Elven cultivators

Dead?

The tall and short youths stared blankly at the scene before them, their heads buzzing and their minds completely blank.

The other spies were also speechless, their mouths agape.

A dignified demigod dragon, a lord of the undead, died by Anton's sword?

Throughout the entire process, they didn't see the Dark Dragon King put up much resistance.

Compared to the battle between the Dark Dragon King and that mysterious powerhouse, the battle between Anton and the Dark Dragon King undoubtedly fits the definition of a crushing defeat even better.

In fact, after discovering that the leader of this undead army was likely the Dark Dragon King, more than one person had imagined a battle between the Dark Dragon King and Anton.

They considered that Anton might win, but that would be a narrow victory after a hard-fought battle.

But I never expected it to turn out this way.

The anticipated fierce battle never happened; Anton defeated the Underworld Dragon King with overwhelming force.

The development of the battle completely exceeded their expectations. In the forest, the clan leaders looked at Anton, who was suspended in the air, and their faces showed uncontrollable joy.

The Third Elder smiled broadly: "As expected of the clan leader, even the Underworld Dragon King is no match for him."

"Of course." Roman looked proud. "If you're talking about who on the mainland is best at dealing with the undead, it's definitely Anton."

All the elves agreed wholeheartedly.

Those who stayed by Anton's side all along learned how much preparation Anton had made to deal with the undead.

Leaving aside the various combat methods, the Ten Thousand Spirits Returning to the Void Suppressing Evil Formation alone was built by the Silver Moon Clan with the full strength of the clan and countless manpower and resources invested, specifically to counter the undead.

In other circumstances, even if the Dark Dragon King was no match for Anton, he could still escape if he couldn't win.

But he deliberately chose to make his move near the Wanling Guixu Suppressing Evil Array.

How is this any different from courting death?

The fact that the King of the Underworld ran into him at this time was simply his bad luck.

Anton paid no attention to the reactions of those around him.

His entire focus was on the sword pellet before him. After devouring the Nether Dragon King, the sword pellet's original dark golden luster had faded considerably, replaced by a near-transparent clarity.

Countless fine lines meandered along the curved surface of the sword pellet, intersecting with each other, each exuding a sharp aura of law.

Anton could clearly sense that the sword pellet's spirituality had been greatly enhanced.

It has now broken through to become a high-grade spiritual artifact, and is only one step away from being promoted to a true artifact.

At that time, the spirit of the sword pellet will be able to transform into a human, possess a true self, and cultivate to achieve enlightenment like a cultivator.

Anton turned to look at the remaining Nether Dragons.

A few hundred Nether Dragons should be enough for Sword Ball to cross this threshold.

Without hesitation, he immediately wielded his sword and charged towards the group of Nether Dragons.

After witnessing the fall of the Underworld Dragon King, the Underworld Dragons were already terrified. When they saw that terrifying elf coming to kill them, they were even more horrified and could no longer muster the will to fight.

However, most of them were trapped in the Six Ding Six Jia Formation, and even if they wanted to escape, they were powerless to do so.

The eight Saint-level Nether Dragons were not bound by the formation, but whenever they tried to escape, they were tightly entangled by the Heavenly Soldiers.

By the time Anton joined the battle, their last hope of escape had been completely extinguished. Although Anton was extremely exhausted, dealing with a group of legendary saints was still a piece of cake.

In no time, the eight Saint-level Nether Dragons were devoured by the sword pellet.

The sword pellet's spiritual energy fluctuations grew increasingly intense, bringing it one step closer to a breakthrough.

Anton continued his attack on the other Nether Dragons, slaughtering them all in the blink of an eye.

After devouring all the Nether Dragons, the sword pellet finally changed.

Accompanied by a clear and melodious sound that burst forth from the depths of the pill, the patterns on its surface suddenly lit up, like a lit fuse, spreading along the curved surface to every corner.

All the light collapsed inwards at the same instant, and then burst outwards with a roar.

Fine cracks appeared in the center of the sword pellet and spread outwards, becoming more and more numerous and denser.

Intense light shone out from the crack, as if something inside was struggling to break free.

Anton watched this scene calmly, and with a slight thought, a barrier appeared out of thin air, enveloping a hundred meters around him and blocking out the outside world's view.

As time passed, the crack widened, and the light shining through it changed from dark gold to clear, and then from clear to a nearly transparent silver-white.

As the last layer of the shell cracked open, a soft halo the size of a fist floated out, like a full moon washed clean, gradually forming a clear outline. First came the slender figure, then the limbs and robes, and finally the face, all detailed, like a meticulously crafted ink painting, slowly being filled with color and light.

He was an elf boy.

He had a dignified posture, long, ink-black hair, and eyebrows and eyes that bore a slight resemblance to Anton's, yet possessed a completely different, cool and aloof quality.

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze meeting Anton's in the void.

Those were extremely clear eyes, containing a restrained sharpness.

The boy slightly raised his hand, his five fingers loosely clenching, as if getting used to his presence.

Then he bowed slightly to Anton.

