The Elven Cultivator

Anton opened his eyes.

The soft glow of the Light Source Stone entered his vision.

The walls of the meditation room, the woven rattan cushion, the pot of Honey Bells on the windowsill—everything was just as it had been.

Outside the window, the luminescence of the Eternal Tree swayed gently in the night wind, like an inverted river of stars.

Anton looked down at his own hands.

They were long and fair, and the tips of his fingers still held the residual warmth of a Pill.

“So this is a Heart Demon Tribulation…”

Anton murmured, then shook his head.

’No, this wasn’t a real Heart Demon Tribulation.’

The Heart Demon Guide had only triggered a simulated, low-intensity “preview.”

The Heart Demon Tribulation triggered when truly Solidifying the Pill would be far more dangerous, far harder to break free from.

But even so, the experience had left a deep impression on him.

The despair of watching everything happen, powerless to change it.

The piercing pain of having all his pretenses stripped away, forced to face the deepest fears in his heart.

Everything had been exceptionally real, seared into his memory.

“A mediocre Transmigrator…”

Anton repeated the voice’s assessment of him from the Illusion Realm, his tone calm.

He knew in his heart that those words were, in fact, his own subconscious thoughts.

’Without the Taoist Jade Scroll, I really would be nothing.’

’Without the Taichu Hiding Skill, the Star-Luo Sword Scripture, the Five Elements True Flame, or those top-tier Pill formulas and Artifact Refining methods, I would just be an ordinary Transmigrator.’

’Perhaps I could have made some preparations by relying on my foreknowledge of the game’s plot, but there’s no way I could have come this far in less than two hundred years.’

This was a fact.

He never denied it, nor did he need to.

’The Taoist Jade Scroll is my destiny, my fated opportunity. It’s just like anyone else’s talent or bloodline—something I was born with.’

’To deny that would be to truly deceive myself.’

Anton raised his head, his gaze passing through the window to the Eternal Tree outside.

His eyes were calm and clear, revealing a certain lucidity and composure that came from seeing through an obsession.

Even though it was only a low-intensity, simulated Heart Demon Tribulation, successfully passing through it had clearly elevated his state of mind.

’After experiencing this a dozen or two more times, the Heart Demon Tribulation during Pill Solidification won’t be a problem.’

’There’s still some time before I need to Solidify my Pill. I’ll take it slow and steady.’

Anton stood up and stretched his muscles and bones.

His bones made faint cracking sounds, like old bamboo shoots growing in the spring wind.

He suddenly sensed something. His movements paused for a moment, and he focused his senses inward.

In the Qi Sea of his Dantian, the Taichu True Essence was still slowly rotating, absorbing and releasing the energy of the world.

Although its volume hadn’t changed and it still occupied half the space in his Qi Sea, a closer look revealed that the True Essence seemed more condensed and pure than before.

It was like metal that had been repeatedly forged, its impurities stripped away, leaving only the most solid core.

Every wisp of True Essence felt heavy, possessing an indescribable sense of substance.

Anton quickly circulated his True Essence and executed a move from the Star-Luo Sword Scripture.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that for the same sword move, the consumption of True Essence was noticeably less than before, while the solidity of the Sword Qi was even greater.

’I see.’

Anton was lost in thought.

’A Heart Demon Tribulation not only tempers one’s Dao heart, but it also refines True Essence.’

’The quantity of my True Essence hasn’t increased, but the quality has improved.’

Anton immediately sat down cross-legged and began to condense his True Qi.

As expected, he found that his speed of condensing True Essence was much faster than before.

He pondered for a moment and quickly understood the crux of the matter.

The condensation of True Essence was never just a simple accumulation of energy.

A Cultivator’s state of mind, willpower, and understanding of Taoist Skills all influenced the quality and condensation efficiency of their True Essence.

It was a two-way process.

Strong True Essence leads to a stable mind; a stable mind leads to pure True Essence.

The two were complementary, two sides of the same coin.

And the core function of the Heart Demon Guide was to temper the Dao heart.

The more stable the Dao heart and the clearer one’s understanding of their own Dao path, the more effective their cultivation would naturally become.

As for his True Essence becoming more condensed and pure, it was most likely because the tempering of the Heart Demon Tribulation gave him a deeper understanding and control over his own power.

It was like a sword that, after being forged, still needed to be repeatedly sharpened and polished before its true edge could be revealed.

True Essence was the same.

Condensing it was only the first step. It needed to be repeatedly refined and purified to reach a higher quality.

When this process was taken to its extreme, it would become a Golden Core.

And the Heart Demon Tribulation was like a deep sharpening and polishing.

’And the Star-Luo Sword Scripture.’

Anton looked at the sword light in front of him. With a thought, the light instantly split into eight.

The eight streams of sword light circled and danced around him like swimming dragons, exceptionally agile.

Before today, although Anton had faintly touched the threshold of splitting the sword light into eight, he had never been able to take that final step.

But just now, at the end of the Heart Demon’s Illusion Realm, he had naturally used this technique.

And this proved it wasn’t a hallucination.

His mastery of Light Splitting and Reunification had indeed advanced another step.

Evidently, this was another benefit of overcoming the Heart Demon Tribulation.

’A low-intensity, simulated Heart Demon Tribulation has such a noticeable effect. How powerful would the effect of a real Heart Demon Tribulation for Solidifying my Pill be?’

Anton vaguely understood why forming a First-Grade Golden Core would trigger a Heart Demon Tribulation.

It was actually a deep refinement of one’s state of mind, comprehension, and True Essence.

Once successfully overcome, one would experience an ultimate sublimation.

