"Minister Fu, if I cannot return, the heavy responsibility of reporting the full story to the other Immortal Boats is entrusted to you."

General Jing Yuan's rare seriousness made Fu Xuan take a deep breath. After calming her emotions, she solemnly replied, "...I won't say things like 'Please return in person to report'. What you have instructed, I will definitely not fail in my mission."

"Haha, that sounds a bit like a General," General Jing Yuan smiled reassuringly.

After finishing the instructions and arrangements, General Jing Yuan nodded to everyone, signaling that they could depart.

Following the long staircase down, at the entrance to the Scalegorge Waterscape, they saw two past Vidyadhara phantoms, gazing at the magnificent scenery before them.

An aged voice: Using the Scalegorge Waterscape to seal the Construction Wood? Betrayal! This is a great sacrilege!

An aged voice: Are you insane?! Do you think this can earn the trust of the Xianzhou People? Those not of our kind can never be of one heart!

The Dragon Lord's voice: I understand the Elder's meaning, but my decision is made and cannot be changed.

An aged voice: Good... good, I will report this to the Preceptors and strip you of your title and power as Dragon Lord!

Even though the phantom was just a blurry shadow of deep blue, everyone could almost imagine the Vidyadhara Elder's beard trembling with rage.

"Those not of our kind..." Lainah repeatedly savored these four words, and a bitter feeling immediately surged in his heart.

Lainah, who grew up in the internment zone, was no stranger to these four words... No, to put it more simply, all Eldians living in Marley were no strangers to them.

The Vidyadhara Elder's words were like a sharp knife, carving another wound into Lainah's already scarred heart.

He took a deep breath and looked at Bertolt not far away: "Hey, Bertolt, tell me... even if we complete our mission and bring Eren back, will we Eldians be accepted by Marley?"

"...Mm, Lainah." Bertolt felt the tremor in Lainah's voice and comforted him: "This is what we've believed ever since the day we were chosen to be warriors, isn't it?"

"Don't think too much, Lainah... As long as we bring Eren back, we can return to our hometown."

"Is that so..." Lainah let out a wistful sigh, his voice trailing off with a dampness, like the humid rain about to fall in the forest at this moment. Hometown was their unspoken word, and also the place they yearned for day and night, yet could not return to.

"Ah Ni, what do you think?" Lainah looked again at the girl who had shrunk back far away by herself. She was lying on a tree branch as thick as three or four people, covering her face with a book.

Ah Ni rarely expressed her opinions, and in his impression, she was more like a silent machine. Even though they had grown up and trained together since childhood... from beginning to end, her clear, green eyes held an unfathomable ancient empty pool, making her inscrutable.

"I don't know," Ah Ni replied dryly, "Before, I thought it didn't matter if I died any day, but now... I just want to return to my father's side, nothing more."

"This is... the Dragon Lord who first accepted the mission to suppress the Construction Wood..." Dan Heng was deeply shaken, "According to tradition, from then on, every subsequent Dragon Lord must return to the Exalting Dragon Grand Sanctum to guide the tides of the Scalegorge here, guarding and reinforcing the seal of the Construction Wood."

"You remember?"

"...Yes," Dan Heng nodded, "Knock three claws, and visit the foot-long wood... the path to the depths of the Roots of the Ambrosial Arbor will open."

"Is that some kind of riddle?" March 7th scratched her head, "Knock three claws... What does that mean?"

"No need to worry, just follow me," Dan Heng said lightly.

Since Teacher Dan Heng said so, she didn't bother to worry. She looked around curiously and pouted somewhat regretfully, "Such a huge palace, just abandon it like that. If it were me, I'd be heartbroken for several weeks..."

Under Dan Heng's guidance, the group successively unlocked three seals, and the path to the roots quickly returned to its original state.

"The three claws have been knocked. Next, it's time to head to the Roots of the Ambrosial Arbor," Dan Heng looked around with a solemn expression: "The roots of the Construction Wood are constantly growing..."

"It's Phantylia... We need to hurry."

Arriving at the end of the path, a giant dragon's head was hidden in the clouds, with faint divine light on its forehead, looking majestic and sacred.

"What is that? Is it a dragon?" March 7th's mouth widened in surprise, looking at the dragon head hidden in the cloud mountains and mist sea. She wished she could take a picture with a camera.

"We've reached the end. This is the Roots of the Ambrosial Arbor, the location of the Bountiful Star's miracle," Dan Heng explained, "Knock three claws, visit the foot-long wood... refers to this place. Restrained by dragon power, the Roots of the Ambrosial Arbor has taken on a dragon shape."

"Now, I will unveil this final seal..."

Dungeon Meshi—

"I thought this dragon was some kind of guardian spirit of the Vidyadhara... Turns out it's just a piece of wood after all." Marcille's expression was quite disappointed; she thought Dan Heng could command that dragon spirit and fight alongside them.

Looking at the various murals and reliefs, as well as the densely packed palaces within the Scalegorge Waterscape, Laios couldn't help but exclaim, "It would be great to come here for an adventure. I feel like there would be a lot of Vidyadhara treasures here..."

"Speaking of that faintly glowing egg..."

"—Don't eat it!" Marcille immediately drew a big X on her chest: "General Jing Yuan specifically emphasized this one. It's called a Vidyadhara egg, and the Vidyadhara are all hatched from this kind of egg."

"Hatched into humans from an egg?" Senshi's eyes widened, "There really is nothing new under the sun."

"But then again... I remember the Construction Wood came from the Bountiful Star's miracle, right? Can the Bountiful Star be influenced by the power of Immortality?" Laios looked up at the towering giant dragon head in the light curtain. Just by looking at it, he, who was from outside the celestial dome, could feel the vigorous life force within it.

"Perhaps it's related to the Path?" Marcille thought for a moment, "I remember Paths can merge with each other. Narrow Paths are swallowed by wider ones. In the Scalegorge Waterscape, the Bountiful Star represented by the Roots of the Ambrosial Arbor was gradually influenced and encroached upon by the power of Immortality, right?"

"Moreover, the Construction Wood was already chopped off by an arrow from the Aeon of the Hunt before it was sealed. It's not strange for a withered piece of wood to be transformed like this."

Dan Heng raised his hand and pointed towards the forehead of the dragon head formed by the Roots of the Ambrosial Arbor.

In an instant, a brilliant light shone.

Star only saw a dazzling white light flash before her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were in a space filled with misty fog.

This place was covered with the roots of the Construction Wood, with thick branches twisting and turning, as if they were in a celestial realm.

The ground beneath their feet was also empty; they seemed to be walking in mid-air.