Galloping on the Beast Path, everyone was surprised to find that the Beast Path in Cha Mu Town had been widened at so point. Even though there were quite a few Spirit Beasts running on it at the mont, the whole path did not feel crowded at all.
Feng Yuan was initially a bit surprised as well, but thinking about Cha Mu Town’s Spirit Beast rental services, it no longer felt strange. After all, since they had prepared so many rideable Spirit Beasts, they must have considered the path’s capacity.
The White Shadow Wolf was fast, but in Feng Yuan’s opinion, perhaps because of its size, it wasn’t as comfortable as riding the Star White Lion. However, because they were advancing at full speed, the first attraction quickly appeared before them.
The Half-Mountain Stronghold stood on a cliffside with only one accessible path through a winding trail; the other three sides were at the edge of the cliff. Living here would be challenging for those afraid of heights.
Due to the restrictions caused by the mountain road, the place hadn’t been developed for tourism; although it was unique, the climb was quite tedious for tourists.
With the reorganization of resources in the Tea Wood Town Area, to solve the mountain road issue, Cha Mu Town employed a thod similar to the Beast Path, arranging Spirit Beasts to shuttle tourists to and from the location.
Of course, for those like Feng Yuan who had rideable Spirit Beasts that didn’t take up much space, there was no need to wait for arrangents, and so tourists preferred climbing, choosing not to ride Spirit Beasts into the stronghold.
To avoid affecting visitors like Feng Yuan who preferred hiking, Cha Mu Town arranged for the Spirit Beasts to take a different route, while Feng Yuan and the others leisurely took the only mountain path from years past.
This mountain path wasn’t suitable for fast travel due to its terrain, but the scenery along the way was particularly beautiful. Along the way, there were high suspension bridges, perilous paths clinging to cliff walls, and small winding tunnels cutting through the mountain.
"Wow, I didn’t expect this place to be quite fun."
Looking at the Half-Mountain Stronghold, which was now very close, Feng Yuan couldn’t help but say. He didn’t expect this mountain path to traverse through so many different environnts. Along the way, he frequently stopped to take pictures with Xiao Ji and the others. Not just Feng Yuan, even Qi Chen and Dou Yanlan couldn’t help but pause for the scenery.
They hadn’t expected the lesser-known Half-Mountain Stronghold to have such a unique mountain path, though upon reflection, they realized it wasn’t surprising, considering Cha Mu Town was influenced by the Yognot. Various strange environnts existed due to the area, leading to special situations arising.
Environnts like those of the Half-Mountain Stronghold weren’t uncommon. Though in the past it had protected them from wars, in tis of peace, it had beco a major travel hindrance.
If they weren’t riding Spirit Beasts, they might have lacked the energy to enjoy the area after such a long mountain hike.
Even so, by the ti they reached the Half-Mountain Stronghold, Xing Bo was already lying on the ground resting. Seeing this, Dou Yanlan had to stay with it, given the stronghold wasn’t large. Therefore, Feng Yuan opted to explore separately from Qi Chen and the others, as he didn’t want to be a third wheel.
The Half-Mountain Stronghold stood on a cliff and was affected by the Yognot’s Rule Power, prohibiting flying. Any creature appearing in the cliff’s airspace would be assailed by special flas.
This limited the stronghold’s developnt; unless they reshaped mountains, expanding the area wasn’t feasible.
Instead of enlarging their land, the Half-Mountain Stronghold uniquely chose vertical construction.
In Feng Yuan’s view, the ten-plus-story wooden structure was a miracle. At least, in the Dynasty Era, achieving this would not have been easy for ordinary people.
However, Feng Yuan suspected Drudgeon and Yognot had a hand in it, as without relocation, expansion was limited.
Creating such a tall wooden structure might be a miracle for humans, but not necessarily for Divine Beasts.
Checking the signpost, Feng Yuan wasn’t surprised to see a long list of directions. Although the stronghold’s footprint wasn’t big, its many levels could easily lead to getting lost in the wooden structures.
The buildings were interconnected with wooden bridges and were irregular. At first, it might be manageable, but even familiar visitors might get lost in this maze-like stronghold.
The structures weren’t just vertical towers but layered groups of buildings interconnected by a grid of wooden beams.
Except for the central tower, each layer’s buildings were staggered, making it challenging to simply descend to the ground via stairs.
Feng Yuan didn’t quite understand why this complex construction thod was chosen, as building vertically was clearly simpler. But, he found the place intriguing nonetheless.
Using Divine Sense, Feng Yuan had a complete map of the stronghold in his mind, but reaching the top without using the tower wasn’t easy.
The winding routes could tire even those with a map; however, Feng Yuan had no intention of rushing to the top.
With Xiao Ji and the others, Feng Yuan leisurely explored the unique stronghold.
The first level had the least residences; it mostly housed traps and rooms for defenders. Despite the modern loss of their original purpose due to the unique layout, they couldn’t be altered.
Traps were removed, but specialized structures for defense were retained.
In addition to these, the first level housed several leisure facilities; however, Feng Yuan found it odd that the level lacked production facilities such as vegetable fields.
Maybe they feared damage during conflict? But if the gate were blocked, what then?
Moreover, he noticed a curious feature — water wells.
Wells were common in villages; without one, they’d face severe issues. However, the stronghold is perched on a cliff, so Feng Yuan doubted the groundwater extended to such locations.
Without a detailed survey, Feng Yuan suspected this was Drudgeon’s handiwork. Why not guess another Divine Beast?
This wasn’t Fire Stronghold; other Divine Beasts wouldn’t care about the Half-Mountain Stronghold’s affairs. Only Drudgeon, being close to Yognot, might intervene.
Considering this possibility, Feng Yuan observed the second level and found another operational well. Whatever Drudgeon did, it enabled this cliffside water source.
With each ascent in level, Feng Yuan observed that the living facilities seed to be relocated to higher levels. On a wooden platform, there were fields, and above the third level, he even spotted shops and other anities.
Feng Yuan pondered, unsure of why these items were placed high up. Theoretically, they avoided the impact of war from enemies during old invasions to the maximum extent.
But, the issue was these buildings relied on the lower levels for support, without visible designs for suspending platforms.
If the first level were destroyed, the whole structure would likely collapse. Feng Yuan couldn’t fathom their rationale for the stronghold’s layout.
Perhaps there were aspects he hadn’t considered?
Thinking this, Feng Yuan peered down from the fifth-level platform. Though only the fifth level, the stronghold’s ceiling was high, and looking down was daunting for those scared of heights.
Feng Yuan wasn’t affected, yet, after a while, he shook his head. Because of the staggered buildings on each level, aside from a few open shafts, other areas obscured the view of the ground below.
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