The Elven Cultivator

"It is indeed a Burrowing Worm."

The moment he saw the monster's corpse, Anton recognized it.

In his past life, he'd hunted countless Burrowing Worms in the Dark Nether Realm. He was all too familiar with this type of monster.

The three elders and Thorvin stood gathered to the side, their expressions grim.

A fissure that could potentially connect to the Dark Nether Realm had appeared deep within the mining area. This meant that the mineral vein they had painstakingly mined for years could, at any moment, turn into an erupting volcano and destroy everything here.

"Our top priority is to figure out where this fissure leads," the Great Elder said in a low voice. "If it really is the Dark Nether Realm... we must find a way to seal it as soon as possible."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

But the question was, who should they send down?

If it were just an ordinary fissure, it wouldn't be a big deal, but if it truly led to the Dark Nether Realm, the journey would undoubtedly be extremely dangerous.

If the person sent to investigate was too weak, they would very likely never return.

The safest approach was to send down someone with Golden Tier combat power.

And it would be best to send a Warrior and a Caster, who could look out for each other.

Just then, Anton suddenly spoke up. "Great Elder, let me go."

Everyone's gaze fell on him in unison.

The Great Elder frowned slightly and shook his head. "No."

Anton was the hope for the Clan's future rise.

Letting him take the risk of exploring a fissure that might lead to the Dark Nether Realm... if something unexpected happened, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Great Elder, I am the most suitable person for the job," Anton insisted, his expression calm.

Most areas of the Dark Nether Realm were devoid of sunlight; only some luminescent fungi, crystals, and ores provided dim illumination.

Coupled with the complex and intricate terrain, surface dwellers who entered could often only exert half of their true strength.

But he was different.

Even if he lost his sight completely, he could still clearly perceive his surroundings with his Divine Sense.

Moreover, he had Sword Escape and various Techniques and martial skills to increase his speed.

One could say that the dark environment and complex terrain of the Dark Nether Realm had no effect on him whatsoever.

In fact, the less light there was, the greater his advantage.

After all, not all subterranean creatures had darkvision.

Besides, he had spent a lot of time scrambling through the Dark Nether Realm in his previous life, so he had a considerable understanding of its terrain, creatures, and racial distribution.

Among everyone present, no one was more familiar with the Dark Nether Realm than he was.

Truthfully, he was indeed the most suitable candidate.

Of course, he couldn't reveal these reasons, so Anton had to find another excuse.

"If it really is a fissure leading to the Dark Nether Realm, then sending more people would actually be more dangerous. It's more appropriate for someone like me, who cultivates both Magic and martial arts, to go down."

The Great Elder's brows were tightly furrowed, but he did not immediately object.

Anton continued, "Besides, I have the Separation Fire Shield for protection, as well as Talismans and Yellow Turban Warriors to assist me. Even if I encounter real danger, escaping won't be a problem."

The Great Elder was silent for a long time before finally sighing and looking at Anton with a solemn expression.

"You must be careful."

"I will," Anton nodded.

Seeing the Great Elder relent, the others couldn't say anything more.

Darian opened his mouth, but in the end, he just patted Anton's shoulder and said in a low voice, "Stay safe."

Anton gave a slight nod to the group, then turned and walked toward the nearby fissure.

Inside, the fissure was pitch-black, like the giant, gaping maw of a beast waiting to devour any uninvited guest.

Putting on a full show, Anton took a Light Source Stone from his Dimensional Bag, tapped it to activate its light, and holding it in his hand, leaped into the fissure.

Watching Anton's figure disappear into the darkness, a flicker of worry crossed the Great Elder's eyes, but he quickly composed his expression and turned to look at Cedric.

"Mobilize the Forest Guard and seal off the mining area."

"Yes, Great Elder."

...

The inside of the fissure was narrower than he had expected.

The rock walls were jagged and covered with sharp edges.

After all, it was a tunnel forcibly excavated by a Burrowing Worm, without any sort of refinement.

Once Anton was sure the others outside could no longer see him, he put away the Light Source Stone and spread out his Divine Sense.

In the Dark Nether Realm, holding a light source was a huge taboo.

It could easily expose one's position and attract attacks from other creatures.

The tunnel snaked downward with a steep incline, almost vertical in some places.

Anton activated the Wind Manipulation Technique, maneuvering nimbly through the narrow space without losing any speed.

Along the way, his mind raced.

'If this fissure really leads to the Dark Nether Realm, what subterranean race lives nearby?'

'The Dark Elves? Eye Demons? Or the Mind Flayers?'

These were the three most powerful races in the Dark Nether Realm, each one extremely difficult to deal with.

The Dark Elves worshiped evil and conspiracy, had a strict social hierarchy, and were renowned for their powerful Magic and combat skills.

Moreover, the Dark Elves were the mortal enemies of the surface Elves. The hatred between them was etched into their bloodlines, and any encounter meant a fight to the death.

Eye Demons were extremely xenophobic, paranoid, and powerful spherical aberrations. They possessed a large central eye and multiple eyestalks that could fire different magical rays, making them fearsome, solitary lords of the Dark Nether Realm.

