The Elven Cultivator

Looking down from high above, the valley in the Thousand Rock Hills seemed as if an invisible giant hand had pressed an inverted golden bowl over it, completely sealing off an area five hundred meters in radius.

Countless intricate runes flowed across the surface of the barrier, like molten gold slithering over transparent glass. It emanated an ancient and deadly aura, so potent that even the howling mountain winds froze upon touching its edge.

The Rock-Horned Dragon sensed that something was wrong almost immediately.

Its survival instincts blared warnings in its mind. An intense sense of crisis caused its pupils to constrict into thin slits.

Without hesitation, the Rock-Horned Dragon turned and charged toward the valley entrance.

BOOM!

Its body slammed viciously into the golden light barrier, sending out ripples of golden light.

The barrier didn’t budge. Not a single crack appeared.

The Rock-Horned Dragon roared in fury. The earthy-yellow light on its massive horn flared, and a thick beam of light shot out from the tip, blasting heavily against the barrier.

But it was still useless.

The moment the earthy-yellow beam struck the barrier, the golden runes flowing across its surface decomposed and absorbed it, causing it to quickly dissolve into nothing.

Instead, the runes on the barrier grew even brighter, and their flow quickened.

The Rock-Horned Dragon clearly hadn’t expected this outcome and was visibly stunned for a moment.

When it recovered, it launched another attack, unwilling to give up.

Claws, beams of light, ramming, biting... A storm of various attacks rained down upon the barrier.

Yet every attack only made the golden light shine brighter.

Far from weakening, the barrier grew stronger and stronger, like an insatiable beast greedily devouring the Rock-Horned Dragon’s power.

Watching this scene, the Great Elder, Third Elder, and Thorvin all had looks of irrepressible amazement on their faces.

”What a powerful array...”

Each of the Rock-Horned Dragon’s attacks was powerful enough to leave an ordinary Golden Tier expert battered and bruised. But against that thin, golden barrier, they were like clay oxen sinking into the sea—disappearing without a trace.

It completely overturned their understanding of arrays.

Just then, the Rock-Horned Dragon, realizing it was powerless against the golden barrier, finally turned its rage on Anton and the others, roaring as it charged toward them.

The four exchanged a glance and attacked simultaneously without a word.

Thorvin charged at the forefront, swinging his war axe viciously at the Rock-Horned Dragon, consciously taking on the roles of vanguard and tank.

The Great Elder and Third Elder flanked from the sides, unleashing a barrage of Magic at the Rock-Horned Dragon.

To the trio’s astonishment, Anton also charged straight for the Rock-Horned Dragon.

The Rock-Horned Dragon was not unintelligent. It quickly identified Anton as the weakest link among its enemies and immediately swiped its claws viciously at him.

The Great Elder’s expression changed slightly. Just as he was about to warn Anton to back away, he saw Anton raise his hand. A small object shot out, expanded rapidly in mid-air, and transformed into a three-meter-tall, red-gold bell that enveloped him completely.

The bell’s wall was translucent, and one could faintly see patterns of fire flowing within it, as if molten lava were surging inside glass. It gave off a scorching, ancient aura.

CLANG!

The Rock-Horned Dragon’s sharp claws slammed heavily onto the Separation Fire Shield, producing a deafening screech of metal on metal.

A brilliant, red-gold light flared. The flame patterns on the bell wall lit up, absorbing, dispersing, and nullifying the full force of the impact.

The Red Gold Bell Wall only trembled slightly before steadily withstanding the blow.

Inside the bell, Anton was unmoved; not even the hem of his robe was stirred by the force of the blow.

For a moment, not just the Rock-Horned Dragon, but even the Great Elder and the other two were stunned.

”Extraordinary Level?”

The Third Elder blurted out in disbelief.

To block a full-power strike from a Golden Peak beast head-on without a scratch, it had to be at least an Extraordinary Level Magic Equipment.

Of that, there was no doubt.

The question was, Extraordinary Level Magic Equipment was incredibly precious and rare. Where did Anton get something like this?

He clearly remembered that the only piece of Extraordinary Level Magic Equipment Anton possessed was the Suncrest Emblem.

The Great Elder and Third Elder exchanged a look as an astonishing thought simultaneously flashed through their minds.

’Don’t tell me Anton crafted this himself, too?’

’If that’s really the case, then that’s... utterly heaven-defying!’

The Rock-Horned Dragon also seemed to sense that the Separation Fire Shield was unusual.

It let out a low growl, abandoned its attack, and drew back. Its vertical, red-gold pupils stared fixedly at Anton inside the Red Gold Bell Cover, a flicker of instinctual fear in its eyes.

Anton, however, did not stop. With a sword in one hand and a Technique in the other, he launched a swift assault on the Rock-Horned Dragon.

Protected by the Separation Fire Shield, he completely abandoned all defense and went on an all-out offensive.

HUM!

An earthy-yellow halo seeped out from the gaps in the Rock-Horned Dragon’s scale armor, coalescing around its body into a thick, visible aura that acted like a layer of invisible armor.

This was the Power of Law the Rock-Horned Dragon had awakened—Adamant Wall.

As one of the lowest-grade Laws, Adamant Wall had no offensive capabilities. It couldn’t incinerate all creation like the Law of Searing Heat, nor could it entangle and bind like the Law of Thorns.

It had only one purpose: defense.

Ultimate defense.

Under the enhancement of the Law of Adamant Wall, the Rock-Horned Dragon’s body was unbelievably tough.

Even someone as strong as the Great Elder could only make the aura on the Rock-Horned Dragon’s body tremble slightly and dim with each attack, and it would quickly return to its bright state.

The attacks from the other three were even weaker. When they landed on the Rock-Horned Dragon, the aura didn’t even waver.

