The Elven Cultivator

The Clan is still a bit short on manpower. If they started work on both projects at once, they wouldn’t be able to handle either one properly.

Besides, he couldn’t be in two places at once; there was no way for him to oversee two cave residences simultaneously.

Putting away the blueprints for the cave residence, Anton’s gaze fell upon another document on the desk.

It was the survey report for two Magic Stone Veins.

After a detailed survey, the reserves, quality, and distribution of both veins had been fully mapped out.

One had larger reserves and medium-grade quality, making it suitable for large-scale mining. It could serve as the main source for the Clan’s daily Magic Stone consumption.

The other had smaller reserves but was of a higher quality; the purity and energy density of its Magic Stones were comparatively better.

Anton selected the latter as the site for the artificial cultivation of a Spirit Stone Vein.

He planned to follow the method for ’artificially cultivating a Spirit Stone Vein’ described in the Taoist Jade Scroll. He would set up the Qiankun Spirit Transformation Array at the vein, using the Array as a medium to channel the world’s energy into the vein and gradually transform it into a Spirit Stone Vein.

Finding substitute materials wasn’t difficult, but the time required to successfully cultivate the vein would be quite long.

According to Anton’s estimate, it would take at least three hundred years for this vein to transform into a Spirit Stone Vein.

Though it sounded like a long time, it was far better than the thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years required to cultivate a Spirit Stone Vein from scratch.

Of course, there were ways to shorten the process.

If a Spirit Seed was incorporated into the Array as its Array Hub, the cultivation time could be reduced to less than a century.

A Spirit Seed is a crystal of extremely high-density energy. It radiates this energy outward, gradually converting surrounding matter into lower-grade Energy Crystals of the same type.

It’s somewhat like a Life Source Crystal, but its quality is vastly superior.

In the Cultivation Realm, there are many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that can act as a Spirit Seed.

Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit-Milk Crystal, Chaos Stone, Primordial Magnetic Divine Stone... each was an incredibly rare treasure you could only hope to find by chance.

Here on the Dawn Continent, however, there were few substitutes Anton could think of at his current stage.

One was a Divinity Crystal.

These are crystals formed from the fragments of a Divine Format and residual divinity that coalesce after a Divine Spirit has fallen. They contain a virtually infinite amount of energy.

Needless to say, obtaining such an item would be incredibly difficult.

Besides, there was currently no way to acquire one, unless he could find the place where the Dragon God Ayo had perished.

Another option was an Elemental Origin Crystal.

These supreme treasures can only form in the very depths of the four great Elemental Origin Planes. They are pure crystals condensed from elemental energy under extreme compression.

Each one contains a massive, nigh-infinite amount of elemental energy.

The problem was, the Elemental Origin Planes were filled with raging energy storms and crawling with elemental spirits.

Ordinary elemental spirits were manageable, but the elemental titans that had survived for thousands, even tens of thousands, of years each possessed power on par with the Legendary Tier.

The Giant Spirit Elders were beings of the Demigod Level.

For any intelligent life form below the Demigod Tier, going there was no different from seeking death.

’Wait a minute...’

Anton suddenly recalled that during the era of the Dragon Race’s rule, an earth elemental titan had apparently appeared in the material world.

Normally, a Legend-rank creature like an earth elemental titan could only remain in the material world for ten to twenty minutes at most before being forcibly expelled back to the Elemental Origin Plane by the Laws of the world.

But this particular earth elemental titan was special.

Somehow, it had devoured an Earth Element Origin Crystal. Relying on the crystal’s power, it had managed to resist the world’s repulsive Law and remain in the material world for a considerable length of time.

Then, for some unknown reason, it suddenly vanished.

’If I could just find that earth elemental titan...’

Anton’s eyes lit up for a moment, but then his brow furrowed.

He only remembered that the earth elemental titan appeared in the southern part of the continent, but he couldn’t recall the specific location or time.

The only thing he could be certain of was that the titan had vanished before the Dragon Slaying War broke out.

But that was a time span of several hundred years, making it impossible to narrow down.

’The Clan is about to send people out to recruit other Elf communities anyway,’ Anton mused. ’I’ll have them investigate this on the side.’

Due to its nature, an earth elemental titan that lingered in the material plane would be like a giant boulder tossed into a calm lake; it would disrupt the flow of the surrounding ley lines, triggering a series of anomalies.

For instance, the ’living stone’ phenomenon.

Some rocks would grow slowly as if alive; a boulder might double in size in a few months or form crystalline growths on its surface.

Another example was plant mutation.

Plants near the titan’s location would petrify from the roots upward. Their wood fibers would be replaced by rock, and their leaves would harden like stone shards, yet they would remain eerily green.

Even more terrifying was Petrification Sickness.

Animals that lived within the titan’s sphere of influence for extended periods would find their skin gradually hardening and cracking until they eventually became living statues.

They could still breathe and move, but most of their flesh had already turned to stone.

And the condition was irreversible.

If these phenomena truly occurred, they would have undoubtedly caused a significant stir, so investigating them shouldn’t be too difficult.

His plan decided, Anton collected his thoughts, put away the blueprints, and left the treehouse, heading toward Taichu City.

’Time to start setting up the Array.’

...

Construction on Taichu City had only just begun, but the Silver Moon Forest was already bustling with activity.

Ever since Anton had unveiled dozens of high-quality products during his inauguration as Clan Leader, the news had spread as if it had grown wings, flying across the entire Eldron Plain and then onward to more distant lands.

At first, some remained skeptical, wondering if the products were truly as outstanding as the rumors claimed.

But when the merchant guilds that attended the ceremony began selling the first goods procured from the Silver Moon Race, all doubts vanished into thin air.

The quality of the products was even better than the rumors suggested.

As a result, more and more factions began flocking to the Silver Moon Forest, seeking to establish trade partnerships.

Before long, even caravans from the Green Highlands, the Thundering River Basin, and even more distant places began to appear on the outskirts of the Silver Moon Forest.

So many people came that a temporary encampment formed several kilometers outside the Silver Moon Forest.

Every day, new caravans arrived, and every day, wagons laden with goods departed.

From dawn until dusk, a near-constant stream of convoys of all kinds flowed in and out of the camp.

The team of assistants to the Clan Leader, led by Eleanor, was responsible for receiving these merchants.

Anton only made decisions regarding the overall strategy; the specific trade terms, price negotiations, and allocation of goods were all entrusted to these young Elves.

After a period of intense work, Eleanor and the others quickly established a highly efficient trading process.

Trade gradually fell into a steady rhythm.

While selling their own goods, the Silver Moon Race also began purchasing vast quantities of external resources from these factions and merchant guilds.

From Magic plants and Magic Beast materials to Rare Ores and exotic specialties, their acquisitions covered nearly all the raw materials needed for alchemy, forging, pharmacology, and other fields.

This influx of resources, in turn, spurred the Silver Moon Race’s production capacity, leading to further improvements in the quantity and quality of their goods.

A virtuous cycle was taking shape.

And at the heart of this cycle, the Silver Moon Forest was like a pebble tossed into a calm lake, sending ripples spreading outward, farther and wider.