The Elven Cultivator

By the time the silhouette of the Silver Moon Forest appeared on the horizon, twilight had already dyed the entire woodland a tranquil, dark gold.

Anton did not linger. His sword light streaked across the sky above the forest, flying straight toward Mine No. 1 in the northeast.

From high above, the hilly area where Mine No. 1 was located looked like a colossal, cleaved rock. Its grayish-white rock layers were exposed, and a network of crisscrossing mine shafts delved deep into the earth like blood vessels.

The Silver Moon Legion was encamped around the mine. Their gray-green tents were neatly arranged, and a few wisps of smoke from cooking fires drifted into the sky, blending with the twilight.

Patrolling Elf Guards saw the dark gold sword light and stopped to look up, then respectfully bowed to the figure in the air.

All the Elves knew that the dark gold sword light was practically the sigil of their Clan Leader.

Anton didn’t stop, flying directly into the depths of the mine.

After passing through layers of winding tunnels, he stopped in a natural cavern in the deepest part of the mine.

This was the core of Mine No. 1, and also the location he had chosen for the Array Hub when he first set up the Qiankun Spirit Transformation Array.

The cavern was not large, only about a hundred square meters. Its four walls had been artificially smoothed and were covered with dense, intricate array patterns.

In the very center of the cavern, on a three-legged stone pedestal, sat an empty groove.

It was the core of the Array Hub he had left behind when setting up the Array, and it had remained empty, waiting for a Spirit Seed to be embedded.

Anton walked to the stone pedestal, took out the Earth Element Origin Crystal, and gently pressed it into the groove on top.

CLICK.

The groove automatically reshaped itself to match the form of the Earth Element Origin Crystal, fitting together perfectly.

The next moment, the array patterns on the stone pedestal suddenly lit up.

A milky white light spread out in all directions from the Array Hub’s core, flowing down along the pedestal’s patterns and seeping into the ground.

BOOM!

A dull roar rumbled from deep underground, and the entire cavern trembled slightly.

Anton’s expression remained unchanged. His Divine Sense had already penetrated the earth, allowing him to clearly ”see” the transformation that was taking place.

The Magic Stone Veins, once dormant deep within the earth, began a slow but irreversible metamorphosis under the energy radiating from the Earth Element Origin Crystal.

Impurities within the ore were stripped away bit by bit, and the energy structure was rearranged.

The once murky, grayish-white ore was gradually turning into a gentle, milky white, starting from its core.

Anton estimated that at this rate, it would take about a hundred years for the entire mine to transform completely into a Spirit Stone Vein.

It was much faster than he had expected.

’The Spirit Seed really didn’t disappoint.’

The key was that the Earth Element Origin Crystal was reusable.

Once this Spirit Stone Vein finished its transformation, he could take out the Earth Element Origin Crystal and use it as the transforming Spirit Seed for another Magic Stone Vein.

If he had the chance to acquire a few more Spirit Seeds in the future, he could transform multiple Magic Stone Veins simultaneously.

If that happened, the Silver Moon Race would basically never have to worry about a shortage of Spirit Stones again.

”Once my Cultivation Level is higher, I’ll have to make a trip to the Elemental Origin Plane and collect a few Elemental Origin Crystals.”

Anton took one last look at the slowly operating Qiankun Spirit Transformation Array, then turned and left the cavern.

By the time he walked out of the mine, the sky had grown completely dark.

Anton didn’t linger. His sword light enveloped his body, and he transformed into a streak of light, speeding toward Taichu City.

...

As soon as he returned to Taichu City, Anton’s Divine Sense detected Eleanor in the Ninefold Celestial Tower.

As the Clan Leader’s assistant and the Clan’s second-strongest Cultivator, Eleanor also had her own private meditation chamber in the Ninefold Celestial Tower.

At that moment, she was in her chamber, focused on refining her True Essence.

The next moment, as if sensing something, she suddenly opened her eyes to see Anton standing before her, watching her with a gentle smile.

”You’re back.”

A smile immediately graced Eleanor’s face, and she stood up to greet him.

”How was the trip?”