’If every Heart Demon Tribulation had this kind of effect, then my strength would increase rapidly.’

Anton sighed in admiration. He then gathered his thoughts, closed his eyes to focus once more, and began circulating the Taichu Hiding Skill to condense his True Essence.

This time, he could feel the difference even more clearly.

Previously, when he condensed True Essence, the speed at which the world’s energy flowed into his body wasn’t slow, but there was always a feeling of being “separated by a layer.”

It was like looking at something through frosted glass; he could see it, but not clearly.

But now, that layer of frosted glass seemed to have been wiped clean.

The flow of the world’s energy became clearer, smoother.

Every wisp of energy that entered his body seemed to come alive, actively gathering towards his Qi Sea and merging into the five-colored cloud of light.

The speed of condensing True Essence was about twenty percent faster than before.

Anton felt a hint of joy in his heart but didn’t get distracted, continuing to focus on his cultivation.

The True Essence in his Qi Sea slowly grew stronger, and every bit of growth was solid and stable.

After an unknown amount of time, Anton emerged from his cultivation and opened his eyes.

The sky outside had completely darkened, and the luminescence of the Eternal Tree grew even brighter in the night.

Anton didn’t rest. Instead, he immediately began to comprehend the Dark Heavy Water.

As expected, the tempering of his Dao heart from the Heart Demon Tribulation also seemed to deepen his understanding of the near-divine skill.

Those key points that he couldn’t figure out before now sparked a faint glimmer of understanding when he thought about them again.

The feeling was quite wonderful.

’No wonder Cultivators place so much importance on tempering their Dao heart.’

’The benefits of improving one’s Dao heart are just too numerous.’

Anton sighed in admiration once again.

With this breakthrough, he believed it wouldn’t be long before he could master Dark Heavy Water.

…

「The next morning.」

In the backyard of the treehouse, Anton squatted by a bonfire, unhurriedly turning the meat skewers roasting over the flames.

The meat of a Riftspine Dragon Beast was cut into uniform, small pieces, a mix of fat and lean. It sizzled as it roasted over the fire, the dripping grease sparking clusters of orange-red embers in the flames.

The aroma of spices mingled with the scent of meat, filling the air and making one’s mouth water.

Romance sat casually cross-legged on a nearby stone stool, her chin in her hands. She stared intently at the nearly-cooked skewers, her eyes filled with anticipation.

“Anton,” Romance asked curiously, “how come you had time to call us over for a barbecue today?”

“A balance of work and rest,” Anton said, turning the skewers without looking up. “I need to relax once in a while too.”

Eleanor, sitting opposite him, showed a look of deep agreement upon hearing this.

Anton was indeed too busy.

His contributions to the Clan over the years were plain for all to see, but the price was that he had poured almost all his time into cultivation and research.

Others only saw his amazing achievements, but rarely thought about the hard work behind them.

Relaxing occasionally was indeed very necessary.

Romance tilted her head, her gaze sweeping over Anton’s face. She suddenly broke into a grin. “Anton, did something good happen to you?”

Anton’s hands paused for a fraction of a second, and he glanced up at her.

’This girl’s intuition is as sharp as ever.’

“I suppose so,” Anton said calmly, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. “I figured some things out yesterday.”

“What things?” Romance asked, her curiosity piqued.

Anton didn’t answer, simply handing her a cooked skewer.

“Try it. The timing should be just right.”

Romance took the skewer and bit into it. Rich juices exploded in her mouth, the aroma of spices and the charred fragrance of the meat blending perfectly. She couldn’t help but narrow her eyes and let out a satisfied sigh.

“Delicious!”

She praised indistinctly, her attention instantly diverted by the food, and she stopped asking about her earlier question.

“You try one too,” Anton said, handing a skewer to Eleanor.

“Thank you.” Eleanor’s lips curved up slightly as she took the skewer and began eating in small bites.

Anton continued roasting the meat and asked casually, “I heard from Romance that you’ve been helping the Elder Council with Clan affairs recently?”

Eleanor’s movements paused. She glanced at Anton and nodded with a quiet “mm.”

One of the changes brought by the Clan’s rapid growth and expansion was a sharp increase in Clan affairs, which were numerous and tedious.

The three elders alone were already overwhelmed and had to select some young Elves from the Clan to assist them.

And Eleanor was among them.

But what Eleanor didn’t say was that her grandfather’s reason for persuading her was that Anton would sooner or later become the Clan Leader, and he would need a reliable deputy.

Although Romance was closer to Anton, she obviously wasn’t a suitable candidate.

That only left Eleanor.

In the future, she would work together with Anton to lead the Clan to become even stronger.

But Eleanor was too embarrassed to say such things in front of Anton, so she could only give a vague, noncommittal response.

Fortunately, Anton didn’t press the matter and picked up a skewer to eat as well.

The three of them became immersed in savoring the delicious food. The yard grew quiet, with only the soft sounds of chewing and the crackling of the bonfire remaining.

The morning breeze swept by, carrying the fragrance of flowers from the direction of the Eternal Tree. It mixed with the smoky aroma of the barbecue, creating a reassuring scent.

Anton’s gaze went past the bonfire toward the distant canopy of the Eternal Tree.

The improvement in his state of mind not only increased his cultivation efficiency, but also changed the way he saw the world.

The things that once made him anxious and feel a sense of urgency now seemed to have more leeway.

’Solidifying my Pill is still a long way off, and the road ahead is long.’

’But as long as every step is solid and taken with a clear mind, that’s enough.’

He withdrew his gaze and looked at his two companions beside him, who were focused on tackling their skewers. A faint smile touched his lips.

’Moments like these are perhaps an indispensable part of the path of cultivation.’