Elven cultivators

Upon seeing the newcomer's face and figure, the dark elves, including Trinin, relaxed their guard, but their faces all showed disgust.

The visitor was also a dark elf.

They are just a family from Shadow City.

The young woman at the head of the group was tall and slender, with her long, silver-white hair neatly tied behind her head. She walked with a composed gait, a slight smile playing on her lips, and her gaze slowly swept around the cave.

She is Maya Farrell, the eldest daughter of Heather Farrell, the First Matriarch of Shadow City.

One of the most outstanding young people in Shadow City, and also the person Cui Erning least wants to deal with.

The two were of similar age and were both among the top young warriors in their respective cities. They disliked each other almost from the very first time they met.

The two bumped into each other in this secluded cave, so the atmosphere was naturally not very pleasant.

Facing the hostile gazes, Maya seemed completely oblivious, a slight smile playing on her lips. Her gaze slowly swept over the blood crystal monster lying on the ground before finally settling back on Cui Erning's face.

At this moment, Cui Erning also noticed that there was a dark elf behind Maya, who was also carrying a blood crystal monster that was bound hand and foot on his shoulder.

She immediately realized that the other party had most likely also come here by tracking the Blood Soul Crystal monster.

Despite this, Cui Erning remained expressionless, feigning ignorance, and coldly asked, "What are you doing here?"

Maya smiled and said, "What, this is your Vion City territory, and we can't come here?"

Cui Erning's expression darkened slightly.

That bitch is as cunning as ever, trying to pin accusations on them the moment she opens her mouth.

When such words reach higher authorities, whether true or false, they can easily be used by those with ulterior motives to make a fuss.

She said coldly, "If you Shadow City want to cause trouble, don't use us as a cover."

Maya shrugged: "I didn't say that."

Cui Erning didn't want to waste any more words with her, so he turned and walked deeper into the cave.

But after taking only a few steps, the unhurried footsteps sounded again behind him.

Maya followed.

Cui Erning stopped and glanced at her sideways.

Maya did not avoid her gaze, and a calm smile remained on her lips.

Trinin is the daughter of the First Mistress of Vion, and her mother is also the daughter of the First Mistress of Shadow City.

Moreover, Shadow City is far more powerful than Vion City.

Regardless of status or strength, she was not intimidated by her opponent in the slightest.

Cui Erning clearly knew he had no way to deal with the Maya, so he snorted and ignored them. The two teams entered the cave one after the other.

Disappointingly, the cave was empty; there was nothing there.

Cui Erning frowned slightly.

I thought the monster had escaped here because there was something strange hidden in the cave, but apart from the rubble all over the ground, there was nothing here.

No, that's not right.

If it's just an ordinary cave, how could the energy concentration be so high?

There must be something unusual here that she hasn't noticed.

Cui Erning thought for a moment, then waved for his men to disperse and carefully inspect the area.

Maya also signaled her men to disperse and search.

More than thirty dark elves quickly dispersed, groping along the walls inch by inch.

And indeed, some discoveries were made.

A dark elf discovered a hidden crevice beneath the deepest rock wall.

The crack was mostly covered by the collapsed rubble, and was almost invisible unless you looked closely. The opening was only wide enough for two people to pass side by side, and it stretched diagonally downwards, dark and gloomy.

Cui Erning took a few steps closer, squatted down to check the slope, and then reached out to feel the wind. He could feel a faint warm current slowly gushing out from the depths of the crack.

She immediately understood.

If nothing unexpected happens, the source of the high energy concentration in the cave should be right here.

Cui Erning had made up his mind.

She stood up and turned her head, meeting Maya's gaze.

Without hesitation, Maya spoke first: "Let's cease hostilities for now and investigate the matter below first."

Cui Erning gave her a deep look and nodded, saying, "Okay."

Both of them knew very well that it would be foolish to trip each other up in such an uncertain situation.

Setting aside disputes and getting what each party needs is the most rational approach.

Under normal circumstances, such a verbal agreement would have no effect on the dark elves.

Either party may break the agreement and betray the other without hesitation at any time.

However, both Vion City and Shadow City belong to Nine Nether City, and while Nine Nether City tacitly allows them to compete, it absolutely forbids them from killing each other.

This laid the foundation for cooperation.

So the two teams joined together, lit a few light stones, and began to file in along the downward-sloping crack.

The passageway was deeper than expected.

For the first few hundred steps, it was only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. As you went down, the passage gradually widened, and the rock walls on both sides gradually became smooth and flat.

Before long, a faint halo of light began to appear in front of them.

At first, it was just a dim, faint red, but as we went deeper, the blood-red light became more intense, gradually turning from dark red to bright red.

The energy concentration in the air continued to rise, as if one were in an invisible thick fog, with each breath carrying warmth.

