Many structures were built suspended over the green river, supported only by a few stone pillars.

The great whale exotic beast expelled a stream of air, gently placing the Dust-Crossing Boat onto an empty platform. Then it leaped into the river below.

An utterly bizarre scene soon unfolded.

Despite its colossal size, the beast plunged into the green river without raising a single splash. Only the ripples spreading in concentric circles on the water’s surface proved the whale’s dive had not been an illusion.

Dongfang led the group off the boat and down a corridor from the platform toward the cluster of buildings ahead. 

Walking above the long river, everyone felt a tremor of unease—dreading that the stone pillars below might give way and send...