The Elven Cultivator

North Wind Camp was located on the edge of the Northern Wilderness, near the former territory of the Molten Spike Tribe.

After the fall of the Molten Spike Tribe, this place gradually became a gathering point for Adventurers heading into the Northern Wilderness to hunt.

With no fixed ruler, the camp was chaotic and lawless, providing fertile ground for shady dealings. Consequently, North Wind Camp gradually transformed into something of a black market, bustling with gray-area transactions.

Across the open wilderness, dilapidated tents and wooden huts were crammed together haphazardly. They stood crooked and askew, like poorly made game pieces scattered carelessly across a board.

The air was thick with the mingled scents of cheap ale, roasted meat, and leather. Occasionally, a drunken Adventurer would stagger across a muddy path, muttering curses.

At the edge of the camp, inside an inconspicuous gray tent.

Anton sat cross-legged on one side of a low table. The dim light from the Light Source Stone cast flickering shadows on the tent's fabric.

Scott sat opposite him. He took a sheepskin Scroll from his robes and deftly broke the seal.

An invisible ripple spread out from the Scroll, enveloping the entire tent and instantly cutting off all outside noise.

Confirming that the sound-proofing barrier had formed, Scott finally looked at Anton, his face wreathed in smiles.

"Mr. Canglan, I've been hearing a lot about you recently. Kresol Dragon City is at its wit's end because of you."

Anton smiled faintly and said nothing.

Seeing that Anton wasn't interested in small talk, Scott stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point. "Regarding the materials you commissioned us to find, we've made some headway. However, because it's been such a short time, we've only located two of them. We're still searching for the rest."

Anton's spirits lifted, but his expression remained calm. "Which two?"

Scott took something from his robes and placed it gently on the table.

It was a piece of amber, about the size of a fist and translucent yellow in color.

Sealed within it was a wisp of grayish-white substance that drifted like smoke. In the dim tent, it emitted a faint phosphorescence, like a will-o'-wisp trapped in amber.

"Specter Amber." Anton recognized it at once.

Specter Amber came from the Foggy Swamp, a notoriously dangerous region in the southeastern part of the continent.

The place is shrouded in thick fog year-round, filled with poisonous gas, and inhabited by numerous venomous insects, marsh pythons, and lost souls.

Deep within the Foggy Swamp grows a type of magical plant called the Withered Ancient Tree.

They do not attack on their own, but their root systems secrete a special toxin that turns the surrounding soil into a death trap.

Any creature that steps within range of a Withered Ancient Tree's roots will be unknowingly corroded by the toxin. Their Life Force will gradually drain away until they finally collapse at the base of the tree, becoming its nourishment.

The souls of the creatures that die at the hands of the Withered Ancient Tree are absorbed and trapped, eventually solidifying deep within its roots to become Specter Amber.

Specter Amber itself has the property of sealing spiritual bodies and can be used to capture and store dissipated spiritual energy.

The souls sealed inside top-grade Specter Amber even retain a trace of instinctual awareness. Simply carrying one can help defend against external mental intrusions.

On the Dawn Continent, Specter Amber is one of the core materials for crafting high-level mental protection equipment, and it is incredibly valuable.

That was why Anton had included Specter Amber on his list of primary materials for refining the Divine Soul Magical Artifact.

The piece of Specter Amber Scott had produced was transparent, its phosphorescence was bright, and the wisp of grayish-white, smoke-like substance within was exceptionally lively. It was clearly a top-grade specimen.

Anton was overjoyed. 'Now I have a primary material for the Divine Soul Magical Artifact.'

He suppressed his delight and asked, "And the second one?"

Scott paused for a moment before saying, "The second material is a Dragonflame Pearl."

Anton's brow twitched. This was genuinely unexpected.

When one of the Pure-blooded Dragon Race dies, if the concentration of their Dragon Race bloodline is high enough and they had awakened the Law of the Fire Element or a corresponding secondary Law in life, there is an extremely small chance their heart will solidify into a Dragonflame Pearl under specific conditions.

This is the ultimate crystallization of a Dragon Race's flesh and blood essence, containing extremely dense Fire Element energy. It is a top-grade material for crafting High Tier Fire Element magical items.

Because the conditions for its formation are so stringent, even Dragon City doesn't have many Dragonflame Pearls on hand.

Crucially, the item has a special significance. Dragon City would never allow one to fall into outside hands. The fact that the Fallen Dragon Association could actually obtain one truly surprised Anton.

As if guessing Anton's thoughts, Scott waved his hand with an awkward expression. "We don't have a Dragonflame Pearl on hand. We just have a lead on one."

Anton understood. He was slightly disappointed, but then he asked, "What lead?"

Scott said, "As far as we know, the current commander of the Dragon Race garrison at Bishui Port, Marcus, possesses an Extraordinary Level magical Long Sword. A Dragonflame Pearl is embedded in its hilt."

Anton's gaze hardened.

Marcus.

He was certainly no stranger to that name.

He was the backer who had supported the Molten Spike Tribe, the one who had caused so much harm to the Silver Moon Race.

He had secretly infiltrated Bishui Port several times over the years and knew that Marcus had been 'exiled' here.

