Pushing open the main door, Du You saw two soldiers standing guard on either side.
"I really don’t know what the point of us guarding this place every day is when no one is ever going to co in."
"Is that not a good thing? At least this job is extrely relaxing." The two gatekeepers grumbled.
Du You approached them, lowering his voice to ask, "Are there any outsiders who will co here? Is there anything in this city that we should be beware of?" He waited for a reply, but none ca from the guards.
Just when Du You thought they were ignoring him, they started speaking again.
"Ah, to miss the days of old... though we were always at war, at least we knew what we were doing. It’s better than living in a daze like now."
Du You was startled, the guards were still talking, but they continued to ignore him when he tried asking more questions.
Helplessly, he said, "Let’s go in and take a look. This city gives off a strange vibe."
Du You, Lin Yucha, and Lin Yushi entered the city. They saw a bustling city life. Though it was in the middle of a snowy wilderness, countless people still lived here amidst the cacophony.
The resources here were plentiful, they didn’t know where they all ca from. Considering their snowy surroundings, these resources shouldn’t exist here. Du You approached soone to ask about it.
"Could I ask you a few questions for so compensation?"
The person did not respond to Du You and continued to converse with soone else behind him. Du You was taken aback. Did they ignore him, or could they not see him at all?
Just then, Lin Yucha stepped forward, grabbing at soone’s arm - or rather, grabbed at thin air. She noticed her hand had passed through thin air as if there was no one there.
"Master, I can’t touch anyone here. It’s as if they are illusions."
Lin Yushi added, "The houses here are the sa; they’re all illusions, as if they don’t exist." It appeared that the two sisters had separately tried to physically interact with their surroundings during the ntal communication when they noticed the oddities.
"Could all this be a creation of illusionary magic?" Du You thought. He felt like he and these people were existing in two different dinsions. He could see them, but he couldn’t interact with their lives in any way.
"No, this isn’t a work of illusion. Otherwise, we would sense a magic reaction or a spiritual power reaction from them. In our spiritual perceptions, they truly exist. Maybe, they did exist in the past."
"Are you saying that this scene is a past scene of the Snow Kingdom, and we don’t know how it was preserved till now?" Du You said, a bit surprised. In his spiritual perception, everything seed real. To fool him like this with illusions, the spell caster must be at least a fifth-tier existence.
The fifth tier was the pinnacle of existence in this world. The world itself was of the fifth tier.
This was because Du You and others had just broken through to the third tier of magic power. Having third-tier magic power, even if they were images left behind by fourth-tier spells, they wouldn’t notice any flaws.
"Did you hear? Tonight is the ’Night of Resurrection’ that cos every decade. It’s said that those who perform a special ritual tonight can resurrect the dead into divine spirits."
"Bah, all those are just folklore. Resurrecting the dead would turn them into undead, how can they beco divine spirits?"
"But this world is shackled, what other thods are there if not this? I hope Lord Snow Emperor won’t resort to it."
"It’s absurd to think a man as noble as the Snow Emperor would fall for such hearsay. The Snow Emperor is already the strongest being in this world, no one can threaten us. He doesn’t need to resort to such a risky thod."
An elder spoke up, "Ha ha, Lord Snow Emperor is kind-hearted. He wouldn’t resort to such an evil technique. I heard that once such an evil technique is used, it will result in a massacre, causing countless lives to be lost."
Du You listened to the chatter of the nearby people and gleaned so information.
It seed that the Snow Emperor had attempted to beco a divine spirit using so dubious thod thousands of years ago. The attempt led to a disaster that wiped out everyone in this place.
This was plausible. When anyone had reached their limit and found themselves unable to progress further due to the limits of the world, their ntal state would definitely waver. Many people would make bewildering choices to break through if they stayed in this state for an extended period.
"It seems we can’t gain much knowledge from this place," Du You initiated, "So, what did you two find out?" They didn’t have much ti left, they had to grasp as much information as they could from these illusions.
"We found out that the Snow Emperor has secretly prepared a large number of special materials a while ago. He seems to be preparing for a massive ritual that might be related to tonight."
’Tonight’ referred to the night preserved in the historical projection, not the actual night of the present.
"To figure out what actually happened, we must go to the castle in the center."
Du You looked at the highest point which was a castle crafted to look like a magnificent crown. From the conversations, Du You learned that the place was known as the Ice Snow Crown Castle. It was the pinnacle of this world, a place that represented the Snow Emperor’s authority.
The trio, with their undead gorilla, moved towards the castle. They quickly reached the Ice Snow Crown Castle.
The place was teeming with patrols, indicating the formidably stringent security asures established by the inhabitants.
"Can tonight’s ritual really succeed? If it fails, we’ll beco sinners."
"Don’t think too much. We’ve prepared for ten years just for tonight. As long as it succeeds, the Snow Emperor will beco a deathless god, ruling over this land forever. We will reap a considerable benefit."
"I care not for benefits, rather I miss my parents back ho."
Du You and the sisters saw the conversation between a minister and a knight at the castle gate.
"It seems to be related to the ’Night of Resurrection’ tonight after all. But is really necromancy or sothing else?" Without adequate knowledge of this world, Du You could only loosely infer from their conversations.
"I feel as though we’re close to the truth, and the truth lies within these palace walls. Let’s be cautious," Du You whispered.
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