Elven cultivators

As soon as Anton returned to the airspace above the volcanic zone, a huge shadow silently rose from the water.

The sea surface first rose slightly, then suddenly split open with a roar, and waves splashed outwards from the center, with white foam churning and surging to both sides, revealing the huge, azure umbrella-like canopy.

Countless tentacles emerged from the water's depths, clustering together and stretching towards Andong, waving back and forth in mid-air like a clump of seaweed swaying in the wind, their movements rapid and eager.

A thought followed, revealing an unmistakable eagerness and ingratiation.

Seeing Solius's attitude, Anton smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, since I promised you, I won't go back on my word."

He extended his divine sense, which, like an invisible tentacle, probed into Solius's body, slowly sweeping along the folds of the umbrella-like structures and the roots of the tentacles, and soon he could see the distribution of those grayish-white patches.

Compared to when we first met, the filth has only decreased by about one-twentieth, a pitifully small reduction.

This means that it would take approximately twenty repetitions of the Hao Yi San Yang Huo technique to completely cleanse the area.

However, considering that the previous Hao Yi San Yang Qi was aimed at killing the enemy, most of its power was used to burn Solius's body, and probably less than half of it was actually used to dispel the Abyss's filth.

If the attack method is adjusted, and all supernatural power is used to cleanse the filth of the abyss, the cleaning efficiency should be greatly improved.

It should be clean after about four or five times.

Anton felt reassured and said, "I will cleanse you of the filth every now and then, but in exchange, you must protect me during my cultivation period and not let anything disturb me."

"In addition, I will also send people to mine the Starfall Iron Ore Vein in the sea. You will also help to oversee the operation and drive away the sea monsters that have been attracted there."

Almost the instant Anton finished speaking, Solius conveyed his agreement, as if he were afraid that Anton would change his mind.

Anton watched this unfold and couldn't help but find it amusing.

It seems that the filth has inflicted more torment on Thorius than he anticipated.

Come to think of it, a saint-level creature that has lived for countless years is gradually losing its intelligence due to the impurities accumulated in its body day and night, and even being conscious is a luxury.

Now that they finally see a glimmer of hope to completely escape this predicament, they are naturally willing to agree to any conditions.

Moreover, the conditions proposed by Anton were not much to it.

Whether it's protecting the Dharma or driving away sea monsters, it's all a piece of cake for it.

Mining the Chenxing Lei iron ore vein is no big deal.

This vein was useless to it, so it was given away.

As Anton watched Solius excitedly waving his hand, another thought crossed his mind.

Thorius's physical structure meant that the filth would continue to accumulate over time.

Even if it is cleaned up this time, after decades or centuries, those grayish-white impurities will accumulate again.

Even then, the jellyfish monster would still have to bow its head and beg for his help.

He could use this to his advantage and, to some extent, manipulate Thorius.

A Saint-level monster, if used properly, can play a huge role in crucial moments.

The only pity is that, like the sea creatures, Thorius cannot stay away from the deep sea for long.

This is a limitation inherent in the nature of life, and cannot be changed until one reaches the level of a deity.

Otherwise, Anton would have liked to bring it back to the Primordial Spirit Realm directly, so that the clan could have another Saint-level combatant to guard it.

"...Never mind, if it really comes down to it, it's not difficult to get Solius to leave the deep sea temporarily for a while."

Anton pulled his wandering thoughts back, turned slightly, and darted toward the nearest island group.

He chose a small island not too far from the volcanic zone, with sparse vegetation and no traces of sea creature settlements, and landed there. He took out materials from his storage bag and began setting up a teleportation array on the spot.

The spirit stone was embedded in the array eye, and the runes lit up one by one. The silver-blue halo spread out along the patterns, and before long, a directional teleportation array was formed.

Anton then activated the formation, connecting to the Primordial Spirit Realm.

Without lingering, he stepped into the teleportation array, and with a flash of silver light, he disappeared from the spot.

Sunlight streamed in through the high windows of Tianyuan Hall, illuminating the stack of long scrolls spread out on the edge of the desk.

Eleanor was engrossed in processing documents when she suddenly sensed something, looked up, and saw Anton.

"You're back?" Eleanor put down her pen, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

She thought Anton would stay in the whirlpool area for at least a few years, but she didn't expect him to be back in just a few days.

Anton sat down opposite her and, without much small talk, gave a brief account of the discovery of the Starfall Iron Mine, the cooperation reached with the Tide Temple, and the matter of Solius.

Eleanor's eyes grew brighter as she listened, and by the time Anton finished speaking, she couldn't help but sit up slightly, her face showing a mixture of surprise and delight.

