Up ahead lay the Creator's palace—a vast, majestic cluster of buildings. From afar, the first thing that caught the eye was the towering city wall, sheer as a cliff face, stretching across their path. It was impossibly steep and smooth, with not a single seam between the bricks or stones.
They hadn't even approached yet, but already the wall radiated a sense of awe that pressed down on them.
The wall gleamed as smooth as a mirror, reflecting everything with perfect clarity. Standing before it, they could see not only themselves but the thousand-mile landscape unfurling behind them!
The buildings within the city rose even higher than the walls. Through the ramparts, they glimpsed grand palaces, towers, and arrow-topped defenses looming above.
Quinn Shepherd and Logan Cross arrived outside the city, taking in the towering structures.
The Creators' city was so immense that they themselves felt like insignificant little ants.
For a wall to be forged so flawlessly smooth was nearly impossible. Not even the master craftsmen of Heavenly Court or Everpeace could achieve such a feat.
A craftsman might polish a surface to a mirror sheen, but to build such a vast city wall and keep it perfectly flat—no one could pull that off.
No matter how exquisite the techniques, forging always leaves tiny flaws. Yet this wall had none—no imperfections at all!
A Creator's city wall could only be visualized into existence—it couldn't be forged by hand.
"Why do none of these buildings have any decoration?"
From a distance, Logan Cross saw that the city walls and all the buildings inside were blank—no carvings anywhere. "Just white walls, blue tiles, red bricks. Isn’t that a bit too plain?" he wondered aloud.
Quinn Shepherd explained, "That’s just how Creators are. Plus, they’re pretty backward—their society is somewhere between a tribe and a nation. Not much art, just a bunch of primitives."
In his mind, Shu Jun’s angry voice erupted: "You’re the primitive! All you bumpkins are primitives! We’re Creators—almighty, makers of all things! To us, you’re the real bumpkins!"
Quinn strolled toward the city, chuckling: "The Creators’ lives are pretty monotonous. Tribes fighting tribes, a bunch of fur-clad brutes swinging giant bone clubs at each other’s heads."
Shu Jun’s voice shook with rage: "You little punk, stop slandering us..."
"Once they learned visualization, the Creators would even conjure up beauties for their own pleasure," Quinn went on.
Logan Cross couldn’t help but sigh, "Truly a bunch of primitives."
Shu Jun was practically hopping with fury.
Suddenly Quinn stopped in his tracks. Logan looked at him, puzzled and uncertain.
"No, something's not right!"
Quinn Shepherd tilted his head, scrutinizing the city wall with a puzzled look. He muttered, "This world was created by the Creators—they made everything here. Inside, they should have no enemies. So why build a city at all? Why raise walls this high? What could possibly frighten even the Creators in their own world..."
Logan Cross had the same thought—the walls were for defense. If the Creators built such barriers, they must have been wary of something breaking in from outside!
So, what exactly were they afraid of?
They were the creators of the Grand Void Expanse—what could possibly inspire fear in them?
"The walls are spotless—not a trace of battle anywhere."
Logan Cross said, "Maybe you’re overthinking it. Maybe they just built the walls for looks. Or maybe they’re so vain they need a mirror at all times."
Quinn Shepherd shook his head, drew his sword, and lightly traced a line across the wall. A sword mark appeared—then quickly vanished as the wall restored itself, smooth as a mirror once more.
Logan’s heart skipped a beat. He grew solemn. "This wall reminds me of a certain Heavenly Venerable—rumor has it she created the Indestructible Matter divine art."
"This isn’t Indestructible Matter—it’s divine sense creation, or visualization."
Quinn said, "This city is enveloped in the Creators’ divine sense. That makes every building indestructible—break one, and it’ll reconstruct itself. And look at those arrow towers. The Creators fight wild and direct; they rarely use defenses like this. The height of the palaces and houses is probably for lookout duty, to watch for enemies coming from afar."
He looked puzzled. This world was created by the Creators—would they really make powerful enemies for themselves?
So where did their enemies come from?
Were they invaders from Heavenly Court like themselves?
Or are there truly terrifying monsters lurking in the Grand Void Expanse?
He remembered the scene he’d glimpsed in the Corpse Walkers’ divine sense, and his heart stirred. "Could it be that Creator who turned the Grand Void into a deathtrap?"
Logan Cross drew out the Origin-Root Heartwood Staff from his brow, let his soul slip free, and flew up to survey the city from above.
"There’s no one in the city... Flame-Venerable!"
He hurriedly returned his soul to his body, face lit with shock and joy. He reinserted the Origin-Root Heartwood Staff into his brow and said quickly, "I saw Flame-Venerable!"
"Flame-Venerable!"