The Elven Cultivator

Anton’s expression hardened.

This was an Earth Elemental Juggernaut.

A Legend-level creature that had mastered the superior Law of Earth Elemental Power.

Even the four great royal Giant Dragons of the Dragon Race would have to think twice before facing an Elemental Juggernaut.

And that was with the Earth Elemental Juggernaut’s power partially suppressed by the Laws of the material plane.

If they were in the Elemental Origin Plane, an Elemental Juggernaut with the home-field advantage would be on an entirely different level of power.

At that point, not even a Saint would dare to face it head-on.

This was also why no non-elemental intelligent lifeform below the rank of Demigod dared to enter the Elemental Origin Plane.

But what puzzled Anton was that Earth Elemental Juggernauts were known to have the calmest, one might even say sluggish, temperaments of all their kind.

They were as solid as the earth and as silent as the mountains. They were not easily angered, much less prone to attacking without reason.

Yet the Earth Elemental Juggernaut before him had attacked him without hesitation the moment it saw him.

Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought he’d run into a volatile Fire Elemental Juggernaut.

Before Anton could figure it out, the Earth Elemental Juggernaut’s next attack arrived.

It raised its right arm—a giant hand made of rock and crystal—spread its five fingers, and slammed its palm down onto the ground.

The next moment, the ground in a several-hundred-meter radius came alive.

Countless sharp stone spikes shot up from the ground, weaving a deadly net of rock that closed in on Anton from all sides, sealing off every route of escape.

An immense, unseen pressure descended, drastically reducing Anton’s speed and making it difficult to dodge.

However, he had no intention of dodging.

With a clear hum, a beam of dark gold sword light erupted from his chest like a dragon from the abyss. It paused for a moment in midair before suddenly splitting into a hundred streaks of light that fearlessly shot toward the incoming stone spikes.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of muffled explosions erupted, so rapid they blurred into a single, continuous roar.

The torrent of rock spikes seemed to crash against an indestructible wall, shattering against the foremost wave of sword light.

A grayish-white cloud of dust instantly billowed out, shrouding the entire stone forest in a thick haze.

The Earth Elemental Juggernaut’s assault did not stop there.

It charged forward with heavy strides.

Its mountain-sized body should have been clumsy and slow, but empowered by Earth Elemental Power, each step was like the earth itself was carrying it forward, granting it a speed that completely defied its size.

In the blink of an eye, it was in front of Anton, its right fist crashing down with the force of a mountain.

Before the fist even landed, the immense, unseen pressure caused the ground to cave in with spiderweb cracks. Loose stones bounced up from the fissures before being instantly pulverized into dust.

A sharp glint flashed in Anton’s eyes. He advanced instead of retreating, the sword light converging before him into a dozen-foot-long stream of dark gold that shot straight up to meet the blow.

BOOM!

The moment the fist and sword collided, a deafening boom exploded through the cavern, shaking loose rocks from the walls.

A shockwave radiated out from the point of impact, blasting a massive clearing in the swirling dust.

The sword light faltered, its glow flickering a few times, but it managed to block the punch.

At the same time, the sword light left a deep gash on the Earth Elemental Juggernaut’s fist. Grayish-yellow rock powder trickled from the cut, like dried blood.

The Earth Elemental Juggernaut let out a low roar as a savage glint flashed in its eyes. It raised its left fist and began smashing down with both, one after the other, each blow immensely powerful.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

For a time, the stone forest echoed with constant booms, and rubble flew like shrapnel.

The two figures were locked in combat, the sword light darting and weaving between the juggernaut’s fists, each collision erupting in a blinding flash.

Neither could gain a clear advantage.

’Something’s not right.’

Anton was now certain: the Earth Elemental Juggernaut’s condition was clearly abnormal.

Though its attacks were powerful, they lacked the composure and precision an Earth Elemental Juggernaut ought to possess, replaced by a volatile frenzy it shouldn’t have.

It was as if something was eroding its will, turning it into a mindless beast of destruction.

For Anton, however, this was actually a good thing.

A maddened Earth Elemental Juggernaut’s attacks might be more ferocious, but it also revealed more weaknesses, making it easier to fight.

But just as he was preparing to go all out and finish off the Earth Elemental Juggernaut, something unexpected happened.

Far to the southeast of the valley, a dazzling light suddenly flared.

The light appeared without warning, like a sun rising from beneath the earth, so blinding one would instinctively shut their eyes.

Anton turned to look and saw a pillar of light burst from the ground, tearing through the earth and shooting straight into the clouds.

The pillar was a deep, violet-blue color, its edges crackling with fine arcs of electricity that slithered over its surface like countless silver snakes.

The moment the pillar plunged into the clouds, the entire layer began to tremble violently.

The grayish-black cloud mass seemed to be forced apart from within. Visible ripples spread out in all directions from the point of impact, churning the once low, heavy clouds into tattered fragments.

Then came a second pillar of light.

From the southwest of the valley, another violet-blue pillar of lightning tore through the earth, ascending to the heavens with a deafening roar.

Then a third, a fourth, a fifth...

A total of seven lightning pillars rose simultaneously from different locations in the valley, forming a perfect ring that enclosed the central stone forest.

The seven pillars of lightning threw the cloud layer into a complete turmoil.

The grayish-black cloud mass began to spin and descend at a visible rate, transforming from a thick, low-hanging ceiling into a giant vortex.

”This is...”

Anton keenly sensed that in that instant, the entire aura of Wulei Valley had experienced a Transformation.

’Something is brewing!’

The Earth Elemental Juggernaut opposite him also sensed something. It stopped attacking and looked around anxiously.

Before either of them could figure out what was happening, the massive vortex in the sky suddenly froze.

In that same instant, all the pillars of light flared to their absolute brightest, the violet-blue glow so intense it made one’s eyes ache.

Immediately after, two bolts of lightning struck down from the vortex, aimed directly at Anton and the Earth Elemental Juggernaut.

Compared to these two bolts of lightning—each appearing to be over five meters in diameter and glowing a bright, almost incandescent violet—the previous lightning in Wulei Valley seemed utterly insignificant.

Wherever the lightning passed, it tore fine black cracks in the very air, which crackled explosively as if unable to bear the strain.

Anton’s pupils shrank. He threw out the Separation Fire Shield without a moment’s hesitation.

A reddish-gold curtain of light instantly enveloped him from head to toe. The flame patterns on the surface of the bell-shaped shield flared to their absolute brightest, activated to their very limit.

The next instant, the violet-white pillar of lightning crashed down, swallowing him whole.