The Elven Cultivator

Chapter 348: Chapter 320: News of the Dark Spider Mother

「Inside the Celestial Essence Hall」

Anton sat behind a long table, holding a newly delivered report as his gaze slowly swept across the page.

A moment later, he put down the report, a smile touching his lips.

”As expected of the Engraving Race, so skilled in creation and invention. So many have failed to develop a Spirit Stone Core, yet he actually managed to pull it off.”

Eleanor, sitting across from him, smiled. ”Nordwin’s talent in Artifact Refining is truly outstanding. I thought it would take him much longer to show any results, but I didn’t expect him to succeed so quickly.”

She paused, then shook her head. ”Unfortunately, the Clan’s current Spirit Stone production is nowhere near enough to support a full-scale overhaul of our systems based on Spirit Stone Cores.”

Anton said nonchalantly, ”Then we’ll use them on the Daoist Soldier Corps first. All future Daoist Soldiers we refine will be fitted with the new cores. That should increase our combat power considerably. And the formation of the Five Camp Divine Soldiers Legion can be accelerated as well.”

”I’ll make the arrangements shortly,” Eleanor nodded. ”Since we’ll be using Spirit Stone Cores for refining Daoist Soldiers from now on, can we reduce our quota for purchasing Magic Cores from outside sources?”

Although the Clan had mastered the art of refining Magic Cores some years ago, their own production was limited. Coupled with the Clan’s immense demand for Magic Cores, they still had to purchase a significant portion from outside each year to make up for the shortfall.

The refining of Daoist Soldiers accounted for a huge portion of their Magic Core consumption.

Expanding the Daoist Soldier Corps, repairing war-damaged Daoist Soldiers, routine maintenance and replacement of core components, not to mention the ones disciples redeemed and refined themselves... The number of Magic Cores consumed annually by Daoist Soldiers alone was staggering.

If the refining of Daoist Soldiers no longer relied on Magic Cores, the Clan’s demand for them would inevitably drop significantly.

Anton thought for a moment, then shook his head. ”No. The purchase quota can’t be reduced. In fact, we should increase it.”

Eleanor was slightly taken aback, her gaze questioning.

Anton said, ”The conflicts everywhere are showing signs of escalating. In the future, the flames of war on the continent will spread even further. It will be difficult for us to stay out of it. To be safe, we should prepare for a rainy day and build up our strategic resource reserves. Among them, Magic Stones and Magic Cores are the most critical.”

Realization dawned on Eleanor, and she nodded in agreement.

Currently, one of the most important components of the Clan’s military strength is the Daoist Soldier Corps.

Magic Cores and Magic Stones are the indispensable keys to expanding and controlling the Daoist Soldier Corps.

Once the scale of war expands further, the supply of these two types of resources will surely be drastically reduced. At that time, even with money, it would probably be difficult to buy enough.

Although the Clan controlled several Magic Stone Veins, no one would complain about having too many resources.

Stockpiling strategic resources in advance was essential.

”I understand. I will significantly increase the quota for purchasing Magic Stones and Magic Cores from external sources. As for the Magic Stones mined by the Clan, we’ll preserve them as strategic reserves as much as possible.”

Anton nodded in satisfaction. He mulled it over for a moment before adding, ”Nordwin’s contribution this time is significant. Have the Meeting Hall allocate him a large bonus of Contribution Points.”

”Also, encourage the disciples to research Spirit Stone Technology. Although this field can’t be widely applied right now, we should build the framework first. It will make the transition smoother in the future.”

Eleanor agreed to each point, committing the tasks to memory in order.

Anton didn’t continue the topic, instead asking, ”How are things with the Dark Elves?”

At the mention of this, a meaningful smile appeared on Eleanor’s face.

”Most of the Dark Elves have accepted their reality and are willing to switch to cultivating the Blood Prison True Devil Technique. They are now cultivating for their lives, hoping to shed their slave status as quickly as possible.”

A smile also appeared on Anton’s face.

For the Dark Elves, who were accustomed to enslaving intelligent beings of other races, becoming slaves themselves was probably a rather ’novel’ experience.

This fact would surely motivate them to cultivate with exceptional effort.

”It’s strange, now that you mention it.” Eleanor suddenly brought up another matter. ”The Blood Prison True Devil Technique is surprisingly suitable for the Dark Elves. It’s only been a little over a month since the first batch received the technique, and several of them have already gotten the hang of it. But among the other Vassal Races, we haven’t seen anyone progress so smoothly.”

Anton’s gaze flickered slightly.

He, of course, knew the reason why.

The Blood Prison True Devil Technique was, in essence, a demonic cultivation technique. Its principles leaned toward plunder and erosion; it was often more fierce, direct, and full of aggression.

The disposition of the Dark Elves happened to align perfectly with the nature of this type of technique.

It was only natural that their cultivation would be smoother than that of other races.

”As long as there’s no issue with the technique, that’s fine. Keep a close eye on the Pill supply. Give them just enough to suppress the blood energy in their bodies, but don’t give them too much at once, lest they have an opportunity to stockpile them,” Anton said.

”Understood. I’ll have the Alchemy Room properly record the inventory of the Blood Prison True Devil Pills to ensure no mistakes are made.” Eleanor acknowledged, then changed the subject. ”By the way, you previously had me interrogate those Dark Elf Matriarchs about the Dark Spider Mother. They did say a few things.”

