"Liya'er built this?"
Colin was surprised, never having imagined that this race, which legend said was transformed from the soil around the Ancient Tree of Life, could possess such great strength!
Now that he thought about it, the beautifully crafted steps they had walked upon on their journey here were probably built by the Liya'er as well.
"Yes, nearly all the buildings where the High Level Elves reside were constructed by the Liya'er," Lillian answered.
She looked at the forest of stone pillars in front of her, momentarily at a loss, unsure of how to proceed next.
The space within the mountains was not small, nor regular, and not only could one not see the end at a glance, but these towering stone trees all stretched from the ground to the sky as well...
"Let's search each one by one, Senior Sister Lillian... to see if we can find any traces of those people, or perhaps something useful for the tutor," Colin suggested.
"That's all we can do," Lillian said in silence for a moment, before nodding and leading the way to the nearest stone tree.
The closer they got to the stone tree, the more magnificent it felt; the buildings that seemed unremarkable from afar were now incredibly huge from below, causing one to worry if they might suddenly fall...
From the outside, the lowest third of the stone tree was devoid of any signs of construction or any entrances; it was simply a replica of the appearance of a tree trunk.
The pair circled the trunk at the bottom and found the lowest stone door on the right side. Then they flew towards it side by side.
Below the stone tree, there were no stairs designed to lead up; flight was an innate ability for High Level Elves.
Upon reaching the stone door, they found a landing platform in front of it, perhaps designed as an aesthetically pleasing tree knot for its appeal.
The stone door, appearing small from afar, was actually quite large up close, nearly four meters high with double doors engraved with simple yet elegant tree patterns.
"Hm?"
At that moment, Colin eyed the stone door in front of him with a slight frown.
For some reason, the stone door was inexplicably cracked open, just like the main gate they entered through before...
A vague premonition in his heart led Colin to unconsciously activate his Superbrain, carefully recalling the main gate they had entered through earlier.
The next second, he scrutinized the stone door in front of him once more, and at the same time, he cast Detecting Three Abilities!
Swoosh.
A faint ripple of witchcraft passed by.
"What's wrong..." Lillian asked subconsciously, barely perceiving Colin's use of witchcraft since she was right by his side.
She keenly noticed Colin had limited the reach of his Detection Magic to a very small area, covering just a small part of the stone door.
Then she turned her gaze towards the spot where Colin used his magic.
In the next second, upon seeing clearly, her expression subtly changed.
At the latch of the stone door, there was a clear sign of damage, obviously caused recently, the break point at odds with the door's antiqued muted surface.
The high mountains remained unspoiled, and the buildings were generally still intact, including the stone door and its defense mechanisms, all operating normally... This was clearly the mark of someone trying to get in, a trace of forceful entry!
"Those people might indeed have come here just as I had speculated earlier," Colin said in a somber voice.
"Let's go in and take a look," Lillian inhaled deeply, cautiously pushing open the stone door.
Swoosh!
Colin timely applied the Silent spell to the stone door.
Lillian's actions paused slightly; she looked back at Colin and said softly, "I was careless to assume those people might still be within this stone tree."
Colin waved it off and took a soft breath, readying himself for battle.
Although they had been walking openly, they were cloaked by the Concealing Moon Cloth and the Silent spells at all times to hide their presence.
So, unless something unexpected happened, their whereabouts had not been exposed.
Upon entering the door, they were not met with darkness, but rather a gold-green colored circular corridor.
Lavish and elegant wooden or metallic ornaments, and intricate decorative patterns, were everywhere to be seen.
What was most impressive was that the entire corridor had undergone a treatment to mimic wood, giving the impression of being in a real tree rather than a cold stone pillar.
Colin, seeing this, inexplicably recalled the Tree Elf's Tree Hole Forest... that place was also so magnificent, except that compared to the Tree Elf's abode, there was an additional sense of natural simplicity.
The bright White Light shone down from above, revealing everything in detail, yet unable to reveal the figures of Colin and Lillian.
"Let's go, this is the lowest level. We'll search upwards, level by level," Lillian started.
Although the stone tree outside lacked staircases, by looking through the small windows of the circular corridor in front of them, they could easily spot a winding light green spiral staircase at the center within the stone tree.
The pair cautiously proceeded along the circular corridor for a while until they encountered the first fork on their right, which seemed to lead to the largest and lowest branch they had seen earlier from the outside.
However... to Colin and Lillian's surprise, the door leading to that branch was not open.
"Shall we continue to search the rest of the stone tree first and then come back to explore here?" Colin asked.
"Mm," Lillian nodded in agreement, then added, "The interior is more intact than I had imagined... Many things have been left behind, and it doesn't look as deserted as the other places we've passed through."