Following the first Familiar, Shivalier, the group walked along a stone-paved path that ran straight through the vast gardens.
Her footsteps made no sound.
Against her pure white robes, the jet-black wings on her back lent her an even greater air of mystery and solemnity.
Before long, an enormous gate rose before them at the end of the path.
It was not a gate in the usual sense, but rather a magnificent stone gateway resembling a triumphal arch.
Built from some unknown milky-white stone, it was imposing in its grandeur.
Cui Ciyou's gaze was drawn to it at once.
He could not help murmuring in admiration:
"Oh! What... breathtaking reliefs!"
In this other world, where everything depended on craftsmanship, the exquisite detail and majestic scale of the work before him possessed a vitality and artistry that stirred the heart far more than anything mass-produced by machines.
Every inch of visible stone, inside and outside the enormous triumphal arch-like gateway, was densely covered in intricately carved reliefs.
They seemed to depict scenes from ancient epics: dragons soaring, heroes waging war, and gods whispering.
Even the inner surface of the towering arch and the upper reaches beyond an ordinary person's grasp were covered in continuous, exquisite patterns and narrative carvings, compelling everyone to look up.
As the group passed through the gateway, admiring it overhead, Shivalier's cool voice rang out from the front.
She offered an explanation:
"This Epic Corridor was personally designed and its construction overseen by the current Nether Dragon King, Lord Maxwell."
"Lord Maxwell is exceptionally skilled in creating works of this kind, as well as magical architecture."
"Of his surviving works, the most famous is the White Palace in the capital of the Millis Holy Country-"
"The Nether Dragon King?"
At those words, Cui Ciyou instantly recalled what