On the stormy sea, a circular stretch of calm water abruptly intruded into everyone’s view—it was the ancient ruins that had broken free from its sealing, sculpted from jade-like stones and adorned with exquisite carvings. The ticulous workmanship, leaving nowhere untouched, attested to the dedication of its builders.
"This style... kind of looks like sothing from the Erald Ruins,"
Feng Yuan muttered with an enigmatic expression, stroking his chin. The ship docked at a structure resembling a port, and Feng Yuan made a point of observing the site. He discovered that part of the ruins didn’t rest entirely above water; a significant portion was subrged. Judging by its appearance, it seed as though it was originally ant to float in the air.
As he scanned the port, Feng Yuan noticed remnants of certain devices. While the devices were too eroded by ti to discern their full form, Feng Yuan could still deduce that they had likely been used to secure ships in place.
"So these ruins once floated in the sky? Judging by the look of it, there might be murals inside,"
he remarked, lightly brushing the back of Xiao Ji’s head with his hand. As Feng Yuan gazed at the majestic ruins, it was hard not to be captivated by the beauty of the jade-like structures, which shimred with a mysterious glow under the sunlight. Upon entering the ruins, tranquility washed over everyone’s hearts—even Dou Yanlan felt remarkably relaxed.
Questions and decisions about how to deal with soone—whether to et her, whether to speak to her—had entangled Dou Yanlan’s thoughts like a chaotic web. But suddenly, she caught a thread of clarity within the silence of the ruins. Standing frozen in place, Dou Yanlan rapidly pondered as Qi Chen noticed her peculiar behavior and prepared to ask her about it. However, the human form of Veronia patted his shoulder and gestured for him not to speak. Qi Chen, though worried, refrained from interrupting. Monts later, Dou Yanlan seed to resolve her internal turmoil, and a faint smile appeared on her face as she gazed at the jade-like ruins and softly said,
"Thank you~"
"The Temple of the Wind Spirits? It truly must have floated in the sky,"
Along the way, the exquisite murals led Feng Yuan and the others to piece together fragnts of its history. The pervasive presence of unique life forms, combined with depictions of the temple floating high above the skies, vividly illustrated the once-lofty domain of the temple.
"Wind Spirits?"
Agunas looked at Feng Yuan with a puzzled expression. It was certain that these beings were not native to this world, though this wasn’t surprising—the ruins were known from the start not to belong to this world. What puzzled Agunas more was how Feng Yuan appeared to recognize the beings depicted in the murals. Could it be he had visited that world before?
Why not assu it was the world he once inhabited? Agunas was convinced that the Star Ocean World wouldn’t contain such beings, or at least not in the vast seas of its domain. The floating continents depicted suggested an association with an Outer World, and Agunas, with its knowledge of Outer Worlds, was certain this wasn’t a world driven by technology.
"Exactly, they must be a type of Wind Spirit. Didn’t you see their abilities hinting at wind as their domain? Of course, I wouldn’t know the specifics—I an, there’s no na inscribed, and even if there were, we wouldn’t be able to read it,"
Feng Yuan said casually with a shrug. After all, he wasn’t omniscient. He had never seen these beings before, so all he could do was speculate based on the clues in the murals and carvings.
Accuracy? That, Feng Yuan couldn’t guarantee. To him, delving too deeply was pointless anyway; no one could be certain where these beings originated. At least for now, none of the worlds they were fighting against had anything resembling these entities. The Behemoth World? It wouldn’t have such intricate carvings—its inhabitants of colossal beasts had yet to develop civilizations capable of such fine workmanship.
The Bright World? That world’s continents were similar to this one, but it didn’t have floating landmasses. As for the technology-driven world, that was even more unlikely—this was clearly unconnected to tal or technological constructs. No traces of such elents could be found in the murals.
"So, you’re just guessing?"
Dou Yanlan, initially prepared to analyze Feng Yuan’s claims, quickly realized he was making educated guesses. She looked at him with slight exasperation while Feng Yuan shook his head and replied,
"Not quite. I’m analyzing based on clues, but I have no idea how accurate my conclusions are."
"Judging solely from the murals, this is roughly what I think."
"Let’s keep looking; it’s fine even if we don’t discover much. We’re not here to conduct a thorough historical investigation, anyway."
With indifference, Feng Yuan lightly patted Xiao Ji on the back, signaling her to follow, and took the lead as the group traveled along the jade stone pathway.
The surrounding intricate architecture was adorned with beautiful carvings, even in corners unlikely to draw attention. Feng Yuan ran his hands over the surfaces, noting an absence of traces indicating energy signatures. He even injected his own power into the carvings but found no unusual reactions.
"It doesn’t appear to follow a system of magic patterns, or maybe the external carvings are rely decorative,"
Feng Yuan said, withdrawing his hand. As for what might lie within? He detected no internal energy patterns. Yet it was evident that this structure had its own energy operational frawork; otherwise, it wouldn’t harmonize with the current world’s rules. Without such compatibility, the ruins wouldn’t maintain their functionality, whether within the calm zones or floating above the water.
"Hidden energy patterns within?"
"None. At least, none visible to us at the mont,"
Veronia shook her head in response to Agunas after sensing around. Still, what exactly powered the ruins remained a question. The occasional flashes of energy waves gave her so guesses.
"Let’s proceed. The central temple might house the core."
At this mont, Feng Yuan noticed the energy fluctuations and suddenly understood how the ruins operated. Moreover, since this was a temple-like structure, the critical murals would most likely be in the core area.
"A garden?!"
Walking past the jade stone steps, the garden in front of the hall stunned everyone. Despite the ruins having been sealed away for so long, the flowers within were still blossoming, as if soone had tended to them all along. It was absurdly incredible.
"No sign of robots? Strange... What’s going on with these flowers?"
Scratching his head, Feng Yuan glanced at Delong Tower. He hadn’t detected any chanical puppets or their equivalents nearby, leaving the flourishing flowers a puzzle. The life force radiating from the plants confird they were alive, and notably, the energy they contained was of this world—evidence of how the flowers had been assimilated and propagated here.
"I don’t know either. This thing just appeared suddenly. It had always been sealed before. I can’t explain it to you,"
Delong Tower replied with an exaggerated shrug. It truly had no idea what was happening. At that mont, a strange sound echoed through the group’s ears, resembling so sort of communication—but the group couldn’t understand it.
"It seems like there’s ’life’ here,"
Feng Yuan said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Whatever the presence was, it undoubtedly couldn’t speak the language of this world. Then again, this was expected. Without certain extraordinary abilities, mastering another world’s language was nearly impossible. Even language comprehension skills depend on the host world’s available linguistic information. Without a trace of language from another world, they would be ineffective.
"Is it guiding us?"
Silver-white light particles appeared out of thin air, carried by a fresh breeze that directed them toward a specific path. Amidst the wind, cheerful laughter seed to echo faintly.
After glancing at the murals, Feng Yuan pulled out the pitch-black Ancient Book and held it firmly, saying,
"Let’s go. Perhaps the host is welcoming us with open arms~"
He had a sense that the path guided by the wind led straight to the largest temple in the ruins. Maybe whatever awaited within held no malice, but Feng Yuan couldn’t afford to be careless. Though Delong Tower and the others could protect themselves, Qi Chen and the rest were vulnerable. Given that it was his invitation to explore, he felt obligated to ensure their safe return.
Holding her parasol, Veronia curiously examined the pathway ford by the silver light particles. Strangely, even while holding her open parasol, she felt no resistance or force—as though the wind itself intentionally avoided the umbrella’s shield.
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