The Mind Flayers were even more bizarre. They fed on the brains of other intelligent creatures and possessed powerful psionic abilities, which they used to enslave other races and build cruel city-states, making them one of the most terrifying predators in the Dark Nether Realm.

There were many other subterranean races, but they all paled in comparison to these three.

As he descended deeper, the surrounding scenery began to change.

At first, he could still see familiar moss and tree roots, but soon, these traces gradually disappeared.

In their place was an absolute, suffocating darkness.

This wasn't the darkness of night.

Night still had starlight, moonlight, and perhaps the lights of a distant village.

But the darkness here was like a tangible, heavy weight, pressing down on his vision, his skin, and his psyche, creating the illusion of being unable to breathe.

The air was cold and damp, carrying an indescribable earthy, foul smell, occasionally mixed with the bitter, metallic taste of minerals.

There was no wind; the air was stagnant.

It was as if the entire world had stopped breathing.

Anton moved silently through the darkness like a solitary traveler.

Without Divine Sense, relying solely on sight would make moving through this subterranean world incredibly difficult.

Fortunately, he didn't need to rely on his vision.

As his Divine Sense extended, everything around him was presented clearly in his mind.

By this point, Anton could confirm that the fissure above did indeed lead directly to the Dark Nether Realm.

And he was now in this vast, subterranean world.

'Now I just have to hope there isn't a settlement of any subterranean race nearby, or at least that it isn't one of the big three—the Dark Elves, Eye Demons, or Mind Flayers. Otherwise, things will get tricky.'

After traveling for about half an hour, Anton's steps suddenly halted.

His Divine Sense had picked up movement ahead.

It was a massive creature, curled up in a recess at a corner of the tunnel, apparently waiting for prey to pass by.

Anton's gaze flickered, and he continued walking forward.

As he reached the corner, the massive figure suddenly lunged, letting out a low roar as it pounced toward him.

It was a Burrowing Bear.

A variant of bear adapted to subterranean life, it was more ferocious than its surface-dwelling counterparts.

It was over three meters long, with high, hunched shoulders and a body covered in coarse, grayish-brown fur. Its forelimbs were as thick as tree trunks, and the claws on its paws, as long as an adult's finger, gleamed with a dull, bony luster.

This creature was a common predator in the Dark Nether Realm. Although its eyesight was severely degenerated, its sense of smell and hearing were exceptionally sharp. An adult Burrowing Bear possessed the combat power of the Black Iron Tier.

Anton didn't draw his sword. A streak of silvery sword light shot out from his chest, piercing through the Burrowing Bear's skull like a bolt of lightning.

The Burrowing Bear's lunging figure froze abruptly. Its massive body lost control in mid-air and crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Anton walked over and stored the Burrowing Bear's corpse in his Dimensional Bag.

'The flesh, blood, and fur of a Burrowing Bear are also good materials. I can't let them go to waste.'

Continuing forward, Anton successively encountered several more monsters.

For example, a Hook Horror.

It was an avian monster with hook-like claws that could climb rock surfaces, attacking with its unique talons and beak.

There was also a Basilisk.

It was an eight-legged reptile whose gaze could turn its prey to stone.

These monsters weren't particularly strong, at most reaching the Black Iron Tier, and were all easily dealt with by Anton.

What puzzled him was that he hadn't seen a single corpse along the way.

This was highly unusual for the Dark Nether Realm.

The Dark Nether Realm was a harsh environment with scarce food, and battles between creatures were far more frequent than on the surface.

A corpse, regardless of the creature, would be devoured by other predators in an extremely short amount of time.

But even so, some indigestible bones or fur should have been left behind.

Yet, in all his travels, Anton hadn't seen a single bone or tuft of fur.

It was as if something was deliberately cleaning up the bodies.

And the cleaning was extremely thorough—not even bones were left.

'Unless... the creature taking the corpses isn't using them as food.'

'But for some other purpose.'

Thinking of this, a faint suspicion formed in Anton's mind.

He continued forward impassively, his Divine Sense constantly maintaining its maximum range.

After traveling for quite a while longer, the tunnel finally came to an end.

Ahead lay an open space where the rock walls extended outward, forming a natural underground cavern.

The cavern ceiling was about twenty to thirty meters high, with stalactites hanging down like a forest, casting a web of jagged shadows under the glow of fluorescent moss.

Anton leaped out of the tunnel and landed silently on the cavern floor.

At the same time, his Divine Sense captured more than a dozen moving figures.

Anton's figure flickered. He ducked behind a nearby boulder and simultaneously used the Shadow Travel Skill, merging his body with the shadows.

The figures emerged from around a corner up ahead.

It was a group of upright, humanoid creatures, ranging from about 1.6 to 1.8 meters tall, with slender builds.

They had no eyes, only two shallow hollows where their sockets should be. Their faces were flat, and their nasal bridges had almost completely degenerated, leaving only two small holes.

Their skin was grayish-white, like a corpse that had never seen sunlight, and was covered in a layer of fine, downy hair.

They wore crude leather armor and carried short knives made of polished Obsidian at their waists as they moved forward with caution.

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