The battle reached a stalemate.

However, there was not a trace of anxiety on the faces of Anton and the others.

They had already anticipated this scene.

Adamant Wall was, after all, only a low-grade Law, and the Rock-Horned Dragon was only at the Golden Peak, not the Legendary Tier. No matter how strong its defense, there would come a moment when it was exhausted.

The Golden Light Prison Array had already cut off all of the Rock-Horned Dragon’s escape routes. It couldn’t run; it could only take the punishment passively.

As long as they continued their siege, it was only a matter of time before they broke through this ”Adamant Wall.”

And that was indeed the case.

As time passed, the aura on the Rock-Horned Dragon’s body began to recover more and more slowly after each attack. Its color gradually faded from a bright, brilliant gold to a murky, earthy yellow.

After about another half hour, the aura finally stopped regenerating. Under the four’s combined assault, it dimmed slowly but surely, like a candle flickering in the wind, before finally shattering with a loud crash.

Without the protection of ”Adamant Wall,” the Rock-Horned Dragon, despite its tough physique, was quickly covered in wounds under the four’s ferocious assault.

Its scale armor cracked and blood flowed freely. Powerless, it could only roar futilely in anger as fear finally appeared in its vertical pupils.

Seeing that the Rock-Horned Dragon was on its last legs, the four exchanged a look, reaching a tacit understanding in an instant.

Anton suddenly opened his mouth, and a stream of pure white Sword Qi shot out, striking toward the Rock-Horned Dragon’s skull like a white rainbow piercing the sun.

In that same instant, the Great Elder’s thorns wrapped around the Rock-Horned Dragon’s neck like venomous snakes.

The Third Elder’s lightning struck its heart with precision.

And Thorvin’s war axe, imbued with all his Magic Power, viciously chopped down on its spine.

The four attacks struck the Rock-Horned Dragon’s body at almost the exact same time.

A mist of blood instantly erupted from the Rock-Horned Dragon’s body, and a small hole appeared in the center of its skull.

Its massive body suddenly went rigid. Its vertical pupils dimmed rapidly, losing their light.

The next moment, its heavy body crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The ground trembled violently for a moment, then fell silent.

The Great Elder retracted his thorns and let out a long breath, unable to hide the exhaustion on his face.

While this battle hadn’t been perilous, the hours of high-intensity attacks had taken a huge toll on his Magic Power and stamina.

The Third Elder and Thorvin weren’t much better off. They were drenched in sweat, their arms trembling slightly.

Although Anton was uninjured, he had also expended a great deal of energy. He only recovered after taking a few Pills to restore his True Essence and stamina.

”Finally, it’s over.”

Thorvin walked over to the Rock-Horned Dragon’s corpse, patted its enormous head with his war axe, and broke into a gratified smile.

”Now that this beast is dead, the mining area can finally be at peace.”

The Great Elder and the Third Elder also smiled in relief.

The problem that had plagued the mining area for nearly two years was finally, completely resolved today.

The two of them couldn’t help but look at Anton, marveling to themselves.

’Anton’s performance was as reliable as ever.’

’If not for his Golden Light Prison Array trapping the Rock-Horned Dragon and preventing its escape, this battle would have been fraught with countless complications.’

’On top of that, Anton’s piece of Extraordinary Level Magic Equipment had performed exceptionally well.’

’In their expert opinion, this piece of Magic Equipment was top-tier even among the Extraordinary Level.’

By this point, the two of them had already faintly guessed that Anton’s Magic Equipment was likely a modification of the Suncrest Emblem.

But regardless, to be able to create an Extraordinary Level magic item, Anton’s skill in Alchemy had clearly reached a new level.

’Given time, there was no telling how far he would grow.’

While the two Elders were lost in thought, Anton walked up to the Rock-Horned Dragon’s corpse. He reached out and touched the rough surface of its hide, his eyes shining.

As his Divine Sense permeated the body, he could clearly perceive the vast essence contained within.

The entire body of a dragon-kin was a treasure trove; it was an extremely precious material for both Alchemists and Pharmacists.

But to Anton, its value was far greater than that.

”Can I have the Rock-Horned Dragon’s corpse? I have a use for it,” Anton said, looking at the other three.

The Great Elder and Third Elder had no objections and agreed without hesitation.

They had always given Anton their full support.

Thorvin hesitated for a moment. After all, many of the materials from the Rock-Horned Dragon were of considerable use to him as well.

But after Anton promised him twenty pieces of Rune Equipment, the Dwarf elder immediately broke into a grin and readily agreed.

Ever since they began trading with the Silver Moon Race and acquiring Rune Equipment, the artisans of Gray Rock Castle had spent countless hours studying it, but they had yet to successfully replicate any.

According to the artisans, the runes on this Rune Equipment were unlike anything they had ever seen, and their combinations were unprecedented and utterly bizarre.

They racked their brains but couldn’t figure out the logic or principles behind them.

Complete replication was impossible. Even if they managed to forge equipment through imitation, it would just be a pile of junk with terrible cost-performance.

In light of this, Gray Rock Castle had no choice but to give up on replicating Rune Equipment and instead traded various metal and ore resources with the Silver Moon Race for it.

These days in Gray Rock Castle, Rune Equipment was a hot commodity.

More importantly, the Great Elder and Anton deserved most of the credit for killing the Rock-Horned Dragon.

Thorvin hadn’t contributed as much, so his share of the spoils would have been limited. Exchanging it for twenty pieces of Rune Equipment was actually a pretty good deal.

After some discussion, both sides reached an agreement and were quite satisfied.

Anton looked at the Rock-Horned Dragon, his heart leaping with joy.

’The core material for refining the Sword Pill is finally in my hands!’