”Very successful,” Anton smiled faintly. ”Did anything happen in the Clan while I was away?”

Eleanor nodded slightly. ”Actually, there is one thing I need to tell you.”

”You previously asked me to find someone talented to manage the Beast Garden. I’ve actually found a suitable candidate these past few days.”

Anton was immediately interested. ”Who is it?”

Eleanor said, ”A group of Wastelanders.”

Wastelanders?

Anton raised an eyebrow.

The Wastelanders, also known as half-beastmen, are a race born from the union of Beastmen and Humans.

However, due to their mixed blood, they possess neither the explosive strength and stamina of Beastmen nor their innate combat instincts. In the eyes of Beastmen, who measure an individual’s worth by their fighting prowess, they are practically useless.

In human society, the Wastelanders’ appearance is equally unwelcome.

Their skin and coarse features instinctively remind people of the barbarity and cruelty of Beastmen, leading them to be regarded as ”half-civilized beasts.”

Unable to integrate into any mainstream society, the Wastelanders can only live on the fringes of the civilized world.

The Northern Wilderness, the edges of the Thousand Rock Hills, abandoned mining districts, the outskirts of forests... these places, scorned by most races, are where they make their homes.

They survive by hunting, gathering, and scavenging, occasionally bartering with passing trade caravans for necessities like salt and ironware.

Their settlements are usually temporary and semi-nomadic, migrating with the changing seasons and availability of resources.

Life is hard, and they live from one day to the next.

The Wastelanders’ only advantage is a natural affinity for Magic Beasts and other strange creatures, which indeed makes them well-suited to be helpers in raising Spirit Beasts.

”How many Wastelanders are there in total?” Anton asked.

”Three hundred and twenty-seven,” Eleanor replied, having clearly already investigated the details. ”They live together in an abandoned mining district on the southeastern edge of the Thousand Rock Hills. Their leader is a Silver Tier Warrior named Waro. He’s forty-seven years old, which is considered the prime of his life among the Wastelanders.”

”According to the information we’ve gathered, Waro has a steady personality, acts with discretion, and holds great prestige among the Wastelanders.”

”Under his leadership, that group of Wastelanders has always been self-reliant. They’ve never caused any trouble, so their character can be trusted.”

A thoughtful look appeared in Anton’s eyes.

’Although the Clan’s population is growing rapidly, it still can’t keep up with the pace of our development. As the scale of trade expands and mining operations go deeper, the need for manpower will only increase. Relying on our own population is no longer enough to support it all. Recruiting other races is imperative. But we have to be smart about it. We can’t just enslave everyone. The hard labor in the mines is fine for slaves. But for the more critical jobs, we definitely need to cultivate sufficiently loyal Vassal Races to take charge. That’s the only long-term solution. Starting with the Wastelanders might be a good first step.’

Anton quickly made his decision and nodded. ”Then give them the responsibility of managing and raising the beasts in the Beast Garden. If they do a good job, we’ll make them a Vassal Race of our Clan.”

”Understood,” Eleanor replied solemnly.

Given the Wastelanders’ circumstances, they would surely be ecstatic to learn they could become a Vassal Race of the Clan. They would agree immediately, with no conceivable reason to refuse.

’Before I knew it, the Clan has become strong enough to recruit Vassal Races.’

Having settled the matter, Anton took out paper and a pen and began to write.

A moment later, he set down his pen and handed the sheepskin paper to Eleanor.

On the paper was a Cultivation Technique titled ”Beast Taming Array”.

Though called a Cultivation Technique, it was actually closer to an auxiliary art.

It didn’t involve refining Spiritual Qi; its sole core effect was to enhance a Cultivator’s affinity with, and ability to sense and communicate with, Spirit Beasts.

Through this technique, a Cultivator could better understand the emotions and needs of Spirit Beasts and establish a deeper connection with them, which was conducive to taming and raising them.

’Although I’ve decided to take the Wastelanders on as a Vassal Race, I can’t give them overly generous treatment right from the start. Once they’ve proven their loyalty and competence, I can gradually give them more.’

