The azure sky was washed clean, white clouds like snow.
The autumn grassland echoed with howling wind. Beneath the sunlight, the grass rose and fell, stirring wave after wave of golden tides.
Nestled amid these surging waves stood a vast city of pitch-black stone.
Viewed from high above, the city's layout was grand and its structure rigorous.
The outer walls seemed built from enormous blocks of stone, black as ink. Their surfaces had endured wind and rain, engraved with the weathered marks of time.
The entire wall formed a regular hexagon, dominating the grassland. Its perimeter exceeded two hundred li, it stood nearly ten zhang tall and several zhang thick—truly majestic and towering. From far out on the grassland, ordinary people could see a colossal black beast crouching amid the lush plains. Up close, they had to crane their necks to look at the lofty walls and massive gates.
Every corner of the city wall had a watchtower, its arrow holes packed densely together.
Every few li, there was a broad ramp leading up onto the walls.
Hidden within the walls were also extremely secretive troop-storage chambers.
To mortals, the walls alone were as impregnable as a fortress of gold and soup. During the Imperial Court Struggle of the Northern Plains, these majestic walls had blocked Gu Master armies more than ten times without ever collapsing.
Beyond the walls lay the bustling world within the city.
This city held more than eight hundred thousand residents, along with Gu Masters of every kind.
Its streets crisscrossed, shops stood row upon row, palaces rose one after another, and houses clustered densely together. Carriages and horses flowed ceaselessly, crowds surged endlessly, and voices thundered everywhere. It was prosperous beyond measure.
One unusual fact was that inkmen firmly made up the overwhelming majority of