The Elven Cultivator

The Thousand-Crag Hills, deep within the mining district.

A streak of silver-white sword light shot into the passage. It continued without pause, plunging into the fissure.

Anton expanded his Divine Sense to its maximum, an invisible tide spreading in all directions, rapidly permeating every corner deep within the fissure.

The warning from the sentry Array had been going on for a long time, which basically ruled out the possibility of it being accidentally triggered by some subterranean creature.

’Most likely, the fissure has been discovered.’

That was why Anton had rushed over immediately.

’If some subterranean creature discovered the fissure by chance, that’s fine. I can just kill it.’

’But if it was a Mind Flayer… that would be more troublesome.’

Before long, Anton’s Divine Sense reached the fissure’s exit, and he soon got a clear picture of the situation there.

What he saw made him pause.

Outside the fissure’s exit, seven or eight Mind Flayers were gathered, along with several dozen members of the Stone-blind Barbarian Race.

But their condition left Anton puzzled.

These Spiritual Energy beings, which normally ran rampant in the Dark Nether Realm, were now all wounded.

They were sitting or lying about, looking dejected, panicked, and utterly miserable.

Anton was bewildered.

’In this entire region, are there any other creatures besides me that can threaten a Mind Flayer?’

The Mind Flayers had controlled this area for countless years, clearing out any creature that could possibly threaten them. Logically, a situation like this should be impossible.

Suppressing his doubts, Anton sped up. He quickly reached the other end of the fissure, his form silently flitting out to land on the cavern floor.

Several of the Mind Flayers noticed the disturbance almost instantly. Their milky-white eyes swiveled in unison toward Anton’s hiding spot.

They clearly recognized Anton. The moment they saw him, they scrambled to their feet in terror, the tentacles on their heads writhing wildly.

But when they saw that Anton didn’t attack immediately, they hesitated, refraining from launching an attack of their own.

Mind Flayers are cruel and vicious, but they aren’t stupid.

The strongest among the Mind Flayers present was only at the Silver Tier.

They were well aware that they were no match for this powerful Elf, who had once killed a High Tier Mind Flayer. If a fight broke out, their only fate was death.

Thus, seeing that Anton hadn’t made a move, a sliver of hope sparked within them, and they decisively chose to submit.

“Respected Elf, we mean no harm. We are merely resting here.”

The lead Mind Flayer’s head-tentacles twitched gently, transmitting a wave of thought.

Anton was not one of the subterranean races, so he naturally couldn’t understand their common tongue.

However, Mind Flayers were one of the rare subterranean races that could communicate without needing a common language.

They were skilled in telepathy, capable of directly transmitting their thoughts into other creatures’ minds without the need for language.

Of course, this method of communication was not without risk.

The slightest lapse in concentration could allow a Mind Flayer to exploit an opening and invade one’s mind.

However, Anton’s Divine Soul was resilient, and he was protected by both his True Essence and Divine Sense, so he had no such worries.

Seeing Anton remain silent, the lead Mind Flayer transmitted another thought.

“We’ll leave right away.”

“Wait.”

Anton stopped them, then pointed to his own head.

He lacked the ability to project his thoughts telepathically. To communicate with the Mind Flayers, he had to establish a mental link.

The lead Mind Flayer understood immediately. It carefully extended its Spiritual Power, reaching out toward Anton’s mind.

At the same time, a flicker of glee ignited within it. It assumed the Elf before it was unaware of the risks involved in establishing a mental link with a Mind Flayer.

If it could use this opportunity to control the Elf’s mind, they would gain a slave at the Golden Peak level.

With that, even after leaving this place, they would have the means to survive.

But when it actually made contact with Anton’s Spirit, the Mind Flayer was shocked to find that the Elf’s mind and soul were absurdly powerful and resilient.

It far surpassed that of an ordinary Golden Peak expert.

Forget controlling his mind and Spirit; it couldn’t even read his surface thoughts. All it could do was passively receive the information he chose to transmit.

The Mind Flayer was instantly crestfallen.

Just then, Anton’s message came through.

“What happened to the Mind Flayer city-state?”

Anton’s question cut straight to the core of the issue.

’The Mind Flayers are injured and they’re here. It’s almost certain that some major catastrophe has befallen their city-state.’

As expected, the Mind Flayer’s response confirmed his suspicion.

“Our city-state was attacked by invading creatures. All the High Tier Mind Flayers were killed by those terrifying monsters, and the Elder Brain is dead too. We couldn’t defeat them, so we had no choice but to escape.”

Anton’s expression grew serious. “What kind of monsters?”

The Mind Flayer shook its head. “We don’t recognize them.”

“What do they look like?”

The Mind Flayer’s tentacles quivered, as if gesturing. “They look like giant, spherical crystals. They shoot strange rays. Any Mind Flayer or Stone-blind Barbarian hit by them instantly turns to stone. Even the High Tier Mind Flayers could barely resist.”

’Sounds like the Law of Petrification.’

A suspicion began to form in Anton’s mind.

But he would have to see the monsters for himself to be certain.

Anton proceeded to ask for more details, including the internal layout of the Mind Flayer city-state and its topographical features.

