The Elven Cultivator

As Cedric finished speaking, the expressions of everyone present shifted.

Elves didn’t just live in the Silver Moon Forest on the Eldron Plain; other small Elf communities were scattered across the region.

However, these groups were too small in number and too weak in strength to be called Clans, so they were not well-known.

They were scattered throughout the Eldron Plain. Some barely survived by attaching themselves to human towns, while others struggled to get by hiding in remote mountains and forests. None of them were in a good situation.

Cedric continued, “Most of these Elf communities don’t have their own Eternal Tree or Spring of Life. They are weak and struggle to survive. If they had the chance to join a Clan that possesses an Eternal Tree and a Spring of Life, I don’t think they would refuse.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

That made a lot of sense.

In the past, the Silver Moon Clan had been too busy dealing with the Molten Spike Tribe to fend for themselves, leaving them with no spare capacity to absorb other Elf groups.

The Molten Spike Tribe certainly wouldn’t have stood by and watched them relocate other Elf groups to bolster their own strength.

Furthermore, those Elf groups might not even have agreed to join the Clan back then.

But times had changed.

The Molten Spike Tribe had been annihilated, and the Rock-Horned Dragon of the Thousand Rock Hills had been dealt with. There were virtually no threats left around the Silver Moon Forest; the living conditions couldn’t be better.

As long as the other Elf groups learned of this, they would surely not refuse an offer to join the Silver Moon Clan.

To put it simply, if just half of the Elf communities on the Eldron Plain agreed to join, the Clan’s population would instantly double.

This was the best shortcut to rapidly increasing the Clan’s power!

“I think this is an excellent idea!”

“It’s certainly a good one. Much faster than waiting for newborns to grow up.”

“I happen to know the leader of a community to the north. I can go contact him.”

“There are also a few small communities in the western river valley. They’ve asked us for help before. Now is the perfect time to recruit them.”

As everyone began to speak, the atmosphere in the Eternal Hall immediately became lively.

Anton sat in his seat, listening quietly to the discussion, his mind racing.

’Absorbing other Elf communities is a good solution, but the low birth rate of Elves is still a fundamental weakness.’

’Even if we gathered all the scattered Elves on the Eldron Plain, our total population would still be smaller than that of Bishui Port.’

’This number of people is still too few to face the turmoil of the future.’

’If only I could find a way to increase the Elves’ birth rate…’

Anton calculated silently in his heart.

The Taoist Jade Scroll contained many Pill formulas for promoting fertility, such as the “Many-Child Pill” and the “Conception Pill,” but those were all formulas for humans. Whether they would work on Elves was still unknown.

Besides, the low birth rate of Elves was, to a certain extent, a fundamental rule of the world.

The longer-lived a species was, the lower its birth rate.

It was a form of natural balance.

If a race could live for a thousand years and also have a high birth rate, the world would soon be overrun by them.

The Elves’ low fertility likely touched upon the very source of life itself and probably wouldn’t be easy to change.

Despite this, Anton still planned to try.

Even a ten percent increase in the Clan’s birth rate would bring immense long-term benefits.

As Anton was pondering, he suddenly heard the Great Elder call his name.

“Anton, what are your thoughts?”

The discussion in the hall immediately fell silent, and everyone turned to look at Anton.

Anton came back to his senses and spoke slowly, “I agree with Captain Cedric’s proposal. Absorbing other Elf communities is a good method. In addition to that, I have another suggestion.”

“What is it?” the Great Elder asked.

“Tame the Scale Rock Lizards and the Spinerend Dragon Beasts.”

Anton took the opportunity to voice an idea he had been considering for a while.

Everyone was momentarily stunned.

Taming Dragon Beasts?

That was no easy task.

Although Dragon Beasts did not possess the high intelligence of Giant Dragons and their lesser kin, they were wild, difficult to tame, and had violent temperaments. There were very few successful cases of domestication.

Even if a few Beast Tamers managed to tame one or two Dragon Beasts as battle companions, such cases were as rare as a phoenix feather and couldn’t possibly be implemented on a large scale.

Anton’s expression was calm as he said, “While taming Dragon Beasts is very difficult, the benefits of success are obvious.”

“The flesh, hides, organs, and so on from these two types of Dragon Beasts can all be used as materials for Alchemy and potion-making. These are strategic resources we desperately need.”

“Secondly, tamed Dragon Beasts can also serve as battle companions, increasing the Clan’s combat power. How much would our strength increase if every Warrior in the Forest Guard was equipped with a Dragon Beast mount?”

“Furthermore, capturing Dragon Beasts for taming would also significantly reduce their numbers in the Thousand Rock Hills, making the area safer and allowing us to further develop the ore veins there.”

There was one more point Anton didn’t mention.

Regarding the difficulty of taming Dragon Beasts, he planned to search the Taoist Jade Scroll for a few Beast Taming Secret Techniques that could be cultivated without Spiritual Qi. He was confident this would greatly increase the success rate.

However, even with just the reasons he had stated, the others already looked tempted.

Although the Rock-Horned Dragon was dead, large numbers of Scale Rock Lizards and Spinerend Dragon Beasts still roamed the Thousand Rock Hills, posing an ongoing threat to the mining area.

If they could completely resolve the issue of these two Dragon Beast types, the mining area would no longer require as many guards, and the Clan could free up more manpower for other tasks.

They could even continue to cooperate with Gray Rock Castle to further develop other ore veins in the Thousand Rock Hills.

Although they were just ordinary metal ore veins, their considerable quantity still represented a valuable resource.

