect to this top expert whose strength was enough to rank among the top five on the continent.

This saintess can be said to be one of the few people on the continent who are closest to the demigod level. Even he, with all his skills, is not confident of defeating her.

However, she was gentle and kind-hearted, disliked fighting, and rarely took action. As a result, her reputation on the continent was far less prominent than that of other powerful figures of the same level.

But it was precisely because of this that Anton was not worried at all that the other party would attack him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have accepted the invitation as soon as they met and come to the other party's territory alone.

At that moment, Celine also came in and reached out to close the stone door.

"Please sit down." The saintess gestured for Anton to sit.

The two sat down at a long table nearby, while Celine stood behind the saint.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Anton brought up the matter of Solius.

"Solius seems a bit off; has it always been like this?"

The saintess did not hide anything and frankly said, "Solius was not like this before. On the contrary, it got along very well with the sea creatures and sea beasts around it. It was only later that some things happened, which led to it becoming what it is now."

"What's going on?" Anton asked.

"Tholeus's body is quite special. Its extensive tentacles and canopy filter the violent elemental energy in the seawater over the years. Over the long years, a large amount of inert substance has gradually accumulated deep in its body - which we call 'Abyssal Defilement'."

"The filth cannot be digested; instead, it slowly erodes Solius's body structure like gallstones, causing its intelligence to become increasingly confused. It frequently goes mad and attacks sea monsters, causing a large number of sea monsters to flee the volcanic zone and move towards the archipelago, which has brought us considerable trouble."

Anton suddenly realized.

No wonder Thorius attacked without saying a word the moment he saw him.

It should be understood that beings at the Saint level have long since transcended the realm of beasts driven by instinct. When encountering beings of the same level, they should at least communicate with them before deciding how to deal with them.

Thorius's reaction was clearly a result of his mind being corrupted.

As for the inert substance called "Abyssal Defilement," it is most likely the grayish-white patches that were seen in Thorius's body when his divine sense probed earlier.

Anton now understood why Solius had reacted that way before.

The filth there, of unknown composition, was able to counteract the burning of Hao Yi's three yang energies.

His use of Hao Yi San Yang Qi, by a twist of fate, actually helped clear up many of Solius's lesions.

No wonder that jellyfish monster, after being hit by his Hao Yi San Yang Qi, not only did not fly into a rage, but instead regained its senses and eagerly begged him to do it again.

In a flash, Anton quickly came up with an idea and smiled, "To be honest, I happen to have a way to cleanse the filth in Solius's body. If Your Highness doesn't mind, I can help Solius return to normal."

The saintess's eyes flickered slightly, and she remained silent in thought.

She already knew the whole story.

After learning that Solius, after being severely injured by Anton, not only did not continue to go berserk, but instead made a gesture that was almost pleading.

This is enough to prove that Anton was not boasting.

He did indeed have a way of cleaning the filth, so the first thing Thorius did after his brief period of lucidity was to ask him for help.

But the saint also knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

"Is there anything Your Excellency Anton needs us to do?" The saintess gazed at Anton with a meaningful look.

The latter smiled calmly and said, "I need to stay in the Great Whirlpool Sea for a while to cultivate, which will probably bother the Holy Temple for some time. Consider this an apology."

The saintess was slightly taken aback, not expecting Anton's conditions to be so simple.

"That's no problem. If Your Excellency Anton needs anything, please feel free to ask, and the Temple will do its best to arrange it."

"Speaking of which, I happen to have something to discuss with the Temple," Anton continued, "I wonder if the Temple knows about the Starfall Iron Mine in the volcanic zone?"

The saintess glanced at Celine, who was standing not far away, and the latter nodded slightly.

"Yes, it does exist, but Solius has been entrenched in that area of ​​the sea, and we have never been able to begin mining."

"That's perfect." Anton smiled slightly. "We can cooperate to mine the Starfall Iron Ore Vein and split the profits 50/50. As for Solius, I'll handle that."

"I can persuade it not to attack the mining team, and even help guard the mine and drive away other sea monsters."

Upon hearing this, Celine's eyes immediately lit up.

Starfall Iron is an extremely rare material on the continent. Whether used to forge fantasy-level magical weapons or as the core node of a high-level magic array, it has irreplaceable value.

Previously, due to Thorius's obstruction, the sea creatures could only watch helplessly as the treasure trove lay in ruins.

But things are different now.

If they can cooperate in mining, not only will they have an additional stable source of high-level materials, but they will also turn Solius from a "troublemaker" into a "helper." No matter how you look at it, it's a good deal.

Celine immediately looked at the saint.