Once he was sure there was nothing more to learn, he killed the Mind Flayer without a second thought.

’That thing… Did it really think I couldn’t sense its malicious intent?’

Anton then slaughtered the rest of the Mind Flayers and members of the Stone-blind Barbarian Race, leaving no one alive.

With that taken care of, Anton turned to look in the direction of the Mind Flayer city-state, his expression contemplative.

He had originally planned to attack the Mind Flayer city-state himself, but only after making thorough preparations.

He never expected that before he and his Clan could even make a move, the Mind Flayer city-state would be utterly crushed by invading monsters.

This had caught him completely off guard.

The fall of the Mind Flayer city-state was a good thing, of course, but if it was replaced by an even greater threat, the situation would be far more difficult.

The immediate priority was to determine the origins of these monsters.

Based on the Mind Flayer’s description, there were likely no Legendary Tier creatures among the monsters that had invaded the city-state.

Otherwise, the Mind Flayers wouldn’t have been able to hold out for so long.

Even so, to have conquered a city-state that housed nearly ten Golden Peak Mind Flayers, the monsters’ strength could not be underestimated.

Anton silently took stock of his current assets.

Because this was happening several years ahead of his original schedule, his preparations were far from perfect.

He had currently condensed a total of thirty drops of Dark Heavy Water, less than half of his original goal.

As for the Five Camp Divine Soldiers, however, their numbers had just surpassed 1,250.

They could be formed into two Five Elements Grand Arrays of 625 soldiers each.

The Celestial Thunder Banners and Five-Thunder Jade Talismans needed to set up the Nine Heavens Thunder Suppression Array had also been prepared long ago.

Although he hadn’t reached his ideal state of readiness, it should be enough to handle an unforeseen battle.

Besides, he was only going to scout out the situation. He wouldn’t necessarily have to confront the monsters head-on.

Nevertheless, Anton cautiously made thorough preparations.

He set up the Nine Heavens Thunder Suppression Array at the fissure entrance to secure his escape route.

He then took out a Sound Transmission Talisman, recorded a message detailing what had happened, and with a tap of his finger, the talisman paper folded itself into a Paper Crane.

As Anton infused it with a trace of True Essence, the once stiff and lifeless Paper Crane was suddenly imbued with a vibrant, Spiritual quality. It flapped its wings and took flight.

After circling once in the air, the Paper Crane fluttered into the fissure and disappeared.

It was a minor Technique, but when paired with a Sound Transmission Talisman, it served as an excellent means of relaying information.

Its drawbacks were that it couldn’t travel too far and was vulnerable to attack by other creatures en route.

However, Anton’s message was intended for the mining district guards just outside the fissure, which wasn’t a great distance. He had already cleared out all the subterranean creatures in the passage, so there was no danger of the Paper Crane being attacked on its journey.

With all his preparations complete, Anton unleashed his sword light, which enveloped him as he sped toward the Mind Flayer city-state.

Along the way, Anton encountered more fleeing creatures: Mind Flayers, members of the Stone-blind Barbarian Race, ogres, and Kobolds.

He would capture any Mind Flayers he came across and interrogate them for information.

As for the Mind Flayers’ servants and slaves, Anton disposed of them without a second thought.

’Too bad for them they don’t have telepathy.’

’When I get back, I need to find a way to get my hands on a permanent Tongues Magic Scroll. Otherwise, I’ll have no way to communicate with any subterranean races I meet in the future.’

Anton mused to himself.

The closer he got to the Mind Flayer city-state, the fewer fleeing Mind Flayers and servants he saw, and the quieter his surroundings became.

After traveling for another fifteen minutes, Anton finally arrived in the vicinity of the Mind Flayer city-state.

He looked up, and the scene before him was so silent it was almost eerie.

The Mind Flayer city-state still stood right where it had always been.

Towering, twisted buildings; sharp, pointed arches; thick stone walls… everything looked exactly the same as the last time he had been here.

A faint purple halo hung over the city-state like a thin veil, shrouding the entire metropolis and shielding it from outside observation.

If he hadn’t already learned what happened from the fleeing Mind Flayers, Anton would have assumed the city-state was still functioning as usual.

He tried to extend his Divine Sense forward, but the moment it touched the faint purple halo, it hit an invisible wall. It was completely blocked, unable to advance even an inch.

Anton wasn’t surprised.

The Mind Flayer city-state was protected by an Array designed to block detection—the purple halo.

He hadn’t been able to probe the situation inside last time, either.

’Looks like I’ll have to go in and see for myself.’

Anton didn’t rush in. Instead, he first took out the Wuyin Protective Talisman and activated it with a trace of True Essence.

A thin layer of mist flowed out from the Protective Talisman, enveloping his entire body.

The mist wasn’t thick, but it was strangely effective, completely absorbing his aura, any sounds he made, and all energy fluctuations.

Immediately after, Anton used the Shadow Travel Skill, his body melting perfectly into the surrounding shadows.

At this point, even a Golden Peak expert wouldn’t be able to perceive his existence unless they came right up to him.

With his preparations complete, Anton glided silently toward the city-state.