The Elven Cultivator

Chapter 259: Chapter 238: Not Far From Breaking the Shell Barrier

The registration counter for identification was located deep inside the hall.

While they registered, Grant explained the situation in the Subspace to the Elves.

"The foundation the Dragon Race used to create the Subspace was the draconic essence accumulated over ten thousand years in the Holy Dragon Mountain Range. As a result, a large number of Dragon Souls were born within it. The more powerful an existence that enters the Subspace, the more likely they are to trigger a reaction from them."

"For example, a being at the Saint Tier will attract the attention of every Dragon Soul in the Subspace the moment they step through the entrance. They’ll be swarmed in a relentless, unending assault."

"The Allied Army didn’t know this at first. When the Subspace first appeared, they sent in two Saints. They nearly perished inside and only managed to escape after paying a heavy price. Since then, the Allied Army has stopped sending Saints into the Subspace, which is why they are recruiting elites from all over the continent."

"On a battlefield like the Subspace, Legends and those at the Golden Peak are the main force."

The Third Elder, Cedric, and Romance listened, secretly amazed.

Anton, however, was not surprised at all.

’In the game, this was basically a level cap for the dungeon.’

But he didn’t say anything.

Although he already knew all about the Subspace, he listened intently to Grant’s explanation, considering what changes the butterfly effect might have brought.

It was also a convenient way to let the other members of his team hear the information from Grant, saving him the trouble of explaining it all again.

"While those at the Legendary Tier and Golden Peak won’t be swarmed like Saints, you might still get attacked by one or two Dragon Souls in the Subspace occasionally."

"If you run into them, be careful. Dragon Souls only retain about seventy to eighty percent of their combat power from when they were alive, but they have no fixed physical form and are immune to physical attacks. Only the Power of Law or incredibly powerful Magic can harm them, which actually makes them harder to deal with than living Giant Dragons."

"Fortunately, these Dragon Souls can’t leave the Subspace. Otherwise, the Allied Army would be in big trouble."

Grant’s expression was a little strange as he said this, as if he’d suffered at the hands of Dragon Souls in the Subspace before.

Anton could understand his apprehension.

Monsters with ethereal properties were a Warrior’s nightmare.

"Next, the method of escape."

Grant raised his hand, took a Scroll from his waist, and waved it in front of everyone.

The Scroll was made of dark cyan beast hide, its surface glittering with silver spatial runes.

"After entering the Subspace, there are only two ways to leave."

"One is to completely destroy the Subspace. The other is to use this escape Scroll, which will teleport the user back to the entrance upon activation."

"Every team entering the Subspace can receive a certain number of escape Scrolls from the Allied Army’s logistics department before setting out. However, their effect only lasts for three months at most, so you shouldn’t stay in the Subspace for longer than that on any single trip."

"Also, the escape Scroll takes a few seconds to teleport you after activation. This process cannot be interrupted. If it is, the teleportation will be canceled—and that’s if you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky, it could trigger spatial turbulence and send you who-knows-where. After all, the Subspace isn’t as stable as the material world."

Just then, the Elves finished registering their information and received their respective identification plates.

The group turned and returned to the central stone platform from before.

"The Subspace has eighteen core nodes in total. When all of them are destroyed, the entire Subspace will completely collapse."

"However, the positions of these spatial nodes aren’t fixed."

"They change location at any time, with no discernible pattern. You can only detect a node’s specific position through spatial fluctuations once you get within a certain distance."

"This is because the nodes resonate with and influence each other. Their energy fields are intertwined like a spread-out net. The movement of a single node triggers a resonance across the entire net, thus masking the energy signature of any individual node."

"However, as more nodes are destroyed, the remaining ones will change position less frequently, and the range at which they can be sensed will expand. This will make it easier for us to find the spatial nodes."

The Third Elder asked, "I’ve heard there’s a limit to how many people can enter the Subspace?"

"That’s right." Grant didn’t break his stride as he nodded. "A maximum of seven people can enter at a time. It can be fewer, but not more."

"This is a hard limit imposed by the Laws of the Subspace. The Allied Army has tried many times, but no matter what they do, teams of more than seven are repelled by the entrance. If you try to force your way in, you’ll be torn to shreds by spatial turbulence."

"Fortunately, the same should apply to the Dragon Race, so they don’t have an advantage over us."

At this point, Grant’s gaze swept over the Elves as he offered a reminder.

"You have six people right now, leaving one spot open. To maximize your combat effectiveness, I suggest you find another person to make a full team of seven. It will significantly increase your chances of survival in the Subspace."

Anton nodded slightly.

’But I have no intention of doing that.’

’The elite teams sent by the major races all have fixed rosters.’

’They either form a full team of seven from their own race or team up with a few familiar factions to reach the number.’

’Lone adventurers are probably extremely rare.’

’And no team would dare to recklessly recruit someone like that.’

Anton didn’t want an unknown element in his team.

He would rather be short on combat power than introduce an unstable factor into the group.

Seeming to sense Anton’s intentions, Grant quickly moved on. "Your landing position upon entering the Subspace is random."

"Basically every spatial node in the Subspace is guarded by Giant Dragons and Pure-blooded Dragon Race members, including some Giant Dragons at the peak Legendary level. A single team has no hope of taking one down."

"So, if you discover a spatial node, it’s best not to rush in. Wait near the node for a while for more teams to arrive, then launch an all-out assault."

"With multiple teams working together, the chances of taking down a node are much higher. You just have to attack before the spatial node changes position again."