Anton’s interest was immediately piqued. ”Tell me.”

”They had never heard of the Dark Spider Mother, nor had they seen a similar creature. However, more than thirty years ago, one of their patrols captured two foreign Dark Elves. At the time, the two were riding Spider Monsters and were covered in injuries.”

”After interrogation, they learned that the two Dark Elves had been ambushed by enemies and had fled all the way here. In their panic, they lost their way and stumbled into the Red Blood Fertile Soil by accident.”

”And the Spider Monsters they were riding were said to have come from eggs obtained from a very, very large spider-like monster.”

”After laying the eggs, that monster just left them there and paid them no mind. They were picked up, hatched, and domesticated into riding beasts.”

”Vion City later sent people to scout in the direction they came from. They went a long way but found nothing, so they gave up and didn’t investigate further.”

”What about the two foreign Dark Elves?” Anton asked.

”The interrogation methods back then were rather harsh. They didn’t make it. They’re dead.”

Anton nodded slightly, lost in thought.

’From the looks of it, at least thirty-some years ago, the Dark Spider Mother hadn’t yet become an object of worship for any Dark Elf city-state.’

’In the original history, the Dark Spider Mother’s power only soared after it began receiving offerings from the Dark Elves, eventually becoming a Demigod.’

’Right now, it most likely isn’t being worshipped yet. Or even if it has started receiving offerings, it hasn’t been for long. It should still only be a Saint, and not a particularly high-level one at that.’

’That said, the Dark Spider Mother is, after all, a genuine Saint Level creature at its peak. It’s completely different from a Saint like Saphiras, who was heavily injured and whose strength was greatly diminished.’

’With my current strength, I still don’t have complete confidence in facing a subterranean predator like that in its prime.’

’However, once I break through to the Nascent Soul Stage, if I can find the Dark Spider Mother’s whereabouts, I could try to capture it.’

’I can’t just let a powerful creature with the potential to become a god slip through my fingers.’

”Keep an eye out for more news on this matter,” Anton said, pulling back from his thoughts.

Eleanor agreed.

Just then, both of their expressions shifted almost simultaneously. They turned in unison to look toward the Enlightenment Platform.

An intense fluctuation of Law was radiating from that direction.

Eleanor was stunned for a moment, then a look of pleasant surprise appeared on her face. ”It’s Elena! She’s broken through to the Legendary Tier!”

A faint smile also touched Anton’s lips. ”It seems our Clan is about to have another Legendary Powerhouse. Let’s go take a look.”

The two of them left the Celestial Essence Hall and, a moment later, arrived at the tower level where the Enlightenment Platform was located.

Before long, the Great Elder and Third Elder, who happened to be in Taichu City, also rushed over after hearing the news.

As for the others, most were currently stationed in the Nine Nether City Domain and couldn’t make it back on such short notice.

A moment later, the door to the Enlightenment Chamber opened from the inside, and Elena walked out.

She had changed into a clean, light gray hunting outfit. Her steps were light, her back was straight as a rod, and her eyes held a presence entirely different from before.

It was the kind of aura one only possesses after a leap in their level of existence.

”Congratulations.”

”Elena, congratulations on your breakthrough.”

Everyone offered their congratulations.

”Thank you.” Elena’s eyes were filled with an irrepressible, joyous smile.

”How does it feel?” Anton asked with a smile.

”Great.” Elena took a deep breath. ”Right now, I’m itching for a real fight to test my strength.”

Eleanor pursed her lips into a smile and said, ”Romance should be more than happy to oblige you.”

Elena’s eyes lit up. ”Good idea. I’ll go find her right now.”

Before the words had even left her mouth, she was already striding out of the tower with an eager, impatient energy in her steps.

Watching Elena’s figure disappear into the halo of light beyond the tower gate, the few people present looked at each other and all shook their heads with a laugh.

”Including Elena, our Clan now has seven Legendary Powerhouses,” Eleanor said with a touch of emotion, retracting her gaze.

The Great Elder and Third Elder nodded in deep agreement.

Over the years, the Clan’s top-tier combat power had been steadily increasing. From the beginning when only Anton held the line, to the Great Elder’s breakthrough, and then the Second Elder, Cedric, Romance, and others crossing that threshold one after another, and now even Elena had joined their ranks.

And that wasn’t even counting the several Golden Peak members who were currently making their final push and were not far from their goal.

Like Darian, for example.

His strength was only a notch below Elena’s.

He was also currently pushing toward the Legendary Tier.

It was estimated that he could also break through in another twenty to thirty years.

In addition, the Clan’s Golden Tier combat power was also growing rapidly.

The number was advancing from the triple digits toward the quadruple digits.

Across the entire Dawn Continent, the number of factions that could accumulate such a number of Legendary Powerhouses and Golden Tier combatants within a century could be counted on one hand.

And this was with the Silver Moon Clan’s relatively small population base.

Once the population base increased and reached a certain stage, their top-tier and High Tier combat power would inevitably experience an explosive growth.

A hundred years ago, they would never have dared to imagine such a situation.

The two elders looked at Anton, their eyes flashing with gratification and admiration.

Under Anton’s leadership, the Silver Moon Clan had grown ever stronger and more powerful.