Chapter 2764: Inside the Temple, the Sound of Heaven

Stepping onto the nearly fifty-step staircase, Xia Duo finally saw the interior of the Fanxing Shengdian. Just as the Envoy had previously introduced, it was magnificent and grand, filled with the Eaerlann Elf's imaginative vision of the starry sky.

From a distance, the entire temple appeared shrouded in a hazy mist of light, like a majestic king sitting on a throne draped in glowing clouds; only upon drawing closer did the mist gradually dissipate.

Inside the temple, the dome seemed non-existent; the stars were so dense they felt within reach, and specks of starlight, like meteors, fell from the high sky with long tails, "burning" away before they could reach the interior of the temple.

"The scenery is indeed extraordinary!"

Before he could express more amazement, the Envoy was already guiding him to his seat. Only then did Xia Duo withdraw his gaze, which had been captivated by the starry dome of the temple, and turn to look at the seating arrangement within.

It was mainly divided into five areas. The main seat was for Crown King Helien and his spouse and offspring; although currently only Crown King Helien had arrived, the latter was not something Xia Duo could speculate about at will, but rather information revealed by the Envoy on the way.

The secondary seats were divided into two parts, located on either side of the main seat; on the left were the seats for members of the High Tree Elder Council, and on the right were the seats for foreign envoys.

Continuing down from the seats on the left were the seats for members of the Upper Family, and continuing down from the seats on the right were the seats for the original protagonists of this banquet—the members of the Northland Alliance investigation team.

Behind these two rows of seats, that is, on both sides of the great hall near the walls, there was a team of musicians, with nearly a hundred musicians on each side.

There were various musical instruments, but the performance had not yet ended.

"You hadn't met Crown King Helien when you arrived in Taiweimansa this afternoon. The other party mentioned that Talafu has no intention of withdrawing the Elemental Tower from Calimshan!"

According to the current development of relations between Netheril and Talafu, there would still be opportunities to invite these musicians in the future.

Seventon had indeed hosted exhibitions or performances by Elven artists, but most were private performances by invitation; very, very few had actively toured through Seventon, let alone court musicians with such strong political overtones.

"Why?" Xia Duo had some guesses in his heart, but his guesses were no match for the person involved speaking directly.

Feilifa had not sought Xia Duo's opinion on the types and styles of music beforehand, but on the way to the Fanxing Shengdian, the court Envoy had introduced the music for tonight to him.

Like the magical Heaven Suite at this moment, it was not only a pinnacle work in the field of musical art, but also involved Magic Net Tuning, which could definitely be called cutting-edge research in the field of Magic!

Only when Perception was focused on a specific melody would the volume be slightly raised; at other times, it existed as background, yet like the starry sky, even as background, it was impossible to ignore.

Xia Duo had never seen such music, even in the Projection Plane; at least he had never seen anything as outstanding as today's, which truly shattered his perception of Talafu and even all the Elven nations of the Main Plane.

A moment later, the music began. Although it was played by nearly two hundred musicians together, it did not feel noisy at all; instead, it felt like it came from the distant starry sky, sounding in the background, yet appearing and disappearing intermittently.

After all, the Projection Plane was just a certain possibility of the Main Plane's past; the Main Plane had developed for longer and could fully develop newer, more unique products.

It was the widely acclaimed "Heaven Suite" from the banquet music. The performers were all highly skilled court musicians, but besides performing at court, they would also tour Talafu and even the Northern Elf Kingdoms from time to time.

It was still those two from Keman; Xia Duo nodded to them but did not have much interaction.

While enjoying the music, Xia Duo chatted with the Great Envoy Fema'ai, Dumu, and even Sikaote, who had arrived not long after him. Although Xia Duo was quite far from these people in the great hall, for a Spellcaster, distance was not a problem.

This music had largely transcended the concept of sound itself, even reaching the realm of the spirit. At this moment, even if he deliberately closed his hearing, he could feel a strange sense of harmony and pleasure from the natural rhythm of the surrounding Magic Net.

"Lord Xia, there aren't many guests yet; you can confirm your Spellcasting Permission Level again."

Of course, it could also be surprise.

At this time, listening to the Heaven's sound appearing and disappearing in his ears, Xia Duo considered himself to have a certain aesthetic ability, but he had to admit that he could not fully understand the beauty of those sounds.

Not long after sitting down, Xia Duo received a Sending from Feilifa, but he looked around the temple and could not find Feilifa's figure.

Although Xia Duo did not take the initiative to ask, Yierlan took the initiative to mention, "Does Lord Xia know why Talafu sent an invitation to Calimshan this time?"

Banquets and even daily meals in the Northland countries were served in individual portions; Xia Duo had a dining table exclusively for him in front of him.

Although neither of these avatars required food to survive for long, the Saint Form Avatar was indeed not as comprehensive as the Astral Avatar in terms of dietary functions.

Of course, after greeting the Crown King as well, he sat down.

However, Xia Duo had come this time as a Saint Form Avatar, not an Astral Avatar. No matter what kind of wine or food it was, he could at most pass it through his mouth to taste it, but he could not actually digest it.

Besides the Netherese present, the person Xia Duo talked to the most was Yierlan. The other party was invited to attend this Midwinter Banquet as an Envoy of Calimshan, just like when the Northland Alliance was established a few years ago, Yierlan also came as an Envoy.

The position arranged for Xia Duo by Talafu was with the members of the Northland Alliance investigation team. Xia Duo had indeed arrived relatively early tonight, and only one or two members of the Northland Alliance investigation team had arrived.

It was also that time that Xia Duo got to know the other party.

At this moment, a bottle of wine and a plate of fruit had already been placed there, both of which were types of wine and fruit that Feilifa had confirmed with him beforehand that he could accept.

After he finished confirming his Spellcasting Permission Level, he saw Feilifa walk from the interior passage of the temple to the seat opposite him, which was where the members of the Upper Family were located.

Xia Duo felt that if there was a chance, he should invite these court musicians to perform in the Great Xia Territory; the home-field advantage might allow him to see more details during the performance.

And this time, because of the previous exchanges, the two sides were actually closer in conversation than Xia Duo was with Fema'ai, Dumu, and others.

Yierlan spoke without reservation about the content of his talks with Helien.

As the music began, it signaled the start of the prelude to tonight's banquet, and the guests who had not yet arrived hurried to arrive one by one.

This experience reminded Xia Duo once again that he should not only explore the Projection Plane, but the exploration of the Main Plane could not be abandoned either, because you never know when you might discover a surprise.

Of course, Netheril might have never been there; perhaps there was during the honeymoon period between the two countries, but until now, at least Xia Duo had not heard of such a thing.

As for the Special Envoy specifically sent by Badijiaer, because Xia Duo had no prior contact with him, he just nodded in greeting and had no other interaction.

Clearly, this kind of skill had already exceeded music, or rather, Elven music had already developed to another level.