The Elven Cultivator

”Canglan.”

Sieg suddenly spoke up.

”We won’t be dividing the spoils of war this time.”

”That’s right,” Bullock added, nodding repeatedly.

Canglan deserved almost all the credit for taking down the five consuls. The two of them had barely contributed, so how could they have the audacity to ask for a share of the loot?

Anton glanced at the two of them and didn’t stand on ceremony, giving a slight nod.

”Then I thank you.”

Smiles appeared on Sieg and Bullock’s faces.

For them, forgoing this batch of loot to get on Canglan’s good side was a deal with no downsides.

Given the strength Canglan had displayed today, he was likely unrivaled by anyone below the Legend rank in the entire Eldron Plain.

For a figure like him, reaching the Legend rank in the future was practically a certainty.

Building a good relationship with such an expert ahead of time was more valuable than any rare resource.

”We shouldn’t linger here. Dragon City will probably notice something is wrong soon. We should leave first.”

Sieg’s smile faded as he spoke in a low voice.

Anton nodded, then turned and collected all the Dragon Race corpses from the ground.

Sieg and Bullock saw this. Although they were a little puzzled, they were tactful enough not to ask any questions.

The three of them then left together.

...

Silver Moon Forest, in the treehouse.

The soft glow of the Light Source Stone brightly illuminated the room.

Anton sat cross-legged before a long table, upon which were spread five Dimension Rings and over a dozen Dimensional Bags.

These were the spoils he had seized from the five consuls and several Dragon Race officers, plus some of the resources that had been loaded onto the convoy’s carriages. Everything was here.

Anton began to take inventory, one item at a time.

It took him nearly half an hour to finish sorting through everything.

He had to admit, this haul far exceeded any before.

The resources Kresol Dragon City was set to deliver to the Dragon Court were indeed all exceptionally valuable and rare items.

Even the least valuable among them were on par with the primary ingredients for a Foundation Establishment Pill.

A considerable portion was even at the level of primary ingredients for a Condensing Core Pill.

It was impossible not to marvel at Kresol Dragon City’s immense wealth.

What made Anton happiest was that he had found the one thing he had been longing for—a rare material that could serve as the primary Earth Attribute ingredient!

It was a plant sealed within a transparent crystal box.

The entire plant was no bigger than his palm. Its roots, as fine as hairs and silver-white in color, were plunged deep into the nutrient matrix at the bottom of the box.

Its stem was perfectly straight, and its leaves were long and slender like needles, deep green in color, and covered with a layer of fine fuzz.

But what was most striking was its flower.

The blossom was only the size of a fingernail. Its petals were a translucent, pale purple, as thin as a cicada’s wing, with slightly curled edges.

A few deep-brown stamens, as fine as silk threads, extended upward from the pistil, tipped with minuscule anthers that continuously released extremely fine, glowing spores.

The spores were a pale gold, so fine they were nearly invisible to the naked eye. They floated around the flower, slowly drifting away and then gently settling, like falling miniature stardust.

This was the Geostardust Flower!

A rare Magic Plant that grew deep within Earth Vein Nodes.

Its growing conditions were extremely demanding.

It required an Earth Vein Node, and the energy concentration of that node had to reach a certain level.

Furthermore, because the Geostardust Flower had to feed on ”Earth Vein Spiritual Qi,” it would sink its roots deep into the Earth Vein Node to continuously absorb its energy.

If the energy concentration of the Earth Vein Node changed drastically, or if the flow of the earth vein shifted, the Geostardust Flower would wither and die in a very short time.

It was precisely because of these demanding growth requirements that the Geostardust Flower was so exceptionally rare.

Across the entire Eldron Plain, the known Earth Vein Nodes could be counted on one hand, and every single one was firmly controlled by Kresol Dragon City.

Aside from Kresol Dragon City, no other power on the Eldron Plain could get their hands on a Geostardust Flower.

’If I could control an Earth Vein Node, I could build a Spirit Plant Garden and cultivate rare plants like the Geostardust Flower myself. Then I wouldn’t have to rack my brains trying to find them everywhere.’

Anton gazed at the Geostardust Flower in its crystal box, growing more and more satisfied the longer he looked.

This Magic Plant contained an extremely pure Earth Attribute life energy.

It was perfect to use as the primary Earth Attribute ingredient for the Condensing Core Pill.

’Now, I’ve finally gathered all the primary ingredients for the Five Elements.’

An irrepressible look of joy spread across Anton’s face.

Dragonflame Pearl (Fire Attribute), Void Silver Crystal (Metal Attribute), Geostardust Flower (Earth Attribute), Life Source Crystal (Water Attribute), and Eternal Tree Heart (Wood Attribute).

Five primary ingredients, all finally in his possession after decades of effort.

All that was left was the Yin and Yang Qi.

’The Lunar Essence Spiritual Liquid is already taken care of. Gathering enough is just a matter of time.’

’Now all that’s missing is the Yang Attribute Qi.’

Anton shook his head, not dwelling on the issue. He sorted the materials by category and stored them away.

These were all precious resources for refining High Tier Pills, Magical Artifacts, and High Tier Daoist Soldiers in the future.

Stockpiling materials was a good habit.

If it weren’t for the materials he had painstakingly accumulated over time, he would not have been able to refine all the Celestial Thunder Banners and Five-Thunder Jade Talismans for the Nine Heavens Thunder Suppression Array within half a month.