“I think this proposal is feasible,” the Second Elder was the first to state his position.

“I agree,” the Third Elder followed suit.

The others quickly voiced their approval as well.

Ever since incorporating the Lizard-men as a slave race, the Silver Moon Clan had enjoyed many benefits.

Those Lizard-men were used for menial labor such as mining, smelting, and transport, which had greatly freed up the Elves’ productivity.

If they could keep Lizard-men, why not Dragon Beasts?

Even if they failed, the worst that could happen was wasting a little time and effort.

But if they succeeded, the benefits would be enormous.

Seeing that everyone was in agreement, the Great Elder made the final decision. “Then it’s settled. The task of taming the Dragon Beasts will be handed over to the Forest Guard.”

“Cedric, Elena, you will select an elite team, form a specialized hunting party, and capture a batch of Dragon Beasts as soon as possible.”

“Yes!” Cedric and Elena responded in unison.

With a good start, the subsequent discussion in the meeting grew even more enthusiastic.

Everyone engaged in a more detailed deliberation on how to strengthen the Clan’s power.

In truth, Anton had many other proposals.

For example, setting up Spirit Gathering Arrays throughout the settlement.

However, there was no need to discuss this publicly. He could just find a private opportunity to discuss it with the three elders.

The meeting, which had lasted for several hours, finally concluded as night fell.

Walking out of the Eternal Hall, Anton called out to Romance and had her follow him.

After returning to his treehouse, Anton turned to face her and handed her a tome he had prepared earlier.

“For me?” Romance took the tome, her expression puzzled. She looked curiously at the title and read it aloud, “Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture? What is this?”

Romance was already used to Anton’s peculiar naming style and was no longer surprised by it.

She was more curious about the content the name represented.

“You can think of it as a special kind of breathing technique.”

Anton had already thought of an explanation.

The Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture was the ancient Force Dao legacy he had prepared for Romance. The name was taken from the concept of “suppressing the eight desolates.” When cultivated to a high level, every strike would carry the power of prison-suppression, capable of sealing the void and crushing enemies.

It was a top-tier Cultivation Technique from the Force Dao lineage within the Taoist Jade Scroll, sufficient to support a Cultivator’s training to an extremely high realm.

In a way, the Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture and the breathing techniques on the Dawn Continent used to temper the body and condense Magic Power were different methods that achieved similar results.

Both used specific methods to draw external energy into the body to strengthen one’s physical foundation.

It was just that the former was of a far higher order than the latter, so the results of cultivation were naturally worlds apart.

“This Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture can make your body stronger. When you cultivate it to a certain level, your physical strength alone will be comparable to Extraordinary Level Magic Equipment.”

Anton gave a rough explanation of the Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture in a way that Romance could understand.

He wasn’t exaggerating.

Unlike the Qi Dao, the realms of the Force Dao were divided into a system of ’Nine Transitions.’ Each transition represented a fundamental transformation of the physical body.

The First Transition of Force was equivalent to the Qi Dao’s Qi Refining Stage. The body would be initially strengthened, able to withstand ordinary blades and swords.

The Second Transition of Force was equivalent to the Qi Dao’s Foundation Establishment Stage. The body would be further tempered and strengthened, with bones as hard as iron. The internal organs would also begin to be tempered, integrating the inside and outside into a harmonious whole.

At this realm, a Force Dao Cultivator’s physical strength was not much inferior to a Talisman.

The most outstanding among them could even withstand Magical Artifacts at minimal cost, becoming unstoppable.

Upon reaching the Third Transition of Force, one would be comparable to a Qi Dao Cultivator at the Golden Core Stage.

At this point, the Cultivator’s body would be tougher than metal, difficult to harm even with Divine Soldiers. Their internal organs would be forged into a single mass, making them impervious to even Magical Artifacts.

Furthermore, a mass of essential essence would condense below their navel. As long as this essence did not dissipate, the physical body would not perish.

With Romance’s current strength, she could advance to the First Transition of Force in just a few months by cultivating the Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture.

After all, she had already condensed Magic Power, which was essentially another form of vital essence. It could be quickly converted into pure vital essence and integrated into her body, saving her the time needed to absorb external medicines to temper her physique. This was a direct, one-step process that would greatly accelerate her cultivation speed.

Although doing so would cause her to lose her Magic Power and the ability to use many of her combat skills, her overall strength would increase significantly. Moreover, she could cultivate the moves that accompanied the Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture. The pros outweighed the cons.

Once Romance achieved some success in her cultivation and the Elder Council saw the advantages of the Force Dao path, he could try to promote it throughout the Clan.

After listening to Anton, Romance seemed to only half-understand.

But she had one great quality: she trusted Anton unconditionally. Without a shred of doubt in his words, she nodded without hesitation and said, “Then I’ll cultivate this Eight Desolates Prison-Suppression Scripture.”

There’s no time like the present. Anton immediately began guiding Romance through her first cultivation session.

Perhaps because her talent was outstanding, or perhaps because her affinity with the Cultivation Technique was high, Romance’s first cultivation session went unexpectedly smoothly.

In less than half an hour, Romance had already completed the conversion and absorption of the first wisp of her Magic Power.

Feeling the extent of her body’s reinforcement, the young woman became incredibly excited. Heedless of the late hour, she continued to cultivate the technique.

Watching the young woman who was completely engrossed in her cultivation, Anton shook his head with a faint smile. He found a spot nearby, sat down cross-legged, and continued to refine his Sword Pill and comprehend the Star-Net Sword Scripture.