Have we reached Xuanyuan Hill?
Zhang Tie and Bai Suxian stood on the deck of the airboat, looking down at the earth below through the crystal grating.
Below them, and stretching into the distance, lay a vast, boundless lake.
Under the sunlight, ripples glittered across the lake's surface. Aquatic plants swayed in the water, while reeds and wetlands stretched from earth to sky. Near the shores, beyond the reeds and wetlands, stood vast forests and rolling mountain ranges. Countless waterfowl flew in flocks over the lake and gathered in flocks upon its surface. The flock of swans that had just passed the airboat dove from the sky in the blink of an eye, descending toward the lake. At the same time, another flock of wild ducks in the distance—nearly ten thousand of them—suddenly took flight together, a truly spectacular sight...
Most of the wild ducks' wing and back feathers were a vivid green, glittering in the sunlight and brimming with life. Seen from the airboat, that vast flock rising from the lake was like a green cloud lifting off the water.
There were far too many waterfowl here.
A strange glimmer flashed through Zhang Tie's eyes as he watched them.
Bai Suxian did not notice the light in Zhang Tie's eyes. Instead, she excitedly took his arm and pointed at the lake below as she introduced it to him. "This is Heavenly Zither Lake, at the northernmost edge of Xuanyuan Hill. In the other directions around Xuanyuan Hill, there are two more lakes arranged in an interlocking pattern. Heavenly Zither Lake is of moderate size. At the airboat's speed, if we go a little faster, we'll cross Heavenly Zither Lake in less than an hour after another eight hundred-odd kilometers, and then we'll see Xuanyuan Hill!"
Now that his mind