The three walked cautiously across the stone arch bridge, thankfully encountering nothing unusual. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and as they looked ahead, they couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

When they reached the fountain, they had vaguely seen the palace as if it were floating on the water's surface, but only now, standing behind the fountain, did they realize the palace was indeed suspended above a layer of faintly glowing blue water.

At this moment, the group stood beneath the stone arch bridge, facing a still expanse of water level with the ground before them. This water held a pale cyan tint, emitting a faint, ethereal blue luminescence. The water was not flowing, yet it gave the impression of being alive, seemingly undulating with an almost imperceptible movement. Above this, the opulent, seemingly magnificent palace appeared to drift upon the cyan surface, utterly devoid of weight.

Just then, Scholar Jia's group arrived beside them, also staring in wonder at the blue water and the palace ahead.

After observing for a while, Cai Qingchong remarked, "What kind of substance is this glowing blue water? It doesn't seem like any form of water we see in our daily lives."

Scholar Jia spoke up then, "This is 'Heavy Water' (Zhong Shui), and I am now certain that the city we are in is the City of Heavy Water."

"What does 'Heavy Water' mean?" Young Master Liu asked Scholar Jia, frowning.

Scholar Jia explained, "In modern terms, Heavy Water is a compound formed from deuterium and oxygen through a chemical reaction. It looks no different from ordinary water, but it is extremely toxic; ingestion means death for man or beast. However, Heavy Water is also an essential catalyst in the manufacturing of modern nuclear weapons. But the Heavy Water we see now is not the one referred to in modern terminology; it is a substance spoken of in ancient legends, something water-like. As for precisely what it is, I cannot be sure."

While Young Master Liu and Scholar Jia were talking, Yang Weidong suddenly shouted, "Damn it, everyone watch out! There seems to be movement in the Heavy Water!"

Everyone quickly looked toward the Heavy Water and saw slight disturbances within the cyan depths, causing fine ripples to spread across the surface. Faint white bubbles slowly ascended from the depths of the Heavy Water, soon covering the entire surface.

The group hastily backed away a step, clutching their weapons tightly.

The white bubbles continued to gather slowly from below, accumulating on the surface—more and more, endlessly. Just as everyone was feeling confused, these white bubbles suddenly began to merge, hundreds and thousands of them seeming to devour each other, slowly forming large, independent spheres of water.

Fan De Biao whispered with a shiver of apprehension, "What are those bubbles doing? Are they some form of living matter?"

Ignoring him, the others stared intently at the strange bubbles. They watched as these entities changed again in the blink of an eye. The massive water bubbles began to sway slowly, breaking the surface and floating upward, gradually morphing their shapes.

Under their dumbfounded gaze, the first bubble to break the surface twisted and reformed itself into a human shape! Scholar Jia suddenly gasped, "Good heavens! What is that thing! Everyone, open fire!"

The group hastily raised their weapons and unleashed a barrage of shots at the bubble that had taken human form, but to their dismay, the bullets whistled effortlessly through its 'body' without causing it any discernible damage. Young Master Liu felt a cold sweat break out beneath his skin.

The bubble’s limbs, fingers, face, and even hair, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears slowly materialized with sharp clarity. Furthermore, the shape it had assumed was distinctly that of a woman—voluptuous in outline, and even a sweet smile formed on its face.

For a moment, everyone stopped shooting, realizing their bullets were useless against these things. Just then, Young Master Liu heard Fan De Biao, his throat working from terror, quietly murmur, "What are they? What do we do now?"

Scholar Jia murmured back, "Everyone, let's watch for a moment to see what these things intend to do. I have a feeling they aren't targeting us."

Hearing this, the others reluctantly stood their ground, their hearts pounding, fixedly watching these bizarre 'creatures.'

Slowly, the white bubbles ceased rising from the Heavy Water, all floating to the surface and transforming into the shapes of women. Young Master Liu secretly counted eighteen of them in total.

These formed women drifted left and right, executing movements resembling a dance. Their white gowns and flowing sleeves stirred the air slightly with their movements, lending them an almost ethereal, transcendent quality.

After dancing for a while on the water's surface, the eighteen illusory women joined hands, forming a long chain, and began to float toward the palace in the center of the Heavy Water.

This sight left everyone stunned once more.

Young Master Liu let out a breath, "So these things are just some kind of illusion, a trick of the eye. Though magical and exquisite, at least they aren't something harmful."

Fan De Biao gave a wry smile and wiped the cold sweat from his brow, "I was genuinely terrified just now. I thought they were some kind of living creatures."

The others also breathed a collective sigh of relief; that scene had truly shocked them badly, but thankfully, it was only a false alarm.

Then, Yang Weidong asked curiously, "Why do you suppose these things floated toward the palace in the middle of the water?"

Fan De Biao quickly replied, "Who knows? Maybe they are holding some kind of banquet in the palace. Why don't we try to find a way to see for ourselves?"

His half-joking response brought faint smiles to their faces, easing the tension and fear of moments before.

Scholar Jia stated, "We absolutely must find a way into that palace to investigate. The key issue is that there is nothing to traverse the Heavy Water right now, and we have no idea what the legendary Heavy Water actually is, nor dare we touch it casually."

For a moment, the group stared at the vast expanse of miraculous Heavy Water, utterly stumped.

Young Master Liu considered that the Heavy Water looked clear and transparent, suggesting high density. He wondered if a heavy object thrown onto it would sink. Thinking this, he casually pulled a one-yuan coin from his pocket and tossed it forcefully into the Heavy Water. Strangely, he heard no splash, only watching the coin land on the water's surface and sink down extremely slowly. This surprised Young Master Liu; the Heavy Water was still a substance of some kind, and his idea that it might possess immense load-bearing capacity was instantly dashed.

As everyone remained at a loss, Scholar Jia alone walked silently back and forth on the bluestone ground between the Heavy Water and the fountain, seemingly searching for something.

The others watched his movements with curiosity. Young Master Liu remarked, "Could it be that there is some mechanism hidden here to cross the Heavy Water and enter the palace?"

Just then, Scholar Jia let out a triumphant cry: "I found it!"

The others rushed over to look. Scholar Jia squatted on the ground, pointing at a bluestone slab. "All these bluestones are smooth on the surface, except this one—it has the slightest difference. Can anyone tell what it is?"

Everyone crouched down to look closely but could discern no difference. Fan De Biao said, "These ground slabs are all cyan and all smooth. There’s no difference at all."

Scholar Jia smiled smugly, "This is where your powers of observation fail. Have you ever played the 'spot the difference' game? This bluestone slab truly looks no different from the others, but it is just a tiny bit larger in size than the rest."

Fan De Biao asked, "Is that so? We really didn't notice. But so what? What does that prove?"

Scholar Jia said, "You all step back and let me show you what secret this slab holds."

Everyone retreated a few paces. Scholar Jia took out his ancient-looking dagger and carefully inserted the tip into the seam of the stone slab before him. With a slight exertion of force, the slab lifted a fraction. Scholar Jia paused, seeing no immediate reaction, then used more strength and slowly pried the slab up.

At this, Cai Qingchong, standing beside him, stepped forward and helped Scholar Jia flip the slab entirely over. Only then did everyone discover, to their amazement, that beneath the slab was a square recess containing a spherical protrusion.

Scholar Jia said triumphantly to the group, "Well? Do you understand now? From ancient times to the present, in the eyes of an architect, even building a latrine is their creation; they would never be careless with laying stone, much less use stones of varying sizes for the floor. How much truer would that be for a miraculous structure like one of the legendary Three Great Hidden Treasures?"