Elven cultivators

The passageways in the dark area were as damp and cold as ever.

The rock walls on both sides are covered with a thin film of water, and occasionally small stalactites hang from the dome, with water droplets hanging from their tips, appearing particularly cold and serene in the ethereal blue glow of the fluorescent moss.

A dozen or so dark elves formed a loose column and passed through the dimly lit passageway, their eyes scanning the rock crevices and side passages on either side warily.

Their steps were deliberately adjusted to make almost no extra sound.

The soles of the boots made only a very slight scraping sound as they landed on the wet, slippery rock surface, which was quickly swallowed up by the sound of water dripping in the distance.

Cui Erning walked at the front of the group, his steps steady and light, his hand never leaving the hilt of the short blade at his waist.

After exiting the passageway, the team still found nothing.

Karina, the second-in-command following closely behind Trinen, couldn't help but turn her head and frown as she saw a slender dark elf.

"Are you sure that monster ran in this direction?"

The dark elf, when questioned, nodded quickly: "It's definitely this direction, I can't be wrong."

"We lost a colleague in our efforts to catch that beast. Although it eventually escaped, it was badly injured and probably won't get very far."

Karina frowned slightly: "But we haven't seen a single drop of blood on the ground along the way."

The dark elf paused for a moment, a hint of hesitation appearing on its face, its tone carrying a trace of uncertainty: "It seems... to have no blood."

"No blood?" Karina looked surprised.

The dark elf said in a low voice, "When we dealt with it before, it was clearly injured, and the wounds were open, but no blood flowed out. Only dark red crystalline fragments fell out of the wounds, like broken stones."

Karina frowned even more, about to ask something else, when she caught a glimpse of Trienin stopping in front of her.

She immediately stopped talking and gestured behind her.

The line suddenly came to a stop.

Cui Erning crouched down, reached out and felt around on the moss-covered rocky ground for a moment, then picked up something and held it up to his eyes.

It was a crystal the size of a fingernail.

The edges are irregular, like fragments that have been broken off by an external force.

It has a thick, dark red color and a texture between jade and stone. Inside, there are faint, fine specks of light that move slowly, like the glimmer of light trapped in amber.

Before Cui Erning could speak, the dark elf's eyes lit up: "That's it, that monster was covered in this stuff."

Karina stared intently at the crystal on Trinnin's fingertip, a look of astonishment crossing her face: "Isn't this a Blood Soul Crystal?"

Cui Erning twirled the crystal between his fingertips for a moment, then examined it closely before slowly saying, "It is indeed very similar, and the energy fluctuations inside are also highly similar to those of the Blood Soul Crystal."

Karina exclaimed in astonishment, "A creature covered in blood soul crystals... Does such a thing really exist in this world?"

Cui Erning did not answer, but simply put the broken crystals into the leather pouch at his waist, stood up, and gazed intently into the depths of the passageway.

She led the team out this time because someone from her tribe encountered a strange creature they had never seen before while exploring, and the creature escaped after they fought it.

Upon hearing this, Maris immediately ordered an investigation, and Trinin volunteered to lead the search himself.

In the Nine Nether City, a strange, unheard-of creature often represents a great deal of merit.

The animal park always has a high-priced bounty posted. As long as you send in enough valuable live specimens, the merit points can be equivalent to what a normal team does in half a year.

Moreover, if this monster really does have Blood Soul Crystals on its body, then its value will be even higher.

Sending them to the animal park might allow us to research methods for artificially cultivating Blood Soul Crystals, or even cultivate new types of spirit beasts that coexist with Blood Soul Crystals.

If we can capture that monster alive and hand it over to the animal park, it will undoubtedly be a great achievement.

This achievement will also help to slightly suppress the momentum of Shadow City.

Thinking of this, a faint hint of coldness flashed across Cui Erning's eyes.

Those bitches in Shadow City, relying on their larger numbers, have been trying to dominate us in everything in recent years, and are extremely arrogant and domineering.

It's clear that Vion City was the first to pledge allegiance to Nine Nether City.

"Keep searching."

Cui Erning snapped out of his thoughts and took the first step forward.

The team restarted, and their pace was a few points faster than before.

Before long, the scattered crystalline fragments on the ground gradually became denser.

From initially being occasionally visible, to being able to step on a patch almost every few steps, scattered among the moss, like fragments shaken off by some animal dragging it.

Not long after, a cave appeared ahead.

The entrance is much wider than the passageway, and the dome is several meters higher. The rock walls on both sides narrow inward, forming a funnel-shaped space.

Cui Erning stopped at the entrance of the cave and quickly scanned the surroundings with his eyes.

Her gaze did not linger on the open space, but instead fell directly on the shadow of a protruding rock wall in the southeast corner of the cave.

The next second, she suddenly sprang up, her whole body like a low-hanging shadow skimming the ground, so fast that it even created a slight sound of wind breaking.

The short blade had already slid into his palm, its edge gleaming with a cold, eerie light, and it pierced straight into the depths of that dark shadow.