As he spoke, they had already returned to the central area of the hall, arriving before the ring of stone counters on the inner side.

"This is the exchange area."

Grant said, pointing at the ring of crystal plates floating above the counters.

"You can use the Demon Crystal chip embedded in your identification plates to search for available resources and their corresponding Contribution Points on these crystal screens."

"You can try it out."

The Elves didn’t stand on ceremony. They each took out the identification plates they had just received, found an unoccupied crystal plate, and placed their plate into the groove on its edge.

The surface of the plate immediately rippled with a faint blue light. Rows of glowing text emerged from the ripples, densely covering the entire surface.

At the very top were more than a dozen category tabs.

Including Magic Equipment, Potions, Materials, Combat Techniques, Magic, Puppets...

The page defaulted to the first category: Magic Equipment.

Fire-Forged Battle Armor, Blade of the Tide, Storm Crossbow, Soul-Shattering War Axe, Dragonfang Scimitar...

The dazzling array of Magic Equipment left the Elves bewildered.

The weakest equipment listed was at the Extraordinary Level, and there were even quite a few Ancient Level items mixed in.

They then opened the materials page.

Star Meteorite Iron, Eternal Wood, Chaos Demon Crystal, Dragon Heart Blood Essence, Nightmare Vine, Void Stone...

One after another, materials they had only ever read about in ancient texts now appeared in rows and columns on the exchange list, leaving them speechless.

It was a similar situation when they checked the other item categories.

The Elves exchanged a look, all of them profoundly shocked.

The Allied Army’s deep foundation and abundant resources far exceeded what they had imagined before coming here.

Rare materials that a faction in the outside world would risk its entire fortune to obtain were nothing more than another entry on the densely packed list here.

As long as one had enough Contribution Points, they could be exchanged for at any time.

No wonder the Allied Army could attract powerful experts from so many races to join the war.

In a corner, Anton stared intently at the items on the crystal plate.

Although the resources provided by the Allied Army were plentiful, most of them didn’t move him.

Or rather, they weren’t worth spending his precious Contribution Points on.

From the very beginning, his goal had only been a small handful of rare resources.

For example, the Myriad Wood Source Heart and Elemental Cores.

Anton quickly found entries for both.

And what’s more, they were available in earth, wind, water, and fire.

’If I have extra Contribution Points, I can exchange for a few more to forge Profound Artifacts in the future.’

There were also Elemental Origin Crystals, also available in all four elements: earth, wind, water, and fire.

Anton nodded to himself.

’As expected of the five top factions, their foundations are truly deep.’

They could even offer something as rare as Elemental Origin Crystals in four different attributes.

For Anton, the greatest use of an Elemental Origin Crystal was to shorten the cultivation time for a Spirit Stone Vein.

Currently, the Clan only controlled two Magic Stone Veins.

One of them already had an Elemental Origin Crystal embedded in it and was in the process of being converted into a Spirit Stone Vein.

The Magic Stones mined from the other one were needed for refining Sensing Spirit Stones and Demon Crystal products, so converting it wasn’t a consideration for the short term.

Strictly speaking, the Clan had no use for Elemental Origin Crystals right now.

But the item was too rare. If he missed this opportunity, there was no telling when he’d be able to acquire one again.

It was best to stock up on a few now, just in case.

Anton continued searching and saw many Giant Dragon organ materials on the materials page.

Unfortunately, they held little appeal for him.

’When the Sword Pill devours a Giant Dragon, it swallows and absorbs the entirety of its essence, energy, and spirit.’

’A single part or material would provide a negligible improvement to the Sword Pill.’

However, when he saw the Dragon Heart Blood Essence, a flash of inspiration struck Anton.

He recalled a Magical Treasure he had chanced upon while looking through the Taoist Jade Scroll.

The Nine Dragon Divine Fire Shield.

A top-tier, space-elemental, fire-based offensive Magical Treasure.

When deployed, it could trap an enemy inside, where nine Fire Dragons would coil, unleashing flames that could scorch the heavens. It was said to be powerful enough to trap and kill even a Nascent Soul Cultivator, possessing terrifying might.

And the core material for refining the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Shield was the heart blood essence of ninety-nine dragon-type species.

’If I gather the heart blood essence of ninety-nine Giant Dragons, perhaps I could refine a similar Magical Treasure?’

’The real Nine Dragon Divine Fire Shield is a True Artifact. I can’t expect to be able to refine that right now.’

’But even if a replica wasn’t as good as the real thing, having even one-tenth of its power would be incredible.’

’It’s worth a try.’

’Provided I have enough extra Contribution Points to exchange for them.’

Temporarily suppressing the thought, Anton continued his search. A moment later, his eyes suddenly lit up.

The Thunder Prison Pillar!

’Of course. If there’s one place in the entire Dawn Continent where one might find a Thunder Prison Pillar, it would be here and now, in Ranfeng Hall.’

Joy surged in Anton’s heart.

Back in Wulei Valley, he had relied on a Thunder Cage formed from seven Thunder Prison Pillars to draw the power of lightning into his body, refining forty percent of his Pill Poison in one go.

Unfortunately, all seven Thunder Prison Pillars were destroyed afterward.

Although he had instructed the Clan to secretly search for new ones, there had been no news.

Now, he had finally found them.

’After so many years, the lightning energy in Wulei Valley must have recovered.’

’With the Thunder Prison Pillars, I can go to Wulei Valley, set up a new Thunder Cage, and quickly refine the rest of the Pill Poison.’

’Breaking through the Shell Barrier is not far off!’