This man, a Pure-blooded Dragon Race, had reached the Upper Gold level before the age of two hundred. If it hadn't been for the annihilation of the Stone-skinned Giant Demon Vassal Army, he would have been highly regarded by Kresol Dragon City.

In another few decades, or perhaps a century, he might have even become one of the regents.

It wasn't surprising that he had something as valuable as a Dragonflame Pearl.

Given the quality of a Dragonflame Pearl, it would be more than sufficient as the Fire Attribute primary material for an Essence Sublimation Pill.

"Is this information reliable?" Anton confirmed.

"Absolutely." Scott nodded with a solemn expression.

Anton fell silent, giving Scott a long, meaningful look.

He didn't doubt the authenticity of the information. He just figured that with the Fallen Dragon Association's resources and channels, finding another Fire Attribute primary material shouldn't have been difficult; it would just take a bit more time.

But they had specifically brought up the Dragonflame Pearl, and one that just so happened to be connected to Marcus.

Anton knew full well that after arriving in Bishui Port, Marcus had been hunting down members of the Fallen Dragon Association like a mad dog.

Under the combined attacks of the Dragon Race garrison and the city guard, the Fallen Dragon Association had lost quite a few people over the years.

It was obvious the Fallen Dragon Association must hate Marcus to the bone. They had probably wanted to get rid of him for a long time.

'The Fallen Dragon Association is giving me this information about the Dragonflame Pearl at this specific time. There's no way they don't have an ulterior motive.'

Seemingly unnerved by Anton's gaze, Scott cleared his throat, pointed to the Specter Amber on the table, and said, "Please accept this Specter Amber as a gift, Mr. Canglan. Consider it a present from the organization to celebrate you joining us."

Obviously, this was the Fallen Dragon Association's compensation for asking Anton to make a move.

Only then did Anton avert his gaze, accepting the Specter Amber without ceremony.

'In any case, I'll have to deal with Marcus sooner or later, even without the Fallen Dragon Association. I might as well take this opportunity to act. I'll get a Specter Amber for free and acquire the Fire Attribute primary material for the Essence Sublimation Pill at the same time.'

'Kill two birds with one stone!'

"What's your plan?" Anton asked.

Hearing this, Scott knew Anton had agreed. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "According to our investigation, Marcus has to return to Kresol Dragon City once a year to report on his duties. His next report is in three months. We plan to strike while he's on his way there."

Anton nodded slightly.

'It does sound like a good opportunity.'

'Marcus won't take too many troops with him when he returns to Kresol Dragon City.'

'And by acting outside Bishui Port, we won't have to worry about the city guard or the Bishui Council's Guardian interfering.'

'This will undoubtedly be when the guard around Marcus is at its weakest.'

Scott continued, "At that time, the branch will dispatch four people, including myself—two Upper Golds and two Middle Golds. With you, that makes a total of five Golden Tier combatants to ambush Marcus."

Being a Pure-blooded Dragon Race, Marcus's combat power was certainly far greater than that of an ordinary Upper Gold.

Even so, three Upper Gold experts ambushing him at once should be more than enough.

The remaining two Middle Golds would be responsible for dealing with the other Dragon Race.

Yet Scott seemed to think it still wasn't enough. He sighed and said, "The Eldron branch was established only recently, so we're short on manpower. This is all we can muster in such a short time."

Anton mentally rolled his eyes, ignoring the man's humble-brag.

'Throughout the entire Eldron Plain, only a handful of factions like the Silver Moon Race, Gray Rock Castle, and the former Molten Spike Tribe could scrape together a handful or two of Golden Tier combatants.'

'The Fallen Dragon Association was just a newly established branch, yet they could casually deploy four Golden Tier combatants. This alone was a testament to the depth of their foundation.'

'Then again, if they didn't have a few tricks up their sleeve, the Fallen Dragon Association wouldn't have been able to contend with the various Dragon Cities for so long.'

"We'll go with your plan, then." Anton took out several Sound Transmission Scrolls, placed them on the table, and pushed them toward Scott. "Contact me when the time is near."

Scott hesitated, wanting to say that the Fallen Dragon Association actually had more convenient methods of communication.

But it was obvious that Canglan didn't fully trust them yet and had no intention of using the Fallen Dragon Association's communication tools.

Scott didn't think Canglan's caution was excessive, however.

If the latter hadn't been so cautious, he would have been captured by Kresol Dragon City long ago and wouldn't have survived to this day.

A flurry of thoughts passed through his mind, but in the end, Scott said nothing more. He simply nodded and accepted the Sound Transmission Scrolls.

"Farewell."

With their business concluded, Anton didn't linger. He stood up, lifted the tent flap, and walked out.

Scott watched Anton leave, then averted his gaze. He stood up, erased all traces of their meeting in the tent, and then left North Wind Camp as well.

His trip today had been a complete success. He had managed to recruit a powerful combatant for the Eldron branch of the Fallen Dragon Association.

In the past, the Fallen Dragon Association had been the scapegoat for Canglan. Everyone had blamed the association for his destruction of the military outposts.

Not that the Fallen Dragon Association intended to deny it; even if they had, few would have believed them.

But from this day forward, the blame was well and truly theirs to bear.

After all, Canglan was now truly a member of the Fallen Dragon Association.

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