After all, Anton was no philanthropist; he couldn’t just accept an Alien Race unconditionally.

If the Wastelanders wanted to earn the Clan’s trust and protection, they had to offer sufficient ability and sincerity in exchange.

’Equivalent exchange is the law of heaven and earth.’

Eleanor took the sheepskin paper and read it over carefully, her eyes lighting up slightly.

Although she didn’t follow a path of strength, with her current insight, she could naturally see what was special about this Cultivation Technique.

In terms of sophistication, the Beast Taming Array wasn’t actually superior to the beast taming methods the Elves had used to domesticate the Scale Rock Lizards and the Fissure-Spine Dragon Beasts.

But for some reason, she felt that this Cultivation Technique was perfectly suited for the half-Beastman Wastelanders.

If she hadn’t seen Anton write it out with her own eyes just now, she would have almost thought it was custom-made for the Wastelanders.

Seeing the change in Eleanor’s expression, Anton could roughly guess what she was thinking.

’In fact, the Beast Taming Array isn’t an orthodox Human Race Cultivation Technique, but a Demon Race one. The reason I chose this one from countless beast taming methods was partly to test the difference between the Beastman bloodline of this world and the Demon Race bloodline of the Cultivation Realm. Unlike the Elves and Dwarves, who are more similar to the Human Race, the bloodlines of this world’s Beastmen and Sea Race might be closer to the Demon Race. I can do more research later to verify this.’

Watching Eleanor carefully put away the Cultivation Technique, Anton then asked about the progress of the Spirit Plant Garden.

Eleanor replied, ”The first batch of plants has just been transplanted into the Spirit Plant Garden, and they’re growing well at the moment. The Elves in charge of management are all from the Clan and have studied plants, so they learned quickly. The selective breeding experiments have also begun, but progress is slow, so we probably won’t see any results in the short term.”

Anton nodded, not surprised.

’The selective breeding experiments for Spirit Plants will still need my guidance.’ The other Elves were completely in the dark about this, so it was normal for progress to be slow.

”And what about the Beast Garden?”

”We’ve already collected over a hundred species of Magical Creatures and exotic beasts. They’ve all been moved to the Beast Garden and are currently being looked after by the Clan’s Beast Tamers. Once the Wastelanders arrive, the Beast Garden can get on the right track.”

”We will continue to collect more plants and Magical Creatures going forward.”

Anton nodded in satisfaction.

’The Spirit Plant Garden and the Beast Garden are key to the Clan’s future development. I can’t afford to be careless with them. It’s just that everything is still in its infancy and will need time to be slowly nurtured and perfected.’

”What about the relocation?” Anton asked again.

”It’s already in progress. We’re currently tallying the number of people who will be relocating. It should begin in a few more days.”

Anton suddenly remembered something and asked, ”Still no news from the Jade Royal Court?”

”I was just about to tell you about that.” A smile appeared on Eleanor’s face. ”The Jade Royal Court has accepted our proposal. Their delegation is already on its way and will discuss the specific details of the supply agreement with us.”

”It seems they’re short on supplies as well,” Anton smiled faintly. ”I’ll put you in charge of this matter. You can make the arrangements.”

Eleanor agreed, then hurried off to get back to her work.

Watching her departing figure, Anton suddenly wondered if he was putting too much pressure on the Elf Maiden, so much so that she was starting to turn into a career-driven, powerful woman.

”It’s a shame that it’s hard to find capable people who also walk the path of cultivation. Otherwise, I could find an assistant for Eleanor.”

Anton turned his head to gaze at the deep night outside the window, his mind once again turning to the matter of the Wastelanders.

The Dawn Continent was home to numerous races. There were quite a few like the Wastelanders, living in awkward circumstances, struggling to survive in the cracks.

They weren’t accepted by mainstream society and struggled to survive. If they had the chance to gain the protection of a powerful faction, they surely wouldn’t refuse it.

And among these races, there were undoubtedly those with special talents in certain fields.

If he could absorb these races as Vassal Races for the Clan, he could both increase the population and fill the talent gaps in certain areas.

’Killing two birds with one stone.’