In the future, setting up even more powerful Arrays would require even more high-quality materials.

In fact, Anton had long considered the idea of using the Eternal Tree or the Spring of Life as the foundation for a ”Mountain Protection Array.”

However, a large-scale Array of this magnitude not only required an enormous number of Low Tier materials but also a vast amount of precious resources.

At this stage, neither he nor the Silver Moon Race had the means to accomplish it.

To achieve this goal, he either had to slowly accumulate materials or get lucky and acquire a large batch of resources all at once.

’A large batch of resources...’

Anton was lost in thought.

The two methods he could currently think of were to conquer Dragon City or to conquer the Mind Flayer city-state.

The resources he could obtain from the former would, in all likelihood, far surpass the latter in both quantity and quality.

Although Kresol Dragon City had to hand over a significant amount of resources to the Dragon Court each year, it had ruled the Eldron Plain for millennia, controlling countless resources and exploiting the major powers for just as long. The resources it had accumulated were likely astronomical.

But in contrast, the difficulty of conquering Kresol Dragon City also far exceeded that of the Mind Flayer city-state.

Even though he had just taken down five consuls, Kresol Dragon City still had a total of seven.

Among them was Aurion, the Supreme Consul, whose fame had resounded throughout the Eldron Plain for over a thousand years.

Moreover, given Kresol Dragon City’s profound heritage, it surely had other trump cards up its sleeve.

A starved camel is still bigger than a horse, and the current Kresol Dragon City was far from being a ’starved camel’.

In comparison, the Mind Flayer city-state had fewer resources, but it would also be easier to deal with.

’Perhaps it’s time to consider how to deal with the Mind Flayer city-state.’

Having made up his mind, Anton reined in his wandering thoughts and focused his attention on the matter at hand.

After stowing the materials, he continued to take inventory of his spoils.

Next were the magical items.

There were over thirty in total.

Most were seized from the five consuls, with a smaller portion found on the Dragon Race officers from the convoy.

Among them were a full twelve Extraordinary Level magical items.

Five of these were suits of armor.

Unfortunately, two had been completely destroyed in the battle.

The other three were also severely damaged, their surfaces covered in cracks and scorch marks. Their energy fluctuations were faint, and they would need major repairs to be usable again.

It couldn’t be helped. His opponents were at the Golden Peak. Anton couldn’t hold back during the fight and had no time to worry about the condition of his potential loot.

Additionally, there were five Extraordinary Level Magic Weapons.

These five weapons were in relatively good condition, with only minor damage. They could be used again after some slight repairs.

The last two Extraordinary Level magical items were, first, a ring.

The band was dark silver, and set into it was a pale cyan Gemstone. A cyclone could be faintly seen slowly swirling within the gem.

This was the very magical item that Wood had used to ”slow” Anton earlier.

Anton studied it for a moment and found it to be a Wind Element magical item. Its effect was simple: to cast a ’slowing aura’ on a target.

The exact degree of deceleration depended on the target’s strength.

However, based on Anton’s own recent experience, this magical item was quite effective even against Golden Peak experts. Its practicality was off the charts.

The second item was a milky-white Protective Talisman about the size of an egg.

The Protective Talisman was oval-shaped with a smooth surface, devoid of any patterns or decorations. To the touch, its material felt like the bone of some creature, warm and smooth as jade.

Anton tried injecting a trace of True Essence to activate the Protective Talisman.

In the next instant, a thin layer of mist materialized around him, enveloping his entire body.

The mist wasn’t thick, but it was extremely strange. Not only did it obscure vision, but it could also absorb smells, sounds, and Magic Power fluctuations.

Anton swept his Divine Sense over himself and found that even his perception was interfered with to some extent, making it impossible to clearly sense what was inside the mist.

He quickly understood.

This was the item the consuls had used to conceal their presence, preventing him from discovering them ahead of time.

”Good stuff.”

A smile touched Anton’s lips.

The ability of this Protective Talisman could have unexpected uses in certain situations.

It was even more practical than the slowing ring.

After a moment of thought, Anton decided to keep the Protective Talisman and named it the ’Wuyin Talisman’.

As for the remaining Extraordinary Level magical items, he planned to break them all down into materials for future Artifact Refining.

This included the slowing ring.

Although it was useful, with the speed of his Sword Escape, he had no need for the ring at all.

As long as Anton continued to deepen his mastery of the Light Splitting and Reunification technique and improve the quality of his Sword Pill, he could continuously increase his own speed.

In a sense, that was the best way to ”slow down” his enemies.

As for the remaining Micro-Light Level magical items, he would follow his usual practice: modify them a bit and then hand them over to the Clan to handle.

After taking inventory of all the spoils, Anton let out a long breath, an unconcealable look of joy on his face.

This haul had far exceeded his expectations.

Not only had he gathered the primary ingredients for the Five Elements, but he had also obtained a large quantity of rare materials and magical items.

It had greatly replenished his repository of materials.

’There are still the Dragon Race corpses.’

Anton took out the Dragon Race corpses one by one and had his Sword Pill absorb them.

Once all the Dragon Race corpses had been absorbed, the dragon pattern covering the surface of the Sword Pill had explosively increased to cover about three-quarters of it.