Just as the blade tip was about to touch the rock wall, the shadow suddenly shrank inward, and then a gray shadow pounced out from the side, landing on the pile of rubble more than 20 meters away with a low roar.

It was a creature resembling a cheetah, about a meter tall at the shoulder, with a slender and sturdy body, its limbs firmly planted on the ground, its back slightly arched, and its eyes watching them warily.

What is most striking is the layer of dark red crystals covering its entire body.

The crystals were uneven, like an unpolished suit of armor, with ridges of varying thickness forming along its spine, shoulders, the outer sides of its limbs and the top of its forehead, the edges of which refracted a faint halo in the fluorescent light.

"This is the monster!" the dark elf shouted excitedly.

Seeing that the enemy outnumbered it, the monster suddenly exerted force with its four legs, sending stones flying everywhere. Its entire body transformed into a blur of dark red light as it lunged toward the crevice on the side of the cave.

But he wanted to escape.

But Trierning was faster.

She darted out almost the instant the monster lunged forward, her right hand drawing a short, sharp arc with her short blade, precisely striking the bend in the monster's hind leg joint.

The blade cut into the hair-thin gap between the crystal clusters, producing a crisp sound like snapping a dry branch.

The monster's hind legs suddenly bent, its entire body tilted for a moment, and its speed suddenly decreased sharply.

It hissed and twisted its body, trying to tear its claws at Trinen's face.

Cui Erning, however, seemed to have anticipated that it would turn around, ducked in advance to avoid it, and then slashed at its forelimb on the same side with his backhand.

The limb covered in crystals split open under the blade, revealing the dry, grayish-white skin underneath. There was no bleeding, but the movement was noticeably slower by half a beat.

The monster cried out in pain, roaring as it tried to create distance, but Trinin clung to its side like a shadow, his short blade slashing down one after another, each strike landing precisely at the seam of the crystal cluster.

Two blows crippled its right foreleg, one slash cleaved the crystal armor on its left shoulder, and then a kick to its side sent the monster flying, crashing heavily into the cave wall, sending rubble scattering everywhere.

It struggled to get up, but its two forelimbs could no longer support its body. After struggling for a couple of moments, it knelt down again, letting out a low, hoarse hiss. Its vertical pupils were filled with resentment and anger.

Cui Erning then sheathed his blade, took out a runic iron chain woven with mithril wire and soaked in a special potion from the leather pouch at his waist, and with a flick of his wrist, the chain wrapped around the monster's neck and forelimbs like a living snake, tightening rapidly.

The monster struggled a few times, the runes on the iron chain lit up for a moment, and a tingling, oppressive force spread along the chain, causing its limbs to go limp and it to collapse to the ground, with only its chest still heaving rapidly.

"Tie it up tightly, and seal its mouth too." Cui Erning tossed the other end of the chain to his tribesmen behind him. "Don't let it bite through the chain."

Several dark elves responded in unison and immediately swarmed forward, binding the Blood Soul Crystal monster tightly.

"Captain," Karina said with a smile as she walked up to Trinin, "your strength has improved again."

Cui Erning glanced at his palm and a smile appeared on his face.

Although the Blood Prison True Demon Art that Nine Nether City gave them to cultivate was a shackle to control them, it must be admitted that this "technique" mentioned by the elves was indeed very effective.

In just over seventy years, she has already reached the threshold of the golden peak.

In the past, given the cultivation speed of dark elves, it would have taken them two or three hundred years to even reach this point.

At that time, many people in the clan cursed Jiuyou City in their hearts, thinking that this technique was too vicious, but now such resentment has become less and less.

For dark elves who believe in the survival of the fittest, paying a price is nothing as long as it increases their power.

It's better than being controlled by someone and getting nothing in return.

"It's a pity that cultivation resources are scarce, otherwise the speed of strength improvement could be even faster."

Cui Erning pondered to himself.

I've heard that those elves have better cultivation techniques and more abundant cultivation resources, and that seventy years is enough time for them to break through from the lower gold rank to the peak gold rank.

Moreover, it is said that there are even more prestigious disciples of the Primordial City—Cui Erning's understanding of the Primordial City is limited to the fact that it is the core city of the surface elves—some of whom have cultivated from scratch to the peak of the Gold Realm over the past seventy years.

Cui Erning was very envious and jealous of this.

Unfortunately, among the many vassal races of Nine Nether City, only a small portion are allowed to exchange for the disciple quota of Primordial Beginning City.

Given the Dark Elves' notorious reputation, their chances of obtaining a spot as a disciple of the Primordial City are extremely slim.

Shaking his head, Cui Erning shook off his thoughts and turned his gaze back to the depths of the cave ahead, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.

She had sensed it earlier; the energy concentration in the vicinity was unusually high.

The source seems to be this cave in front of us.

Cui Erning was about to call his men in to check when his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he abruptly turned to look behind him.

"Who?"

The surrounding dark elves immediately raised their weapons, ready for battle.

"Don't be so nervous, Cui Erning, we're not monsters."

A familiar voice rang out.

A group of tall, slender figures emerged from the passageway.