The Elven Cultivator

The Ninefold Celestial Tower—the study.

Anton sat behind the long table, staring at the unfurled sheepskin paper in front of him, a contemplative look on his face.

It was the blueprint for the cave residence at the Earth Vein Node in the Dark Nether Realm.

The operations of Taichu City were now basically on the right track.

The Array cluster was operating stably, and the cultivation of new species in the Spirit Plant Garden and Beast Garden was also proceeding as planned.

Next, all he had to do was periodically maintain and improve the Arrays, which wouldn’t take up too much of his energy.

Thus, the construction plan for the cave residence in the Dark Nether Realm, which had been shelved until now, was finally back on the agenda.

Compared to Taichu City, the plan for this cave residence was much simpler.

After all, it didn’t need to function as a Cultivation Holy Land or a resource production base. It just needed to exist as a bridgehead for exploring the Dark Nether Realm.

At most, it would provide a safe foothold for clan members exploring deep underground, supply them with provisions, and serve as a place to store their spoils.

That was all.

Therefore, building the cave residence itself wouldn’t take too much time.

Anton had roughly estimated that it would be completed in two to three years at most.

He was more concerned about something else than the construction of the cave residence.

Manpower.

The environment of the Dark Nether Realm was harsh, the terrain complex. It saw no daylight year-round, the air was damp and cold, and it was home to all sorts of lurking subterranean monsters.

If ordinary Elves were to enter, even with various Talismans to improve their exploration efficiency and enhance their survivability, it would not be easy for them to operate.

Limited vision, difficulty in determining direction, and a sense of danger far less acute than on the surface... these were all problems that Talismans couldn’t completely solve.

If the casualties were too high, it would be a heavy blow to a Clan that was already not very populous.

No matter how great the rewards from exploring the Dark Nether Realm, they would be greatly diminished in value.

It would be best to form a team specially adapted to the Dark Nether Realm’s environment to carry out the exploration efficiently.

And in this respect, certain races had unique, innate advantages.

Anton pondered for a moment, picked up a blank piece of sheepskin paper from the table, and began to write down the names of suitable races one by one.

Tide Cave Dwarves, Ghost Scale Race, Catmen, Stone-skinners, Halflings...

Although these races lived on the surface world, their innate racial traits made them better suited for operating in the environment of the Dark Nether Realm than other races.

Of course, Anton could also take a more direct approach: directly recruiting the native races of the Dark Nether Realm.

The native races of the Dark Nether Realm were naturally adapted to the underground environment, an advantage that no surface race could match.

Moreover, the native races were more familiar with the terrain of the Dark Nether Realm, understood the distribution of power in the surrounding areas, and knew the habits, weaknesses, and patterns of activity of other subterranean races.

This was an intelligence advantage.

However, in contrast, recruiting native races also had many drawbacks that couldn’t be ignored.

The primary issue was loyalty.

The concept of ”loyalty” did not exist in the Dark Nether Realm.

The alliances, vassals, and mercenary relationships between surface races were built on a foundation of relatively stable social order and mutual interest.

But the Dark Nether Realm operated on the law of the jungle in its rawest form; betrayal and selling out were normal means of survival.

Perhaps they might feign submission and obey your commands now out of fear of your strength.

But the moment they encountered a stronger enemy, they would betray and abandon you without a second thought, turning tail to flee.

They might even deliberately lead you into a desperate situation to create an opportunity for their own escape.

Recruiting trustworthy native races from the Dark Nether Realm was no easy task.

’I’ll try recruiting races from the surface world first. If that doesn’t work out, then I’ll consider the native races of the Dark Nether Realm.’

’In any case, it will still take two or three years to build the cave residence. There’s plenty of time to slowly recruit manpower.’

After writing the last word, he set down his pen and tapped lightly on the surface of the paper.

The sheepskin paper folded itself, its edges tightening and two wings unfolding, transforming in an instant into a lively Paper Crane.

It circled once above the desk as if confirming its direction, then flapped its wings and flew out the window, vanishing in a flash.

Having dealt with that matter, Anton’s thoughts turned to another.

He had previously considered finding a way to help the Clan’s other Golden Peak experts manifest a Law, thereby strengthening the Clan’s top-tier combat power.

He had been pondering this matter for some time and now had a few ideas.

The manifestation of a Law could not be achieved through brute force, nor could it be catalyzed by Pills.

The only thing that could be done was to provide them with an opportunity.

An opportunity that would make it easier for them to touch the essence of a Law.

To this end, Anton had scoured the classics in the Taoist Jade Scroll, sifting through dozens of methods before finally finding what he believed to be the most suitable solution.

A Law Comprehension Stele.

The so-called Law Comprehension Stele, as its name implied, was a stone tablet that carried enlightenment on the Laws.

It was not a simple recording tool, but a higher-level medium of inheritance.

A Golden Core Cultivator would use their Divine Sense as a brush and their Magical Power as ink to ”imprint” their profound understanding of a specific Law into a Spiritual material.

Once the stele was formed, an observer could touch it with their Divine Sense and enter an Illusion Realm.

In the Illusion Realm, the observer could personally experience the various epiphanies the stele’s creator had while comprehending the Law, thereby improving their own understanding and enlightenment.

It was a method of inheritance that far surpassed text or oral instruction.

The reason Anton had been able to pass his Heart Demon tribulation so smoothly when solidifying his Pill was largely due to the twenty-three rehearsals provided by the Heart Demon Guide.

