Chapter 281: Chapter 255: An Excellent Hunting Target

This time, however, Anton didn’t let the Sword Pill absorb the essence. Instead, with a wave of his hand, a palm-sized bronze cauldron flew out of his sleeve and drifted toward the points of light in the air.

The body of the cauldron was a dull, bluish-gray. It stood on three legs with two high handles, and a hole in the center of its lid was currently slightly ajar.

It was the Soul-Collecting Cauldron he had found the time to refine recently.

It was a Magical Artifact specifically designed to absorb, refine, and purify Dragon Soul essence.

As the Soul-Collecting Cauldron released a bluish-gray halo, the points of light floating in the void seemed to be drawn by an invisible force. Like a hundred rivers flowing to the sea, they surged into the cauldron through the hole in the center of its lid.

One after another, the Runes on the cauldron’s surface lit up. A bluish-gray light flowed between the patterns as the cauldron emitted a low hum.

A moment later, the humming gradually subsided, and the light from the Runes slowly dimmed.

The Soul-Collecting Cauldron slowly drifted back into Anton’s palm.

Looking closely, he saw that a thin layer of Spiritual Liquid now coated the bottom of the cauldron.

The Spiritual Liquid was a pale gold, its texture clear and translucent, like molten amber.

An aura of incredibly pure energy, tinged with a faint warmth, rose from the cauldron.

"Guard me."

Anton said without turning his head, then sat down cross-legged.

The two Elders and Romance exchanged a glance, then spread out, forming a triangle around Anton as their gazes warily scanned the surroundings.

Anton’s gaze fell upon the Soul-Collecting Cauldron. He took a deep breath and began to circulate his Cultivation Technique.

In an instant, a misty vapor drifted out of the cauldron. Like a pale golden ribbon, it traced a graceful arc through the air before entering Anton’s slightly open mouth.

The moment the vapor entered his throat, a warm sensation spread to his chest. It then traveled down his meridians, eventually reaching his Dantian and merging into his Golden Core.

The Golden Core trembled slightly. The misty halo on its surface brightened for an instant before returning to normal.

But Anton could clearly feel that his Golden Core had grown by an infinitesimal amount.

Although the increase wasn’t large, it was a genuine improvement.

’It works!’

Anton was overjoyed.

’The Dragon Soul essence really can be absorbed by the Golden Core to nourish the Pill Body.’

’This means I no longer need to spend ages refining countless Pills or searching everywhere for those incredibly rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.’

’The Dragon Souls in this Subspace are ready-made "nourishment."’

Ecstatic, Anton absorbed all the remaining essence in the cauldron in one go. He then glanced sideways at the Sword Pill, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

’I never thought I’d see the day I’d be competing with a Magical Treasure for food.’

The Sword Pill trembled lightly, conveying a hint of resentment.

Anton smiled slightly and said softly, "Once we find the spatial node, I’ll let you have your fill."

Only then did the Sword Pill calm down, and the hum of its sword light became cheerful again.

Seeing that Anton had finished so quickly, the two Elders and Romance were a bit surprised, but they didn’t ask any questions.

Anton often acted in unusual ways, and they were long used to it.

"Let’s keep moving."

Anton didn’t explain further and simply continued forward.

As they continued on, they unsurprisingly encountered several more Dragon Souls.

After slaying these Dragon Souls, Anton didn’t absorb their essence on the spot. Instead, he used the Soul-Collecting Cauldron to refine, purify, and store it, planning to absorb it slowly upon his return.

The advantage of this approach was that it saved time, allowing him to devote more energy to exploration instead of having to stop frequently to absorb the Spiritual Liquid.

After this happened a few times, Romance suddenly spoke up. "Do you guys feel like we’re encountering Dragon Souls more and more frequently?"

The Great Elder and Third Elder exchanged a look but didn’t say anything.

They had noticed this long ago, but since Anton hadn’t mentioned it, they had tacitly kept silent.

Anton said calmly, "It’s because the Sword Pill’s quality has improved."