Cui Erning and Maya gradually realized something, their expressions brightening, and they unconsciously quickened their pace.

By the time they reached the end of the passage, the blood-red light had thickened to the point that it had stained the air crimson, and the walls and floor of the passage seemed to be smeared with bright red blood.

The dark elves also entered a huge cave.

The cave's dome hangs high, reaching over a hundred meters in height. The four walls and the ground resemble a single stone shell soaked in blood. Layer upon layer of blood soul crystals grow along the rock walls, hanging from the dome and rising from the ground, intertwining to form a continuous red forest.

Cui Erning didn't even need to conduct a detailed survey; he could tell by sight alone that the scale of the Blood Soul Crystals in this cave far exceeded that of the two existing Blood Soul Crystal caves in Nine Nether City.

Maya was clearly aware of this as well, her gaze quickly sweeping across the crystal clusters before exchanging a glance with Trinen.

The two spoke almost simultaneously:

"Everyone spread out and survey the terrain."

"Report any abnormalities immediately, and do not touch any crystal clusters without authorization."

The dark elves sprang into action, scattering to their respective groups.

But their actions were interrupted after only a moment.

A series of soft, rustling sounds came from all around the grotto, like countless tiny pebbles rolling on the dry ground at the same time.

Cui Erning turned around abruptly and saw figures emerging one after another from among the shadows of the crystal clusters on all sides.

It was almost identical to the monster they had just captured, except for a slight difference in size.

Pairs of amber-colored vertical pupils floated among the dark red crystal clusters, filled with vigilance and hostility, slowly tightening their encirclement around them.

Those crystal-clear bodies gleamed with a wet, glistening sheen in the blood-red light, their edges refracting tiny specks of light, like a group of prisms slowly closing in.

There were at least a hundred of them.

The battle erupted in an instant.

The dark elves reacted extremely quickly, changing formation almost at the same moment the monsters appeared, forming groups of two or three to meet the onrushing monsters.

Although those monsters were numerous, their individual combat strength was generally only at the silver rank level.

Both teams' dark elves were elite, not to mention the two Gold-ranked warriors, Trinen and Maya.

Their overall strength completely overwhelmed the monster horde.

The battle lasted less than three minutes.

Hundreds of blood crystal monsters were all defeated, some dead, some wounded, and lay sprawled among the shattered crystal remains on the ground.

Only two Dark Elves sustained minor injuries, but they recovered quickly after drinking a healing potion.

Cui Erning flicked the remaining crystal shards off his short blade and was about to order a sweep of the battlefield when a series of heavy, slow footsteps suddenly echoed from the depths of the cave.

Thump, thump!

The entire cave resonated slightly with that sound.

Cui Erning raised his head, his gaze piercing through the swirling crystalline dust and blood-red light, landing on the silhouette slowly approaching from the deepest part of the grotto.

Its height far exceeds that of a normal golem, and its entire body is covered with a layer of gray-black metallic texture. The surface is covered with old wear marks, and many parts are covered with a thick layer of dark red blood crystals, which condense into irregular cone-shaped protrusions along the joints, chest and head.

The thing stood among the crystal clusters, like an ancient guardian forgotten deep within a temple, silent and heavy, yet sending an indescribable chill down one's spine.

Cui Erning's pupils contracted slightly.

She had seen images of such things on the merit list of Nine Nether City—ancient golems!

A legendary alchemical creation!

Nine Nether City has been offering a high bounty for the ancient golem (core), with an astonishingly generous reward, yet no one has ever actually succeeded in bringing back even a single fragment.

Despite the slightly different appearance of the creature before them, Trinin and Maya immediately recognized it as the Ancient Golem.

The two women's expressions changed, and they made the same judgment almost at the same time.

"withdraw!"

The ancient golem is a legendary golem, far beyond their capabilities.

With such a small force, they would probably be wiped out in a single encounter.

Without hesitation, the dark elves quickly evacuated the cave and fled along the path they had come from.

Fortunately, the ancient golem did not chase after them.

It simply stopped in the center of the cave, enveloped in a crimson halo, watching the uninvited guest depart.

Once the dark elves had left the cave and run some distance, confirming that the ancient golems were not chasing them, they breathed a sigh of relief.

Cui Erning and Maya exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke first.

Both of them realized at the same time that this discovery was far more than just a few blood crystal monsters.

That grotto must be hiding other secrets; it might be another relic from ancient times.

If that's the case, then this achievement is truly remarkable.

Finally, Maya broke the silence: "The credit should be shared equally."

Cui Erning nodded: "Okay."

The merits gained this time are absolutely significant; even if divided equally, they would be more than any previous one.

Without lingering, each side left two members of their tribe to guard the cave entrance, and then led the rest of their people to leave the cave quickly, heading towards the direction of Jiuyou City.