He had ”experienced” the various changes of the Heart Demon tribulation in advance, which was why he could face it calmly when the real thing came.

The purpose of the Law Comprehension Stele was wonderfully similar to that of the Heart Demon Guide.

It didn’t directly instill enlightenment, but allowed the observer to ”personally experience” the predecessor’s process of comprehending the Law.

This experiential inheritance was far more likely to trigger an observer’s own epiphany than any written record.

Of course, the Law Comprehension Stele was not without its limitations.

First, the creator must have a considerably deep understanding of a particular Law.

Only then could they deconstruct, organize, and reproduce its key points, structures, and variations, sealing them completely within the stele.

Second, creating a Law Comprehension Stele had extremely high requirements for materials and Cultivation Level.

The stele itself must use a Spiritual material as its medium.

Spirit Jade, ten-thousand-year-old cold iron, meteoric crystals... in the Cultivation Realm, all of these could be used as core materials for creating a Law Comprehension Stele.

However, on the Dawn Continent, corresponding substitute materials would have to be found.

It went without saying that any materials that could replace them would surely be extremely rare and precious.

In terms of Cultivation Level, the creator must be at least a Golden Core Stage Cultivator.

Only a Cultivator who had successfully solidified their Pill could truly touch the threshold of the Heaven and Earth Law and be qualified to seal their own enlightenment into a stele.

Finally, creating a Law Comprehension Stele was extremely draining, both mentally and spiritually.

Using Divine Sense to open a mental space within the stele, and then using Magical Power to ”imprint” one’s understanding of a Law within it—the entire process was like building a miniature spiritual palace in the void.

Every detail had to be precise; a minor error would ruin the stele, while a major one would damage the creator’s mind and spirit.

Even with Anton’s current Cultivation Level, it would take several years to create a single Law Comprehension Stele.

Moreover, the efficacy of a Law Comprehension Stele was not without its own limits.

The Law enlightenment sealed within each stele would gradually weaken with each viewing.

Like the ink of a woodblock print, it would fade a little with each impression, eventually disappearing completely.

Therefore, a Golden Core Cultivator was needed to periodically re-infuse the stele with Law enlightenment to maintain its effectiveness.

Because of this, sects in the Cultivation Realm generally controlled the use of Law Comprehension Steles strictly, with only a very few geniuses being granted the precious opportunity to use them.

Second, the effect of the Law Comprehension Stele varied from person to person.

For the same Law, different people had different paths to understanding.

The Water-elemental Law was all-encompassing.

Some comprehended the balance of hard and soft from the ”Tide”.

Some comprehended solidification and freezing from ”ice and frost”.

Some comprehended Transformation and concealment from ”mist”.

How much an observer could gain, and to what extent they could extrapolate, ultimately depended on their own aptitude and accumulated knowledge.

In the end, the Law Comprehension Stele only provided a possible path, not the only answer.

An observer needed to forge their own way along this path to have a chance at truly touching the threshold of the Law.

But regardless, the benefits of a Law Comprehension Stele for understanding a Law were undeniable.

Even for Anton personally, the process of creating a Law Comprehension Stele was in itself a way to reorganize and deepen his own understanding of the Law—a deep review of the Law.

Those flashes of Spiritual Light that came and went during daily cultivation, those insights from battle he never had time to savor—all would be re-examined, polished, and solidified during this process, deepening his understanding and enlightenment of the Law.

Killing two birds with one stone.

Thinking of this, Anton made up his mind.

He had currently mastered two Divine Techniques, Beiming True Water and Void One Yuan Life Qi, and his comprehension of the Water- and Wood-elemental Laws was the most profound, enough to imprint the corresponding Law enlightenments into a stele.

As for his other Divine Techniques—Primordial True Gang, Six Ding Divine Fire, Profound Yellow Dragon-Grasping Hand, and Daluo Celestial Sleeve—he was still cultivating them, and his understanding of their corresponding Laws was not yet thorough enough.

And that was to say nothing of the Sword Dao.

Although he had preliminarily fused the three paths of slaughter, extremity, and transformation, his understanding of the Laws of time-space, karma, and life and death was still at a very superficial level, far from enough to be infused into a Law Comprehension Stele.

But that was fine.

Creating two Law Comprehension Steles would take about five or six years. By then, he would surely have mastered the remaining Divine Techniques.

He could then just continue creating new Law Comprehension Steles.

’First, I’ll create the Law Comprehension Stele for the Wood-elemental Law.’

Anton thought of the Great Elder, whose foundation was the most profound and who had awakened the Thorn Law.

Once the Law Comprehension Stele was created, he would let the Great Elder try to observe it.

If he could gain inspiration from it and successfully manifest his Law, the Silver Moon Race would gain another Legendary Combat Power, greatly increasing its strength.

Just as Anton was contemplating the specific arrangements for his next step, his expression suddenly shifted, and he abruptly reached out and grabbed.

In the next instant, a Paper Crane passed through the void and landed steadily in his palm, automatically unfolding into a flat sheet of letter paper.

He looked down, his gaze narrowing slightly.

This was intelligence sent from the Document Hall. There were only a few short lines of text on the paper, but they made his expression turn grave.

”The allied forces have finished assembling in the Holy Dragon Mountain Range and have launched an attack on Darkness Fortress.”

Anton put down the letter, his gaze passing through the window of the Ninefold Celestial Tower to look north.

Hundreds of thousands of miles away, a war that would decide the fate of the entire continent had begun.