After ascending to a Top-grade Profound Artifact, the Sword Pill’s "attraction" to Dragon Souls seemed to have increased significantly.

However, this was also a good thing for him.

His hunting efficiency had greatly improved.

The prerequisite was that their strength had to keep up.

Otherwise, if Dragon Souls appeared too frequently for them to handle, it would become a problem.

Fortunately, the current frequency of Dragon Soul appearances had not yet exceeded what Anton could manage.

He felt he could easily handle even a dozen or so Dragon Souls appearing at once.

If worst came to worst, Romance and the two Elders could also help shoulder some of the pressure.

Hearing this, Romance glanced at the Profound Gold Sword Light beside Anton, nodded thoughtfully, and said nothing more.

After walking for a while longer, Romance began to feel bored and started a conversation with the others.

"The allied forces have only destroyed one spatial node so far. I wonder how much longer this war will last?"

The Third Elder chuckled. "From the looks of it, it will take several decades at least. And that’s assuming the Dragon Race doesn’t have any other tricks up its sleeve."

"Huh?" Romance’s eyes widened. "They’ve already brought out the Subspace. Could the Dragon Race possibly have any more powerful trump cards?"

The Third Elder shook his head. "It’s hard to say. After all, the Dragon Race was a dominant power for nearly ten thousand years. Who knows what other hidden resources they might have."

Anton listened to their discussion without interjecting.

’In the original timeline, the Dragon Race had no other trump cards left.’

’The Subspace was their final barrier.’

’Once the Subspace was completely destroyed, the allied forces could march straight in and lay siege to Holy Dragon City.’

’But in the end, the Dragon Race wasn’t completely wiped out.’

’When the Lord of the Dragon Court fell in battle and Holy Dragon City was breached, the Dragon Race, in its desperation, made a mad decision.’

’They ventured into the Storm Rift Abyss, hoping to find a path to survival within that forbidden land of death.’

’The Storm Rift Abyss was a massive fissure left over from the continent’s formation, created by the collision of tectonic plates and elemental energies.’

’It was bottomless, constantly churning with incredibly violent elemental energies.’

’Any living creature that entered it would be torn to shreds in an instant.’

’Not even a Saint was exempt.’

’It was a forbidden zone of death that even the Dragon Race dared not tread lightly.’

’But in such a desperate situation, the Dragon Race had no other choice.’

’To stay in Holy Dragon City was to die.’

’Entering the Storm Rift Abyss offered a glimmer of hope for survival.’

’Perhaps, by some twist of fate, the Dragon Race still had a sliver of luck remaining. Though the vast majority of them died in the abyss, a small, fortunate few managed to cross it and escape with their lives.’

’Led by a Saint-level Giant Dragon, they went into hiding, concealing themselves from the world and only resurfacing during the Age of Ascendant Gods.’

’Speaking of which, this might be an opportunity...’

Anton’s gaze fell to the Sword Pill by his side, his eyes flickering slightly.

’Upgrading the Sword Pill from a Low-grade Profound Artifact to a Top-grade Profound Artifact was relatively simple.’

’But advancing from a Top-grade Profound Artifact to a Spiritual Artifact is a qualitative leap.’

’It isn’t just a matter of accumulating energy; it also involves a transformation at the Spiritual level.’

’It requires incredibly potent nourishment to act as a catalyst.’

’Even devouring four or five peak Legendary Giant Dragons might not be enough to trigger this transformation.’

’I’m afraid it would have to devour at least one Saint-level Giant Dragon.’

’And in my memory, the one who led the Dragon Race survivors to safety was precisely a royal Giant Dragon that had just ascended to the Saint level.’

’Crucially, after emerging from the Storm Rift Abyss, it would have undoubtedly expended a great deal of its power.’

’It might even be injured.’ freewebnovⅇl.com

’Without a doubt, it would be an excellent hunting target.’

After a moment of thought, Anton quickly formed a plan in his mind but temporarily set the idea aside.

’It’s still too early to think about these things.’

’The war in the Subspace has only just begun. It will be several decades before the allied forces break through.’

’I have plenty of time to prepare.’

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