She never expected that Anton would bring back such wonderful news after just one trip.

Of course she knew what the Sinking Star Thunder Iron was.

This rare metal is extremely rare on the mainland.

Over the past few decades, the Silvermoon Clan has been acquiring some of these items piecemeal through various trade channels, but the total amount is still less than one hundred kilograms.

But now, an entire mineral vein is laid out before us.

Even if we can only get half, it's still a stable and continuous supply line.

With the Sinking Star Thunder Iron, the clan can forge more Mystic Artifacts.

In fact, the clan's equipment level has now far surpassed that of other top-tier forces.

It is even comparable to the five major powers with a history of thousands of years and profound heritage.

Without exception, clan leaders like Eleanor and Roman possessed a full set of mystical weapons.

There are even some top-grade mystical artifacts.

Even more so, after a hundred years, when the first batch of spirit souls matures, the clan can add a batch of spirit artifacts.

By then, the clan's high-ranking members might each have a magical artifact.

Even now, the best disciples of Taichu City, such as Ryan, Lucius, Ivy, and Night Eye, each possess two to three Xuan artifacts.

The corresponding Xuanqi is the ancient-level magical equipment of the Dawn Continent.

For ordinary legendary powerhouses, having one or two pieces of ancient-grade magical equipment is already considered a sign of substantial wealth.

As for the Gold tier, unless one has the backing of a powerful force, it is virtually impossible to acquire legendary equipment.

Looking across the entire continent, no first-rate power possesses such a vast number of ancient magical items.

Even the five major powers only accumulated their wealth over nearly ten thousand years.

The Silvermoon Clan caught up with the five major powers in just over a hundred years.

Given time, it is not a pipe dream to surpass the five major powers.

The appearance of the Chenxing Lei Iron Ore Vein will undoubtedly greatly accelerate the arrival of this time point.

Eleanor took a deep breath and exhaled again, her face beaming with undisguised joy.

"I'll arrange for people to go to the Great Whirlpool Sea right away." She immediately took out a communication talisman. "One teleportation array probably won't be enough; we'll need to set up several more."

Anton nodded, said nothing more, and completely handed the matter over to Eleanor to handle.

He had always trusted the elf girl's abilities.

When it comes to managing these kinds of tasks, the elf girl never disappoints.

After finalizing the arrangements, Eleanor suddenly brought up another matter.

"Roman recently sent word that they have found the Dark Spider Queen's whereabouts."

Anton's eyes lit up slightly: "Tell me in detail."

Eleanor immediately recounted all the information about Shadow City.

After confirming the existence of Shadow City, the Nine Netherworld City immediately dispatched scouts to investigate. They paid a considerable price but finally managed to retrieve some valuable intelligence.

"The First Mistress of Shadow City is a Saint-level being, but she only broke through and advanced in more than twenty years, and is most likely at the Saint Transformation Realm."

"Judging from the fact that she and Shadow City still worship the Dark Spider Mother and dare not cross the line, the Dark Spider Mother is at least one realm higher than her, most likely the Resonance Realm, or even the peak of the Saint Realm."

Anton nodded thoughtfully.

The result was roughly in line with his expectations.

After a moment's thought, Anton said in a deep voice, "Continue to gather intelligence and monitor Shadow City, but for now, do not provoke the Dark Spider Queen."

He was very interested in the Dark Spider Mother.

But now is not the time to make a move.

He has just broken through, and his power has not yet reached its peak.

It's not too late to deal with the Dark Spider Mother once we've fully mastered the four supernatural powers.

After arranging things, Anton didn't linger. He turned and left, returning to the nameless island in the whirlpool sea.

The sea breeze sweeps in from the ocean, carrying the salty smell and cool moisture.

Without stopping, Anton headed straight for the volcanic zone, sank underwater, and began to survey the terrain.

He used his divine sense to carefully examine the seabed topography within a radius of tens of kilometers, repeatedly comparing the distribution density and direction of the four types of elemental energy.

Finally, about ten kilometers northeast of the Chenxing Lei Iron Mine, a depression valley located between two volcanic ridges was selected as the site for the array.

The valley was partially enclosed by hydrothermal vents on three sides, where the water temperature and pressure were relatively stable. Above it was the center of the storms that occurred year-round, where the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind converged very evenly.

After determining the location, Anton began to design the formation layout according to the terrain, and finalized the landing points of the four elemental resonance towers and the guiding array one by one.

Unlike any previous attempt to open a rift, this time he had to maintain the rifts in the four elemental origin planes simultaneously and make them work in tandem with the Metal Energy Gathering Array to achieve a stable balance of the five energies within the array.

