However, this matter is too mystical to explain. If someone else spoke of it, even she couldnât believe it, so she was too lazy to explain it much to others.
Ye Lanfeng slightly turned his head and looked deeply at Mu Hanyan, but still didnât ask anything more.
Following behind Mu Hanyan, everyone arrived before the stone gate.
A shimmering light like rippling water adorned the stone gate, concealing the scene within. It felt as if it had existed since the ancient primordial times. Passing through this gate seemed to cross time and space, entering another world.
Clearly, this stone gate was just a space barrier. Passing through the barrier would lead one into the ancient relic.
Just standing before the stone gate, one could feel an ancient and vast aura, accompanied by the unique oppression of a Divine Beast, pressing towards them.
This oppression was evidently several times stronger than the pressure of the Qiongqi Divine Beast seen in the Exotic Beast Valley. Even with Mu Hanyanâs current strength, she felt it extraordinarily heavy.
Huayue and the others felt even heavier, their breathing becoming rapid.
"Letâs go. If thereâs any danger, you should immediately leave without worrying about me," Mu Hanyan said to Huayue and the others.
Even with Ye Lanfeng present, he might not be able to take care of so many people if distracted.
"Donât worry, young master. We wonât be your burden. If things go wrong, weâll leave immediately," Huayue and the others assured seriously.
They knew that their strength was still too weak, so they wouldnât act recklessly.
Mu Hanyan nodded and took the lead stepping into the great gate, with Ye Lanfeng walking alongside him. Huayue and the others gripped their sword hilts tightly and followed closely behind.
From a distance, seeing Mu Hanyan and the others entering the barrier gate, the Fifth Prince and his companions exchanged glances without saying a word.
Mu Hanyan had truly brought them too many shocks, making them lose confidence in their original plan.
"Letâs do this. Weâll follow and have a look. If things become impossible, we can back out later," after a long hesitation, Nian An Yao spoke up.
He was different from the other two. After all, he was a Beast Tamer. If he didnât even take a look at such a powerful Divine Beast, he would regret it for life.
"Alright, weâll observe first, and if things go badly, we can leave later," the Fifth Prince also wasnât willing to give up. He hoped to one day trample Mu Hanyan underfoot. If Mu Hanyan effortlessly obtained that Divine Beast, heâd regret it for life.
No matter what, unless things become truly impossible, one must not give up even the slightest chance.
Qu Fengting hated Mu Hanyan to death, so of course he had no objections. After waiting a while, they stealthily followed and passed through the space barrier.
...
In front of them was a massive palace, towering and spacious, exuding an imposing and solemn aura. It seemed somewhat similar to the Qiongqi Temple they had seen before.
However, upon closer inspection, it was clearly different. Not only was it more grand and majestic than the Qiongqi Temple, but it also lacked the unique ferocity and murderous aura of Fierce Beasts found in the Qiongqi Temple. Instead, within its solemnity, it exuded a sense of righteousness, giving off a feeling of light and sanctity.
Most importantly, at the highest point of the palace, there was no statue of a Tributor, but rather a stone chair, surrounded by stone swords and stone axes, standing solemnly like the Dragon Chair of a human emperorâs palace.
Clearly, this was not a Divine Beastâs temple, but a human palace.
Of course, the palace at this point had already become ruins. Four of the originally large upright stone pillars had toppled, three more were leaning and teetering, and only one remained upright. Fortunately, these stone pillars were just decorative, as the palace didnât rely on them for support, or it would have collapsed long ago. The ground was covered in rubble, and the surrounding stone walls were riddled with cracksâundoubtedly the result of Zhang Chihuaâs activation of the guardian seal last time.
"Thatâs strange, werenât they saying itâs a Divine Beast? Why is there a human palace?" Jiang Yuzhe asked curiously.
"Thatâs simple, isnât it? The palace must have already existed, and the Divine Beast just happened to choose it as its lair," Zirong looked at Jiang Yuzhe as if he were an idiot.
Jiang Yuzhe fumed, rolling his eyes repeatedly, but he had nothing to retort, as that explanation was indeed logical.
Mu Hanyan said nothing, only furrowing her brows at the palace. For some reason, everything about the palace brought her a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen it long ago. However, after meticulously searching her mind, she couldnât recall a thing. Even during the chaotic scenes like dreams brought by the Mysterious Star Plate when she used the Star Divination Technique, she had never seen any similar palaces.
"Somethingâs off, take a closer look. Although the palace is built splendidly, clearly a great effort has been made, but who would build such a coarse palace?" Huayue suddenly said.
Recovering from her thoughts, Mu Hanyan then noticed that whether it was the palace walls or that stone chair, or the stone swords and stone axes around, they were all terribly rough, completely lacking any sign of carving or polishing, as if they had been hacked out directly with a sword or smashed with a heavy hammer. Even the bluestone ground beneath their feet was riddled with pits and depressions.
No matter how the palace was constructed, with such effort put into building such a grand palace, how could it possibly be made so coarsely?
"Look at these marks," Zirong approached the stone wall and pointed at the cracks, speaking in amazement to Mu Hanyan and the others.
Everyone went forward to take a look, casting surprised expressions. Upon examining the surroundings and beneath their feet more carefully, their expressions grew even more astonished.
"This palace wasnât built by humans, but by a Divine Beast," after a long while, Zirong swallowed, finding it hard to believe as he spoke.
Zirongâs conclusion wasnât uttered lightly.
The entire palaceâthe dome, the ground, the walls, the stone chair, the stone sword, the stone axeâeverything was rough and simple. More importantly, upon closer inspection, claw marks covered them.
Indeed, they were claw marks. Initially, they thought they were the cracks left by the palace collapse, but upon closer observation, they realized they werenât remnants but were claw marks left by beast talons forcefully scraping across the stone.
Only then did Mu Hanyan and the others suddenly realize another issue. At a glance, aside from being rugged, this palace wasnât much different from typical human palaces, just more magnificent and grander. However, upon closer inspection, there were no sculptures, murals, or other decorations within the palace.
Clearly, this wasnât the work of human architects. If humans had built it, even a small shrine to a Mountain God would have some carvings of flowers, plants, and animals for visual appeal, not to mention a massive palace.
And this difference might be one of the most significant distinctions between humans, creatures of all spirits, and other races. No matter how powerful the Exotic Beasts and Divine Beasts are, regardless of how far their intelligence has evolved, their pursuit of beauty canât compare to humans. This might also be one of the crucial reasons why humans became the chosen ones among all living things.