Whether or not to cooperate is up to Her Highness the Holy Maiden to decide.

The saintess's gaze lingered on Anton's face for a few moments.

After a moment, she nodded slightly.

"Then we will follow His Excellency Andong's suggestion."

She agreed not only because the Shenxing Lei Tie could bring huge benefits to the sea race, but also because of the vague information she had recently obtained through precognition.

The elf before us is a key figure who will influence the future of the continent.

Using half the profits from a mine to exchange for the opportunity to build a lasting bond with such a person is undoubtedly a very worthwhile deal.

"It's a pleasure working with you."

"It's a pleasure working with you."

After the deal was struck, Anton took his leave without lingering.

Celine saw him out of the central hall, and the stone doors slowly closed behind them.

The two walked out along the corridor, discussing the mining arrangements in hushed tones.

However, more specific details of the transaction will have to wait for Anton to send people from the clan to take charge.

While the Chenxing Thunder Iron Mine is important, it's not to the point where the clan leader needs to personally handle everything.

Just then, two figures suddenly emerged from around the corner ahead.

Anton turned his head and looked over, his gaze slightly sharpening.

Leading the way was a giant sea monster.

He was over five meters tall, with arms as thick as pythons, and skin that was bluish-gray and glistening with a sticky sheen.

Its face resembles that of a human, but it has small gill slits on both sides of its lower jaw, and several short, thick tentacles grow behind its head, resembling a clump of cut seaweed.

The size of an adult Kraken often increases as its strength grows.

Anton could sense the profound and abyssal aura emanating from the two sea creatures, clearly indicating they were at the Saint level.

The Kraken, a Saint-level being, is at least two to three hundred meters tall in reality.

The giant sea monster in front of us was clearly shrunk in size to make it easier to move around inside the building.

Beside the Kraken, a sea giant lagged half a step behind, with a rugged face and broad shoulders and back like a reef.

Upon seeing the two sea creatures approaching, Celine subconsciously frowned, but quickly relaxed and spoke with a normal expression:

"Elder Monri, Elder Lovi, what brings you here? Is there something you wish to see Her Highness the Holy Maiden?"

"We heard that distinguished guests had arrived at the temple, so we came to take a look."

The deep-sea monster named Monri's gaze fell directly on Anton, sizing him up from head to toe.

"Celine, won't you introduce our guests?"

"...This is the Fallen Dragon Sword Saint, Lord Anton."

Upon hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in the eyes of both Monley and Lowe.

"So it's the Meteor Dragon Sword Saint, haha, I've heard of your great name for a long time."

Monri laughed loudly, "I wonder what brings Lord Anton to the temple?"

The question wasn't offensive, but the scrutinizing tone made Celine furrow her brow almost imperceptibly.

Anton keenly sensed the subtle atmosphere between Celine and the two elders, and upon hearing this, he smiled faintly and said, "The Great Whirlpool Sea is a good place. I plan to find a place to cultivate in seclusion."

Monley's eyes flickered.

The Great Whirlpool Sea has no ley lines, so how can it be considered a good place for cultivation?

That would be more accurate if said by sea creatures.

Monley wanted to ask more, but Celine interrupted him, "I still need to see Lord Anton out, so I won't disturb the two elders any longer."

After speaking, he gestured to Anton, who readily complied and walked past Monley and Love to continue forward.

Monley watched the receding figure, his gaze flickering uncertainly.

……

Emerging from the sea, Anton bid farewell to Celine, then transformed into a streak of light and sped straight towards the volcanic zone.

All the matters concerning this trip have now been finalized.

The matter of opening up the rift in the primordial plane of elements has been settled.

The area surrounding the Chenxing Lei Iron Mine is a good place.

Next, all that's needed is to choose a good location, set up an array, and the matter of the spiritual land will be resolved.

The sinking star thunder iron ore vein was an unexpected bonus.

One reason he wanted to cooperate with the Tide Temple was that the Whirlpool Sea was the Tide Temple's territory, and as long as they mined there, they couldn't bypass the Tide Temple.

Another reason is that the Chenxing Lei iron ore vein is located in the deep sea.

Given the Silvermoon Clan's own resources, relying solely on human exploration and mining would inevitably be extremely inefficient and time-consuming.

Sea creatures, who live in the deep sea year-round, have a level of familiarity with seabed topography, ocean currents, and mining conditions that is far beyond what land-based species can match.

They were responsible for mining, while the Silvermoon Clan provided the smelting and processing of the Starfall Iron, making the process undoubtedly more efficient.

Moreover, through this cooperation, the Silvermoon Clan has established a preliminary connection with the Tide Temple, which may come in handy at any time in the future.