"Owner."

The sound was clear and steady, like a stream flowing over pebbles.

Anton gazed at him, a genuine satisfaction appearing on his face.

"good."

A spirit materializes, its own spirituality arising; this is the fundamental difference between a true artifact and a spirit artifact.

In the cultivation world's artifact system, magical artifacts are rough drafts, mystical artifacts are refined, and spiritual artifacts are those that have just begun to develop spirituality. However, if we are talking about artifacts that can truly be called living things, then we must have genuine artifacts.

Once this threshold is crossed, the magic weapon ceases to be a tool and becomes an independent entity with its own will.

They can even cultivate and improve themselves.

This means that from now on, the sword will no longer need to devour the essence of dragons to grow, nor will it need to rely on Anton's nurturing to slowly improve.

It can absorb and exhale the spiritual energy of heaven and earth on its own, cultivating like a cultivator.

The key is that genuine artifacts do not have a lifespan.

Its power will continue to grow over time.

Even if the owner dies of old age, it can be passed on to the next person.

This is the true power of a genuine artifact.

The value of a single genuine artifact far exceeds that of a hundred magical artifacts.

It's not just because of its overwhelming power, but also because of its "immortality" and "inheritance". In the traditional world of cultivation, in many long-established sects, those who guard the mountain gate are often not some grand elders, but those few true artifacts passed down from the founding patriarch.

They have lived longer than most disciples, witnessed more trials and tribulations, and cultivated even more profound Taoist skills than the current sect leader.

They do not participate in worldly affairs or engage in worldly competition. They only take action when their sect faces the danger of destruction, sweeping away the enemies, and then return to seclusion.

This is why, even in the world of cultivation, true artifacts are extremely rare.

Only those major sects with deep roots and long-standing traditions have the resources to possess a genuine artifact as their most prized possession.

Even if an ordinary sect were to exhaust all its resources, it might not be able to forge a single piece.

Thinking of this, Anton couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Authentic artifacts are not easy to forge.

The sword pellet devoured countless dragons, from legendary figures and saints to demigods, using the essence of countless powerful dragon species as nourishment to finally forge this true artifact.

It's really not easy.

Coming to his senses, Anton looked at the spirit of the weapon, or rather, the spirit of the sword, before him.

From the outside, the sword spirit is no different from a real elf. Only upon close contact can one feel the incomparably sharp sword intent emanating from it.

"From now on, I'll call you Hanzhang," Anton said.

The Five Elements encompass all, and the stars and celestial patterns are revealed.

The Star Luo Sword Scripture he cultivated, when unleashed, had a sword light that spread like a galaxy. The two characters "Han Zhang" (涵章) not only implied the concealment of the five elements within, but also referred to the outward manifestation of starlight.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing this name upon me."

The sword spirit nodded, saying nothing more, and simply stood quietly beside him.

Anton glanced at the fragment of divine power in his hand, put it into his sleeve, intending to deal with it later, and then looked down at the battlefield.

The Nether Dragon Clan is the commander of this army.

After they were all killed, the undead army began to fall into chaos.

The clan leaders did not miss this opportunity.

Taking advantage of the situation, the Silvermoon Legion, the Half-Elf Legion, and the alien legions launched a full-scale attack to exterminate the undead.

After observing for a while and seeing that the battle had stabilized, Anton withdrew his gaze and returned to the forest. Beneath the Mother Tree of War, Eleanor, Roman, the three elders, and others were gathered together. Upon seeing Anton return, they immediately came to greet him, their eyes curiously scrutinizing Han Zhang, who followed behind Anton.

Roman was the first to be unable to contain himself and asked curiously, "Anton, who is this?"

Anton gave a brief explanation.

When the elves heard that the boy before them was the sword-wielding weapon that Anton often used to kill enemies, they all showed expressions of utter astonishment.

They had never heard of weapons turning into spirits.

Eleanor, however, remained somewhat calm.

After all, she knew that the spirit of a true artifact could take human form.

However, she was also quite surprised.

She knew very well how difficult it was to forge a true artifact.

"Tsk tsk, it looks exactly like a real elf."

Roman leaned closer to examine it closely, circling halfway around Han Zhang as if looking at some novel object.

Han Zhang didn't mind and just stood there motionless, letting her look him over. The other elves were also very curious, but they restrained themselves and weren't as carefree as Roman.

Eleanor withdrew her gaze and turned to look at the distant battlefield.

At this point in the war, the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Although the undead army fought to the death, lacking unified command and being outmatched militarily, their annihilation was only a matter of time.

She silently estimated the losses in this battle and then considered the supplies that the defense line would need to replenish. Her mind had already shifted to the battle plan.

The gray veil in the sky has mostly dissipated.

Sunlight filtered through the clouds, falling on the canopy of the Mother Tree of War, casting a warm, gentle glow.

After a long while, one of the spies let out a low, hoarse sigh as they watched this scene unfold.

"The Silvermoon Clan... this time they are probably really going to solidify their title as the sixth largest power."