The difficulty is far greater than that of a single crack.

Especially in the process of harmonizing the five elements.

The four elements have different fundamental energy properties: earth is heavy and condensed, water is long-lasting and pervasive, wind is unpredictable, and fire is violent and restless.

Once the four rifts open simultaneously, their respective energies will naturally clash, annihilate each other, and even form chaotic energy tides.

With the intervention of the metal element's energy, the possibility of imbalance is only higher.

Passive reconciliation alone is not enough to ensure their stable coexistence.

A core hub capable of neutralizing the five elements must be embedded in the center of the formation, so that the five energies are "tamed" before being released, and then converge into the formation eye.

In other words, he needs to build a "harmonizing pool" in the center of the formation.

Instead of rushing to start construction, Anton repeatedly went through the entire plan in his mind dozens of times.

From the timing of energy flow through each rune to the mutual interference when different elements meet, everything was examined and corrected one by one until it was confirmed that there were no obvious omissions before the actual arrangement could begin.

He first cast a pentagonal base, with the five points corresponding to the convergence points of earth, water, fire, wind, and metal elements. A bowl-shaped depression was left in the center of the base as the prototype of the harmonizing pool.

The walls of the Harmony Pool are arranged in a multi-layered nested array, with each layer corresponding to a transformation rune of a certain element.

When energy surges out of the fissure, it first undergoes transformation at the corresponding node, and then flows into the central pool along the guide channel at the edge of the base, where it completes the final fusion and neutralization.

This stage of the work is extremely tedious. The position, depth, and spacing of each rune must be repeatedly calibrated, as even a slight deviation can lead to energy overflow or conflict.

It took Anton nearly three months to completely complete the construction of the base.

Looking down from above, the entire base of the formation resembles a pentagram.

One corner is right next to the edge of the Chenxing Thunder Iron Mine. There is a specially isolated area there for setting up a metal element energy gathering array, which draws out the dissipated metal element spiritual energy from the depths of the mine and gathers it into the harmonizing pool in the center of the array.

In the following period, Anton successively opened elemental dimensional rifts at the other four corners of the pentagram.

Once the energy balance issue was resolved, fracture opening became much smoother.

Thanks to the high natural element concentration in this sea area, the construction of the resonance tower and the guiding array did not encounter major obstacles.

When the last fiery elemental dimensional rift was anchored and stabilized, Anton could clearly feel a subtle change in the energy flow of the surrounding seawater.

Five different colors and textures of energy flowed slowly along the edge of the pentagram, converging gently in the harmonizing pool at the center of the base, like a watercolor painting that was repeatedly blended, layer by layer, permeating each other, and finally condensing into a soft five-colored halo that rose from the surface of the pool and diffused into the surrounding deep sea.

The sacred site was completed.

Anton sat cross-legged in the center of the Harmony Pool, closed his eyes, and focused his mind on his dantian.

Energy surged in from all directions, softened by the harmonizing pool, and transformed into warm and even five-element essence. It traveled upwards along the meridians, gathered at the crown of the head, and slowly poured into the five-colored swirling cloud above the head.

He remained in meditation for an unknown period of time. When he opened his eyes again, the edge of the cloud was slightly more solid than before, and its color was even more profound.

Anton focused his mind and sensed for a moment, then he had a plan in mind: "At this rate, it will take at most ten years to completely solidify the first cloud of energy, after which we can start to condense the second one."

He roughly calculated it in his mind.

If nothing unexpected happens, it should not be a problem to condense a Dharma body within three hundred years.

It's not impossible for him to break through to the Nascent Soul stage within five hundred years.

It is important to know that after Anton achieved the Nascent Soul stage, his lifespan increased significantly.

Even if one's cultivation level stagnates in the future, living for seven or eight thousand years is no problem at all.

Five hundred years is negligible compared to his lifespan.

"While cultivating, one must not neglect supernatural abilities."

Anton's most advanced supernatural ability is naturally the Haoyi Three Yang Qi, and he has already grasped some of its secrets.

He has begun to comprehend the two divine abilities, the Tai Xuan Yi Qi Five Elements Great Hand and the Tai Xuan Yuan Han Zhen Gang, but he is still a long way from truly mastering them.

The Purple Heaven Divine Thunder is progressing the slowest.

However, the thunderstorm environment in the volcanic zone is very suitable for cultivating this supernatural power, so the progress should be able to be accelerated a lot in the future.

After a moment of contemplation, Anton gathered these thoughts one by one, closed his eyes again, and immersed himself in the next round of cultivation.

A five-colored halo slowly rose from the harmonizing pool, enveloping his entire body, like a bright light in the dark blue of the deep sea.